Did You Hear the Whoosh? It Was Time Flying By

 It has been a crazy month for us, and 11 days since my last blog. Nick had his tooth surgery done that Monday and we were able to talk the surgeon into taking out his broken tooth while he was asleep. The procedure went well but he had to have some of his jaw bone drilled away to get all roots out. They told him the pain would not get better for a couple of weeks....needless to say they were right! It has been almost 9 days now and I think it is just now getting better for him. He is still on prescription pain meds but is able to let more time go between pills.

Brad had a great time spending a few days with his grandparents and cousin but was a little devil the first couple of days back home. We always have to "reprogram" him back to a normal schedule in real life.

Our huge tree in the front has covered our lawn in leaves and Brad has a blast running thru them and playing outside....

I tried a new "recipe" I am very proud of--I made butter! No I did not churn it, I used my food processor! It is so delicious I just want to eat it with a spoon. I have been rationing it just because I do not want it to run out!

I have been getting a ton of orders from friends and coworkers for headwarmers and hats. Here is the latest order I finished for a friend....

Well this is the big week! Thanksgiving is only 2 days away. I am cooking my big dinner tomorrow b/c I am on call from Wednesday night until Sunday morning--yes for a total of 82 HOURS. My dad, his girlfriend, and Nick's best friend are coming to eat with us. On Thursday we will go eat at my mom's then try to visit Nick's parents in the evening if I don't get called in.

Here are the latest things of my daily thanksgiving....

11.-i am thankful for all of those who have served for our country!

12. thank you to my MIL for staying with nick while i was at work today (and for watching Brad for a few days) and thank you to my boss for being understanding

13. **missed a day**

14.i am thankful for a husband that appreciates and loves me unconditionally

15.i am thankful for the mornings i get to share coffee and chit chat with my mother  

16. i am thankful i have the knowledge AND desire to cook for my family

17. i am thankful that i learned how to coupon almost 2 years ago and have saved sooo much money doing it! heading out now for a ton of great deals

18. i am thankful that my grandma has been able to know her only great grandson, Brad

19.i am thankful for the quiet alone time that Nick and I get after Brad goes to bed

20.i am thankful that i {usually} have the strength to deal with difficult issues, and that I know it's something I am still working on  

I went to a Newsboys concert at a church in OKC last Thursday with my dad, his girlfriend, my brother and his wife. We all had a great time and the music was amazing! There was a total of 4 bands that played--Grace Campbell, Luminate, Building 429, and Newsboys. They are all Christian bands and have songs on the Christian alternative radio station that I love to listen to. I wish I could post pictures but I did not bring my camera.

I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed recently just because these last couple months are flying by so quickly. I am cooking the whole dinner tomorrow and still don't have all of the ingredients I need...I have TWO craft shows in two weeks and I really need to work on my inventory for them...we still have things we need to do to the house before we list it for sale in January...I still have some planning I need to do for our big anniversary party...Christmas is only a month away!! Eeek. I just have to tell myself to take it one day at a time and everything will be ok!

Week of Updates

This has been an interesting week for us. Nick was playing with Brad last weekend while I was at work and in a freak accident one of Nick's back molars was broken by a toy...thankfully he wasn't hurting too bad so we were able to hold out until Monday to see a dentist. They did an exam and xrays (it had been awhile since his last checkup) and the doc said he needed two fillings, and had a wisdom tooth that was dead from a filling that was done wrong. He wanted to put a crown on the wisdom teeth and the broken tooth but with our lack of insurance that would have cost around $6000! Ha, we said thanks but no thanks, just pull the suckers out. That (plus the two fillings) brought our cost down to just over $500. They scheduled all of this to go down on Wednesday.

Nick went in Wednesday by himself while I stayed home with Brad. 3 hours later the office called and asked what pharmacy we use so they could call in 4 prescriptions....seemed like a lot but they said he did fine and was on his way home. However, Nick told a different story when he got home! They did the two filling fine but when the doc started to pull the wisdom tooth it broke at the gum line. Evidently the roots on it were twisted in different directions instead of straight so he dug for 3 hours trying to get all of the roots out so they wouldn't infect the jaw. The dentist also told him his has torus which is basically a thickening of the bone. In the end he was not able to get all of the roots out, hadn't even touched the broken tooth, and Nick had been tortured enough! They stopped and scheduled him to have the roots surgically removed Monday morning after a weekend of healing and antibiotics. They won't be able to touch the broken tooth for over a month when he is well enough.

