Christmas oh Christmas

I am so behind this year!! I just started shopping today...that's right today. For all you over achieving moms who are gasping right now I'm sorry!! I don't know what it is but I cannot get with it! Christmas is going to be over & I'm going to be left with that "what the...just happened...it's already over?!" Anyway, with that being said I've fallen behind on my cooking as well. I have also found it very hard to please the hubs w the new special diet so I'm continuously finding ways to tweek it & am finding that I may not be able to go completely non-processes as planned. But for goodness sakes I'm going to try my best & still continue to cook from scratch as much as possible. My most favorite quick meal for the kids (can be dinner or packed in a lunch) is mini whole wheat pizzas. You take whole wheat tortillas & cut little circles out (I use the bottom of a can & twist til a nice little round disk is formed), then I put them in a cupcake tin where the tortilla comes up slightly on the sides. Then I add pizza sauce (tomato sauce, olive oil, garlic, & Italian seasoning...all to taste) & mozzy cheese & any other toppings the kids might like or just keep it as cheese pizzas. Pop them in the oven @ 350 for 8-10 mins & watch them get devoured! My kids love them!! And since I'm feeling in the Christmas spirit, I'll generously give another recipe that has been a huge hit. Baked fries. Cut potatoes in wedges or however you like them cut & put them in a ziploc w olive oil until they are all coated. Put them on a baking sheet and put salt & pepper on them. Bake for 15-20 mins (kinda keep watching) @ 425. They are so good!! I could eat a whole batch! Add a hamburger (local beef if possible) & a whole wheat bun & it's a very tasty yet healthy version of burger & fries!!

Snow!

Today was the 2nd time it has snowed this Fall but today was the 1st time it was enough for kids to play in it! They had a blast! Snow angels, mini snowmen, snowballs & hot chocolate:) It's very abnormal for Memphis to have snow in November & really weird to see it twice...makes me wonder what the weather will be like when it's actually winter! Maybe we'll have a white Christmas:)
Hot chocolate recipe:
1 T 100% cocoa
2 T maple syrup (more or less to taste)
Heat w milk on the stove
Enjoy:)

Monday cooking

Today was a perfect day to cook! Who wants to get out in cold, rainy weather?! Not me! So, I made pumpkin muffins, chocolate chip cookies (both w white whole wheat flour) & whole wheat spaghetti for the kids lunch & I will freeze leftover meat sauce for future lunches or dinners. It may come as a shock to some of you but 3 & 5 yr olds can be picky eaters. Crazy, I know! So I try to always have frozen, healthy leftovers just in case. Because long gone are the days of cooking up chicken & French fries on a moments notice. Both the muffin & cookie recipe came from 100daysofrealfood.com. The only change I made was to the cookies: I didn't have brown sugar so I used all real sugar (which is a treat w "real" eating!, I used all whole wheat flour bc I don't even keep white flour on hand anymore, & at the end I added just enough oil to coat the big dough ball to add some moisture. The spaghetti is just by taste. I add parsley, oregano, basil (or just Italian seasoning), garlic & onion powder, & a can of tomatoes(real 100% tomatoes). I love onions in my spaghetti but this debate goes back to Mr & Ms Picky so what can ya do?! Avery is not one of those "hide" things & she won't know kids. She always knows! Anyway, I'll cook some whole wheat pasta & there's lunch! Maybe a side of fruit or something if kids want extra. Later today I will be cooking a clean version of Macaroni Grill's Penne Rustica w whole wheat pasta, several cheeses, prosciutto, & shrimp. See I told y'all we still eat very good! It's just not processed!! I will post that recipe later bc I may tweak it or something:)
Here are some pics of my creations:

Lazy, rainy Sunday:)

Today it started raining early this morning on our way to church & hasn't stopped since! Looks like we could get rain for 2-3 days straight so we came home & I made potato soup & "grown-up" grilled cheese. It was the perfect lunch for this kind of day. Below is a pic of the kids I took while sitting on the couch...this has pretty much been my view all day:)

"Real Food" lifestyle

In the past couple months I have really gotten into making everything we eat. And when I say "making" I truly mean most of the food we eat is totally from scratch. I stumbled upon another blog entitled 100 days of real food. It's great!! There are 5 "rules" to follow & it's a lot like reading labels or knowing what you eat as if you were on a diet except a lot easier than counting calories & fat grams. You can't eat fast food, no fried foods, anything pre-packaged must have 5 ingredients or less, only whole wheat or whole grain, & try to avoid refined sugars. It's a whole lot simpler than it sounds. Except you do have to cook most everything you eat so it can be trying at times. I am absolutely loving it! I feel like everything we eat is food that I know exactly what it is. You can also pretty much eat anything you want but you cook it differently or substitute normal ingredients for a new real ingredient. Such as honey or maple syrup for sugar or syrup on your pancakes/waffles. I make a huge batch of banana pancakes on Mondays (my cooking day) & freeze them. I just take a few out, put them in the microwave & voila the kids have a very nutritious breakfast which was quite easy to make & they're getting a serving of fruit:) I will continue to post updates & recipes for our new food lifestyle as well as updates on the kids! This has really become a new passion of mine & I really love cooking good, healthy things for my family but not going overboard as some are doing now a days & cutting out what seems like everything they eat!! We still eat very well & lots of it! :)

