BZZ Agent

A friend of mine shared this AWESOME website with me years ago.  I get to try up and coming products if I just promise to spread the word about that product.  This time I got to try Burt's Bees facial product line.  Those who know me well know this is right up my alley!  This stuff is AMAZING!!! It works better than any product I have ever tried before AND it is all natural!!  Check it out:

What a GLORIOUS morning!

With the Daylight Saving time change our children have been waking up a little bit earlier.  This morning they were both awake by 6:45am.  We had the best morning.  We were just living in the moment.  Mason and Mazy were  playing together.  Mazy was talking to us and all 3 of us were focused on listening to her.  We cannot even pinpoint what was so spectacular about the morning.  However, this is a morning we will never forget.  God is AMAZING!!!  We absolutely LOVE our lives!!!!!  Thank you, God!

Out of Mason's Mouth

Today when we were leaving the farmers' market and talking about different foods Mason amazed us AGAIN.

Mason- What kind of foods did God create?

 Mommy- Well, He created everything; pizza, popcorn, you name it.

Mason-How did he do that?  Did he use a magic wand?

LOVE IT!  

Bonfire

Ever since we moved into this house Steve has wanted to have a bonfire in a fire pit that was left by the previous owners. Today was the perfect night for a fire.

One of Steve's favorite things is to make popcorn in a bonfire! Mason LOVES it too!

BIG Brother

We were so nervous about having our second child. We were scared that Mason would be jealous and have animosity towards to Mazy. That is the fullest from the case. Mason adores Mazy! He is such a helper. He always ask me if he can babysit her. As I went to get their change of clothes I asked Mason if he would "babysit" her. This is what I saw when I returned! Mazy also adores Mason. She is always watching what he is doing. Getting her to sleep is a challenge because she wants to know what Mason is doing at all times.

Radiator Springs

We were driving to Union Station and we were in a dilapidated part of Kansas City. Mason says "Mom, are we in Radiator Springs?" For those of you that do not know that this the town where the movie Cars takes place. My little man is such a thinker. I truly enjoy having "adult" conversations with him. I am so thankful for my time off to spend with the loves of my life!

Memorial Day

We really try to make my parents a part of Mason's life. This is not super easy because he has never met them and does not really understand where they are. It is days like this that make me happy and sad at the same time. We visited my parents at their graves. We cleaned their headstones and planted flowers. I love and adore the time I get to spend with my family. Here are a few pictures from our day:

38 Weeks

Just wanted to give the world an update on our baby girl. I went to the doctor yesterday for my 38 week appointment. She said that I am dilated and even effaced. However, the baby has not dropped yet. She seems to think that once the baby drops I will go into labor. She also mentioned that she thinks I will deliver within a week. We will spend this weekend preparing for our baby and our move.

Lovin' Life

I know that it has been a long time since I have blogged. Life is going by way too fast. Right now I am in the process of closing out a school year, packing up a classroom, moving to a bigger house and I am 37 weeks pregnant. To say that we are busy is an understatement.

After attending a retirement party then Emma and Gretchen's preschool graduation I rushed home to put Mason in bed. I truly almost cried that I was only able to spend about 15 minutes with him tonight. I just hate how busy May is. I cannot wait for life to slow down. Oh wait, will it ever?

ALL ABOARD

We all know how much Mason loves trains. For Christmas he received a train conductor costume. Normally he will put it on for a few seconds and want to take it right off. Tonight he wore this around the house searching for train tickets. He was also shouting, "ALL ABOARD!" I love this guy!

Baby Name

I am officially 33 weeks today! This morning Steve and I created a list of things we need to do to prepare for this blessing. We listed things like wash clothes, get diapers, etc. I then mentioned we should probably decide on a name. This has been a topic of discussion since January when we found out we were having a girl. After Steve and I were married we discussed baby names before we were even pregnant. We both liked Mazy for a girl. When we were pregnant with Mason we did not know if he was a boy or girl. We liked the names Mason and Ty for a boy and Mazy Jo for a girl. Well we all know how that turned out. :)

When we found out we were pregnant with a girl this time I thought it was a given, we would name her Mazy. It was not that easy. Steve was not on board as much as I was with the Mazy. He really liked the name Rosie after his Grandmother Rosalie. I loved Rosalie but did not like Rosalie Jo. The name Jo is a Freeman family tradition. My sister and I have the middle name of Jo. This is after my Aunt Joyce, who is my Mom's sister. Needless to say, Steve and I were not on the same page. After many discussions and prayers for guidance to name our daughter we have come to an agreement.

As of right now, our daughter will be named, drum roll please...............

Mazy Jo

Two Peas in a Pod

Steve and Mason are alike in so many ways. I could create a never ending list. I do not mind at all, actually I love it. Think about it... I MARRIED Steve so I must like the characteristics that he possesses.

