Pillow Case Dresses for my Lily

Our finished products- and yes, there is a doll's dress in the picture too!

Me slaving away- Christylee was popping that whip! LOL!

Workin' my fingers to the bone.

Looks can be deceiving she's downright pushy- but at least she ironed! LOL!

So, I had the bright idea to make Lily's Birthday outfit- a Tinkerbell Pillowcase Dress! Christylee and I had a blast picking out fabric and making the dresses- well we ended up making 4 dresses, not just 1. If my machine would have only cooperated we would have finished in no time- but oh well. It was a fun, productive day. Can't wait to see these dresses on sweet Lily!

Sweet Little Aiden

Ok, so seriously I couldn't resist posting these pics. I LOVE taking pics of sweet little babies!!! Little Aiden's hair just cracks me up. I'm so blessed to have a great friend like Alicen!

Mom's Birthday

Blowing out the candles- next time I'll do a full on cake I think!

Aw....

Special Delivery for Deborah Lindley!!!

Such sweet ladies, Bottom: Adelle, Mom, Betty, Berta, Kaye, and Sharon

The table setting

I'm a little late in posting, but Mom's birthday was on the 17th. I had the Bible Study ladies come over for a luncheon party! We had a great time. Dad showed up as a surprise for Mom with flowers- she was shocked, mainly because Dad didn't even say Happy Birthday before he left for work that morning. We had a great lunch, I fixed a lot: Chicken Salad, Cheddar Cheese Ball, Tortilla Roll Ups, Salsa and Chips, Taquitos, and Strawberry filled Chocolate Cupcakes.
Enjoy the pictures!

A few Birthday Party Recipes: The ladies asked if I would post some of the recipes I used:

Cheddar Cheese Ball:
4 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 c. mayonaise- a little more if needed...I never measure...just enough to get it to stick together.
1/2 c. toasted pecans
a little garlic powder
minced onion to taste
salt and pepper.

Form into a ring and serve with strawberry jelly and wheat thins...it's SO good!


My Salsa:
1 lg. can diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno seeded and chopped
1 onion chopped
1 can rotel
1 can stewed tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
1 T. minced garlic
1 bell pepper chopped
chopped cilantro to taste
salt & pepper
and a pinch of sugar

Mix in food processor to the consistency you want. It's even better the next day!


Tortilla Roll Ups
1 pkg. flour tortillas
1 (8oz)pkg. cream cheese
1 c. sour cream
1 can chopped green chilies, drained well
1 bunch of green onion tops chopped fine

Mix all together. Spread onto tortillas and roll up. Let sit for about an hour rolled, then slice and serve.

Budgeting

Ok, so I'm going to be totally honest here....Luke and I keep a monthly budget. Do we always stick to that budget- well no, but we really REALLY try too! The last couple of months I've had trouble making our groceries last the whole month. We have a budget for groceries of $550 bucks. That includes all items though- cat food, litter, dog food, toiletries, as well as groceries. The cats aren't eating anymore than usual and neither are the dogs- so is it just me or have prices gone up? I can't seem to figure it out!

I guess my question is- is $550 bucks outrageous for 2 people to go over in groceries? We eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at home 5 days a week usually. So why can't I make that work? I need some help and ideas!!! Am I really being a good spender of our hard owned money??? I don't coupon clip- mainly cause we don't get the Sunday Paper, but when they come in the mail I'll use those. I don't want to spend hours calculating coupons and sales....what do you do to help with your budget????

A Stay at Home Mom Celebration

Little Aiden

Alicen, Aiden, and Jason

Me & My Man...excuse the bad hair on my part- a haircut decision I'm not loving- but it will grow!!!

My grillin' Man

This past Saturday Luke and I had Jason, Alicen, and little Aiden over for dinner. Alicen recently quit work, so we had a celebration dinner for them. Luke grilled burgers and hot dogs. I made cheese dip, chips, beans, deviled eggs, corn on the cob, and brownies to go along with it. We had a wonderful time visiting. I couldn't resist taking pictures of sweet little Aiden!
** Lots of posts below- including a new recipe!!!

Prayer Shawl Lap Robe

Berta, Amanda, Vicki in the Prayer Shawl Circle

Dean giving us a fashion show!

Cindy, Gladys, Berta, Dean, Ms. Stoddard, Penny, Amanda, Vicki, & Cindy- I told them if they leaned forward they lost 10 lbs...that always gets a group smiling!

Some fabulous ladies!

Ms. Stoddard enjoying her lap robe

The Prayer Shawl Ladies made a lap robe for Ms. Stoddard. She was the first lady to donate yarn to our group. We really wanted to do something special for her because she recently lost her husband. Each lady in our group made a block- either knit or crocheted. Vicki Fain put it altogether and it turned out beautifully. She was thrilled!

Twice Baked Freezer Potatoes

Start with a washed baking potato. Prick with a fork, coat with a little bit of oil, and sprinkle with Garlic Salt.

Do this to all of your baking potatoes- I did 6 potatoes at one time. Place wrapped potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 1 hour- or until potatoes are done.

When the potatoes are done. Unwrap and cool slightly. Using a spoon scoop out the inside of the potatoes and place into a bowl. Mix 1/2 a package of cream cheese, 1/2 a stick of butter, salt and pepper to taste. Scoop this mixture back into your potatoes. Place cookie sheet of potatoes in the freezer and freeze for 30 minutes until hard. Individually wrap your potatoes in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer.

When ready to eat, simply place unwrapped frozen potato in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes....it's a quick and easy side!!!!