this is how I'm feeling right now....

oh, please just don't let one of the plates fall!

monopoly...

Tonight as part of our Family Home Evening we played monopoly town{the children's version of Monopoly}.
Do you see the little guy in the car to the right? This little guy provoked my husband tonight. He was not a happy man! The game is fun except for a minor problem with how Mr. Monopoly works. He kind of messes up the game. Parker Brother...you need to figure that out.
Although lucky for him, his monopoly luck works in Monopoly Town too. He won by buying 6 tall buildings and taking money from all of us. Can you believe this man? He says that it's because of all the prayers he said as a child that he would one day be able to win monopoly. {He's kidding!} But really...when he was young he remembers playing monopoly with his dad and brother{his brother is apparently a monopoly genious} and he says he NEVER won. He has issues!!

stroller give away...

Bumbleride Indie Twin Stroller

Check out this great giveaway. I found this on my sister-in-laws blog. She thinks she's going to win it but she's not...I am!! :) I wouldn't even tell you about it but it's the only way to get entered into the drawing ten more times. Check it out! How good would I look pushing this thing!

rocky point...

I sat down to blog about Rocky Point and Eliza is sitting on my lap. I told her that I was going to blog about Rocky Point and she said, "No mom, it's a secret. You can't tell anyone about my beach." Yes, she (and the rest of the family) affectionately call Rocky Point "Eliza's beach". When we drove to Rocky Point for the second time a couple of years ago Eliza was just young enough to not really know where we were going but to just be along for the long drive. When we pulled up to the condo, Eliza shouted out with much excitement, "my beach". She recognized where she was and was really excited.
So the girls decided that Eliza is the President of the beach. Emma Grace was elected vice president. Brenna is the Sergeant At Arms. She is still trying to figure out what her duties are. Todd is the treasurer, of course. I'm the secretary...yep, I get all the grunt work of the beach! And Charlie is the noise-maker. This is a position my dad made up when I was young for "officers" of Family Home Evening. Kind of funny but we had officers and my parents would change it up every once in a while. The baby was always the noise-maker.

So for the third year in a row we went to Rocky Point for the new year. It is so relaxing. We take all of our food and supplies with us and literally never leave the beach and condo. We have zero interest in Rocky Point itself...just the beach. And because there is no TV, no phone, no internet, it is the BEST FAMILY BONDING TIME. We love it!!

We play on the beach all day and at night we all curl up(except Charlie...when he's not the noisemaker anymore we'll invite him) and watch a movie on a tiny portable DVD player. This time it was "KUNG FU PANDA"(2 nights) and "WALL-E"(1 night).

We always take cookie dough for the movie.


Because the water is way to cold, we just play in the sand all day and search among the tide pools for whatever creatures we can find. We always seem to find lots of creatures and this time was no different. Check out the interesting things we found....
a dead sting ray
I'm not exactly sure what this is but it's cool. We found a couple of them.


This was Missy's first trip to the beach and she loved it! The waves scared her a bit at first but she quickly got use to the back and forth motion. She went to the groomers the day after we were back....wet dog with sand all in her fur...yuk!


Our favorite things to do at the beach....
walk along the beach.

watch the sunset.

play in the sand...
write in the sand...
dig in the sand....we always dig a GINORMOUS hole when we are there. I just know that one morning we're going to find a bunch of drunken Mexicans in it that fell into it during the night walking along the dark beach. It hasn't happened yet. If it does, I'll take a picture and blog it!

feed the seagulls BIMBO bread. If you know Mexico, you know what bread I'm talking about.
And have I mentioned lately how much I love this man. Really...if I had nothing else in my life but him, that would be enough. He is the greatest! Just had to throw this picture in there even though I think it's a really gross picture of me. Todd put this picture on Facebook as his profile picture and I just about died...oh my! But oh well, I'm over it.

favorite trail mix...

I am a big, big fan of trail mix's...NOT THE STORE BOUGHT KIND THOUGH!! In fact I would have to be pretty hungry before I ate any of the prepackaged mixes. I know, I know...get over it! It's a terrible thing to be a picky eater. Todd teases me that I would have never survived a mission. I agree 100%.

I don't have measurements but I will tell you what I put in this one. Just dump in however much you like...3 bags of M&M's might be a bit much though. :) Although if your kiddos are like mine, they will only eat the M&M's which messes up the mix. You've gotta have the right amount of everything in each handful.

TRAIL MIX

cheerios
honey roasted peanuts
craisins
peanut butter M&M's
Just Bunches (Honey Roasted flavor)


Here are some other things I like in trail mixes:
pretzels
popcorn
sunflower seeds
raisins(I probably prefer craisins)
dried fruit (mangos, bananas, apples)

I just love the sweet and salty thing....allllot!

old-fashioned beef stew

This is a great beef stew recipe that I've used for several years. It's off of Martha Stewart's website. Oh...yummy winter comfort food. You gotta love it!

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 pounds stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 12 small carrots, peeled and trimmed
• 12 small pearl onions, peeled
• 8 to 10 small new potatoes, peeled

Directions

1. In a bowl mix together flour, salt, and pepper. Roll beef cubes in the mixture to coat. Shake off excess. In a medium Dutch oven, melt shortening over high heat. When very hot, working in batches so as not to crowd the pan, add beef and cook until brown. As each batch is finished set aside.
2. Return beef to the Dutch oven, and add 4 cups boiling water. Stand back, as it will splatter. Stir, and add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, onion, bay leaves, and allspice. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until meat is tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add carrots, onions, and potatoes, and cook until vegetables are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife, 30 to 45 minutes more.

clean carpets and tile....

Today I had my carpet and tile cleaned. Oh...so very needed!! I'll be honest. It's been about 3 years since I had the carpets cleaned and I've never had the tile cleaned since we lived here. It's inspired me to do more "spring" cleaning.

So I'm obviously giving you my recommendation to use them. They are the nicest guys (they are also the owners of the business) and did a great job! You have to use them....

Call Tim or Jeff at 480-678-0890.

And I don't just give recommendations on just anyone.