Happy, Happy, Happy

This week is filled with happiness!  Tuesday was Valentines Day!  I was surprised by some lovely roses in the morning.  Mike had the kids bring them to me and it made my day :)  We got Brady and Izabell some candy of course, some fruit snacks and they also got some new underwear.  Izzy really needed some since she is fully potty trained during the day, still wearing a diaper at night but it is usually dry when she wakes up!  While looking for some for Izzy we saw some for Brady.  They are super hero ones!!!  I don't know why but they just looked more big boyish than the Thomas the Train or Diego or Cars.  It came with Batman, Superman and one other one that is slipping my mind right now but they are all green!  They also received several valentines from friends at school and daycare.  Gee-Da, (my mom) made them some soft fluffy hooded towels, got them some pez dispensers along with candy and some new slipper socks that are very cute!  Grandma Deb (Mike's mom) got them each a baseball glove and ball and Brady also got a new bat, we are signing him up for t-ball for this spring!!  He loves playing, hopefully more than soccer :)  Anyway they received a lot for Valentines Day!

Then today was Mike's birthday!!  Mike and I went out to dinner Saturday night to Red Lobster (Mike's favorite!!)  He LOVES seafood and when we got there it was packed, come to find out it was Lobster Fest so Mike was all in his glory because they had different Lobster based items on the menu.  Still he couldn't decide between the Ultimate Feast and the Lobster Bake, so he decided to go with the Lobster Bake but get a side order of Crab Legs!!!!  Then there is me who is not a seafood person so I went with the maple glazed chicken over rice with french fries and a Cesar salad.  It was really good :)  But we both ended bringing home boxes, I don't know about Mike but I was full even before I got my meal from those yummy cheddar biscuits.  My mom babysat the kids for us while we ate, it was a really nice time to spend with my hubby!  Then today on his actual birthday we didn't have any plans at all so the kids and I got up while daddy was still sleeping and made him his favorite pancakes (courtesy of his mommy).  I had a heart shape cut out so I made them into hearts and had coffee for him.  We brought it to him in bed (on Brady's tray :)), and sang Happy Birthday to him.

I swear I do Izabell's hair, this was right away this morning :)


The kids got the baby hearts, which they chowed right down

I asked Mike if he wanted to go do anything but he was happy staying at home and just spending the day with me and the kids and relaxing.  The kids and Mike did a lot of wrestling and just hanging out.  Then I also planned another one of his favorites, corn bread casserole, he also LOVES this and I think I might have made it one time before.  I also made chili, which I don't know if I've ever made before.  Then I bought some french bread at Sam's the other day and decided to cut that into slices, drizzle olive oil on it, sprinkled some oregano, and basil over it and then some shredded cheese on top and put it in the oven for like 8 minutes or until the cheese was melted.  EVERYTHING (much to my surprise) turned out really good and I think this will be an easy go to meal more often now.  I didn't get a picture of the bread but here is the chili with cheese sprinkled on top and corn bread casserole.

Then to top it off we had a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting another favorite of Mike's.  I wrote  attempted to write Happy Bithday Daddy on the cake but I have found that I'm horrible at trying to do that so anyway here is a awesome picture of the cake!

Overall it was a really good day full of relaxation, just what a birthday at our age should be, ha!  I did put candles on the cake and we sang again! 

Mike, I hope you had a good birthday.  The kids and I are so lucky to have you and I know I don't say it enough but thank you for all you do for us and all the help you give me with the kids in the mornings, it sure helps.  You are a great daddy and a great husband.  I'm so glad that we were able to spend a nice day together as a family and enjoy each other.  We don't get many of those these days with all the activities and work schedules that are going on!  WE LOVE YOU and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I hope you all have a good week and enjoy your families!

What I'm Loving!

Hello everyone, happy Monday :)

I have seen a couple people on blog spots do a "What I'm Loving" so I figured I would do one too and it helps to get through a Monday!
Brady is doing awesome at writing his letters and drawing people!  I just LOVE his belly buttons on his people and LOVE his work he is doing in his poetry folder!

This is his poetry folder - he made a letter in an envelope with a stamp and was sending it to a girl in his class in the mailbox!!!  LOVE!

