So this post was supposed to have gone up 2 days ago...

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Ours was great! We had some yummy food and got to spend time with our family. :)
After lots and lots of eating, we went home. I had to get dressed to go to Black Friday! I loaded up with my neighbor, Nikki and we headed to the mall to go to the Disney Store! Shanna was there waiting in line, so we stood with her. So after waiting FOR-EVER in the freezing cold, they let us in and we got to do some shopping. I didn't get too much there, just some stocking stuffers and a gift for Thompson. Afterwards, we headed to Wal-Mart. It was CRAZY!!! People were everywhere grabbing up stuff. Nikki was on the search for a Powerwheels Jeep and so we headed straight to the Lawn and Garden Dept. We found one in a corner in an abandoned cart! How lucky!!! I was wanting to get one too, so we walked around trying to find another one. I almost had gotten another one, but didn't work out. Nikki went ahead and decided not to get it, so I got it. I also got some more food storage containers like last year. They are my favorite! And then I picked up some $2 movies for stocking stuffers. Brycen got a new toy too! We left and were back home at 3am. Overall, it was a good shopping trip!

The next morning (after 4 hours of sleep), I woke up and got the boys ready to go shopping some more. Robert had went snowboarding with some friends, so we were flying solo. We made a stop for lunch at our favorite place, Chick-fil-A.

Then we met our friends for a movie. We saw Tangled and it was SOOOOO cute! Loved it! It was hard wrestling 2 kids around by myself. But we had a good time. Then we went to Target and Momma got her a Christmas present from Robert. haha!

We then came home and we were all in bed by 8:30! PTL!!! I was so tired, I slept til 10am!!!

Yesterday, we went to our neighbor's, Kitty's, birthday party! It was fun! There was a huge castle, face painting, and some yummy pizza. I just hated how cold it was! Freezing!!

Today, I am going to attempt to get the boys' pictures made. I am doing them myself, so we shall see. Then, I am cleaning my house top to bottom! Ugh. I hate cleaning, by the way. We'll see how that goes!

Hope everyone has had a great Holiday weekend!!

Note: I had MANY pictures to post, but my blogger has been not letting me post them. It is taking FOREVER to upload ONE picture! Frustrating!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Today is Thanksgiving and I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for a blessed life. I have a wonderful family and amazing friends.

It is a beautiful day here in California and I can't wait to spend some time with the family eating some yummy, yummy food.

While giving thanks today (and everyday!), let's remember those who are less fortunate. I pray for all of those serving overseas who can't be with their loved ones during the holiday season. I pray for those who are homeless or who don't have anyone to spend this time with. I pray that somehow, this day is still a blessing for them.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Day Prep!

This year, we are going to be celebrating Thanksgiving at Jeremy and Shanna's house. I made my list of things I wanted to make and headed to the grocery store last night. Big Mistake. Huge! Everyone and their dog was there doing the same last minute shopping like me. And then, they were out of red velvet cake mix and macaroni noodles. So, I had to run to another grocery store. Thankfully (and hopefully!) I won't have to go back again today.

I always like to make food that I can assemble in advance, usually the day before. It takes a lot of stress off of the Thanksgiving Day craziness. So here is what is on my menu that I am making.

* Broccoli and Rice Casserole (My absolute fave!)
* Baked Macaroni and Cheese
* Green Bean Bundles
* Cheesecake
* Chocolate Chip Cookies
* Red Velvet Cake Sandwhiches

I plan on making most of this today. I will do the green bean bundles and mac n cheese tomorrow. I am excited!! I love Thanksgiving!

What are some of your holiday favorites?

Santa's List

Thompson is OBSESSED with Christmas! Any and EVERY commercial on tv he says "Oh, is that for Christmas?" or it is a constant "Oh my gosh, how cool! I want that! I want that!" I have tried to talk to him about Christmas and real meaning of why we celebrate Christmas, but I think it is a little too complicated for a 3 year old.

This year I think he will be excited to go visit Santa! When he does see something in the store or on tv, I always remind him to remember to tell Santa. :) I am excited for this year. I LOVE how excited he will be waking up to find all of his presents that Santa has left for him. Not long and I will have 2 excited boys!! But that is where I am drawing a blank. I have made quite a long list for Thompson. But I have hardly anything for Brycen. :( The poor kid doesn't need a thing. And I know that he won't know the difference, but I still want to make an effort. I already feel like he gets the shaft on so much as it is. When Thompson was turning 1, we had a huge party! I went all out and made sure it was perfect for my little boy. Here we are just 3 weeks away from Brycen's 1st birthday and I haven't done a thing. How crappy am I?

