Sunday funday

Today we went over to Mike & Angela's house to watch the football game and BBQ. Ethan had a friend there to keep him company, his name is Gage. He is 13 days apart from Ethan and Taylor's little brother. They had so much fun so I thought I'd share a couple of cute pics....

Homemade Mac & Cheese

I did take this from another blogger page and it looked so yummy I had to bookmark the website and make it on Thanksgiving......


Homemade Mac and Cheese

Sauce
■ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
■ 3-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
■ 1-1/2 cups whole milk {or 3/4 cup evaporated milk and 3/4 cup water}
■ 1-3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
■ 1/4 cup Jack cheese, grated
■ 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt {or sea salt}
■ 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
■ 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Pasta
■ 3-1/4 cups penne pasta
■1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
■1/4 cup Jack cheese, grated
■1/2 teaspoon chili powder

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350º F. Butter or oil an 8-inch baking dish. Cook penne for 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well.

Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheeses and then the chili powder.

Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Grab some giant plates and be prepared to go back for seconds.

Thanksgiving

This year was a tad bit different because my mother-in-law, Lorrie, who usually always helps me make the main dishes then myself and Angela make sides, was not there :O( This year Lorrie decided to visit her mom on Thanksgiving leaving Ang & I to do the sides as well as myself to do the turkey and the ham for my VERY FIRST TIME!!! eeeeekkkkk I was so nervous and so scared because that's what makes the Thanksgiving meal is the turkey and ham the side dishes are just yummy extras.......so I began to look online and try to find anything and everything I could on making them here is what some of my google searches looked like 1. How to cook a 10 lb turkey? 2. How long does it take to make a turkey? 3. How long does it take to make a 10 lb fully cooked ham? 4. Can I cook the turkey and the ham in the oven at the same time? 5. How do I time the cooking of the turkey/ham with the side dishes so nothing gets cold? LOL as you can see I was quite the google master when it came to turkeys and hams.....I also had a few status updated on facebook regarding it and asking for peoples help. My Uncle Nicky suggested fruits stuffed inside the turkey to keep it moist, so I used apples, pears, grapes, cranberries, walnuts, and alittle olive oil. I woke up at 7am got ready and started on the bird coating him with all the goodies and stuffing him. About an hour after the turkey went in my niece, Taylor, and I did the ham and put that in the oven also. Shauna's dad, Bob, came over around 1030 and the Pikes around 11ish. We watched football, ate veggies and salsa which was way hot, drank alittle beer, and just hung out as a family.....dinner was served at about 130 as we started to watch the Cowboy vs. Dolphin game which we won by the way woohoo. The entire food menu looked delicious and was all so mouth watering; the turkey was juicy and moist the ham sweet, mac & cheese- extra cheesy, potatoes just right, stuffing awesome as always, and green bean casserole yummy as well. Of coarse we all ate to much and put ourselves in a food coma lol Everyone relaxed on the couch, watched more football, had dessert of coarse pumpkin pie with whipped cream, and even debated going out shopping at midnight for black Friday sales. Thanksgiving was definitely different because mom "Lorrie" wasn't there but all in all we still had a really great time and enjoyed all the yummy food. I do have to say that even thought the turkey was amazing, i think the most favorite dish of the day had to have been my homemade mac & cheese, I copied it from someones blog and I am going to post the recipe on my next post so anyone else can try it if they want :o) HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!! I hope you all had a great one ♥









Over the weekend we did Christmas light outside and I took a picture of our tree with all our gifts under it, there are a few missing but we are all done Christmas shopping now just waiting for it all to come in the mail ;o) Yay!!! December is right around the corner!!!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas....

Yay!!!! I'm so excited for Christmas not so much for the gifts but for just all the beautiful peaceful lights, Christmas trees, and just the joy of the Christmas spirit, we usually don't decorate at all til the day after Thanksgiving, but it was killing me not to decorate. I made Shauna get the boxes down for me and off I went. Ethan loved seeing all the Christmas decorations, he helped me soooo much in decorating the tree. This was the 1st year that he actually helped me with more than just 1 ornament. :o) I love how it looks, I moved the tree to a different location this year and I think its going to be there for Christmas's to come. I cant wait to take Ethan's Christmas pictures in front of it as well as our family pictures. We are waiting til this weekend to do the outside lights and since my shoulder is still in so much pain we might not get as much up this year as I'd like :( but oh well it will be ok anything even if its only a little will be greatly appreciated by my little man. We plan to take him down the hill again to see all the Christmas lights but that wont be til around the 2nd week of December right before his birthday. The countdown begins to Christmas and I cant wait!!!!
♫ ♫Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way!♫ ♫

What are you thankful for??

