OH Santa Baby!

Love this time of year but I am secretly glad it is over. My house is still a disaster 4 days later. I keep cleaning up stuff and this little human keeps coming behind me and dragging it back out. We have definitely played with EVERYTHING more than once since Christmas. She loves it and loved Christmas.
We had a fun Christmas Eve. Grammy and Grumpy came to stay and we went to Christmas Eve service at church. It was nice and she had a fun time. Unfortunately daddy couldn't get off work in time but he picked up a pizza and had it ready when we got home.

We opened Christmas stockings, which she was not thrilled about, and we made Christmas cookies for Santa. 

She did like her minnie mouse PJs

She had such a fun time ripping into gifts on her first Christmas but she was over the moon excited about gifts this year. For some reason I was able to find wrapping paper that does not rip…I don't think I have ever seen that before but she wasn't a fan. She had to help everyone open their gifts! There was definitely no stopping her! I am not sure about you but I seriously hate bows on gifts…you can't stack packages without them getting squashed or ripped off and when you are storing them they also get squashed. I have done without bows the last couple of years and I love it…but I do happen to wait until the last minute to finish my gift tags so some go without.

The gold ones with the crappy tied bows were from santa…it doesn't matter what his gifts look like, right? Ha!

This is what missy got to see when she woke up…I was seriously up at 7:30 because I was so excited. I had the kitchen clean and coffee made and we just waited…dad finally woke her up at 8:30 because we seriously could not wait anymore! I am not sure she knew what she was looking at when she came in…she was like yeah there is the tree just like everyday… but once we started giving her gifts she was so excited!

She got lots of fun gifts but her favorite was play makeup, especially the lip gloss, and her second favorite was her dyson vacuum. She has been following me around this evening vacuuming with me. It is so cute!!

Here are just a few pics of Christmas morning. 

She got her very own iPad from Grammy and Grumpy two days after she dropped daddys on the ground and busted it… she wasn't overly impressed, I think she thought we just wrapped the iPad up to give it to her. Ha! I would definitely say this was a Christmas for the books. Now the clean up… and the NEW YEAR! I can't wait to see what it holds!

Merry Christmas From the Brooks!

So This is Christmas...

I have seriously had this song stuck in my head all day…have you ever really listened to the lyrics?? It is so meaningful as to what Christmas really is or should be…

"So this is Christmas

And what have you done

Another year over

And a new ones just begun…"

I am not really sure what I have done this year… I feel like I have been a great momma and hoping that I have been an awesome wife and an amazing daughter while I was at it. An amazing Christian seems like a stretch…but I try! I was so overcome by all that God has given us at the candlelight service at church last night. It really is amazing all the things God has done for us and really makes you think that you may not be living up to the standard! We also watched the new "Left Behind" movie today…if you haven't read the books, please do! The movie only touches on it but it really takes you through the end of times so much easier that the Bible which is sometimes a little overwhelming. I find it a blessing everyday to have all the amazing people in my life in which God has created for me and I cannot wait to see how the rest of it will go. 

Dylan Mackenzie had an outstanding Christmas this year. Bob said this was apparently what being an only child at Christmas is like…it kind of is! Ha! She had so much fun and just really loved being around her family all day and doing whatever she wanted…we stayed in Pjs all day, drove around in the car to look at lights, at junk food, and stayed up way past her bedtime. 

"…And so this is Christmas

For the weak and the strong

For rich and the poor ones

the world is so wrong…"

I have been seeing all of these videos circulating lately about all of these homeless people that do wonderful things… I am hoping I can teach Dylan that these are real people too and that they need help as much as the next person and that we need to be kind and giving. I cannot tell you how happy it made  me to know that I was able to help a friend this year, her 3 year old has leukemia and and she has chemo, good days, bad days, had to move from her family for her husband to be able to keep his job and insurance, in and out of the doctor… I just cannot even imagine! It has been almost a year of fighting and she was so happy when I told her I wanted to help her for Christmas. It really brought joy to my heart. This is what Christmas is all about, giving to others as God gave to us.

"…And so happy Christmas

for the black and the white

for the yellow and red ones

Lets stop all the fight…"

Seems so very true of crazy things happening in the world right now, the hate and sorrow right here at Christmas. So tonight, please count your blessings and pray for a kinder, gentler world. 

