Love is in the air!

Reid has a "girlfriend." And by girlfriend, I mean someone he plays with regularly, sits by at lunch, has given the title of "his girl" and does whatever she asks. Infact, he even wore a tie to school the other day just because she requested he dress up that day. Who is this little girl that has a hold of my boy's heart? Her name is Ellarie. Yes, she is as cute as her name is. That being said, Reid wanted to get her something special for Valentine's Day. So, we picked her up a cupcake heart card and a heart shaped lollipop. Reid took his time and wrote a meaningful little note inside and drew her a picture. It just melts my heart. She better not break his heart...I am just saying...

The card and lollipop for Ellarie.

His sweet note and drawing. Incase you can't distinguish the card, it reads as follows:
Dear Ellarie, I know that you want it to be summer so we don't have to put all this stuff on. Happy Valentine's Day. From: Reid Then he drew a sun with sunglasses and a cute little flower.

On a less "my boy is growing up and I can't stand it" note, I created Reid's Valentine class party goodie bags this weekend. For the girls, I put a little Hugs juice, hershey kisses and a heart shaped ring pop. Attached to the little sack was this:


For the boys (who I knew wouldn't appreciate hugs and kisses), I filled their sacks with Pop Rocks and a blow pop and a note that says, "You Rock!"


And last but not least, I gotta give a shout out to my Hubby. He surprised me with an early Valentine's Day present...my own iPhone! Now, I can stop "borrowing" his. And fyi... I am addicted to Words with Friends. If you don't know, its the iPhone version of Scrabble. Yes, I am a nerd, but my Hubby loves me. Thank you, Hubby!

And with the snow...

...came the stomach flu. Reid woke up at 5:30am throwing up and did so every hour, on the hour until around noon. We finally have been able to keep some fluids in him and that is helping him feel better. Hopefully, this will pass soon and miss Josh and I. I will spare you all pictures. I am off to hold and rock my baby some more...

3 day weekend!

Gotta love when you have the unexpected snow day on a Friday that allows for a nice, long three day weekend. Still in our pajamas at 4:10 pm, the Edgins are enjoying a lazy day around the house.

Josh and Reid ventured out into the snow for a little bit earlier today. I, of course, stayed in the garage and just took pictures. The cold and I aren't friends.

It started as ice...

Then it turned to snow. Reid, I mean Spiderman, took the opportunity to launch a few snowballs at Josh.

Gator loved the snow as well.

We have big plans tonight. We are going to curl up on the couch and rent Aliens in the Attic off the satellite and enjoy some relaxing family time. Gotta love three day weekends!

Some family fun...

The new and improved Hog Wild opened today in Russellville so, of course, we had to check it out. Without any doubt, Russellville needed some kid friendly entertainment and Hog Wild finally delivered. They have mini golf, bumper cars, indoor jungle climb, mini bowling and TONS of games. Reid had a blast (and so did Josh) playing until their hearts were content.

Our little family

My gamers

Blacklight mini bowling...good times.



One of the game rooms had a Jurassic Park theme...very cool for kids.

Bumper cars - Reid's fav!

A proud mama and her pasta

Last week, we received a letter informing us Reid would be getting an award at the assembly today at school. Of course, my heart filled with pride. Josh and I both made arrangments to leave school for the assembly and my mom also drove up from Little Rock to attend. Reid received the "On Track" award for his class which means he has already mastered everything for his grade. As if that wasn't enough, he got to sit by his "girlfriend" during the ceremony. Pretty darn good day for this little 6 year old!

Reid and his Nana

Reid and Courtney

If you know me, you know I love any kind of pasta and bread. Oh, and muffins...chocolate ones to be exact. I guess one could say carbs, in general, are my weakness. That isn't exactly good news for the ol' hip and thigh area. But, they sure are tasty! That being said, I had to work a pasta dish into my nightly recipe experiment this week. So, tonight's meal was Pepperoni Rigatoni. Again, simplicity was the key. Pasta, sauce, cheese and pepperoni, does it get any easier??? If you like pizza, you will enjoy this super easy dish. We added a side salad and had a filling Friday meal.

Stuffed...

Tonight's dinner was deeeeeeelicious! Bacon and cheese stuffed chicken breast with roasted garlic potatoes and mixed veggies was on the menu. Josh raved about it. In his extensively eloquent manner he said it was "really, really, really good." Doesn't my hubby have a amazing way with words?



I think this recipe might just find itself being prepared quite often here at the Edgin house. I mean really, how can you go wrong with bacon AND cheese???

Stromboli anyone?

Day 2 of the week of surprise dinners consisted of Stromboli and everyone's favorite - waffle fries. Overall, the stromboli was pretty good; however, next time I will probably add more cheese and some type of sauce. But, for a first whirl at the stromboli recipe, it turned out pretty darn good...especially since it only took 25 minutes from prep to finished product. Quick, simple, tasty...

In a rut...

We are in a rut. A dinner rut that is. We do our weekly grocery shopping and always end up buying the same items which inevitably leads to me cooking the same dinners each and every week (tacos, roast, etc). It has become quite monotonous. So, I decided to be proactive. I am going to get us out of this dinner rut! I told Josh I am going to make a new recipe every day this week (minus Monday and Thursday since those are game nights and he won't be home for dinner). To add a twist, I am not telling Josh what I am making until I serve it to him that night. Thrilling, isn't it? :)

To kick it off, I made two new recipes for Josh's poker night on Saturday - Taco Turkey Wraps and Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars. The wraps were really simple but a nice finger food. All it included was deli turkey, cheese, sour cream and a little taco seasoning. Simple was the theme as the bars were just as easy. They involve a tube of chocolate chip cookie dough, cream cheese, 1 egg and a little sugar.
Taco Turkey Wraps

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

Fast forward to tonight, it was my first "surprise dinner recipe" and it was a hit! I prepared Chicken Baskets, which is similar to a Chicken Pot Pie, but uses a pastry shell instead. Josh really enjoyed this recipe and was pleasantly surprised with this warm, rustic recipe on this frigid night.

Chicken Baskets

Hopefully, all the other recipes this week will turn out just as fabulous. I will be sure and post about each of them as I know all 5 of my readers are on the edge of their seat. :)

One more day...

That's right! We were unexpectedly granted one more day to our Christmas break when school was canceled today because of the snow/ice. Of course, the roads were clear and snow was almost completely melted by noon, but it sure was nice getting the Monday after Christmas break off to just relax! Check out what we did on our unproductive, but oh so relaxing day in the Edgin househould.

Of course, we stayed in our pj's the entire day...Reid and Gator enjoyed cartoons and snuggling on the couch.

Reid set up a race car track on the living room coffee table and raced for a while. He graciously gave us a play by play of each and every race.

Reid and Gator hung out and played.

We played a few games of Uno Attack -- Reid is a fierce competitor when it comes to this game, well, any and every game for that matter.

Reid chilled with his PSP.

Josh took the opportunity to get a quick nap.

I snacked on one of my fav's during the holiday season - canned jellied cranberry - don't judge me! :)

And what snow day is complete without popsicles?

It is so nice to have this kind of day every now and then. Just the fam, just relaxing and enjoying life. Well, and popsicles, can't forget the popsicles.

2010

What better way is there to celebrate the new year than with...

Family...

Food...

and FOOTBALL!