Unforgettables

Life in the Boonies is always entertaining ... Here are some Unforgettables from the week ...

All in all this was a crazy week ... There were tons of storms creating all sorts of tornadoes in the south. Overall I think over 300 people were killed in the storms. We spent a couple nights of storms at our house and then made the trek to my parents for the third night ... Lots of time in the hidey holes ...





















Also, I have to make note that Prince William and Catherine Middleton were married today!




















Sawyer woke up at 4:55 which was perfect timing to see Kate climb in the car taking her to marry the prince. I watched the whole ceremony and I loved it!
Avery woke up and watched it with me. She was so excited. A lady came to the door while we were watching and she rannnn to the door to screaming, "We're watching the Princess get married!!" She loved it!








Lately when Dalton tries to get in a door he starts huffing and puffing "to blow the door in." :)


When I woke Avery up for school on Monday (the day after Easter) she sighed and said, I really want the Easter Bunny to come back. I didn't even get to meet Mrs. Easter Bunny."

Sawyer is still trying to maneuver all this crawling business ... Here he is stuck in the corner.







Ill find him just SQUEALING!!








Or, under the table ...

Avery asked me for some leftover meatloaf the other day and said, "oh please Mama, I'm the meatloaf princess."

I got gas a couple days ago and it just kept going and going and going. I'm posting this in hopes that I never see this again ... Agh!







After all the tornado sirens started this week Dalton looked at me and whispered, "Mama I hear wolves."

Avery is turning f-o-u-r next month ... I can't even talk about it. But, Sarah Baker was asking her what she wanted for her birthday and she kinda shrugged her shoulders and said, "I really want some new strawberry sparkle shoes." (Lelly Kelli's with strawberries) SB said, "SHOES?? That's it! Avery, come on, dream a little bigger." I'm not kidding ... Or exaggerating- Her eyes got HUGE, she stood up on the couch and excitedly said, "okay, I want a Rapunzel tower, with a boy and her mother, and a boat, and water, and a frog and a big door and, and, and!!" We died laughing. We told her to dream big though!

I have to include this little pic of them heading to school Monday ... Love them so.







SB and I were talking the other day and Avery came in and said, "yeah, It's the p-o-u-n-s-t-u." obviously that doesn't spell anything- but she always hears me spelling things. Cutie.

And last but not least we were getting A and D ready for bed tonight and Avery was really fussy. Finally she stepped on a sticker that really hurt her little foot and she looked up and Sarah Baker, stamped her foot and cried, "I am NOT having a good day!"








Hope your Friday was unforgettable!

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Favorites ... My Fav Food.

I have LOTS of favorite foods ... I'm not really a picky eater and will try almost anything, so narrowing down to a very favorite is difficult. I love sizzling fajitas covered in guacamole, I love ANY kind of seafood, I totally heart pastas, I love steak and baked potatoes, I am a huge fan of okra and tomatoes over rice and I even love yummy soups and sandwiches ... so it's hard to pick a favorite. However, if I think of a food that I love to cook at home that always comes through it's ... DUN DUN TA DUNNNN ..... Beans and Cornbread. It is!! I just love it. I love watching a big pot of pinto beans cook all day long... it makes me feel totally homey. And they never disappoint me, always leave me full, and are still yummy heated up the next day for lunch. They are wayyyyy country, but at my house, they're a staple.
I feel the need to give a shout out to my absolute fav which is fried catfish, but I can't make that at home ... I can't imagine the stink that would leave. I'm sure my tried and true Lamp Berger would even have a hard time getting that one out, so I'll leave that to my friends at Shangri La on Lake Ouachita to cook for me ... The Carr's can fry up some catfish now.

