I'm Blessed

One of the biggest blessings in my life has been my mom. She has always been there for me when I needed her, both with little things and big things.

Yesterday she helped me out again. At 7:30 pm, the power went out. It was getting close to the kiddos' bedtimes but they were obviously unsettled. So even though we had just had a slumber party over there the night before, I called my mom and she graciously let us come over. I didn't even have to ask - just told her my power had gone out and she invited us over. I love the fact that she lives right down the road! I wish everyone had a mother as great as mine.

And on another note, I'm glad we have power. We only lost it for a few hours. Nothing like people on the east coast who lost it for days, or worse yet, those who don't have the luxury at all.

Check out other stories of God's blessings over at He Sows and She Sews.

Party Time

My mom, sisters and I decided it would be fun to let the cousins have a slumber party sometime. Yesterday we had that chance.

We had lots of fun! First we played with play doh.

Then the kids made quite a mess with some blocks.

Next we baked some chocolate chip cookies and everyone helped.

We played a little bit of "Just Dance"

...and then charades - it was C's first time playing and he did very well.

Finally we settled in with a movie.

Everyone had a great time!

Uh oh

So today when I was in the shower, J was playing with his bear...so I thought. Well he decided the bear was dirty so he grabbed his roll on soap. His red soap. On a white bear.

Bear got a bath...

Lunch with Friends

Today I went out for lunch with a few coworkers plus a former coworker. We went to a place I had never tried before called Los Dos Molinos. It's always on the top Mexican food lists in the region but I hadn't made it there before today. Don't get me wrong - I'm not a foodie but typically if there is a Mexican food restaurant that is cheap and close to home or work, I'll find it. The food was awesome! Very spicy, just the way I like it. I would definitely go back. Plus it was nice to meet up with a former coworker and chat about old times.it's good to move forward but nice to remember where you've been.

Should I?

So November is apparently NaBloPoMo aka National Blog Posting Month. I wasn't familiar with it before last week until someone mentioned it in one of my groups on Ravelry. Participants are supposed to blog every day for a whole month. I'm contemplating joining but I'm not sure I have enough to say.

WIP Wednesday

Unfortunately the two WIPs I keep mentioning are still under construction. Frankly I'm a little sick of working on them. But I'm at least making progress!

First up is the monster. I've finished with the plain rounds (that got tedious). Now I'm onto the decreases, so at least it's gotten more interesting. I'm hoping to crank out the body by the end of the weekend.

Project two is the blanket. By my calculations I'm 65% of the way done. I've been trying to get a least one row done ever night so I can move onto the second blanket I need to work on.

Taco Soup

I'm a little late in writing this but we actually did try a new dinner idea in October so I can cross another thing off my resolutions list.

On Sunday I made crockpot taco soup. The recipe is super simple. It's basically dump in cans and turn on the crockpot all day. The only extra step is browning the beef ahead of time if you want it (we did). I didn't get any pics of the dish though.

Ingredients:
2 cans of corn
2 cans of pinto beans
2 cans of kidney beans
1 can of tomatoes with chiles
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 lb seasoned ground beef
Toppings

Directions:
Brown the beef and drain the grease. Season with whatever spices you usually use for taco meat. Add this to the bottom of the crockpot. Drain and rinse the beans then add to the pot. Add the corn and tomatoes (don't drain the liquid for these) and the dressing. Simmer on low for 8 hours. Add toppings after it is dished.

Notes:
I think the original recipe was looking for a six quart pot and mine's only four so it was a little too full - I had to take a couple spoonfuls out. Next time I will cut back accordingly.
E was the only one who ate it. C (unsurprisingly) and J (surprisingly) wouldn't eat it. I'm unsure of my vote as I didn't eat it (I had a bit of an upset stomach so I ate crackers instead). E and I both thought it would be better without kidney beans so we will probably try that next time (it will help with the space issue too!). I think we will end up trying this again at some point.


ETA: I just noticed this is my 100th post! Yay!