Thursday, December 31, 2009

My baby Brother is 18!

My o my where did the last 18 years go?!? David turned 18 on December 27Th, and I think that I am still in shock. He has grown up so much. I can't believe that he is graduating from high school this year either. For his birthday we went to dinner at Nikko Nikko. What would David's birthday be without some sushi? It was a nice little dinner. Deron has never eaten there and doesn't care for sushi, but he ate some and he loved it! Liam tried his hand at chopsticks and ate a bowl of rice with those lovely sticks. He won't eat rice otherwise, now we have our secret weapon!
















David, you have grown into such a great man. We are so proud of all you do. We know you will go far in life with God by your side. You are a great man of faith and determination. You strive to be the best you can. May God bless you in your journey this next year. We love you!

Merry Christmas!

This is about a week late, but we've worked every day since Christmas and today is our first day off, and time to really do anything. We had a great Christmas. We are trying to start some family traditions now that Liam is getting older and understanding a little more what Christmas is. We stayed home on Christmas Eve and cooked a great dinner. Liam and I had ventured out earlier in the day to Barnes and Noble to get a few books for reading that night. We were constant trackers of Santa via the Norad Santa Tracker website. We would log on and show Liam where Santa was in the world and where we lived. He was so excited. After a great dinner and a fun bath, we sat down and read The Night Before Christmas and The First Christmas. He really recognizes Santa this year. Whether he really understands what he stands for... I don't think quite yet. We set out all Liam's presents after he went to bed and spent about an hour putting together his big gift, a play kitchen. When he woke up in the morning, he was so excited. He saw his kitchen first, and we had to pry him away from it just to open his other gifts. Right away he made us coffee. And now every morning, he makes sure to make me some coffee before we leave the house. After we opened gifts, we went over to my parents house to have some brunch. My Grandma and he husband came over, as well as my Aunt and Uncle who live here in California and my other Aunt, Uncle and some cousins who live in Texas. It was great to see everyone. Lisa was not able to be here with us this year, so we skyped her and put her up on the big screen t.v. so everyone could see her. After spending some time there, we headed over to Deron's parents house. Liam made out and every stop and really had a great day. He only had about a half-hour nap all day, and really did good in the behavior department.





Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Best Macaroni and Cheese Ever!

I have to share another recipe, but this one is a must. It is the best macaroni and cheese I have ever tasted! You really must try this recipe if you like mac & cheese!

Double-Cheese Macaroni
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(12-1C. servings)
It really does make a lot!!!

1 pkg. (16.oz) elbow macaroni
3 C. 4% cottage cheese
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. garlic salt ( I just added garlic powder since we don't really add salt to anything.... and I put more than 1/4 tsp.)
3 C. half and half cream
1 C. milk
4 C. shredded cheddar cheese

Topping:
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1 C. dry bread crumbs (we used Italian bread crumbs)
1/4 C. butter

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, place the cottage cheese in a food processor, cover and process until smooth. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and garlic salt until smooth. Gradually add cream and milk. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 2 min. or until thickened.

Drain macaroni; transfer to a large bowl. Add the cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, and white sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to a greased 13x9 baking dish (this will be really full!). Combine butter and bread crumbs; sprinkle over the top.

Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 20-25 min. or until bubbly.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe, it is definitely a keeper in our recipe book!

Thursday, December 17, 2009

a few tough days...

These last few days have been really rough ones. Nothing really with work, or school, but with Liam. He has been so temperamental and moody lately I am beginning to become concerned. Everyone keeps telling me that he is just turning 2, and that's fine, but he is just different to me. He has started crying again when I drop him off at daycare, and sometimes even with my parents. When we come home, all he does is seem to cry, and everything we do is wrong. He just wants to lay on top of me on the couch and go to sleep. Tonight, he fell asleep at 7pm which is really early for him. He just grabbed his pillow and blanket and crawled up onto the couch and went to sleep. He is throwing temper tantrums so often now, that a good mood throws us off track for the day. He just screams and we have no idea what it is about. I know this is probably all normal, but it is just so difficult and we don't know what we can do to sooth him. He is also struggling with paci separation. We are really trying to clamp down on getting rid of the paci, but his attachment seems to be getting worse. And there are many times that he wants nothing to do with Deron and gets so mad when Deron gets even a little close to him. He has made it so I am the only one that can do things for him at times and it is definitely draining. I guess this is just life with a toddler right? Any advice is definitely welcome!!!!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

changes

We have had to make many decisions over the last year, and the one that was the hardest to make was for me to not pursue the career that I went to college for 9 years to do, which is teaching. With the economy in the state it is, teaching really is not an option for me. It breaks my heart, because I feel that teaching is where my heart really does lie. It is something that I have wanted to do since I was in elementary school. So, for now we have decided to go a different route. I was given an opportunity to go into a training program with Lowe's to become a Human Resources Manager right after Liam was born, unfortunately, I did not pass the tests to get into the program, and you have to wait a whole year to re-take the tests. So about a month ago, I re-took my tests, and I passed. Yesterday I had the interview with our Area Human Resources Manager, and it was the most stressful interview that I have ever had. I was a nervous wreck all day long. After all, it has been about 6 years since I have even had an interview, and that was still at Lowe's. I think the main reason I was nervous was because I had to sell myself, and I am not a very confident person. In the end, the interview seems to have gone pretty well. I don't find out until Friday if I get to go into this training program, but the good thing is, is that even if I don't get it right now, I can still get into the program later on in 2010. I really think that this is a great avenue for our family. Not only does it provide us with some extra income, but it also somewhat fulfills my desire to teach. While my students will not be 12 our younger, it is still teaching and mentoring. We have been praying consistently about this decision and things seem to be falling into place. We are not really sure where things are going to go from here, but we know God is in control and he will take us where we need to go.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

She's Finally Here!

Lisa and Matt had their DAUGHTER on Dec. 3! We are so excited. Of course, we all thought they were having a boy, but we were wrong :) Her name is Emma Ann Eveland, and she is so beautiful. She weighed 9.4 lbs, and was 21.25" long. Just a smidge bigger than Liam. Everyone is doing well and they are hoping to be home today. We wish so badly that we could see her and hold her, but she is all the way in Georgia, so we'll have to wait until March when they come out here for a visit! We have put her on our screen saver and everytime Liam see's her, he calls her either just baby or mama. He can't quite say Emma, but because it is close to Mama, he just calls her that! I am only going to post one picture because I am sure Lisa will be plenty to put up! :)