Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday today.  I’d love to here what everyone has planned for the day, or if you are already out and about, come back and tell me what you did!

My brother and his wife invited us over to their house for a cookout, which was a relief to me, because that way I didn’t have to worry about cooking or getting the house ready for company.  I know that sounds bad, but hey, I’m a mom of four small children, dang it!  I need a break! Anyway, my brother’s kids are grown and out of the house, so they don’t have to worry about cleaning after children under the age of 6, if you know what I mean?  We were told to just bring ourselves and couple bags of chips and dip.  And I said, “Hey, that’ll work for me!”  The kids want to go swimming afterwards and later this evening, was thinking of taking the them to our annual fireworks display on the river, so it should be a busy day!

Hope it’s not too late to mention.  I posted a great article on my weight loss blog day before yesterday about how to eat the safe and healthy way when you are cooking out.  So you should hop on over there and check it out!

Ok…I’m off to bathe some rugrats….Have a Great Day!!!

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Technorati Tags: 4th of July Celebration, America's Birthday, Fireworks Display on the River

Well…it’s that time again. Time to break out the Christmas decorations and lights. We will probably have to get a real tree this year, or buy a new artificial one. We threw away our artificial tree that we had for over 10 years last year. The only problem is, I don’t know how I’m going to keep the babies out of it. Faith is all over the place, and Emma is not too far behind her. We always decorate the outside with lights and Christmas wreaths too.

Also, it’s time to start thinking about gift ideas. Steven and I used to really get into getting things for each other, but since we started having kids, we don’t worry about it too much anymore. We try to focus on them. We really want them to have a good Christmas. We will also need to get the grandparents something. My dad is a golfer. I won’t be able to buy him a set of golf clubs, but I may be able to get him a gift certificate for 18 holes at the local golf course. We usually have a Christmas Eve get-together with my brother and his family, so I’ll probably get them a little something. We always do gift cards every year, but this year I want to do something different. I may bake some goodies for everyone.

I’m trying to get into the spirit. It’s still tough with my mama gone, and also the fact that the anniversary of her death is 2 days before Christmas, but it I’m going to do my best. I’ve also got to plan Christopher’s 6th birthday as well, so let’s just that it’s going to be one busy month!

Can I hear a big….YESSSSSS!!!!  Guess you can say I’m kinda ready for the kids to go back to school.  Good thing is, they are ready too.  Christopher was sick the week before, and only went one day, so it’s like he has been out for 2 weeks.  I’m just ready to get my routine back on track.  All of the kids have been also sick with a really bad stomach virus.  When one would get over it, then the next one would get it, and the babies had it at the same time, so that was real fun.  Finally, everyone is well.

Thanksgiving was good.  I cooked for me, Steven, my dad and my brother.  It wasn’t quite the same without my mama (and never will be), but it was still good.   We are still eating leftovers, and I will probably have to throw out some stuff tomorrow.  I hate doing it, but I think we are done.

Here’s another recipe I thought I would share. This is a neat alternative to pumpkin pie. One of my fellow co-workers brought this to one of our company pot luck dinners.  Found via Cooks.com.

With the holidays coming up, I thought that I would share some of my recipes and my mama’s great recipes. Here’s a great recipe that has always been a hit at parties during the holidays. It’s a good alternative to your regular rotel dip with velveeta. Instead you use cream cheese and sausage. Here it is:

Sausage Rotel Dip Recipe

• 1 lb bulk sausage
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies with juice (do not drain)

1. Brown sausage in skillet; drain excess grease.
2. Add softened cream cheese.
3. Add Rotel (with juice) and mix well.
4. Pour into small casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until nice and bubbly.
5. Serve hot with Fritos Scoops or Tostitos.
6. Recipe can also be doubled using 2lbs of sausage, 4 - 8oz cream cheese, and 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes using a large casserole dish.