Got the blues?

Lately I've been a bit on the Blue side.....

Mr. Kirby picked up on that....

And brought home this today.....

Maddie picked the flowers, Daddy picked the wine....

Just the pick-me-up I needed.

Love. That. Guy.

Let's go GIANTS!!

This weekend we had the once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy a Baseball game the way it should be enjoyed.

In a Suite!

Come on in!!

We had quite the set up..

And quite the view...

What's just outside that window you ask??

Why...That's just Barry.... warmin up!!

Somebody pinch me!

My good friends Shane and Mary coordinated the whole day...

To say they spoiled us would be an understatement.

Shane had some connections and got me down to the field....

With my camera!

Oh HI Mr. Bumgarner...

6 feet away....

who's hiney is that you see??

Just a little Posey...gearing up.

Seriously. 

So. Much. Fun.

It took everything in me not to yell at him to please come over for a photo....

(actually it took everything in the escort that brought me to field level....)

When I returned to the suite, the feast was ready...

Hot Dogs

And Sliders....

And Wings, 

Oh My!!

Not to mention Nachos...and Popcorn, and Peanuts, and Chips and Dip.....

The game was intense...

But there was still time for fun

The Kniftons finally made it!

So did Lynne and her niece from LA...

Booooooo Dodgers....

The suite was divided...

with the Battle of the bay it's to be expected....

There was a touch more orange and black then yellow and green.....

In true Giants fashion...

We were ready for Sandoval at Bat

And nothin says baseball....

Like a white wine spritzer!

I mean..am I right, or am I right?

Just when we loosened our belts ....

Dessert was brought in...

Don't mind if I do!

Two weeks is too long without your hubby!

I'm so glad he's home.

AND I'm also so glad I have this lady in my life.

I tell Shane and Mary all the time I could never repay them for all they do for me and my family.

I love you so much Mary!

Such a good time!!!

Giant's Win!!!

(sorry Shane....rematch?... maybe next year?? Sounds good to me!!!)

Thank you so much for an Amazing day!!

Good-Bye Kindergarten!

We did it!!!

We made it through our first year of school!  

Hooray!!

Jack you are so big!  Like a regular kid!  How did this happen??

It went by so fast.....

It feels like just yesterday was the first day of school.....

(thank you Pinterest for all your fabulous ideas...whatever did we do before you? I loved this idea of holding the first day pic on the last day.......next year..bigger poster board..I underestimated my *small* soon to be First Grader)

We loved Jack's Kindergarten teacher.  She was so patient with him, so understanding.  She was the perfect fit for Jack.

I knew I wanted to do something special for her.

I knew she was an avid reader.....So I had my Mother whip up this book bag.

I was so pleased with how it turned out.  My Mom really out did herself.

On one side she embroidered "Once upon a time"

and on the reverse side 

Her name in a childs font on dotted lines just like Jack's school paper.

Love. That.

We filled the bag with fresh flowers.

Jack couldn't wait to give it to her

She thanked Jack and gave him a hug and then turned to me winked and said "Thanks Mom!" And then gave me a hug.  I just love that lady.

At school they had a big party for the last day of school complete with treats and face painting...

and THEN.....

Aunt B picked up Jack from his last day of school and treated him to Lunch and a Movie.  Jack in the Box and Madagascar 3, what more could a soon to be 1st grader want??

Except...

Possibly.....

Chuck E Cheeses for a round of games!

His Favorite!

Madeline's school celebrated the kick off of Summer and we got to crash in on their fun!

Jack thought that was the perfect way to end his last day as a Kindergartner.
*tear*

I loved having a Kindergartner.  He was so excited about some of the things he learned, life is so interesting to him at this age, he's so curious, so mature, but still so innocent.  The mouthiness came out a bit this year...but that was to be expected...He is eager to please, he loves to laugh, he has the biggest heart and has so much love to give.  He is a great kid.  The greatest 6 year old I know!
I'm gonna miss the fond smiles I would get when I would tell people I'm a Mother of a Kindergartner.  There is just something so magical about that first year of school.

And you did it Jack!

Just like I knew you would! 

Congrats Jack-man!   We are SO proud of you!!!

1-2-3 Dinner!

I've had some requests.

Some of you would like my recipes. 

And none of you really ask for my fancy pants recipes.... (well...Rose does..)

But the rest of you want my simple recipes.

The ones that when I'm asked for the recipe, I usually say....I don't know...it's in my brain.  I just throw a bunch of stuff together and call it dinner. 

Dump. Dump. Serve.

My kind of Meal.

So...

I thought I would start sharing those recipes.

If you've been my friend long enough, you probably have been served some of these recipes more than once. 

Most of these meals do not have the best presentation, but I promise you, they are crowd pleasers and super easy.

