Remember these??

I know everyone has to remember how fun these little gems used to be!! Well I can tell you that they are just as fun N O W!! Since our streets are covered with ice we have not been out of the house since Thursday, and Addison was going bonkers!! Shawn braved the icy roads and went to hobby lobby and picked up a set of shrinky dinks for us to make. We really had a good time - Addison made a necklace of her favorite things. Here are a couple of pics to share.





Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend - and if you are iced in the house, STAY WARM!! :)

A song dedication from the hubby to ME...

My sweet sweet friend Maggie sent me this link and I had to share!! I know that ALL of you twilight fans, wives, and moms will 100% relate. Watch and have a good laugh!!

Hope everyone is staying warm and S A F E!!

This hits VERY close to home

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Shawn and I were talking at dinner about The 19th addition to The Duggar family. Tonight when I was reading Katie's blog, she had this clip from the Today Show that aired this morning about The Duggar's and their miracle baby Josie. Yesterday I did a "wishful wednesday" post and the topic was whose shoes would you want to be in for 3 mins...as I watch this piece on The Duggar's, I can tell you that I HAVE been in their shoes. In the clip I posted above Mr. Duggar mentions that they really only had 30 mins to process what was about to happen with his wife and unborn child. Shawn and I were the same way, my doctor came in at 1030pm and told us that in 30 mins we would have a "birthday party", what a scary yet bittersweet night that was for us. Josie Duggar was born at 25 weeks (15 WEEKS EARLY) and weighed 1 pound, 6 ounces, and our Addison was also born 15 weeks early and weighed 1 pound, 11 ounces. My heart goes out to this family and the roller coaster ride they are currently on. I do know from watching their show that they have incredible faith, and that they know who is ultimately in control. I am even considering seeing if I find away to send an email to Michelle Duggar (the mom) just to know that from one preemie mommy to another I am sending lots and lots of prayers her way.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

Wishful Wednesday...3 mins.

Okay, I am SO joining in on the fun for this weeks "Wishful Wednesday". Click on over to The Seattle Smith's to see other great Wishful Wednesday posts!!

I wish.... that I could spend 3 mins. in Alice Cullen's shoes!!



She's cute, spunky, has fabulous fashion sense AND she's a vampire!!!
I am a huge Twilight fan, and I do adore Edward Cullen BUT of all the characters in the book Alice is my absolute favorite. I feel confident that if Alice Cullen was a real person, she and I would be BFF's!!

Project Life Tuesday! - Week 3

It's that time again - I am starting to LOVE Tuesdays!! I have had so much fun this month taking my picture of the day for my Project Life 365 album! I actually was able to order my kit from Amazon on Friday and should have it in my hands tomorrow! YAY!!!!! I cannot wait to actually have pictures in an album again!!

1.19 - Addison was in my bedroom playing in the curtains - she popped her head out and looked like this!! HA - I think she was training to be a private investigator!

1.20 - Addison's first LOVE - she adores any and all stuffed animals!

1.21 - She has really enjoyed writing this week, she normally does her "homework" while I am doing some of my studies for the week.

1.22 - This bear has a VERY special story. My mom and Addison went to the Dollar Tree today to pick up a few things. There happened to be a lady shopping in the store who had a skin condition called vitiligo, Addison followed the lady around the store and was taking to her and just being her normal friendly self. When it came time for my mom and Addison to check out, Addison was asking for this teddy bear. My mom told her they couldn't get it because she didn't need another stuffed animal, (remember the Weds. picture for this week!) The lady with the skin condition asked my mom if she could buy the bear for Addison. The lady went on to say how kind and sweet Addison had been to her, and that she didn't get that kind of treatment out in public often. I have to tell you, as a mommy this made me REALLY proud of my lil girl!

1.23 - Addison went to Sophie's 5th Birthday Party today. It was a tea party and all the girls wore their best tea party attire!! The girl in the picture is Savannah which is Sophie's big sister, Addison fell in LOVE with her at the party!

1.24 - Addison has had a BALL playing in her tea party stuff, she really had a great time at the tea party with all of the girls!

1.25 - I cannot believe I am getting all this stuff together!! I will be registering my baby for KINDERGARTEN on Weds. of this week! Where have the years gone??!!??

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!!

Getting to Know You

I saw this fun post over at Harmony Song - so I thought I would join in on the F.U.N.!!

