Fallen Heros

"Just called to see how your night went. Love you babe!". That would have been the last thing I said to my husband had things went differently Monday. You see, my husband is a St. Petersburg Police Officer and was one of the first officers sent to a house where 2 of his fellow officers were shot and killed. I want to say God was watching over him yesterday, but how would the wives of the other officers feel about that? Was God not watching over their husbands as well? I can't answer those questions, but I can say I am thankful. I am thankful that my husband made it home alive. I am also thankful that I married a man who isn't afraid to serve and protect his community. I asked my husband how it was that he didn't end up in that house. He said when they gave out assignments he was told to go in the back of the house and had they told him to go in the front he would have went without question. That is what service is all about. To go where others would not go, without question. Needless to say, I am thankful he is alive tonight and I ask for all your thoughts and prayers to go out those officer's families who did not make it home. You can read more about this news story here.

Baby Smiles!

B is for baby smiles! Boy are those hard to capture on camera! These where taken while waiting at a doctors office. I never did capture his best smile....but they were still cute :0)

Wordless Wednesday's

What have you been eating?

I wanted to do a post and encourage my readers to tell me what they have been making in their kitchen. I figured I would start out by telling you what I have been doing my kitchen!

I have been trying lots of new recipes, and making some tried and true recipes. We have really cut back how often we eat out, so that means more home cooked meals. I get tired of the same old recipes, so I like to spice things up a bit and try some new things out!!! Here is a list of some things I've been cooking in my kitchen!

1. Rachael Ray's Lion's Head (Asian pork meatballs and cabbage)
2. Best Ever Bread Machine bread (I've been making this in my kitchen aid, and it has been turning out great!)
3. Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle
4. Shredded Pork Taquitos (I omitted the cheese in the taquitos I made for myself and they still tasted really good!)
5. Hamburgers

My Yummy Hamburgers

Ok, so if you know me, you would know that I have NEVER been a big fan of hamburgers. However, when I was pregnant with baby Atlanta that all changed. I can not get enough of them.....especially the ones I make myself. I am still not a big fan of the fast food chains hamburgers, but I personally think I make a killer burger. Here is my burger method! Try it out sometime!!!

Georgia's Burgers

Ingredients

• 80/20 ground chuck
• onions sliced
• salt and pepper
• good quality hamburger buns
• white American cheese
• butter

Turn broiler on high.
Using 2 pieces of wax paper, press out a THIN small hamburger. I use about 1/4 cup of meat per hamburger. Make all your burgers. Generously salt and pepper each side of the burger. Get a large skillet smoking hot. Place burgers in skillet (don't crowd them) and place sliced onion on top of each burger. Let it cook for a could 5 minutes. Flip burgers, the onions should now be touching the skillet and frying.  Meanwhile, butter all your buns, place them butter side up on a baking sheet and place under broiler. Let them brown and remove. Your burgers should now almost be done. You can use your spatula and gather all the onions and continue frying them if they aren't done enough. Place one slice of white American cheese on each burger. Place onions on top. Place burger on toasted bun. Top with your choice of condiments. Serve.

Goals for today!

This post is dedicated to my friend Gene over at Living so Abundantly. She always encourages me to set goals and meet them!!! So, today I have decided to take her lead and set some goals! Let's see if I can actually get it all done!!!

1. Work on the laundry
2. Bake some cookies
3. Make meatballs
4. Keep Savannah entertained without the televisions help!
5. Have Savannah sleep in her big girl bed for nap
6. Work on my blog
7. Work on Savannahs potty training

Ok....I'm getting depressed just writing this!!!! I hope I can at least attempt all these things. So let me get off this computer and GET TO WORK!!!!

Camera Critters

I took this photo while visiting the Florida Aquarium (see post here). I've been looking for the actual name of this bird and haven't found it. I always see this bird when walking at the lake by my house, so I know it is fairly common. If you know the name leave me a comment!!



Add caption



Beautiful Florida Sunset

Key West, FL

Thankful Heart

I'm a nurse. I work at a pediatric office. I see sick kids every day. I often notice that parents think their kids are "always sick" and worry endlessly about the sniffles, or that cough that "just won't go away". I understand these concerns because I am a mom too. I always worry about my kids. But sometimes as a nurse you see a kid, or a family that puts the sniffles, and the cough into perspective and makes you truly thankful for the happy, healthy, smart, playful, funny, cute children you have. It makes you thankful that you are there for them to clean them, feed them, nurture them and love them. After the rocky start baby Atlanta had, it really made me thankful for the children I have!

Living in Arizona while in the Air Force

I would like to take credit for coming up with this "A" combination, but I must give it to my husband. The photos taken for this post were taken LONG before I owned a digital camera, so they were scanned in the "old fashion" way!!! This is my tribute to my 4 years I was in the United States Air Force. I grew up in the Air Force. I went in as a young 17 year old without much direction and came out a confident, married, young lady. I credit the Air Force for giving me the courage and confidence to pursue ANYTHING I put my mind too!!!

