Miss Mable

When I got home from the office yesterday, this is what I see...

The man to whom I am legally obligated brought home a puppy. I was NOT happy...but it didn't take long to fall in love with this sweet little fur ball. Brad rescued her from Rogers Ave. yesterday afternoon. Our dog Hasting seems to like her, and Layla LOVES her. She is a sweet dog. I had to make a trip to the Dollar General-only the best for us-to get more flea/tick shampoo, a flea collar, and more treats. We struggled over a name all night....we finally nailed it....Mable. When I woke Layla this morning and told her we settled on Mable, this is what she tells me, "Oh mom, dad said if we name her, we have to keep her-SO WE HAVE TO KEEP HER NOW!!"...I think this was a well thought out plan devised by my "legal obligation". Whoooo, another mouth to feed, another person to clean up after, another butt to spank, another day in my world!
This is Hasting, our 4 year old half lab half cocker! Can you see the utter excitement in his eyes!
So, having a puppy is like having a baby. What in the world do I do w/her while I go to work? I couldn't leave her outside, she is all clean, I couldn't leave her inside w/Hasting. He is house broken, she isn't. I wasn't about to lock her up in the kitchen and have to clean up that mess when I got home.....so, she is at the office w/us today. You can tell she is working hard. I gave her a blanket, and you can see where she is sleeping...my purse!
Yeah, life is rough! We think she is half lab half golden retriever. Maybe one of these days we will have a whole something!!

My random thought process

So, I am often told that I "jump" from subject to subject while in a conversation. This doesn't bother my friends who a.) have known me forever and b.) who also have the same thought process. I think it happens when you become a mother. I was always able to multi task, but now that I have children, I am like some sort of multi tasking super hero. Don't get me wrong, my mind comes and goes, but I never lose the ability to multi task. My friends also tell me I tend to ramble-Ha to you. Brad told me yesterday, while I was working on one of HIS problems, that he "lets" me handle these things b/c I am so good at it....truth or load of crap so he doesn't have to do it?-you decide!
We went to the lake Friday night to have some "adult time" for Valentine's Day. Friday, we decided to go to Hot Springs to eat at Cajun Boilers and do a little shopping. On the way into town, I saw a sign for scuba and archery lessons at the "Indoor Scuba and Archery Center", well, this struck me as funny. I don't know why I had never noticed the sign before. Anyway, who puts those two things together? Who says, "Oh, I need a new hobby. Scuba or archery...decisions decisions, oh well, lets go to the Center and do BOTH!" Well, as we were laughing about this, I see another sign..."The Pancake and Steak House Restaurant"...SERIOUSLY? Even better! Who says "Man, I'm in the mood for some pancakes", "Oh, yeah, not me, I want steak","Ah, no problem, we will just go to the Pancake and Steak House". Really, we laughed 4-ever!
It was nice to have some alone time. We stayed at the lake Friday night, and were able to sleep kid free-whoo! We watched the Hog game, w/out Bradley a.k.a The Jr. Voice of the Razorbacks, doing a play by play for us. Then we headed home. We had a nice steak and shrimp (no pancakes) dinner at home. So, that was our big Valentine's weekend!
Monday the kids were out of school so Braxton came over to hang out w/us. He is so cute. Funny how my kids LOVE him, but can't stand eachother. They ended up having to spend an hour in their rooms b/c of their drama. Layla is SUCH a drama queen....it drives me nuts. We usually end up rolling on the floor in tears b/c of her little tantrums, this really makes her mad, so the drama escalates....it is a never ending cycle. The best most recient drama moment was last week. For some reason, she HATES the idea of bathtime. Like it is some new thing we are trying out. So, as she was throwing her nightly fit in the bathroom, I was telling her to zip her lip and get in the tub.....so this is what I get from her-"YOU ARE MAKING ME SO MAD. I DO NOT WANT TO BE A KID ANYMORE...IT IS SO HARD....I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE AND I HATE TO BE TOLD WHAT TO DO. AND MOM, YOU ARE NOT BEING A CHRISTIAN B/C I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A BATH AND YOU ARE YELLING AT ME, AND DON'T YOU KNOW THE GOLDEN RULE, B/C I DO NOT WANT TO BE TREATED LIKE THIS, IF I DON'T WANT TO TAKE A BATH, YOU SHOULDN'T TELL ME TO TAKE A BATH..." Seriously folks, she is 5. And as for the "I do everything around here" thing- HAHAHA! If having to clean her room every night, pick up her toys in the playroom, help set the table, feed the dog, and take a bath is "doing everything", then I will take that job and she can have mine!
Bradley is a bit more mellow. His biggest problem right now is understanding why he can't wear the SAME sweat shirt and football jersey everyday. Boys!

