Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Life Between the Feedings

If life were a book then this would be the title of our next chapter. In the two short weeks since Maddie's arrival our lives have completely changed (I know...Captain Obvious). Maddie is feeding about every two hours during the day and about every three hours at night and our lives operate between those feeding. On the weekend that usually means sneaking in a quick nap or one of us running out for an errand. We are still working up to an outing into the public but if we did you know that we would have leave right after Heidi finished feeding and hurry back before the next feeding. We know that this will change but until then...I am tired and going to bed.

Please enjoy Maddie at one week old




Friday, October 29, 2010

We got ourselves a baby!

I am proud to announce the arrival of Madeline Grace McDow who came into this world on Wednesday October 27th at 5:55pm. She was 7lbs 13oz and 21 inches that is a big baby for my little wife.

Once again our plans and God's plan did not line up. One of these day we would like to be privy to know just a little about what he has in store for us but I think that God enjoys the surprises.
So now you know that this is going to be a fun little story. On Sunday night we went to the hospital so that Heidi could get Cervidil to help bring her into labor (she was on the verge of Preeclampsia and since she had made 39.5 weeks wanted to get the baby delivered). After 12 hours the Cervidil did not work so they decided to go with Pitosin for more contractions in hope of bring on labor...and 12 hours later that did not work. We got discharged for the night so that Heidi could get some rest at home and then come back Tuesday night for another round. Editors note: nobody but the McDow checked into Labor & Delivery and left without a delivery. We are the few the chosen the do-it-agains.

Tuesday night we check back into the hospital and like Emerald say we kicked it up a notch. They gave Heidi cytotec in hopes that THIS would bring on labor but after 6 hours the contractions were to strong and they decided to go back to Cervidil for another 12 hours. This brings us up to 2:00pm on Wednesday and there was still no signs of Heidi going into labor. Note:we were over this process at about 6:00 am.

At this point we had two options: one - insert some medieval torture device that the medical community kindly refers to as a Foley. (Google it) Two: we have a C-Section. Heidi, not involved with the S&M society decide to go with the C-Section. It was scheduled for 5:00pm that evening and after a couple of delays sweet Madeline arrived into our world just before 6:00. As the loving husband that I am took up an offer to watch the surgery but chose not to give Heidi the play by play. During the surgery we found out that there were two reasons that Heidi did not go into labor: One Maddie has her daddy melon head and she would not have fit through the birth canal and two the cord was wrapped around her little neck. Note: If you did not know by now God does know what he is doing.

Well that is our story and we are sticking to it.

Ladies and Gentlemen...I present to you Madeline Grace McDow






Monday, September 20, 2010

Weekend Wrap Up

I don't have any pictures so I am not sure how interesting this post will be with our pictures but basically we had a great weekend and I had a great time hanging out with family all weekend. We had a great steak dinner on Friday, baby shower on Saturday ( hosted at my favorite Mother-in-Laws house) and then we caught a show with Mom and Rachel at the Pocket Sandwich Theater. Sunday after church we came home and Heidi got a great 4 hour nap that she had been needing all week. We are 5 weeks out from getting us a baby and Maddie is growing fast and wearing out Heidi so it was good that she got to sleep and I got to watch bad Sunday movies. Maddie's room is almost ready and so are we.

It was a great weekend and pics may follow.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Labor Day trip

We took our last trip as DINKS and went down to the farm for a good weekend out of the city. We showed up Saturday afternoon and since there was such a nice breeze on the patio so we started out the trip off with a nice nap. We went to town to get some food for Sunday and pick up some more fishing lures for the sacred traditional sacrifice to the the tank god. Two 3 sacrifices lures equals 4 fish. After our afternoon fishing trip we went to Orsaks for catfish and chicken fried. Great end to a Saturday. Sunday we went to visit on one of my high school friend and her new baby then back to the farm for some more fishing. It was a great weekend and now we are back in Dallas with a full September schedule and then October is Baby Time.

As most of you know we have two dogs: an Aussie and a Rottie and Rottweilers are know for their bite strength, fierceness and aggression. We, like other Rottie owners, always think that our Rottie is different and not like other dogs. Well this weekend our Dixie the great Rottweiler - bread to be a hearder, guard dog, and force to be reckoned with showed us who she truly is.

