Oct 31, 2011

Thriller!

On Sunday I performed at the Seahawks game in their special Halloween halftime show!  I have mentioned before that I cheered for the Seahawks for 3 years from 2005-2007. But ever since I stopped cheering and had Leah I have been out of touch with everyone from that world. So I was surprised to get an email from the director asking some of the alumni to come back and perform at a game! Anyway, we had a few practices and then the game was yesterday!
The stadium before the game

Some of us before getting zombified


Getting started with makeup


Makeup about halfway done, but getting scary!

Creeeeepy

Trying to be scary, haha




The whole group!
It was AMAZING to be out there in front of 20,000 people dancing again. I have missed it! It's cool to be a mom now and still get awesome opportunities like this! 

Oct 28, 2011

Hot Mulled Cider

I wanted a fun festive drink to serve at our Halloween party and found this recipe for mulled cider in the crock pot!!  It turned out soooo good and made the house smell amazing!

1/2 c. brown sugar packed
2 qt. cider
1 tsp. whole allspice (I got ground by mistake and it worked fine)
1 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
2 sticks cinnamon
Orange slices

Put all ingredients in crockpot and cover cook on low for 2 to 8 hours. Spices may be taken out (as you can see, I left them in). Serve from crockpot with ladle.
 I only made it 2 hours before the party and it still turned out great!

Leah's Halloween Party

Today Leah and I hosted a kids Halloween party!  Now that we are in an actual house (not a tiny condo) I can finally host playdates and parties and all sorts of fun stuff!  And I thought it would be so much fun to invite all of Leah's friends over in their costumes for snacks and playing! The kids were all so cute and I think everyone had a good time.

Like always, I took a million and pictures and I always make the mistake of snapping too quickly before the camera is focused and they turn out all blurry!  But, I still got some cute ones.
My cute little strawberry waiting for her friends to arrive

Leah and Dallas

Drink station - coffee, mulled cider in the crock pot, water, and juice boxes


Lots of yummy snacks

Mummies!

Fingers! (cheese w/almond slices)

Leah's slide was a big hit with all the kids

It was impossible to get all the kids to sit on the couch!

 Such cute costumes!

Playing under the table :)
We had so much fun and I hope to make this an annual tradition! Leah got so worn out running around with all of her friends. And I think she ate at least 6 cookies, yikes! :-)

Oct 26, 2011

Open Gym

There is a new toddler time at a nearby gym that my cousin found out about and we went this morning. It is $2 to get in and there are LOTS of fun toys including a bouncy house ( Leah's favorite!), slides, cars, tunnels, etc!  It was awesome and we will definitely be back.



Leah spent the majority of the time in the bouncy house but ALL of those pictures turned out blurry, darn it!  I am so glad we discovered this place since it is starting to get cold outside! 

Oct 25, 2011

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Today I tried out my first recipe that I have found on Pinterest! Yay! This is the perfect recipe for a cool fall evening. And really easy too. You know I love my crock pot recipes!

You need -
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes (I used the kind with green chilies)
1 10-ounce package frozen whole kernel corn (I only used about a 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used frozen)
1/2 cup chopped yellow, green, or red bell pepper (I used a frozen medley with all 3 kinds)
1 10-ounce can enchilada sauce
1 10.75-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups milk (I used whole)
2 chicken breasts (I used 4 frozen chicken breast tenderloins)

In a 3 1/2 to 5 quart slow cooker, combine drained beans, tomatoes, corn, onion, and bell pepper. Place 2 chicken breasts on top of mixture.
In a large bowl, whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Pour sauce mixture over ingredients in cooker.
Cover; cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Remove chicken and cut or shred into bite sized pieces. Add chicken back into soup.
Top with pepper jack cheese, avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips. Note: if the soup is too thick for you, just add a little more milk after it’s all cooked.
I think it turned out the perfect consistency and I served it with avocado and crackers. The only thing was that it turned out pretty spicy (which I love, but if you are sensitive to it, get mild enchilada sauce.) Leah still ate it though!  It is so healthy and flavorful too. It didn't need any added salt or flavorings.

Oct 23, 2011

Fun Fall Weekend

This weekend was filled with fun stuff. But unfortunately I did catch Leah's cold so wasn't feeling too well, but still had obligations and plans! 

Friday night we went to pick Dustin up from the airport. Yay, so glad to have him home!!

