Wordless Wednesday

Cha-Cha-Cha Changes!!

Instead of doing housework, taking a shower, finishing up some data entry, or doing anything relatively productive while Elli took her nap this morning...I changed my blog!! Not feeling super great about all the work that has now been moved to this afternoon, but it sure was fun at the time!! Hope you like the changes :) I'm still working on what I want to do w/ the header...maybe I'll work on that during her next nap!

SUPER Easy Enchiladas!!

I love to play around with recipes, and this is my latest creation. I've made it for most of my family members and they all seem to really like it. It started from the back of the enchilada sauce can, and I tweaked it to fit our family. The great thing is that you can totally make it your own w/ a few minor adjustments. See the end of the post for some suggestions :)

Ingredients:

8 tortillas

1 lb ground beef

Taco Seasoning

1 can of Rotel (I use mild)

1 can of Enchilada Sauce (I use medium)

1/2 onion chopped (you can omit if you don't like onion)

3/4 cup shredded cheese

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9x13 dish w/ cooking spray.

Brown the meat w/ the onions, and drain the fat. Add the taco seasoning according to directions. Pour in the can of Rotel, about 1/2 the can of enchilada sauce, and about 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Stir, and bring to a simmer. Scoop about 3 heaping Tbsp. of the meat mixture into a tortilla, roll it up and place it seam-side down in the dish (I use a ladle & it makes it pretty easy). Continue scooping & rolling until you fill all 8 tortillas...make sure you have a little bit of the meat mixture left in pan at the end. Pour that remaining mixture over the rolled tortillas and spread it around. Then pour the *remaining* enchilada sauce down over that and spread it around as well. Top w/ the rest of the cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes.

**I don't like my enchiladas very saucy, so I usually end up w/ about 1/4 of the can of sauce left; however, you can use all of it and make it super saucy...it's up to you.**

You can make these enchiladas a lot healthier by using whole wheat tortillas & low-fat cheese (or cutting down on the cheese). And you can make it as hot/mild as you like by experimenting w/ different flavors of Rotel & enchilada sauce. Add japs if you like it super hot, or add black beans for a different texture. The above recipe is how we do it at our house, but it's so easy to change it up!! I hope you try them, and I'd love to hear what y'all add/omit when you do!

A Song for Thursday

Have you heard the song "What Faith Can Do" by Kutlass? Oh my gosh, go to Youtube right now and look for it. It is so uplifting and powerful. In the midst of all the chaos and confusion of this world, God is still here working His miracles in and through us. I love this song b/c it speaks to my heart, and reminds me of what I know deep down in my soul to be true. Faith can move mountains, restore hope to the hopeless, and lift up even the most downtrodden. I know I've seen it in my life, and I'm willing to bet that, at least once, you've seen it in yours as well.

Here are the lyrics to my favorite song of the moment...enjoy :)

**And don't forget to listen on Youtube or iTunes, I promise it's worth it!**

"What Faith Can Do"

Kutlass

Everybody falls sometimes,
Gotta find the strength to rise,
From the ashes, and make a new beginning.
Anyone can feel the ache,
You think it’s more than you can take,
But you are stronger, stronger than you know.
Don’t you give up now,
The sun will soon be shining.
You gotta face the clouds,
To find the silver lining.

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains,
Hope that doesn’t ever end,
Even when the sky is falling.
And I’ve seen miracles just happen,
Silent prayers get answered,
Broken hearts become brand new...
That’s what faith can do.

It doesn’t matter what you’ve heard,
Impossible is not a word,
It’s just a reason for someone not to try.
Everybody’s scared to death,
When they decide to take that step,
Out on the water,
It’ll be alright.
Life is so much more,
Than what your eyes are seeing,
You will find your way,
If you keep believing.

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains,
Hope that doesn’t ever end,
Even when the sky is falling.
And I’ve seen miracles just happen,
Silent prayers get answered,
Broken hearts become brand new...
That’s what faith can do.

Overcome the odds,
You don't have a chance,
(That’s what faith can do)
When the world says you can’t,
It’ll tell you that you can!

I’ve seen dreams that move the mountains,
Hope that doesn’t ever end,
Even when the sky is falling.
And I’ve seen miracles just happen,
Silent prayers get answered,
Broken hearts become brand new...
That’s what faith can do.
That's what faith can do!

Even if you fall sometimes,
You will have the strength to rise.

Happy 5 Month Birthday, Elli!!

