Landon visits the fire station

Landon loved visiting the fire station! He ran from truck to truck, climbing, jumping, laughing...

Fun was had by all!

Thanksgiving 2011

I have SO much to be thankful for. Here are just a few that top the list:

my 3 beautiful, healthy kids, and my amazing, supportive husband, family and friends!

This year we spent Thanksgiving at Grandma & Grandpa Norwood's house. 

Unfortunately Brent worked overtime so the kids and I were on our own. 

The best pic I could get of the kiddos:

We also hit another milestone on Thanksgiving! Dylan started walking on his own :)

Vegas Vacation, then some...

Brent & I were lucky enough to be able to go on a Vegas vacation! We spent 3 relaxing, kid-free nights at the MGM Grand in sunny, hot, cloudy, cold Las Vegas. The average temperature this time of year is in the 70's and we were lucky enough to be there for record lows (in the 50's). That did not stop us from doing lots of walking around and site seeing. The highlight of our trip (aside from the buffets) was most definitely seeing Garth Brooks. We had great seats (8 rows from the stage) and he put on an awesome show. He did a lot of story telling, joking and sang with his wife, Trisha Yearwood. This vacation provided me with an interesting perspective and I'm dying to get it down on paper so here goes...

I LOVE my life! At the age of 30, I can honestly say that I have everything I ever wanted, and more! At the age of 30, I had just purchased my first, brand new home, had a wonderful husband/marriage, an amazing son, a good career and was pregnant with twins. I live within 2 miles of my parents and my sister and her family. I have several VERY good friends...I'm talking, help you bury the body good friends! Brent & I have gotten to do a fair amount of traveling (with lots more to come!). Once the twins were born, I was able to return to work part-time so I could be home more with the kids and between Brent & I we don't need childcare. I just have a lot to be thankful for. I guess I feel like 30 is pretty young to have everything you want in life?? So, in case the tides turn, I wanted to document how incredibly happy and blessed I feel. How I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. How I LOVE my work-life balance. How complete I feel. I hope I feel this way forever, but just in case, I want to document it so that I never forget! 

Then I turned 31...

For the first time in my life I feel very old and here are the reasons why:

1.) After 2 nights in Vegas I wanted to go home because I missed my kids.

2.) Brent & I both got sore from walking around in Vegas. Seriously?! Sore from merely walking?? :-/

3.) Vegas is obviously very trendy & yet I had no desire to be cute or look good. I was all about being practical in my jeans, tennis shoes and winter coat while lots of other women staggered down the strip in their little black dresses and stilettos. 

4.) We were in bed by 8pm every night.

5.) Brent  & I ordered 1 drink each and when we got the bill we looked at each other and Brent said "that was a case of diapers."

6.) I can't see when I'm driving at night. And forget about it if it's dark AND raining! I might as well pull over!

Ahhh...feels good to get that off my chest! Till next time...

Halloween

Our first Halloween as a family of five proved to be nothing less than exhausting exciting :) We walked downtown with several of our neighbors on Saturday for the "Boo Bash." The line was moving pretty slow and the kids were losing patience quickly, so we mosied on down to Starbucks. We didn't get any candy downtown but enjoyed seeing all of the kids dressed up and enjoyed the nice night and walk. 

Neighborhood gang

We spent Halloween trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with all of the neighborhood kids. Landon caught on quickly and had a lot of fun with his friends. Afterwards we went to a party at our neighbor's house. We are hoping it will be a new sub tradition!

2011 Halloween:

Landon - Firefigher, Dylan - Dragon, Morgan - Ladybug

Landon caught on quickly!

My little firefighter!

Twins visit the fire station

While Landon spent the day with grandma & grandpa Muller, the twins & I decided to take a trip to visit daddy at the fire station. 

Bath time fun!

Cruisin Dylan

Though Dylan is not walking on his own as well as Morgan, he sure does love to cruise in his car. 

Check it out!

Morgan is walking!!

Morgan is starting to walk more and more everyday, though she is camera shy. She will walk half way across a room, but as soon as the video camera comes out she hits the deck! :-/  Enjoy this short film...

Weekend recap

Weekend recap:
Friday night Brent & I got to enjoy a night out! We went to a Murder Mystery dinner at the Old Stone Church in downtown Milford. We were joined by my parents, sister, Cathy S. and neighbors Kelly and Ross. It was our first Murder Mystery. Overall, it was an enjoyable evening, mostly due to the company! They ran out of food before our table got to eat; however, the sub-par spaghetti was not a huge loss. The endless drinks made up for it! :o) It was a neat concept and I would consider doing another one.

Saturday - Brent worked and Landon went to Grandma & Grandpa Muller's house so I spent the entire day cooking.  I thoroughly enjoy cooking, but don't get the opportunity as often as I'd like. Since I only had the twins, I took advantage of the opportunity to make several casseroles which I put in the freezer for dinner options in the future. I also made a quadruple batch of chicken lemon rice soup which I froze in muffin pans for individual servings down the road.

Sunday - impromptu breakfast with the Baker's. I was still in the cooking mood, so I made breakfast sandwiches to go around! (fried egg, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato - on a toasted bagel). I went to a baby shower and got to catch up with some of the FD girls. Beef pot roast from the crock pot for dinner.

Here are a few of the recipes I used (I haven't tried any of them yet tho...)

Crack Potatoes

2 (16oz) containers sour cream 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded 2 (3oz) bags real bacon bits 2 packages Ranch Dip mix 1 large bag frozen hash brown potatoes Combine first 4 ingredients, mix in hash browns.  Spread into a 9x13 pan.  Bake at 400 for 45-60 minutes.

Three Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake 1 (16-ounce) package penne or elbow macaroni 2 (10-ounce) containers refrigerated Alfredo sauce 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese 2 garlic clove, minced 3 cups cooked chicken, chopped 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 cups mozzarella cheese Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot. Stir together all ingredients except mozzarella cheese. Spread mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. King Ranch Chicken 3 large chicken breasts, cooked 1 can cream of chicken soup 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 onion, chopped (I used minced onion flakes) 1 can Rotel tomatoes 1 jar (8oz) Cheez Whiz Dash of Tabasco Dash of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce Salt and pepper Tortilla chips, crushed 8 oz cheddar 4 oz mozzarella Dice the cooked chicken breasts.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the soups, onion, tomatoes, Cheez Whiz, Tabasco and Worcestershire Sauce until blended.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Line the bottom of a casserole dish with the crushed tortilla chips.  Place the chicken on top and pour over some of the mixture.  Add a layer of  half the Cheddar.  Repeat the process, topping with Cheddar and mozzarella.  Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bubbly.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice bake 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts 4 cups Cooked Brown Rice ¾ cups Frozen Corn 15 ounces, fluid Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream) 4 ounces, fluid Can Green Chilis ½ cups Salsa 1 cup Low-fat Cheddar Cheese, Plus More For Topping 2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro For Garnish Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for cilantro and mix thoroughly to combine. Make sure the yogurt and cheese are stirred in throughout the entire bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with extra cheese if you would like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with chopped cilantro. To make this process easier, I always have cooked chicken on hand, and use Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice. If you have those two things, this can be throw together in a matter of minutes! It can also easily be made ahead of time and reheated. Ooh...I almost forgot! Michigan State pulled off a huge win against Wisconsin Saturday night! It was a nail-biter, but a great game!  The twins showing off their Spartan pride! :)

Dr. Landon