Another easy recipe....

I was told by a few friends ( I won't name drop!) to keep the recipes coming....so here is a SUPER easy one for you guys to try. It is not even close to being "figure friendly" or "low fat" but man is it good! My kids LOVE it. And it is home made, none of that crap from a jar-WOOHOO!! So here we go....
Fettuccini Alfredo
One 8oz block of cream cheese
One stick of butter-yes I said a STICK!
3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup of parm cheese
and a splash of white wine if you want
Melt all and whisk to get rid of lumps...pour over pasta and presto...YUMMM
Now the fun part....you can add chicken, mushrooms, green peas, shrimp...whatever you like. Or add nothing at all b/c it is just that good.
I hope you all enjoy this super easy, full fat meal soon!! Love yall!
*P.S. I once used low fat everything to make this and it was SUPER NASTY! However, I do use 2% milk, so that should make you feel better-HA HA HA! Happy Eating!

Avery Lynn Payne

Sweet baby Avery...

My Kind of Weekend!

Ah, Friday...the weekend...they all start with such grand plans of house cleaning, family time, cooking, maybe some exercise....This weekend I was going to do some serious house cleaning and I thought we might start on Layla's birthday present....a play house. But Brad hurt his back Monday, and didn't do much of anything last week, so working on the play house was out. So the house cleaning it was.... Bradley was spending the night with a friend so I was planning on the detox of his room first. However, my plans quickly took a turn for the better. Megan had Riley Friday night, so I invited them over to play. She suggested we do some kind of craft with the kids......well, that's all it took! Craft Queen on the loose! We took the kids and let them pick out their crafting medium. Layla picked out a small hat box, small canvas, and picture frame. Riley got a picture frame, hat box and a little purse. Braxton got a picture frame! So we cleared the table, and got to work! We had so much fun, and the kids enjoyed it too-ha ha ha!

Now here is where the problem starts! I had several project that I have been wanting to do for the past few months...so now is my chance. I worked on one Friday night, but it didn't really count b/c I was making them for Megan to give to Braxton's teachers. So Saturday I got up ready to dig into the house work, only to hear the crafts calling to me. I sat down, just for a few minutes to start on one.....and a few minutes turned into ALL day. Really, I mean ALL day. You see, I love to do stuff like this, so once I get started I am a goner! But I did some really cute stuff. I got Bradley and Layla's teacher gifts made for Valentines Day, I got a gift made for Misty for Avery's room, and a few things for myself.

Now is where the weekend starts to get even better....Misty came over for a little visit Saturday night. I hadn't seen her in about a week and her little belly had gotten bigger! She had dropped, so she looked bigger anyway. She had been scheduled to go in this Wed. the 11th at midnight to be induced to have Avery. I was going to take her little gift I had made to the hospital on Thursday, but I was so excited about it, that I gave it to her Saturday when she was here. Well, at 8:30 this morning (that is Sunday!) her mom called me....her water broke and they were at the hospital....OH MY GOSH.....YEAH!! So, I skipped church and went to the hospital.



Little Avery Lynn Payne is now here! She weighs 6lbs7oz and is 20in long. She is BEAUTIFUL, her complexion is absolutely perfect, like a little pink rose, and she was very alert. I am so excited to be an "aunt"! And Misty did an awesome job.


So, I didn't really get any house work done this weekend. Did go to the park, did do LOTS of crafting, did welcome a beautiful little girl into the world....so that is my kind of weekend! Oh, and Layla and I did do mani/pedi's last night-OH YEAH!

A little cooking....

Most of you know that I LOVE to cook.....but it seems I have a bit of a picky family.....so sometimes cooking is a bit, shall we say, "deceptive" at my house! I have a weekly menu that we go by. It makes shopping sooooo quick and easy, and the kids think it is really neat. We are so busy these days with sports, dance, meetings, blah blah blah......that a menu keeps me in check. Anyway, Saturday I made a new "dish" for my fam and it turned out to be really good. It was Cheesy "oat" burgers....that's right, oat burgers. Now I know you are all thinking..."Nasty!"....but they were really good and the kids liked them. The point of my post, yes I have a point, is that tonight we are going to have a family fav, and I thought I would post the recipe for anyone who would like to try it :) It is so super easy, and soooo delicious.
Crock Pot Pork Roast
I use a pork tenderloin b/c that is what we like....
Place the pork loin in the crock pot along with potatoes, carrots, onion, celery
Wisk together: 1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup A-1
Pour the mixture over the meat and veggies and let stew in the crock pot for 4-6 hours...YUM YUM. Enjoy!!