Need a little giggle?

Okay, so I find this totally hilarious. If you want, you can win one at this "seriously, so funny" site.

My quirks

I was tagged over a month ago by my good friend Heather. I've had a little writer's block for the last, oh say, 6 months. But here is my attempt at the tag. Are you ready for a little too much information? Here are the rules:

"MY UNSPECTACULAR QUIRKS"
1.Link to the person who tagged you
2.Mention the rules on your blog
3.Tell 6 unspectacular quirks about you4.
Tag 6 following bloggers by linking to them
5.Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger's blogs letting them know they've been tagged.

1. I am not a deep thinker. One of my friends once told me that she loved to think "deep thoughts." We were 16 at the time, and she was pretty young and immature. But I'm going to admit it. I'm pretty shallow. I spend most of my time thinking about things that are not going to change the world. (My thoughts might change what we are having for dinner. . . )

2. I love a long hot bath. I have a hard time going to bed at night, but have learned that if I soak in the bath for a while, it helps me to relax. I've told Steve that when we build a house one day, we HAVE to have a big ol' jetted tub.

3. I have a large collection of bowls. Yep, bowls. I worked at Pier 1 in college and I developed a love for mixing bowls. I have at least 15 different mixing/serving bowls and I would buy more if Steve would let me.

4. I am a fast reader. I've always loved to read. I read the last Harry Potter book in about 8 hours. I've developed the ability to read super fast, but I'm not very good at information retention. Because of my poor reading retention, I also like to read the same books over and over. I have a collection of about 50 books that I have read at least 5 or 6 times each.

5. I am a picker. Scabs, peeling sunburns, hangnails, etc. I drive my kids and husband crazy. Steve has really dry flaky skin and I am constantly bugging him about scratching it off. I can't stand it when my kids have dirty ears or noses or dry skin. Lindsay had cradle cap when she was a baby and I just about went nuts. She always had flaky skin in her hair because I would scratch her scalp while she was nursing. Grossed out yet?

Just one more.

6. I would rather clean the bathroom than fold laundry. I HATE laundry. I would rather clean toilets for hours than fold laundry and put it away for 20 minutes. This is why I always have a huge pile of laundry sitting on my couch in the basement. But strangely enough, my bathrooms aren't really that clean . . .

I Tag:

Whoever is ambitious enough to try this one.

Our Little Angel

How is it that this. . .

. . . can become this:

See the whole act:

I'm Baaaaack!

I am so far behind on this blogging thing. I have two tags, a bazillion pictures, and a lot of venting to do. But for now, here's a little something from Allison:

Overheard at the petstore:

Allison: Mommy, I want a pet. Can I get a pet?

Mommy: No, Allison. We would have to sell Lindsay to the gypsies in order to afford to pay for a dog.

Allison: Oh.

Overheard on the way home:

Allison: Mommy, can we sell Lindsay to the gypsies?

Mommy: Hmmm. . .

Our Summer In Review

I know summer was officially over last week, but today was the first day that it really felt like fall here. So here is a little review of the good times we had this summer.

We spent lots of time at the fun farm near our house.




Not to mention the funny farm inside our house.




We had fun chillin' with our fam:


And friends:


We had lots of girl time:


And you know that girl time ALWAYS involves chocolate:


Allison played with her sister from another mother:


We went camping in the living room:


We got sick a few times:


Steve relived the glory days of his youth with his very serious brother:


The girls re-discovered their extended family:



Allie met her favorite "kissing cousin"


We went canoeing while Steve's very serious brother took pictures of us:


Allison decided that she LOVES playing in the water.





And last but not least, we taught my very handsome and very single brother to change a diaper. Now the boy has some skillz:


Sorry about the randomness. It's late and I'm a little tired.

The Whole Enchilada

Okay, these are the BEST ENCHILADAS I'VE EVER HAD. Steve requested them for his last birthday. I would request to eat them for my birthday too, but that would mean I'd have to cook on my birthday. (Sidenote: if anyone else wants to make these for my birthday, that would be super.) If you want me to make them for your birthday, you're going to have to pay me lots of money.

Beef Enchiladas

1(2-3 lb.) roast beef, cooked and shredded
4 cups water
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small can diced chilies
½ (16 oz.) bottle salsa
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. beef bouillon
Flour tortillas
Shredded cheese

Cover shredded beef with water. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer on low for 3 to 4 hours. Drain, reserving all liquid. Fill flour tortillas with beef and set aside

Thicken reserved liquid with flour or cornstarch. Pour a small amount in the bottom of a greased dripper pan. Lay beef-filled tortillas in the pan and cover with remaining sauce. Cover with grated cheddar cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I know that this sounds like a lot of work. IT IS WORTH EVERY MINUTE!! I often use leftover roast beef to make this recipe and only make half. It makes a lot.

Yep. We're still here.

I know, I know. It has been over a month since I posted last. So here is an update:

Steve's busy saving the world--one broken arm at a time. So much for thinking that his third year would be easier. He's been doing trauma the last two months and it has been rough. He's feeling a little beaten down:

And anytime Steve's feeling overwhelmed, that means I'M feeling the same.

Luckily we took a great trip out to see the fam.

We played:


We hiked (at least one of us did):

We made some new friends:

We looked at ginormous houses:

We got really dirty:


We had a great time:


And now we're back.



Dang.

Lindsay-Lou and Allie too

For the grandpas and grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins, and any other random people who care:





Have a good day!

Would you like a side of delicious with that?

Okay, so we had something delectable for dinner tonight. This Fajita Salad from the Cooking Light website is to die for. And I would probably eat the Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce even if you smeared it on a piece of wood. It's that good.

Try it. You'll love it.

(Oh, and did I mention that it only took me about 20 minutes to make? Fabulous!!!)

Welcome to our life

Steve had a long day at work today and didn't get home until after 8:00 tonight. I let Allison stay up late, but I put Lindsay down early. This is what I heard while Steve and I were saying our prayers tonight at 10:30 . . .

". . . and thank you for our beautiful little girls, Allison and Lindsay. Huh. I didn't even see Lindsay today. . ."

Wow, Steve. Your power of observation is overwhelming. Glad you just picked that up.

Two Little Girls

What have we been up to lately? Things have been a little a little crazy:


Allison needed another makeover:

Before


After


We finally got Allison to eat her vegetables:


Or maybe not:


It's a good thing that Lindsay loves vegetables. She is such a little angel.


What's that, Lindsay? You also love to eat baking powder? Well that explains this then:





And you also like to eat toilet paper? That's just wrong.



After all that fun, I think it's time for a nap.

A Boo-Boo, a Baby, and a Birthday

My girls have been busy, busy, busy. Allison decided to take a tumble last week. She skinned her knee pretty good and then decided that she REALLY likes bandaids.


She still loves being a princess. She especially loves dancing with her "prince."


I let Lindsay try some frozen Gogurt the other day. This was her response:





Our other princess had a birthday this week.


She loved her new toys:


And she LOVED the birthday cake. She gets her love of sweets from her daddy.





But she gets her tendancy to make a mess from her mommy.



Lindsay wants to tell you something.

Have a good day!