Saturday, January 31

Kateisms


Me: "Kate, please pick up those toys in your room."
Kate: "Is the bug guy coming?"


*As we do a U-turn*
Kate: "What did we forget?"


Me: "Kate, please back up....(after she doesn't listen)...I can't take your picture unless you back up!"
Kate: "I'm back upping, I'm back upping!"


Kate: "Mama, do you have a ring?"
Me: "Yes, Daddy gave it to me when we got married."
Kate: "I have a ring. Santa Claus gave it to me."


Kate: "I don't have a white chapstick. I'll have to tell Santa Claus."


Kate: "Are we going to Tucson?"
Me: "We'll go in the summer."
Kate: "Oh...I need to make a choo choo chain."

Looking out the window while eating lunch
Kate: "Who is that guy?"
Me: "I don't know, I haven't met him before."
Kate: "He's Mike."

Friday, January 30

Southwestern Black Bean Burgers

Oh my, this is my new favorite thing ever!!

Southwestern Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients

2 slices whole wheat bread, torn

4 T fresh cilantro

2 cloves garlic

1 15 0z can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 t taco seasoning

1 egg

Place torn bread in a food processor bowl or blender container. Cover and process or blend until bread becomes crumbs. Transfer crumbs to a large bowl and set aside. Next, process or blend cilantro and garlic until finely chopped. Add beans and seasoning. Process or blend until beans are coarsely chopped and mixture begins to pull away from the sides. Add mixture to the bread crumbs in the bowl. Add egg, mix well and shape into four 1/2 in thick patties.

Grill patties on a lightly greased rack or an uncovered grill directly over medium heat for 8-10 minutes or until patties are heated through, turning once. (I cooked mine on my George Foreman.)

Healthy Coleslaw

3 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced

1 carrot, grated

1 t rice vinegar

1 t olive oil

1/4 c chopped cilantro

salt and pepper to taste

In a large bowl, add cabbage and carrots. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, oil and cilantro. Toss dressing with cabbage and carrots and salt and pepper to taste.

Place the black bean burger on a bed of coleslaw and top with tomatoes, guacamole, and lime juice. YUMMY!!

Ryan ate his with all those ingredients but on a bun, making it more burger like.

seriously, this is my new favorite!

can I get a *what what*

guess who has lost 10 lbs!

I've got my eye on the prize!! (I'm already spending the money in my head!)

Thursday, January 29

The photo-a-day band wagon

I've so jumped aboard.

Really, I am going to try and use it as an excuse to practice everyday and get better....so some of them might just be awful....consider yourself warned! Anything great or exciting in my life I'll still put up on this blog, my photography blog will be just pictures.

Wednesday, January 28

Whats going on over there guys?



Sawyer has been standing holding onto things when we've picked him up and put him there, but he's never actually gotten to the standing position on his own yet. Yesterday we were playing in the family room and Kate and I were coloring on one side of the table and Saweyer was sitting next to the other side. Next thing I know, I see a little head sticking up over the table!

Sawyer pulled himself up!


What a big boy!

Monday, January 26

Super Easy Not so Cheesey thats why it Healthiesy but still Yummiesy Chicken Enchaladas

Is the name a little overboard?

Out of all the recipes I've tried lately, Ryan says this is his favorite

Chicken Enchaladas



Ingredients

5 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Large can of green chili enchalada sauce
1/2 lb Reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, shredded*
1 (8 oz) pkg Reduced-fat Cream Cheese*
1 package (10 - 12) tortillas
1 Small can green chilis (mild)


1. Take chicken frozen or thawed and boil in water until done. Drain chicken and dice into small pieces. Toss back in pan and add 1/3 of green chili sauce, cream cheese, a handful of shredded cheese, and green chilis. Stir until warm and bubbly.
2. Place a few spoonfuls of mixture in middle of tortillas and roll them up. Place in lightly spayed baking dish (9x13) .
3. Once baking dish is full, spread remaining green chili sauce over the top, sprinkle with cheese. Add olives, if desired.
4. Bake, covered, at 350 for 30 min, uncovered for 10 min. If prepped ahead of time and kept in refrigerator bake for 45 min, covered, and 15 min uncovered.

