Chicken Jackpot Recipe

I'm a leftovers eater...not everyone is but here's a recipe that you really can use several times and it is delicious!

Kristin introduced me to the web site, Skinny Taste, and recommended the Santa Fe Chicken in a Crock Pot. YUM! I'm not on Weight Watchers but if you follow points, this site is especially good because it tallies up values for each meal.

Here's the recipe: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/02/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts.html

The first night I served the chicken over brown rice with Mexican blend cheese. The next night I made quesadillas with it and the following day for lunch, I made nachos. AND I still had some chicken leftover to freeze. See why I called this the jackpot recipe??!

Oh, I promised Kristin I would share how I made the nachos:
Topped tortilla chips with Santa Fe Chicken, Mexican cheese, green salsa, campari tomatoes, and avocado. Yum!

Go see Christmas Lights!!!

We took both boys to look for Christmas lights Sunday night.

Our first stop was Hope Ferry Road in Lexington. Obviously this area was a USC stronghold!

Levi asked me to take a picture of the cross. There were several.

This picture really gives you a feel for how many pieces there were in this display!

Check out all those wooden cutouts! Someone has really spent a lot of time over the year making their house a special place at Christmas!!

Our other stop was on Cromer Road in West Columbia. This is near where we used to live.  In this small neighborhood, EVERYONE decorates. It's a winter wonderland!!

Levi loved it (even if he doesn't show it here). Mason was also a good sport and stayed up later than usual, thanks to a longer afternoon nap.

8 month-old Mason!

Seriously, where did this month go? And how did Mason already hit the 8 month mark?!

Here he is, in all his glory, enjoying the Cozy Coupe at Grandma and Da's (Levi said this is an orange Mustang). This past month has been mostly consumed with Mason having ear infections. The first round of antibiotics didn't work so he's on another round. The crazy thing is he really doesn't act sick. He's just a tough boy! Crawling a lot, can say "Mama" and "I" (his name for Levi). Yesterday Levi and I discovered he can say "BahBah" in response to us singing BaBa Black Sheep.

The brothers. You can tell Mason is really admiring the police car (being stored at Grandma's while we build the new house).

I love it!

We were at Ashley's parents for two mornings this past weekend while Ashley processed a deer. Note the industrial meat grinder (thanks, Kleck, for buying this!).

More brothers...Mason tends to breathe through his mouth a lot, hence the tongue sticking out almost all the time.

This is Mason's silly face. He cracks me up with this.

Playing on the car garage.

Worn out

The title of this post could describe how I felt at the end of the day yesterday (the boys both have snotty, yucky colds again. And of course, they finished their antibiotics from the last round of ear infections on Sunday)--but it also describes the state of my jeans.

I can't remember wearing out a pair of jeans since I was maybe 8 years old. When I was younger, I wore out my jeans from crawling around on the floor with Joshua, playing hard all day long. Now at 31, I have worn out my jeans for the same reason, only this time, it's because I've been playing hard with my boys. I bought these jeans the winter after Levi was born and they survived being worn the majority of the cold days (except last winter when I was wearing maternity jeans). So I'd say the $30 I spent at Target was worth it!

And I'll admit, it was pretty satisfying to look down at my knee and see that rip. Being a stay-at-home mama is hard work--now I have the jeans to prove it. :o)

 

But being a stay-at-home mama is rewarding, too. Case in point, Levi wanting to hold Mason and Mason obliging for a few seconds until he decides to wiggle away. 

Six years ago today...

 Six years ago today I said "I do" to Ashley, the guy I met on match.com . It still surprises folks that that's how we actually met. But it's true. And we couldn't have found a better match in each other.  I had to get out some CDs of photos that friends took to find wedding pictures (we didn't have an official photographer and relied on friends and family instead). Getting married in December was a whirlwind of an adventure (we got engaged in September of that year)--I guess that set the tone for the rest of our relationship! Here's to many, many more years together.

 With my bridesmaids, L-R: Sally Clendon, Amanda German, Witney Fisher and Heather Tedder.

 The entire wedding party.

 How young we look!

 I wish I could rotate this one...but it was a highlight to have Weston play his guitar at the reception. He actually serenaded us in his 3 yr old way when we got engaged. Still a sweet boy.

