I'm not a morning person RICO!!!!!

Thunder woke me up at 6am this morning. When that happens I always get up and look at the radar. Call me paranoid, but here in Oklahoma where there are no tornado sirens you don't fool around. Once I figured out it was just some rain I went back to bed. About 10 minutes later I hear something.
"Hey Eric do you hear that?"
He's like "Ya it sounds like....like...a lawn mower."
I laugh "Not possible. It must be a helicopter." I try to go back to sleep.
A few minutes later it gets louder. I get up out of bed and notice on the security monitor that it IS the freaking lawn mower guys. What the crap!?!?!
"Well you were right. (giggle giggle) It IS the lawn mower guys. AND it's still pouring down raing. Oh and it's still lightening too."
Eric's like "NO WAY!" He didn't think it was funny.
I wouldn't have thought it was so funny if I hadn't already been up due to the storms. They would have thought the devil appeared on my front porch in a tshirt and pink panties if they had been the ones to wake me up! I am SO not a morning person. Neither are Eric or Brodey.
If I do have to get up early I do so with a smile on my face, but I don't choose to get up if I don't have to. Brodey is the same way. Most days he gets up right after Eric leaves or between 8 to 8:30. If he went swimming the day before and didn't take a nap he might sleep until 9. So you can see that the 6am wake up call from Rico and the boys was NOT welcome.
I decided since I was up to cook some breakfast while Eric took a shower. Brodey was still asleep at this point but the noise I was making woke him up. I went in there and kissed on him and he said "Don't you want to come back to sleep!?!" I just cracked up! I love that boy!
So I still have not edited my 4th pics. We had an awesome one despite all the rain. I have to say it was pretty fun to watch the fireworks at the lake while it rained the sky lit up with lightening behind them!
Well I'm off to water the front porch plants that didn't benefit from the rain!
Have a wonderful Thursday!
LUV APRIL

Mexico!

Okay so if I had to write about everything that happened in Mexico....well it would have to be it's own website and it would have to be censored!! So I'll just summarize...
- Made it to the airport to depart with seconds to spare. The lady next to us with a different flight at the same time didn't make it.
- Frolicking on the beach
- Entertainment Staff = Bryan Tapley
- Mr White Body = Mitch
- Sport's Bar (or Sport's Bra if you have been taking advantage of the free drinks)
- Eric's $40 wreck with the taxi in the dune buggy
- Pirate Ship. Jason's Rope Swing. Natalie and Bryan's 11 second win (which is video'd by the way)
- Oklahomans EVERYWHERE (we really like Mexico)
- Late night infinity pool over the securty chain
- Disco Night
- Rasta Bar and Chi Chi beach photo
- "You are from Oklahoma? Oh you say YEE HA!"
- Plantino's
- Carlos and Charlie's....where it all began
- Where are YOUR kids??? At their grandmother's? EXACTLY!!!!!!!
Oh my gosh! Too much to remember! Feel free to add girls!
That had to be the best trip ever. We should all start deciding where to go next year!
I LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!
April

Welcome Weekend

Woohoo! Don't you love Friday? Friday was always my favorite day of the week. You have the whole weekend to look forward to. Nothing is rushed. You know you don't have to get up in the morning! I love it!
We will probably have a pretty busy weekend! I'm bummed we don't get to go to the lake, but we have a good reason. We have to take our dive gear to Tulsa to get serviced. We leave for Mexico a week from today. I also have to attempt to find a bathing suit and some cute dresses to take!
It's always so difficult for me to find a bathing suit. I always envy the girls with smaller chests because they get to go buy the cute(and cheap) little string biknis! I have to find the more sporty tops that will keep the girls secure...if you know what I mean! ;) Oh well! Let the search begin!
Also Sunday is our 7 year anniversary! I'm not expecting anything. We don't usually spend a ton of money on each other on holidays. I'm trying to think of a little something to get him, but he is THE hardest person to buy for. You can ask anyone that has to buy him anything and they will totally agree! I'm going to try to be sneaky when we go to Tulsa so that maybe I can buy him something behind his back. We'll see if that works!
We got lucky this morning with the weather. It was a pretty severe storm that came through and the tornados went north. Not lucky for the people that live up there, but lucky for me! It cooled it off quite a bit, but the temp is slowly creeping back up there!
So Eric and I have been hiding toothpaste back and forth. I know we are weird. I had been begging him to bring home "some of that good toothpaste" from the office forever. I can't remember what it's called. So finally he does and he decides he wants to use it all himself and he doesn't like the other toothpaste I got from Wal-Mart. So the other day I go to brush my teeth and in the new toothpaste's place is the old one! I'm like WHAT!?! So I am searching around and finally find it hidden behind his beard trimmer. Oh okay so you want to play THAT game? After I use it I take the new one, hide it GOOD, and put the old one where he had hidden the new one. Hehe.
That night we both happen to be in the bathroom when we he goes to brush his teeth. I'm watching him out of the corner of my eye and I see him trying to be sneaky and go for the new toothpaste behind the trimmer. OMG I could barely contain myself. I'm trying so hard to compress my giggles and when he finally realizes what I have done I lose it! I'm like "HA! You thought you would hide the new toothpaste that I asked you to bring home!!!"
"Well ya! I like that one and you don't care to use the new one!"
I'm like "Oh okay. So you want to play that game?"
He says "Ya I'm gonna hide it where you can't find it!"
So Eric has declared war! It will be fun to see where this game goes! He stinks at hiding stuff. I am guessing he will get mad when I hide it so good he can't find it and call a truce! Hahahahaha!!! Fun!
Well I better go continue on my cleaning spree and find a good hiding place for today! ;)
Have a fab weekend!
LUV APRIL

Girls have shiny lips...