**Original recipe calls for 16 oz of both cheeses, but cutting it by half and substituting reduced-fat cheese drastically cuts down the fat and calories.

The picture is of Ryan's. I put a lot less cheese inside and outside of the ones I designated mine.

Hard to photograph....



I think Sawyer has always been hard to take a picture of. When he was a newborn, my SIL Hilary tried getting some newborn pictures and he just wouldn't cooperate! He was so wiggley and squirmy and he kept lifting his head and straining....he literally ROLLED over as a 2 week old as we were taking the pictures! It boggles my mind to see these pictures of newborns just laying there naked. Nowadays its even worse! Its impossible to get him to look at me for more than a split second at a time...and that is just trying to get him to LOOK let alone SMILE! He is just so interested in everything that is going on around him!
I'm going to have to get a lot better at this photography thing before I can snap a quick picture during the second that he's looking at me and actually have it be in focus and decent!
sigh...

Sunday, January 25

Photography...


This Saturday my oh so wonderful husband watched the kids while I was able to go to Photocamp Houston. (Even though it meant studying all night long for him!) It was a conference taught by local photographers and it was free! So I sneaked in as a nobody! I learned a lot of great things and it stirred in me my "I want to be a better photographer" fire....to go with my "I need to scrapbook more" "there are so many things to sew!" and "hey, this house doesn't clean itself" fires.
To top it all off, I got Photoshop elements and there is so much to LEARN!

I'm lovin' it!

Yummy Barbecued Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

I like slow cooker recipes, for Sundays especially, and here is one I found at eatingwell.com

Barbecued Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

1 8-ounce can reduced-sodium tomato sauce
1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, drained
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sweet or smoked paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground chipotle chile
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

1. Stir tomato sauce, chiles, vinegar, honey, paprika, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, ground chipotle and salt in a 6-quart slow cooker until smooth. Add chicken, onion and garlic; stir to combine.
2. Put the lid on and cook on low until the chicken can be pulled apart, about 5 hours.
3. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with a fork. Return the chicken to the sauce, stir well and serve.

I used breasts instead of thighs because I didn't want to buy thighs and I wanted to use what I already had and I'm sure it was drier than it was supposed to be, but it was still yummy!

I tried some healthy banana cookies....and they were beyond yucky to me. Kate seemed to enjoy them, though!

Friday, January 23

Thursday, January 22

Scrapbook night!!


So when I came back from Tucson I thought it would be fun to have a monthly scrapbooking night so I could try and catch up....(I am so far behind!)....and to just have fun!

Tonight was the first event and it was great! Melissa and I had a FUN and crafty night!

Thats right, it was just me and Melissa! WHERE WAS EVERYONE?!?!

Wednesday, January 21

Lasagna Rolls

I've been trying to find some good recipes to help me in my new year's resolution and I decided to put some of the good ones I've found on the blog so I can find them again...and in case anyone is interested.

Lasagna Rolls

12 Whole-wheat lasagna noodles
1 tablespoon Extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Package low fat ricotta cheese
3 cups Chopped spinach
1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 25-ounce Jar marinara sauce, preferably lower-sodium
1/2 cup Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse, return to the pot and cover with cold water until ready to use. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until the spinach wilts and the mixture is heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; stir in Parmesan, crushed red pepper, salt, and ricotta.

3. In a square pan or dish, spread 1 cup of the remaining marinara sauce in the bottom. To make lasagna rolls, place a noodle on a work surface and spread the ricotta and spinach mixture along it. Roll up and place the roll, seam-side down, in the pan. Repeat with the remaining noodles and filling. (The rolls will be tightly packed in the pan.) Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the rolls.

4. Sprinkle the rolls with mozzarella and cook, covered, until the cheese is melted and the rolls are heated through, 15-25. Serve hot.

Monday, January 19

Because I'm awesome


That is what Kate told us when we asked why she's such a big climber girl at the park yesterday!Its gorgeous here in Houston and we took advantage of it yesterday by going to a park! Sawyer is getting old enough to where he likes playing and especially swinging!

a Kissell girl change*up

For church on Sunday I woke up and straightened my hair...and then decided Kate and I should match. She was a little intimidated by the straightener but she was thrilled with the results!
Here is the before picture (just out of bed, eating french toast)

and our matchingness
It kind of just pointed out the fact that she really needs a haircut! its a little stringy and uneven...which is understandable because its been with her for her whole life!

