:: This Kid ::

This kid is a WILD man. Love him to pieces, but he is an awesome button-pusher. I can only imagine what is in store for Joe and I in the coming years...if at almost 3 he is talking like a kindergartener. Crazy. Here's a couple of his latest ramblings:

1)He has become OBSESSED with soup. Well, his babysitter (aka Grammy) makes fabulous home-made soup. Far from what I could ever whip up. The other day, he was bugging her for some soup and he followed Iggie (Grammy's grand daughter) into the kitchen begging for some soup. Iggie, being resourceful, pulls out a can of Campbell's. Trey looks at her funny and says, "No, Iggie! That is NOT Grammy's good soup. That is like my soup at home! I want Grammy's good soup!" Nice Trey, thanks for tellin' on me buddy.

2)Last night at dinner, Trey had Daddy's iced tea. Daddy asked him very politely, "Trey, may I have a sip of the iced tea?" Trey looked him straight in the face and answered, "Yes, you may." What? Where did those manners come from?

* Vegas Baby...Maybe*

I am still laughing as I am about to write this. Rewind about a month ago when I got an e-mail from my Curriculum Coordinator from our District. She was asking me, and another Web Mastering teacher, to look into an Adobe Certification training for us to attend and in turn train the rest of the Multimedia/Web teachers in the district. So what's a girl to do? Google, duh. The first thing I stumble upon is this. I just chuckle and of course highlight the link and send it to my boss and tell her this is the training we want. I was soooo joking. Well, her response was not an immediate NO, like I expected. It was, find me a price and get a few more quotes. After several responses from some more training companies(super duper expensive, even for just one software)....it is looking like Vegas is a serious possibility. Get out of town.

Here's the Deal:
For a small nominal fee (insert sarcasm here)...the final price includes airfare, hotel (The Flamingo, not too exciting I know), food, training, and 4 ACE (Adobe Certified Expert) tests. The training is super intense, which I'm excited about. We'd be in a room from 8-6 (ALL DAY!), they serve you breakfast and lunch in the room! I would come home, hopefully passing all 4 tests, being an ACE in PhotoShop, InDesign, Acrobat, & Dreamweaver. Score.

Wish me luck, I should know something in the next couple of days...Bring on Vegas!

What could make this any better you might ask. Oh yeah, it is the week before Spring Break. lol.

Sidenote: In case you don't know my background...I am a Business Multimedia (high school) teacher, hopefully that will allow this post to make a little more sense!

Sidenote #2: A lil' shout out to Joe - When we were first told to look into a certification for our Multimedia students, Joe is the one that pointed out the ACE certification. Have I told you that my husband rocks?

:: I've been Tagged! ::

I received an award! A big thank you to Tammy. This lil' gem comes with a little blogging assignment. '6 things that make me happy' and then I get to tag 6 more people...watch out!

1) Trey's sweet moments with his sister - although few and far between, they melt my heart. He nuzzles right up next to her and gives her a kiss on the forehead, and says "awwww". Sweetness. I guess I shouldn't bring up the times he runs by her in the exersaucer and pops her on the head...

2) Doing nothing with Joe - just having him home these days is a nice change of pace. We are so proud of the job he does at school, so we don't mind lending him out to change kids lives...but we get all giddy when he calls and says he is on his way home from work. We don't have to go anywhere, vegging out and doing nothing is awesome. I mean who needs to do laundry anyway?

3) Digital Scrapbooking - a new obsession. I always had a desire to document my children's lives, but could never get the time to sit down, spread out, and get to work. When I discovered that I could put my rockin' Photoshop skills to good use, I was thrilled.

4) Spending time with friends and family - this is a must for Joe and I's sanity. We are social people and like nothing else than to hang out on the drive way with good friends. We also love to take road trips to see loved ones. Hopefully, this summer I will introduce Joe to 'Yankee' land in Illinois where the other half of my family lives.

5) Trips to Nacogdoches - Joe and I met at SFA playing football and volleyball, you can guess who played what! Anyway, we absolutely LOVE life in Nac (some of you may refer to it as Nac-a-Nowhere)...the slow pace, the trees, the college life, the fact that you can go across town in 10 minutes. If we weren't such scaredy cats, we might just try to move back one day.

6) My SFAVB Crew - my teammates from SFA, are by far some of the coolest girls around. I mean, who has semi-annual reunions...we actually try for more than that, but we're getting old and jobs are getting in the way! I always leave the reunions sore from laughing so hard. We just get along and everyone gets each other. Awesome.

