Cookies!!

 During the holidays I crave sweets more then the rest of the year. The other night after dinner I simply had a craving for something sweet. Well from that came home made sugar cookies but you can't just have a plain cookie you need some icing...

From there it turned into a cookie decorating night. 

These are Tiff's cookies. Isaac on the other hand ate his quicker then I could get the camera.

After the kids piled all the color on some cookies I thought why not try my hand at some home made icing. A little powdered sugar, milk, some butter, and vanilla extract and Viola!!!

I only made a few with this icing cause the children prefer "normal" icing (as they call it). It was a festive and long night.

Warm and Cozy

A few Christmas' ago I made some fleece blankets as gifts. I have also made some for my house. We LOVE them around our house. They are so popular with us and family that I made Michael's Step mom one this year.  I thought I would share how I make them...

What you need: 

2 yards of two different colors of fleece material (usually one printed and one solid color)

Good fabric scissors (Just Trust me) 

First I start by laying both pieces of fleece on top of each other on the floor to trim up edges and cut to the same size. Fleece fabric comes with the sides curled up so I trim that off. Once fabric is trimmed and cut to same size I cut a 4 inch square out of all four corners like the picture below.

After all four corners are cut out, I cut 1 1/2 inch to 2 inch thick strips along all four sides of blanket. Each strip is cut 4 inches long to match the four corners.

This is what takes the most time. Go along the strips tying every other one in a knot. Then I flip the blanket and finish tying the rest of the strips.

Here is a picture of the blanket finished. They are washable and VERY durable. Isaac has had one since he was born and it's still in GREAT shape.

My favorite thing to do on these wintery snowy days is curl up under my fleece blanket and watch movies. 

Snow Day

Thanks to Mother Nature my family is home today for a SNOW DAY!!! We went out early this morning to play for a little bit... Didn't last long cause it is FREEZING!! Here's a few pics of the kiddos...

Isaac is loving it!! This is him running down the big hill the big kids were sledding down

Taylor and Tiffi sledding... Tiff's face is just priceless

Michael holding the tree stump down while supervising LOL!!!

Kids stop for a few seconds to snap a group shot just before going in to warm up!! 

Hopefully later today I can get a shot of Isaac sledding :))

One for every Season...

I have been wanting one of these wreaths for a few years now, but to buy one it would cost me $80 at the least. So I decided to make one. It only cost me $25 to make it. That's a huge savings. It is seriously the Easiest/ hardest wreath to make!! Michael was a brave sport and helped last night. If he hadn't helped me I promise I would have had balls all over this house because I was ready to start throwing them at everything and everyone LOL!!! 

How To Do:

Start by hot gluing all the tops on to the balls (please do not skip this part) 

Then using a FLIMSY wire hanger slowly feed the balls onto the hanger...as seen in this picture

Simply close the ends together to make the circle. I had to hang the wreath on my door and add a few more balls and rearrange them until the wire was hidden (that's the hardest part) I am so pleased at how it turned out I'm thinking I could have a pink, yellow, and purple one for Easter and Black and orange one for Halloween etc. But I will just have the red for Christmas, for now at least....

The Tree..

So this year we went for a Pre-lit tree!! They are Great. Tiff and I had it put together and plugged in within 5 minutes (seriously) but then we noticed a string of lights was out... Now that is something I just haven't figured out yet. I have to take some time out now and figure which light bulb is out LOL!! All in all though I'm loving it!! Christmas trees are beautiful. I love laying on the couch watching TV with all the lights out except the tree. It's So Peaceful. 

I'm wanting to make my own Wreath for my front door. If y'all have any ideas I would love for you to share. I'm thinking about making one out of all glass balls?!?! 

Silly Kids!!!

I told the kids to put there hats on and say cheese, and this is what they did instead. Nothing significant about this blog  just spreading a little Christmas cheer from a few of the Watson kids. 

He's just so cute!!!

This little guy is the new addition to our Christmas decor... I have never really been a HUGE fan of blow ups, but shopping at Walmart last year on the night of Christmas we found him for $9. The kids loved him and I just couldn't turn him down at that price. 

Mike went and hooked him up last night and Isaac is loving him. This morning when he woke up he went to look at him and started crying b/c he was on the ground. LOL!! He didn't know we had to unplug him at night. I love how Christmas comes alive through a child's eye. Isaac is a huge reason why I have been filled with so much Christmas Spirit this year. 

