Danielle's wedding

One of my best friends from growing up go married this past weekend in Boerne!

Rehearsal Dinner

 Getting dolled up

 The beautiful bouquets

 With the bride just before the ceremony

 Sweet daddies sweating it out with babies who did not sleep through the ceremony

My little family

 We're all married now!! We each got to support one another as a bridesmaid on the others' wedding days.  We got married three years apart! The Sages were 2007, Eiferts in 2010 and Pattersons in 2013! Love my friends!

*Remember that the blog will be going private tomorrow, August 1st, just to protect the privacy of little missy.  If you have already told me to add you to the list, you are.  If you have not yet done so and wish to continue following, please either leave a comment or email me : )

DIYM Hat

DIY is a relative term, especially when the project you choose requires embroidery and your mom is the one with the machine and the ability to sew.   So DIY is now DIYM...Do it yourself mom. : )  The DIY project I picked, I actually had to have help on : )
After seeing hats like this on groopdealz and pinterest, I decided that I wanted one too.  Using pink chevron fabric left over from Sadie's nursery and a $2 hat from walmart, I made the hat.

 I cut out two circles that were the same size and I...err mom, sewed them together to make a thicker piece of material before adding my monogram.  I then hand stitched the patch onto the hat.  Easy, at least my part was.  : )

My DIY ideas also led us to make these tshirts when I was in Longview for 2 weeks.  We picked up shirts for the girls in the family and Alex (because he is still little).  We then went through the fabric that my mom has and picked out some to match each shirt (the little girls' pockets match and the big girls' pockets match).  Mom eyeballed a pattern for the pockets and did the same thing as for the patch on my hat (double up the fabric, turn it inside out and sew together before flipping back right side out).  She then used her machine to add the monogram to each pocket before sewing them onto the shirts (little dress in Sadie's case).  I LOVE the way they turned out!

 

 

*Remember that the blog will be going private August 1st, just to protect the privacy of little missy.  If you have already told me to add you to the list, you are.  If you have not yet done so and wish to continue following, please either leave a comment or email me : )

Lake Conroe

One weekend earlier in July, we went with my parents and brother's family to Lake Conroe. 

We swam

 

Watched the ducks

Played and spent time together

Love getting spend time with our family and watching them love on our little girl!


*Remember that the blog will be going private August 1st, just to protect the privacy of little missy.  If you have already told me to add you to the list, you are.  If you have not yet done so and wish to continue following, please either leave a comment or email me : )

Spaghetti

Mom and I made spaghetti sauce one day when I was in Longview.  We used the recipe from my friend, Holly.  It was so much fresher tasting than the typical Prego I buy.  I am thinking of making ahead and freezing it for the school year because we use sauce on everything from spaghetti to pizza, etc and it would be nice to have some fresher stuff on hand. 

Ingredients: 

4 lbs fresh tomatoes (peeled or unpeeled, I usually don't peel)

2 Medium onions, chopped. (I use white onions because it's a milder flavor)

1\4 to 1\2 green bell pepper

4 cloves of garlic, chopped.

1\4 cup fresh basil, chopped.

1\4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

4 sprigs fresh parsley

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh oregano, chopped

1\2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped. (about 2 sprigs)

1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add Garlic, bell pepper, onion, basil, salt, and red pepper.

Sautee until onion and bell pepper are tender (5 minutes or so). Add tomato, parsley, sugar, oregano, rosemary, and thyme. Heat to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 2 house. Stir often or until the sauce is as thick as you want it.

Longview

When we went to Longview for the 4th of July, Cody had to leave from there to go out of the country for work, so Sadie and I got to spend two weeks in Longview.  We were busy : )

Daddy and Sadie before he left

Matching momma

Sadie's sweet cousins

Erin made a welcome sign for her : )

Meeting Traci

Meeting great-grandparents

 

LOTS of spoiling by the grandparents

Swimming for the first time (and 2nd)

Morning walks with Carol, mom and Sadie

Sadie's first church service to make it through

I took and passed the Principalship exam

Sadie's first nail shop experience..and mommy got a pedi

Great bbq in Tyler

A very snug back seat on the way back to Houston (Sadie, Chloe in my lap and Ellie on my right).

We missed Cody a lot, but really enoyed the company and spoiling in Longview : )

*Remember that the blog will be going private August 1st, just to protect the privacy of little missy.  If you have already told me to add you to the list, you are.  If you have not yet done so and wish to continue following, please either leave a comment or email me : )

Chicken taquitos

One of the ways that we were so blessed by our friends after Sadie's birth was by all of the meals they brought.  I did not have to cook for an incredibly long period of time.  It was amazing!  These taquitos were brought to us and I loved them so much that I made them again. 

Chicken Taquitos
from A Wise Cook

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (if you use regular yogurt, you will need to strain it)

1/3 cup green salsa

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1/2 heaping teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cilantro

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken)

1 cup shredded monterey jack cheese

12-14 flour tortillas (fajita size)

Cooking Spray

Sea Salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 425*. Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl combine greek yogurt, salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and cilantro. Mix well. Stir in cooked shredded chicken and shredded cheese. *This can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Just cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge!

3) Spread about 2 spoonfuls (about 2 tablespoons) of filling on center of tortilla. 

4) Spray top of taquitos generously with cooking spray (I used PAM Canola Oil spray). Sprinkle generously with sea salt. 

5) Bake at 425* for 15 minutes. The edges should be golden brown and the tops should be crisp. Let sit 5-10 minutes before eating.

We served them with black beans, salsa, queso and fruit.

*Remember that the blog will be going private August 1st, just to protect the privacy of little missy.  If you have already told me to add you to the list, you are.  If you have not yet done so and wish to continue following, please either leave a comment or email me : )

 

4th of July

This year we went to Longview for the 4th of July (that was over 20 days ago...whoops).  Sadie's first road trip went really well! She was happy and ate/played/slept until we pulled into Longview and she got a little antsy.  I'll take it! I was worried that the trip was going to be stressful, thank you baby girl!  We love getting out of Houston to go to Longview where for us the stressfulness is gone.  We got to celebrate the birthday of the country like normal with lots of food, ice cream and family.  The only difference was that this year, we did not stay up for fireworks. : )

On the ride to Longview

Our little family

Our favorite little firecracker

*Remember that the blog will be going private August 1st, just to protect the privacy of little missy.  If you have already told me to add you to the list, you are.  If you have not yet done so and wish to continue following, please either leave a comment or email me : )

Pita Pockets

I came across a super easy recipe inspiration on pinterest and decided to try it out.

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Pita Pockets

Ingredients
*1 can corn
*1 can black beans
*1 tomato
*1 large avocado
*fresh cilantro
*salt and pepper to taste
*1 cup mozarella
*pita bread

1. Rinse and drain beans and corn
2. Chop cilantro, tomato and avocado
3. Mix all ingredients and cook on low-medium until heated throughout
4. Add mozarella.
5. Once the cheese melts, pull the mixture off of the heat and fill the pita pockets.
*When saving leftovers, keep the mixture separate from the pita pockets to avoid soggy bread.