Little bit of this and that...

Happy Tuesday! I feel like I haven't blogged in forever. Actually I haven't felt like myself in forever. I came down with a yucky bug on Friday that put me out of commission for a few days. Ugh...moms aren't supposed to be sick. Thankfully it hit over the weekend and my amazing hubs took care of me and Tanner. Bless my husband's heart. He's a trooper. So needless to say, our weekend wasn't spectacular. 

Our Valentine's was great though! We had a nice fondue dinner at home cooked by my hubby. Tanner enjoyed using the fondue fork and eating half of my cupcake that my amazing bffeih Liz surprised us with. And he is obsessed with his new train he got for Valentine's...pictured below. We've already changed the batteries after day #2.

Only pic I could get with my littlest Valentine :) He's a squirmy lil monster.

Thank you Liz for our amazing cupcakes! You da best!

Tanner's sweet homemade Valentine's gift for our families. 

We did go to my sweet Mama's on Sunday to celebrate her 80th birthday. I wasn't feeling up to par, but was starving nonetheless. So I indulged in everything in sight, hoping that when I got home I wouldn't regret it. Thankfully, I didn't. Mama enjoyed her party and I enjoyed spending the afternoon with my family. Tanner thought it was absolutely hilarious when we sang happy birthday to her. He practically doubled over laughing so hard. His face turned bright red and tears were coming out. It was the best thing I've ever seen lol. 

Happy 80th Mama! Notice my sweet child in the background...mesmerized by the singing lol. 

This was the moment when he was laughing so hard. Wish I would have caught it on video. Priceless.

I made this recipe last week and it was so easy and scrumptious. I paired it with a salad and fries. Not super healthy, but it was quick and yummy. Of course I found it on Pinterest and I"m sure you've seen it floating around on there. All you need is crescent rolls, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese or string cheese. I had some left over sliced mozzarella, so that's what I used. 

Separate each crescent roll...

Layer with pepperoni and cheese. I put like 7-8 slices of pepperoni on each.  Then roll up tightly. 

Bake for 13-15 minutes and wahhhla! Yummy goodness.

And last but not least, since I'm talking about food {again}. I went to Burger King yesterday since I was finally getting my appetite back. Side note...I normally don't eat out for lunch {especially fast food}, but I thought I'd treat myself after my not so great weekend. And to my surprise they had my favorite item back....CHEESEY TOTS! I was soooo excited! They had these like 4 or 5 years ago and Trevor and I would get them. A lot. I called and told him. He was super excited. Since I couldn't stomach the whole medium order, I politely saved them for my dear sweet hubs :) Go try them!!! But only if you're not dieting because they are not healthy. Obviously.

I took my embroidery machine to be serviced yesterday, so I'm totally out of commission for a few weeks. Or at least that's how I feel. I feel lost without it. And lazy. Maybe I'll actually work on some of my crafty projects while I have some spare time =) Hope ya'll are having a great day! Hopefully I'll have some good stuff to share on the crafty side soon! Until next time...

Magan

♥ Valentine's Day ♥

Happy Valentine's Day!! I have always loved Valentine's day, even when I was single. It's always been an excuse to indulge in sweets {I am addicted to sweets if you don't know me} all day long. It got even better when I met my Mr. Hot Hubby back in 2004. From there on, Valentine's has always been amazing. I started looking back through old pics trying to see how far back I could find them of Trevor and I on Valentine's Day. I didn't make it back too far, I guess I didn't have a digital camera back in 2005. Or if I did, I didn't save the pics to my computer and I couldn't find any printed out. Anywho, here's a few good laughs for ya'll =)

This was in 2009. I surprised Trevor with tickets to see the Tar Heels play {his fave basketball team}. We spent a whole weekend in Chapel Hill. I remember how excited he was when he opened those tickets at dinner. Aaahhh...if only I was still that sweet. Lol - maybe one day I'll surprise you again hunny =)

Obviously this isn't me or Trevor...it's my dear sweet Mama whose birthday is Feb. 13. This was in 2010. I did find a pic of me and Trevor, but it was so hideous I couldn't bring myself to post it. Mama turned 80 yesterday...she's the absolute love of my life and the best Mama ever! Happy Birthday shout out Mama...love you!

