pArTy

just a few random pictures from the party!! Thanks to everyone who came I know ity wasnt super grand but hey I still had a blast with you all!!

Halloween has come and gone...

Well Halloween this year was alot of fun~! We were pleasantly surprised that Josh wore his costume without a fuss and actually was able to knock on the doors and say trick or treat! It was the cutest thing.. And kaylie loved every second of it too!! She decided her job was navigator and had to point out every house we had to hit!! Very cute.. We were blessed enough to have my parents come and stay with us from friday afternoon untill just this afternoon, which was a ton of help both with our Halloween party on Friday which also was a big success hopefully we can go bigger and better next year though.. (o well) and also my lovely dad stayed behind and handed out candy to the what seemed like thousands of kids that somehow got over to our little neighborhood! So all in all it was a great night... Ahhh I love fall!! Cant wait til next year.. but now its time to think about my hubbys birthday and thanksgiving and kaylies 2nd birthday and Christmas.. so on and so forth.. (boy i got a busy couple of months!! Yeah!!! LOL)!!

To All Moms

Being a mom there will come a day that you feel like you are drowning

Whether it be the annoyance from your kids just not behaving;

The pressure from others to be,or do, or have something else;

Or even the pressure from yourself to be some sort of made up person in your mind that in reality could not be

Or maybe its something completely different.

But one day that feeling will come..

But when it does don't be afraid

It just means you are doing your job!

No one ever saying hey here is your new baby

Now the rest of your life is going to be a breeze

The new life in your arms never comes with a manual

There's not a professor there to guide your through the steps

It's all you, and you have to trust those feeling

You have to trust your gut when you think your child has the flu

You must take in every word of advice;

But truly not follow them all

You have to know not all your ways are right

But at the same time must be confident in knowing that there is no way you are doing it all wrong

You must soak up every laugh

And cherish every smile

For the days you hear only cries

And see only tears

These memories will pull you through

No matter what your day throws at you

Your week

Or your year

Never stop believing in the fact that you are a mother

And that is the best thing you can ever be

So if you are drowning

And you cant see the way

Just take a second to stop and see

The wonderful things that really could be

The love for your children

Will always lead the way..

Healthy Spagetti that my kids LOVE!

OK it is rare for me to cook something that my kids devourer and even more rare for it to be 80% vegetables and they still devourer it! But this spaghetti is a hit!! And so easy!

• Normal spaghetti noodles
• Carrot (I peel it into thin strips then chop those into bite sized pieces.)
• tomato (deseeded and chopped)
• chopped red onion
• chopped white onion
• chopped and peeled zucchini (no seeds)
• Then whatever leftover meat you have on hand.. (since Im making this tonight and we have leftover chicken and steak that is what im using tonight.. but cooked crumbled bacon is great in it w hamburger meat.)
• butter (we use Country Crock light...)
• and cheese... (either mozzarella or shaker Parmesans is what we use)
• Seasonings.. (I use Salt, Pepper, a Emeril mix that i have in the pantry (ill put that recipe on here too if you want to use it.. but you only need a little bit of this..) then a small amount of garlic powder..)

Cook your noodles as directed, strain and set aside.. (mightwant to add a little butter to this just so they don't get sticky.. Now if your trying to save dishes just use the pot you used to cook your noodles in and put some butter in it and pour all the vegetables into the butter (you want a decent amount of butter since this is going to be your 'sauce' too.. but not tooo much you can always add more after..) Season you vegetables.. and remember you only need alittle of the Emeril Mix its kinda spicy! Now saute all this until it is soft.. you want your onion and Zucchini soft.. Now add the Meat of choice.. cook alittle longer just to get that hot.. Now simply add the noodles and get it all combined.. if you need more butter just add it here. you want it all coated.

Serve!! :) Top with whatever cheese the kids like on spaghetti!

See how easy was that!? Now I dont know how good this will work on kids that wont eat vegies if they see them, but hey if they dont care too much as long as it tastes good this will be a hit! Enjoy!

OO and as I promised here is how to make the Emeril Season Mix.. Just make it in a small container that you can seal.