I will post Christmas tree pictures soon!!! 

Christmas Baking

As Christmas approaches fast I start thinking about what to take to family gatherings. This year I'm responsible for desserts at my Mom's. Well I tried a few last night to see what was our favorite. This is one we all Loved!!! I thought I could share it with everyone else. It was something new for us.  

This recipe comes from one of my favorite "Nestle Classic Recipes" It has good Old Fashion cookie recipes to more complex cheese cakes. I'm not the best baker. I tend to put my goodies in the oven and forget about them. But I was successful with this one.

White Chip Island Blondies

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt ( I only use a pinch)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup (6 oz) white morsels

1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts

1/2 cup toasted coconut (I'm not a huge coconut fan so I used 1/4 cup)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 in square baking pan

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in medium mixing bowl. Beat sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in large mixing bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels, nuts, and coconut. Press into baking pan

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. 

It's Here...

Happy Thanksgiving to your family from ours!! 

Oops I forgot...

Miss Tiffani brought it to my attention that I forgot to blog about her on the day of her Birthday. So this is to wish Tiffani a Happy Belated Birthday!! She is the big 12 years old. Last year before she is a teenager. She has turned into quite a Little Lady!! She loves being prissy but is so a tomboy too!! She loves horses, the color blue, peace signs, and FOX apparel.  I love you bunches Sis Sis and this one is for you!!

All dressed up...

Well Halloween has flown by yet again. This year we celebrated basically the whole weekend. Starting Thursday night Tiff had a Halloween Dance at her school. It was her first Middle School dance. Friday night she had a Halloween Party at a friend's house and Mike had an annual fall family bonfire. Saturday we went to church for some "Trunk or Treat" followed by Sunday trick or treating in the neighborhood. My kids definitely got the moneys worth out of there costumes :)) I hope everyone had a fall festivities full weekend.

Now it's time to wrap up the Christmas Shopping. My favorite part of the year.

Oooooh OOooohh!!!

Hope everyone has a safe and HaPpY HaLLowEeN!!!

Happy 70th Birthday!!

We celebrated Mike's dad Howard's 70th Birthday this past Friday at The Cock of the Walk. It was a total surprise. He was so excited and Happy to see his friends and family there. 

Some of the crowd...

And the rest...

This is where Mike gets all his good looks from. Like Father like Son...

Happy 70th Birthday Howard!!! Glad we got to spend it with you!!

Still Remembered...

Last night I heard my Husband...sniff, sniff, sniff. He had the sniffles. So of course I get up out of bed and walk into the living room to check on him. I ask all of the motherly questions, "Are you ok" "Are you getting sick" "Do you need some medicine" About that time he looks up and he is crying like a baby. He had run across the files off his Mother's laptop. All her cooking files and researching files made Michael  realized she really wanted a cooking blog. She had already written some articles, with the help of Michael's bro David, they had all her recipes typed up and placed on a CD. Well Michael decided to make her dream come true. Read his post below... A Wonderful Mom

Halloween in the Gulch

 This Saturday I ran in a 5k race called "Irunfortheparty". It was the Halloween 5k/10k. I have to say there was a lot of humor in 2500 people running up Charlotte Ave. with Halloween costumes on. I didn't want a full costume on so I decided to put on all black running clothes and add ears and some makeup. Next year I will take a small point and shoot to get pics of the crowd running... I have to say between the race and after party it was an overall GREAT experience. Only suggestions I have would be... to have non-alcoholic drinks. Last thing I wanted after running 3.1 miles was a beer!! Plus Isaac was thirsty as well.

    Tina was a sexy bunny :))

Mike was just Rachel's Mental Support LOL!!

Coming into the finish line...

Women's Half Marathon

A few months ago my friend Tina and I went on a school trip to Land Between the Lakes. We got to talking on the way there and realized we both ran. Well one conversation lead to another and next thing I knew it I was signing up for a Half Marathon!! Let me say BEST EXPERIENCE EVER (besides my children being born). I joined her running team called East Nasty running group. A group of people in five points who meet every Wed night and Sun morning to run.

I participated in the Women's Half Marathon . Very well organized event. I would totally suggest every person do a half marathon. I went through so many emotions along the way. First being nervous about the big day. Second the adrenaline that takes over until you cross the finish line. Third tears of gratefulness  for being blessed by God for me to be physically fit enough to be part of such a huge event. Fourth Tears of pain cause fatigue and pain were setting in. Fifth tears of sadness cause one of my fellow racers collapsed with a heart attack. Sixth tears of JOY cause I was crossing the finish line with a Personal Record. Seventh Why do I have to walk a mile to the car when I just finished 13.1??? 