So here's the question... do you buy more for the older children?

Living in Lala Land!

Do you ever do that? I probably spend WAY too much time on Facebook and browsing People and UsWeekly online. Robert hates anything to do with reality tv and what not. He does not understand blogging or the fabulousness of Facebook.

Oh well, his loss!

Anyways, this week has been crazy in the celebrity world!

First off, yesterday, Prince William and Kate Middleton confirmed their engagement. It is pathetic to fully understand how excited I am about this! As a kid, I had a dream of one day becoming the Queen of England. Not even kidding. So admist my giddiness of a royal wedding, I realized that my dreams were over. ha! Yes, I know I am married and have children. But still part of me was a little sad! ;) I think Kate (which now apparently they are wanting her to go by Catherine) will make a beautiful princess! She has such great style and I can't wait to see what she looks like on her wedding day!

I loved this dress!!!

Speaking of weddings... today, Eva Longoria announced her divorce to Tony Parker! I was shocked!! This was one couple I was rooting for. I love her and she always looked so happy. I just saw them on the Ellen Show 2 weeks ago and everything seemed very normal. But... apparently Mr. Parker has the wondering eye. He had been Facebook-ing a lady friend and apparently might have had an affair with a teammate's wife! Wowzers! I am sorry, but he is married to one of Hollywood's most beautiful women and he has to cheat?! Very sad.

Another announcement today, Rachel Zoe is pregnant! Not that it was a complete shock, but I am happy. I am an avid RZ fan and love her show. This season had a focus on her and her husband talking about having a baby. And recent pictures show her with a little baby bump. I just hope the woman gains a little weight for goodness sakes!

The last thing I will discuss (ha!) is Jessica Simpson's new engagement. I haven't been a fan of hers a while. I use to really like her, but something lately just makes me turn my nose up. Anyways, her ex husband, Nick Lachey and his gf, Vanessa Minillo just got engaged like 2 weeks ago. Not even a week later, so does Jessica and her bf of like 5 months. Something seems fishy. Maybe a little jealousy? I shouldn't judge, but I always have my opinion.

Is anybody else loving the latest celeb gossip??

Our Weekend!

Well, this weekend was a good one! Saturday, the boys and I went to lunch with Shanna, Jeremy, and Haili Bug. Their friends and little boy who is Brycen's age came too! It was great Mexican food. After that, we all headed to the mall to do a little shopping. It was a long day, but definitely fun!

Today, the boys and I got up and went downtown to the local coffee shop. We met our neighbors and their little girl and we enjoyed a nice coffee drink. Afterwards, we headed down to the beach to let the kids play on the playground. It was a beautiful day!! Brycen had so much fun roaming around. He is definitely walking everywhere now! After some play time, we came back home and Brycen took a nap. I let Thompson play outside while I cleaned and organized my garage. Boy... was that an all day event! BUT! I am finally able to park my car in the garage. haha! Thompson was so tired after about 5 hours of non-stop play, that he came inside and crashed on the living room floor for about 2 hours. I then went and grabbed Subway for dinner.

Robert had his ball this weekend all the way in Primm, NV. I had originally planned to go, but then decided not to. It was so far away and I really didn't want to spend all of that money. So, I let him go by himself and have a boys night. He got home Saturday afternoon, so we got to spend a few hours together. He had duty today, but hopefully we will see him tomorrow night! Tuesday, he graduates his class. Thank goodness! He will then be "off" for 2 weeks. Then it will be non-stop working til Christmas. Ugh. Oh well.

Well, tomorrow is Thompson's 3 year check up. I am hoping for 30lbs, but I don't know if he will make it. We'll see!

This is really off subject, but it is something I have been dealing with. Thompson has been walking around saying "I'm dying". It is really, really disturbing to me. I try to explain to him that that is not nice to say and it hurts mommy's heart. But, it doesn't ever stop him. I hate it. If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with this... let me know!

Happy 11 Months Brycen!

I cannot believe you are 11 months old. We now have 1 more month til your 1st birthday! You have been through a lot this past month! You are now walking 85% of the time. You will walk all over the house before you decide to sit down. I am so proud of you! You still have 3 teeth. You are weighing 20 pounds 10 ounces and are 29.6 inches long. (as of your dr. appt Tuesday) You are a big eater! You eat about 4-5 jars of baby food a day, you love yogurt, crackers, cheerios, and bananas. Anytime we are eating, you come up with a sad puppy dog face begging for a bite. So sweet. Today, you actually came and took a nap on me. It melted my heart. You have never been the cuddlebug. The last time I remember you letting me hold you for that long, you were about 8 weeks old. I think you knew I needed it. :)

You can say da-da and momma. You have said Na(y)-Na(y) which makes your Nana very happy. You love to clap and say YAY! And you say uh-oh. We are working on you waving bye bye now.