I ask myself this question all the time but seeing how its November and we celebrate Thanksgiving, I begin to think about it even more. I wanted to do a post expressing all the different things I'm thankful for and rather than doing different post for every couple of days this month of what I'm thankful for, I decided to do it in one post and just kind of go with the flow with my top 15 things Im thankful for. :o) Thanksgiving is a time for families to cherish the memories we create and to understand the importance of our loved ones around us. So here goes.......
I AM THANKFUL FOR.......

1. My pride and joy, my everything, my Bubba-Loo. He stole my heart from day one and because of him I have learned many things about myself that I probably would have never figured out. He keeps me strong during tough times, sane when I feel like I'm going to loose it, and happy when I'm feeling sad. He loves to make mommy laugh and will cuddle with me the second I ask without asking questions. He knows how to melt my heart and for sure has me wrapped around his little finger to get whatever his little heart desires lol There is not a moment that goes by that I don't think about my little man. I LOVE YOU ETHAN GLENN!!

2. My wonderful, understanding, and remarkable wife! She is my strength, she will support me thru any decision I have in life even if at that time it doesn't make sense. She has shown me the true meaning of love and the way someone is meant to be loved. We have had our many hurdles and I don't regret any of them I know that without those hard times we would not appreciate the good times we have now. She definitely lets me get what I want when I want and tries to say no but that doesn't work lol I remember the very 1st time we kissed and how, the 1st date we went on, the 1st night in our apartment together, the entire night she was by my side when the boys were going to be born. Shes my rock allowing me to cry when needed, laugh as much as possible and love all the time. I LOVE YOU SHAUNA LYNN!!

3. My amazing, respectful, and consoling parent-in-laws. They are the true meaning of parents, they allow me to turn to them when I need advice or someone to talk to. They are definitely with out a doubt my second parents for sure. My mother-in-law is there when I need a shoulder to cry on, and can always tell when someones wrong with me, call it motherly instinct I guess :) and my father-in-law has the best relationship with Ethan and loves him with all his heart. The love they have for Ethan makes my heart warm inside and I know he will always be loved. They have been there for me and my family when no one else has and have supported us in our life long journey. There is not another two people I would want more to be my mother-in-law and father-in-law besides them. I LOVE YOU BOB & LORRIE!!

4. My caring, giving, and loving sister/brother-in-law. They are the two most giving and caring people I have ever met in the entire world. They do so much for myself, my wife, and bubba. They are the people we trust with every being in our body to take over the roll of raising Ethan if there is a tragedy where we are no longer here. I trust them with my life. My sister-in-law has been there when I needed to talk, helps give mommy advice when needed, and just know what to say and when. My brother-in-law gives the BEST hug I have ever had and he always knows when I need one. He has a heart the size of the world and wants to make sure everyone is taken care of. I appreciate them with everything in my body and would never ever want them out of my life. I LOVE YOU MIKE & ANGELA!!

5. My vibrant, energetic, and devoted niece. She has been in my life since she was 4 and I have seen her grow up thru playing with dolls, loving Miley Cyrus, to now loving LMFAO and cell phones lol gotta loves pre-teens. She has such a big heart and has done things for people that she didn't even know like charities, and wants to go on a walk for a cause. She always always always knows how to make me laugh and when I see her, bubba, and Shauna together playing and laughing about their number one favorite thing(they know what I mean) it just makes me smile inside. She is going to grow up to become a wonderful woman and be very smart and driven in whatever her goals are. I LOVE YOU TAYLOR RAE!!

6. My country, corn-feed, gamer brother. He is my everything and even though we live so far away from each other we make it a point to talk every couple of days even if its just for 5 min and not really about much. I miss him so much and wish that we could see each other much more. Him and his wife, Stephanie, gave me a beautiful niece and handsome nephew that I wish knew me more than they do. He is the 1st person I tell stuff to besides my wife and I love him more than words can express. He loves to ignore me when hes playing his games or watching movies so we have learned that we talk during our way home from work lol it works perfectly. I miss you so much brother. I LOVE YOU CURTIS MATTHEW!!