The first time I did 13.1, I completed it in 3 hour and 47 minutes. This time I crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 12 minutes (same course).  That's 35 minute improvement!! Here are a few pics of my team and fellow runner friends!!

This is Tina and I. Tina is the one who went with me to LBL. She has been an AWESOME running buddy. We have shared lots of tears on the pavement!!

 You can't tell in the pics but Tina had gotten us 13.1 tattoos for our cheeks.

Team East Nasty!!!

Since I went to church I couldn't meet the East Nasty group on Sun mornings... So we started our own little group to meet on Sat mornings. Tina, Megan, Melinda, Phyllis, and Me!!

This is us running up 2nd Ave on mile 11... ALMOST FINISHED!!!

Surgery update...

I will start off saying Everything went well!!! 

Yesterday Morning I can't believe I woke up feeling calm. I was able to keep my thoughts together and get everything packed and ready. Didn't even forget anything. We let Isaac sleep until we had 15 minutes til time to head to Hospital. When this boy wakes up he wants chocolate milk in hand and his TV shows. Isaac did AWESOME never once even asked for a drink. I was shocked!!! 

When we first got to hospital Isaac was playing with his brand new Vanderbilt football and had no worries. Then they called us back to his room and he screamed. Isaac fought me when it was time to put on his gown. They check ed all his vitals and it was time to give the good Syrup. Isaac drank all his meds up. No sooner then he got the meds down he starts giggling, and I mean giggling. His anesthesiologists was wonderful. They blew bubbles and balloons, even played with bouncy balls. Then he was wheeled away :((

The 45 - 60 minute wait went very quickly after getting a bite to eat and talk to my mom. Dr. Bryant called us back to the consult room and said everything went PERFECT!! Music to my ears. I think I cried more when he said that then when they wheeled Isaac away. About 20 minutes later we went to see my love bug. He woke up very angry and uncomfortable. He was screaming saying he was going to get sick. Nurses gave him some Zofran and Demerol. Isaac immediately breaks out with a red face with white blotches. Everyone says it is normal with his age and we are sent home.

This is him sleeping comfortably!!

You can see his rash on his cheek a little in this picture.

On our way home!! FINALLY!!

Things have went ok at home. He is drinking a little and has eaten some ice cream and pudding. I HATE medicine time. I dread it actually. It is the first time I have ever had to hold down either one of my children to administer medicines. Isaac screams and gags and chokes. It is terrible but he has to have them. So far besides med time everything has went well. So glad to be home. Thank you all for your prayers. I could feel them all yesterday!!

Isaac and his new puppy "Barkley"

I love this kid so much!!

Surgery

Well the dreaded day has finally come... Isaac goes into Surgery tomorrow. I know it's a simple routine Surgery but I just don't want my little baby to be put to sleep. This is the most nerve racking thing I have done in a long while. He has no clue what is going on. He keeps saying " It will be hurt Mom" I tell him you will be sleeping so good you won't even know it. 

I have cried and cried and cried (which is not like me) over the thought of him laying in that little hospital bed when they roll him away from me. I'm worried about complications. Just Friday Tiff came home telling me about a two year old girl who passed away 13 days post surgery. She had hemorrhaged in her sleep and was brain dead once they got her to the ER. The Mother of the child is a teacher at Tiff's Elementary school. It's just too close to home. I pray we will have a successful surgery and speedy recovery. I hope in a few weeks when Isaac is finally eating and breathing normal I will look back and say I worried for nothing. 

Please Please Please Keep Isaac and I in your prayers tonight and tomorrow as we head into surgery. I need strength to get me threw this. Never did I ever think I would be a basket case like I am. Thank you bunches. Love all of you :))

Big Boy Now!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Lil Man Isaac. Today he is three years old. He keeps telling me this is his big boy three year old birthday. 

I am truly blessed to have such a good Lil Guy. He is all boy don't get me wrong, but truly blessed with a well behaved, kind, loving, and smart boy. He has a ton of energy and keeps me on my toes. Some days it is so hard to be home alone with a crazy busy three year old, but wouldn't trade any of it.

I love this kid so much!!! Happy Birthday Isaac. Today is your big boy three year old birthday :))

Running!!

