"Mom, I have a Loose Tooth!"

This is what I woke up to this morning - Ethan standing next to my bed in the dark...  I asked which one it was and reached over and gave it a wiggle - it actually moved!  (Ethan has been wanting to lose a tooth for so long that he would occasionally announce to me that one was loose, but it never really budged when I tried to wiggle it, so the fact that this tooth moved - and that it moved a lot - was a really big deal!).  I told him he was right and to go get dressed for school while I tried to drag myself out of bed.  He walked out and then walked right back in, telling me that it was 3:08AM!  (why is it that lately I am woken up at 3AM?!)  So he crawled into bed with me and we fell back asleep until it was time to get up for real:)

He is SO excited about this loose tooth - he is constantly wiggling it and checking it out in the mirror...  It won't be long until the Tooth Fairy comes!! (And thankfully I know exactly where the Tooth Fairy bag is that I made a couple of months ago).  Just in time for the wedding, too, as he will most likely be one tooth short in all of the pictures, but at least we will always remember when he lost his first tooth!

Why I NEED a big Dog

I woke up to someone knocking on my door - the first thought I had was that it was Sean coming over to go to church and that I slept in late, so I climbed out of bed and while I was stumbling to the door, I saw the clock and it said that was a little after 3AM!  The people were still knocking on my door (alternating between knocking and using the knocker - no breaks in between).  I looked out of my tiny peep-hole and it was 2 guys that I have never seen before.  I immediately woke completely up -they then tried the door knob and kept knocking and knocking - I called my parents crying and shaking - they told me to call the police and that they were on their way over.  I've never called 911 before, but the operator was nice:)  I think the guys heard me on the phone (I accidentally hit the mute button when I was dialing because at first the operator couldn't hear anything, so I was talking really loud until I realized it was on mute-whoops), because they left.  My parents came over about 2 minutes after they left so the operator let me hang up.  Then the guys came back and continued knocking!  Dave yelled at them through the closed door and after a minute or two they left again (we looked outside and they were talking to-I'm assuming their friends-in a car that was in the alley behind my apartment).  Of course, they left within less than a minute of the police coming!  We gave them a description of what they looked like and stuff...  Ethan woke up when the police came, but I'm grateful that he slept through everything else (although he did ask A LOT of questions about it this morning). 

And THIS is why I NEED (it's no longer a "want") a BIG dog!!  (And why I look forward to moving..)

Recipe

Chicken and Rice Casserole
1 to 1.5 lbs boneless chicken cut into pieces (cooked)
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
1-2 cups cheese

mix all ingredients except the cheese in casserole dish.  Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.  Sprinkle cheese on top and ocntinue cooking until cheese melts.

SURVEY SAYS...  has potential...  I ended up mixing the cheese in, but it was really watery (even after I let it sit for 10 minutes after baking)... maybe next time I won't add 2 cups of water and maybe add some breadcrumbs on top...  (Ethan liked it just how it was, so I'm trying to salvage this one!  Sean is in N.C. so he wasn't able to try this recipe)

Oh, the things he says!

Ethan is definitely a very funny boy!  (most of the time he doesn't even realize it -which makes it even funnier!).  Here are some examples of how funny he is that happened today:

• we were eating breakfast together this morning talking, and he was talking about his teacher and told me (using the quatation markes with his fingers): "she thinks that they [the work stations] are fun, but they really aren't"
• We are putting our shoes on and getting everything together (bookbag, purse, lunches, etc) and he is singing "Need You Now" then switches to "Undo It" (by Carrie Underwood) - hmm... maybe I listen to those songs too much for him to know just about every single word in both of them!
• On the way to his daycare, we are listening to a country radio station and he tells me, "Mom, these are all cowboy songs - cowboys sing them all"
• At dinner with Meg and Dad tonight, he tells us "that's fantastic" about whatever we were talking about and was really trying to sound like an adult and be a part of our conversation
• After dinner, Ethan pulls his shorts up as high as they possibly could go (Steve Urkel style) and was walking around being goofy - I should have taken a picture because we were all laughing so hard!

Funny, funny boy!