Please be advised these video can be very unsettling


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFOMLnA2Z70



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX95WgqdxGo

Monday, August 9, 2010

It has been a while

We have been getting a lot of requests for us to update our blog with all the new happenings here with those McDows.


The people have spoken and we have your answers!!!!

You said that you wanted to know about our jobs....
We both got new ones!!! I am back with Aerotek as a Recruiter and Heidi got an offer with Prestonwood Christian Academy as the Director of Communication and Web. She really likes it and is enjoying her new job AND the beneis are great. Tuition discount!!! Which means that our little Maddie will get all educated and stuff.

You wanted to know if we decided on a name...
We are going with Madeline Grace McDow and she will be coming into this world round October 28th

You wanted to know about the nursery... well it looks like the guest room without the guest bed (don't you sit there and judge us)


And finally...what you have all been waiting for...THE BELLY PICTURES


Wait for it.









HOLD...






HOLD...

PICTURE!!!!








Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Finally, another post- with pictures:)

I have been slacking off a little on my posts, but for a good reason.
I have been interviewing for the past three weeks with Prestonwood Christian Academy for their Director of Communications position! I have made it past three interviews, one to go!
Ryan and I are excited about this possibility, but we know it is in God's hands.
I have picked up a little side work for a friend of ours, so that might be another route!
I'll keep you posted as to if I get the job or not. Either way, we are blessed.

My pregnancy is going well, I can't believe we are almost at 5 months!
It seems like just yesterday that little stick read, "pregnant." We have a sonogram next week to confirm if our little one is a girl - we are pretty sure already, but we will know for sure by next Thursday. We have picked out a name we like, but will wait until we are sure to really announce it. And of course we could change our minds, again. She was going to be Makayla, until we heard another mom in church announce the name and we decided it just wasn't right for our little one.

SO that being said, I have another recipe to share.
I have to admit that I have been watching the TODAY show a lot, so I lifted this from one of their cooking segments... and of course, added my own spin.

Fresh tomato and herb pasta-









What you will need:
4 Roma tomatoes- chopped
fresh basil-2 sprigs chopped finely
fresh thyme-1 small bunch ( I used about 5 stems)
Fresh oregano-2 sprigs chopped
1/4 onion finely chopped
1 heaping tsp chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 block (small block) mozzarella cubed
Angel hair pasta

Chop up all of your fresh ingredients add salt and pepper and combine, - hold the cheese and olive oil.

Tip: If you don't know how to use fresh thyme- its easy- pull the leaves off in one swift motion from top to bottom by sliding your thumb and pointer finger down the stem.

Heat your olive oil to bubbling and then pour over your fresh ingredients- it makes a great popping sound!
Stir to coat your herbs, onions and tomatoes. Make sure to taste at this point to see if you need more salt or pepper. Set aside.

Boil pasta according to package directions- I used half a box, about enough for 4 people. Pour drained pasta over herb and tomato mixture, add cubed cheese and toss. Cover with some plastic wrap for a minute or two so cheese gets a little melty and herb mixture soaks into pasta.

This is VERY yummy.I actually grilled up some chicken to add a little extra protein and tossed in with the pasta.

Just a quick note: This is extremely herby , so you can adjust the herbs if needed. I loved it, Ryan thought it was a bit much, but I'll make it again maybe for a girls lunch, or maybe just for me! It is super light and with all the fresh ingredients, really refreshing.

Enjoy!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Mac& Cheese off...and fire, what else could you ask for on a Sunday night?

Last night at the McDow house we held a Mac & Cheese competition with some friends of ours. It was a cheesy, noodley (is that a word?) gluttony fest.






The contenders were Ham with Mac & Cheese, Truffled Sausage Mac & Cheese, Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese, Baked Mac & Cheese and mine, Green chili Mac & Cheese.

We have some very creative friends! We also had chicken, BBQ meatballs ( a recipe I got from pioneerwomancooks.com- you should check it out, yummmm!) chicken strips, seafood fondue and birthday cake for our friend Taylor.




We were all sitting on the porch as it was a beautiful Sunday, everyone was enjoying the different variations of gooey goodness and one of our friends ran around from the side of the house and said, " The House next door is on fire!" There was black smoke billowing out from the roof and flames were starting to appear.