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Diaper Cakes :-D

Hey these are so fun to make and even more fun to give out!! They make the perfect gift for a baby shower or a welcome home baby present!! I'd love to sell ones that I make, but since I'm nice how about I just tell you how to make one yourself!! :-D

Ingredients for a 2 layer cake...

• Approximately 100 diapers, give or take.. if its your first cake you might want alittle more


• Bag of neutral thin Rubber Bands... you will need 2 rubber bands that can stretch to be pretty large but other then that small ones will work fine..


• You might also need double sided tape, normal tape, and corsage pins..


• Ribbons (I like to use 3 different ones. a large thick one, one smaller, and then a very thin one for last)


• 2 bottles(I large, 1 small.. they need to be the straight ones... Dr Browns are a good bottle, and so are evenflo for these.. Dr Browns are more expensive but also are more likely to be used..)


• 1 stuffed toy.. (not too big.. it goes on top of your cake... )


• Random stuff for baby.. You might want Binky's (pacifiers as some call it), baby spoons.. (a great baby spoon that is a must for any mom esp if they have more then one kid is the boon spoon called squirt!! just to throw that out there..) other small toys, rattles.. etc.. Use your imagination here


• Now what Im about to list is not a must just makes your cake prettier... Baby Blanket, Receiving Blankets, Fitted Crib Sheet, Bibs.. You will see why I name these later..)

Ok now there you go you have all your ingredients now its time to start your cake.

To begin you will need to start with the diapers.. Take one diaper at a time and set it in front of you. Unfold the diaper so the front and back of the diaper are lying flat on the table.. You want the inside of the diaper on top. Now starting from the back of the diaper.. (usually where the tabs are..) Roll the diaper up tightly and neatly.. Once you get to the end wrap a rubber band around the center of the diaper so it is secure and the roll stays in place. Do this to all your diapers, being sure to not rip or disturb the diaper..

Now here is a trick I like to do: If you own a large Spring from pan like the 10 inch one.. take the bottom out of it and latch it again.

Place your large bottle in the center of the circle. (if you are getting a cheaper bottle.. a cute thing to do is to fill it with candy for mom and dad.. nothing that will melt.. Skittles are best..) Surround the bottle with diaper rolls until your cake pan is completely full.. make sure that you don't have any gaps in it, you want it to be totally full.. Once it is full take one of your larger rubber bands and place it around your whole circle.. Remove the Spring form.. There is your first layer!!

Now put another large rubber band around the neck of your bottle that is sticking out.. and begin to place diapers inside that rubber band until you have a full circle on top of your previous circle.. This part takes alittle adjusting and pushing and pulling.. but you will see it eventually.. Now you will see that you have a whole where the bottle from below it.. Stick you small bottle in this.. make sure it is in good.

Now at this point you can two things.. make a third small layer if you have enough diapers.. or place your stuffed toy on the top and use the corsage pins to pin it down into your cake..

Now time to decorate: If you are using a type of blanket you will want to start at the bottom layer.. Fold your blanket until it is the width of your cake.. (if you are using receiving blankets you might need to use two.) After your blanket is folded you want to just wrap it around the cake.. Being sure at the back seam to fold the rough edge (if it is) under (you wont get it to look seamless you just want it smooth.. ) then using your corsage pins place three or 4 pins into the blanket securing it to the diapers.. Or you can use double sided tape to secure.. i just find that it doesn't work as well.. Then do the same for the next layer..

Now after that you want to follow this step.. or if you are suing straight ribbon follow this step all the way... To use straight ribbon you wan tot look at your cake and make sure all your diapers are facing the same way.. (if you want the diaper design to be visible make sure all of them are visible, and if you want it all white, just make sure they are all white.. kinda duh right?!) Now take your largest ribbon (width) and wrap it around your cake.. (here is where the double sided tape will come in handy.. just stick it where you want the ribbon to stay put.) from here you want to put the next largest on again double sided tape comes in handy..) Bring to front or back or side of cake.. where ever you want for bow... Or if you don't want a bow then just basically do the same thing as you did with the blanket.. make a smooth seam and pin it..) Now for your small ribbon this is how you tie off your gifts.. (spoons for instance... Just wrap it around the spoon tight and place the spoon against the cake.. same for rattles and most baby toys.. and for Binky's you can do one of two things.. tie a bow and use each end to go around the cake and attach to things (this is best for the middle of your cake.. or you can just thread the ribbon through your Binky and keep going..) Again you can finish the final ribbon in a bow or pin with the other ones..