Recipe

Cheeseburger Pie
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onions (I didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Heat oven to 400º.  Grease a 9 inch pie plate (I don't have, so I just used an 8 x8 glass pan).  Brown hamburger meat and onion together; drain; stir in salt.  Spread in pie place.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Stir together milk, eggs, and Bisquick.  Top hamburger and cheese with Bisquick mixture.  Bake at 400º for 25 minutes.

SURVEY SAYS...  It's a keeper - definitely not a favorite for Sean and I (usually when I pull something out of the oven he says that "it looks great!" but this time, he just kind of looked at it and walked away...haha!!) - it is extremely plain, but Ethan LOVED it and asked for seconds and ate it ALL!  So, I guess this will be a recipe I use only when Sean is out of town.

Ethan's Birthday Party!

We had Ethan's 7th birthday party at Pump It Up - it was so much fun!  He had his 5th birthday there and loved it, so when we asked where he wanted his birthday this year, I wasn't surprised when he picked it again.  (He didn't have a 6th birthday party because we went on the Disney Cruise 9 days after his birthday). 

13 of his friends came, and it was really fun meeting their parents and the kids that I hadn't met before.  The adults are allowed to play, too, so that made it fun for us adults yet "kids at heart" :)  Ethan was all smiles and so excited! 

Most of my pictures came out blurry (think its time to break down and buy a new camera?), so here are the only ones that didn't turn out too blurry...

I took a video of Ethan blowing out the candles on his cake, but for some reason it won't load...  I'll try and remember to ask Sean to help me figure it out when he comes back next weekend from working (yup, he's back to working on his project in N.C. five days a week...)

Sean took a video with his new iPhone of Ethan and I going down the big slide - hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to post it on here, too.

7 years ago today...

Seven years ago today my fantastic little boy, Ethan, was born!  My water broke around 10PM the night before shortly after I laid down to go to bed.  The doctor told me that I needed to go to the hospital when the contractions were five minutes apart, so at 1:30AM, Dave, Mom, and I headed to the hospital.  19 hours (and 2 epidurals later) Ethan was finally born!  It was during Hurricane Isabel, so the electricity in the hospital kept flickering and the water totally stopped working.  A lot of the baby girls that were born were named Isabel.  Ethan and I ended up staying in the hospital for 3 nights because he had a fever when he was born. 

Where has the time gone?!  It doesn't seem like 7 years have passed since that day.  So much has happened since then - but I am so happy to have this little boy in my life!!! :)

Wedding Dress!

This afternoon was my first fitting of my dress... I had honestly forgotten what my dress looks like - but it is so pretty!!  It fits perfectly - the owner of the store even said, "wow-this fits perfectly... if it didn't need the capsleeves, then it wouldn't need to be altered at all - that NEVER happens!"  Well, it does need capsleeves, and it needs to have a lot more fabric added to the back... I'm nervous that the additions will look bad, but I'm hoping and praying that they will look like they belong on the dress-keep your fingers crossed!  The next fitting is next Friday... 

I do feel like a princess in it - and I can eat as many peanut M & M's that I want! (the other day I was at work eating them and I realized that I need to get in a wedding dress very soon and that most brides at this point are going to the gym every day and watching what they eat... clearly I haven't been doing that-maybe I should?)  Lucky for me, though - the dress is the kind that has the ties in the back, so it will be ok if I decide to continue my not-so-healthy diet:)

Church with Dad!

Today I had to give a talk in church - and my dad completely rearranged his work schedule so he could come!  I was incredibly happy that he came to support me!  He even stayed for the full three-hours of church.  As I mentioned in the talk I gave, it's all about the "little things" - and although Dad coming to church today may seem like a little thing to some, it was HUGE to me!  I am so grateful for his unconditional love and support:)

My Pops and Me after church:)

Recipes

Creamy Italian Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 pkg. (80z) cream cheese, softened
1 can (10-3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, stems and pieces
rice or noodles

Place chicken in slow cooker.  Combine salad dressing mix and water, pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours.  Remove chicken and cut into small pieces.  In small mixing bowl beat cream cheese and soup until blended.  Stir in mushrooms.  Pour over chicken and return to slow cooker; cook 1 hour longer, or until chicken is tender.  Serve over rice or noodles.