Needless to say, that kind of ended the party atmosphere. We all ran out the front door, checking to see if anyone had called 911, making sure the guy who lived there got out ( he did) and trying to decide if we should hose down the side of our house, but by the time we got the hose, 6 fire trucks had arrived!


It was really amazing to watching the firemen and women work, rushing in the burning house and climbing on the roof, making sure that the fire was put out. It took them about 30 minutes to get the flames under control.

Everyone in the neighborhood piled onto our street, into each other's yards, one guy even brought his entire family- including the baby in the stroller! - I think this is the most excitement people on our block have seen in a long time!

So - Mac & Cheese night turned out to be extremely interesting. I won the cook off, but it pales in comparison to the excitement next door.

Please be in prayer for the family who owned the home, they were a troubled family to begin with and this of course doesn't make it any easier.

Oh and as promised, the Green Chili Mac & Cheese- warning, this is NOT health food dish!





1 stick of salted butter divided in two
1/2 of a large onion diced
2 cans of green chilies ( get the larger cans)
1 tomatillo chopped
1 small container (pint) of heavy cream
1/4 cup of flour
1/4 cup of milk to deglaze cream pan
1 box of pasta- I used mini bow tie pasta
1/2 small block of sharp white cheddar grated
1/2 small block of mozzarella grated
1/2 small block pepper jack cheese
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over top
2 cups of dry breadcrumbs
2 teaspoons of minced garlic
kosher salt to taste
black pepper to taste

Directions:
Melt half of the butter into a large saute pan and add onions and tomatillo and saute until onions are opaque. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Add in the two cans of chopped green chilies and saute about a minute. Stir in your container of heavy cream and slowly whisk in the flour. Sprinkle in black pepper- I used about 1/4 tsp. Let simmer on low until thickened.
Boil pasta and drain. make sure to run cold water over it so it gets to room temp quickly.Pour pasta into buttered large casserole dish and stir in cheeses. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese all over the top and mix. Now pour sauce over casserole and use the milk to get the residue out of the pan and pour into dish. Mix well.
In a separate dish include bread crumbs. melt the other half of the butter and pour over crumbs and include 2 tsps of garlic and a pinch of salt. mix well and spread evenly over the pasta dish.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and then pop on the broiler for a couple minutes to crisp up the top. take out when nice and toasty. Make sure to watch it carefully as it can burn very quickly!

This is really good, creamy, cheesy and about as down home as you can get.




































Friday, April 23, 2010

It's Friday night-sounds like clean out the fridge night to me!

First things first,
Ryan and I found out this week that our Baby Mac, as we have been calling the little one growing inside my ever rounding belly, is most likely a girl!!! The Doctor managed to get a really good shot of the baby with her legs sticking straight up and he said, " Yep, its a girl" But there is about a %10 chance it could still be a boy.
Highly unlikely, but we will confirm at our next sonogram in a few weeks:)

Now,
I know I promised my Green Chili Mac & Cheese next, but I actually want to make it again just to be sure it is worth posting:)
So tonight- we are having Chili beef casserole- aka left over stuff in the fridge I managed to actually concoct something quite tasty!

Here we go!

1/2 lb of browned ground beef seasoned with onions/cumin/and fajita seasoning ( my taco meat from the day before)
2 cups of white rice ( again from the day before)
1 can cream of mushroom
1/2 onion chopped
1 Anaheim chili chopped finely
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 cup softened cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheddar/jack cheese- about 1 cup

Saute onion and chili in butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, when onions are opaque throw in your garlic. Add beef,soup,rice and cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Taste warmed mixture to see if you need any extra seasoning. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with grated cheese. Pop into a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until casserole is bubbly.

Pretty darn good for leftovers!!!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Monday night kickoff

Still on the quest to become the ultimate housewife, I decided to try my hand at an old recipe last night- Cornflake Crusted Chicken.
My grandmother used to make this and I remember it was really good, but she cooked the whole thing in oil.
I have been trying to cook healthier as we have a little one on the way, so I wanted to find something that would taste just as good, but eliminate the extra calories.
I found several recipes, but decided to make my own version.
I made this just for two ( well two and a half:)

Here is what i did, and it turned out pretty well!