I'm already rinsing and preparing my pinto beans for tonight ... I'll be serving them up with some yummy fried pork chops and I'm trying to decide how I'm going to season up my turnip greens. But, you really can't go wrong topping them with a yummy tomato relish or just dousing them in pepper sauce (my fav). My kiddos love mac 'n cheese with it, too ... we'll see. Just typing out the words "mac 'n cheeeeessee," makes me hungry. I cook the pasta, drain and dump it in a baking dish piling it high with velveeta, butter, whipping cream and sometimes I top it with bread crumbs. I try to have a rule that I only MAKE two things a night. So like, Kraft Mac 'n cheese wouldn't count, or dumping out a can of green beans wouldn't count ... things that actually take "making," that are time consuming ... that also require more clean up. Bleck.

I'm rambling ... and I'm aware. But, my kids are at MDO and I'm totally ignoring the fact that my house is a wreck and I need to clean it. Ok, fine ... I'm going, I'm going.

Lucky Number 8.

Or 34 weeks ... is Sawyer getting too old for weeks? What??


Goooooood Morning Sawyer!! He even looks different this morning ... that's what getting another month under your belt does to you when you're 8 months old.


Sawyer McKinnon Boone has had a BIG month. He has truly livened up this month and has hit all kinds of milestones. He's a lot more "big-babyish." And we have all just fallen MORE in love with him ... how is this possible?!?! How can you love all these little people more each day?? My cup overflows ...

Our little Saw-Dog has been all over the place this month ... literally! Here's some highlights ...

-Sawyer is weighing in around 18 pounds this month, and stays around the 50% marker. He is about 29 inches long though, placing him in almost the 95 percentile for length ... looks like he'll be long and lean! :)

- This month Sawyer has been ON THE MOVE!! He just scooches everywhere! He gets up on all fours and just rocks and rocks, but really isn't "crawling," it's more the little army man scooch ... and he is super fast. He hasn't mastered the art of reverse, so he can get himself into some predicaments ...

- He goes to bed around 8:30 and wakes up around 6:30 or 7. He takes a morning nap a couple hours after he wakes up (usually 8:30 or 9- 10:30-11).

- He has been LOVING food this month! Yay! He has lost a lot of interest in his bottles, but still has four 6-7 oz bottles. But, then again sometimes he just pushes it away completely. He is loving all his fruits and veggies this month, which he eats 3 times a day. He HATED the pureed veggies, so just mashing up whatever we're having that night works the best (Dalton was the same way!). He loves mashed sweet potatoes, squash, mashed potatoes, green beans, and AVOCADO the best! However, there is a STRONG difference in how quickly he laps up his fruit and yogurt ... definitely his fav.

- He also loves sitting in his high chair and chewing on his little fruit "puffs" and Ritz crackers. I love, love this too, because I can cook dinner, work on my Swap Shoppe stuff, or whatever and he's totally happy and content ... and safe! He is so fast I'm constantly looking up and he's gone!


-He's wearing 9M-12M clothes and size 3 diapers.

- This month Sawyer has FINALLY started sitting up! He is still kinda wobbly about it, but he can usually get himself up into a sitting position. He's better if I plop him down and spread his little feet out. But, we're still working on perfecting it! :)


- He also had his first two teeth come in this month ... it was quite the ordeal. Or maybe the ordeal was another ear infection that accompanied the teeth. Or maybe the chicken pox. It's hard to keep up. You can see his little toofies in this picture ... Which is one of my all-time favs. I love his little humidity curly head and I'm pretty sure he's the most precious thing I've ever seen.

- He is such a content baby and will really lay on the floor with his toys for a long time- especially if Avery or Dalton are laying down with him. I am constantly throwing away any of Avery and Dalton's little bitty toys though, he just puts every single thing in his mouth!

- But, THIS morning I came in and he was standing up in his crib. I think I could have screamed, I don't remember, but I was in complete shock. I knew it was coming, but still! He just looked so big! And the crib was still up high and I know he could have just tumbled right out of there!

-He just LOVES Avery and Dalton and laughs and giggles anytime they start to play with him. I love seeing him recognize familiar faces now and get so excited when he sees our families. Love that sweet boy!

