random thoughts and happenings

So, it's been a little while since I have written. I blame this on 3 things. First, my #1 fan, my husband, usually gets on to me when it's been too long and begs me to blog. He's been busy and hasn't been begging. Second, all of us have been busy and I'm quite tired during nap/rest time or late at night! Third, I actually haven't picked up my camera in 2 weeks, since I took some shots of my friend Jennifer's sweet new baby and sometimes feel that blogging without a pic (potentially like this post) isn't as much fun, so I haven't been super inspired. There you have it. But today, I felt inspired by random thoughts and so I'm back at it!

I think we've been needing some sunshine and warmer weather (yes, I did just write that---though I still am a lover of rain and cold temps)! My friend Rebecca declared the other night at our bible study that all of us are in need of Vitamin D!! I bought into it right away, though I haven't purchased it yet. Since then, every blind has been open in the house and today, our first warm and sunny day in a long time, I took the boys outside and we soaked up some sun!!

While out there, I took down our Christmas lights. Yes, it's February 19th, and they've officially come down! We've had many people at our house between Christmas and now and not one friend has harassed us for still having them up! Thank you friends AND parents for keeping your thoughts to yourself, and if you were too embarassed to come back until they were down, feel free to head back on over!!

I blame (I'm doing that a lot in this post) us not having our lights down on the cold temps, rain, snow and/or ice we've had so much of lately. Of course, we aren't the only house in Memphis that has had this weather. I have no idea how other people took their lights down already! Ummm, Kelly, is your Christmas wreath down yet?? But this snow and ice makes me think of the Olympics, of which I have been watching LOTS! Once again, I must say, the DVR has revolutionzed my life! I can record the 4 hours+ of Olympics each night and by the time I sit down to catch up, I can fast forward to what I'm interested in and not spend anywhere near 4 hours watching! It's AWESOME!! Except for last night, when my DVR stopped recording right before I found out who won the Gold medal in men's figure skating. That was not cool. But, it turns out our USA guy won and I was thrilled!!!

I've saved some of my recordings to show Luke. He loved watching Shaun White on the half-pipe and thinks snowboarding is really cool. However, he still thinks ice skating is cooler, and his daddy is not too happy about this! As some of you know, Lukey had surgery to remove his adenoids yesterday. He was a champ! A star patient and all went well! The dr. also make incisions in his ears to remove the sticky, gunky fluid that has been in his ears for several months now. With that gone, hopefully Lukey will be hearing and feeling better soon!  You should have seen him in his scrubs---so cute! But what was even cuter was Lukey's lovie, Bun-Bun, who was also decked out in scrubs! The people at Le Bonheur are awesome!! They love children and it shows!

Okay, so there's a little bit of the random happenings going on at our house. Hope you are all enjoying some warmth and if not, go get your Vitamin D!!

our Southern winter wonderland!

It's Monday again, and though usually we are sad because Daddy heads back to work, today we woke up to a totally unpredicted winter wonderland and once again, I'm a giddy little school girl!! I don't think I would normally like being awakened to my husband demanding me to "Open your eyes!!" and then opening the blinds, but as soon as the cobwebs cleared from my head, I knew it must mean snow!!! Sure enough, we have around 4 inches of snow on the ground! Big time for the little Southerners that we are! Before Chad left for work, we bundled up the kiddos (Luke is sick with a terrible cough and fever, but we still had to let him play--come on, who am I to deny him fun in the white stuff?) and headed out. I never buy snow gear, because I figure if I do, that will ensure we won't get snow. So, you will see sweet Charlie below, in mismatched mittens that are Luke's from a couple of years ago, both boys in their regular shoes and socks, which were quickly soaking wet, and random scarves on my boys that we scrounge up when a winter wonderland heads our way! Not matching and a little cold---but LOTS of fun was had!

A little unsure at first--due to the snow coming up to his knees!!!

Change of tune--loving this stuff!!

All decked out for the snow!

Hooray! This is much better than the ice--even if I am a little sick!

My big snow bunny!

Our snowman of the year--before Mocha knocked him down to eat his eyes and nose!

Beef Burgundy (new recipe Monday, on Tuesday)

So, it's only my third week at the new recipe Mondays and I already missed posting a new recipe! No real excuses, other than I got home late from Bible Study last night, talked with my hubby for an hour and watched 24, which had to be done!

Don't worry though (as I'm sure you were disappointed) I did try a new recipe and here it is!

Beef Burgundy--Key Ingredients (LeBonheur Club cookbook)

2lbs boneless beef sirloin (I used 1lb) **it doesn't say to cube it, but every other recipe did, so I did
1/4 cup all purpose flour
6 T. margarine
1 onion sliced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 carrots, chopped (I omitted because my husband isn't a fan of cooked carrots)
1 can beef consomme
1 cup red wine
1 (7oz) can mushrooms, drained
salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste

Dredge beef in flour. Melt margarine in a skillet. Add beef to skillet and brown. Transfer beef to a 3 quart saucepan, reserving drippings in skillet. Add onions to skillet and saute. Add skillet contents to beef. Mix celery, carrots, consomme, wine and mushrooms into saucepan. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Simmer at least 2 hours. Serve over noodles or mashed potatoes. **I actually did neither and instead served the dish with sourdough bread. Yummy for dipping in the sauce!

A couple of notes. The next time I make this, it might be for friends--for a fancier dinner. It made enough to serve 4 adults and it's a nicer meal. Also, it was fairly easy to make. I really enjoyed it, however, my hubby never commented on it, which is unlike him. He might not have been a big fan. We'll see if he comments. The boys both ate it. I asked Luke on a scale of 1 to 3 with 1 being not great, 2 being good and 3 being delicious----and he gave it a 2. So, there you go! All of my boys loved the sourdough bread!