This isn't the half of it...

I know you're just wondering who I am going to tag...hmmmm:
1. Ryan - welcome to the Blogworld! (being in Germany shouldn't stop you!)
2. Andria
3. Rachelle
4. Heather
5. Mandy
6. Sheila - are you still alive? Maybe this will make you surface! :)

* Not Me Monday *

It's that time again for Not Me Monday! I figured I'd try it out for round 2.

• Joe and I did not caulk the area around the bath tub and then look at the tube that says do not get the area wet for 3 days. I then, did not, attempt to get into our broken shower (door is off the hinge), and need Joe's help to shut the door. Joe certainly did not, need my help to shut the door for him, only to have the ENTIRE door come off the hinge when he was exiting the shower! We really do not have a glass door just sitting in our shower.
• I did not have to buy Trey a fleece hat at Joe's football game, because I'm never unprepared...never.
• The weather man (http://www.weather.com/) that said it was going to be mostly sunny and warm in Waco on Saturday, did not get that COMPLETELY wrong. It was not at all windy, overcast, and down right chilly!
• I did not somehow convince Joe to help me get the Christmas decorations down yesterday on his first real day off since late July. I do not have the best husband in the world.
• I did not about fall out of my chair when I checked Joe's basketball schedule, and noticed the poor guy has basketball tournaments the next 2 weekends. Poor guy.
• I did not wake up at 5 a.m. two nights this weekend. In an attempt to make myself sleepy, I did not do some random blog stalking.
• I did not bring home almost 300 papers to grade and let them sit untouched on the kitchen table the entire break...nice.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is gearing up for the Christmas season!

:: Crafty and Crazy ::

Okay, prepare yourself...this post is jam-packed with fun stuff (possibly my longest post EVER, and all of this was TODAY!). The crafty part, because Grandma is here and we like to get crafty. The crazy part, because that is Trey these days! :) I am so glad I have witnesses to prove it after this weekend! Uncle Cody, Grandma, and Grandpa now understand what Mommy and Daddy have been saying. They have also learned how hard it is not to laugh right in his face when he smarts back, because let's face it...Trey is a 5 year old trapped in a 2 year old's body! More on that later...time for some pics. I'm going to divide these up to make it easier on ya.

First...the craft section. I have wanted to get Emery a tutu since the girl came out of my belly! However, Joe would have grounded me to the guest room if I would have come home with a $30 tutu. Hmm, what's a girl to do? Wait for Grandma to come and have her help me make one! :) I think it turned out awesome for the first try! Mom's put in your orders!

Since Em was in bed when we finished,
Trey thought he'd put the tutu to good use.
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Second, the Crazy. You see, my son knows ALL of our rules. He is a little mistaken when he thinks those rules apply to everyone else...including all adults. Some of his favorite quotes are "Don't EVER, EVER do that again!" (with his finger pointed at you), "Don't spank somebody!", "Don't talk to me like that", and the all time favorite, "Have you lost your mind?" Here are the photos to prove his sassy-ness.

This is the face right before you get,
"Don't EVER do that" OR "I don't want to!"

This is the face after you tell him, "NO!"
Which may be followed with, "But, I need to!"

This is what you get when he starts counting at you!
This picture explains it ALL. Yes, the lighting is AWFUL at best,
but that's what you get with a finger in your face.

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Tonight we just hung out at the casa and I snapped a few...

Trey, helping clean up Cody's beer. Such a helper!
Sidenote: Trey jumped on Cody's back unannounced...
Outcome? Beer on the floor, duh.

Trey and Uncle Cody

Papa and Trey

I didn't leave Grandma out of the pictures, I do have one, however, I am honoring her request! Neither of us found it necessary to put on make up today...that's why I like to remain behind the camera!

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Last, but certainly not least. I think I blogged earlier about Elf on the Shelf. I LOVE the concept, because Trey 'gets' the whole 'Santa's Watchin' You!' thing. However, someone is makin' a killin' on those! (they are packaged with the book that tells a story) I had made a mental note to look for an Elf-look-a-like, but hadn't gotten around to it. I mean I make enough trips to the mall to walk that Trey will have plenty of chances to see Santa. Well, fast forward to today and Grandma and my adventure to Hobby Lobby for the tutu-makin extravaganza. We combed the shelves for an elf. Nada. After dinner, Grandma and I had to run into Wally World for some dog food and milk (you know, essentials), and we looked again for another elf. Okay, has the Elf on the Shelf totally taken over so that we can't copy-cat? It's a conspiracy. Plan B you ask? Rudolph! Hello! Rudolph has to tell Santa how to get here, right? Works for me! Plus, $3 is MUCH better than $30! Go ahead, steal my idea...your husbands will thank me. Here's Rudolph's debut, and let me tell you...it's workin'!