Big momma in tha house {with my adorable lil Mags}! This one is seriously for jokes ya'll. I was prego with Tanner and had him 6 weeks later. Trevor took me out to a wonderful dinner at Stellar. It was amazing, just like every date with him is. Awww...I know, so sappy. Love my hubs though!

This was last year. I believe we went to the Melting Pot {my fave}. Man what a difference a year makes =) 

I most certainly can't leave out the other little guy who has my heart and makes Valentine's even better than it already was before he came along.

It's a whole new ballgame when it comes to Valentine's Day and kids. We don't go crazy on gifts mainly because we spend all of our money on Tan man {thanks to diapers and a child who eats like he's 15}. Totally kidding. We are having a very romantic dinner tonight {with Tanner and I'm sure his cartoons blaring in the background}. We decided to make our own fondue at home this year. I'm excited to just be at home with my two boys that I love the most. And chocolate. And fondue. And Tanner's candy from school. Totally kidding again.

I LOVED making Tanner's snacks for his class. He goes to Mother's Day Out one day a week and this year it fell on Valentine's Day. YAYYY!!! They were super yummy. I look forward to making sweet treats for him and his buddies for many, many years to come. 

I made these delish red velvet puppy chow mix that I found here on Pinterest. They didn't turn out red like I thought, but your mouth turns red after you eat them. Oh well. They looked pretty.

Speaking of food, can I just tell ya'll about the amazing meals I've had today?! Casey and I eat breakfast at the Bakery and Bistro almost every Thursday {check them out here}. Seriously, it's the best food ever. I've never had a single thing from there that I didn't fall in love with. Then for lunch I had a toasted flatbread pimento cheese. OMG. This came from the food cart in TR that's outside of My Sister's Store on Main Street. They have homemade pimento cheese and chicken salad, plus sandwiches/wraps that change daily {Tuesday-Friday}. Sorry the pic has a bite taken out of it, but I couldn't resist. I've certainly been Ms. Piggy today, but it's Valentine's. Momma's gotta grub too, right?!

Cheese and herb scone and a homemade cinnamon bun. Casey and split the scone to save a few calories. =)

I am so full from eating this awesome little creation, that I'm not sure I can divulge in as much fondue as I had hoped tonight.

This little stud muffin says Happy Valentine's Day ya'll! He had some crazy hair and was half asleep. I tried to bribe him into saying cheese, but obviously that didn't work.

I hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day. If you're single, oh well. I bet you've got some amazing friends that you could celebrate with and pig out on chocolate. And if you're married, engaged or dating someone be sure to show them lots of love on this speical day....and still pig out on chocolate. Remember that Valentine's Day should be everyday! Love is a sweet, sweet thing ♥ I'm off to prepare for my special valentine's arrival from work. Until next time...

Magan 

John 3:16 
For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Sickness...please go away!

Hey ya'll! Hope you had a fabulous weekend! Our's started off great. We were lazy bums Friday with our normal Mexican food to-go and catching up on DVR after Tanner went to bed. Saturday was uneventful...until night time hit. We had put Tanner to bed and then we heard him crying an hour or so later. I went to check on him and he had gotten sick. And I mean really sick. This was the first time in 22 months that he has ever vomited. I was praying this day would never come because I didn't know how I could do it. BUT I did...Auntie Cates, you'd be proud =) She totally gets what I'm saying here. Anywho. We didn't go to church Sunday, obviously, but I was really looking forward to going. Maybe we'll make it this coming Sunday. Tanner got better and ate a little bit and played on Sunday...yay! We were getting back to normal. Actually lets back up...nope not really. Yesterday he was totally clingy (which I loved every second of), but he never got sick again. Until today. It wasn't vomit this time. But it was bad.

Friday night rocking with his daddy. My two boys...love them so!

Saturday night shopping before the mess occurred. Loves his Mr. Bear =)

Sunday snooze...my poor baby! Breaks a momma's heart to see them sick!

Monday morning snuggling with momma! 

I'll stop there. No need to gross ya'll out anymore than I already have. Especially if you don't have kids yet {I promise this is all normal...it happens to all moms}. Lets just say I've done about 8 loads of laundry in the past 3 days. I've washed my hands so much that they're raw. I've changed sheets on his bed too many times to count. Mr. Bear has been washed so much that I hope he makes it out alive this go round. I need a tropical vacation asap.

