Halloween, Toddlers, Jobs, and a Good Recipe!

I'm not a creative person, but I'd like to be! I came across a GREAT website called makeitandloveit.blogspot.com. It....is....awesome! Everyone should go check out her website; she has so many cute ideas. It makes me want to sew, but I have no idea how! Anyone want to give me lessons?! Since I'm not creative I didn't dress up as anything for Halloween. Tafton was a cowboy, sorry I didn't take any pictures! His first Halloween trick or treating went great! We went up the street my parents live. Tafton was so shy when they came to the door but he was excited to pick a piece of candy and put it in his bucket. It was really cute! I dressed up Mikaela in Halloween onesie with black pants. I took a ton of pictures of her which you can see!

You can't see her onesie but it says, "snack o lantern"

This isn't the cutest picture but I LOVE how her eyes are big and scared looking staring at the spider.

Okay, how adorable is she?!

I love how huge her smile is in this one!

On a sadder note, Tafton was sick Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with some kind of stomach bug. It was weird though. He would be fine all day and come night time he would throw up. On Saturday Ben asked Tafton to give him a kiss and Tafton looked at him and threw up all down his front. It was gross AND funny. Tafton's been good since then thankfully.

Tafton is definitely a toddler; complete with whining, running around non-stop, and testing us. On Sunday I made him black beans and corn which he loves. I gave it to him and started making a sandwich for me. Out of the corner of my eye I see bugs or something scurrying across the floor and so I turn really fast to see what exactly is going on. Tafton had turned his bowl of corn and beans upside down and dumped it on the floor! Omigoodness that kid! I put him to bed right after that. It's been hard staying patient with him as he experiments with what he can get away with.

Here is what stayed on his tray.....

....and this is what got on the floor. Thanks Tafton!

Exciting for me: I GOT A JOB! A co-worker from Wadman Corporation emailed me about a job opening at Envision Mechanical and so I sent them my resume, interviewed this morning, and I got the job! I'm very excited about it. It's a part time position, three days a week from 8 to 5. So I still get to stay at home with my kids most of the week and bring in a little money. The hard thing now will be finding sitters because we'll be able to pay our bills now but still nothing extra. and childcare unfortunately falls in the extra. In anyone wants a challenge I have two kids that need to be watched Tuesdays thru Thursday. Any takers? Anyway, I start next week and I'm excited to get back into construction, it's a very challenging and fun industry to be in.

Lastly, I'm always on the lookout for recipes that are yummy, easy, and cheap. This recipe I found on the Betty Crocker website met all three requirements:

Mac 'n Cheese Shells with Sausage

3 cups chicken broth 1 1/2 cups frozen peas

2 cups uncooked small pasta shells 2 cups shredded American-Cheddar cheese

1/2 lb smoked sausage, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1. In 3-quart saucepan, heat broth to boiling over medium-high heat. Add pasta shells; heat to boiling. Boil 6 minutes; do not drain. Reduce heat. Stir in peas and sausage. Cover; simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until shells are tender remove from heat and drain most of remaining chicken broth.

2. Add shredded cheese; toss gently until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese if desired.

Everyone really liked it, it was super easy to make, and didn't take a lot of time. Bonus! it was also good as a leftover. If you have any easy and delicious recipes please send them my way!

Here are a couple other random pics.

Tafton likes to build with his blocks. This is a tower he built with Ben's help.

Aunt Lorraine and Mikaela