You are wearing size 12-18 months in jeans and shirts. Your rompers we have to get in 18 months. You are also in a size 4 diaper. You wear a size 3 shoe.

Brycen, we love you so much! Happy 11 Months!

***I will post a picture tomorrow!***

It's That Time of Year!

You know, time to start baking!

Robert always likes me to make something for him to take to work every now and then. Usually, the main request is cheesecake! (One of my personal faves!)

I have always followed a tried and true recipe from Ms. Paula Deen! It is by far one of the best cheesecakes ever! You can find the recipe HERE!

Something else I plan to make are chocolate chip cookies. These aren't your ordinary chocolate chip cookies. These are a massive cookie of yumminess! The recipe was adapted from the Levain Bakery in NYC that went against Bobby Flay in a Throwdown! I found the recipe 2 years ago and just love it! I know the Marines will appreciate the monster-size cookies.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp baking soda
12 ounces (2 cups) good quality semisweet chocolate chips (I used half semisweet and half milk chocolate)

Mix all the ingredients. Start with 3 1/4 cup of flour and add another 1/4 if you feel it's needed. (Usually 3 1/4 is enough for me) These are supposed to be pretty big cookies so spoon the dough into a good size ball. Place on a cookie sheet (Use a silpat if you have one) and bake at 375 degrees for about 18 minutes or until golden brown.

This is what they look like!

picture courtesy Robyn Lee

Another recipe I am axious to try is these Red Velvet Sandwhich Cookies that Hillary posted on her blog! I love how she called it a "glorified double doozie"!
 

picture courtesy of google images

Who wouldn't want to eat one of those?

What are some of your favorite holiday recipes? Are there any new ones you are ready to try?

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Happy Veteran's Day to all those who are serving or have served!

“Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have made a difference to the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.” Ronald Reagan



Dr. Update

Today was Brycen's appointment down at the Naval Hospital in San Diego. Robert was able to get off for a few hours to come with me. We got there on time and got checked in. They called us back and they did all of his vitals. We were then taken back and talked to the Pulmonologist. I honestly have no clue how to say the dr's name. He spoke with us for a few minutes, going over all of Brycen's background information. We talked a lot about his symptoms and what seems to trigger his asthma. He basically reaffirmed what we already thought-- his asthma is induced by allergies and whenever he gets viral infections. We decided to stay on the medicines that we are on minus the reflux medicine. Then a nurse came in and did an overview on asthma, some different triggers, and what we need to do if it gets bad. We have A LOT of information to study up on. This lady was awesome. She was a big help and actually made me have faith again in our healthcare system. They decided to go ahead and give Brycen his first dose of his flu vaccination. She reassured me that she was awesome at giving shots. And she didn't dissapoint. Brycen didn't flinch at all!! Oh, how I wish they were all that easy. We then had to go sit in the pharmacy and wait on some refills. If you ever go to a military hospital, you know that waiting at the pharmacy is the LONGEST part of the trip. We sat there for probably an hour. Not fun. But Brycen did great today. Thompson stayed with our neighbor so that way I could really concentrate on what the doctor had to tell us. That was such a big help. And this was actually the first time Robert and I have ever been alone with Brycen out and about. Not kidding.

So overall it was a good day. Robert had to go back to work as soon as we got home. And I just have to say it.

I miss my husband.

He has worked so much here lately. Just another week and he should have a week and a half off. (Fingers crossed!) Oh, and I want to wish him a Happy 5 Year Anniversary in the Marine Corps. Five years ago I was sitting in my apartment crying my eyes out as he left me to go to boot camp. We have both come a long way in those 5 years. He plans on making a career out of the Marines. I just tell him to check back with me when it's coming time for the next re-enlistment to still see if I have any patience left to tolerate another 4 more. We are just taking it day by day.

Happy Wednesday Everyone! I will be spending this day cleaning and doing laundry. Whoo hoo ;)

Shutterfly's 50 Free Holiday Cards-- You can get them too!!

If you are anything like me, you love showing off your family! I always look forward to the holiday season and love planning our holiday photo card.

Shutterfly is an awesome website that offers so many products! You can find Holiday photo cards, birth announcements, cards and stationary, and photobooks!