Mason truly loves popcorn as much as Steve, if not more. The funny things is I do not like popcorn and want nothing to do with it.

Here is a picture of the loves of my life having one of their favorite "midnight" snacks. I took this with my phone so it is not the best.

Watermelon

Here are some pictures of Mason throughly enjoying watermelon when we were at Brad and Teresa's:

Do you see the t-shirt and shorts? Man do we miss that 80 degree weather?!

ROAD TRIP

On Wednesday, Steve, Mason and I headed to St. Louis. We were nervous traveling with a two year old and me being pregnant. However, I was not given permission to fly so it was our only option. We have great friends that live in St. Louis. The Bley's are always such great hosts. They fed us the best pork chops we have ever had! Greg is seriously an amazing cook. I guess that explains why is the the Chef for his shift at the Firehouse. They also provided us a place to stay and a great breakfast. They were an awesome pit stop for us. We then headed to Tennessee. You would have never known that Mason was with us in the car. He was such a great traveler. We drove for five hours to Thompson Station, which is south of Nashville. On Sunday we were in the car from 9am to 6:30pm. Mason was such a trooper. In fact we had a blast. Mason was cracking us up the entire ride home. You can guarantee there will be many more road trips for this family. I am so blessed!!!

Our House is on the Market

We are sad to put Little Blue, our house, on the market. We absolutely love everything about our house. However, it is a two bedroom house and soon we will need more room. With our house on the market we have to keep everything super clean! Those of you who know me know that is not my strength. For the past two weeks we have kept our house spotless! I absolutely love a clean house and think I might even be addicting to cleaning now. :) This brings me to the reason that I have not been blogging. We have a laptop that would sit on our kitchen table (and take up most of the table). Every time we get the laptop out we have to attach a keyboard, mouse and etc. because I spilled soda on it so the keyboard and such do not work. So, we do not get our computer out nearly as often.

Here is a link to a video our realtors made of our house:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSIPjMvDgxg&hd=1

Dentist

We took Mason to the dentist. He was not the biggest fan. He would not sit in the chair by himself. He would only sit in the chair on Steve's lap.

At first he would not open his mouth. Of course he brought Thomas the Train I guess he thought that would protect him.

Once Mason was done he was able to select a prize from the treasure chest. He picked so fast that I could not capture the moment.

Parents

Steve built a fire in our fire pit tonight. As we were sitting around the fire Mason was talking our ear off. Then Mason turns to me and says, "where are your parents?" My Sister-In-Law gave him a book written about my parents that we read to Mason. We talk about them sometimes but I never know if Mason gets it. It broke my heart to have to tell them that they are in heaven. I never try to throw myself a pity party. However, this is when I feel that it sucks the most. I wish more than anything that my parents could at least meet my children.

Mason Reading

Mason's favorite book is Happy Birthday Thomas. He loves it so much that we read it each and every night. The other day I came into his room and he was sitting on his bed reading it. This kid LOVES books. Here is a short video of him reading part of it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Snow Dog

Mason has wanted to build a snowman ever since the very first snow. Well we all know that we have had a ton of snow this year. Steve, the snowman building expert, says that all the snow we have gotten so far is not the snowman building kind. Steve and Mason even built snowmen out of marshmallows to help with Mason's need to build a snowman.

Well, this last snow was the perfect kind of snow for a snowman. Mason could hardly contain himself. Here are a few pictures of the big event!

Here is their creation "Snow Dog"!

Super Saturday

We love to take family trips to Bass Pro Shop. There are so many fun things to look at we often spend hours in there. Mason's favorite part is the big fish tanks. He would watch it forever if we let him.

Steve was looking for a new fishing pole so Mason and I needed to entertain ourselves for a while. Mason grabbed a fishing pole from the display and took it straight to the "little fish pond".

Too bad this picture is too big and I cannot seem to edit it. You cannot see how cute it is. If you look you can see there are 3 fish that are just waiting by the end of his pole. As soon as he put the end of the pole in they were there. He just loved it.

Steve got the HAWG. It is an AWESOME catfishing pole. Mason loves it just as much as Steve does. Mason did not understand that they could not go fishing right now.

I could not get my real camera out fast enough. I had to take this picture with my cell phone camera. It did not truly capture the moment. It was so cute! I love and adore those two. I am so blessed to get to spend my life with them!

Surprise

Mason absolutely loves surprises. Steve and I really enjoy getting surprises for him. Tonight (when Steve was at a meeting) I started getting Mason ready for his bath. Steve had planted a surprise.

BUBBLE BATH & his own SCRUNCHY

Needless to say Mason LOVED it! I am so blessed with a great husband. Steve is such an amazing father. Thanks Steve for all you do for us!

These pictures are not the best because I used the camera on my phone.

