Macho Nachos

This isn't MY recipe, I got it from a fabulous cookbook that I use A LOT, but I cook it often and all our friends and family love it. My dad says it's better than restaurant nachos ha ha! I'm sorry I don't have a picture, but here is the recipe:

1 lb hamburger

2 small cans black refried beans (this works with normal refried beans too, but we like the black ones)

1 jar salsa

1 packet taco seasoning mix

1 small onion

tortilla chips

cheese

tomatoes

guacamole

sour cream

olives

etc.

You start by cooking the meat with the taco seasoning. While the meat is cooking, mix together the refried beans, onion and the jar of salsa. Jordan hates onions so I'll usually take the onion out and use some onion seasoning instead. Add the meat to the bean/salsa mixture when it's finished. Top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Just long enough to get it hot and gooey. Once it's cooked, bust out your chips and top with meat mix along with all your other favorite nacho toppings! At our house we like tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream and sliced olives. I bet jalapenos would be good too!

SOOO good!

Happy 23rd Shannon!

My very awesome friend Shannon turned 23 today and for her birthday, we got together to sew up some super cute pillowcases for her new spare bedroom. She's been working so hard to get it put together and so far it looks great! Jordan, being the amazing husband that he is, whipped up my Macho Nachos for dinner and Adam and Kayson joined us for some birthday fun. We played Clue and had some super yummy brownies and icecream for dessert. I hope she had a really fun day and I'm glad we got to spend it with her.

Happy Birthday Shannon! I freaking love your guts!

Surprise!!!

Saturday evening, Adam and I planned a super awesome surprise party for Shannon's birthday and it was pretty cool. Right after I got home from the zoo on Saturday, I baked a delicious reese's chocolate cake (thanks Amber for the fabulous recipe, soooo yummy!) and booked it over to Shannon's house to decorate and get ready. We blew up balloons, hung streamers, and even had a Happy Birthday banner. Shannon's mom baked a really yummy chocolate cake that we added to mine and Shannon was so surprised when she got there! The boys had a blast playing with the balloons and we all had pizza and cake while we visited with the birthday girl. She seemed to really enjoy herself and I'm so glad!

Zoo day!

This last Saturday Tobi and I got the opportunity to go to the zoo with Jordan's family. Unfortunately, as usual, poor Jordan had to work and he didn't get to go. Hopefully next time! Sean and Brynn went with their kids, and then Tyler and Kelly were there with Rachel as well. Tobi did SO good and I could tell when he finally saw what it was we were looking at because he would point and say "oooooooh". It was so cute! He got some pretty fun zoo souvenirs, including a SUPER cute tiger hat that has ears that poke up. It got pretty hot later in the afternoon and when we finally decided to call it quits, Tobi was pretty wore out. I can't wait for the next zoo trip and I really hope Jordan gets to go with us on the next one.

Here are some pictures from our day!

Organizing my kitchen

As many of you know, and for those of you who don't, I hate my kitchen. Seriously. It's very disorganized and I just don't have enough space. Well, being on my awesome thrift store glam kick, I found these craptastic plastic containers at the D.I. for a dollar a piece. I had been on the look out for a few weeks and when I finally found them I was SOOOO excited. I knew if I bided my time it would work out. I picked up some Krylon (best brand EVA!) spray paint and painted them white, they were an ugly semi-clear before (once again I forgot to take pictures, sorry!). After they got their paint job, I simply cut some vinyl, raided my fabric scraps and put my creative mind to work. Here is my finished product:

I was able to do some much needed organizing and made my counter top look cute at the same time. I can't wait for my next project!

We've got progress!

We have two visits scheduled this week with KOTM and we are so excited! In the two weeks since they saw him last, Tobi has improved a ton. He's getting braver and is starting to hold on with just one hand, and several times this week he's even stood all by himself! He barely uses our hands at all when we walk with him and he's doing so good at fixing his feet when he sits. The last time they saw him they noticed he likes to sit with his legs in a "W" and that it wasn't good posture for helping him strengthen his core enough to walk. We've been telling him to "fix his feet" and we'll put his feet directly in front of him. Now when we tell him he does it all by himself. He's also picked up on a lot of new words this last week and I am so proud of him! On that note, I was thinking I'd better jot down what he knows so far before I forget! Here is a list of what he knows in order of when he started saying them...

Mama

Daddy

What's that?

Whoah

Grandma

Yes

Hi

Papa

Hello

Jessa

No

Lets go

Delilah

I'm sure there's a few that I've missed but I'll add those as I think of them. I am just so proud of my little monkey and all the recent progress he's made.

Way to go buddy!

Ashtyn Arianna Lane

My adorable cousin had her baby at 2:06PM today. That's right! A whole six weeks early! She weighed in at 4lbs 10oz and was 16.5 inches long. We were all shocked and surprised to here she had gone into labor so early but so far her and baby Ashtyn are doing great. Ashtyn has been moved to Murray where she will be watched over for the next few weeks, just making sure her lungs mature nicely and she's nice and healthy before going home (hopefully sooner rather than later!) and Amber should be sent home tomorrow if all continues to go well, so far she feels pretty great. Baby Ashtyn is BEAUTIFUL and it was such a joy to be able to meet her today. We are hoping and praying that all goes well and before we know it, we will be able to cuddle and snuggle this sweet little bundle of joy!

Congratulations Amber & Jake!