- Overall, he is so happy, so content, and just darling. This morning Aaron's mom said she told his sister, Ash that all of our babies have been sweet, but he's just the sweetest. ;) (We may or may not always say that, but still.) We love, love, love our Sawyer.

M is for Meatloaf.

Okay, I've never been a Meatloaf fan. I've really almost been a meatloaf hata'. But, I've changed my tune thanks to the PW's recipe. On my cutie-patootie friend Morgan's blog. she talked about meatloaf a couple days ago and it gave me a hankering. (I feel like with meatloaf you would have a hankering, rather than a craving.) Today has been a yucky, dreary, rainy day and it was just screaming for comfort food ... And you can't get more comfort food-ish than meatloaf. I'm well versed in comfort food, ya know ... I barely even believe in salads. I figure you only get high metabolism for so long- Might as well milk it for all it's worth.
And really and truly, this one isn't even all that unhealthy. Especially if you want to substitute the Ground Turkey for ground beef. Then it's practically a salad .... With bacon ... And tomato "gravy." :)
Speaking of tomato gravy, it calls for brown sugar and do you know the trick with that? Mine is always clumping up and I saw somewhere to pop it in the microwave for a minute and it would soften up. But, do me a favor and don't tell my sister that I was A. using my microwave or especially B. Heating plastic wrap (the bag) in the microwave or really C. Eating meatloaf. But then again the great thing about sisters is they can't break up with you, no matter what. So go ahead and tell her. But be careful, she's way nauseated and preggers and the word meatloaf could do her in.

But, hopefully it will sound good to you!

Here's the recipe, should you care to try it ...

Ingredients:
1 cup of milk
6 white bread slices
2 lbs ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp seasoned salt
Fresh ground blk pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
4 eggs, beaten
8 to 12 thin bacon slices

Tomato Gravy
1.5 cups ketchup
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
Dash or two of hot sauce
* I also added about 1/4 cup of beer into the gravy ... Mainly because I'm try to get them out of my fridge ... But it turned out yummy!

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Pour the milk over the bread and allow it to soak several minutes.
3. Place the ground beef, milky bread, Parmesan Cheese, salt, seasoned salt, pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl.
Pour in the eggs.
4. With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined.
5. Form the mixture into a "loaf" (for some reason that tickles me, anyone else??) shape it onto a foil-lined broiler pan, which will allow the fat from the meat to drain. (I told you this was healthy!) ;)
6. Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf (well, kinda healthy)
7. Next, make the tomato gravy:
Pour the ketchup into a small mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar and dry mustard, and splash in the hot sauce (I gotta little crazy with the hot sauce so I added a little more brown sugar and some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce)
8. Stir the mixture until well combined.
9. Pour one-third of the tomato gravy over the top of the meatloaf.
10. Bake for 45 min, then pour another one-third of the remaining tomato gravy over the meatloaf and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
11. Serve the remaining one-third as a dipping sauce on the side.






I served it with green beans and mashed potatoes. It was a hit in the Boonies! :)






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Easter

This year Easter didn't go as originally planned since Sawyer had the chicken pox. However, I only teared up once about it. I just hated our whole little family wasn't together all day. Fortunately, Sawyer was up tons during the night not feeling well, so we had plenty of quality time together today. :/
The kiddos woke up BRIGHT and early ready to see if the Easter Bunny came to visit. They loved eating their candy and playing with their happies this morning.











We played around the house and watched our wonderful online service this morning that I am oh-so-thankful for in this season of life. The music was amazing and it was still powerful coming through the computer.
They sang one of my very favorite songs, In Christ Alone. Love, love, love.
We tried to read a kiddo appropriate Easter story this morning but Dalton just kept asking, "Why did the baby die??" over and over, which I guess he heard at MDO or something. But, it was still sweet to see their faces listening to our special Easter story.
Then Aaron's mom came to keep Sawyer after she had lunch with her family. I went ahead and dressed Sawyer in his little outfit so we could attempt a family photo. I so love any picture with all of us in it because they are super rare! I thought these actually turned out!