My boss was kind enough to let me off of work on Thursday so that I could stay home with him and try to help keep his pain controlled. It's been rough so far for him but he is trying to keep his spirits up. The pain meds aren't helping very much so we are definitely going to ask for different ones on Monday.

In the midst of all of this I spent all of Friday and today helping my mom with her garage sale! My brother and sis-in-law were also there and we moved a lot of merchandise. The weather was nice but very windy!

I have to work Monday and Tuesday so Brad is going to stay a few nights with Nick's parents to let him rest while I am gone. On Thursday my dad, his gf, my brother and his wife are all going with me to a Christian concert of Newsboys. The week after that is Thanksgiving!!

Speaking of Thanksgiving, let me catch you up on my daily thanks for the month:

4.-i am thankful today for having a nice house in a good neighborhood where I don't have to worry about crime anymore. and yes i have worked hard for it

5. i am thankful that as i became an adult my mother Kathy turned into my best friend

6. i am thankful i have the right to vote

7. i am thankful we can afford needed medical care when it happens....

8. i am thankful to have reliable transportation, and a hubby that knows cars in and out!

9. -i am thankful for a husband who is a great father and has had the opportunity to spend Brad's first years as a stay-at-home dad.

10. -i am thankful for the close family that i have and that we all try to get together as much as our schedules allow!     

Belated Halloween Pics

 I know it's a few days late but I am finally posting our Halloween pics! My sis-in-law and our niece Zoe joined us for pizza then we hit the streets for trick or treating. There were tons of kids out and the weather was perfect! Not too cold or hot, just right to keep us comfortable with all of the walking. Brad got so much candy in his bucket that we had to make a pit stop at the house to empty it!

The kids had a great time together and we all had fun dressing up. You might enjoy my alter ego.....

I think I pull it off pretty well, no? Nick wore a Mason Verger mask (from Silence of the Lambs) that he already had--he is weird like that.

 After getting candy we went to my mom's house to say hi for a bit. She had 260 trick or treaters this year!!!!!!!! She ran out of candy and started handing out quarters, HA.

I have recently gotten several orders for the headwarmers so that has been keeping me busy! I just went and bought 6 skeins of this blue to make a bunch of OKC Thunder themed ones for people, and to take to my craft shows next month.

 I love November, the changing of the seasons, the smell of fall, and the holiday time! Our weather hasn't gotten very cold yet--really just chilly at night and still 70s-80s in the day right now. I highly doubt we will be getting much snow this winter but a girl can hope...

On Facebook I am participating in the daily November "Things I am thankful for" so whenever I post a blog I will catch you up!

1. I am thankful for a loving husband and lasting marriage 
2. i am thankful that my miracle baby is happy and healthy! 3 1/2 years old and never been sick {knock on wood}
3. I am thankful to have a stable job doing what I love

Cooking Away on a Monday

 This weekend I sat down and planned out several meals that I can cook in the next couple of weeks so that I don't get into a dinner rut! Today I made 2 meatloaves....

 Ingredients are:

1lb ground beef
1lb ground turkey
1 packet onion soup mix
1/2 c ketchup
2 eggs
1c oatmeal
salt/pepper
splash of worcestershire sauce

I also added a minced zucchini and 1c of minced carrots to be sneaky! You bake at 350 for 1hr then let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing. The flavor was great (hubby didn't like it b/c he could SEE the veggies....) topped with a little more ketchup and we have tons of leftovers. I froze one of the loaves to eat later!

It was also time for me to make a batch of the Lazzaro spaghetti sauce! It is a bit labor intensive but oh so worth it! I always make a double batch so that I have plenty of leftovers to eat and freeze. I can make so many things with it including pasta, pizza, lasagna, baked pasta, goulash...YUM.

Over the years I have added my own little twist to the traditional recipe--after frying my tomato paste I deglaze the pan with some wine, pour that into the sauce, then saute the garlic in the same skillet. It adds such a great flavor!

My one pitiful basil plant made it thru the harsh summer and drought and I have been able to enjoy fresh basil in several dishes along the way. With the cold nights we have been having I knew it was time to finish harvesting what I could from it!

I was able to cut probably 2c of basil leaves that I washed and spun dry. They sat in the fridge for a couple days but today I finally got around to making a big batch of pesto!

