What's Up Wednesday

-WHAT WE'RE EATING THIS WEEK-

I got a Ninja slow cooker and I've been using it a lot. It came with a recipe book with lots of different yummy meals for me to try. Usually when a recipe books comes with a slow cooker it's always stuff I would never try but the people at Ninja did a great job with this one!

*MONDAY*

This pulled pork was just alright. It wasn't anything to write home about. I will add more seasoning next time I cook pork in the ninja.

*TUESDAY*

TACO Tuesday!

Jackson and Miles asked for tacos one night.  I usually ask what are some foods they want during the week and try to make it. I always get pizza as an answer so I just ignore it. I can't blame them for trying because I love it too! And I'm training them for when they get married and their wife asks what they want to eat! :) 

*WEDNESDAY*

Leftovers from Monday and Tuesday! I always cook extra taco meat so Micheal and I can eat taco salad the next day. :) And if we have lots of pulled pork left I'll put that in the freezer for another meal later on.

*THURSDAY*

Swiss Chicken because it is my favorite. I found it on Pinterest a while back and it's delish! It's from Lil' Luna.

*FRIDAY*

Slow Cooker Chili 

(I'll post the recipe at the bottom.) 

Since my boys will not eat chili they will get chicken nuggets, corn dogs or sandwiches. Depending on what they eat for lunch. 

-WHAT I'M REMINISCING ABOUT-

  How did I survive the first few years with Jackson and twins? Jackson didn't get into too much but Miles and Carter LOVED to make a mess. They would dump all of their toys out and they would pull clothes out the dresser. At least they had fun! 

-WHAT I'M LOVING-

Reading with the boys!

Both boys like reading to me in my room on the bed. 

Carter read to Jackson when I was helping Miles and their buddy, Lane, with homework. They had a short day so Lane came home with us since his mom is a teacher. We all had fun!

WHAT WE'VE BEEN UP TO-

Just normal stuff - school, homework and playing.  I've been cleaning and organizing and getting rid of stuff we do not use. I think I've stocked Habitat recently.  

-WHAT I'M DREADING-

The FLU!! I've become paranoid as can be. Lots of hand washing and sanitizing going on around here! And vitamins and elderberry gummies. I tell the boys every morning not to get too close to any one and wash hands!   

-WHAT I'M WORKING ON-

Cleaning out everything. Our office is a mess and I'm slowly working on it. I ordered the over the door gift wrap hanger from The Container Store thanks to Andrea at Momfessionals. It was super easy to install and you can custom order an length for your door. My door is a little shorter because it's a closet in the dormers.  

See...super easy to install and works great! 

Here's a little peek in our bigger closet in the office. This is a little neater than before but I need to get rid of some more items. 

 The short door is to the right in this picture. This chest was in my den with toys in it. Now it's in the little alcove and it holds quilts. I need to empty the quilts and fit the ones on the floor in it as well.  

-WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT-

Soccer season. I know Jackson will be playing but I'm not sure and Miles and Carter. They all had so much fun playing last year. 

Miles (yellow shoes) and Carter (black shoes) are the boys in blue. 

Jackson really had fun playing soccer. He is a super player and was happy his best friend, Riley, was on his team.  They are both in blue jerseys. 

-WHAT I'M WATCHING/READING-

*WATCHING*

We watch all sorts of crazy shows in our house. The boys love watching the shows on Nick as well as Treehouse Masters. Who wouldn't want a cool treehouse after watching this show?

After the boys go to bed Micheal and I will watch crazy shows. 

 Seriously? People really watch this? How can they film this and the people not get in trouble? I thought moonshine was illegal? We do watch it every now and then and laugh at the craziness.

And I'm addicted to.. 

It is so fun to watch. I live a sheltered life. It amazes me at how these people act. I could not be in law enforcement. People don't understand that if you break the law you will get in trouble.  

*BOOKS*

I'm on the struggle bus with the books this year.  

This was a super good book. I am a Debbie Macomber fan and this book didn't disappoint.  

This book is another library find on the new release shelf. I wanted something different and I certainly got it! I will not say this book isn't good but it wasn't one of my favorites. In my opinion the main character was difficult to like and to understand. But overall I'm glad I read it. 

-WHAT I'M LISTENING TO-

We do I'm still enjoying Amazon music. The boys love kids bop and I'm hooked on Sam Hunt. He is a cutie!!

 We These worship songs are awesome! 

-WHAT I'M WEARING-

All of my mommy uniforms ...

yoga pants and t shirts (and hoodies)

leggings and tunics

-WHAT I'M DOING THIS WEEKEND-

Nothing! We are home bodies with no life! Hahaha!  Micheal will be in his shop building something all day Saturday and the boys will be in and out playing. Sunday we will be at church and I may watch a little of the super bowl. 

-WHAT I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO NEXT MONTH-

I'm not sure. I don't think we have anything too special going on next month. 

-WHAT ELSE IS NEW-

Nothing that I know of... 

-WHAT'S MY FAVORITE SOUP RECIPE-

Slow Cooker Chili

from Cooking Classy

I wasn't too sure about this recipe when it called for cocoa powder but it works! Michael and I really enjoyed it. I usually have leftovers for the freezer which is a bonus!