2 large chicken breasts- trimmed of all skin and fat
Buttermilk
1 cup cornflakes crushed
1/4 tsp each salt, black pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning and garlic powder

Soak chicken breasts in buttermilk for about 20 minutes- I simply poured it over the chicken till barley covered.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on the breasts and turn then over and repeat salt and pepper.
Place cornflakes in a plastic baggie and crush, then open up the bag and throw in your seasonings. Shake well. Then pour your mixture into a shallow bowl.
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and place chicken in crumbs. Flip chicken to coat both sides.
Place your pieces on baking sheet in over at 400 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes ( depending on how our oven cooks)

This is really tasty, relatively low calorie and super crunchy. I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and corn. I know, I know starch and starch, but it was yummy:)

Coming soon- Our mac and Cheese off!!! We are hosting a party this coming Sunday for our small group and folks are bringing their own version of Mac & Cheese to be tasted and judged- I'll post my entry into the competition a little later this week. For now, I have to start cleaning. Who knew to people and two furry kids could make house so messy!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Fun on a Tuesday

Yesterday I me up with a dear friend of mine whom I grew up with. She and her hubbie and sweet little girl now live in Nevada, so I haven't seen her in several years!
We met at Chick-Fil-A , as apparently they don't have those where she lives. When they come to Texas to visit family, they get as much of the Golden, chickany goodness as possible.
Once we entered the restaurant, she asked her adorable little 3 year old girl what she would like. Perhaps some chicken nuggets or strips? Her daughter proclaimed loudly, "No mommy, I want a hamburger!" You gotta love those little independent personalities.
After lunch I went to my folks house in Carrollton and my mother and I whipped up a batch of the most amazing gingersnaps. It is a super easy recipe- sugar, butter, eggs, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger...I'll have to dig up the exact measurements and post a little later. These would be perfect for the summer with a little peach ice cream!

I can however post what I made for dinner last night- pulled pork sandwiches and Down Home cheesy grits.

I have to admit, the pulled pork was REALLY hard work (note the sarcasm)
Ingredients-
1 barbecue season dry rubbed pork shoulder already seasoned from the store. (Yes, I cheated, but I'm a big fan of things that make life less complicated)
Place the pork shoulder in a crock pot, with 1 cup of water.
Cook on low for 10 hours.
When finished, this will practically shred it self! I served it on butter toasted buns with pickles and some additional BBQ sauce.
Whew, that was tough.

Now for some real cooking.. The cheesy grits
You will need:
3 cups water
3/4 cups instant grits
pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
ground pepper to taste
1 cup grated Cheddar/ Jack cheese.

Prepare your grits according to the package directions
In a separate saute pan, place your butter and let it melt. Add your chopped onions and caramelize. Add your garlic and lightly toast, don't burn! Add your cooked grits and stir. Now is the time to add your fresh ground pepper- I used about 4-5 twists and a pinch of salt (about a 1/4 teaspoon)
Now comes the magic, ad about 3/4 cup of your cheese and stir until melted.
Pour all of the mixture into a bowl and top with remaining cheese.
If you really want to be sinful, you can add some crumbled bacon on top.
This makes enough to serve probably 4-6 people so adjust if you don't need as much!

This was delicious and my house still smells like a Carolina kitchen:)
Tonight we will use the left over pulled pork for tacos. I'll lightly fry up some corn tortillas and serve with avocado and shredded lettuce, cilantro, onion and a squeeze of lime. Yum.

Friday, April 9, 2010

Lessons from the stay at home mom in training:)

Ok, so I normally am a proponent of meat. I love it, beef, chicken, turkey, fish you name it, I'll eat it. Well, except for liver. I won't touch that. However, I digress.
For lunch today I made a veggie wrap to kind of mimic one that Ihave had at one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas, Breadwinners.
Warm veggies mixed with a little cool lettuce, avocado, jack cheese and creamy hummus. I must admit, it turned out pretty good.
SO, I decided to share with everyone.

Again, I am lacking pictures, I need to work on that!

