A family tradition...

When I was a little girl, I had one of these that my mother did for me! I loved it and I started it with my boys this year. It has a cute little saying at the top with 25 candy canes tied to it on the bottom with a bell at the end! Jacob is anxious to start it tonight :) They get to eat two candy canes since we didn't do it last night.
A picture of the whole thing :)

I cooked this today and it smells GREAT! I am loving my crockpot :) I added my BBQ Sauce in the beginning...I think it cooks into the ribs better 1 rack of pork baby back ribs

1/2 C brown sugar

1 T garlic powder

1 tsp pepper

6 oz cola (Coke or Dr. Pepper work well)

BBQ sauce, optional

1. Mix the brown sugar, garlic powder, and pepper. Rub over the ribs.

2. Place ribs in crockpot.

3. Pour in the cola.

4. Cook on low 8-9 hours. For the last hour of cooking, add 1/2 C bbq sauce, or just hold and serve on the side.I’ll bake frozen french fries to serve with the ribs and add a quick fruit or veggie salad. Or serve with rice & beans or whatever quick/frozen side you have on hand. My husband likes to take the meat off and make kind of a pulled pork sandwich. Great for evenings when everyone is on a different schedule cuz it’s ready when the first person gets home!

Fleece Scarf

Materials Needed

3 - 6 inch x 60 in piece of fabric

Scissors

Sewing Maching

Directions:

1. Place the three pieces of fleece one on top of each other in a stack.
2. Sew a seamdown the center of the three pieces of fabric.
3. Then cut one inch slits towards the seam.
4. When both sides are cut you have you a new scarf!

Super easy to make...only took about 30 minutes!

Crock Pot Chicken and Rice

Ingrediants

•3 cans (10 3/4 oz ea) condensed cream of chicken soup

•2 cups quick cooking rice

•1 cup water

•1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or tenders

•1/2 tsp salt

•1/4 tsp black pepper

•1/4 tsp paprika

•1/2 cup chopped celery

Directions

Mix all together in crockpot. Cook on High for 4 hours or on low for 6-8

Pumpkin Trifle

*Diabetic Friendly!

Ingredients

1 package (14-1/2 ounces) gingerbread cake mix

1-1/4 cups water

1 egg

4 cups cold fat-free milk

4 packages (1 ounce each) sugar-free instant butterscotch pudding mix

1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger, nutmeg and allspice

1 carton (12 ounces) frozen reduced-fat whipped topping, thawed

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, water and egg, beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Pour into an ungreased 8-in. square baking pan.

Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. When completely cooled, crumble the cake. Set aside 1/4 cup crumbs for garnish. In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Stir in pumpkin and spices until well blended. In a trifle bowl or 3-1/2-qt. glass serving bowl, layer a fourth of the cake crumbs, half of the pumpkin mixture, a fourth of the cake crumbs and half of the whipped topping. Repeat layers. Garnish with reserved cake crumbs. Serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

Yield: 18 servings.Nutritional Analysis: One serving (3/4 cup) equals 194 calories, 6 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 13 mg cholesterol, 451 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 4 g protein.

Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fat.

Christmas Family Pictures

We took family pictures yesterday, it was truly a great session! Mason wasn't in the best of moods, but he got in to it at the end of the session. Here are few sneak peaks that we were given :)

Mason

My baby boy is getting so big! He is not really a baby anymore - more like a little boy. He will always be momma's baby. He just loves ice cream after dinner. I think that is why they like to go get Mexican food the most for dinner because they know what they get if they eat good. Yes, he does make a mess, but who can say "no" to a face like that! I love this little man...he's so very smart!

Deer Hunting

This past weekend, we took Jacob hunting for his first Opening Weekend. It wasn't his first hunt, but it was his first hunt with his momma. It was also his first time he saw a deer shot. Sean was able to tag a doe this past weekend! Thank goodness because we needed the deer meat in the freezer. It is truly a blessing to be fortunate enough to get to do things in the outdoors with our children. It takes them back to their roots and allows them to connect with nature! Jacob just loves hunting. He gets it honest. We cannot wait to start taking Mason, they are going to be my Big Hunters before too long.

My blog for my classroom

Hooray for me! I finally got around to making a website for my 5th grade class. I'm super excited that I get to share all our cool things going on with people outside of the class!

http://cooperhighlands.blogspot.com/

Caramel Apple Tarts

Today, we baked Caramel Apple Tarts.

All done and pretty successful! They are for dessert tonight - yummy!

Fall is upon us...

Fall is upon us and there is nothing better than hot coffee with the kids bundled up on the couch. I realized today that my new favorite Scentsy scent is Pear Apple Cider...it is delightful! I am seriously in love. The kids are enjoying the cooler weather as they get to play outside. We have been battling the mosquito's, but that's what this time of year brings to us in deep South Texas.

Finally, we got a few rain showers this past week. My yard sure did enjoy it. I haven't had to water my plants this week. My winter perennials are really blooming. I think that was a sign that they were appreciative of the little rain.

The past few weeks we have been enjoying riding the Honda Big Red on the pipelines near our house. It has been a real adventure as last week we got to see a nice size buck run out in front of us! Mason really liked it! Sean was able to have a seat built in the bed of the Honda so now it seats six! Yesterday was the first day we got to enjoy the new seat on our ride. We all had to try it out and it received every one's approval. Jacob said, "Its really cool, mama". Its afternoon rides like these that make me want to stay where we are currently living or a place similar that we can enjoy wildlife right outside our doors. I am veering farther away from a neighborhood house as it wouldn't be as exciting for the boys.

Sean and I weren't successful in killing a deer during bow season this year. Maybe next year we will be more prosperous. Rifle season starts next weekend. We will be at our lease in East Texas near Sam Rayburn attempting to find us a nice buck or doe. Lord knows we need some venison in our freezer. We haven't had any in a few months and meat sure has skyrocketed in price.

Today is going to be filled with baking with Brooke. Pictures I'm sure will be posted of our projects. We are getting together at Bubba and Mel's to decorate the trailer for Halloween Trick-or-Treating for tomorrow night. I am super excited as we are all going to get to be together as a family and let the little one's enjoy their youth!

Times like these make me realize how blessed we are to have such a wonderful family and life. God is truly good to us in all that he gives!

Our Junior Firefighter at school today! It was fire saftey week at Mont Belvieu Assembly of God Children's Day Out. The firefighters and the big truck visited them today! Jacob was just so excited to show off his hat and badge to his Nanny and Papa.

He just loves preschool and is doing so GREAT! We are so very proud of him.

I was so very proud to see a picture of him in my email today by his Nanny (my mom-Jo Eastman). This little boy is growing up too fast and it just melts my heart at just how much he is excited about learning! He is the best little 3 year old a mother could ask for. Mason will have alot to look up to as they grow up.