This one is on his Magna Doodle (can I say I LOVE these things too!)  It was a picture of him and one of his friends at Red Robin when we went there and got balloons :)

Brady had his Valentine's Party at school today and brought all his Valentines home.  Izabell got a hold of them and was looking all through them saying "I LOVE THIS".  I can't wait for her to get hers tomorrow at their daycare party!!!

Don't mind her hair this was after a full day with daddy!
Another LOVE with Izabell is she has been pacifier free for 4 nights now!  The first two nights were really easy but the last two have been hard, she won't fall asleep for about an hour to two hours after I put her down and she asks for it but I tell her that they all went to the babies that need them because she is such a big girl now :)  So she is pacifier free and diaper free (except for at night), my baby girl is growing up!

Another thing I'm loving is my once a month get together with all my girlfriends!!  It has been so much fun.  Someone in the group thought it would be fun to do themes so last month we did jammies (which let me tell you that's my kind of theme!)  Then this month it was wear a bridesmaids dress that you wore in a wedding.  I was NOT a big fan of this one AT FIRST because let's face it, it has been about eight years since I have been in a wedding besides my own and have now had two children and just knew that I wasn't going to fit in those dresses anymore.  So called my mom and told her to look and see if I even had any over there and she said I had two.  I tried them on and MUCH to my surprise they fit!!!  Not the same that they used to by any means but hey I could get them zipped and this one I'm wearing was not uncomfortable at all.  All and all it was a fun time in our dresses!!!
Can't ever get a normal one first!!  I think it took us three times to FINALLY get a decent one!

Here we are all wearing a bridesmaids dress!  I can't wait for March's get together!!

Back to Valentine's Day, we have been doing Valentines things since Wednesday!  Brady had to have his Valentines to school by Friday of last week and to daycare by Thursday of last week.  So we went to the store Tuesday and bought out Target of all the Valentines!!  I have 56 students so I had to by a couple boxes plus some suckers to go with them :)  Then a box for Brady for school and a box for daycare and a box for Izabell for daycare.  I also did some chocolate hearts for Brady and Izzy to bring their friends at daycare.  I bought the mold from JoAnn Fabrics and used melting chocolates and chocolate chips.  The melting chocolates worked out a little bit better than chocolate chips.  I just melted the chocolate poured it in stuck them in the freezer for about 4 minutes and popped them out!  VERY EASY.  I LOVE VALENTINES DAY and LOVE to see the my kids and my students have so much fun with it too!

I think that's all for the LOVE post for this week!  HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!

In Gallagher News...

Not too much going on in the Gallagher household!  We had a pretty good weekend filled with friends, sleds, and beds!!!  On Friday night Mike and I told Brady and Izabell that they could have a pajama party!!  This involved everyone getting in their jammies and we rented a movie, blew up the air mattress, popped some popcorn and watched a Garfield movie!!  I was not feeling the best so did not get any pictures but we had a lot of fun!!  We have a queen size air mattress for when Mike's mom comes to visit so me and the kids fit perfectly on it with a lot of extra room but Mike decided to just use the recliner.  I don't know what it is about that air mattress but almost as soon as my head hit the pillow on it I was asleep.  The kids didn't seem to mind though they LOVED having a pajama party and Brady has already asked if we could have another one!
Saturday night, we decided to go out to dinner with a bunch of friends, three other couples and their children.  This totaled up to 8 adults and 7 kids.  We went to Red Robin and the kids did great!!  I was a little nervous about all those kids at a restaurant but they did really good!  After we finished up at Red Robin we headed over to the snow hill and took the kids sledding!  Both of my kids loved it, Brady even went down the big hill with Daddy (against mommy's rules!!)  When I took Izabell down she would scream wheee.  I have to admit it was fun, I haven't been sledding in years but I tell you it's also a lot of anxiety for me!!  I was a nervous wreck the whole time!  When we were on our way home I could finally breathe again!  Again no pictures of this exciting adventure but it was a fun one. 
Brady is doing good.  He had a nasty cold last week and it went right to his ears and so nicely gave him an ear infection and fever to go with it!  LOVELY!!  I feel so sad and helpless when my kids are sick.  I was trying everything just to make him comfortable :(  Once his antibiotic kicked in though he was feeling much better, now just trying to kick the cough that seems to be lingering about.  Otherwise he is doing great and loving school!  Brady also received a haircut on Saturday.  After catching him tickling the his back with the back of his hair I knew it was time!  I just did it with the clippers and I think I did a pretty good job :)

Before and after.  Silly face but I think the hair cut looks good :)  It's not really jagged in the front like that it's just kind of messy after a winter hat on!!

