The Good Life

Tuesday's are known as "Taco Tuesday" at our house. Once we moved in to our new home, we wanted to start a "tradition" or something fun that we could look forward to once a week. We don't stick to only tacos, we try a variety of taco type foods. Since Matt and I both love Mexican food, it seems a perfect fit for us. Tonight, I tried a new recipe that I found on Pinterest. I want to share it because it was super easy and very delicious (at least we thought so). Doritos Chicken Casserole Ingredients - 2 cups shredded cooked chicken - 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese - 1 (10 oz) can cream of chicken soup - 1/2 cup milk - 1/2 cup sour cream - 1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes (drained) - 1/2 to 1 packet taco seasoning - 1 large bag Doritos - toppings optional (shredded lettuce, diced tomato, onions, etc...) Instructions Pre-heat oven to 350 Mix all ingredients (minus the Doritos) in a large bowl 2 quart casserole dish - add a layer of crushed Dorit...

Colton is so interested in books! I love that he has this interest and hope it's one that continues. I don't consider myself a "reader". It's not that I don't enjoy reading or that I'm a poor reader, I just don't find too many books that keep my interest. I'm really not a fan of fiction but I do enjoy a good autobiography or biography. The truth is, I need to read more often and it is a goal of mine for this year. Now that Colton has somewhat of a scheduled nap, I have made some time for reading. The books that I have been reading have mostly been about raising children, parenting or marriage, so I can relate and it's enjoyable. I have to say that I have come to find that reading books on parenting/kids can be as harmful as helpful if taken too seriously. Before Colton was born, and even when he was an infant, I found myself feeling stressed out that things weren't going the way "the books" said they should. I realized very qui...

I went from posting once a day and then to once a week...now it looks like I'm lucky to get a post up once a month! I hate that I'm not able to share as often as I would like. For me, it's an outlet. Not having Internet at home, and the only access being my phone, makes it difficult for me to make the time to peck out a bunch of words on that small keyboard. Maybe one of these days we will jump into the flow of society and get Internet...but not any time soon! It's hard for me to really grasp how fast time is passing. It seemed like I was planning Colton's birthday party, and he will be 13 months old in just a few days. Being at home all day, every day really makes me lose track of time. Matt and I are still loving our home. The weather has been incredibly cold the past few weeks and we are both so sick of it. Matt's reason is due to the fact that he works outside a majority of the time and my reason(s) are (1) because my poor husband works out in the cold m...

My Dear Colton Bear, I realize that it will be many years before you can read this letter and probably many more -after that- before you understand why I’m writing it. When you look back on your life, there is a great chance that you won’t remember this first year. You probably won’t remember all you have accomplished, where you traveled, who you met or what you have taught others (especially me) but I hope you remember how much you are loved. It’s really hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that it’s been a year since I was lying (uncomfortably) in a hospital bed waiting on you to show up. From the second I laid eyes on you, I knew my life was changed forever. This past year has been such a blessing and I can only hope it was half as good of year for you as it was for your Daddy and me. This year has been full of so many wonderful moments. One of the biggest blessings for me this year was when we made the decision for me to stay at home with you. To say that -your Da...

Monday was one of those days that Moms are not proud to talk about, and often times don't. It was one of those days when I felt like I could run away and not come back for a long, long time. As much as I love my child and would do anything to care for and protect him, Monday, I could've run away. Everything that has been building up over the past few weeks finally escalated. Colton has been battling sickness for around a month. With that sickness, as all Moms know, comes grouchy, bratty, miserable, little turd buckets that you can't make happy no matter how hard you try! There have been days when he acted totally fine with the exception of a runny nose and other days he has been so lethargic. Over the past few days, I have known something just wasn't right. On Saturday, Colton was getting worse instead of better. I was so frustrated. Colton was frustrated/sick/cranky and just miserable. Matt, bless his heart, has been wonderful while dealing with two crazy people in...

There is no love like a Mom's love. All you Moms out there know what I mean. It's just a feeling that you can't explain and a bond that is just so instant and strong. It's truly amazing. I feel like the retail/advertising/product world uses (or tries to use) that love against us. Especially at Christmas! Think about it. When you find out you're pregnant for the first time, you're scared. You're excited, overwhelmed, nervous and naive. You start making a baby registry and probably look up all the ratings/feedback/comments on the products. If you don't use this car seat brand, you're baby is going to die in a car crash. If you don't breastfeed, you could cause development issues. If you don't use this brand of diapers, your baby is going to get diaper rash. If you don't have a monitor with a video, how are you going to know they're breathing? You have to have this and have to have that...or you're a horrible Mom or Dad. It doesn...

I know it's that time of year, but I am beginning to feel like Colton is never going to be back to "normal". We have been battling runny nose/cough/mild fever for 3 weeks now. I thought he was better and then I took him to the parade (good job Mom, right?) and the runny nose was right back the next day! Ugh...tis the season. Last weekend, Matt and I had to make a very tough parenting decision. We decided for me to keep Colton at home while Matt made the trip to Ohio to celebrate Christmas with his family. I was heartbroken because I know how far away we all live and how rare it is for us to all be together. My mother in law and sister in law were flying in from Texas, it was going to be the first time that all of the cousins were together at the same time, I was excited about watching all the kids open their gifts and looking forward to visiting with everybody. It's not fun making that kind of decision. All sorts of worries and thoughts ran through my mind. I was so...