I had originally planned to write about some recipes and a few other things, but since my mind is so not here I'll show ya'll what I've finished in my dining room. Seriously though, you have to just keep going and do your best as a parent when stuff like this happens. I feel so horrible and sad for my sick Tan man, but I gotta keep truckin and do everything I can to get that sweet boy better.

I ended up putting a verse that I found on Pinterest {surprise lol} that I loved on the chevron canvas. It was a pain. I spent weeks trying to figure out how I was going to get it on there and then it dawned on me that I could print it on burlap to go along with the rest of the burlap pieces. That was a nightmare, but I accomplished it. I cut the burlap to the size of a piece of paper (8.5 x 11) and taped it on cardstock. That didn't work out with my printer, so then I adhered it to stabilizer that I use for embroidering. It worked! YAY!! It's hard to get it perfect on the canvas because the burlap moves easily. But I like it! I then hot glued a barn wood looking frame around it that I found at Hobby Lobby.

Close up of my lil saying that I adore...

My 'B' piece...

My other cute canvases with burlap bows and buttons in the middle of each bow...

Love!

I didn't want to over-do this room and wanted to keep it simple. I really like the outcome!

It's not finished yet...I still have place mats that are grey that I plan to embroider with a B. Who knows when that will be. Hopefully soon. I've learned that I can only focus on one area at a time. Otherwise I get overwhelmed and become a hot mess. This stuff takes time...a whole lotta time. Patience is the key for me when decorating. And I don't have much patience :/ I'm working it though =)

Hope ya'll have a great rest of your Tuesday. Please say a little prayer for my sweet boy that whatever is up with him will exit SOON!!! We've called the doctor and it could be a touch of a virus or molars coming in. Who knows?! I do know that I'm ready for normalcy again! Until next time...

Magan

Encouragement...and a few other things

Gosh, I have totally been MIA this week. Sorry ya’ll...I’ve had a crazy busy, fun week! My bff Casey surprised me on my birthday with a trip to the Biltmore house. We’ve seriously been planning this trip for the past 6 years. We always say we’re gonna go for our birthday’s and then never do. So this year, she made it happen! I’ve never been and have always wanted to go. We lined up babysitters for our kiddos and hit the road for a fun day of food and lots of walking. It was the best.time.ever. We walked off all of our chocolate crème brulee {holla} and the weather was absolutely perfect. I love spending time with her and we always have fun no matter what we’re doing. Thank you, Casey for a marvelous day! Love you!

The gorgeous Biltmore house. I'd like to move here.

Casey having way too much fun and we just started our tour :)

Sooo pretty!

My best friend! Perfect day with perfect company!

Our lunch at was pretty good. This hot pimento cheese was kinda strange though. More like pimento cheese soup is what we decided on.

Sampler of ribs, bbq and chicken with the fixin's. Yumm! BTW...we split this. 

We totally forgot to capture the best part of our meal. Chocolate creme brulee with strawberry jam at the bottom. We remembered after we scarfed it down...hence this nice pic. 

I hit up the annual Switcheroo’s consignment sale yesterday and scored some awesome stuff for my Tanner man. I love those sales. If you have kids and haven’t been…GOOOO!!!! You’ll thank me later. It’s open to the public today through Sunday. Me and my mom go to both of their sales every year. It’s a new tradition for us and I just love it!

So I’ve been telling ya’ll I need to share a new recipe that I found on Pinterest. I’ve been slacking here lately, but I’m gonna share it today! It’s sweet and sour chicken and it’s simply ahhhhmazing! Please cook it asap. BUT do not attempt to cook this if you have a clingy toddler attached to your hip/leg. Thankfully this night Trevor was home and kept Tanner occupied because there’s just too many steps {easy steps that is} but there’s no way to concentrate when you have lil hands dangling all near you and hot grease splatterin.

Fryin up the chicken. If you're a very healthy eater, skip past all of these pics. I'm sorry. This meal was the bomb diggity.

Flip your chicken till it's just brown on both sides.

Add your sauce and stick in the oven.

I made these delish noodles to go along with ours.

Easy peasy to make and tastes so good!

Finished meal. I also made zucchini with soy and teriyaki.

You can find this recipe here.  Or below.