1. Waffles, pancakes or french toast?
I am a pancakes kinda girl!!

2. Dream home..What would it look like?*

*as long as this house came WITH the Cullen Family inside

3. Favorite sport to watch during the Winter Olympics?
my favorite sport would be the figure skating but my favorite person would be APOLO ANTON OHNO
4. The first word that comes to mind when describing yourself?
thankful

5. Dresses, pants (jeans, leggings, etc.) or skirts?
pants/jeans- I very rarely ware dresses or skirts

6. What is your favorite time of day?
I am a NIGHT owl - if you have read my about me section of the blog you will see that I am fascinated by vampires. If I had my choice I would stay up all night and sleep all day!

7. Beach or Mountains..which do you prefer?
When I was younger I would have said the beach - but now I think the mountains are more my speed!

8.Will you watch the Super Bowl?
Yes I will - and I will root for the Saints. Why you ask?? Because Kim Kardashian is dating Reggie Bush!
I have been under the weather most of the weekend - sinus pressure making me NUTS!!
I hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend!!

Saying farwell to a good friend...

Yes, my Tivo recorded it's last show and my heart is broken! I loved, adored, and cherished my Tivo, it was a gift from my sweet parents in 2004. I don't know how many of you actually have a"tivo" vs. a DVR in your house; we have both and the Tivo was by far my fave. Shawn has made the call to Direct TV and we will be getting a new DVR next week but it wont be a "tivo". Farewell my sweet tivo, you made me proud! :)

Even Nala is sad to see you go!

Hooray for Hungry Girl!

In keeping up with my resolution of not eating out, I have found a wonderful website and cookbook that has helped tremendously!! Last week I think I read about "The Hungry Girl" 4 different times, and then when I was having one of my sleepless nights and channel surfing there was The Hungry Girl in the FLESH on Headline News Network!! Shawn stopped on his way home from work one afternoon and bought me one of The Hungry Girl cookbooks, I wanted to share the two "keepers" I have found so far!!

picture from Hungry Girl site

Ingredients:
1/3 cup low-fat turkey or veggie chili
1 La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Large Tortilla (or alternative below)
2 tbsp. shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
1/2 package Fritos Original Corn Chips 100 Calorie Pack (or other alternative below!)
Optional: 2 tbsp. diced onion

Directions:
Place chili in a microwave-safe bowl, cover, and heat for 45 - 60 seconds, until hot. Set aside.

Lay tortilla flat on a microwave-safe plate, and warm in the microwave for about 10 seconds. Spoon chili down the center of the tortilla. Cover the chili with cheese, and then top with Fritos. If you like, sprinkle with onion.

Wrap tortilla up like a burrito, folding the sides in first, and then rolling it up from the bottom. (Or serve it wrap-style, with one end left open.) Place burrito seam-side down on the plate, and microwave for 30 seconds.

Now CHEW!

MAKES 1 SERVING


Serving Size: 1 burrito (entire recipe)
Calories: 218
Fat: 6.5g
Sodium: 774mg
Carbs: 33g
Fiber: 14.5g
Sugars: 3g
Protein: 18g

POINTS® value 4*

This was WONDERFUL, quick, and healthy!!



The next one is a healthy version of one of my FAVORITE Starbucks drinks - I have had this one twice already and it is fabulous!! Addison even drank one of these tonight and LOVED it!! Many of you know that I am allergic to chocolate, but I have found that dark chocolate and the powder cocoa mix do not seem to bother me at all!!

Ingredients:
One 25-calorie packet diet hot cocoa mix, dissolved in 4 oz. warm water
1 tbsp. sugar-free chocolate syrup
2 oz. light vanilla soymilk
3 no-calorie sweetener packets (like Splenda)
1 tbsp. semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
7 - 8 ice cubes OR 1 cup crushed ice
2 tbsp. Fat Free Reddi-wip

Directions:
Place cocoa mixture, chocolate syrup, sweetener, chocolate chips, soymilk and ice in a blender. Blend on high speed for 30 - 45 seconds. Pour into an attractive cup, and top with a little Fat Free Reddi-wip. Enjoy! MAKES 1 SERVING


Serving Size: entire recipe (12 oz.) with whipped cream
Calories: 142
Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 194mg
Carbs: 23g
Fiber: 1.5g
Sugars: 13g
Protein: 4g

POINTS® value 3*

I can tell you all that I am now a Hungry Girl fan, and I would encourage everyone to visit her website HERE. There is just tons and tons of great information that would help anyone who is trying to eat a little healthier in 2010!!