Izabell is potty training!!!  She is doing really good and staying dry during her naps too!  I'm so proud of her!  She has been going number 2 on the potty since she was about 2 but now is also going pee all the time!  We have even drove short distances with panties on!!!  Good job Izzy!!

Mike is sick too, not much else to report on that, he probably has what every other person has right now!

I am doing good!  Really busy with work and trying to keep the house clean!  Oh and I hit my 20 pounds lost mark on Thursday, I was so excited because I have stayed the same for about 4 weeks.  I think being off of work for two week and being the holidays I wasn't getting as much exercise as I normally do!  And all the goodies were soooooooo good!  Back on track though and I have 4 pounds to go until my first goal.  I then hope to set another goal of about 10 to 15 more pounds!  Step by step!

These are some hats my mom is making if anyone is interested please let me know, she takes orders!  I LOVE THEM ALL :)

 

 Sorry I don't know how to put pictures in a nice orderly fashion on here yet so they are a little all over the place!  Anyway she makes the ones with the ribbons and bows, the football one for the boys or girls :), and has just added the ones with the little braids hanging down with a big flower on the side, and one that has a small bill on the front with a flower on the side.  She can also make these in boy colors and not put a flower on.  She is making one for Brady soon.  Any of these can be made from infant to adult.  I have a really cute one with a small bill on the front and a flower on the side and Izabell has a matching one.  I will have to get a picture of those soon!
Hope everyone is doing well!  Have a good week :)

Betty Crocker...I am not!!!

So I love my fair share of baking and trying out new dishes for my family but I'm no Betty Crocker.  I usually mess up on something or have to ask my husband a question about what the recipe says and I don't ever just make up my own recipe.  I LOVE my Betty Crocker cookbook that I we received as a wedding present.  I use it often for homemade pancakes or breads.  I also have a couple Church Cookbooks that I absolutely LOVE too!  They have really good recipes in them and not many ingredients for a lot of them.  Just what I like!  I also have been looking on-line a lot to find the quickest, easiest recipe I can for something that is sounding good!  This past week and weekend I decided to take pictures of the things I was trying and thought I would put a recipe page on my blog.  Then I will have them handy for when I want a nice easy quick recipe because let's face it, that's all I have time for!  Anyway I tried out some chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.  I had a cupcake mix, boxed :), just my style but I didn't have any frosting so I thought I probably have the ingredients to make homemade frosting so I just googled it and found a peanut butter frosting that was pretty easy.  I got all the ingredients out and whipped up a batch and I knew right away that something was WRONG!!!  Well it said confectioners sugar in the recipe and I of course used regular sugar and then realized that confectioners sugar is POWDERED SUGAR!!  I also had some of that on hand so was still able to make my frosting and man is it good.  I could have eaten just the whole bowl of frosting with a little bit of help :)

Cut Izzy off but yes she was also enjoying a spoonful of the delicious frosting!

Finished product!  I added some chocolate chips too!  (we love chocolate chips at our house)

I can't remember where I got the recipe for the frosting from but it was on-line somewhere, hopefully I can still post it :) 

Then we had some banana's that were looking a little brown so I decided to make banana muffins with them.  I made big muffins for Mike and I and little muffins for the kids (with chocolate chips in the mini ones of course).  This recipe I took from one of my Church cookbooks that I have received as gifts!  My kids love them.  Brady actually pops the little ones in his mouth all at once.  One big bite!  We all like our muffins a little different!  Brady and Izzy like them with chocolate chips in them and like I said Brady can pop the mini ones with one bite, it takes Izabell a few bites to finish hers off.  Mike LOADS on the butter, not kidding when I say LOADS, and I like to put peanut butter on mine.  I also like mine warm :)

They were disappearing as I was putting them in this pan!!!

