The Firecrackers

Got this in an email from my sister-in-law. It's amazing. They're called The Firecrackers. Took this from their website:
"The Firecrackers are a performance jump rope team made up of talented 4th-8th graders from the Kings Local School District in Ohio. Coached by Lynn Kelley, they perform at venues across the country."



Thanks for sharing, Laura

Pregnancy Update - Part Five

Wow. It seems like it's been forever since I've been on here. Thanks to everyone for being so patient.

I found out Monday that I'll be having a planned c-section October 14th - 10 days before the original due date. Maddie's 4th birthday is October 20th, so I'm just glad the c-section isn't falling on that day.

Everything has been going pretty good. I'm feeling super huge about now and am looking forward to being able to walk without pain and being able to stand for more than a few minutes without my back killing me. All this pain will be totally worth it.

I probably won't be updating the blog until sometime after the baby is born, so please keep us in your prayers.

Shepherd's Pie - Recipe R&R

Last week, Kelly watched an episode of Emeril Green where Emeril made a shepherd's pie. So Kelly asked me to make one. He found this recipe that he liked on Cooks.com. Instead of the creamed corn, I used a can of kernel corn.



This tasted pretty good. Kelly liked it. To me it lacked something. So we came up with a different recipe, just a little bit different.

First off, I made Southern Plate's MeMe's Mashed Potatoes which we both adore. Then I cut up an onion and cooked it with the hamburger meat with a tiny bit of olive oil.

Then instead of the can of peas and can of corn, I used two drained cans of Vegall.

This time it turned out better than before. It was still a little runny, but very good.

Fried Pickles - Recipe R&R

Yesterday, Kelly and I made fried pickles.

He loves fried pickles - absolutely loves them.

I used the recipe from Cooks.com. They definitely needed more flavor. I think next time I'll use more pepper and a little more salt. I'll for sure use more hot sauce in the liquid ingredients.

Oatmeal, Coconut Cookies - Recipe R&R

Last night, Maddie and I made Taste of Home's My Kids' Favorite Cookies.





(without coconut - I was catering to Kelly who does not like coconut - I'm sweet like that occasionally - okay, okay, rarely - rarely is better than never, right?)



These turned out okay. Maybe I was expecting more from them because they are called "My Kids' Favorite Cookies."

I'd rate these about a 7.5 or an 8.

Crunchy Beef Casserole - Recipe R&R

Last night I made Southern Plate's Crunchy Beef Casserole.

YUMMY!

Kelly doesn't like french fried onions (I know...he must be crazy) so I tried to be fair and impartial like the upstanding citizen I am and give him half of this casserole by leaving the french fried onions off of half of it. As you can see, my pregnancy brain took over and decided that 3/4 equals 1/2. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, I have no idea why this was so dang good, but it was just that...dang good!

We'd both rate this a 9.

Best Home Improvement Tool Ever

This cracks me up - so much so that I posted it on both my blogs.




Thanks, Mom

What I've Been Up to

Can't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted anything. I took two sewing classes at Joann's. First one, we made a bag. Second one, we tried to make another bag. For a beginning sewer, boy, it was hard. Here's a few pictures of it:



The lining (don't look at the lovely hand sewn part of it!)


It's McCall's pattern M5866. I had to get help from both my mother-in-law and my mother to help me finish it - thank you!

I'll be taking sewing 301 at the end of July. Hopefully by the time that class is over with, I might actually know what I'm doing!

The baby and I are doing great. While I'm writing this, I feel her punching or kicking away. Saturday I will be six months along. Can't wait until October.

Jalapeno Popper Dip - Recipe R&R

Today I made Love Deliciousness's Jalapeno Popper Dip.

I was a cooking fool today, wasn't I? Hardy, har, har. This turned out pretty good. I made it for Big Daddy, who absolutely cannot stand mayonnaise. I didn't tell him it had mayo in it until after he'd eaten about 1/2 of the bowl.

I tasted this before and after I added the cheese. I liked it better without the cheese and without heating it up.

My rating: 8.5

Chocolate Chip & Oatmeal Cookies - Recipe R&R

Today, Maddie and I made Jessa Duggar's Cookies .

They turned out pretty darn good. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. Best cookies I've ever made, but that's not really saying much since this is only about the second or third batch of cookies I've ever made- ha! I only used 1 cup of oatmeal.

I'd rate them an 8.5.