I saw these wise words of wisdom form the Grinch of all people and thought I would share. 

Christmas celebrations and pictures to come soon!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Crocking Up: Crockpot Tortellini

I sometimes swear my child never eats!! It's like she lives off yogurt and milk. That's ok, right?? There is protein in there... And a little fruit in that yogurt!! Ha! She decided she would try peanut butter for the first time today... She actually liked it! She even put it on her turkey! *cringe* she also tried a few slices of an orange!! Whatever it was she ate more for lunch than I had seen in a while. But she did also sleep until 11am...

Wanted to share one of my picky eaters new favorites and her daddy kind of likes it too!! 

This Recipe "Crockpot Cheesy Tortellini" came from www.keyingredient.com. This website now requires you to create an account to see those recipes so I'm sharing it here! 

19 oz frozen tortellini

1 bag fresh spinach

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans italian diced tomatoes

1 lbs italian sausage

8oz cream cheese, cut into cubes

First of all... I have never seen frozen tortellini that wasn't in a frozen dinner so I bought fresh. I didn't use a whole bag of spinach because that's just a ton!! And I have no clue what italian diced tomatoes are so I just used the regular kind. In the end, it was fabulous!! 

Brown sausage in skillet. Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low 5 hours!! Since I used the fresh tortellini, I just added it in the last 30-45 minutes so not to over cook!! Easy peasy!! 

I am terrible at getting good pics of food but this is really all you need to know that its GREAT!! 

Mommy had to wear her bib too because good food is messy!!

Happy cooking, friends!! 

Christmas time in the City...

To say we have been busy this month is an understatement!! We have been on the go and have had a lot of fun so far. We got the house decorated….

Dylan was a little awe struck over the tree but she patiently watched (and helped a little) as I decorated it. She was so sad that I kept telling her she couldn't touch everything. I put the tree up with lights and all and then put her down for a nap. When she woke up, I had everything else done and she was so excited! I can't wait until Christmas morning when she gets to see all the presents under the tree. 

We visited the lights on the square…

Family selfie!

The had pony rides, camel rides, and carriage rides. Or course she wanted to do the carriage but the line was long so we had to plan to come back. She had no interest in the camels or the ponies but she liked waving at them. 

We had a fun time at Bob's company Christmas party…

Dylan got to meet some friends and had fun with some old friends. They played baggo and got little gift bags. As you can see, her and Kooper were really into the water bottles more than anything. We ate good food and people got some awesome door prizes!

We sent out Christmas cards...

Aren't these rudolph stamps the cutest things you have ever seen??

And have already got a few in the mail…

This idea made possible by Pinterest (of course). It is a super easy way to display your cards. We send out about 50 or so a year so we get several. I got so tired of them being all over the mantel and the counter that this was the perfect idea for us. Ribbon and clothes pins and done!

We made ornaments at MOPS...

So much fun in so little time! 11 Days until Christmas!! I can't wait to see all the fun stuff the month has in store for us!

Sew Sew Fun! (Take One...)

I am one of those people that like to hoard all of the amazing things that you see on Pinterest...the problem is I never do anything with them! I know I can do them...I am artistic...I am crafty (or so I think)...but I am also lazy when it comes to it. Crafts make such a mess! You spend all day working on something and then you spend the whole next day cleaning the mess and you didn't even finish! Well, recently I found out that my friend Britten knows how to sew but no longer has a sewing machine...who would know that I have a sewing machine and have no clue how to sew!! Ha!
My grandma is an excellent seamstress...has a hole, needs a button, needs to be taken up or out or made shorter...I always call her! She has showed me a thousand times how to sew and it just never stuck. I do know how to thread a needle and do that little trick with your finger that makes the perfect knot but apparently I never paid attention to the rest.
So, this past week, Britten came over and taught me how to sew! Well, at least how to thread the machine! We went to Joann Fabrics first and she kept asking me things like... "does it have a bobbin?"...a what?? So we decided we would get fabric to recover a couple of my pillows that are basically used for Gracie to lay on and scratch and pull and pretty much destroy. The perfect thing for our "starter" project.

We got all the stuff we needed!

So after learning to thread the machine (and bobbin) we got to work! You know the old saying "measure twice, cut once" we should have done this...we ended up with two different sizes for each side of the pillow and after making them even...they were TOO small. So we started over and we ran out of fabric!

