First Crock Pot Exchange

Crock Pot Meal Exchange

While searching the web for ideas on crock pot meals to make during the week I came across quite a few links that directed me to freezer crock pot food exchanges.  This one in particular I loved, Graciously Saved: Crock Pot Meal Exchange.  After reading into it a little, I thought this was definitely something I was interested in trying.  So I posted a question to all my facebook friends to see who else may be interested and here you are!

So I have seen variances on the way the exchanges are handled, but I believe the one listed below is probably the easiest and most fair way to do it. 

The number of people that participate in the exchange is the number of meals you will make of your selected recipe.  I think 10 is a pretty good number because that will give everyone two weeks worth of meals to throw in the freezer and pull out for convenient dinners.

When you determine what meal you will make you will do the following:

• Send email to participants to ensure no one is making the same meal
• Make sure the meal will feed approximately 4 - 6 people
• Place all items to make the meal in a 1 gallon resealable ziploc bag (with the exception of anything that doesn't go in the crockpot, ie. rice, noodles, etc.)
• Provide the recipe, either with a sharpie on the freezer bag or provide a hard copy on an index card or something similar.
• Meet with the group (bring your ice-chests) exchange and have fun!!!

I think this will be great and I am excited to try it!!!

And so our newest journey begins!

So after years and years of trying to fight it, my biological finally ticked so hard and loud that there was no way for me to ignore it any longer.  In July 2013, we found out that we are expecting baby #3.

To be 100% honest, I had every intention on making an appointment to get back on birth control pills that month.  I take a little bit of time off to ensure that I don't have adverse reactions (ie. cancer and other issues that come along with being on birth control for too long).  So I had contacted my doctor to make an appointment to come in.  They began asking all the normal information and then they asked me, "When was your last menstrual cycle"?  Umm...yeah...that kind of made me start to think, I had no idea.  I did the math and determined I was late.  I have so much going on all the time that I didn't even flinch missing my period.  I told the hubby that I thought that I might be pregnant.  He laughed and told me I always think I'm pregnant.  I told him that this time I was actually late and it wasn't just stress.  He had me get two tests that night and low and behold, they were positive.

We decided to tell the kids right away.  They were in shock.  They asked if we were serious.  We assured them that that is what the tests said.  I immediately made an appointment to see my doctor. 

First appointment they did the internal ultrasound and determined that we were in fact expecting!!!  We were already able to hear the heartbeat and get some pictures to show the kids.  The only downside to the appointment was the fact that the doctor made it known to me that I was at an "ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE"!  WTH?  I was not too happy with that information.

I have since had two more appointments and ultrasounds both times so more pictures!!

The kids are going nuts wanting to go in so they can see and hear the baby too.  That appointment is scheduled for October 23rd.  We have decided to not find out the sex of the baby.  Instead we have decided to do the new craze of a reveal shower.  When we go in for the ultrasound on the 23rd, we are going to have the doctor take pictures that show the sex of the baby and label it with the sex.  We are going to have them place it in a sealed envelope we will hold onto it until closer to the shower.  Once the shower comes we plan on giving the sealed envelope to the baker who will be making our cake for the shower.  We are going to ask that he/she make the inside of the cake either pink or blue depending on the sex of the baby.  So when we cut the cake everyone will be there to find out together! ; )  So excited about that!

Well I will try to keep writing consistently to keep everyone updated on the progress!  March 2014...here we come!

Kings of the Dirt

On Friday the hubby and I began our Labor Day weekend journey up to Reno.  Our son had already gone up with his grandpa and auntie to hit up the Rib Cook-Off at JA Nugget.  Our daughter had to stay home with her grandparents because she too had a tournament this weekend.  We made our way up the mountain around 3:30pm and to my surprise the traffic wasn't half bad.