 The Black Bottom Biscuits played at our reception (in the shelter Ashley's parents built). It was an awesome party!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

This past weekend we went to NC for my family's Thanksgiving. Mama has hosted this meal for over 30 years. It has grown from just she and Papa and their parents to my uncles and their families, plus some of Papa's family and a few friends. It's quite the undertaking and Mama spends a lot of time getting ready for it. She concentrates on the food (making over 15 items) while Papa works hard to make sure their property looks its best. All this is to say, they have done a great job entertaining our family all these years--even though it's wearing them out. Here they are with Mason, who is sporting his Gobble Gobble shirt and funny face.

Saturday after Thanksgiving we drove up to Boone and endured temps in the 20s to pick out Mama and Papa's Christmas tree. I hope this can be a tradition so my boys will have the experience of choosing a real tree (we have an artificial one--but I'm considering getting a real tree for our front porch next year).  Here is Mama in her super warm coat and the tree measuring pole. The tree she and Levi chose was around 9 feet.

Mason and I stayed in the car for a little bit and then headed up.

Sweet boy bundled up.

And my big sweet boy, also bundled up (and sunglasses on).

Mason touching his first Christmas tree!

The family.

Papa took this picture...when I looked at it afterward I realized our heads are almost chopped off and so is the tree. Oh well--he does a great job taking pictures usually so I'll let him off the hook!

Tree cut, heading down the hill.

Loaded in the back of the truck. Ashley sold Papa his old truck last year. It's neat to see it in use (and a lot of the time, we wish we still had that Z71 instead of the new one!).

Back in South Carolina....last night after I put Mason down for bed, I loaded Levi up and we drove around to look at Christmas lights (Ashley has a bad cold and needed to rest). We found this really great house. It's so nice when folks really put a lot of effort into their Christmas display. For kids, the busier and brighter, the better!

And we don't have our Christmas decorations up yet except for this blow-up penguin that I bought last year on sale. Levi LOVES it and calls it the Snowman! This afternoon he went out and plugged it up himself. This is probably one of the best pictures I've taken of Levi in a long time--pure happiness!

Yay for the holidays!

Adventures around town

This past Sunday morning Ashley suggested we check out the Lexington County Museum to get ideas for our house. So while other families were in church, our's was walking around this really amazing piece of property in the heart of Lexington. I shared more images on That New House if you're interested. Here is Levi, checking out the Potato House--sized perfectly for a 2 year-old!

Ashley and his boys.

Mason had a big time in the stroller (and later crawling on the porch).

Beautiful fall color.

I love this picture of Levi gazing over the white picket fence. Of course, I was trying to get him to come but he wasn't. I'm trying to encourage him to to listen better (and respond positively). Ah toddlerhood!

Every year Ashley's parents like to take a family picture to send out with the company Christmas letter. This year we thought it would be most fitting to have just Robert and Debbie with their five grands. Robert pulled his truck around back and everyone loaded up. Carey and I took a ton of pictures--and I think most probably turned out like this one!

But this one looks really nice. What a great group!

We tried to get a few of Levi and Mason.

Ashley was hunkered down in the passenger seat, trying to hold Mason in place. But both boys are wiggly worms when it comes time for pictures!

Mallory needed her time with Mason--the M Cousins.

Levi is wearing John Deere overalls that were Ryan's. Love them!

7 month-old Mason!

So there's a lot to report about 7 month-old Mason. He's fully sitting up. He has 2 front teeth. He eats a lot. He continues to sleep well at night but has a sporadic nap schedule (working on that). And thanks to his newly acquired skill, crawling, he's about to be into everything. From the very beginning, Mason has been a mover. When he spent his first night in his crib (a few days old), he scared me because he moved and lodged himself the bumper. He's STRONG and if he has his mind on something, he's reaching for it. Case in point, the "Today I Am" sign.

Everything goes in his mouth. Everything. You have to watch him!

We went to the Zoo this morning with my friend Elizabeth.

This is the first picture of the boys at the elephant statue. I foresee many future photos here.

This post is about Mason...but I couldn't resist sharing this tidbit about the giraffe platform. Chrissy, the giraffe on the left, was very interested in Levi. So much so that she tried to nibble his hat! I spent $2 on the giraffe lettuce to feed her after that!

Mason and Elizabeth. She has been such a good friend and loves my boys.

Ah, Mason!

The day was ending and we tried a picture in the tub. Levi got tickled trying to hold the sign.

Mason wanted it.

And he got it. Yum.