I have always wanted to try Once A Month Cooking. That is the method where you shop and cook once a month, hence the name. I feel way too overwhelmed to take that on in my first attempt. We decided to start with 6 meals. I picked the meals and recipes, created a shopping list, went shopping, then headed home to cook. We started at 11am and finished around 3pm. We did have one break for lunch. We have yet to eat the meals. We had some extra food left so we actually created 7 meals. I will blog again once I have eaten the meals just so you know how it goes.

Here is what we will be eating:

Beef Noodle Supreme

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground meat
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
4 8 oz. Cans tomato sauce
2 8oz. pkg light cream cheese
2 cups light sour cream
12 green onions, including green part, chopped
2 8 oz pkg. Noodles
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:
In a skillet, brown meat. Add garlic, salt, sugar and tomato sauce; simmer about 10 minutes. Soften and blend thoroughly cream cheese and sour cream. Add onions and set aside. Boil noodles until tender; drain. In baking dishes, layer noodles, cream cheese mixture, and meat sauce. Repeat layers. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

Pork Chop Casserole

Ingredients

8 boneless pork loin chops, 3/4-inch thick

1/2teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2teaspoon pepper

4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 medium onion, chopped

1 chopped green pepper

Directions

Sprinkle pork chops with Italian seasoning and pepper. Arrange in the center of a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish that has been coated with nonstick cooking spray. Combine potatoes and onions; place around chops. Sprinkle with green pepper. Cover and bake at 325 degrees F for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender and meat juices run clear.

Chicken and Corn Enchiladas

Ingredients

4 cups shredded cooked chicken breasts (about 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts)

1 1/2 cups chopped red onions

1 (16-ounce) package frozen corn

1 cup nonfat sour cream

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 cups shredded reduced fat Jack cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups mild salsa

3 cups canned enchilada sauce

16 (8-inch) flour tortillas

1 bunch green onions, chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Coat two 13x2x9-inch baking dishes with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, red onions, corn, 1 cup of the cheese, sour cream, cumin, and chili powder. Season with salt and pepper. In another large bowl, mix together the salsa and enchilada sauce.

In a medium skillet coated with non-stick cooking spray, and set over medium heat. Add 1 tortilla to the skillet and heat for about 10 seconds per side to soften. Spoon a heaping 1/3 cup chicken filling into the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Spoon the salsa enchilada sauce mixture over the filled tortillas. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese. Cover with baking dishes with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until heated through. Uncover, sprinkle with the green onions, and serve immediately.

Makes 16 tortillas

Southwestern Lasagna

Ingredients

1 pound 95% lean ground sirloin

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 (16-ounce) jar salsa

1 1/4 cups enchilada sauce

Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

1 cup fat-free cottage cheese

1 large egg white, beaten

6 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into thirds

1 cup shredded reduced-fat Jack cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.

2. In large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, brown beef and garlic over medium heat about 8 minutes or until meat is done. Drain any excess fat. Add salsa, enchilada sauce, and salt and pepper (if using). Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

3. In small bowl, combine the cottage cheese and egg white. Coat 13x9x2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

4. Spread thin layer of meat sauce in the dish. Layer with half the tortillas, all of the cottage cheese mixture, half the remaining meat mixture, and half the cheese. Repeat layers, omitting the cottage cheese layer and ending with the meat sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for 25–30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Aunt Liz's Chicken Pasta Casserole

Yield: 2 casseroles

Ingredients

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast

2 cups uncooked pasta (about 7 ounces)

1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) slices celery

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 (10.75-ounce) cans condensed 30% reduced-sodium 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Cooking spray

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine broth, salt, pepper, and soup in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add soup mixture to chicken mixture; toss. Divide mixture evenly between 2 (8-inch) square or (2-quart) baking dishes coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese over each casserole. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Chicken Tamale Casserole

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided

1/3 cup fat-free milk

1/4 cup egg substitute

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White)

1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained

Cooking spray

1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

I am willing to share my grocery list and everything that you would need to get started. I cannot find an easy way to make this work. If you e-mail me I will e-mail you everything that I used to start with.

Christmas

We had an amazing Christmas. We started the festivities at Shoal Creek Christian Church (http://www.shoalcreek.org/). I would love to attend this church if I lived up north. Then we spent time with my Mom's side of the family.

When we got home we left Santa a birthday cake for Jesus and fed the reindeer.

Bob and Gail joined us for our "Santa Claus" part of Christmas. Here are just a few snap shots from our morning:

Please notice the Thomas sheets that my FANTASTIC Mother-In-Law made for Mason.

After a very big breakfast we headed to Topeka. This is where Gail's side of the family lives. We did a coffee mug exchange and we came away with the tackiest mugs. It was a lot of fun. We truly missed the Lozano's and the Bonnell's. :( After spending the entire day there we headed home just in time for bed.

Next year we are going to do a hat exchange.