We also got some fun fabric that was super on sale that we thought would be cute as a skirt for Dylan. We were going to make it just a little simple skirt with elastic at the top. But, we didn't get any elastic...

Look at those (almost straight) stitches!

Dylan woke  up from her nap and I couldn't wait to try it on her...it was like a mini skirt for a baby. She thought it was awesome but I almost had to cut it off her!

In the end, it was a super fun day and I can't wait to get these projects completed and learn new things! 

To be continued...

Pot Roast Love

The demand has always been so high for this recipe, I felt the need to share it with everyone! This recipe, I think, came from grandma and maybe changed a little through mom...either way, people love it...like people actually will drop their plans to come by when asked for dinner! Ha! I'm not a big pot roast fan but it's actually pretty good!

I know plenty of you that are still basking in the warm sun but here in Arkansas, we had SNOW!! Snow in November...I can't even imagine what February will bring. So, I thought it was only necessary to have pot roast for dinner. I love anything in the crock pot and this one is so easy. 

What you will need:

-Roast...I prefer rump roast...it just falls apart so nicely. Size depending on your crock pot and how many you want to feed. The one I used here was about 2.5 lbs

-Celery about 4-5 stalks

-Carrots (I just use the baby ones in the bag)

-Potatoes (diced and skin removed, if desired)

-2 cans cream of mushroom soup

-Cream of celery soup

-Golden mushroom soup (i think this is the secret ingredient)

This next step is also a "secret" trick, I think.

You actually want to take the roast and sear it on all sides just for a few minutes.

I know, crockpot meals are supposed to be made in one pot but most chefs will tell you that searing the meat first will actually lock in the flavor. But, mom thinks this is a good way to "not have all that nasty blood floating around" ha!

So, once you have that done, add it to the crock pot. I am seriously addicted to these crockpot liners...I am not sure if you have tried them but if not your life is incomplete. Or at least burdened with the horrible chore or crock pot cleaning! They are kind of pricey but so worth it!

After adding the meat, chop the veggies. I usually keep the carrots whole since they are baby carrots and add all to the pot. I usually just fill until full. The more, the merrier. Then add the soups. And wait... I usually cook around 8 hrs but the longer the better.

And...done!

Scoop up and serve to your favorites!

It's so good, it makes you want to kiss your daddy!

Or, if you are Dylan, you want to push your daddy's kisses away! Ha!

Hope your family loves this as much as mine does!

It's Basketball y'all!!

Oh my!! We have been getting D pumped up for a week for her first basketball game. She, of course, has no clue what basketball is but man was she excited!! We waited patiently for daddy to get home from work, got all dressed in our razorback red and prepared ourself for the most fun EVER! Ha. 

She loved it!! Music, light, people watching, oh my!! 

I think her favorite part was halftime. The dance team did a fun routine that she danced to and then the razorback mascots and the "boss hog" which I like to refer to as the giant bobble head guy got out and shot some hoops. She loved this part. "Boss hog" made a shot from the three point line... And if you don't know, he shoots balls from his face... And "big red" made a shot from the half court. She was so excited, she didn't want the guys to come back out to play. If the make a mascot game, she's there! 

She turned her nose at cotton candy (what?!?!) and loved the extra salty pretzel we got. It was so so so cold outside but she even liked running to the car in the cold! Can't wait til our next game! 

Trick or Treat...

What a fun October!! We finished the month off with the best holiday of the year!! Dylan was so excited about her little Minnie Mouse dress and everyone had to wear there ears all week to practice!! She was so excited to get dressed up to go trick or treating even though she has no clue what that is. We went to the Elliott's Halloween bash and she was just in shock of all the people in costumes and just stated at everyone. I decided to take her trick or treating in their neighborhood just to test it out. 

She definitely wasn't sure at first but once she got the hang of it, she was hooked!! We visited the first house that had kids sitting out front passing candy and she didn't want to take it... Because it was their candy, I'm sure...

Second house, the lady came out and she decided she would very politely give her candy to the lady! She said in all her years that was a first! Ha! Such a polite trick or treater! 

It didn't take long for her to become a pro and grabbing her candy out of people's baskets! We probably would have gone all night if it wasn't freezing!! Can't wait til next year!

Here is a flashback pic...

My sweet girl is growing up!!