So I tell Brodey that soon he will go to school and there will be cute girls there and maybe he will find a girlfriend.
"I don't want a girlfriend."
"Oh really? Why?"
"Because girls are hairy."
Of course I am laughing my butt off. "I'm not hairy!! Besides, boys are hairy too!"
"Well girls have shiny lips."
"Oh well okay then." That makes TOTAL sense! ;)

We leave next week for our big Mexico trip! So excited! I've been cleaning my house like crazy. I can't stand to leave with it messy.
I have no idea what clothes I'm going to take. I have to go to the mall this weekend. We have to go to Tulsa anyway to have our dive gear serviced. Hopefully I will find a cute bathing suit and some cute dresses!
Okay well I'm off to cook some dinner! Totally healthy chicken fried chicken. HAhaha!!! That's usually what's for dinner when I want to wait one more day before heading to the grocery store!
Goonight!
LUV APRIL

Yes I am an Oklahoman!

Kathy posted this in the forum at Just 4 Keeps and I HAD to share!
So this is what Jeff Foxworthy has to say about folks from Oklahoma:
- If someone in a Lowe's store offers you assistance and they don't work there, you may live in Oklahoma
I had to LOL at this one! This has never happened to me in Lowe's, but it happens almost every time I go to Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart! My mom will be on the phone with me and she will say "is someone asking you for help again?" I'm like yep.

If you've worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you may live in Oklahoma
Think about all those times we have worn a sweatshirt or jacket with shorts! Hahaha!

If you've had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you may live in Oklahoma
Okay Natalie. Do you remember when we used to prank call people in the summer and pretend like we were Santa and Mrs Claus? Remember that lady we would call and she would actually TALK to us? LMAO!!!

If 'vacation' means going anywhere south of Dallas for the weekend,
you may live in Oklahoma
How many times have I said THIS one?

If you measure distance in hours, you may live in Oklahoma
This is TOO funny because just this weekend someone asked me how far away Tahlequah was from Holdenville and I said "oh about an hour and 40 mintues." Hahaha!!!

If you say Fixin to, a walla go and ya'll because you heard it from the teacher in school, you may live in Oklahoma

If you know several people who have hit a deer more than once,
you may live in Oklahoma
Um that would be my brother!

If you install security lights on your house and garage, but leave both unlocked, you may live in Oklahoma
That would be my parents.

If you carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use them, you may live in Oklahoma
That would be ME!

If the speed limit on the highway is 55 mph -- you're going 80 and everybody is passing you, you may live in Oklahoma

If you find 60 degrees 'a little chilly, you may live in Oklahoma
Okay I just said this the other day! OMG these are so true it's scary!

If you see a tornado warning on the television but don't get too awfully excited about it until you actually SEE it coming toward you, you may live in Oklahoma

They are cattle. That's what they smell like to you. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-40 goes east and west, & I-35 goes north and south. Pick one.

So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.

If that cell phone rings while a bunch of ducks are coming in, we WILL shoot it out of your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.

The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.

We open doors for women. That is applied to ALL women, regardless of age.

College and high school football & basketball is important here and fun to watch.

Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards -- it spooks the fish.
Okay this one had me lol so hard!

The students that go to our colleges come outta there with an education plus a love for God and country, and they still wave at passing pickups when they come home for the holidays.

Okay sorry these were too good for me not to share! I had such a good time reading them to my mom and to Eric. I love Oklahoma!
LUV APRIL

