White Bean Chicken Chili - Yummy!

This afternoon the kids helped me make one of my favorite cold weather recipes - white bean chicken chili. It is very yummy and extremely easy to make . . . . . . . you only need four ingredients. Plus, it is a crock pot recipe, so you can throw everything in and let the crock pot do the rest. Here is the recipe for anyone who is interested.

White Bean Chicken Chili
-4 cans white northern beans

-1 can/jar salsa (16 oz.)*

-1 reg. size block colby/jack cheese

-1-1.5 lbs. chicken (your choice)**

Cut cheese into slices and combine with beans and salsa in a crock pot. Cook chicken and cut into small pieces. Add to crock pot and cook until cheese is melted and everything is nice and hot.

*I use fresh salsa - sweet onion or wild mild.

** I use 5 pieces of GFS boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

It really is that simple. Enjoy! :)

SOLD!!!

Today, we sold the Mazda Tribute! Yeah. Tracey posted it on the GVSU Barter Board where we had one person contact us, but never showed up to look at it. I posted it in the Grand Rapids Press and received 0 calls. Then, I put it on Craig's List and the buyer found it.

Birthday Party Fun!

This past Sunday, we were invited to a birthday party for our niece, Payton, who turned four. It has held at the Holland Aquatic Center and was lots of fun! The kids had a great time playing with each other in the water. I think the adults did, too . . . . . . at least those of us who were brave enough to wear a swimsuit in November. :)

After swimming, we enjoyed cake, ice cream, and watching the kids break open a Dora the Explorer pinata. Overall, a great time was had by all. Thank you Cam and Dria, for inviting us. It was a lot of fun! Happy Birthday to Payton, too.

Turkey Hat

In preparation for Thanksgiving, Clara's class at school made cute little turkey hats for the kids to wear. Clara liked hers so much that her teacher told us she insisted on wearing it all day . . . . . . except during nap time, of course. When she woke up from her nap that day, the first thing she asked for was her hat. We thought she was pretty cute when we picked her up from daycare and saw her wearing it. She was quite proud, and we were, too. What a turkey! :)

Stong Willed Kids

Our kids are both strong willed. We sensed Kyle's strong will within the first 24 hours he was born, particularly when the nurse at the hospital told us, "he doesn't like to be messed with." He was a colicky baby and has had a mind of his own ever since.

Clara on the other hand is a bit different. She started out very easy, but her strong will became more evident as she approached her second birthday. Now that she is almost 2 and a half years old, we get to see her little personality on a more regular basis. Of course she saves these moments for Craig and I mostly, and has everyone at daycare fooled. Just this weekend when she was having a tantrum (I call them the 'terrific' two tantrums), we put her downstairs in her crib, came upstairs and turned the baby monitor on. After a few minutes, I went down to check on her and asked her if she was ready to come upstairs and be a good girl. I opened up her bedroom door to find her buck naked in her crib . . . . . even her pull up was off! I suppose this was her little way of rebeling against us. It makes me wonder what she will do when she is a teenager!

Does anyone else out there have kids who have done this before? Kyle never pulled this trick, so this is a new one for us. Let's hope it doesn't become a regular occurrence. :)

We can cook!

We are busy people. We both hold full-time (plus) jobs, have one child in feeding therapy, another in sports, and a house and yard to maintain. Because of all of this, we do not have time to cook. We usually load up on quick and easy meals at the grocery store and rarely cook something that requires a recipe. Well, tonight, we had a feast! On Friday, I received a GFS cooler bag with steak and cheese cake inside of it for a project reward! So, we took advantage of it. Tracey made some awesome red skin mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. I grilled the steak in 35 degree weather on a 650 degree grill! Add some wine, and we had an awesome meal! Tracey is not someone who likes red meat and has not had a steak in years. Tonight, she proclaimed her conversion and has already asked me to look for some good recipes for more steak to grill! What a woman!

ZZZZZZ...ZZZZZZ...ZZZZZZ...

Tracey and I upgraded our bed to a Select Comfort Sleep Number bed. We have had it for about one month and absolutely love it! Tracey has her side set for soft - 30, and I have mine set a bit firmer - 50. We really were not sleeping well on our lumpy 12-years old, hard as a rock, old mattress with a beautiful floral pattern. We donated it to a battered women's shelter and hope it finds someone who enjoys something a little firmer. As for us, we will be enjoying much better sleep.

Ready for Winter!

I can't believe it's snowing already! I guess I shouldn't be suprised though . . . . . . we do live in Michigan. I have been feeling so unprepared for winter this past week, probably because I knew Kyle had NO winter gear whatsoever from last year that still fit him. He has grown so much in the last few months, we determined he would need all new winter gear this year - a new jacket, snowpants, boots, hat AND gloves. I have been dreading this shopping trip because I knew it was going to be an expensive one. However, we found a great deal today on a new jacket and snow pants for Kyle. We also found a hat and gloves, and everything was 25% off. I love a good deal! Now Kyle is all set for winter . . . . . . except for a pair of snow boots. He can't wait to play in the snow!

As for Clara, she hasn't grown much in the last year (are you suprised?). She will be wearing all of her winter gear from last year, except for a new pair of boots . . . . . . her feet have grown a couple of sizes. I am glad we don't have to buy all new winter apparel for both kids this year. Can anyone else relate to this?

Okay, Craig is asking me to log off the computer so he can order some boots for Kyle. I will be glad to have our winter apparel in order very soon . . . . . . it will be one more item off of my 'to do' list - yeah!

Bring on the snow! Okay, maybe not. :)

For Sale

We picked up our new car on Saturday! It has a lot of cool techno-gadget features and is a blast to drive. Now, our garage is nearly to the max with 3 cars, so we are looking to unload the Mazda Tribute - see below. It was just posted for sale tonight, so hopefully we will sell it soon. If not, I guess I will have a 4x4 for the winter too!

Happy Halloween!

We hope that everyone had a Happy Halloween! As you can see from the pictures below, Kyle dressed up as a police officer this year and Clara was Tigger. The kids had fun driving their John Deere Gator around the neighborhood and going trick or treating. Fortunately, there were no tricks this year . . . . . . . just treats.

I stayed behind and passed out candy to the kids in our neighborhood. We had about 30 trick or treaters. It was fun to see all the kids in their costumes.

Kyle and I counted his Halloween candy for a homework assignment at school. He had 66 pieces of candy! Clara received about that much as well. I think it's safe to say we have enough candy in the house (too much) to last until Christmas . . . . . . . maybe even Easter.

Last Soccer Game

Kyle had his last soccer game of the fall season this past Monday. Kyle did great and his team won! In fact, I think his team won every game this season, which was fun to watch. It was very cold that evening, so it is probably a good thing that the season has ended. Kyle will more than likely play soccer again in the spring. Until then, we're not sure what other activity he will get involved in. I would like to sign him up for an art class, but I think Craig has other ideas. We shall see . . . . . .