Wordless Wednesday

I know that this is supposed to be wordless, but I need to explain the extreme amt. of glitter. Sarah did a make over on me.... she was so excited:)

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

Today's TMTT is a family favorite. Most of mine are.... I guess they all are as the family votes on them. Ha. Ok, here's the recipe for Fajita Foil Packs:


Ingredients:
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts depending on family size 3/4 to 1 cup Salsa of your choice

2.5 to 3.5 cups of cooked rice

1 to 1 1/2tsp. garlic powder, 1tbsp. fajita seasoning

1 each: green and red pepper, cut into strips
3/4 to 1 cup finely shredded cheese


Prep Instructions:

Heat oven to 400ºF. Fold up all sides of each of four 18x12-inch sheets of heavy-duty foil to form 1-inch rim; spray foil with cooking spray. Combine rice and taco seasoning; spoon evenly onto centers of foil. Top evenly with remaining ingredients.

Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal each packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Place in baking pan.

Bake 30 to 35 min. or until chicken is cooked through (165ºF). Let stand 5 min. Cut slits in foil to release steam before opening packets.

I usually serve with a salad and some steamers. My aunt serves with tortillas. It's really great either way.

enjoy,

erica

Making a Happy Home Monday

I was so excited for this post! I wrapped presents all day yesterday and finished up this morning.... and then I come to post and LL had done my idea. We hadn't talked about it at all.... Great minds, you know.

So, I changed my HHM to show some of my Christmas Decorations around the house. This is by no means all of them.... we go all out for Christmas:). Dusting them is the highlighted chore:)

Cookie Cutter Tree

Entertainment Center

Sofa Table

Nadiah and Hannah's tree

Sarah's tree

Off to hang all of our laundry..... to keep my home happy

erica

Magic 8

LL tagged me in this meme. Looks fun....

The Magic 8


8 T.V. Shows I watch:

(I don't have TIME to watch 8 T.V. shows, I watch all of these, but I don't keep up with any of them:()
1. Monk
2. Psych
3. Burn Notice
4. What Not to Wear
5. Law & Order CI and SVU
6.CSI
7.Dancing with the Stars
8.American Idol

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Chipotle
2. Texas de Brazil
3. Papasitos
4. The Blue Mesa
5. Fogo de chao
6. Outback
7.Chuys
8.Cuba Libre

8 Things that happened today:

It's only 10 am, so not too exciting yet....

1. Made Breakfast
2. Checked Email
3. Talked to Nadiah about not yelling at her mommy
4. Cleaned my kitchen
5. Made sure that the kids haven't opened their presents
6. Looked at my Facebook
7. Switched the Laundry
8.Currently watching a movie (Mist) with my kiddos.

8 Things I look forward to:

1. Christmas!
2. Warm weather coming
3. Hitting the gym again
4. Starting weight watchers again
5. My twin niece and nephew coming in mid Jan.
6. Running my 3 miles
7. Hannah walking

8. Getting my bathroom re-modeled

8 Things I wish:

1. That Nadiah's surgery goes smoothly
2. My niece and nephew come healthy and happy
3. That I had a laundry maid
4. That Hannah has grown enough not to need any further testing
5. That Walt was done with grad school
6. That my friend Mandy lived about 30 minutes closer
7. That I make it through the winter weather
8. My house was always clean

Don't know 8 people that LL hasn't already tagged..... so surprise me:)!

A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

LL tagged me to do this meme. You're supposed to go to your pictures on your computer and find the 6th pic in your 6th folder and blog about it.... Here we go:


This is Nadiah, our 3rd child, at Holiday in the Park. We had such a fun day together. The kids went sledding, we drank hot chocolate, looked at pretty lights, rode so many rides (it was the day after Thanksgiving so everyone was shopping) and we watched some holiday shows. They had really cool fire pits around so that we could warm up... nice for mommy who hates the cold:)! We loved it. This picture is so fitting, because Nadiah starts talking about the swings from the time she finds out that we are going to Six Flags.... EVERY TIME! We have season passes, so we go a lot and she rides them 4 or 5 times every time we go. It's so cute. This time however, she rode them so much that she pee'd her pants and I had to clorox wipe the swing!!! It was still a great family day! I don't think that I have 6 people that follow my blog to tag.... So, I'll tag

LL already did it
Susan
mommyspice
momto3jjj
tollesons4him
Alishia

happy picture finding,
erica

Here we go!!!!!

Ok... most of you know of my love for the gym but lack of motivation to go daily. My mom (so much smaller and in relatively good shape) has the same problem. We just don't like to work out. We know that it's good for us and that we feel better when we do it; we just are so unmotivated to actually get up and get busy. Well, we've found our motivation. In mid May, we're running 3 miles of the marathon to benefit several charities. Mom's motivation is financial (she's footing the bill for herself, my step-dad, brother, walt and I to do the race), mine is for sheer embarrassment! I don't want to run at a snails pace:) while my family trot past me. So, January 1st, I start weight watchers again and I started race training this morning. I'm actually really excited!!!!

The second motivation is that once we reach our halfway to goal weight or fitness level, we're going shopping! With my mom, shopping involves a trip of some sort.... WOOHOO!!! I'm motivated! Please Encourage me often:) I'll need it!

There will probably be several posts about this as I'm going to view my quest as a part time job.... sorry if you get sick of hearing about it!

on the way to healthy,
erica

Wordless Wednesday

Tempt my Tummy Tuesday

Home made Burritos

This recipe is a new family favorite..... especially for the kids.

Ingredients:
1 1 lb bag of pinto beans
salt, cumin, garlic or garlic powder, onion or onion powder
2 cups of shredded cheese
1 package of large tortillas (key to success: buy the store brand of tortillas, they are usually made in the deli and are so much fresher)
Sour Cream
Salsa
Jalapenos

Preparation:
I soak my beans over night and put them in the crock pot in the morning and cook on low. I don't add spices until about 2 or 3. Once all spices are added, turn the crock pot to high for about 2 hours. Pre heat the oven to 375. I wet all tortillas slightly and put them in the microwave just to heat them a little. I use my blender or hand mixer to make the beans the re-fried look. Then, I spread the beans over the tortillas and top with cheese. Fold them up and tuck in the edges.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes turning half way through. Serve alone or with sour cream, salsa, or jalapenos.

My kids even go back for seconds!


enjoy,
erica

Happy Home Monday

Sorry it's been so long! I've been running around like crazy with sick kids, a field trip, Walt and 2 major papers, kids parties, Sarah's birthday party and freaking out that Hannah is going to be 1 on Saturday.

Ok... On Monday, I cleaned like a mad woman! I had a stomach virus and still managed to dust the entire house, clean the kids' bedrooms, my room, bathrooms, the living room, kitchen and swept and mopped all of our floors. I feel so accomplished! And..... I feel like my home is very happy:)

erica