Memorial Day

We spent this Memorial Day with our church family.  Our pastor and his family invited everyone from our church over to their house for a picnic and water-fun day!  We all had a lot of fun!  Our kids (well mostly our boys) especially enjoyed all the water fun!

 Lily got a little wet at first and then was done.  She spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with the ladies and wrapping up in her towel.

 Almost the whole gang with the slip-n-slides, water guns, and the water hose...

It was a really fun day!  The kiddos can't wait to get out the "slippy slides" again!!  Hope you had a great Memorial Day as well!  A special thank you to all our veterans and those who have lost their lives to give us our freedoms!

Boat Day

Last Friday was Boat Day for all the Kindergarten classes at Daniel's school.  So around 10am they all walked over to the park across from the school to play on the big playground, eat lunch, and sail their boats on the little beach.  Parents and siblings were allowed to join them, so we packed up and met them over there!  All 3 kids had a blast!

 I have been amazed at how much more Daniel can climb and maneuver through all the playground equipment after being in Kindergarten this year!  

 Lily still needs Daddy's help to go across the monkey bars.

 And now for the boat sailing.  The kids brought home pieces for a boat and we built it together and then Daniel painted it.  Originally the boat had a sail, but ironically the boat wouldn't sail with the sail, so we took it off.

 Due to liability issues with it being a field trip, the kids weren't allowed to swim.  So they could just get in to their ankles.

All in all, it was a super fun day.  I remembered to lather up the kiddos in sunscreen, but I didn't put any on, so I was a little toasty after the day was over.  We will definitely be going back to the park a lot this summer to swim and play!

Kindermoves

 Lily did a little six-week dance/gymnastics class.  It was basically a little 45 minute class where they did a combination of dance, gymnastics, and other fun little things.  By the time we got settled here and thought about dance again, all the ballet and gymnastics classes had already started, so we thought this would be something fun for her to do until she could get in one of those in the fall.  Anyway...she really enjoyed it!  Last Tuesday was her last class so they let the parents come in and see what they had been learning these last weeks.  It was too cute!

 She was a little shy at first, but then she started getting really silly for us!

It was such a cute little class!  I can't wait for her to get into a fall class!  She is trying to decide between ballet or gymnastics.  I say both!  But, we'll see... ;)  Happy Memorial Day!!

Catch Up

 Hello friends! Those were several pictures of what's been going on here the last few weeks.  Toe-nail painting, baseball playing, Mother's Day lunches, playing outside...etc.  Not anything too exciting but we've stayed busy.  And today's about the same.  We went grocery shopping yesterday, so today I spent the majority of the morning cleaning lettuce...

 Making these yummy little snack crackers (I got the recipe from Pinterest of course)...

 And making some delicious freshly squeezed lemonade (recipe found on foodnetwork.com...courtesy of Gina Neely).

 

And while I was making it this little cutie walked up and wanted to help...

 And then he decided he wanted to lick the lemons after I'd squeezed them.  I don't know what my kids' fascination  with lemons is, but they love them.

 

And as for the rest of the afternoon...the plan is to go through most of the tubs in the basement!  Then we will be getting ready for Lily's last dance/gymnastics class tonight where we'll get to watch the class and see what she's learned!  I will be posting pictures of that soon I hope!  Well, I hope you're having a productive Tuesday!

Week 24

Here we are!  24 weeks along....well 24 weeks 5 days to be exact.  Friday I'll be 25 weeks!  I know you couldn't get by without knowing that detail.  Anyway.  Things are going splendidly with this pregnancy!  This little boy is QUITE a little mover!  I'm wondering if this is good news for after he is born.  Let me explain....when I was pregnant with Austin I specifically remember telling my sister that I didn't feel like he moved as much as the other two did.  She replied with this...and I quote..."Maybe this will actually be your calmer child."  Now, for any of you who know our little Austin, or have followed this blog since last summer-ish, you know that Austin is FAR from our "calm" child.  He is our one that is into ABSOLUTELY everything.  So, saying all that to say, maybe this baby is getting all his energy out now....just maybe.  Oh, but even if he's just getting started, I'm still thrilled to death to meet the little guy!  As far as how I feel...I feel great!  I'm still pretty comfortable doing most tasks.  As far as eating...I love it!  I've determined that food just tastes better when you're pregnant.  These days the Chinese craving has subsided some, and I now seem to want lots of Mexican-type foods, and lemonade pie (yes...lemonade pie...it's the best), and peanut butter bash sundaes from Dairy Queen.  The one thing I want soon is some Chili's chips and salsa.  Soon.  Very soon.  But anyway....I guess that's about it for now!  Three and a half more months!!

