A Look at Our 2011

2010 was an exciting and fun time for us.  Here's a look at some of our favorite moments.  The links to the blog posts for all of these events are in dark purple.

In January, Kanin's hockey team had a family skate.  Caleb stayed with Mama and Papa but we had a great time skating with Kanin and Gracie.  I think Kanin was kind of impressed that Mommy could actually ice skate.

GracieAnn got her haircut and immediately went from baby to big girl.

There was a "blizzard" and we made snow cream. 

(Look how little they all look)

In February, I met up with Holly from Where We Can Live Like Jack and Sally and we headed out to meet the Pioneer Woman!

March found Scott and I back in our "Happiest Place on Earth"-Las Vegas.

The best part of the March trip was that our family was able to be there, too!

Easter was blue-themed this year.

In April, the boys in the family shaved their heads to support Debbie and her fight against Breast Cancer.  I'm happy to report that Debbie is cancer-free!

Kanin got to meet one of his WWE favorites and local St Louisan, Randy Orton. 

May brought Mother's Day was spent my favorite way, at the Cardinals games with my babies.

Caleb had his first haircut.

In June, Kanin had his end of the year parade.  It was his last day as a first grader.

We were honored to walk in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in honor of our friends and family.

We also were back in Vegas with our friends Sue and Chris.

July is both GracieAnn's and Caleb's birthday.

Kanin started 2nd grade in August.

Kanin and Mommy spent a day together at the Festival of Nations.

In September, we went to the Balloon Glow in Forest Park.

Kanin and Gaga went to their first WWE show.

October, what a month!  We celebrated our 5 year anniversary in Mexico.  It was glorious and I still go there in my dreams.

Our beloved St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series!!

The next week was Halloween.

In November, I finally was able to see one of my very favorite bands, Jason Boland & the Stragglers.

Kanin turned 8!

December finally came and it was time to visit Santa Claus.

We had a fantastic Christmas and we are excited for our future in 2012.  Hope you have a Happy New Year!

Favorite Recipes

Here are some of our favorite recipes for 2011 from my
Meals For Real blog.

Appetizers

Pioneer Woman's Guacamole

West Texas Chipotle Chicken Wrap

Main Dishes

Shepherd's Pie

Latin Chicken in Crockpot

Soups
Chicken and Bean Chili
Southwest Chicken Chili Soup

Sandwiches

Grill Chicken and Pineapple Sandwiches

Sloppy Pizza Joes

Sides
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown-Sugar Pecan Topping

Roasted Acorn Squash

DETERMINATION

I saw this on Pinterest and just had to share.  I love this.  I have been on my weight loss/fitness journey for a solid 2 years now.  I've lost around 25lbs in that time frame and would love to lose another 10 before summer. 

When I saw this pin, it made me think of so many of my friends who are also dealing with weight and body issues.  There is no quick fix to changing your body.  It takes this type of determination:

Source: Uploaded by user via Teale on Pinterest

Moving Here

Thanks for the guest post by Jonathan Curtis

We moved here sight unseen but my husband had to start his new job quickly so we had to make an educated guess. The good news is that the house itself is pretty great – it’s big and there’s a huge backyard and even the in ground pool I’ve always wanted which is really exciting! The bad news is that since we didn’t know the area we had to pick a neighborhood without knowing anything and I think in retrospect we would have picked somewhere a bit closer to town if we had known. I love the house though and I went to satellitestarinternet.com last week to get us connected to society again and I’ve got cell service so that’s really all that matters. My husband’s new job is going well and he’s actually thinking he may get promoted soon and the kids have adjusted better than I think either of us imagined they would. I think we’re going to be really happy here but only time will tell – it’s a great place to live!

Gift Card Giveaway

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Gift Card Weekend for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Weekend

Now that we have all eaten our weight in carbs and yummy calorie-packed food, how about a chance to win a $10 gift card to Subway and to eat a little bit healthier?  Gilbert the Gift Card Machine is giving away over 100 gift cards each week up until Gift Card Card Weekend and will be giving away a $10 Subway gift card each day between December 23-December 31.

All you have to do to thrown your name in their pot, is to head over to Facebook and like their Facebook page.  Then, share their Facebook page with your friends.  For every like that you influence through Facebook, you will receive an extra entry.

Gift Card Weekend is a once a year gift card giveaway where stores give special deals on gift cards that are purchased during the Holidays and redeemed from January 6-January 8, 2012.  Look at the stores that are participating:  JCPenny, Regal Cinema, Subway, Sephora, Applebee's, Bass Pro Shops, Adidas, Buca di Beppo, Lowe's, Spa Finder, Marriot, and Giant Eagle.

Be sure to like Gilbert the Gift Card Machines Facebook page and then go check out all of the details, share with your friends, and take advantage of their Gift Card Card Weekend.  What a great way to treat yourself after the holidays.

 

Christmas 2011 at Our House

On Christmas Eve the kids said good-bye to Chucky before he left to go back to the North Pole.  Gracie was really sad. 

Then they left out cookies, milk, and pickles.  Yes, Santa and his reindeer love pickles!

Kanin got up at 1:30am to see if Santa had stopped by yet.  I had locked the gate at the top of the stairs so I heard him try to open it.  Luckily, I caught him and told him to go back to bed.  There was no way I was getting up at 1:30 in the morning to open Christmas presents!

Finally, we all got up about 7:00am.  I went down first so I could turn on the camcorder and take pics.

This stick pony quickly became a weapon.

Gracie loved her new pink guitar and pink playroom chair.

Love my new shirt that Scott picked out.

I found this My Little Pony game at a consignment sale for $3!

Scott in his new Blues hat.

I found this basketball game on Black Friday for a steal.  All of the kids love it.

Guess what I'll be wearing on Opening Day?

The best gift of all . . . a new laptop for Mommy!

 

Santa must know his baseball.  He brought the boys matching Cardinals outfits.

Santa also knows that every little girl needs a pink tutu.



Today, I'm busy cleaning up all of this mess.

Hope you all had a great Christmas.  I can't wait to see all of your pics.