Wow! Almost 9 months since my last post! I could have had another baby! Thank the good Lord I didn't:) Anyway, I'm back on the blog scene to try and keep up with the comings and goings of us and our kids and anything else that comes along.
So, I was reading the last blog I wrote and it was about G sleeping in a big boy bed...boy does that seem like a long time ago! Time sure does fly as a parent, doesnt it?? So..what's new you ask?? Well, let me begin with an update on my baby girl. Avery is doing phenomenal. Last year we had ups and a lot of downs as far as Avery's behavior and learning skills. Chase and I (& Avery) went through so much to try and figure out if there was some underlying problem with her mental growth. Long story short, after dragging her from therapist to therapist and always feeling like it wasn't really working she started the 5T class at Hope. She has done a complete 180! We spoke with her teacher, Ms. Jennifer on the day of orientation and Chase even took off work to meet with us because we both thought it was important that she "understood" Avery. It was this long meeting that was basically pointless. Even a couple weeks into class and hearing "she did great today!" or "she was wonderful!" and seeing her sticker chart continue to be full day after day I looked at Ms Jennifer and said "I guess you think our talk was kinda crazy, dont you?!" She laughed and nodded in agreement:) Apparently, it was a whole lot of hub bub for nothing. She's wonderful. Not that she always wasn't in my eyes but you know how a parent thinks. Always wanting each child to be perfect and when something seems not right, you freak! Now about our son. Oh my son. Garner is hilarious, the center of attention, all boy, and can make anyone fall in love with him in a moments time. He's full of energy and I'm quite sure there are days his teachers, although they love him, are glad he's going home:)  He keeps us on our toes and as I said before makes us laugh at least 100 times a day.
Chase and I are doing well too. He is looking at a potential promotion with raise that should happen within the next couple of months so I am very proud of him and know he fully deserves it and that all his hardwork is paying off! I am going to back to school. I will be going to Ole Miss-Desoto in January to finally finish college and get my degree. And of course there is nothing better than graduating as a Rebel:) So, I guess that catches us up and hopefully I can get back in the blog groove!

All grown-up!

Well, my baby boy is growing up and is now sleeping in a "big boy" bed! Last weekend we bought him a full size mattress/box spring set to go with the back of his crib (which turns into a headboard) and re-did his room with a very cool, big boy theme of firetrucks :) My very talented friend Kristy painted the canvas' we hung on the wall (I'll post pics soon) and it looks great!! It's amazing to me how much things change and how different my kids are from day to day. I was at my in-laws this morning picking the kids up and I was watching her digital frame and there were (of course) several pictures of Garner when he was a baby. All I could do was just look at them and smile. Now dont get me wrong, there will be no more babies for us! I am actually enjoying watching them grow and become more and more independent. Plus, they are hard enough work without throwing a newborn in the mix! God knew what He was doing and He gave me a perfect little girl and a perfect little boy and even though I thought I wanted more He reminded me everyday in the midst of the chaos that our family was complete! Last night we did get to take a break from the wonderful chaos and go out to eat. My most wonderful hubby surprised me yesterday and told me his parents would be there soon to pick up the kids because they were spending the night out so that we could have a Valentine's date night! Now, for those of you who know Chase he is not the most romantic, spontaneous person so for him to plan all this AND keep it from me was huge! I was so excited and ready for my night out! We went to Spindini which is downtown on Main St and it was incredible food. Possibly the best filet I have ever eaten! I would recommend it to anyone! Happy Valentine's Day!! 

One week down and I'm voting no weeks to go!

Ok, 7 days with a guinea pig is about 4-5 too many. She's cute and sweet but poops EVERYWHERE! I cant handle it! They say you have to give guinea pigs a lot of attention and that they're not like hampsters where you can just leave them in the cage all the time. I think whoever came up with that is sick minded and thats their idea of a joke because everytime you get her out to play or just pet her she poops all over you, the couch, the chair, the blanket, whatever is around! The person who came up with the "love your guinea pig" idea is the same person standing in the pet store snickering as you walk out the door to take one home as your new "pet". But of course after a week Avery's in love with her. (Why? I dont know. I'll never understand most of the things that go through a 4 yr olds mind) So it looks like she's here to stay. Oh Yay. All I can say is I never really wanted the thing to begin with so I'm going back to my original thought process. Rodents are rodents and they live in the wild or in pet stores. What happened to my mind for the few days before and the few days after we got her I'll never know. Maybe Chase put a spell on me....