Saturday morning we went to the cutest little farm literally 5 minutes from our neighborhood. They have pumpkins out right now and then it turns into a Christmas tree farm after Thanksgiving. They also have some animals that Leah loved looking at. It is a small family owned farm, not one of the big fair type places with rides, etc. that you have to pay to go into. It was adorable. We are definitely going back there for our Christmas tree!









Then we got home and while Leah took her nap, Dustin and I carved our pumpkins.

Didn't have any gloves so I put a plastic bag around my hand :-)
We haven't carved pumpkins since I lived with my mom like 10 years ago! At our condo we had nowhere to display them so we never did it! 

Saturday night I helped my friend Kim do bartending at her parents' friend's party. It was fun and I got a chance to make some $$ which was nice :-)  BUT I think staying out late pushed my cold over the edge :-(  I was supposed to wake up this morning and run in a 5k with my dad but I had to back out at the last minute. I was so congested last night that I didn't sleep at all, ugh. And colds are always worse at night and in the morning. Plus, I had a SeaGals practice scheduled for today too so I needed to conserve my energy for that. 

Then tonight we went out to dinner to celebrate my brother passing the Bar Exam and officially being an attorney now, woohoo! 

When we got home we lit our pumpkins on the porch and also put some fun lights around the front door.

Mine is the traditional jack o lantern pumpkin and Dustin did the Grim Reaper design

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Oct 21, 2011

Kinda Bored

Dustin has been in San Fransisco (jealous! I LOVE San Fran!) all week for work so Leah and I have been home alone.  My friend Kim was so sweet and stayed the first night with me and we had an old fashioned sleepover with movies, snacks, girl talk, and lots of wine, hehe. It was really fun. 
We did have a lot of other fun activities planned to keep us busy this week, but poor Miss Leah came down with a cold Tuesday night. And since it drives me nuts when people bring their kids out around other kids when they are sick, I canceled all our playdates. She is acting fine but I don't want her to get worse. So we have been at home for the last few days. I am trying to enjoy the down time and relax but I get so bored just sitting at home! But at least I have the house clean, laundry done, and dishes done! I hope Leah feels better soon. Today she took a 3 1/2 hour nap (her norm is 2 hours) so hopefully her body is working to fight it off.
Pretty girl

Silly!

Tuesday night I had a Sea Gals practice! For those of you out of the area, that is the name of the Seahawks cheerleaders. As I have mentioned before, I cheered for them for 3 years. I have been out of touch with everyone from that world since Leah has been born. But then I got an email from the director asking some of the alumni to come back and perform in a special halftime show for an upcoming game! I was extremely nervous but knew that I wanted to do it. So anyway it was fun to see a lot of my old friends and practice and DANCE like old times! It was an awesome work out too and I am still sore 2 days later, haha!  I can't wait for the game and the opportunity to perform again!! I wish I had some pics from my cheering days on this computer to share but I don't unfortunately.

In other news, I just picked up Leah's very first potty!  She has been increasingly interested in the toilet and going to the bathroom. I will spare you the details :-) but I thought it was about time we got Leah her own little potty to start getting comfortable with the idea!  We are not going to start potty training for awhile. For now she just likes to sit on it (fully clothed) and say "PEEEEE" haha!

It's really cute and the top will attach to a regular toilet when she gets bigger. And then the bottom turns into a step stool. And I love the little spot for toilet paper :-)

Ugh, now my throat is starting to feel a little sore, I hope I'm not getting a cold too!!

Oct 18, 2011

Milk Man

We just signed up for milk delivery service! I am excited about this and feel sooooo suburban, haha!

This is our cute cooler box on our porch!

We get milk and eggs delivered every week! This is a local farmer that doesn't use any added hormones which is great. They also have lots of other stuff that we could order like yogurt, cheese, baked goods, coffee, juice and seasonal items. So much fun!

Oct 17, 2011

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

We had the best time at the pumpkin patch this weekend! We went to this same farm when I was a kid and have continued the tradition by going with Leah.  They have baby animals, corn maze, face painting, and a bunch of stuff for the kids to play in and see. It was fun to watch Leah run around checking everything out.

















I have probably made it evident on my blog that I prefer warmer, summer weather, but I am starting to get into the fall spririt. :-)  I can't WAIT for Halloween. Our new neighborhood is a perfect place for trick-or-treating so we are excited to take Leah around and also answer the door to kids. At our condo we never had that so we can't wait!