Ok now You are basically done, just add things here and there to personalize more to you.. A cute touch is to add the babies name, a cute bib (that you tuck the straps in the cake so it just hangs over the side..) Just be creative.. and make it your own..!!!

Ok now I will be making ones of these in a few days for one of my friends who is about due with her first baby.. So I will try and video that and post it on here, just in case some of you are like me and have to see stuff visually.. so be looking for that.. :)

Another video of the buggy

Steven was just riding it around by the house...

Our New toy

Well we got a new toy!!! Isn't it gorgeous!! Steven loves it!! So far we have only been able to take it to Ocotillo Wells, but really want to take it out to Dumont and Oceano as soon as we get the sand paddles for it yea!!

Here is a video of when we took it to Ocotillo Steven found cool little spot that he got to play on it alittle.. Ocotillo wasn't that great since it is alot of rock and bumps and stuff so we couldn't really get going, but oo well we still managed to have a good day.. LOL when we left we got like half way home and already wanted to go out again haha!! I guess that means we had fun lol!! :)

To die for Chicken Tortilla Soup..

Ok now it is rare for me to find something that steven will like esp if it is Mexican or something different but I must say this soup on a cold day is prolly one of the best things!! We would rather eat this then chicken noodle any day!!

Now WARNING this soup is not for someone who isn't going to be home all day to cook it.. it is a soup that takes forever but the outcome is worth it!! WAYYYYYY worth it!!

Here are your ingredients:
First the ingredients for the stock:
1 Lg roasting chicken around like 4 lbs or more...
1 Lg Onion chopped (don't worry about the consistency of your chopping a rough chop is fine)
1 cup diced celery
4 cloves garlic.. again roughly chopped
1 teas crushed red pepper
8 cups of water
LG stockpot!
Now for the actual soup:
Corn or Flour tortilla (i like corn in these)
Vegetable oil for frying
2 cups chopped onions.. (here you want them chopped right)
salt and pepper
1 teas dried Oregano
1 tablespoon chopped garlics
1 Jalapeno seedless and chopped (if you want alittle more spice you can use 2..)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
then if you want a avocado sliced..

Directions for stock:
Clean and salt your chicken place in stock pot with the 8 cups of water and the rest of the stock ingredients.. Season with about a teaspoon of salt. Place pan over Med heat and bring water to a boil.. Reduce heat to Med low and simmer until chicken is tender about 2 hours give or take depending on the size of your chicken. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Strain liquid from pot into another pot and set the strained liquid aside. Discard of all the vegetables that was in the stock... Going back to your chicken remove meat from bone and remove all fat.. Cut you chicken into bite sizes pieces and again set aside.
Directions for soup:
Preheat oil. Cut part of your tortilla into quarters, then rest into thin strips. Then fry all of them until golden brown set all aside. In a separate pot add a small amount of oil (just to almost coat the bottom of the pan..) add your chopped onions season with the salt,pepper, and oregano. Saute them til they are soft about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic, jalapeno and continue to saute another minute. (now after this step I like to spoon Little of the stock you made into this and put it all in a blender or food processor and blend til almost smooth... it just makes it better so each bite taste almost the same..) now combine the stock and the mixture you just made into one pot; crush your tortilla quarters into the soup (leaving your thin pieces alone..) bring this back to a boil and boil for 30 minutes.. reason to taste then add your chicken and cilantro simmer for a additional 5 minutes..
Your soup is ready to serve!!
Ladle into lg bowl top with your tortilla strips, and if you want the avocado, Little extra cilantro.. and maybe alittle cheddar cheese!!
And lastly enjoy!!! :)

My cookies!

