I Am Still Here!!!

I know I have been MIA for a looong time now...but wanted to let you know I am still around. I have new projects in the works and hope to be back blogging shortly. I have LOTS to catch up on!!!

WW:Anna Flying her Kite for the 1st Time!!!

Show Us Your LIfe - Your Kid's (or future kid's) names

Over on Kelly's Korner each week she does a post titled Show Us Your Life-...! Well, this week's topic is Your Kid's (or future kid's) name.

As I have mentioned here before Bob and I are high school sweethearts, but I have never really mentioned how we actually started dating...that I remember at least. My dad died of cancer my 8th grade year (16 years ago this year). I liked Bob at one point in 8th grade, but never said anything and eventually started dating another guy. Jump ahead to our sophomore year and Bob's mom had been battling cancer and his dad had a woman that worked for him that was a friend of my mom's and she gave my mom's name to him and told him she knows what you are going through maybe she could be of help. So needless to say he called my mom and we all started hanging out, and my mom would go set with Bob's mom so that dad could go home for a little bit and unfortunately she lost her battle with cancer. Bob has a younger sister that I had become friends with and as a result of spending so much time together I started liking Bob...again. So long story short we started dating and here we are today.

We had talked a few times when we were dating and before we had Anna about names and pretty much had it decided well before we knew we were expecting.

Girls name: Anna Christine...Anna is Bob's mom's first name and Christine is my great-great grandma's name. My middle name is after her but my parents had changed it to Christina. Bob has always liked my middle name and will actually call me by it sometimes...so it was only fit to use my middle name, but we switched it back to its original.

Boys name: Grant Alan...Grant is my dad's first name and Alan is Bob's middle name. We decided that we were going to honor our parents with using their names some how and when we had decided on the girls name and going to use my middle name we decided why not use Bob's also. 

So, there you have it...the meaning behind the name. We are set for a boys name if ever needed, but as far as another girl or even another boy I am not sure. I would like to make sure they are family names seeing how we started out that way, but we will have to see if that time comes.

Conversation with Anna!!!

We smoked a turkey breast and some ribs Saturday afternoon/evening and invited my mom and sister out for lunch on Sunday. We had sat down to get ready to eat and I had fixed baked potatoes to go along with it and was fixing Anna's plate and had grabbed my knife to cut her potato...she jumped up from her chair and said "I am going to go get my knife." (She has a kitchen with pretend food and dishes) Before I could say anything I could hear her sorting through the basket looking for it and she came back with it and the conversation went like this:

A: I have my knife also...I can cut up yours for you!
M: Thank you but I can get it...
A: I can help!!!
M: No, that is really ok! I can get it...I don't know where your knife has been!
(with out missing a beat)
A: It has been in my kitchen!!!

and of course everyone started busting up and Anna just sat there and stared at us all like we were all crazy and were did I think her knife had been...lol!!!

After lunch we cleaned up the mess and sat around and talked for awhile,  played catch with a big ball, and ponies while Bob went with a friend to see if they could pull out a friend that had got stuck. After awhile my mom left and my sister was sticking around to go to a friends Super Bowl Party that evening that actually only lives a couple of miles from us, so that she wouldn't have to drive the 30 min. or so back at here. We were invited to go also but decided with the yucky weather that they were calling for just to stay home because Bob may have to go work that night...which he did.

So while we were waiting we decided to go see how bad they were stuck and watch "all the excitement" and then came home and watched the game...mainly for the commercials and I worked on some projects. One being Anna's B-day invitations!

Hope everyone had a good weekend and has a good week! Are Monday hasn't started out to well...

Taco Soup

Here is a family favorite of ours that I thought I would share:

Taco Soup

2 lbs. Ground Beef
1 med. Chopped Onion
1 can (16 oz.) Kidney Beans (undrained)
1 can (16 oz.) Chili Beans
1 1/2 C. Frozen or Canned Corn
1 can (10 oz.) Rotel Tomatoes
1 can (16 oz.) Diced Tomatoes
1 can (4 oz.) Mild Green Chilies
1 pkg. Ranch Dressing Mix ( I usually use 2 pkgs.for a little extra kick)
1 pkg. Taco Seasoning Mix
1 1/2 Cups Water

Brown ground beef and onions together until no longer pink and drain fat off. Add ranch and taco seasoning and just enough water to mix it all together and let simmer a couple of minutes. While browning ground beef in a soup pot combine the rest of your ingredients and then add beef when done. Simmer for 2 hours.

Top with shredded cheese and sour cream and serve with tortilla chips or corn chips. ( I usually serve with tortilla chips and you can also top with Green Onions if you want.) Good to do in crock pot also.

Enjoy and I hope everyone had a good weekend and has a good week!!! Things have been a little crazy around here lately, but hopefully we are on the down hill slope.

Another Year Older!!!

I know I have been MIA again! I need to update about the  holidays and get better about posting on a regular basis, but I have been trying to start the New Year off the right way and get everything organized and cleaned up. Also, been working on Tax stuff so we aren't last minute this year and getting things started for Anna's 3rd Birthday in February and speaking of Birthday's...mine and my twin sister's was yesterday!!!

As my husband comes into our bedroom yesterday morning and leaned down and gave me a kiss and told me Happy Birthday, yeah your thinking aww, it was followed with DO YOU FEEL OLD (giggle, giggle)??? My response was "I felt OLD before today, but THANKS for asking!" I think after you hit 18 and then 21 B-Day's just don't seem to really matter much or that is just kinda how I feel at least. Just another day and a year closer to 30!!! I really don't think I am old and don't really feel old (Usually), but for some reason this year with my younger brother turning 21 in December and my twin sister and I turning 29 yesterday it just feels like we are all getting old. Maybe it is just the whole 21 and almost 30 thing...I don't know.

Anyways, I had a good day!!! My lovely husband let me sleep in and I took advantage of it and slept until 10. I haven't slept in that late for I don't know how long and it felt nice! After getting up Anna and I hung out in our jammies most of the day and was just lazy, then around 5 we got around to go eat. I had my B-Day coupon from Red Robin so we went and ate supper and had a nice evening! We have a gift card for Red Lobster that I think that Bob and I are going to use this weekend. We talked about it last night, but decided Red Robin was more kid friendly, not that Anna doesn't like Red Lobster the few times that she has ate there, but that would give us a date night seeing how we haven't had one in a few months! So all in all I had a nice relaxing Birthday!

Making no promises but hopefully I will be back shortly with updates of our Holidays. Hope everyone is having a Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year!!!

I hope everyone had a Fun and Safe time ringing in the New Year! Here's hoping that 2010 brings you and your families a Blessed year!!!