Halloween Success

This year's Halloween was a success!  This is a big deal considering Halloween at the Gumshoe household has been an epic fail for the past couple of years.

Take LG's very first Halloween for instance...

Seriously.  My smile is plastered on.
LG was 8 days old and going through his first growth spurt.  Unfortunately, I was not aware of that at the time.  All I knew was that he was nursing every hour on the hour (from start to start) for about 12 hours straight, screaming all the while.  That meant I only had about 15 minutes of rest between feedings.  It was rough and we were slightly overwhelmed and exhausted.  For some reason, I still felt compelled to "capture the moment" by jamming him into a pumpkin costume and feigning happiness. FAIL!

Then there was my lack of common sense with this costume choice...

Let's see...annoying dinosaur hood?  Check.  Stuffed tail that prevents sitting up?  Check.  Covered hands and feet that eliminate a child's ability to move?  Check.  This costume went over like a brick balloon.  FAIL!

This year, we opted to make the costume as comfortable as possible.  He already owned plenty of cammo options, plus, he loves to make animal sounds on Gumshoe's deer and goose calls.  Perfect!  He'll be a pint-sized hunter for Halloween.  Throw in an orange vest fashioned from a clearance t-shirt, a goose call and a plastic toy bow and arrow and you've got yourself a tiny hunter...

Tough, isn't he?  Oh, and thank you random lady for calling us out on the fact that he had a goose call and a bow and arrow instead of a shotgun.  No, no you don't usually goose hunt with a bow, but we were pretty sure the shopping center wouldn't appreciate a toddler with a shotgun.

This year started out looking as bleak as Halloweens past:
Dirty looks came our way...

Crying and screaming ensued...

Terrible family pictures...

Yup.  The Gumshoe Halloween curse was in full swing.
But then, at the sight of sugar, things started to turn around...

And my personal favorite...

There's proof...he actually does smile!

Here's to a successful Halloween! 

Embrace the Birthday

I'm Embracing the Camera and it's been a while!
LG just turned 2.  I may have mentioned in my last post :)  Here are a couple shots of us at the par-tay...

Linking up with Emily:

Happy Happy Birthday!!

Yesterday, we celebrated our sweet little boy's 2nd birthday!  We had grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins over to help us celebrate this guy...

That's the face I get when I say "SMILE!"...

It took me a few pictures to remember to stop saying that...

Much better.
Did you notice that Happy Birthday banner?  Handmade by yours truly.  I can't tell if Pinterest is a help or a hindrance as I got some great ideas, but then felt compelled to go to Hobby Lobby and make everything.  Bright colors and pennants were the "theme".  What?  Pennants aren't a theme?  Whatever...I had lots of cardstock so whaddya gonna do?

So, ya...the table does look a little sparse, but this pic was taken before the pizza and salad got there.  There was something other than candy corn and peanuts.  Although...I probably did could just shove my mouth full of candy corn and peanuts all day long.  Have you ever tried that mixture?  Too good.  Just throw your scale away. 

There were presents from morning 'til nighttime.  As I've mentioned before...this kid LOVES cars, so Gumshoe got him several that he could open up throughout the day.
We also got him a kitchen.  A blue kitchen.  Very manly, mkay? 
See...he's cooking beer brats and steak...

Then it was cake-time!

We par-tayed...

Even late into the night...

Well...except for this party pooper...always looking so sad... 

Happy Birthday, LG!  We are so blessed to be able to celebrate YOU!!!

6 Years Ago Today...

I read this letter to my Gumshoe shortly before I walked down the aisle to him:

There are so many things I could say or write on this day to capture how deeply my love runs for you.

I am enthralled with the man that you are!  I have fallen in love with your amazing resolve and character, and I am proud of the way you stand strong in your convictions and aren't afraid to stand up for your beliefs.  You are truly a beautiful person and the biggest blessing in my lifetime!

What I want to convey is simple, but it is the most powerful feeling I have ever experienced and it is this:

I will stand at the chapel doorway this evening and I will look down the aisle at you and know in the depths of my heart and soul that you are the man God created for me to cherish for the rest of our lives.  I will know that He designed you and me specifically for each other!  I will be able to look down the aisle at you and know that I will be loved, cherished and protected for the rest of my life.  That's an amazing feeling!

We will stand before God this evening and commit ourselves to each other and I promise you that I will never forsake those vows for as long as we live.  It is a wonderful confidence to know that I can stand with you, look you in the eyes and see endless joy and happiness!

I am so blessed.  You are everything I have ever dreamed of and I am honored to become your wife.

6 years later...those sentiments couldn't ring truer.  Every single day, you exemplify what it means to selflessly love and cherish us and I am continually humbled by your servant's heart for me and LG. 

