Mr Gamer Turns 12!!

What better way to celebrate a birthday than with a house full of family to help you?? Grandma and Papaw came down from WV and Aunt Marsha, Uncle Charles, Nicholas, and Naomi came up from Alabama.  Such fun!!!  Like all the others this year, I made the cake.  Now, it wasn't the most professional looking, but it sure did taste good.  

 He loved all his gifts and the card we got him that sang "Who let the dogs out?"  Appropriate since he plays for the bulldogs. 

And, what better way to end his big day than a big victory sending his football team to the playoffs?  Go Bulldogs!!!



It's so hard to believe he is twelve, but what a wonderful twelve years it has been!! I love you Mr Gamer!! You're such a sweet boy and I consider it a privilege to be called your mom...

BOWL DAY!!

Well, it was a crazy, busy Saturday.  The boys in green had their bowl day and homecoming ceremony.  What a long day!! We had to be at the field by 9am and didn't get home until 6pm.  Then, of course, I still had to go to work for the standard 12 hours of craziness at the hospital.

All the teams played and I have already decided Baby Samuel will be playing football as early as possible.  Those little fellas running around the field are soooo cute, and the cheerleaders, ADORABLE!!

I don't know all the scores, but the 13 year old team (William) won their game.  The 11-12 year olds (Noah) tied their game (well, they actually won, but they don't count the score for the entire first quarter).  The 9-10 year olds lost their game by 1 point in the last minute of the game :(  The little fellas (6-8 year olds) not only looked cute, but won their game as well. 

GO BULLDOGS !!!!!!!

I wish I could have gotten better pictures, but they were in the middle of the field and I was still in the bleachers. 

Apple Crumb Cake

It's fall, and I have apples everywhere.  We do eat a lot of apples, but like everything else, they go in phases.  There are days my kids will eat the whole bag and then there are times they sit and go bad.  I had probably 20 apples on my counter, thanks to my friend who brought me some from NC,  so I thought I'd try a new recipe.  My dinner plan was a little skimpy, so add some dessert.  It was delicious.

Here's what you need for the cake:
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pt. sliced apples

Mix first 6 ingredients together well.  Fold in apples. Pour into greased 13 X 9 inch pan.

Now, my favorite part, the crumb topping. Mmmmmm.

1 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. melted butter

Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl, then slowly add butter while mixing to make mix crumbly.  Sprinkle on top of cake batter and bake at 350 degrees fro 45 minutes.


I believe I said before DELICIOUS.  I'm thinking it would also be very good with blueberries in the spring!!!

Plan for the Week

Well, once again, I'm late with my weekly plan.  This week looks like it's going to be cool and RAIINY!! Great weather for soup, so I've planned a couple nights just for that.  True to recent form, it looks like EVERYTHING will be done in the crock pot this week (sorry boys). 

Sunday - We had steak n gravy (in the crock pot of course)
Monday - Taco Soup 
Tuesday - BBQ Pork chops,  homemade mac n cheese, peas, crescent rolls
Wednesday - Chicken n Dumplings (going to try this in the crock pot), green beans, mashed potatoes
Thursday -broccoli cheese chicken and rice - this is a new recipe I'm trying, will share if I like :)
Friday - Chili
Saturday - IT'S BOWL DAY!! The boys have football stuff all day.  It's their homecoming. They have to escort a girl, buy her flowers and get pictures taken.  So exciting!!  Of course they could care less, they just want to play their games:)  Anyhoooo, whatever we eat before I go to work will probably be ordered in. 

Hope everyone enjoys their week.  I know mine will fly by since it's my work weekend.  Ugh!!!!!

Brown Sugar Chicken

 In my search for easy prep meals that I can throw in the crock pot, I ran across this brown sugar chicken recipe on Crock Pot Girls facebook page.  The kids think I'm addicted to crock pot cooking at the moment, but I tend to do things in cycles.  Right now it's the crock pot, before that grilling everything and deep fried, etc., etc..  So, here's what you need:


4 boneless chicken breasts ( cut into pieces)  go ahead and throw them in the crock pot.




Combine:  1 cup brown sugar                 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
                 1/2 cup 7-up
                 1 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic (the
                          original recipe called for 3 tbs)
                 2 tablespoons soy sauce
                 1 small onion chop (I used onion
                         powder instead)


Then, pour over the chicken pieces.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Mine cooked a little long and I dried out the chicken on top, so I would go with  no longer than 6 hours.  It was still delicious.

         
              Serve over rice or pasta.  I chose rice and steamed some broccoli and corn to serve with.

 Make sure you pour the sauce over the rice or pasta.  I think that's the best part.

By Jove I Think She's Got It!!!

Well, after an entire week in training pants,  I think we've pretty much got the potty training done.  I have survived yet another one, only one more to go in a couple of years.  Whoot-Whoot!!! 

Isn't she cute???