Grand Sierra Resort and Casino

Once in Reno we checked into our hotel, the Grand Sierra Resort, and decided to go get something to eat for dinner.  We had been in Reno back in May for Mother's Day weekend for our daughter's softball tournament.  While staying in Reno we had gone to this amazing pizza place called, Grimaldi's.  It is located right next door to Scheel's sporting store (if you haven't been to Scheel's give yourself a minimum of 2hrs to walk around and see everything, its amazing!)  Having had such a great experience the first time we decided that Grimaldi's was a must.  We ordered the small caesar salad and a large pepperoni pizza with fresh garlic and mushrooms.  AMAZING!!!  Highly recommmend this restaurant.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria - Sparks, NV

After eating we went back to the hotel to wait for our little guy to meet up with us after having been at the rib cook-off all day.  Finally they brought him to our hotel and we were off to bed, busy day on Saturday.

On Saturday, we woke up and got ready for the first day of our "King of the Dirt" tournament.  To our dismay the tournament was in Carson City which was a last minute change from Sparks.  We had already booked our rooms at the Grand Sierra and didn't have time to reschedule, so this entailed a 40 mile drive one-way to get to and from the tournament all weekend, Ugh!!!

Day 1 of the tournament, we played our first game against the Reno Muckdogs at 12:00pm.  My son got hit in the ribs the first at bat, but he was a trooper and took one for the team. 

Our second game on Day 1 was against the Hard 90 Legacy.

During the baseball games I made sure to check in with my dad to see how my daughter was playing.  I was also given play by plays via text messages by moms on the softball team.  During the first game my daughter was sent home by the third base coach and unfortunately when sliding into home the rather larger than life catcher landed on my daughter while getting the out and tweaked her back.  She tried to go back up to bat the second game and was unable to swing.  She laid down a great bunt but was not able to make it to first.  Needless to say she was sent home to rest and ice her back and didn't make it to the third game.

Day 2 of the tournament, we played our first game against the Carson City Capitals.  Second game of the day was against Team Velocity.  This put us into 1st seed for Championship play on Monday.

My daughter attended her game Sunday morning to show her support for her team but was unable to play.  My bff picked her up after her first game was over and they made their way up to Reno to be with us.  

My girlfriend is amazing.  She went out of her way to bring my daughter up to Reno for me.  I was under the impression that she would stay with us because under no circumstances would I ever expect her to drive that distance and just drop my daughter off.  She ended up staying with us until around 11pm that evening and much to my chagrin she went home that evening.  

Day 3 and the final day of the tournament we ended up playing the Reno Muckdogs again and run ruled them with a score of 10-0.  The boys played amazing, we were all so proud of them.  I was especially proud of my son that hit the entire weekend.  He gets so emotional and stresses out on most occassions when it comes to game time, but this weekend he put that stress aside and really had a blast and played the game really well.  

2012 King of the Dirt Champions - Carson City, NV

Mama needs a new set of tires

So this weekend we are going to Reno for my son's baseball tournament.  My tires are almost completely shot so I knew it would be a good idea for me to probably replace them prior to making the drive to Reno.  Especially for safety purposes.  I called around yesterday to price compare and America's Tire Company was by far the cheapest I found for the best tire.  I asked if it would be a problem for me to bring my car in by 8am and come back to pick it up, they said that would not be a problem.

This morning I drive my car to the shop, get there by 7:45am and wait for them to open at 8.  My friend had taken time out of her day to pick me up and take me to work (Love Her!!).  I saw a ton of people in the store when I got there so I decide to walk over and try to open the door.  The door does not open.  About 10 men turn around and are now laughing at me.  Oops!

Finally, around 7:55am they walk over to my car and do a quick assessment of my current tires.  We walk inside the building to get all the paperwork started.  The gentleman was very friendly, gave me a complete breakdown of the cost and assured me off all the perks they have to offer.  He took my contact information down and said that since I was so early I would be in and out in about 45 minutes.  My friend told me rather then go to work we could hit up ol' Starbucks while we waited.

We order our Cafe Americano's and decide to sit and chat for a while.  We look at our phones, it is now 9am, an hour past the time that I dropped off my car and I have yet to receive a phone call letting me know that my car has been completed.  We decide to drive back over and find out what is going on.  To my dismay my car is in the exact same place from when I dropped it off.  I am greeted at the door by one of the gentlemen from this morning.  I ask him why my tires had not been started yet.  He tells me they thought I had said that my car can be completed whenever. ?????????.  (When did I say that?)  He then proceeds to tell me that it can be completed in 15 minutes.  (Why didn't you do that in the first place?).  So I go back and sit in my friends car and we continue our morning conversation.  I was pleased that they stuck to their word and completed my tires in the 15 minutes.