My husband

I met my husband 10 years ago when we were both stationed in Arizona. I was 17yrs old and he was 18 yrs old. We were married less than 6 months later in a court room in Honolulu, Hawaii. No. I was not pregnant, just madly in love. You see, we were both in the military. I was being sent to Fort Gordon, GA and he was stationed at Pearl Harbor. The only way for the Air Force to change my orders was for us to get married! We have had our share of ups and downs, but I have so many things to be thankful for when it comes to my husband. Brad Paisley has a new song out that talks about if his son is anything like him, and that got me thinking how lucky I would be if our new baby son was like his daddy. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke, he comes home to be with his family everyday, he is a great father and caring husband. He works hard to make money for his family and he is very responsible. He isn't afraid to tell me that he loves me and our kids. He is a good guy, and a wonderful husband.

Pretzel Rolls - DAIRY FREE and EGG FREE

Ever tried finding hamburger buns that contained no dairy or eggs? It is possible, but a lot of buns start our with milk, or are made with an egg bread recipe. I found this recipe in the Food Network Magazine January/February 2011 edition. I have made it four times already!!!! So I had to share it with everyone because it made wonderful hamburger buns that me and my girl could eat!!!

Pretzel Rolls

1 Tbs active dry yeast
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup baking soda for poaching

1. Put 1 cup warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle in yeast. Set aside to bloom, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and mix with the dough hook on the lowest setting until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until the dough is elastic and smooth. About 8 minutes.
2. Form the dough into a ball, place in a large oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest in a warm place until doubled in size. About 30 to 35 minutes. Line a baking sheet with foil, coat generously with cooking spray and set aside.
3. Punch down the dough then turn out onto a floured surface. Knead just until dough is smooth and springs back when poked. Divide into 4 pieces and form in into rolls. Place rolls on prepared baking sheet and cut four 2-inch diagonal slashes across the top of each bun. Let rest.
4. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 425 and bring 8 cups water to a boil in a large pan. Stir the baking soda into the boiling water (it will foam slightly, so be sure to use a large enough pan). Add 2 buns a poach 2 minutes per side. Using a slotted spoon remove the rolls. Drain and place on baking sheet, cut-side up. Sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
5. Bake the rolls until golden, 12-15 minutes. Let cool slightly on the baking sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

Zipping Around!

Finshing nursing school was a huge milestone in my life! I wanted to get away and not have to worry about studying or writing papers. So my husband and I went to Lake Tahoe for some adventures in the snow. My husband, a Florida native, had never played in the snow. This was his favorite snow activity.....zipping around in snow mobiles! I got to say, this Ohio native also fell in love with skiing and snow mobiling on this vacation!

A Day in the Life

                                   Florida Aquarium - Tampa

So our Saturday started out with mommy not getting much sleep the night before. I finally got the baby to sleep about 7am when Savannah woke up. I sent her out to her daddy thinking I could catch another hour of sleep, but between her crying for me and then the baby wanting to eat....I figured it just wasn't meant to be and I got up.

I gathered the troops and got everyone dressed, me showered and we headed out the door to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. I bought us a family pass last year for Savannah's birthday, so I wanted to get one last use out of it.

I must say the Florida Aquarium is the nicest aquarium I've ever been too (and we have visited quiet a few!). They really have it set up nicely for toddlers and even older babies. Savannah has been able to enjoy it since the time she was 9 months old. It is also small enough that it doesn't take all day. You can do the whole thing in either one morning (i.e. before nap) or one afternoon (i.e. after nap).

They also have a large out door play area. During the summer months, they turn the water on and it is an excellent water play area. It was nice because Savannah played with her daddy while I nursed Atlanta.

Savannah was asleep before we even left the parking lot. Like many other children, she decided that the 45 minute ride home was her nap for the day. So needless to say the rest of our day was spent dealing with a whiny almost 2 year old! I will not bore you with those details!!! However, if you are ever in the Tampa Bay area, the Florida Aquarium is an amazing place to spend time!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle - DAIRY FREE EGG FREE

As a mom who has kids who are sensitive to dairy, I am always on the hunt for a good cookie recipe I can make that does not contain dairy. I was on Crisco's website and saw a Grandmother who wrote in on their forum that her grandson had an egg and milk allergy and she was having a hard time finding Christmas cookies to make that did not contain milk and eggs! Well, as a pediatric nurse, I know first hand that there are many children that have both dairy and egg allergies. When I started making this recipe I realized it did not contain eggs! I got excited and decided to post this on my blog. Note: I use 60% dark chocolate chips in my recipe. My son has a dairy sensitivity, not allergy, and I found I can eat dark chocolate in moderate amounts without making him sick.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Brittle
1 cup butter flavored crisco + 2 Tbs water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips divided
1 cup chopped nuts (keeps cookie moist)

Preheat oven to 375
Beat butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in large bowl. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in 1 1/2 cups morsels and nuts. Press into ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and set. Cool until just slightly warm. Microwave remaining 1/2 cup morsels. Place into small plastic bag. Cut a tiny corner from bag. Drizzle chocolate over cookie. Allow to cool break cookie into pieces.

No words needed!!