Some of the ingredients might sound a little strange, but trust me, it is reallllly good. I almost made another one as soon as I finished the first one!
I doubled the recipe here so you can make it for you and another person:)

You will need:
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup button mushrooms sliced ( I used the ones from a jar, but you can use fresh- they will just take longer to saute)
hummus
slices of avocado
lettuce
jack cheese shredded
kosher salt
olive oil
black pepper
flour tortillas (get the bigger ones, they are easier to roll)

Here's what you do!
Get out your favorite saute pan and saute the red pepper strips first in about a tablespoon of olive oil, throw in a pinch of kosher salt and saute for about 4 minutes, then throw in your onions and mushrooms. You might need a tad bit more olive oil just to make sure these don't stick. Use another pinch of the salt and use a bit of fresh ground pepper. Saute until onions are nice and caramelized and the mushrooms have cooked down. It should take a few minutes.

While your hot veggies are doing their thing, take a tortilla and spread a couple teaspoons of hummus all over it- this will act as the "glue" that holds the wrap together.Then, grab a couple lettuce leaves and place on 1/4 of the tortilla. Next to the lettuce put a couple slices of avocado, then grab some of your hot veggies and layer next to the avocado, throw a couple pinches of the shredded jack on the hot veggies and roll! Make sure to tuck in the sides as the veggies kinda like to slip out. I cut mine in half so it would be easier to eat, and I wanted to see what it looked like all rolled up, but you can do what you like:)
If you want you can dip in a little salsa, but my preggy tummy isn't handling spice so well these days.

This is crazy delicious and if you are trying get more veggies in your diet, this would be one way to do it.

Next time, something with meat, I promise.

Monday, April 5, 2010

New Orleans

We spent this Easter Weekend with Ryan's family in LA. No, not L.A. as in Hollywood, but Louisiana!!
We left on Thursday after Ryan got finished with work and started our road trip. After a short stop in Houston to pick up Ryan's momma, and sister and brother-in-law, we took off early Friday morning.
We went to New Orleans on Friday and enjoyed some amazing food at the Acme Oyster House. Ryan had been talking about this place for several months and it lived up to our expectations!
I think we took in our monthly allowance fried goodness- catfish, shrimp, french fries covered in cheese and gravy, and we also ate PO boys, gumbo and I can't remember what else we ordered. By the time we left, I think we were more waddling out the door then walking!
We spent the afternoon wondering down the streets of the French Quarter. I will use Ryan's mom's favorite word to describe the experience. Weird. Sort of old world beauty mixed with the interesting culture that is New Orleans.
Actually some of it was really beautiful, all of the old buildings that have been transformed into restaurants, art galleries and more. Then,there were street performers, gypsies, two of whom got into a yelling match,artists and of course more then an eye full on Bourbon Street.
Saturday morning we had fully intended on heading back to the French Quarter to enjoy the delicious delicacy known as beignets, but the city was hosting the annual Easter Race so getting into the area where they were was impossible! We decided to forgo the beignets and travelled into the 9th ward to see the progress that has taken place since Katrina.
It really is an amazing mix of progress, new buildings and re-building and then buildings that are still abandoned, crumbling and marked with spray paint to denote what rescuers found.
The new homes going up are really incredible, have funky architecture, crazy colors, you just have to see it to appreciate it. Unfortunately, we left our camera in Dallas, so hopefully we will get some pics from Ryan's sister to post up eventually.
We headed out from there to Baton Rouge to enjoy a fantastic Louisiana feast-Ryan's family knows how to cook!!! From the homemade muffalletas, jambalaya, lemon bars, desserts and this crazy drink called a yellow bird, I think we all gained about 5 lbs! We also competed in a ping-pong tournament with family. I proved that once again my talents lay more in the creative arena:) We all had a blast though.
Next year will be our turn to host, well at least Houston side:) It will be a blast to have the family together again, and we will have to make sure the have all the Texas favorites- brisket, maybe some Tex-Mex:)

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Yummy!

In my quest to really capture this housewife thing, I created my own recipe last night as a twist on an old favorite. Chicken pot pie casserole.
Really, I promise it is good. Think of it as something your mom would have made on Sunday after church. It is warm, filling and if you are craving comfort food..this is it! Plus, it is a great way to get picky eaters to eat their veggies. My sweet husband hates carrots, but I caught him standing over the casserole dish last night after dinner was over, sneaking another spoonful!