Then we kissed Sawyer bye bye (who all but started jumping for joy when he saw Lynda, so I know he was in good hands) and headed off to a park with my family, both of my sister's in laws, cousins, friends - it was a big crowd and SO fun! We played all kinds of activities, hunted eggs, ate lots of yummy food and just enjoyed the beautiful weather and celebrated our Savior. It was a special day that I hope we repeat!














































We missed our little Saw-Dog, but had an overall egg-stra special Easter Sunday!

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Egg Hunting

Aaron took the bambino's over to the the church for a little egg hunting this morning. I stayed at home with our little man ...

Aaron sent me lots of pics from their egg-hunting adventure. :)










































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:)

I heart Saturdays ...

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Unforgettables

This week Avery yelled out in Target to the mom with a 3week old-ish baby in her arms, "Look mama she has a big baby in her belly." No ... No she didn't. She was holding the baby. No baby in the belly.

Minutes later we were walking through the store and Dalton screamed, "I tooted!" I ignored him to which he turned up the volume several decimals and screamed, "Hey momma, I tooted! A big one!"
I can barely say the word toot. I grew up with all girly girls. We didn't talk about any such thing and to this day I would tell you that I don't do anything like that. Much less have my child scream out about it in public.
Ahhh ... They keep me humble.

Me: Look, Avery here's some cute new red shoes! What do you think?
Avery: They're good, but pink is better. You know that Momma!

This week one of my dining chairs had broken and I was picking it up from the repair shop. As they were loading it in the back Dalton started talking to the nice warehouse manager like they were ole' pals ... "Hi, my name's Dalton. I'm six (no, he's not) This is Vee-Vee, she's two. I hunted eggs at school. I like balls. I gotttaaaa sticker!! It's a sun. " That sweet man listened and nodded and laughed like he was totally interested, too. I just love when people are nice to my kiddos and act like they're little people who they find totally delightful. Made my day.

Avery and Dalton think we went to DisneyWorld since we took them toDisney on Ice. They keep asking if we can go back to Disney World and Avery wonders why we didn't ride an airplane. One of my favorite things about the show was D screaming at the top of his lungs OH MY GOSH!!!! At everything. No really, everything. I'm pretty sure he loved it almost as much as Avery.










Today I came in and Avery had an old book from the bookshelf and had her magnetic dress up doll in her lap under blankets reading to it. She would say, "and this is when your daddy and I got married; and this is when you were a baby ... You were the sweetest baby. And this is when we went to the zoo, etc"












Earlier this week A started dancing through the house saying, "and 123, 123, 123." Finally she kinda shrugged her shoulders and said, "It's no fun to dance without and handsome prince." Dalton looked at her and said, "I'm a prince, I will." They've been waltzing ever since. In between wrestling matches, of course.



Happy Good Friday!


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Princess Wishes

Disney on Ice: Princess Wishes came to town and of course we had to take Avery. We even
last minute decided to take D too and I'm so glad we did. He clapped and hooted and hollered the while time.
Avery was in shock. Like ... I really thought she was gonna fall right over. Even just sitting down waiting she kept looking over at me and grinning from ear to ear. When it started and Tinkerbell skated out her jaw dropped open and I don't think it closed the rest of the time. She would wave and wave and wave to all the princesses. And seriously had the best night of her life. When Aaron was telling Dalton he needed to calm down or we would have to leave, Avery's eyes got big, she looked at me like "say it ain't so!" and then YELLED at Dalton to sit. down. While holding down the seat on the folding chair. She was in heaven- for real.
My camera battery is having issues so I only had the camera on my phone. But, of course I snapped some pics. It was SUCH a fun show and I highly recommend it!
















































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