J's Mac & Cheese {recipe}

If you have been reading my "What I Ate . . ." posts for any length of time, you will know that J's Mac & Cheese is a dinner staple for our family.
We all love it.
So I thought I would share the recipe.
My sister, Jeannine {Hi J!}, got the recipe while watching television years ago.
An actress from The Cosby Show {great show!} was having her baby shower and a restaurant in LA made this for her shower.
Here's the original recipe:

This recipe is AWESOME just the way it is.  But I have made a couple of changes to how I regularly make it.

1.  I add 1/2  TEASPOON of cayenne pepper instead of a pinch.

{Yes, I discovered this by mistake and MAN was it a great mistake!}

It IS a little spicy this way, so you may want to put in a little less.

2.  I use fat free milk and light sour cream.  {I try to save as many calories as I can!}

3.  Once I wisk in the milk, I simmer it, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.

4.  I omit the bread crumbs and baking part.  Serving it once you add in the sour cream and cheese leaves it nice and creamy.  If I were to serve this as a side dish, THEN I would add the bread crumbs and bake it.

Ummm . . .  I am craving this now!  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

  

Fluffy Pancakes {recipe}

"The Awesomest Pancakes Ever." - That's what Dylan said about them.  

Fluffy really is the best word to describe them.

Dylan ate his with Nutella on it.

Payton ate hers with butter and syrup on it.

We, Ry & I, ate ours with just butter on it.

Ready for the super easy, super yummy recipe?

Click {here} to go directly to the recipe.

The kids and I ate this whole batch, so next time I will double it.

Hope you like them as much as we did!

What I Ate...

Sunday - Nachos

Monday - J's Mac & Cheese (recipe coming soon!)
Baby Carrots & Grape Tomatoes with Ranch Dip

Tuesday - Hobo Packets
Illinois Salad
Baby Carrots & Grape Tomatoes with Ranch Dip

Wednesday - BBQ Chicken Pizza
Gingered Iceberg Salad

Thursday - Ground Turkey Tacos (yes there is a taco under all that lettuce)
Tortilla Chips

Friday - Hot Dog with Mustard
Baked Beans

Saturday - Kona Chicken
Brown Rice
Steamed Corn
Spring Mix with Peaches Salad

Another Well Check & A Busy Day

At Payton's appointment yesterday, the Dr. reminded me that Rylan should have had a well check at 14 months.
Woops!
So I made an appointment and returned first thing this morning!

It was nice going to the doctors when he is healthy!
Here's his stats:
21 lbs 11 oz
31.25" long
He's gained 1 lb 1 oz and grew 2" since April!
He is 10% for his weight and 100% for his head circumference!
"It looks like a watermelon on a toothpick!" (Name that movie!)

After his appointment I went to a meeting . . .  looks like I got a part time job being a virtual assistant!
After that we took the kids to the pool.

Then in the evening drove to a sparing class at our karate's other location.
Here's Dylan sparring with Mr. Parman Sr.

And he's that blur on the right executing a round house kick.

Payton LOVES her baby brother!

So funny story.
Friday nights are usually Family Movie Night.
We watch a kids movie and eat homemade popcorn.  Yum!
Since we were out late and were not going to have FMN we decided to get ice cream on our way home.  Me, trying to go the cheap way, suggested cones from Burger King.  They are only $.50 right now.  Mind you, we DO NOT like Burger King.  The food is just not good {in our opinion}.
Anyhoo.
The soft serve was gross {shocker} and too soft.  We could have drank it with a straw.  So half way through eating them, Chris told us to stop, we were going somewhere else to get different cones.  We drove to Chick-fil-A and got MORE cones!
Chick-fil-A's were perfect.
We spent $2 for the cones at Burger King and $3.60 for the cones at Chick-fil-A (did you know you can buy kiddie cones there?).  So the moral to the story is, cheaper isn't always better.  Plus Chick-fil-A wasn't that much more!
The kids thought it was SO cool that we were getting MORE cones.  We made a great memory tonight!

Well Check {Payton}

Payton had her 5 year old well check today!

She is 3' 6" tall
She had grown 1 inch since APRIL when she was last at the doctor.
That makes sense with how much she has been eating lately!
She is 36 (almost 37) pounds.
She passed her vision and hearing tests . . .
now she's ready for KINDERGARTEN!
Did I mention we start NEXT Monday (August 5th)?
Summer is coming to an end too quickly!

Fifteen Months

Rylan's 15 months old today!

He started doing even more things this past month.
He jumps (at least its an attempt to).
Plays peek-a-boo with his hands.
Says Ry Ry.
Claps for himself & started his first chore (putting shoes away).
Zerberts.
Calls his pacifier "dat".
Sucks on his toes to get some laughs.
He says "wa-wa" for water.
And says "all done".
Loves playing the 5 Little Monkey's on Sasha's iPad.
Is a Ritz Cracker-aholic (seriously, he needs help!).

I love this boy!

Weekend Wrap Up

I LOVE finding pictures on my phone that my sweet kids take.

This picture is unedited (besides cropped).
It was a freak change in the lighting and coloring and I think it is so cool.