Saturday, January 17

Danielle's wedding pictures!



You can see Dani's wedding pictures at portraitsbysteven.com. Click on "customer services" and then "Townsend wedding"...They are BEAUTIFUL!

Wednesday, January 14

All he wants to do is CRAWL!

Sawyer is at the point where he no longer sits on the floor and plays contently while I go about my work. He now is trying to crawl and it is very frustrating for him! I'll set him down and 2 minutes later he's grunting and straining and trying to crawl! He's got the position down:
But it doesn't take him anywhere
He picks himself up and rocks back and forth...He straightens his legs and walks them in place, but his arms don't move...He thinks he's got it!
But he still doesn't have it...
For now, he is a stationary baby!

How to ReUpoholster a Couch

Thanks for everyone's compliments on the couch. I ran out of fabric for my big one and had to order it online, but when I get it, I'll take some pictures of *my* process and share!

Monday, January 12

I am an upholstery fiend!

Before

AfterSome of you may remember the fabric I bought to cover my couches before I moved from Tucson...9 months ago....and then I left the big roll of fabric in my mom's garage when I moved...but I finally got to bring it home from the "hurricane visit"....in October....well, I finally got to work on them! I finished the love seat and I am in love! I got out my pillows that I had bought to go with my "new" couches probably over a year ago and they have been sitting in my closet ever since and I just LOVE them! They are perfect. It was such hard work to do the loveseat that I wasn't quite sure I would get up the strength to start the big couch...but now that I see the results I can hardly stand to look at my old couch and I can't wait to cover it! Once I got out the pillows I looked around at other things in my house I had bought when I moved and so many of them I bought to match the pillows....lime green door mat, lime green toy boxes, lime green coasters....now it all fits! We are loving our "new" couches!

Friday, January 9

The last of the Tucson trip...

A little catch up with the pictures I haven't posted...

We didn't get to go bowling the day after Thanksgiving (which is our tradition) because it was kind of crazy so we went after Christmas

When I asked for a Kate sized ball behind the counter, the lady asked me if I wanted this famp thing that you could put the ball at the top and push it down and it gets up enough speed to make it all the way down to the pins. I had seen handicapped people using it before and I didn't know they offered it to toddlers...but it was actually really fun and she loved it.



Sawyer cheering her on
One nice day we took a stroll down to the duck pond with a grassy area for a little bacci ball. Here are the "twins". Everywhere we went people would make comments like, "oh, look at the twins!" I thought it was really weird because they don't look alike. And then one time we were at the food court in the mall and they were sitting next to each other but Jen was feeding Ethan and I was feeding Sawyer and the lady walked by and said it and I was like "umm...two babies...two moms...really?" But I digress. Here are the pictures.


Ryan always makes "Ryan pasta" (the pasta he learned to make in Italy on his mission) when we we are together. So Jared showed off his skills at Honduran cooking. We even made our own tortillas.


This was Sawyer's favorite place to hang out while we were in the kitchen. He liked to throw the letters under the fridge and then watch his daddy fish them out.One day we drove up Mt Lemmon to see the snow. We were telling Kate about snow that morning and how you can make snowmen and all that and she was excited. We bundled up the best we could (you don't really visit Tucson with snow gear).

Me warming Sawyer

Daddy and Kate trying out the sled on a small hill

She did it once with mommy and once with daddy and then wasn't interseted in doing it anymore.She probably won't ever be intersted again after seeing Daddy go down the big hillThen, after about less than 10 minutes outside, my warm blooded Kate said she was freezing so we put her back in the car. Mt Lemmon is so funny because its cold and snowy and then you drive down the mountain and you see the snow gradually disappearing and the pine trees gradually becoming more sparse and then you start to hit the cactus until you're at the bottom and its 70 degrees. So e started down the mountain and right as we started to reach the end of the snow, Kate suddenly remembered she didn't get to make a snowman. We debated on what to do, knowing she wasn't crazy about the snow or the cold. We finally pulled over and Daddy and Kate got out to make a snowman. As expected, Kate wouldn't go much farther than thisDaddy made her a snowman and then we headed back down to our warm Tucson