7. My crazy, sometimes ghetto, yet lovable sister. She wasn't always close to me and there was a time that I didn't really care what she was doing in life, but I can say that we both have come a very long way in our relationship. She is the ONLY person on my side of the family that has made it to every one of Ethan's birthday parties and even though Ethan is young and some people will say he wont remember, I know I will and I appreciate it more than words can even express. I wish we lived closer and could see each other more often but I know that wont happen so I just hold dear the visits we do get to have. Yes shes crazy and yes sometimes ghetto lol wearing pajamas to Olive Garden lol but I still love her with all my heart. I LOVE YOU COURTNEY RENAY!!

8. My loving, dis function, co dependant family and no I don't mean any of that in the wrong way. We are the way we are and because of the trials and struggles we have been thru as a family they are all very codependent upon each other which sometimes is ok. My mom is always there for me as soon as I have a medical question as if she is a doctor, hell 4 kids later I think she knows he stuff lol She will answer me even if its a 3am in the morning, calm me down, and give me great advice. My grandma is very near and dear to my heart. She has been there for me when I needed her and listens when I need her to. Ethan has grown close to her and I love that. My other sister has her flaws and I know its because she is a teenager I know she will grow out of it and even though I don't agree with how she is now, I still love her. I LOVE YOU MOM, GRANDMA, AND CHLOE!!


9. My hairy, cuddly, and loyal fur babies. They always know how to cheer me up when I'm down, they cuddle me when I'm cold lol and love to make me laugh. They are like my other children and without them my family would not be whole. I LOVE YOU STAR & ABBY!!


10. My sometimes undependable, sometimes confusing, yet stable health. I have been broken at times but I always try to tell myself at least I am able to function and that I am alive. I could be much worse and I don't need help from anyone to be healthy so I am very very thankful for my health!!

11. My extended family. I may not talk to them all the time but I am very grateful they are doing well and are thriving. My uncle Nicky and family are the best est, however need to come see me when they drive thru ;o) lol but they are awesome. I talk with my dad on occasion and with the Kelly family twice a year for the holidays, it may not seem like much but I know they love me and they know I love them. That's all that matters!!



12. My assets in life. I'm not materialistic in any way shape of form and I know that everything I have now could be gone in an instant, therefore any movie we get to go watch or lunch/dinner date we have, the electronics and everything I buy in life is not a guarantee and I am indeed thankful for it!!

13. My sanity because without it I would be lost. At times I think that I might loose it lol but without alittle bit of unsurity it wouldn't be called LIFE!!

14. A little piece of heaven I like to call STARBUCKS! yes I am thankful for Starbucks lol I love their coffee and even if I'm having a bad day it will brighten up my spirits :o).....great now I want some Starbucks lol

15. MY LIFE!!!! Without all of the above things and all the wonderful things I have in my life I would not be who I am today and thrive the way I do. I love everyone in my life and all the chaotic things that may arise during it. I appreciate all the bad because I know once there is bad there will always been good. I know God has a plan for me and has put me thru the trial and tribulations that he has set forth in my life. I am looking forward to MANY MANY MANY MANY MORE Thanksgiving with all the great things that I am thankful for!!!


Happy pre-Thanksgiving all.....Ill be back to post again after Thanksgiving. ♥

♥ World Prematurity Day ♥

World Prematurity Day

Honor the million babies worldwide who died this year because they were born too soon, and the 12 million more who struggle to survive. November 17 is World Prematurity Day and when we focus everyone’s attention on the serious problem of premature birth.

“Like” World Prematurity Day on Facebook. Read stories from around the world and share your own. Help spread the word by updating your Facebook status with a message on premature birth. Together we can raise awareness of this serious problem and help more babies start healthy lives.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/mission/prematurity_wpd.html

Show your support by wearing purple on November 17th! I will post pics of myself in purple and will try and find Ethan something in purple ;o)




My precious boys born 12/19/07- ♥ Evan- sleeping peaceful @ 1 lb 11 oz 12 1/2 inches ♥ Ethan- @ 1 lb 15 oz 13 1/2 inches ♥ I love my preemies!!!

Wearing purple to honor the precious preemies-



♥Tonight,the Empire State Building will be glowing purple and white in honor of March of Dimes and World Prematurity Day. You can learn more about March of Dimes and show your support at http://www.facebook.com/​marchofdimes ♥