The Capitol Building

Nana and I took the girls through the Capitol building yesterday. It is an amazing building built almost completely out of marble. It had been years since I had been in there. We had a good time just looking around  for a little bit.

The park and some fish

My mom lives downtown and the Municipal Park is super close to their condo, so they are always taking the girls down there. Today my mom and I took the girls to the park and to the MK Nature Center, which is attached to it. In the MK Nature Center there are walking paths throughout some beautiful landscapes full of information on fish and such. There are big ponds and tanks full of fish and stuff. It's pretty cool and the best part is that is free. Check it out sometime if you have never been.

Halloween Cookies

As tradition holds...we made Halloween sugar cookies today. The girls and I managed to make about 4 dozen cut out pumpkins. We had a lot of fun decorating them.

Halloween Costumes

The girls have picked out their costumes. Zoe is going to be a monarch butterfly and Bella is going to be spiderman. yup...spiderman. anyways...they couldn't wait to try the costumes on once we got them home.

Monkey Business

Isabella didn't have school last Friday and I kept Zoe home too. We went out to breakfast, then went grocery shopping, and naps. After nap time since it was so rainy we decided it would be fun to go somewhere to let off some steam. Monkey Business it was. I took a book and off we went. We were there for probably a couple hours- the girls just running and playing and me just kicking back and reading my book. It was good times.

Annie Bananie

As you all know, about 2 weeks after getting Titan, he had to go back to the pound. He was too big for the apartment and I didn't have the time or energy to take him to the park everyday. Plus, living in an apartment, you are super hard pressed to find anywhere that takes renters with a pitbull. Had I known that I was going to keep my house, I would have kept the dog, but hind sight is always 20/20.   Yesterday I went back to the pound hoping to find Titan still there so I could snatch him up again, but alas he was gone. HOWEVER, I did find someone else. Her name is Annie, and she is a 10 month old pitbull puppy. Why pitbulls you ask? Well I'm familiar and confortable with them. We had them growing up and I know what great, loyal dogs they are despite all the horrible things you hear about them. Annie is skin and bones and acts like shes been beat. She's fine with women, but when it comes to men, she is super skittish, but she is already a really good girl. She sits and is house trained, but we will ahve to work on crate training her. She was not a fan of the crate. She beat the door down using the thick pitbull skull of hers. ;o)

Benson

Zoe has a boyfriend, his name is Benson. This is not just your usual little boy and girl friendship- this is a relationship. They are in LOVE. They've been caught kissing at school twice now- great right?!?! any time she is away from him all she can do is talk about him, and the minute she gets to school she makes a bee line for him, and boy does he do the same for her. He sits and waits patiently- or not so much- and once Zo gets to school, man, he hops up and runs right to her. It is super cute. BUT, if they're caught kissing again, Benson and I are going to have a little chit chat! ;o)

Tuna Noodle Casserole

This cold weather is making me wanna bring out all the comfort food classics. I love tuna noodle casserole and so do the girls. I will be making this super simple recipe I found off allrecipes.com often this winter.

 Ingredients:

• 1 (12 ounce) package egg noodles
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained
• 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 (4.5 ounce) can sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup crushed potato chips

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
3. In a large bowl, thoroughly mix noodles, onion, 1 cup cheese, peas, tuna, soup and mushrooms. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and top with potato chip crumbs and remaining 1 cup cheese.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheese is bubbly.

Chili

Yesterday the wind was blowing a 100 miles an hour, the rain was pouring down, and all in all it was just a dreary day. A good day to sit in the house with a good book a hot cup of tea and a pot of chili simmering on the stove......which is basically exactly what I did. Well, I did manage to sneak a nap in there...but who is talking about that anyways?!?! This is a really good and really easy chili recipe. Hope you all enjoy it as much as we did!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound hamburger
• 1 large onion
• 1 package chili seasoning mix
• 8 oz salsa
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 large can (29 oz) tomato sauce
• 2 cans kidney beans

Directions:

1. Brown hamburger and diced onion about 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
2. Add all other ingredients.
3. Cover and simmer at least one hour.
4. Serve with cheese, sour cream, salsa, green onions and chips, crackers or corn bread.

hanging out