"Baby, give it up"

So , I've really been thinking about what to give up during Lent this year and I've come to the conclusion. If I really want to do it right it must be something that I truly love. A sacrifice if you will. Just like Jesus sacrificed his life so we could live , I too shall sacrifice what I love. Can you smell what I'm steppin' in? THE COMPUTER! This lovely machine brings me much joy, but also much more chaos than I really need in my life. I put off laundry(way too much), playing with my kids, my dog and even my husband(maybe I'll get knocked up while I'm gone) so I can be on it. I need to detox. I still have to check my emails and I welcome them, but I need to see if taking this break will eliminate some of the things that I do that make my life more difficult than it needs to be. I really lovvvvvve all of you guys and keeping up with you and will miss you dearly! But I have to do this. Man, it's going to be hard but I know I can do it. It would be much easier if we got our cable(source of internet connection) cut off during Lent. But like I said we need it for email and emergencies ;o) So if you want to contact me during this time email me. kelli@picgroup.com I'll be back in the spring WAHHHH ;o( XOXOXOXO

SISTA'S!

SISTA'S!
Originally uploaded by Mama Chiquita.

A BIG SURPRISE FOR HAILEE!

A BIG SURPRISE FOR HAILEE!
Originally uploaded by Mama Chiquita.

MOMMY EXCITED ABOUT HER DAWG!

MOMMY EXCITED ABOUT HER DAWG!
Originally uploaded by Mama Chiquita.

HAILEE & I

MOMMY AND HAILEE
Originally uploaded by Mama Chiquita.

My Girls

Originally uploaded by Mama Chiquita.

Birthday Girl

Birthday Girl
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Hailee, I can't believe you are 6 years old! You amaze us everyday. It's hard to admit sometimes you are more mature than we are. But you will always, ALWAYS be my baby! XOXOXOXOXO HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Hailee's Party!

Hailee's Party!
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

80 year old Turtle

80 year old Turtle
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

millipede

millipede
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Chinchilla ( SO CUTE)

Chinchilla ( SO CUTE)
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Hailee

Hailee
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Gianna and daddy

Gianna and daddy
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Bye Everyone!

Bye Everyone!
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Blades of Glory Trailer

This looks hilarious!

Sick baby gets to do what she wants

Sick baby gets to do what she wants
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Chopsticks & Cheerio's

Chopsticks & Cheerio's
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Mmmm Mmmmm Good

Chopsticks & Cheerio's
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Happy Again

Chopsticks
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

Bella

Bella
Originally uploaded by Ciao Bella.

This our sweet Bella. She's cute in this picture but not so cute when I come in to find that she's taken a crap on the kitchen floor once again. The floor that you see in the picture is a very cool floor. However not so cool when you have A) pets or B)kids or C) All of the above. Every single speck of dirt is visible. There is no hiding it. The hair is ridiculous too. Our plan is to rip it up and maybe put down ceramic or something. We're open to suggestions. It's too much work the black and white. A dirt color would be perfect.

Where are we going?

"CRAZY", I answered my two year old. "Crazy?"she asked. "Yep, thats where we're going." Dancing around the house "YAY!" "WE'RE GOING CRAZY!", "YAY!". Later on she got upset because she really thought we were going there. OOPS.

Having had a 104.3 fever last night she may have come close. I remember being young with a fever and hallucinating right through my bed tent. My Barbie motorcycle took a quick spin by itself around Barbie and her friend. It seemed ok at the time. Or maybe that was a combo of the fever and cough syrup with codeine.

What's for dinner?

Meals have been pretty boring around here lately. Cooking the same things week after week. I'm ready to try some new things and I KNOW my husband and kids will appreciate it too. So I'm asking you to leave me one of your favorite recipes. Something that you guys might eat every week. Let's hear it. I'll leave you some things I make that are pretty quick and easy. Don't hesitate to leave a dessert if you please.

Beef Strokin' off :0)

-1 can of cream of mushroom soup
-1 pkg of cream cheese
-1 small can of mushrooms
-1 lb of lean ground beef
- egg noodles

Brown ground beef.Salt & pepper.Drain.
-While beef is browning, combine soup, cream cheese and mushrooms in medium sauce pan. Melt together. Pour sauce into browned beef. Mix together. Serve beef mixture over egg noodles (cooked of course ;o)) Not healthy but pretty darn tootin'.


