The Big 3-0!!!

THIRTY years ago on July 1st, I was born. The heavens parted and.......just joking! Honestly, I am not having a hard time at all with being 30. Must be because most of the my friends are already there :)

Here are some pics of me during my early years!


Here I am with my great-grandparents. I think I look a little like McKenna in this pic!


Sporting the side ponytail!!!! Does this pic look like Macy?

Happy Birthday to Me :) Loving the Care Bear cake!



Here's a pic of me and my bro! He was born July 4, 1979. I was born July 1, 1981. I came home from the hospital on Corey's 2nd birthday....he thought I was his present :)

Here we are...ages 30 and 32 :) We are just as close now as we were then!!!

Two weeks ago, my hubby surprised me! I got a card from him that said "Pack your bags...." He got a hotel room in downtown Indy at the new JW Marriott. Our room was on the 28th floor, the window was floor to ceiling! We first headed to the Circle Centre Mall, and saw The Hangover 2. After that we went back to the room and got ready for dinner.

When we got to The Old Spaghetti Factory, 11 of my friends were waiting :) We all had dinner and then headed to Howl At The Moon. It was such a fun night, and such a special way for me to embark on my thirties! My hubby knows me so well, and planned such a special night for me! I love him so much!!!!!

Here are the ladies :)

Me and my wonderful husband!!!!

Have a Happy 4th of July!!!!!!

Food Fanatic Friday!!!

Here's another great recipe to make for this summer! It's a total hit at BBQs!!!!



STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE TRIFLE


1 pt. strawberries
2 tbsp. sugar
2 c. home made or canned vanilla pudding
1 (3 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 c. (1 1/4 inch) pound cake cubes

Hull and slice 1 cup berries. Arrange along side 1 1/2 quart bowl or dish. Place remaining berries in blender container. Add sugar, cover and blend until pureed. In mixer bowl, beat pudding and cream cheese with electric mixer until combined. Place half of cake in bottom of dish. Pour half of pureed berries over cake, and top with half of pudding mixture. Repeat with remaining cake, puree and pudding mixture. Cover and chill for up to 24 hours. Before serving, top with additional strawberries, if desired.

Enjoy!!!

Via Cooks.com - All rights reserved.

5 Jobs I've Had!

My brother can count on his hands and toes....and my hands and toes.....how many jobs he's had. He did most of this moving around in college :) Me? I've only had 8 jobs my entire life, so instead of naming only 5, I am going to name all 8!!!! Here they are, in order :)

Tom's Donuts- My first job! I worked the front window, and was often seen carrying home a bag of donuts. One day when arriving at 5:30 a.m. to open up the store, I noticed the fryer was still on, and a batch of batter was waiting to be fried. So I cranked out a few donunts just for fun :) Come to find out, the employee who was suppossed to be frying the donuts, got drunk and walked off the job. Nice!


Auburn Foundry- This was a summer job for a few years. I started off working in accounting, and ended up in the stock room. Working in accounting kept me cool and clean, but the stock room was a blast! How did I get a job like this in high school? My parents worked here :)


PLUM Childcare- I worked at PLUM in college as a teacher in the toddler room. I had never changed so many diapers and wiped so many noses in my entire life.


Commonwealth Engineers- Yes, it is very weird that I worked for an engineering firm, but my brother got me the summer job when work became slow at the daycare. I am thankful everyday for this job because it is where I met Jeremy :)


Anthony Wayne Services- I started at AWS in college, and continued through my first summer after graduation. I worked here as an assistant to individuals with special needs. I had clients ranging from age 13-53 with diagnosis such as cerebral palsy, autism, angelman syndrome, and traumatic brain injury. It was very rewarding!!!


Break-O-Day Elementary School- This was the school where I started my professional teaching career. I worked for 1 year here as an Instructional Assistant for 2nd and 3rd grade. Clark-Pleasant Community School Corporation is such a great school district!


SENSE Charter School-I worked at SENSE for 7 years teaching 1st grade. 1st grade was very challenging, but so rewarding. I miss my kiddos and families very much, and gained so much experience during my years at SENSE.