Now I have new shiny tires, and although I had to utilize 2.5 hours of vacation time this morning, it was well worth it.  I was able to sit and talk with my girlfriend all morning and still got brand new tires!!!  Overall, the gentlemen were very friendly and I would still recommend their services despite the wait I had.  I will chalk it up to lack of communication, which most guys are guilty of.

Reno here we come!!!

Gone fishin!

Small striped bass

So every once in a while Luciano's work will get together and do an outing as a thank you for their continued dedication and good work.  This year they took the guys on a fishing trip.

He had to wake up at 3:00am to meet up with the guys and drive down to the bay area (did not envy him, nor did I get anymore sleep after he left, dammit). 

Leopard Shark

Once on the boat Luciano caught the first fish of the day, the striped bass.

After sitting at work for a while I receive a text showing me yet another fish that he has caught which was the leopard shark.  I was very impressed with this catch.

We had taken the kids fishing a few weeks back and he was excited to catch a little feeder fish so I know the leopard shark was a big deal!  Another couple hours had passed and I receive another text showing me yet another shark that he caught.  He was having a great fishing day!!  At the end of the trip he had caught the three fish pictured here which accounted for almost half of the fish the guys caught that day in total.  Just another thing to add to the long list of things my husband is competitive at, LOL.

This past weekend we had some friends over for dinner, and the husband had cut up the shark and did a fish fry.  Me being one of the pickiest people alive was extremely hesitant on trying the shark nuggets.  I did it and I have to say they were pretty amazing!  Shark nuggets...ooo ha ha!

7 Gill

And were off...School year 2012/2013

Alana and Alex, First day of school, August 16th, 2012

We have officially started the 2012/2013 school year.  Both Alex and Alana seem pretty excited about starting back at school.  

Alex started a new school this year.  We had never felt that he or Alana were really challenged at their old school so we finally were given the opportunity to get him in to the new one and we took it.

He was scheduled to be in a 4th grade class, then I receive a call from the principle a day later letting me know that Alex was going to be moved into a 3rd/4th grade combo class.  No red flags were drawn up at that time, however he continued to inform me of what the other changes were.  He stated that Alex would go to recess with all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders.  Err...pump the breaks my good friend.  So you are telling me that my son who is new to this school, only knows a few kids in 4th grade (none of which are in his combo class) and you are going to now put him in a class with kids younger than him and have him interact throughout the entire day with kids a year younger than him?  I asked how they came to choose which children were going to be moved.  He stated at first that they hand selected the children that show they can work independently.  That is fine, but I fail to see how he could establish this knowledge of my son after only having him for a few hours the day before.  Then he continued to state that because our enrollment date was one of the last they allowed in the school they used that date to choose who was going to be moved.  Two completely different methods of choosing.  Alex is a very good independent worker so he could have almost sold me on that, but the last to enroll rubbed me the wrong way.  I told him we enrolled back in November of 2011 so I failed to see how we were the last to enroll.  He stated that that is not the date he had in front of him.  Me being the person I am went with the punches and didn't really fight it too much, but my inner-mother like-diva wanted to pull him through the phone demanding exact dates and answers.  

After all of this, which after reading it seems pretty trivial, I asked Alex what he thought about it and he tells me that he is fine with whatever.  Ugh, I wish I had that nonchalant attitude too.  He has been doing great and loves his new teacher.  We will see what this year has in store for us at this new school.

Alana on the other hand started the 7th grade at the same school she was at for 6th.  She absolutely loves her teachers.  Her only issue she had with her schedule is that she did not have lunch with any of her friends.  They all have 1st lunch and she has 2nd.  I told her this gave her ample time to go to study hall during lunch and get her school work done, that didn't go over too well with her.  Needless to say, I can officially say that after 2 weeks of school she has straight A's and she is working her butt off to continue it.

We are so proud of our little demons.  They have a full sports schedules and continue to get their homework completed while being successful at their sport.  Gotta love my kiddies!