OK some of you have had the special (super easy) cookies that I make so I thought Id share just one of the recipes... Since it almost all the same idea.. lol!! So here you go.. Hope you enjoy them!!

Lemon Crisps!

1 box of lemon cake mix
2 lg eggs
1/4 cup oil

Mix it all together, roll into 1 inch balls (can do larger just depends on sz of cookie you want..) Place on cookie sheet and and using a flat bottom cup dipped in sugar flatten balls (not super flat just enough so they look flat..) then bake at 350 degrees for about 61/2 minutes or so.. when you pull them out you don't really want to see the browning going up the sides just the bottom.. Let them cool on the pan for at least a minute. Remove from pan and let cool completely. Drizzle with either lemon frosting or butter cream.. and sprinkle with yellow sugar!!

These are sure to be a hit!! They are so soft and yummy!!

(O if you really really want the recipes I also do carrot cake sandwich cookies, chocolate/chocolate cookies, rainbow cookies, and I have a idea for German Chocolate sandwich's too!)

(sry I dont have any pictures of them right ow I will take some when I make them again..)

Time to Catch up...

Well since this is my first post and some of you have not been caught up on our life in a very long time I guess that is where I should start..

Steven and I will have been married for 5 years October 21st!!

I can't believe how time flys.. but he is still the love of my life, and always will be!! Right at the moment we live in Nuevo, ca. Which is a small town kinda inside another city lol. We are just renting right now, but really hope to be able to buy sometime soon.. Our house is really nice though so we cant complain. Its a 3 bedroom 1 bath with a pool and spa in the backyard! :) (which yes we used alot this summer!! I dont know how we would of lasted without one!! Thank heaven!!) The kids have there own Playroom, that they never use haha, but I guess it is good since it is a place to store their million toys that grandma buys them! LOL

Speaking of the kids Josh my oldest just turned 3 in April, he is growing up so fast.. I still remember holding him in my arms when he was first born... AHHHH it seems like just yesterday........ We are hoping to find a preschool for him in the next few months or so so he can get ahead for school. But if we cant find one that is affordable then I am prepared to teach him myself til he goes to kindergarten. We are still having trouble with his speech, he starting to talk more but its a slow process.. we cant help but be annoyed sometimes.. it would be so nice to be able to sit down and have a full conversation with him.. but I guess that will happen in due time. and we wont be able to get him to shut up haha!! So I have to take the good with the bad I guess lol!!

And my youngest Kaylie is growing like a weed, she turned 1 in December. And has been excelling in everything so quick. Of course she wants to do EVERYTHING that her big brother does.. which Ill admit does cause a few problems esp when he doesn't want her doing it :( She is already talking some, but her favorite word is I think what her favorite word will be all her life.. Dadda! I swear she asks for him prolly a million times a day! But its ok I think its cute sometimes that she has that special bond with her daddy... I remember what it is like I was and prolly still am totally daddies girl.. O I say sometimes because it is alittle annoying that I can tell her to do something til Im blue in the face and he says it once and she does it :/ So yea that starts to get on your nerves but oo well.. OOOO but her newest thing is now she is in a big girl bed just like big brother! LOL Well not exactly like him but we took the gate off her bed and she loves it! She goes to sleep 100x easier now nad stays quiet longer int he morning, since she gets up and turns her tv on and then plays with her toys.. its so sweet! Steven and I were worried how she woudl take the change but I guess she loves it! YEAH Now if we can just get rid of that dang bottle at night adn her binkie we would be set!! O yea she is trying ot learn how to go potty on the potty so far no luck but it is cute to see her walk in the bathroom get josh potty seat nad try to get up there lol.. She gets so excited..

Well lets see I think that covers the whole family.. O we do have the best dog in the world. We have had for over a year now, and she is awesome! Takes whatever the kids throw at her and just gives us a look like awe come on. She is so sweet and loving we couldn't ask for a better dog.. Not quite sure what breed she is since we adopted her from the pound. But people tell me she looks like a German Shepard, corgi, wiener dog.. so I have no idea.. haha But we love her and she is beautiful.

Ok well Im sure Ill think of more stuff to update you on later but for now this is it..