Stuffed Shells & Simple Pleasures

Brodey is pretty easy to entertain. Scooby Doo will do the trick for as long as I let him sit there glued to the tv. When I feel like he has had enough it's pretty easy to find something for him to do. When I was little the only time we got to play with the garden hose was if we had a Slip and Slide or when we were getting hosed off before we were able to come in the house. It was just too muddy for us to really be able to play with the garden hose. Where we live now (in Tahlequah on a hill) we can get 6 inches of rain and it's gone in about 5 minutes. I can't plant anything or even stick a shephard's hook in the ground because it's that solid. We have about an inch of soil and the rest is rock so when I need to entertain Bro while I'm outside I just hand him the garden hose. He can spray that thing forever and no mud. It's great!
I looked over at him today in his little pull ups and PJ top and thought "my gosh the money we spend on toys and I can give the kid a garden hose and he's happy." ~ Don't worry environmentalists. I put a limit on his spray time. ;)
So I guess this weekend we are headed back to the lake! Tomorrow we have a birthday party for Citi (Eric's grandma) to go to. It isn't until later so we get to be lake trash the rest of the day and weekend. I just wish I had my little point and shoot fixed. Ah well!
So Natalie requested the recipe for Stuffed Shells. Brodey LOVES this dinner. I am always searching magazines and cookbooks for new dinners to cook. It gets old cooking the same thing when you have to cook dinner 7 nights a week. Most of the time the recipe gets changed to fit what my family likes to eat. Eric wants garlic in everything. I stick onions in just about everything I cook. This recipe is originally from a Paula Deen magazine and called for Turkey and spinach. I replaced the turkey with ground beef and sausage and nixed the spinach. Eric LOVES spinach, but not in his food. Go figure.
Brodey is so used to me cooking with onions and peppers that he has become a really good eater. He will eat broccoli, guacamole, and just about anything else we put in front of him. He might not like it, but he WILL try it!
Oh before I post this recipe I have to point out that with dinner we do no calorie counting. I count calories all day long with what I eat, but at dinner I just eat what I want but a small amount. So if you are trying to lose weight, you might try to change things about this recipe to make it suit you and your family. In this house when we eat dinner...we EAT! ;)

Stuffed Shells
1 pound ground beef
About 1/4 package of sausage (optional) I use the little Jimmy Dean roll
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
1/2 Red Bell Pepper (chopped)
1 8oz Package of Cream Cheese, softened
3 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Package of Jumbo Pasta Shells (this amount will fill up a 9x13 inch baking dish)
1 10oz Jar of your favorite pasta sauce (I use Ragu Marinara)

Preheat oven to 350. Spray your 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Boil your jumbo shells as directed on the package. Drain and rinse your shells and set aside.
(optional) Crumble and cook your sausage in a small skillet until done. Set aside.
In a large skillet season and cook your ground beef until almost done. (I season mine with minced garlic, salt, and pepper) Add your red pepper and onion. Cook until beef is done and onions are translucent.
Add your cooked sausage to the beef mixture. Stir your sofened Cream Cheese into the sausage/beef mixture. Once that is mixed stir in 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and the grated parmesan cheese. (the mixture will be thick)
Spread about 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish.
Spoon beef mixture into cooked shells and lay them in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour remaining pasta sauce over shells.
Cover and cook 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and cook uncovered for an additional 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.

*If you like spinach just add 1 10oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and dranined to the beef mixture before you stuff the shells!

And that's how you make the stuffed shells! They are SO good! I actually think they are better the next day for lunch! When I cook these I also make a baked potato and a green salad.
If anyone makes this let me know if you like it! If you have any questions or if I goofed typing it out let me know too!
Well I'm off to clean this house of mine! I hate coming back to a dirty house after a fun weekend!
I hope you have a fun one too!
LUV APRIL

21 Days

Wow I can't even believe it's been 21 days since I last blogged. I'm really going to have to get back into the groove. Now that summer has arrived I should have plenty to blog about. Winter is so boring.
I had an awesome Memorial Day weekend! We went to Holdenville Lake (as usual) and had so much fun! We played horseshoes until 2. We busted the taco (our large/flat tube) and the boys tried to do barrel rolls on a tube we found at Wal-Mart. It wasn't small enough to do the trick! Maybe we can find a smaller one!

Brodey has so much fun! I think he has more fun each year he gets older! He loves to ride around on the 4 wheeler with Poppa and he loves to swim. He is just like me when I was his age and hates to go in the boat! Why would you want to go in the boat when there is a whole beach of sand to play in? ;)

I can't wait to go back!!!
It's so cool here today! Brodey and I went out to water the plants and we headed right back in! 50-something degrees is not good first thing in the morning in shorts!! LOL It woke us up!
I HAVE to get my little point and shoot fixed. It broke a few weeks ago and I didn't realize how often I used it until I didn't have it! I always take it to the lake and it's so much easy to carry around than the huge camera! I really missed it! I don't take as many photos if I don't have it and I can't do videos with the big camera! I have to get that thing fixed!

Okay so if you are on Facebook you have to add me as a friend! I'm so addicted! It's so much fun! I love reading everyone's updates and looking at everyone's photos!!

Okay so I have to do a little bragging. :) I have a layout in the June issue of Scrapboks Etc and I'm excited about that because it's my first pub with them! Yeah! I also have layouts in May and June Creating Keepsakes (which are both out now) AND one of the layouts is also featured online HERE! I discovered it today and had to share! I know that I have some family members who want to know ahead of time what layouts I will have coming out. To keep up with that all you have to do is click on "scrapbook resume" at the top of my blog on the right! Okay tooting time is over! I was just excited and had to share! ;)
Okay I'm off to get dinner started! Stuffed shells tonight! YUM! Since it's so cool outside I get to cook in the oven!
Goodnight!!!
LUV APRIL