What We're reading...

I'll start with my 

 DECEMBER BOOKS

since I didn't get a chance to post them. 

This was the first book by Emily March I've read. This is another library find and it was a good story. This is the first in a series and I'll be reading the rest of them. 

I grabbed this book on a trip to Wal-Mart. I've never heard of Debbie Mason but this was a cute, quick book. 

I started reading this book once but I returned it to the library. I saw several good reviews so I gave it another try and really enjoyed it once I got into the book. It was such a sweet Christmas story. 

                                                         

Colleen Hoover is one of my favorite authors. She has twists and turns in most of her books and it is never what you think it is going to be. This one was different than most of her other books. I was undecided if I liked it until half way thru the book. It was a good one!

And here's my

JANUARY BOOKS

so far. I've been way too busy to read.

I have read lots of books by Jill Shalvis. This is was fairly good with a couple of "blah" spots. 

This is the first book I've read by Lori Wilde. It is 8th in a series called Twilight, Texas. It was a sweet story but not one of my favorites. 

I just started The Break Down by BA Paris. I read Behind Closed Doors and it scared me! Haha! I'm not good with suspense and scary books. 

Hello Monday!

I've been thinking about rearranging Miles and Carter's room for a while now. I could not decide how I wanted to do it. I know I want it painted and maybe crown molding but I could not decide how to move the furniture. When my mom gave them a television for their birthday I knew I wanted to get the furniture moved. This past Saturday Michael helped me and we got it done! 

Here are several before pictures from several years ago. I forgot to take before pictures Saturday!

Michael made the beds for the boys. He thought I was crazy wanting them painted blue but I still love them. The "bumps" on the sides are pool noodles wrapped in an egg crate so they would not fall out of the bed. And we had a body pillow stuffed next to the wall so they would not fall in the crack. They were super little when we put them in their big beds. 

This is standing between the beds looking towards the door. 

The dresser was centered with the quilt on the wall but the bed was bigger than the crib. We had to scoot the dresser down a little. 

And here's the after pictures! The boys absolutely love it.  

This is the view walking into the room. I really wanted the beds on the same wall - foot board to foot board. If the bed frames would have been a little smaller that would have worked. Michael was going to make small frames - like day bed type beds. But as we were moving M's bed back to it's original spot I wanted to try it right here. And I'm glad I did! I really liked it from the minute I stepped back and I'm glad the boys like it as well!  

This is from the closet. We moved the dresser to the opposite wall so we could put the television on it. And we moved the little bookcase where M's bed was. 

This is standing at the bookcase. The chest of drawers is in the same spot. It just "fits" there. 

This is sitting on C's bed. 

I need to decide what to do with the pictures above M's bed. They were centered above the dresser. I kinda like them here even though they are not perfectly centered. I could get something to replace the "C" and it will work for M.

But then above C's bed is empty.  I'm thinking about dividing the pictures above M's bed and hanging some above C's bed. I can get a big metal C and M and start with those. Who knows! Any ideas? Suggestions? I welcome all!!  

Here's another view. It just seems like something needs to be above the bed. We took down their vinyl names and now their room looks like a big boys room!  

And here are the happy boys right before bed. Also, these are the new quilts they got from Boom for Christmas. We love them!

Friday Favorites

I'm back with a crazy assortment of my favorites from this week! 

-one-

SNOW!!! (still)

I took this picture as soon as it started snowing. I didn't get snow suits out because we were "only" getting a little snow. Haha! I was WRONG!!

Two hours later here we are. Sigh.... It's a favorite when they can get dressed alone and play a long time outside! And their new winter coats came from Lands End last year. They were on clearance. :) 

This is our street. It was wonderful! A little icy since the snow was light and fluffy but it was still wonderful.

-two-

GoodReads Reading Challenge for 2018

I'm going to read 75 books this year. Reading is one of my favorites!

Here's my books I got for Christmas and my birthday. I also got a Barnes and Noble gift card. I can't wait to shop! 

-three-

A new QUILT!

My mother in law (Boom) made me a new quilt for Christmas and each boy got a new one as well.  It's a favorite and it keeps me warm! Speaking of warm she also made this -

It's a rice heating pad. It has 4 sections inside filled with rice. I heat it up in the microwave for a minute or two and it's super warm. Like almost too hot for me. It's awesome for my neck and back and it's absolutely wonderful!

-four-

 My Planner and notebooks

I'm loving my Erin Condren planner. I've never had a dark cover and it's my favorite so far!

I have the vertical layout this year and I love it. It is so much easier for me. I always let Jackson give me this for Christmas each year. I think I'm going to let him pick out the cover this year and surprise me! :)

And I'm loving my notebooks. These cuties came from Wal-Mart and I added my monogram.

-five-

My Cutting Board

My new cutting board is my most favorite by far! Micheal LOVES building things. His shop is his happy place. He doesn't even mind my "honey do" list of stuff to build! He's excited about it. I'm getting a farmhouse table one day. And I want new beds for Miles and Carter's bed room. I'm excited about getting new furniture and he is excited about building it. It's a win win situation!