Project Life Tuesday - Week Two!!

I have had so much fun with Project Life - I always felt overwhelmed with scrapbooking, and this is just simple, quick, and the kit that you put it all in is just adorable!! Here are my photos for week 2!! Remember you can click the button aboveto find out all the details about Project Life Tuesdays!!

Jan 12th - This is a picture that one of Addison's cousins drew for her over Christmas, she loved it so much that she asked me to hang it in her room!

Jan. 13th - Hasn't been a month since Christmas and she is already making a Build A Bear wish list!

Jan. 14th - Several blog friends, facebook friends and work friends sing the praises of The Hungry Girl - Shawn picked up this cookbook for me on Thursday. I am excited to try some of her ideas, she uses Fiber One Cereal for EVERYTHING!

Jan. 15th - Check out this sad face and the band-aid on her pointer finger, she decided she would stick her finger in a pencil sharpener last night, and it wasn't pretty!!

Jan 16th - Jena competed in Miss Brighton 2010 tonight @ Brighton Middle School

Jan 17th - Started my M.O.P.S. group tonight at church, I am excited about meeting with these other mommas on the 1st and 3rd Sunday's of every month!

Jan. 18th - This is what I found as I was walking out the door to work on Monday. Shawn was off work for the Martin Luther King holiday, and the girls were out of school. It was a lazy day for them they stayed in pjs and had "bedhead" most of the day!!

Can't wait to visit other "Project Lifer's" blogs and see how they are coming on their 2010 album!!

Time Well Spent

I was one of the few people that had to work today, I only work half days on Monday and we were able to leave at 4ish. When I got home I told myself that I was not going to do something productive with that extra hour I was given today. I walked right in the house and busted out the cleaning tools. I was able to clean bathrooms, and dust my whole house while Shawn chipped in and ran the vacuum! It sounds goofy, but I felt so accomplished as I was putting all the cleaning supplies back in the cabinet.

The sun was shining today so as I was cleaning up we opened some of the windows in the house, it was nice to have the fresh air blowing through the house! I am so ready for spring, not summer but spring!

I want to invite you all to jump on over to my cousin Billy's blog - he has an amazing story to share and you can read all about him here. I love him with all my heart and I give all glory to God for all of the work that is being done in Billy's life.

I hope everyone has a good evening - time for me to go and watch that horrible train wreck that is called The Bachelor! :)

Weekend in Fast Forward

The Banks Clan has had a very busy weekend - here are just a few of the highlights! :)

Friday night was pretty low key. I had to go to the store and get a few things for the school semester. I am taking two classes this term, Methods and Principals of Teaching on Weds nights and Fundamentals of Reading on Saturday mornings. That's right, I said SATURDAY MORNINGS!! I am not a morning person, but one of my resolutions for the year is to use my time wisely and what better way to spend my time on Saturday mornings! :)

On Saturday I got to class at 9am, and I wasn't happy about it! I stopped and picked up a coffee and I was a tad bit more perky around 1030am! Saturday night we attended the Miss Brighton 2010 pageant, my step daughter Jena was actually in the pageant this year and she did a great job. Shawn and I, along with my mother in law, my mom and Addison went to watch Jena walk the stage with the other girls. Here is a little collage of pics that I quickly put together.
Look at Addison in that left picture, she was so proud of her big sister and had a wonderful time watching all the girls in their "princess" dresses!

On Sunday, I attended my first ever M.O.P.S. meeting at church. M.O.P.S. stands for Mother's Of Pre-Schoolers, I had a nice time talking and sharing stories with other moms. Once M.O.P.S. ended I had 30 mins. to get to my next stop for the night, which was an Airborn Club reunion. Airborn was a club that I was very involved with through my church growing up, it was fun to look at old pics and videos from over twenty years ago! What was even MORE funny, was seeing girls wearing shoes that looked like Uggs!! So funny that the 80s style is coming BACK! I am finally at home and watching my Tivo'd Golden Globes, I am honestly upset that my vampires from True Blood didn't win a globe tonight! I was so happy to see Anna Paquin (aka Sookie Stackhouse) and Stephen Moyer (aka Bill Compton) together in the audience, who doesn't love an on screen romance that turns into a real life one!!

Have a fabulous week everyone!!

Project Life Tuesday! - Week ONE!