I think peanut butter is the best way to go :)


The next cooking adventure came when Mike requested that I make HOMEMADE cheddar and broccoli soup, which my response was what's wrong with the canned stuff we buy?  Mike won out and I made homemade, let me tell you it was WAY better than the canned stuff.  I found a recipe on line and it said it was Panera's cheddar broccoli soup.  So I omitted a couple of things from that and made it how my family would like it.  It was a little thick so we had to add a little bit of milk to it when we had it for leftovers.  VERY YUMMY!

Not a photographer either so picture is not that great! But the taste of the soup was :)

So for my one or two readers that I have I would love some of your yummy quick and easy recipes too!  Have a great week :) (Oh and I will get the recipes on my blog soon)

Neat and tidy

We have a small house, don't get me wrong I'm glad we have a house to call our home, we have somewhere to keep us warm on these cold nights, we have somewhere to all eat dinner together, to watch movies, we have somewhere to LIVE, a place to call our HOME.  But it's small and most times it looks like this...

 And this...

Because these two little sweeties LOVE TO PLAY!

 And that's okay because I love to see them HAPPY and PLAYFUL, it means they are healthy and happy and having FUN!  But at the end of the day, my living room looks like this...

Neat and tidy and everything back in it's place...JUST KIDDING!!!  Besides their bedroom (which is a whole post in itself!) the living room is the only other place they have to play, well I take that back I find toys in every room but for the most part they play in the living room or their bedroom and that is where all their toys are kept.  So after cleaning up the living room and bedroom probably 15 times a day at night when they are in bed and I have some time to do some things cleaning up the toys again is not top on my list so while I would love to say my living room looks like the above all the time, I usually go to bed with it looking like this...

 Because as soon as the little darlings get up in the morning it will look like this in no time!!  But it doesn't bother me all that much because these faces tell me they are having FUN and PLAYING, and LIVING in this small but WARM and LOVING HOME!

What about you?  How does your home look at the end of the day?  Is everything ALWAYS neatly put back in it's place?  If so, tell me how you do it!!  As I said in my first post I really need to get some organizational tips!  So that's right Katie I'm talking to you (since your the only one that I think reads this, hahaha)!

Have a great week and have some FUN!!

Ang

Bring on 2012

Well I have decided to try out this blogging thing!  I'm not very good at keeping up on this sort of thing with all the other busy excitement going on in my life but we will see how it goes :)  Being in the working field and having two small children life can get pretty busy!  The two little blessings are Brady (little man) and Izabell (lil miss)  Both are very active and keep us on our toes.  The hubby and I are always laughing at little things that they do.  >With it being a new year I have decided to become more organized at home, lose more weight and blog.  But nobody's perfect, right???  So we will see if they all get accomplished this year.  I'm always looking for fun and easy ways to get organized and recently came across a post on a blog where she posted an idea that she found from somewhere.  You get little wicker baskets and put name tags on each one (Mommy, Daddy, Little Man, Lil Miss).  Every night or morning or whenever you want you pick up all the things laying around the house you put them in the baskets that the toys belong to, matchbox cars for Little Man, dollhouse pieces for Lil Miss, and hats for the hubby!  Then everyone is responsible for emptying their basket at the end of the day or right away in the morning from the night before.  What do you think??  I think it's a pretty good idea!  That's my first thing on my list for getting organized.  I also want to start posting grocery lists and dinner menus for the week inside one of our cabinet doors.  We often go to the grocery store whenever we need things and just pick up whatever looks good.  Not happening anymore, we are spending way to much money doing that, it also doesn't help that we have a Walgreens right by us so it's easy to just quick stop in!  With the losing weight thing I have been really trying to shed a few pounds!  I have lost about 15 but have a long way to go yet.  I would love some healthy snack ideas and organizational tips if anyone has any!  But since I don't have any followers yet I don't think I will be getting any answers anytime soon!! (HAHA).  Well my goal for blogging is hopefully once a week (oh my, is it possible??)  So see you next week :)  Here are just a few pics of the little darlings and some fun we had over Christmas break!!!

 Cookies for Santa!

 Little Man got a train set!

 Lil Miss got a dollhouse!

 Family Pic!

 Making a gingerbread house, I LOVED THIS!!!

 A new favorite thing is dipping cookies in milk, yum, yum!

And our last little thing was ice cream sundaes

Hope everyone had a great Christmas break!