Welcome to Memphis!

On Monday, Carin and I took the kids to the park because it was beautiful outside! Low 60's and the sun was shining at its brightest! Tuesday, weather still warm in the morning and we had severe thunderstorms ALL day long. By sunset the temperature had dropped over 20 degrees. Today, Wednesday, we woke up to a few flurries (not even enough to really see, but it was there!) and a windchill of 8 degrees!! And all of us mommy's wonder why our households stay sick no matter how clean we keep it or how many times we get the kids to wash their hands in a day. Needless to stay we decided to stay in. I didn't have to work, kids didn't have school and this time of year is already so rough on Garners lungs that an 8 degree, very windy day is a no-no to an asthmatic unless its necessary to get out. So, here we all sit at 2:19 in the afternoon still in our PJ's. Hope everyone is having a great week despite the variety in weather we've been having!

It's been awhile...

We all seem to be so busy lately! I never have time to get on here and update everyone on whats been going on with us! The latest news in the Williams family is that we got a guinea pig...yes, a guinea pig! Her name is Bugsy and she's a sweetheart! Guinea pigs look like a big hampster but act nothing like them. She loves to snuggle up with you and be petted. She never bites except when she nibbles on your your finger to let you know she's hungry:) Those of you who know us well know that we are dog people and for those of you who know me at all you know I am not a "rodent" person!! But, because of the size of our backyard and other issues we decided a dog was not a good first pet at this time in our lives. So, after Avery begging for a pet for so long we started to do some research. The more I read about them the more I didnt think it would be SO bad. So, off we went to PetSmart and brought home Bugsy. I loved her that night. She was so scared and so nervous (I would be too if I weighed half a pound and lived with Garner. I'm...well a lot more than half a pound and there are times I'm not so sure about Garner!) So I took her under my wing and protected her. I am posting some pics of her and the kids. They both love her!

Times they are a changin'...

We had a very uneventful weekend and it made me think how much my life has changed. When I was younger, an uneventful weekend was not heard of, I never wanted to stay home or just "do nothing". My life as a teenager and early twenties was, well...too eventful. Now, a weekend where we can just be a family and be completely unscheduled is great. Life sure does change when you grow up, get married, and become a parent. The things that used to be so important seem so minor now. When I had Avery at the age of 25 my world flipped upside down. Nothing was about me anymore. My life up to that point had been all about Melissa. What Melissa wanted, what Melissa needed. Now, I'm looking at this beautiful little girl that God trusted me to take care of. It's the most powerful, amazing feeling in the world. He decided, at that moment that my heart was going to forever walk outside my body. He knew at that time I needed her more than she needed me. Don't get me wrong, I've still made many mistakes since she's been born but I know whats important now and I try to live my life knowing that there are two pairs of little eyes and two pairs of little ears that see and hear everything I do:)

Snow Day!

1st ride down the hill

We woke up to 4 inches of snow today! Avery came barreling out of her room and jumped in our bed, then made us look out the window (as if we didnt believe her!) So, 3 cups of coffee, 30 minutes of bundling up, and a short car ride later we were at the hill and ready to sled...and by the way, it was only 7:40 am when we got there. We didnt stay too long since Garner has been having breathing troubles this weekend and obviously the cold air was not great for his lungs. We came home and played in our front yard for a bit and then came inside and drank some hot chocolate:) Chase ended up having to go into work so right now the kids and I are snuggled up and watching Toy Story 3. 

My angel making a snow angel:)

Apparently the snow tasted good...

Sweet faces

Me and My Baby Girl!

It's very rare that I actually get to be in a picture with either of my kids or my husband since I am always the one taking them so when one pops up I am thrilled! I am borrowing my mom's camera while they're in Guatamala and I found this one she had taken at my niece, Savannah's birthday party in November. I had to post it because it's one of Avery and ME and its super cute!

Go Hope!

Avery started cheering for Hope's basketball team and had her first game today! She really seems to enjoy it and looks absolutely adorable in her uniform! All the girls on her squad did great! It's hard to believe that we are already at the age where shes getting into sports and exploring different things to see where she'll find her niche! My baby girl is growing up so fast!! I am posting more pics on Picasa so click on the "links" tab to the right and it will take you to the album.

Avery and Clara

Before the game

Action shot:)

Halftime cheers

After the game...they did great!!

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a great New Years! We didnt do much, just stayed at home and tried our hardest to stay awake until midnight! Chase and I have become such homebodies:) The kids decided they wanted to have a slumber party in Avery's room so we set them up with their sleeping bags and pillow pets and well...it lasted about 15 minutes until we realized it was never going to work! So, we put Garner in his own bed and after they screamed at us for awhile they finally went to sleep. The 3 day weekend was nice, as always, and we just spent quality time as a family before gearing up for back to work/school after the holidays.
Happy New Year and I hope for everyone to be greatly blessed in 2011!!