Well... I guess I can consider my hobby to be Running!! I have been signing up for 5k's, 10k's, and half marathons to keep my butt moving in order to lose weight. I am aiming to do at least one a month. My main goal when starting was to lose weight but now I'm getting sort of addicted to it. It's like a gamble to see how long or how fast I can finish 3, 4, or even 13.1 miles. I would love to improve my time to 10 minute miles. Right now I am averaging 12 minute miles. After running/walking the 13.1 miles I realized quick my shoes are in no shape to carry me 13.1 miles with out resting so last night I made it official and was fitted for running shoes.

The people of Fleet Feet were Amazing!! The store has an AWESOME vibe about it. The whole fitting process is a science. First they study your bare feet. Then they ask you to walk for them. Tiff and I were acting as if we were on the runway LOL!!  My sales man was telling me things about my feet I never knew like: "Your left foot rolls in but only at the toes and your right foot arch is very strong unlike your left". Then the shoe fitting process began. Let's try this one b/c it has better arch support for your left foot etc... After each shoe you try on they take you out side to run for them and so you can tell a difference in the different types of shoes. I could really tell a HUGE difference in one in particular. Asics... Of course they were one of the pricier ones but it's all worth it when I get them out on the pavement.  

Now I just hope with these I can set new Personal Records and they will take me to the 500 mile mark when it will be time to trade them in for new ones :))

Best One Yet!!

In the Kitchen..

This week my new recipe was Baked Ziti. This has been the best one yet!!! The entire family LOVED it. It was a little bit more complex then the rest I have tried but well worth it. It made a ton... We only ate 1/2 and that says a lot when your feeding my husband. 6'4" and 240lbs... This man can EAT. The recipe did take me about an hour to prepare and then 30 minutes to bake. We served salad and Garlic bread made at Publix deli. YUMMY!! If you haven't tried a new recipe yet... This is the one to try!!

BAKED ZITI

ingredients:

* 1lb. Ziti, cooked (according to pkg)

* 12 oz. of your Fav. Marinara

* 8 oz. mozzarella cheese

* 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

* 8 oz. ricotta cheese

* 1 egg

* 1/4 cup olive oil

* 1/4 cup green bell peppers chopped

* 1/4 cup onion chopped

* 1 Tbsp oregano

* 1 Tbsp parsley

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 tsp pepper

* 1 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cook Ziti in large pot according to pkg.

3. Put 1/4 cup olive oil in pan and saute, bell peppers, onions, garlic powder, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper.

3. Cook until onions are soft

4. Mix with Marinara Sauce

5. Mix Ricotta cheese and egg together

6. Combine and mix with only 1/2 of marinara sauce

7. Mix in Ziti with the ricotta cheese marinara 

8. Spread in 9x13 baking dish

9. Pour rest of sauce on top

10. Pour grated parmesan on top of sauce

11. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese on top ( You can add more according to your desire!!!)

12. Bake for 30 min. or until cheese is melted

13. Let stand about 10 min... ENJOY!!!

Running!!

I've been running a lot here lately, trying to train for a half marathon...Well I have some news to brag on myself. This past Saturday seven of us decided to try our feet at the half marathon track for training purposes. Only 5 of us crossed the finish line. We originally told ourselves we would just walk to get the mileage in. We ended up run/walking it. I COMPLETED a half marathon. To Qualify for the race you have to complete it in 4 hours: 50 minutes. I am proud to say I finished it in  3 hours and 47 minutes!!! I have Accomplished 13.1 miles. 

This is my running buddy. She is my neighbor, My friend, And my daughter's BFF Mommy!! We have been spending a ton of time together between the girls and school. Shopping, Running, and Grill Outs!!! Thank you so much Tina for being my motivation, inspiration, and ass kicker. Tee Hee!!

The race began at Country Music Hall of Fame. We ran all over Nashville from the heart of Downtown to Centennial Park to Belmont to Music Row to even the Titan's Stadium. Finishing off back at The Country Music Hall of Fame. 

Now that I have the running down. I need to focus on my diet. You see you do all that running then your starving... I tell myself it's ok to have this piece of cake cause I'm running 13.1 miles tomorrow. Well I burned 1792 calories during my run. Took 22,000 steps and did Vigorous exercise for 3 hours and 47 minutes but yet I'm not losing weight. I've actually gained some. So this is my Vow to myself that from today til December 31, 2010 I am going to watch my food and actually lose while I'm putting my body through the pain.