So here you go...

Beef Stroganoff in less than 15 minutes.

Here are some of the basics.  

I use what I have on hand..if I have cream of mushroom, then that goes in, if I have french onion, then that goes in....I know some of you hate mushrooms, so if that is the case then use your favorite "cream of".  Cream of celery works fine too.

In a perfect world, these are the ingredients I use:

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 can of beef consomme

1 package of gravy mix (prepared)

3/4 cup sour cream (sometimes 1 cup)

1/2 onion diced

1 package of sliced fresh mushrooms

1 clove of garlic

1 lb of ground beef

2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce

garlic salt and pepper to taste

I can whip this up in no time, but I cheat.

If I have more time, I would put a pat of butter in a pan with a splash of olive oil and saute the onions until translucent, then I would add the mushrooms and brown until tender, adding the garlic once the mushrooms start to soften.

In a separate pan I would brown the ground beef, drain and add to the mushroom/onion mixture.

But let's be honest..sometimes, I am coming off a 9 hour work day and there isn't time...

So...

I turn my favorite deep skillet onto high, throw the beef in until the fat starts to appear, throw the onions in while the meat is still pink and cooking, throw the mushrooms in and then the garlic and let it all cook up at once. By the time the meat is cooked, so is everything else, and the water I have started for the egg noodles is on high and bubbling.  I add the noodles to the water and put the timer on 9 minutes.

Then I start to dump. 

Dump your cream of whatever soup in, then your "gravy" you can use any gravy you want, canned gravy, jarred gravy, gravy you've made from a packet or if you want something lighter, beef consomme- sometimes I use both, a jar of pre-made gravy and a can of beef consomme. Stir it all up until it starts to bubble, add your worcestershire sauce ( I say 2 tablespoons, but really it's however much you like...I never measure, it's usually 3 spins around the pan with the bottle) .  Once the mixture has come together, the final ingredient you add is sour cream.  Let it heat through and serve immediately.

(by now the noodles are done)

It may not look pretty, but I promise you, the men and children in your life will ask for seconds.

We eat ours over rice or egg noodles.

Whatever way you like...

You can make it healthier if you wish, with light sour cream, reduced fat "cream of whatever", ground turkey, ground chicken....but it probably won't be as delicious.  

Here is the ONE rule with my recipes...

Try them just as they are....full fat everything...the first time... THEN ...if you wish...lighten them up later.... But give yourself the gift of full fat your first time around.

Promise me.

And I will promise you that I'll share lots more of my "oh it's just something I threw together" recipes

Enjoy!

June? Already? When did YOU sneak up on me???

Miss us??

We've just been hangin around.....

We had open house at school

We were very excited to be at school at night, and to show off all our hard work.

Madeline had an important week at school too! 

She had her end of the year performance.  

We were a bit shy, but at least she stayed up there.

She did so well!

This weekend was our annual Garage Sale Extravaganza.

Remember last year???

(I'm still working on that project with my awesome finds from last year...  Someday.....)

This year we had quite the entourage.

There was 8 of us.  All squeezed into my car. 

It really is more fun to go Garage Sale-ing with a big group. 

The first weekend of every June my in-laws neighborhood has their annual garage sale.  It's awesome.  It's in a huge neighborhood that has 4 schools in it, and 3 local pre-schools. Also it's a well established neighborhood,  some people have lived there since their home was built.  Meaning, there are goodies to be found for all ages.

This year was my best year yet.  I only spent 60 dollars.  That's right.  Six. Zero.

My big find was this Secretary desk and hutch. 

It's Ikea, and in perfect condition.  It was exactly what I was looking for the ManCave.  We have a desktop computer that we are going to set up for the kids for school.  I would rather have a computer set up where I can have eyes on the kids at all times while they are on it.  This desk is perfect.

There is a ton of storage 

And it's all put together.

God knows Ikea is no fun when it's not assembled.

I looked online when I got home and it retails for $440.

Score!

I found this perfect set up for Madeline.

She has spent hours in her room being Momma to her babies. 

She LOVED it.

$10.

Worth. Every. Penny.

Below is my favorite find of the day.

Every home needs a Jackalope.

;)

Clay immediately hung it over his golf clubs in the ManCave

The boys need a Good Luck Charm for their Golf Game.
A quick pat of the lope and off to the course!

I hear Clay did pretty well this weekend....

Must have some special powers.

I also scored on some books, scrapbooking items and dress up items for the kids.

I was so excited when I got home!

In other news...

I'm hooked on Pinterest.....

I tried this recipe a few weekends ago.

The only thing I changed was the bread to shredded frozen potatoes. 

It was easy, and a crowd pleaser.

Jack even liked it!

There you go.  All caught up in just one post.

:)

I'll try to stay on top of it in June!