I should have taken a picture of it, it turned out really pretty, but...we devoured half of it last night!

Pictures of leftovers aren't so pretty.

Here is what you need:

4 skinless , boneless chicken breasts
1 can of jumbo buttermilk biscuits( needs to be 8 count)
1 can cream of chicken
1 can cream of mushroom
3 tablespoons of flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp celery salt
pinch of kosher salt
1 small package frozen peas
1 1/2 cups diced, cooked potatoes
1 1/2 cups diced, cooked carrots


Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350
Slice chicken into 1/4 inch strips and saute in a little bit of olive oil or non stick spray. Sprinkle with the pinch of kosher salt.
While chicken is cooking through, mix together the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl-
minus the biscuits. Those will go on top of the mixture.
Mix in cooked chicken and pour into a 9x13 baking dish.
Cut the biscuits in half so you have 16 pieces and arrange over the top of the dish.
Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Bump the heat up to 375 for the last 5 minutes so the biscuits get nice and golden and the mixture is bubbling. Make sure to let the casserole sit for at least 10 minutes so everything will thicken.

You might have to play with the time a little as I know all ovens are different.
This is seriously good and really easy to make. And if you want to be good you can use reduced fat biscuits and reduced fat cream of chicken and mushroom soups.

Make it tonight, and your family will thank you:)

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Playing Housewife

Well friends,
I am now part of the un-employed- actually it is rather an interesting story. I have been in the past job for almost 5 years- publicity and promotions for movie studios. It is a great company, but the job was starting to wear on me just a tad- late nights, stress, deadlines, the usual . I had been thinking for a while that I should maybe think about searching for another career. SO I took a big step last Thursday and actually decided to pray about it. Let me tell you right now that prayer works, but be careful what you pray for!
I asked that HE would show me, make it abundantly clear, if I was supposed to be doing something else. That afternoon I was laid off!! An answer, but not quite the way I was expecting it:)
SO for now I am getting to clean the house, something I haven't really been able to do in a long time, updating my resume, searching for my new career and reaching out to friends I haven't talked to in a long time.
I'm getting to take time to cook, read and really for the first time in a long time, de-compress.
I think my dogs are the happiest that I am home, no one has chewed, peed or otherwise destroyed the house because we are not here:)
I am actually really excited about the next step in life. I know that God is completely in control and HE has been so faithful to both Ryan and I. We are in his hands and I am excited to start this new chapter in life.
By the way in discovering yummy new things to cook, I think I'll post a few recepies here on our blog.
Tonight- Salmon- yumm.
I think I'll do a soy/brown sugar glaze
Mashed new potatos, french green beans and something citrus for dessert- maybe lemon cream pie!
I'm off to the store!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

SNOW DAY!!!!


It snowed here in Dallas today!


I got to work from home, so that means, I got to see the girls play in the snow!


Lilly and Dixie both seem to love it- in short little snippits, then the are ready to come back in and warm up!


To be quite honest, I'm actually really glad I got to stay home today. I was able to get a BUNCH of work done and still had time to do some much needed housework. I could get used to this!!




Monday, January 4, 2010

End of 2009

Well I suppose if Mr & Mrs Williams can finally update their blog then so can we. You know it has been a while when you have to go back and catch up with what you wrote just so you know where to begin. Well to sum it all up we have been busy. Spend Thanksgiving weekend down at the farm with a stinky skunk who decided that he wants to live under the house. Dixie had a great time getting to explore all that is the farm and gave a curious effort to get into the tank, maybe next time. December was full of events mainly our Home Team Christmas Chili Cook-Off Party where I might have committed myself to one session of Bikram Yoga.




Here is a picture of our Hometeam

For Christmas Day we had some friends and Heidi's folks over for a Christmas brunch and then kicked everyone out so we could take a Christmas nap after putting away a couple of cinnomon rolls, pancakes, & breakfast casserol. Due to scheduling conflicts we had our Headley Christmas with Heidi's folks and her brother and his family on Sunday but we all had some left over Christmas Cheer so fun was had by all.

Oh and we were bums for New Years Eve...

I know this was kind of random but Heidi is the writer in the family and there is to much to cover for my abilities.

Have a great 2010!