I have used Shutterfly for about 3 years now. One of my favorite things I have done on their site is their photobooks. I have made Thompson 2 so far. I did one for his first year and then another one for his 2nd birthday. They turned out so cute! I can't wait to start Brycen's!

Shutterfly has given the chance for bloggers to get 50 FREE Holiday Cards! Go to THIS site and sign up!! It is an easy way to get a great photo card to share with friends and family for FREE!! And for a family on a budget, you can't beat that!

It's been a LOOOOOONNNG night!

Last night, I put the boys to bed around 8. They both were so tired, I knew it wouldn't be a problem. I came back downstairs and watched tv on the couch. Around 11:15, I headed up to bed myself. Around 1am, I got a wakeup call... Thompson was crawling into bed with me. I scoot over and let him lay down. I fall back asleep. I periodically wake up, look at him, notice he is wide awake, tell him to close his eyes and go to sleep, and then I fall back asleep. I did this til I finally woke up for good around 3am. He would not stop watching tv. I turned it off, he turned it back on. I threatened to kick him out of my bed, he just went downstairs. This lasted for a good 2 hours. After many episodes of "The Nanny" on Nick-at-Nite, I was begging my body to go back to sleep... along with begging Thompson to go to sleep. I finally passed out and I honestly do not think Thompson slept at all. He was waking me up at 7am telling me it was time to wake up. I nicely told him that it was NOT time to get up. I fell back asleep til 8, and I know he didn't sleep because he kept waking me up. I am exhausted. I know he has to be exhausted too. We finally came downstairs and he ate FOUR waffles and drank a glass of milk and apple juice. You would think the kid was starved!

Brycen is up and drinking him a nice bottle. Robert is on his way home from work. So glad we will get to spend the rest of the day together.

Yesterday was BEAUTIFUL! It was 70* and just perfect. I took the boys outside and cleaned out my car. I am so bad about keeping my vehicle clean. It's pretty bad. Luckily, it is all nice and clean today. Thompson played with his friend Kylie. Afterwards, Meredith and I took the kids to Chick-fil-a and let them play some more. We had a good time visiting and it was nice to have someone to talk to while the kids played. It was funny because I kept asking Thompson to say "Kylie" and all he could say was "Kai lan". Like off the show "Ni hoa, Kai Lan" It was funny.

Tuesday, we have Brycen's appointment in San Diego at Balboa to see the Pediatric Pulmonologist. Hoping everything goes well with that.

Another funny thing from last night was I was sitting there talking to Thompson and he told me he wanted to count. Most of the time Thompson never wants to count, I usually have to ask him to. So I told him we could count. We counted to 10 many times. Then all of a sudden he counted to 5 in SPANISH! I have never heard the kid speak spanish. He hardly will count in English. It was a weird night...

It's Friday!!

Let me tell you about this week!

It has been HOT!! We are talking about 96* hot! I have no idea why in November California decided to all of sudden have summer time temperatures. Even that would be hot for summers here. But seriously?!?! Where is the cool 60 degrees temps? Where are my sweaters and scarves? Maybe I will be able to break them out soon. I wouldn't complain, but the houses here do not have air conditioners, so it makes the house feel like a sauna. Ewww... I was sweating non-stop yesterday just sitting inside.

The boys had a great time trick-or-treating! Thompson had the routine down. He even remembered to say "Thank You" after each time. There was a house along the way that had a scary real person dressed up hiding with a pumpkin on his head. He didn't scare the little kids, but chose to scare the grown ups with the kids (i.e. ME!!). I said a few choice words and ran as fast as I could out of there. Robert then reminded me "I am glad that wasn't real, because you just left our kid up there by himself!" Oops.... In my defense I am the biggest scaredy cat ever! Thompson made out with a TON of candy. Some that mom had to "inspect" before he got! haha! Now I know why parents love this!

Other than that, Robert has been working so much! Poor guy. He gets home late, goes to bed, and then has to get up at like 4 every morning. Once Christmas comes then he will get a little bit of a break before he starts his school at the beginning of January.

I made a super yummy dinner last night! It is a Mexican Chicken Pot Pie and it was SOOO easy too! You can find the recipe here! Check out the rest of Brittney's blog too! She not only has great recipes, but she has 2 sweet boys. And she is so creative! I WISH I was like that!

Here are some pictures I took while cooking last night...

I did use canned chicken because the recipe called for it. I didn't have a problem with it, but after Robert ate it he asked me if I used it. Apparently he likes "real" chicken better. So I will know for next time.

I had more pictures of Halloween and the dinner, but for some reason they wouldn't upload. ??? I will try again later...