Polynesian Chicken (Got this from Bitchen Kitchen awhile back)

- 8 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 envelope of onion soup mix
- 12 oz Russian dressing
- 18 oz of pineapple / apricot preserves

- preheat oven to 300 degrees
- put chicken in 9x13 pan
- blend all ingredients
- pour over chicken
- bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours

* I like to serve this with one of the Lipton Asian sides and peas.

Dessert

Boston Cream Dessert

- 1 pkg vanilla instant pudding (make pudding)
- 1 8oz tub of cool whip
- 1 container of chocolate frosting
- graham crackers

Make pudding. Combine pudding and cool whip (wisk together). Line 9x13 pan with graham crackers. You can break them to make them fit. Pour mixture on top of graham crackers. Layer graham crackers on top of pudding. Warm frosting in microwave for about 20 secs. Spread evenly over graham crackers. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours. Enjoy. I know when I make this I can stop eating it until I feel as if I'm going to vomit. But then again you might have more self control than me.

When your six year old is the adult in the house

The other day Aaron and I were driving with the girls to the mall to check out one of his clients displays. We stopped to get a bite to eat and Hailee out of the blue said "Mom, next time you and dad start to argue, close your eyes, concentrate and count to ten" as she demonstrated this Aaron and I laughed. She was obviously a lot more mature than the both of us put together. "Gee, I never thought of that Hailee" I said. "We'll have to try that". She then told us to pretend we were in an argument and give it a shot. The next morning as she sat in between us on the couch Aaron and I were disagreeing about something and I raised my voice. "Mom", she said looking at me with her ears covered and eyes closed, proceeded to mouth the numbers 1-10. What could I do but take her advice? I felt much better. She looked at Aaron and did the same thing. He followed her lead and that was that. No more argument. I guess we'll have to up her allowance since she's been giving us free marriage counseling.

Tarantula?

So Hailee's birthday is coming in a few weeks and we wanted to do something fun for her. She's never had a party where she invited her classmates before. We figured nows a good time to start. She'll be six(much to our dismay). Thats a whole other post though and I won't get into how our little girl is growing up so fast. So I was thinking and thinking. We don't want to spend $300 on My GYM(even though their party's are really fun), The Athletic clubs obstacle course or Chuck-E-Cheese(that place grosses me out). I was looking in "Baltimore Child's" magazine and found local people that will bring animals to your house. So in a few weeks for 45 minutes at our house, we will have a chinchilla, rabbit, a few lizards, huge snake, parrot, porcupine and a TARANTULA!? I didn't hear anything else after that. Now Hailee will probably love that. She picks up millipedes in the summer. She gave worms rides to the park on the back of her tricycle and picked up every secada that she could get her tiny hands on during their last invasion a couple of years ago. I'll confess, I may have molded her this way. I myself love biology and science and thought I discovered a new species when I saw my first
mole cricket at the gas station I worked at in high school. But one thing I don't dig, are spiders. My brother had a tarantula once and would bring it home once in a while. Not long after his cat Mac ate it and had two huge knots under it's chin where the fangs pierced it. That arachnid wasn't going down without a fight. I just think their creepy , but will put on a brave face for the kids. We'll be eating before hand to avoid contaminating our food. :0). It's also supposed to be educational for the kids. I opted not to add on a craft for an extra $125. Huh? They don't need a craft. Anyone had a party like this? So I'll be off to TARGET ($100 store, Holli) to get invitations along with, toilet paper , ovulation kits, milk, dvd, valentine stuff...The list goes on. On another note Aaron and I are going to some function tonight at the Maryland Golf and Country Club. I'm glad to get out of the house with my husband alone. Seriously, every time we have tried to get out lately, something has come up where we can't go. One of the kids gets sick or I have a nervous breakdown or... You know how it goes. I guess I'll be wearing my long sleeve black dress that I always wear and my slutty knee high boots. Aaron likes them. Especially just the boots;0) Sorry mom if your reading this. But I don't think theres anything you haven't heard come out of my mouth. To put it mildly.