God's Little Grace

I Need A Change...

7:30 AM | Posted by Unknown

I need a change and some new ideas from you my readers. I have a few questions for you... Answer as many or as few questions as you want.

1. What is your favorite store for clothes for yourself? Also what is your favorite store for your little one?
I have a difficult time shopping for myself. I am NOT a fashionista by any means. I try, but most of the time I fail. I continually see other ladies and want their clothes, and tell myself, why couldn't I do that?? I end up wearing workout clothes more than anything. I am however a lot better at Grace's clothes! Those are so much easier to pick out.

2. What is your favorite workout video?
I have been using the same workout video since I was 15. (or maybe even earlier) This video has stuck with my for a long time and it really works for me! The thing is, is that I have it memorized and sometimes would like to have a little change.

3. What is your favorite scent for candles?
I bought a candle warmer last fall and now love to have it warming a candle at all times! It just fills my house with the smells of any season. I just need some more ideas on candle scents that you enjoy.

4. What is your families favorite recipe?
I really enjoy trying new recipes and a good friend of mine e-mailed me a recipe her family loves and it made me think that I would love to try some of your recipes! I am always "showing off" recipes of mine and would like to display and try some of yours.

5. What brand of makeup do you use?
Sadly, I am still using drugstore makeup. I have just never wanted to spend money on makeup that I don't really like. Drugstore makeup is a lot cheaper, so I need some advice as where to start.

Don't worry I have more questions, but I will spare you until another post. Please help me out and answer as many or as few questions as you would like.

Thanks!

Labels:Family,Love | 4 comments

Fun Had By All!

2:19 PM | Posted by Unknown

Our weekends are always interesting and this one was no exception! It began Saturday morning with me headed out the door quite early (for a Saturday) to a big consignment sale in Greenville. I had been planning on going for a while and was really looking forward to going. My wonderful husband was gracious enough to keep Grace so I could have some "me" time. I arrived just in time and began shopping! (one of my favorite activities) Sadly, I was unable to find a lot of goods. I did however buy more hair bows!!

When I got home the hubby was ready to get outside, and so was I. It was time for a family run! We loaded up Baby Grace and Addis (the doggy) and went for a 5.5 mile run (my FAVORITE activity!) It was a beautiful day and felt so good to be running a shorts and a tee-shirt.

When we got home it was time to get to work. Since we (and I mean Michael) pressure washed the house the other weekend the porch was now ready to be painted. We began sanding, scraping and prepping the porch for paint. Then Sunday we began the painting process. Actually the painting went a lot quicker than we expected.

We had two special helpers. Aren't they cute?

Can you tell that we painted it? Doesn't it look better!?!?

One day we will have all these outside projects done?

Labels:Family,Remodeling | 2 comments

Need A Little Advice- Part 2

11:51 AM | Posted by Unknown

A few months ago I posted that I needed a little advice. Since then I have become a little more mommy smart. Here is what I have learned...

1. Infant Spoons- I stumbled across a coupon for buy one get one free on infant spoons! SCORE! That is how I made my decision on which spoons to buy. We ended up getting the Munchkin colorful infant spoons. Grace really could careless what I feed her with as long as I am feeding her!

2. Highchair- For the time being our wonderful and gracious neighbors are letting us use a an activity seat. This is working out well to feed her and for her to play. It even attaches to a chair so she can sit at the table and eat with us. I am still actively looking for a wooden highchair, so if you see one please let me know!

3. Umbrella Stroller- I have not purchased one yet, however, I am waiting for one to go on sale when it gets a little warmer and will grab one up!

4. Sippy Cups- One of my very good friends has instructed me to only buy the straw sippy cups, because it is better for their speech development. I completely trust and respect her advice and will be buying one that is cheap and on sale soon!

5. Cereal- I ended up buying Beechnut rice cereal. She has never really loved eating it, but it helps her sleep at night. I continue to give her a little mixed with her evening baby food.

6. Teethers- Grace is still not teething. I know when the time comes that I will get anything that works!

I hope this might help some of you mommys. If you have anymore advice for me please let me know, I love learning from experienced moms!

Labels:baby,Baby Registry,Must Haves | 2 comments

Daddy Love

4:23 PM | Posted by Unknown

This week has been really long, but flew by really fast too. Monday morning I started to feel bad and then I just continued to feel worse as it got later in the day. I woke up Tuesday morning and went to an Urgent Care and found out I had strept throat. YUCK! My wonderful, sweet husband came to the rescue. He came home from work and came home to take care of his helpless girls. He has been wonderful... he has washed dishes, taken care of Grace, had dinner delivered and nursed me back to health! (I know girls don't get jealous, I have the best!) Since all I have been doing is laying around and sleeping, I loved watching Grace with her daddy. She loves him so much!

In the hospital before coming home, he was already in love.

He loves cuddling with this little snuggler.

She loves to sing to her daddy.

They both love to sleep with their mouths wide open!

She only has eyes for her daddy.

She even loves to watch football with her daddy.

She will laugh at anything he says, because he is just the best!

She rarely sits still on the couch with me, but with her dad she always has snuggles for him.

Already she is a Wolfpack, just like her dad.

Who wouldn't love the best dad and husband in the whole world!

Labels:baby,Family,Love | 0 comments

Another Weekend

3:05 PM | Posted by Unknown

We keep having the best weekends! This weekend was split into "girl time" and "guy time". Grandmommy, Aunt Callie and Aunt Karen came to Anderson for a visit! "Girl time" began with a new book from Grandmommy and some book time while we were waiting on Aunt Karen to get here.

Grace loves her Aunt Callie!