As we walk through this life together, with its ups and downs, I am blessed by the grace with which you handle my kookiness.  :)  You know me inside and out, backwards and forwards, and you love me deeply despite it all.  What would I do without you by my side?  

I wouldn't be able to move any furniture around.  Or hang a level picture.  Or cook your jambalaya.  Or give you harsh honest feedback about your "inventions" (a hamburger in the shape of a hotdog is not a good idea...and the name "hamdog" is even worse.)  

I certainly wouldn't be able to stay warm at night, or make fun of cheesy syfy movies like dinocroc vs. megashark, or sing operas in the car about random people we see.  

And I can forget about enjoying Kolaches every weekend, or having a glass of water with lemon by my side every night, or hearing "I love you so much" multiple times a day...

I guess you just need to stay by my side.  Forever...and ever...and ever!  :)

As I told you 6 years ago...You are the biggest blessing in my lifetime and I am honored to be your wife!

And just for laughs...Here's one of my favorite pics from our wedding:

My crazy-eyed sissies enjoying some creme puffs...and a beer.

Boo!

It's that time again!  Pumpkin murdering carving time!  When LG saw Gumshoe make this face, he screamed and ran away.  Just kidding.  But seriously...LG was only into the pumpkin for about 30 seconds.  But they were 30 seconds of good pictures! 

First we cut the top off...

Then we dug the guts out...

Next we waited patiently for Daddy to dispose of the pumpkin guts...

After that, we sketched out our design...

They were bad...

Really bad...

But it turned out alright when it was all said and done...

Any resemblance, Grandpa?

Once a Month Cooking

Blogging has been few and far between lately because I've been spending this week cooking.  I'm a planner.  And an organizer.  And a neat freak.  And I possibly suffer from OCD.  So what better way to feed my neurosis than plan, organize and make a million meals ahead of time and then have fun organizing them in my freezer?

But seriously...I like to cook, it just seems that lately LG would rather I didn't.  My first clue is when he gets in between me and the kitchen cabinets while I'm chopping and tries to shove me away with all of his might.  And when he sits down in the living room to play with his cars, pats the carpet next to him with his little hand and says "Sit, mama.  Sit!"  I can't help but sit.

And then poor Gumshoe comes home to no dinner and he is forced to eat dog food.  So a plan was needed. 

I did some research because (just like any other topic) there are websites devoted to once a month cooking.  Once a Month Mom is a great one.  Pinterest also has a lot of great ideas.  The gist is to cook a month's worth of food in one day a few days, label it, freeze it and there you have it.  No cooking dinner all month!  Just pull it out of the freezer and heat it up via oven, skillet, crock pot, microwave...whatever.

So I made a plan and gave it a shot.  I linked some of the meals listed below to recipes, but for some reason I'm not able to underline or highlight them.  Just run the mouse over the meal and if it gives you a link...there you go!  Here's what I made:

-Pineapple Chicken

-Pepper Stuffing (So versatile! I made these with quinoa and ground chicken. We deconstruct this recipe and simply eat the filling with cut up raw bell peppers)
-Hobo Packets (foil packet w/turkey sausage, potatoes, carrots and pinto beans baked at 400 for 40 min)

-White Chili

-BBQ Sausage (turkey sausage sliced and seared, then heated in skillet with BBQ sauce)

-BBQ Chicken

-Curry Chicken

-French Jenny (A hard-to-pronounce French recipe I got from my sister, Jennifer...hence French Jenny)
-Taco Meat
-Teriyaki Chicken (marinated chicken breast)
-Greek Chicken (marinated chicken breast)

-Whole Wheat Pizza/Calzone Dough

-Mashed Potatoes
-Sweet Potatoes
-Roasted Veggie Packets
-"Fried" Rice

After the food was cooked and then had time to cool, I transferred it all to gallon or quart size freezer bags, labeled the bags, laid them flat and sent them to the freezer.  Here are some pics of a few of the finished products...

BBQ Sausage

French Jenny (assembled and frozen raw)

Hobo Packets (assembled and frozen raw)

Pepper Stuffing

Whole Wheat pizza/calzone dough

Roasted Veggie Packets (assembled and frozen raw)

Mashed Potatoes

And here's what the freezer looks like with a million pounds of food in it...

We have a small fridge/freezer in the garage, so I actually put half of all this out there...but you get the idea.  Lots of food!  Most of the meals I made will last for 2 dinners, so we probably have a couple months of dinners covered.  Lots of work, but totally worth it!

Update:
We also make breakfast items to freeze such as whole wheat banana pancakes and whole wheat waffles.  Just make sure to freeze them with parchment paper in between each layer (see pic) so they don't freeze together!  I got the whole wheat pancake recipe from www.100daysofrealfood.com.  Great website for whole food recipes.