I made a new recipe for dinner. Well, a new recipe for my family. If you have ever watched the Duggar's show (you know Jim Bob and Michelle with the 18 children) you have seen them eat Tater Tot casserole. I was kind of curious to see what the hype was about so I made it. I mean if she can get almost 20 people to eat and love it it can't be bad. I have to admit that I did not have very high hopes, but it was pretty good. Now it is not gourmet cooking, but it tastes good, and everyone in my family ate it without complaining. I have to chalk that up to a success. Here is the normal sized family recipe...

1lb ground beef (or turkey), cooked, seasoned, drained
1 large bag tater tots (1lb)
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can evaporated milk
1 can cream of chicken
Brown meat and place in large casserole dish
Cover with tater tots. Mix soup & milk together.
Pour over top. Bake at 350 for 1 hour
*I added some cheese to the top when there was about 20 minutes of cook time left. My philosophy on life is that cheese can't hurt...it only helps!

Frustrated Mommy!

Well, it is Wednesday. Jackson is supposed to be in school until 2pm on Wednesday, and Jenna is supposed to be a Nana's today. Jackson has had croup for several days, and is adjusting to the Spring pollen which means he does not feel well. I took him to school this morning after he slept until 8am (did I mention that Jenna spent the night with Nana last night?). He seemed to feel fine, but was a little groggy. I was set to have a good Mommy day to myself, and then the phone rang. Jackson's teacher called to tell me that he had been crying all morning and would not get off of the teacher aide's lap. Needless to say, I picked him up from school way early. No Mommy day for me!!! Nana brought Jenna home too so it is a full house. To make my life worse I told Jackson that, since he came home sick, he could not go out and play. Punishment for him or me... I am not sure. I have also had to clean pee pee off the carpet today because I forgot to take my 2 year old to the potty while she was wearing her gig geel panties. I think that I am ready to call it a day and put these chaps to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Pictures to get you up to date

I completely to mention in my last post that Jason and I went on a cruise with his family in December. It was FABULOUS!We also had a "snow" day in January. The children had a good time. We even built a "snowman".
Our "snowman"!Jenna in her gig geel bed.Jackson and his daddy.

HaHaHaHa...I'm Back!! And you thought it would NEVER happen!

Well, as you can tell by the title I am trying to get back on the blogging horse! I know, I know, it has been FOREVER! Tons has happened since Halloween. Jenna turned 2, we celebrated Christmas, Valentine's Day...
Just to catch you up a bit... Jenna is now in a big girl bed or gig geel bed as she calls it. I was a little nervous about the switch, but she has done beautifully! Jackson has started Spring soccer, and is really getting into it this season. He has developed the competitive edge that he was lacking in the past. We have also started potty training Jenna. I think that we have been putting her on the potty for a long time, but we really started this past weekend. I am happy to report that she has had a couple of completely dry days so far. I am still trying to get her to put her poopy in the potty, but she has not gotten to that part yet.
The children and I went to the beach with this inlaws this past weekend. We all had a really nice time. It was disappointing that our daddy could not be there (he has a HUGE bid this week), but it was nice just the same. The weather was actually warm enough to spend some time on the beach. We went to Hilton Head where, thanks to Facebook, I met up with my best friend from childhood. We have not seen each other in 14 years. It was great to see her, and meet her children.
The whole Durstine crew has a little bit of Spring fever...literally. Jackson's nose is running like a faucet, and he currently has croup. Poor little guy. His face is raw from wiping his nose. We are also gearing up for pool season. I really want to lie by the pool tomorrow, but I am afraid that the sun will reflect off of my lily white skin, and blind all of the passing traffic. : )
I will post some recent pictures since it has been so long. Hopefully, I can keep it up this time!

Happy Halloween

Again with the 2 weeks between posts...

Things are pretty status quo around here. We went to a neighborhood Halloween party this weekend, and we all had a good time. Everyone dressed up. I was a cowgirl, Jason was Johnny Cash, and the children were Mickey and Minnie Mouse. They looked very cute! Jenna allowed me to put a nose and whiskers on her face, but Jackson said it made his eyes water. He had to go sans whiskers, but was still cute. My neighbors are pretty crafty, and they built the BLACK PEARL on a trailer for a hay ride. Needless to say, all of the children loved it!

Tonight we went to a spaghetti supper at Jackson's school. It was the fall fundraiser/open house event. All of the classes "sang" for the parents. It was pretty cute. Jackson "sang" about 2 words total. He is so silly sometimes. He was very proud to show off all of his classwork to Nana, and especially liked showing us the centers that they do everyday. I will post some of the pictures from tonight soon. I am currently too lazy to go find my camera. : )

J's Update

Wow!! I have to be one of the slackest bloggers out there. Things are going well around here. The children and I are still enjoying being outside most every afternoon. The Lexington school districe decided that Columbus Day was worth celebrating yesterday so Jackson did not have school. We spent a good portion of the day at our favorite park with one of our favorite friends, Will. My children were so filthy when we got home that they needed a bath. Needless to say, a good time was had by all!

Our Daddy is working very hard these days. I know he does not get mentioned much in the blog (because this is afterall a blog about the children), but he is hard at work building things. Jackson is fascinated with the fact that his Daddy gets to go to work with diggers and dump trucks everyday. I think that it is so funny how fascinated boys are with these things! The local McDonald's was recently torn down for a "rebuild", and everytime we go to the bank (beside the jobsite) Jackson becomes entranced with the big machines. Jenna too for that matter.

We are getting ready for Halloween. The children are going to dress as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I am pretty excited about this. I think that this is probably the last year that I will get to dress them alike or even pick out the costume. Don't you hate it when they get their own opion? This is the first year that Jackson has any sort of interest in it whatsoever so I decided to buy some decorations. Not to much, but we now have a huge light up spider web on the front porch and a fake light up Jackolantern. Both children love the spider web which seems a little ironic to me since they have my phobia of being deathly afraid of spiders. : )

Not much else going on around here. Here are some photos from our last trip to the park.

Don't you just love Jenna's hair. This is the first time it has been long enough for pig tails.

Jenna, Just one of the boys

The weather in Lexington has finally become nice enough for the children to play outside for more than 5 minutes at a time. We were outside for about 4 hours this afternoon. Jenna is really enjoying being outside with the big kids. She is, in fact, just one of the boys. Her two closest friends are Jackson, and our 5 year old neighbor Braden. In the last couple of weeks she has learned to speed down our driveway on her bike (full steam ahead), play hopscotch, do flips in the front yard, and wrestle on the trampoline. She never ceases to amaze me!