Chicken Breading:
3-5 chicken breast
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup canola oil

Rinse chicken, trim off fat or extras and then cut into 1 inch cubes. season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken into cornstarch and coat all the way and then into eggs. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook chicken until browned. Place in baking dish. 3 chicken breasts can be in a 9x9 but 5 chicken breasts fits better in a 9x13.

Sauce:
3/4 cups sugar
4 Tablespoons ketchup

                                                            1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Whisk until smooth. Then pour evenly over chicken. Turn chicken so the sauce gets on both sides and then put in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. turn chicken and then cook for 15 more minutes.

I know this is super long. My apologies. But lastly I want to share something so super sweet and kind that I received today. This is one of mine and Casey’s self portraits we took Wednesday at lunch.

I posted it on Instagram/Facebook. Mainly because Casey looks amazing {as always}…I seriously thought twice about posting it because I look like poo. But I received a comment from a sweet high school friend today on Facebook…she commented on this pic and said, “Magan, I remember you were always pretty in high school, but you’ve gotten only prettier over time J.” Seriously. Me. What?? There are so many days when I feel skank nasty. And there are so many days when I don’t feel like fixing my hair or putting on an ounce of makeup. I let myself go on certain days of the week and feel so gross {and feel so sorry that my hubby has to look at me like that}. BUT I receive one comment like that and it just makes my day. I’m telling you all of this for a reason. When you speak sweet words or comment on FB or send them through a text/email, you never know how much you’re going to brighten someone’s day. Or even better, make their crappy day 100x better. So I encourage you to just tell someone how amazing they look today or that they’re such a wonderful friend. You get the drift. Encouragement is an awesome thing. I plan to do my part today…try it out. I bet you’ll be glad you did.

I’m off to catch up from everything I missed this week while I was out having wayyyy too much fun! Enjoy your weekend! We have nothing planned and I’m looking forward to being lazy and hangin with my boys! Until next time…

Magan

Recap...

Hey ya'll! Hope you had an amazing weekend because I sure did =) But first, lets start with Monday. Remember the Wal-Mart trip I blogged about a while back?! Well, I tempted it again today. I went prepared as usual but this time I switched it up with a ring pop hoping that would stay on his finger and not break in a million pieces. That ring stayed on his finger, on his pants, in his hair and all over that buggy and didn't break until the very end. Score!! We did manage to take one of our shoes off, then the sock was next. Then we lost the sock somewhere in the store. So he was chillin with his sockless/shoeless leg propped on the buggy with sucker everywhere. We looked like those people that you see on the email 'People of Wal-Mart', but whatever. I made it out alive and stress free! Yayyyy...it really can be done!!! I feel like supermom today.

See that bare foot with no sock? Lovely, huh? 

Mom and child exiting Wal-Mart and he's still in the buggy. Hallelujah!!

We went to dinner Saturday night for my bffeih Elizabeth's birthday. We had such a fun time! I got to meet some sweet new people and spend time and catch up with those that I already knew. It was also my sister-in-laws birthday so we got to hang out with her too! Before Mimi came to get Tanner, we had a fun morning of just playing! We moved the love seat and brought the trampoline in. He had a blast and got lots of energy out...much needed for this wild child.

He was ready to play...naked style.

Dancing to a crazy Nick Jr. song - it says 'hold stilllll' in part of the song and this is the outcome.

Jumpin high =)

Sweet friends that I met through Liz...they are fab!

The birthday girl...she's pretty awesome. 

Why do men like to ruin pictures? I'll never understand. Not cool.

With Drew, Liz's sweet boyfrand :) It's not a birthday celebration without masks and other cute stuff, per Elizabeth. 

Blonde Kim Kardashian blowing out her candle :)

Brother/sister time!

My sweet, sweet sista! Happy birthday Cates!

All of the chics!

We watched the Superbowl last night. Well not really. I watched Beyonce and Destiny's Child...woop, woop. Loved it! And I ate some junk food and wings. Other than that, I don't really care so much about the actual Superbowl. But I do care about the food. A lot. 

Hope ya'll had a great weekend! It's another Monday and I'm thankful to be here with my precious family and friends. Enjoy the rest of your day and all that you've been blessed with. I'll be posting a recipe or two sometime soon, hopefully. I've been stalking Pinterest for some yummy dinners this week. Until next time...

Magan