I have always loved scrapbooking but with work, school, BLOGGING, reading, and various other things that I enjoy doing I am so far behind on my scrapbook - like 4 years behind! I learned about another little gem called Project Life from reading Jessica Turner's blog. (go over and visit - she writes some great posts!!) You can find out more about Project Life here. In a nutshell Project Life is about taking a picture of the day everyday of the year and then writing a small journal entry about the specific picture. I didn't decide to do this til last week - so here we go with my first Project life post!!

Jan 5 - The first day of school after Christmas break, makes for one tired lil gal!

Jan 6 - The "new" Addison

Jan 7 - Addison and I have to share computer time each night. I still think that Santa should have brought her a netbook vs. the zhu zhu pets!

Jan 8 - Me + Nook + "The Lovely Bones" = A FABULOUS weekend!

Jan 9 - Addison loves to draw, right now she is really into drawing Rudolph.

Jan 10 - NeNe went on a cruise and she brought Addison this cute octopus! I think that we now own EVERY stuffed animal that has ever been made!

Jan 11 - Here are the "tools" as Addison calls them - that we have to use to fix her new short "do"

I am really excited about this whole Project Life thing - you can see that I have used different fonts and all on my pictures, I am going to get this set printed and see which ones I like the best for my album. I know this album of 2010 will be something that our whole family will enjoy looking at for years to come! Anyone can snap a picture each day and then write a sentence or two about it, this kit is great for EVERYONE. Just like the tag line of the Project Life site - "Whats YOUR story?"

WOW - check out this giveaway!!!!!!!!

Run, don't walk over to Juliana's blog and check out this giveaway!!!!! I am so so super excited about this giveaway - and would love to WIN!! I am a sucker for new gadgets! Good Luck to all who enter!!!

Award TIME!!

Kelly over @ Keeping up with Kelly gave this Beautiful Blogger Award. Thanks so much Kelly!!

Here are the award rules:

1) Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2) Copy the award & place it on your blog.

3) Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4) Tell us 7 interesting things about yourself.

5) Nominate 7 bloggers.

6) Post links to the 7 blogs I nominate

1. 
   
   I LOVE to read
   
   
   
2. 
   
   I am currently in school finishing up on my Education Degree - ONLY 9 hours + student teaching left! :)
   
   
   
3. 
   
   My little girl weighed 1 lb and 11oz at birth, and was 13 inches long (this is for the new readers!)
   
   
   
4. 
   
   TIVO is my best friend (same here Kelly!)
   
   
   
5. 
   
   I rather text than talk on phone (ditto, Kelly!)
   
   
   
6. 
   
   I am a night person, and not a morning person (HA!! I have a feeling that Kelly and I are going to be GREAT friends!)
   
   
   
7. 
   I enjoy the Final Destination Movies! HAHHAAH - seriously, I do! Shawn and I watched the latest one last night!
   
   
   
   

Now to the 7 bloggers:

1. Caroline over at Simply Smithwick

2. Jamie over at The Kubeczka Family

3. Juliana over at A blonde walks into a blog....

4. Harmony over at Harmony Song

5. Yvonne over at xoxoyvonne

6. Jess over at The Macs

7. Amy over at What I'd Like To Know

Insomnia STINKS!

So I had a HORRIBLE night with a visit from my friend insomnia. Okay, maybe it wasn't insomnia perhaps it was the caffeine in the Coke Zero that I drank right before I went to bed. Nevertheless, I was up ALL night my eyes did not shut until 7am this morning, which makes for feeling yucky the rest of the day. *Note to self - ask hubby to go the store later and pick me up some more Sprite Zero or caffeine free Diet Coke! I am so sensitive to caffeine, is anyone else??

At 5am this morning I watched an episode of Little House On The Prairie, I have not watched that show in years!! I enjoyed it so much I think that I might actually start setting the DVR to tape the ones that come on the Hallmark Channel. What a simple way of life Laura and her family had.



Anyone else a Little House On The Prairie fan??
Hope you are having a fabulous Sunday!

MakeUp Giveaway!!

What gal does not LOVE make up?? I know that I do!! When Sephora finally came to Memphis, my friend Marlana and I went EVERY Friday night for about a month just to PLAY in makeup!! :)
Head on over to xoxoyvonne's blog and check out her super cute giveaway - it even includes some bumpits! :)

Good Luck!