Once Aunt Karen got here we had some good food and a lot of good conversation!

Callie and I went for a good run on Saturday, right before it began to SNOW! (It only lasted a little bit, but it was still pretty) Grandmommy had warm, yummy chili ready for us when we got back! Sadly, they had to leave on Saturday, but it was still so fun!

"Guy time" was spent in the mountains with brothers and friends. Michael LOVES to be anywhere there is snow!

We are so grateful to have such wonderful family and friends!

It is always hard to say goodbye to the weekend, but thankfully there is another one right around the corner!

Labels:baby,Family,Love | 6 comments

Menu 5

2:40 PM | Posted by Unknown

Day 1
Goulash, Salad & Garlic Bread
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large yellow onions, chopped
1 1/2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon seasoned salt
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. 1 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
Directions
In a Dutch oven, saute the ground beef over medium-high heat until no pink remains. Break up the meat while sauteing. Spoon off any grease. Add the onions and garlic to the pot and saute until they are tender, about 5 minutes. Add water, along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving.

This is a recipe from my very talented mother-in-law. She makes this sometimes when we go to visit her and my husband always loves it. I tried my hand at it. I know it doesn't come close to what my mother-in-law makes, but I have to say I went back for seconds!

Day 2
Chicken & Dumplings, Black Eyed Peas, and Rolls
Chicken (anything that is on sale)
Chicken broth or stock
frozen dumplings
salt
pepper
Directions
Put chicken, broth, salt and pepper in crockpot and cook until easy to shred. Add dumplings about 40 minutes before serving.

We love this meal. My husband grew up eating this exact same meal and gets giddy when he sees we are having it for dinner. This is one of those meals that is perfect to make for a busy day of errands, because all you have to do is just dump and go!

Day 3
Tomato-Basil Soup & Crackers

We call this "Olive Garden Soup" because it tastes just like a soup they would serve. If you have company coming over and you want a soup to impress... well you have found it!

Day 4
Beef Stew & Rolls

2 pounds beef stew meat
1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 tablespoon seasoning salt (I use lawrys)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 large onion, diced

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 cups water

beef Swanson Flavor Boost

4 medium to large potatoes, washed & diced

3 large carrots, peeled & sliced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 can green beans

Directions

Shake the beef stew meat in a resealable plastic bag with the flour & seasoning salt until evenly coated. Heat the olive oil in a skillet; add the floured stew meat to the pan & brown on all sides. Remove using a slotted spoon or tongs & place into the bottom of a slow cooker. Season with pepper. Sauté the diced onion in the same hot skillet for 2 minutes. Don't worry about cleaning it out in between - that's added flavor! Transfer the onions into the slow cooker as well. Pour in the Worcestershire sauce, water, & Swanson Flavor Boost and whisk until mixed, making sure you scrape up any browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat & set aside. Add the diced potatoes, carrots, celery, green beans & bay leaves to the slow cooker. Now, pour the broth/Worcestershire mixture in the crockpot as well. Cover; cook on low for 8 hours. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

This recipe can be very versatile. I tend to put all our leftover veggies from the week in one ziploc bag and dump all of them into the stew. This way the stew tends to be different everytime. You also save money and you do not waste any of those precious veggies!

Day 5

Spaghetti, Garlic Bread & Salad

Day 6
Homemade Lasagna, Garlic Bread & Salad

1 pound Ground Beef

1 pound Breakfast Sausage

2 cloves Garlic, Minced

2 cans Diced Tomatoes

2 cans (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste

2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley

2 Tablespoons Dried Basil

1 teaspoon Salt

3 cups Lowfat Cottage Cheese

2 whole Beaten Eggs

1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

2 Tablespoons Dried Parsley

1 teaspoon Salt

1 pound Sliced Mozzarella Cheese

1 package (10 Ounce) Lasagna Noodles

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, in a large skillet or saucepan, combine ground beef, sausage, and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the fat. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons parsley, basil and salt. After adding the tomatoes, the sauce mixture should simmer for 45 minutes while you are working on the other steps. In a medium bowl, mix cottage cheese, beaten eggs, Parmesan, 2 more tablespoons parsley, and 1 more teaspoon salt. Stir together well. Set aside. Cook lasagna until “al dente” (not overly cooked).

To assemble:  Arrange 4-5 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon half the cottage cheese mixture over the noodles. Spread evenly. Cover cottage cheese with a layer of mozzarella cheese. Spoon a little less than half the meat/sauce mixture over the top. Repeat, ending with meat/sauce mixture. Sprinkle top generously with extra Parmesan. Either freeze, refrigerate for up to two days, or bake immediately: 350-degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until top is hot and bubbly.

List:
Meat-
1 lb breakfast sausage
2 lbs beef stew meat
chicken
3 lbs ground beef
Pantry-
seasoning salt
worcestershire sauce
oregano
beef Swanson flavor boost
flour
chicken broth 6 cups
1 can tomato sauce

2 cans tomato paste

5 cans diced tomatoes

Italian Seasoning

bay leaf

soy sauce

seasoning salt (I used Lawreys because I had some)

garlic powder

elbow macaroni

1 can green beans

spaghetti noodles (I use whole wheat, you really can not tell a difference)

spaghetti sauce

parsley

basil

lasagna noodles

Fridge-
parmesan cheese
butter
half and half
dumplings (frozen section)
garlic bread
lowfat cottage cheese

eggs

mozzarella cheese

Produce-
celery
carrots
potatoes
3 yellow onions
garlic
lettuce
tomatoes
cucumbers

I hope this will make your week a little easier!
Enjoy!

Labels:Family,Weekly Menu | 0 comments