Advanced Children's Therapy- This is where I am currently working as a Developmental Therapist. I only work 2 days a week. I do therapy sessions in home for children who are 0-3 years old with special needs. I love my job!!!!

Have a great rest of the week!

Food Fanatic Friday!!!!

Easy Chicken & Noodles
1/2- 3/4 bag egg noodles
1 package of dry chicken gravy
1 chicken breast (cooked and shredded)
OR
1-2 can(s) of chunked chicken
salt & pepper

Place chicken in saucepan, add just enough water to cover. Add salt and pepper. Alllow chicken to simmer for 7-10 minutes. With a metal whisk, stir in packet of gravy. Add noodles and enough water to cover noodles. Stir to combine chicken and noodles, and allow to cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Cook any additional time until noodles are tender, and gravy forms. Salt and pepper to taste (if needed).

I serve ours over mashed potatoes. Enjoy!!!

A New Favorite!

I have found a new favorite website! Any of you ever heard of Mommy Necklaces? Check them out! I do believe I will be buying my sister-in-law, who is due with Baby #1 in late November, one of these as a shower gift. I love the nursing necklace.....I wish I had one when I was nursing Big Mac :)


Make sure to check out what makes these necklaces so cool!


Here are a few of my favorites!




The Nursing Necklace

The Dangling Donut-Blush

Simple Strands

My salsa last weekend was super hot....much hotter than my mom's! I guess it all depends on the peppers ;) Check back for another Food Fanatic Friday this week!!!

First of the Year....First Time Ever!

First of the Year.....The Lake!!!

As most of you know, we are a very busy, active family. As a matter of fact, we have our weekends scheduled full until mid-July. On Memorial Day weekend, we headed to the lake for our first trip of the year :)

It started off a little rough with Macy falling and slicing her lip with her teeth. Luckily a doctor lives next door. At first he thought she needed sutures, but wanted to ice it and watch how it was healing. Luckily she heals quickly, and she was able to get by without sutures!



We didn't let it damper our trip though! Here's McKenna and her cousin, Darcy, playing.

Big Mac's first "lake" ice pop! She loved it!

Our beautiful view!

Macy's friends came with us for a boat ride!

My girls loved sitting and taking it all in!

First Time Ever......Camping with kids!

Jeremy and I have done a lot of camping, but have never taken the girls. So last weekend, we headed down to Brown County with some great friends for some Friends/Family camping! Mark and Jenn have an adorable daughter who is almost 13 months old, and it was her first camping experience too!

Bubbles!!!!

Lunch Time!

Park Play!

Coloring Time!

Corn on the Cob! Big Mac loved it!!!

Roasting her first marshmallow :)

Smores!!!! Doesn't my little girl look so grown up?

These kids survived 90+ degree weather (thanks to the pool), and a scary thunderstorm, that caused us all to take cover in our vans at midnight, for about an hour. If they can survive those two things, any other camping trip should be a piece of cake!!! We had so much fun, can't wait to head out again!

Next weekend we have some great friends coming into town from Ohio to stay with us! We can't wait to see them! Summer is so much fun....busy.....but fun!

Food Fanatic Friday!!!

Yay, Food Fanatic Friday is back!!! Last weekend we headed to the lake to celebrate Memorial Day. As an appetizer, my mom brought out some chips and salsa. I took one taste of the salsa and was hooked from the first moment. That day, my brother-in-law asked her for the recipe, and made it the next day. By Tuesday, my sister-in-law and I were both asking mom for the recipe. I am taking it caming this weekend :)




Mom's Salsa


Ingredients:
3 poblano peppers
4 sorreno peppers
2 jalapeno peppers
1 can of whole tomatoes (1 size larger than soup size)
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup cilantro (strip off stems)
salt


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*. Roast poblano peppers for 50 minutes, sorreno and jalapeno peppers for 30 minutes. Turning every 15-20 minutes. Once they are cooled, de-seed and peel all peppers. In blender, blend all peppers, can of tomatoes, 3 garlic cloves, 1/2 c. cilantro, 1/2 tsp. salt. Blend. Serve with chips.


It is spicy, and SO YUMMY!!!!


Have a great weekend!!!