Blog Design Giveaway

Wanting to start a blog?? Want a FABULOUS blog design?? Hop on over to Jamie's blog and check out her giveaway for this month!! Like I have said before - she does such an amazing job and is super quick and easy to work with. So what are you waiting for??? Go over to her blog and enter, enter, enter!!

Hope everyone is staying WARM and enjoying their weekend!

Resolution Recap

One of my resolutions for 2010 was for my family to not eat out so much - so on Sunday I went through several of my favorite blogs and found some great recipes for the week. I have to let y'all know about two that we have had so far this week and they were both KEEPERS in the recipe box!!
**Disclaimer - I don't cook, I hunt the recipes and give them to my wonderful, amazing, awesome hubby who does 99% of the cooking in our house**

On Weds night we had this Shrimp and Rice casserole that I found on Kelly's Recipes.

(Photo By Paula Deen)

Ingredients

• 1 (8-ounce) package wild rice
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce can) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups grated sharp Cheddar
• Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook the rice according to package directions minus 1/4 cup water. Drain and cool.

Bring 2 cups water and 1/2 tablespoon salt to a boil in a medium saucepan and cook the shrimp for 1 minute. Drain immediately and set aside.

Heat the butter in saucepan and saute the pepper and onion until soft, about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the rice, soup, 1 1/2 cups of cheese, shrimp and vegetables. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well. Spray a 9-inch square aluminum cake pan or an 11 by 7-inch glass casserole dish with vegetable spray. Place the mixture in the pan and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly.

Tonight we had this chicken that I found on Caroline's Recipe Blog. This chicken was really, really, REALLY good! I had this with spinach and a small salad - VERY good!!

(Again, not my photo - I forgot to take pics of our dishes)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (or margarine), melted
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Directions:
1. In a pie plate or shallow bowl combine butter, mustard, and Worcestershire.
2. In a plastic bag, combine crumbs and cheese.
3. Dip chicken in butter mixture, then shake in crumb mixture.
4. Place in 9x13 pan. bake at 350 for 4

A big THANK YOU to these girls for their recipe blogs - you helped me with my menu this week!!

No More Tangles!!

Earlier this week Addison FINALLY agreed to get her hair cut short. We go through a lot of drama every morning with brushing her long hair. There are some mornings that she will even wake up begging and pleading to go to school without brushing her hair! We have been talking about cutting her hair for months but she would say that she couldn't cut it because then she wouldn't be "Alice" anymore! I dropped the subject since she was Alice in Wonderland for Halloween and she was right, Alice did have longer hair. I brought up the subject again this week and she was actually excited about getting it cut, while she was willing we went straight to Ms. Laurel and let her work her magic!

Before

Bye Bye tangles!

Ta Da!!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week!

2010!!

I cannot believe the time has come to start a New Year! We will have two major events in our family in 2010. Addison will start Kindergarten in Aug of this year, and my step daughter Jena will start High School!! WOW - how time flies!

The New Year always brings people to make resolutions, and I will be honest I have a hard time keeping the ones that I make. This year I am going to try a different approach and take some "baby steps" to eventually reach my goals.

• The first thing that I am going to change is how much myself and my family eat out. I have vowed to not eat out at all for the month of January. I have recently become a huge fan of Dr. Oz (everyone should Tivo/or watch his show!) I am amazed at the weight loss of some people on his show, and many of them say two things 1. they stopped eating out, and 2. they stopped drinking carbonated drinks. Shawn loves to cook, and is more than willing to cook for us each night - I am going to work on a "menu" for the week tomorrow and get to the grocery store before Monday.

• The next thing I want to work on is how I prioritize my time. With me being in school I have a bad habit of waiting til the last possible minute to get started on assignments, papers, projects, etc. I have found that when I get behind on one thing, then everything else seems to fall behind as well. This whole issue of time kinda fits in with my first "goal" for the new year. If I can manage my time better then other things like going to the grocery store on a weekly basis, planning meals, and cleaning house will fall into place as well. I have learned in the past few months that I live by a "to do" list and everything seems to work MUCH better when I stick to my list as much as possible.

• Lastly, I want to pray more- I want to free up time to spend in conversation with God each and everyday. This is an area of my life that seems to fall by the wayside so often, and like always I have such good intentions but I let "STUFF" get in the way of the most important things.

When I set "goals/resolutions" I tend to get overwhelmed and just give up. This year I have decided that I will set my goals by months or even weeks - its the small steps that lead to giant leaps!

Hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve/Day!
And as always - have a FABULOUS weekend!