The kids had some fun pool time in the front yard.

Rylan just discovered playing Superman and he loves it!

He also discovered he can suck on his toes.

Eeeeewwwwweeee!
And gives zerberts.

What I Ate...

Monday - Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spinach Salad with Balsamic & Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

Tuesday - Ground Turkey Burrito

Wednesday - Baked Potato (made in the slow cooker!) with Shredded Cheese, Steamed Broccoli, Sour Cream and Salt & Pepper

Thursday - Claim Jumper California Citrus Salad with Blackened Chicken

Saturday - Green and White Salad with Black Pepper Grilled Chicken
Snack - Sliced Oranges
Premium Rounds Rosemary & Olive Oil Crackers
Grape Tomatoes
Baby Carrots
Broccoli Florets
Ranch Dressing

I had to take a picture of the kids and my snack today, it was so pretty . . . and yummy too. 

Nashville, TN

So life has been interesting for us lately.
We are in a place again where we aren't sure exactly where God wants us.
The past few weeks we have been praying and seeking God's will for our family.
That has brought us to a place of surrender, where we truly want to go where ever God leads us, where we can be more effective for HIS glory.

Then came an opportunity to move . . .
only 4 hours away, but to a completely different state.
Now insert all the concerns that parents have with:
moving young kids?
we have only been here 2 years?
really to another state?
what about the friendships we have made?
physically move again?
and on and on.

Yes, I thought about all those things (and then some) but if this could be what God wants us to do, then we need to look into it!

So Thursday we hopped in the car and drove up to Nashville, TN for the night.
The kids were excited to go.
Papa and Sasha followed us up in their car.
We had walkie-talkies and were able to talk between both cars (very fun).
And the drive up there was beautiful.

We went to the iconic Grand Ole Opry House.

It was neat being there.

We found a Claim Jumper for dinner {yum!} at the Opry Mills (mall).

Rylan has this thing where he eats with his pinky up.
Isn't it cute?

While we were eating, a HUGE thunderstorm hit.
We heard it inside the restaurant!

We got to watch a scuba diver clean this aquarium which was cool.

And by the time we got out of the mall the rain had stopped.
We drove around music square and down town.
{Hey mom, we saw a Gigi's Cupcakes there too!}

We went back to the hotel and the kids swam.

The next day we drove around the outskirts of Nashville and found some areas that we really liked.
Based on our short time there, I could live there.
We even stumbled upon "Peytonsville-Trinity Road".
Payton said, "Hey, I am the boss here!"

All the kids were troopers for being in the car so much . . . especially Rylan.
He was so excited to watch Elmo (picture on the left).
And was all smiles when I pulled out a sucker (top right).
Notice the pinky again (bottom right)?

What cracks me up about driving from TN to GA (or GA to TN) is that you drive over the boarders a couple of times.  So we see this Welcome to GA sign:

Then a few minutes later this Welcome to TN sign:

Then about 20 minutes later another Welcome to GA sign!

It cracks me up!

Buddy couldn't stay awake on the way home.
But I don't blame him.
There were 3 accidents and it took us an extra 2 hours to get home.

It was a GREAT trip!
We had prayed that God would make it abundantly clear if we should follow this opportunity or not.
We both agree that it is a NO for today,
BUT we both really like it there and could see us moving there at some point . . .
So it is back to praying!

Happy Hump Day

Here's a quick look at to what we've done this week so far.
Played with the water table.
I didn't think my older kids would like it as much as Rylan, but they do!

They were dunking their heads into the water and wouldn't you know it . . .
Payton was going down and Dylan was coming up and bam.

Payton got a pretty bump on her forehead.
Dylan got put in a time out (not for the head bump but for something unrelated)
and Rylan went right over and sat in a time out with him.
As you can see, he looks up to his big brother so much!

We drove to Dawsonville to the North Georgia Outlets.
 
Payton did not want to be there.

But we got to see this cool moth.
It was the size of my palm.

We got Ry a sucker since he was stuck in his stroller and he loved it.
Have you ever had a Smarties sucker?
My friend Kristine introduced me to them and they are GREAT because they don't get as sticky as regular lollypops and are super easy to clean up!

When Rylan is tired, he plays with his hair . . .
the same spot . . .
every time . . .
It is so cute!

I had my first Magnum bar and I wasn't impressed.
Thankfully I only paid $2 for the box (I bought it on sale and used a coupon)!

Swimming Hole

While mountain biking a couple of weeks ago, Chris stumbled upon this amazing swimming hole in Ellijay.

We drove up there to do some swimming and fishing.

We found this there:
Dylan thought it was so cool.

The water was a bit cool since it is mountain water.

Payton wanted daddy to get in with her.

These pictures don't do it justice of just how beautiful it was.

Daddy and P are in, now they are trying to coax Dylan in.

Swimming with daddy!

Rylan touched the water with his toes and fingers and that was about it.

I'd say they had a good great time!

She was shivering in this picture!

On the way home we stopped at Panorama Apple Farms and I snapped this cute picture.

It was a super fun day!