Puzzle time

Allyson and I had a great time playing in the playroom today with puzzles! I just love to see her little mind at work!

Oreo Madness

Another great dinner at Firehouse Subs tonight! So this will make 3 Sundays in a row we have ate here...we just love it! And Ally loves the Oreos that come with the meal! :)

Glee in 3D!!

Today after Church, Nanny and Aunt Alisha took Jase to see Glee in 3D at the movies! They thought since he loves to dance and sing so much that he would enjoy the movie.  I can't wait to hear all about it! :)



Outdoor Fun!!

After the basketball game yesterday we went to Grady's (Jase's friend) birthday party.  They rented an inflatable water slide that the kids loved oh so much.  I will say that the inflatables do make me nervous because someone usually gets hurt on them, that's why we've yet to rent one, but the kids sure do have a fun time on them (when no one's crying!).

Jase had a blast on the slide and Allyson enjoyed playing in the little pool and the yard gym area.  What a great time!

Finishing up Basketball

Yesterday was Jase's last basketball game for this season and what a great game it was.  The kids were finally starting to figure out what was going on.  As for Jase he got another basket and 2 assists!  He played for the Mavericks again, so he probably played more with the other team than he did with his all season.

Jase became quite the defender this season.  If the person he was guarding had the ball, he did not miss an opportunity to play defense.  Even so much so we would be cheering him to let his opponent shoot, especially since they were usually Rocket players!

After the game both teams had little mini parties on the side lines.  Jase was eating his Rockets cupcake when a mom from the Mavericks team came and invited Jase over to their party...it was very nice.  Now the Mavericks know how to throw a party...pizza, capri suns, cookie cake!! Yum Yum!! Ally enjoyed it too!! What a great morning and a fun way to end the season for the kids!

Jase had quite the crowd for this game too! We are definitely blessed by family who came to support Jase week in and week out!  And if I'm being honest, some of the games (especially the ones in the beginning) were hard to sit through.  What troopers!

Mini Meatloaf Recipe & Making Friends

Despite it being over 100 degrees outside we still have to eat, so that means that I have to cook occasionally! If I am being completely honest, since being home from Chicago/Livingston I have probably cooked 3 home cooked meals...that's in a week in a half...terrible.  We've ate at home plenty since returning, but we've had sandwiches or leftovers.  And we've ate out quite a bit too, especially on the weekends.  While Shawn enjoys a home cooked meal, he does not mind eating sandwiches either...thank you my love!

Anyway, I found a mini meatloaf recipe that I have been wanting to try, so tonight was the night! I love meatloaf, but have never made it.  I guess I never had a recipe for it and I am a recipe type of gal...I like to follow the steps and make sure everything is exact.  Hopefully as I get older I can "add a little of this or a little of that" and feel comfortable, but for now I love my recipes!  Here is the recipe I found and was originally attracted to it since the baking time was only 45 minutes: http://myblessedlife.net/2011/08/mini-meatloaf-recipe.html. I tried to make it healthier with the ingredients I had on-hand. I used 93/7 lean ground beef, whole wheat Panko bread crumbs, fat free milk, and reduced fat Monterrey Jack cheese.  I also used 1 1/2 lbs of meat, so mine made 12 mini meatloaves instead of 10 like she mentions.  They were delicious and will definitely be adding this to the recipe book to make again.

After dinner we went for a walk around the neigborhood and there was a young boy Jase's age across the street.  He is the grandson of our neighbor and Jase was so excited to play with him...almost giddy, it was cute.  We live in an older neighborhood, so there are not too many, if any younger children on our street. His new friend jumped on his bike and joined us the second time around the block.  After that he and his cousin came over to our backyard for 30 minutes to play on our swingset and Jase loved it. 

 

Riding bikes with his new friend!

 

Mommy pushing Allyson on her bike!



Dinner & Dessert with Nanny

Tuesday night Daddy went fishing, so me and the kiddos met up with Nanny for dinner.  We went to Mamma Mia's, a small Italian restaurant and it was pretty tasty.  The bread they serve is delish and a meal could be made solely out of it alone.  It was my first time there and I am a fan based on the taste and the price!

After dinner we took the kids to McDonald's to play and have dessert...they loved it! It was so funny, it took Jase probably 15 minutes to get the courage to go inside the play area.  I'm not quite sure what he was scared of, but he would walk up and 5 seconds later there he was coming back down.  He does the same thing at Chick-fil-a...it takes him a few minutes to people watch and check everything out before jumping right in.

We had a great evening and the kids enjoyed their time with Nanny.  And don't worry, we brought Daddy dinner home...he enjoyed it as well!