First Baseball Game of the Season

Saturday was Daniel's first T-ball game of the season.  He had been looking forward to it all week!  I still can't get over the difference 2 years has made in how much more focused he is on the game.  He took a lot of pride in carrying his bag....and who doesn't need a graham cracker for an extra boost of energy before a game?

 In the dugout...

 Third base...

 I think he was really excited to get a turn in the middle where the pitcher usually stands.  Those kids get the most action!

 What a hit!

 It ended up being really fun because one of our friends from church is on the blue team!  So Daniel and Abbey got to play against each other their first game.

 All in all, it was a really fun game.  I am really looking forward to the season!

What's been cookin' in the Heath household?

I haven't done a post in awhile about food, so I thought I would do that now.  Especially since food is so important to me these days.  :)  Here are a few new recipes I've tried recently...(some more recently than others)...
This was my copycat of the Chipotle burrito...Cilantro lime rice (I actually didn't have cilantro, so I used ground corriander instead...it's close to the same flavor), left-over roast beef, refried beans, guacomole, salsa, cheese....that's what I had on hand.  So naturally...it wasn't exactly Chipotle, but it hit the craving none-the-less.  This was thrown together with what I had on hand...I will try to make this again actually planning out my ingredients (since the closest Chipotle is 2 hours away).

 This is a Zucchini tot.  It was super yummy.  I got this one from Pinterest.  These were sooo good...they really tasted a lot like tater tots, but it has shredded zucchini and cheese in it.  Mmmm.

 This is another Pinterest find...Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken.  This was super yummy, and very easy, and required very minimal ingredients.  Definately will make this again!

 These are homemade baked chicken nuggets and homemade baked french fries (also Pinterest).  I love meals like this because they are easy and kid-friendly, but also healthy.  The nuggets were delish...even though I used regular breadcrumbs instead of panko breadcrumbs, and the fries were pretty much your classic baked fry, but I love those so I was pleased.

Here's a few other meals I've made recently that I didn't have pictures for...
-Cheesy chicken and rice...this is a Pinterest find.  It was done in the crockpot and was super easy and cheap.  I'll definitely make this again.
-Baked "fried" Chicken....this was soooooo yummy (Pinterest).  The flavor of the breading is amazing.  It also requires ingredients I usually have on hand anyway.  This will definitely be my "go-to" chicken dish when all I have is chicken and I don't know what to do with it.
-Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes...This is not a Pinterest find, but instead came out of one of my Betty Crocker cookbooks.  I have officially found the best meatloaf recipe ever.  Let me know if you want it...it's sooo good.  And the potatoes are pretty yummy too. The secret to good mashed potatoes is...butter.  My theory...the potatoes are still healthy...you're just adding the unhealthy butter to it...but it doesn't mean you're not getting the nutrients from the potatoes, right?  Well, that's what I tell myself when I really want something tasty....like butter.  :)
-Tacos...my kids love 'em...so we've been killing it with the tacos lately.  Plus..you can buy "great value" brand taco shells for $1 a box (12 ct.), so we either cook up some ground beef or chicken with some taco seasoning ($.30 a pack)...add some fixins' and there you have it!  A cheap meal the kids (and parents for that matter) will love.
-Oh, and I did make some white beans with that left over Easter ham.  Crock pot, dried beans, ham and ham bone, salt, pepper, a tablespoon of bacon fat...oh yum.  Throw some homemade sweet cormbread muffins with it and there you have a good ole' southern dinner.
And last, but certainly not least I will share my Pinterest dessert that I've recently tried.  I had it at a friend's house and LOVED it, so I made a few recently for a dinner at church...ok, so here goes...LEMONADE PIE.  I've told you how I love lemonade lately.  So this....was amazing!  Frozen lemonade concentrate, sweetened condensed milk, cool whip, a graham cracker pie crust...I mean really folks...Y-U-M!
So there you have it...the Heath menu lately.  We've been trying to go cheap, easy, and healthy around here.  Ok, so not every recipe is exactly what I would call "healthy", but most are (we usually throw in some stir-fried broccoli, green beans, or raw carrots in there with some of those dishes too).  Anyway...I know you've been dying to know what we've had for dinner, so there you have it!

Baseball Time!

 Well it's that time of year again....baseball time!  Daniel is back to playing little league t-ball this year!  I love it.  This will be his last year in t-ball.  So far we've just been practicing, but I still love watching it...

He didn't play last year, so it's he's REALLY improved his game in 2 years.  He's much more into the game and he's really good!  (Not that I'm biased or anything...).  Anyway...I'm excited about being a baseball mom again this year.  I think the first game is next week!