There he is! The only bad thing?
I can't tell Trey he has a sad face, b/c he's smilin!
Trey and Rudolph before
Rudolph had to get to work!

In action...He's watchin' you!Okay, so now that this has become the World's LONGEST post...I leave you with this picture. Joe's new hair cut after he returned from the kids' pre-game meeting tonight. Don't laugh too hard...I kinda like it.

:: MMM....Thanksgiving! ::

Okay, in honor of Thanksgiving I thought I'd share a few recipes. My contribution to tomorrow's yummy dinner is going to be Corn Casserole. A Rhodes family staple! Yes, there have been heated arguments between Cody and I who will finish it off!

Corn Casserole (serves 4 to 5)...I will be tripling it tomorrow!
1 - can cream style corn
1 - can whole kernel corn, drained
2 TBS chopped onion
1/3 cup milk
1 - egg, beaten
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (I use fat free saltines)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBS melted butter
1 TBS sugar
1/4 TSP salt
dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into a greased 2-quart casserole dish. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

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On to another staple at our house, and I can't remember if I've posted this one or not. I did a quick scan of the 94 posts (holy cow!), and didn't notice it, so oh well if it is on here twice...It is THAT good! :) Today Joe and I were cleaning up the house before he had to go to work, and I made a little bargain with my mom. If she brought me some Steak -n- Shake for lunch, I would cook dinner. What a deal! :) Here's the main dish for tonight...This recipe was one of Joe's favorites growing up and his mom shared it with me. Thanks Billie!

Poppy Seed Chicken

4-5 Boneless skinless chicken breasts OR tonight I will be using a Rotisserie and just shredding it up! (If you do the breasts, boil and cut them into bite size pieces...you could even save the broth)

*arrange the chicken on the bottom of a 9 x 13 dish

Mix the following ingredients and pour over chicken

8 oz. sour cream (I use light or fat free)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 - 2 TBS poppy seeds

Once the mixture is on the chicken, crush 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers and sprinkle on top of casserole. Then drizzle 1 stick of melted butter over the crackers. (I use I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)

Heat casserole at 350 for half an hour. Enjoy!

Hope everyone has an awesome day tomorrow, we all have so much to be thankful for!

Not Me Monday!

Here's a first! In my claim for this blog to be my free therapy, I figured it was time to partake in MckMama's Not Me Monday...Here goes nothin'!

• I surely did not get so excited to go to a football game by myself Friday night. It definitely was not the coldest night of the year so far, and I really did not wear a long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, a wind breaker, a hat, scarf, and gloves to stay warm. I really wasn't toasty at all!
• This past week, I did not stay up way too late just to catch up on the DVR.
• Saturday, Joe and I did not sit around for an hour trying to decide what to do with some spare time, and seriously we didn't end up at Walmart with everyone else and their dog.
• Between Saturday and Sunday, I did not do at least 10 loads of laundry. Nope.
• I have not been procrastinating sorting thru Emery's clothes, because surely my 4 month old cannot be wearing sizes 6-12 months. Not my little girl! Really, I couldn't open a consignment store, simply from Em's clothes!
• Joe and I certainly did not load up the kids yesterday and drive almost 200 miles round-trip to trade film with the Dallas Skyline coaches in Centerville. We didn't figure that was the only time that we would spend together so we might as well! We really did not get get out of the car at Woody's Smokehouse and find out that the other coach we were trading with was a teammate of Joe's at SFA!
• Last night, when I told Trey that it was not okay to talk back to me, his answer was not "Well, actually I can". No, my sweet, loving, little Trey would not say that to me!
• And this one is from a couple of weeks ago: As I was rushing back to my classroom after working tardy sweep, I did NOT pass a student and tell him to hurry up because he was walking slower than an old man with a walker! His response to me was definitely not, "I don't want to put a crease in my shoe!" No ma'am he did not just say that to me! Wow.

Have a great week! Only 2 days of school...I think I can...I think I can! :)