I know I say this every month, but Holy Cow where is the time going?! Can it have really been 5 months since that sweet baby girl came into our lives? That's almost half of a year...what?! I mean, of course I want her to continue to thrive & grow, but can we do it a little bit slower please?! Next thing I know she'll be crawling around telling me that she needs chocolate (I assume this will be what she says since she is my daughter, after all!). I'm not sure I'm ready for that!

What has she been up to these days? Well, let's see...she hams it up for the camera on a pretty regular basis (as shown in these pics!), continues to roll over both ways, is sitting up on her own, LOVES her new bouncer, squeals with laughter when she's happy, jabbers away with me while I'm cooking dinner, and has an affinity for things that go on her head. Oh wait, that last one might have been mine :) We're continuing to hold off on Rice Cereal b/c, well...girlfriend is definitely not hurting in the weight department and I still just don't think she's ready. And we are looking for a new way to give her baths. She's outgrown her small tub, but she can't really sit up well enough (for a long enough period of time) for us to move to the big tub. If you saw our bathroom, you'd understand...it's a parent's bath-giving nightmare!! Our kitchen sink is divided, and both sections are pretty small so that's out. I did see a pretty cool thing that fits in the kitchen sink the other day, but I'm not sure I want to spend over $50 for it. Any of your mommies out there have any other ideas?

Let's see, what else? She wears size 3-6 mo. clothes, but 6-9mo. sleepers (her poor little feet get all squished in the smaller ones!). Her hair is really starting to grow in, and I think it gets more and more strawberry blonde each day. She reaches for me to pick her up when I'm done changing her diaper, and she still sports a smile every morning when I go in to wake her up. She's doing great with sleeping as well. Most nights she'll sleep from 10 (when I give her a "dream-feed") to 7:30/8ish, but if she does wake up, it's only once at around 4AM. If that happens, she just takes a bottle and goes right back to sleep. She takes 3 naps a day, and they last about 1-1.5 hours. She still isn't really a cryer...now she has more of a shriek to get our attention and then she's done. She loves books just like her mommy, and she loves doing "Super Elli" with her daddy as he flies her around the room. Every time she laughs she gives herself the hiccups, and she is just about the most endearing thing I have ever seen. I don't know how it's possible, but I love her more every single day.

Elli wearing a sweet little jumper that my friend, Sam, knitted for her. Yes, I said knitted! This super cute outfit is totally handmade...oh, and it has bloomers too!! You should see the whole thing in person...it's simply too precious for words!

Me? Oh, you think I'm cute? Why, thank you. Thank you very much! :)

This cute-ums hat was a Valentines gift from GG & Grandaddy. Isn't it just devine?! Oh, how I love it...and Elli does too :)

The Cleaning Fairy

I just wanted to thank ALL of you for the tips on how to keep my house just a little bit more clean! I'm loving The Fly Lady...why have I never heard of her before?! I mean, you all know how much I love lists & organization, and she's like the organization QUEEN!! Thanks for that sweet piece of info ladies! And I think I've decided to invest in The Shark for mopping my floors. I love that it only uses water...that's just genius! My whites are now whiter thanks to Tide w/ Bleach Alternative + OxyClean WITH the soap, and my dishes are spot-free thanks to the amazing cleaning powers of Jet Dry!! What would I do without you guys? I'm thinking that I'd be living in a house that was just a little bit more dingy grey with A LOT more spots :) But seriously, all of your tips really helped, and I super appreciate them. I am now officially the cleaning fairy. Now where did I put my wings?!?

Valentine's Day Wreath

I absolutely LOVE the blog, "Living with Lindsey". She does this thing called "Teach Me Tuesday" where she browses the blog-o-sphere and finds fun crafts to teach her readers. Awhile back I found this super cute Valentines Day Wreath, and I thought I'd give it a try. I spent about $7 on it, all said and done, and I think it was worth it!! The original wreath creator has much better pictures than I do, but I thought I'd show you how I did it so that you can see how truly easy it was :) Who knows...maybe you'll try it out too!!

You will need:

Scrap Fabric (cut into 2x2 in squares)

Elmers Glue

1 Foam Heart (you can find it online or at JoAnns)

A pencil

A ribbon to hang your wreath with

Start w/ some fabric scraps...

Place the fabric on the pointy end of the pencil, and dip lightly in Elmer's Glue

**Make sure it's the pointy end...I'm speaking from experience here!! Heehee!**

Press the pencil & fabric into the foam heart and hold for about 2 seconds. Repeat about a million times, making sure that you get the fabric pretty close together.

I stapled my ribbon to the back of my wreath, and then tacked it to the top of my front door. I think it looks pretty good for $7, & it only took about 2 hours to complete!!

Happy Crafting!!