It may not look like much but it smelled (and tasted) delicious and it made enough for 3 big pasta dishes. I will freeze this b/c I already have some {store bought} pesto in the fridge to use up. I didn't do anything fancy with it--it is just basil, garlic, nuts, salt, parm, and olive oil.

This is just one of many things that my mumsy and I have in common--our love of cooking! We share recipes all the time, cook at each other's houses, and share leftovers. We each put our own spin on certain things and can truly appreciate how much hard work goes into cooking a homemade meal all the time--not many people do!

In my eternal quest to be frugal, I like to try making things from scratch especially if it is cost-efficient and not too hard. For example, for the last couple of months I have been making my own loaves of bread b/c I know exactly what ingredients are in it and each loaf only costs maybe a quarter. Plus it smells so good! I also make my own chicken broth and it costs nothing to make b/c it is using a chicken carcass that would normally get thrown out!

That's it for now, thanks for reading! Next post will be about our Halloween adventures!

Storybook Forest

This was 3 days ago, but better late than never right? Thursday evening me and Brad met some friends in Edmond at Lake Arcadia's Storybook Forest for a fun Halloween time! All the kids were wearing their costumes. It is a non-scary trail with scenes from fairy tales (Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, etc.) set up and people handing out candy. After the trail we went on a hayride, then roasted wieners and marshmallows and drank hot chocolate before heading home. Nick has had the flu for a week so he did not get out in the cold!

 (The little girl here is my friend's daughter Soniyah and the hat is one that I made!)

 --Lady that lives in a shoe--

 --Little piggie with a brick house--

 --Witch's house from Hansel and Gretel--

 --Peter Rabbit (Brad was scared of him)--

 --Little red riding hood (with the big bad wolf in bed)--

 Temp tattoo of a pumpkin he got on his hand.

We had a great time and he got compliments on his costume! I made the costume out of a hoodie from the thrift store, sweatpants from store, felt ears, fabric stuffed tail, and a white boa! Total cost was around $5 and he is the cutest darn skunk you have ever seen!

We can't wait for Wednesday! We will have friends over and get our annual jack-o-lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's, then all dress up and go trick-or-treating until bedtime!

Life Lately

With the colder weather comes crocheting! My favorite time of the year. I have recently gotten several orders for hats, scarves, and other such things that I enjoy making. Here are some of them....

 I am trying out some new patterns I found in preparation for my two craft shows in December (the same week!!).

One recent evening my mom and I were on my back patio when lo and behold this little creature came creeping down the stairs from my upstairs balcony...

It was quite adorable and Nick proceeded to feed it some cat food--which it loved! It was pretty cute and it must live close to or in my backyard because we have seen it several times.

The weather has been very pleasant lately and we have made an effort to get outside and enjoy it! The days are still warm in the 70s and 80s but the nights are starting to get chilly. Brad loves to get outside and ride his bike, push his mower, and go for walks! That boy is full of energy.

It just BLOWS my mind that in 10 short months my baby boy will be starting school. Our lives will be filled with PTA meetings, open house, report cards, school lunches, holiday breaks, and homework for the next 14+ years! Wow.

Halloween will be here in just a couple short weeks and I have almost all of the trimmings for Brads costume. He is going to be a simple skunk and I am going to be a punk rocker! The last few years we have had a lot of fun with our tradition of pizza and trick-or-treating.

Speaking of holidays, I am getting close to being DONE with my Christmas shopping! As always I pick up things throughout the year, and I also recently put in an order with ABC Distributing that should be coming in soon. With the addition of some homemade gifts and treats that will be all of it! It is so nice to have it done early and not have to worry about shopping in the middle of the holiday rush with all of the other wait-till-the-last-minuters. Bring it on!

Day Out With Thomas

 First let me show you my first-of-many autumn nails design:

It is metallic copper with a ling of black dots. I have several dark colors (grey, purple, navy) that I have been itching to use after summer was over. We had a cold front move in that brought our temps down to the 40s-50s so now it really feels like fall!

Yesterday afternoon we took Brad to go see the "real" Thomas the train. He loves the show and all things Thomas. I love the show because it is based on stories written by a Reverend and teaches good morals :) The tickets were on the expensive side but Brad had a good time and it was his first train ride!

 

 He was very scared of Sir Topham Hatt....

There were tons of other kids there and he had fun watching everyone and seeing a real train. Some day soon we will take him on our Amtrak for a longer ride.