SURVEY SAYS...  keeper!  Everyone was a member of the "Clean Plate Club" on this recipe :)

Today is Grandparent's Day, so I made Peanut Butter Balls and we took them to my grandparents this afternoon-they liked them:)

Peanut Butter Balls
2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1.5 cups powdered sugar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the first three ingredients together.  Roll into balls (it helps if it is chilled first).  Melt chocolate chips.  Cover peanut butter balls with melted chocolate.  Let them cool on wax paper.

I learned the hard way on melting chocolate chips!  The best way is to microwave them-first for one minute, then stir, then 20 second increments after that.  Also, I put them in the refridgerator after I covered them with the chocolate - this made the chocolate hard, and not gooey.

Recipe

Last night's new recipe...

Chicken Enchiladas
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 4 oz. chopped green chiles, drained
tortillas

Mix chicken, 1 can soup, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup cheese and chiles.  Place on tortillas.  Roll.  Place in a greased glass 11 x 13 pan.  Mix remaining ingredients and cover tortillas.  Bake uncovered at 350º for 30-40 minutes.

SURVEY SAYS.... I wasn't a huge fan (its pretty plain) but the boys gobbled them up - so the recipe is a keeper! (plus, it was super easy)

Luray Caverns!

After house-hunting in the morning, we headed out to Luray, Virginia to see the caverns (this was one of the few things Ethan asked to do over the summer).  It was an absolutely beautiful day!  The trip there took about twice as long as it should have (I was "resting my eyes" and we accidentally missed our exit, lunch stop, a nice encounter with a police officer-Sean had expired safety inspection tags on his car, etc) and once we got there, it was PACKED!  I never knew Luray Caverns was such a tourist hot-spot, but there were cars and people everywhere!  We waited in line for about 40 minutes, but it was worth it. 

I was there about a year and a half ago, and they have changed it since then.  Before, there were guided tours by employees... now, they give you headphones before you go down, and throughout the caverns are signs with different numbers that you punch into the headset to hear about that particular portion of the cavern (they even have two different options-the kid option or the adult option... the kid option was MUCH more fun and exciting!). 

It was so fun watching Ethan in totally fascination at all of the different formations!

A Boy, A Box, Markers, and an Imagination Part 2

After church, Ethan turned his "tank" into a Jeep, and while I was typing up the last post, he insisted that I take pictures of him in his "Jeep" - they are so cute that I had to post them! :)

the Jeep... (with the helmet)

Without the Helmet...

Ethan even added Stop and Go pedals:)

A Boy, A Box, Markers, and an Imagination!

This morning I woke up to Ethan standing in front of my bed with his "tank"...  A box that I brought home (the kind that reams of paper come in) to pack things up to give away, had been turned into a tank!

Here are some pictures of Ethan's creation...  He wouldn't stand up in it when I was taking pictures so you can't get the full effect, but at least he let me take a picture of him in it!  In the bottom, he cut out leg holes so he could stand.

Front View...  The white paper on the top part is "the shooting part" (where the bombs come out of)

Side View... complete with arm holes

Back View... the white circle things are to "make it go faster)

Inside View...  The tank is complete with controls! 

(Fire, Bombs, missiles, Retreat, and Go)

Ethan did all of this all by himself!  (ok, well I helped him color the outside to make it look camoflauge, but he did everything else-including the controls!).  What an imaginative little boy!!  (The tank has now been changed into a Jeep... Ethan is standing next to me as I type this blog post, and is insisting I let everyone know what the tank has turned into).

Fort and Game Night

Yesterday when I picked Ethan up from school, I gave him a list of choices of different things we could do... ranging from going to DC, going to a place where you can stand and the airplanes go directly over you as they take off/land, building a fort, etc.  Much to my surprise, he chose to stay home and build the biggest fort ever, play Monopoly (his new favorite game), and make homemade milkshakes!  I called Sean and told him Ethan's decision, so on his way over, he picked up the things that were needed for the milkshakes. 

It was fun (and brought back a lot of memories of the many forts I made when I was a kid!) building and playing a game of Monopoly inside of our master creation!

In the "entrance" to the fort... before playing Monopoly

Taking a break from playing Monopoly and making homemade milkshakes.... YUM!

The Fort... in all of its glory!  (Ethan slept in it when it was time for bed)