Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm, Monday!

So I think I am going to try to do this as frequently as I can.  I LOVE to cook and find new recipes for all occasions.  Any recipes that I find have to be fairly easy and not have crazy ingredients/spices that you wouldn’t normally have.  I know I have like 2 readers, but if you like to cook or think you can’t cook (Beth)…give these a try!  They are tried and true by me personally and we all know how much I LOVE to eat.  So to start this new tradition, I think I will  go with….drum roll please….                   CHICKEN SALAD 

It is spring and the perfect time for refreshing foods.  Once I tried this recipe by emmaxwell, I was in heaven. 

Ingredients:

4 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat

1 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 cups dried cranberries

1 cup chopped celery

2 green onions, chopped

1/2 cup minced green bell pepper

1 cup chopped pecans

1 teaspoon seasoning salt

ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together mayonnaise with paprika and seasoned salt. Blend in dried cranberries, celery, bell pepper, onion, and nuts. Add chopped chicken, and mix well. Season with black pepper to taste. Chill 1 hour.

Serve with your favorite cracker and enjoy!!

March Wrap Up!

Seriously been too busy to blog.  Lots of things have been going on around here in Moncrief Land.  Most importantly, I went back home for spring break to visit family.  We started out in Austin, then on down to Aransas Pass, then back to Austin, and finally back to Dallas!  Very busy trip!

Austin Part 1:  We went to visit Aunt Sharon and Uncle Rusty in Buda.  They have a beautiful piece of land out in the middle of the country, so the kids enjoyed roaming around.  We also ventured out to Salt Lick for some tasty BBQ!

Aransas Pass/Ingleside:  We pretty much just laid around and visited family for about 3 days…great food and lots of rest!  Pretty obvious being that I didn’t even take my camera out that much…we were that lazy!  The pics below are at my BFF Jennifer’s house.  Clearly, Emerson knew she could not go on the stairs, so she hung out the only place she could! (Jocelyn, in the pic with Campbell, is Jenn’s daughter.  Her and Campbell are the same age)

Austin Part 2:  We went and visited our friends Lisa, Caden, and Connor.  Campbell and Caden had a lot of fun while Lisa and I caught up on lots of gossip and drama!  Again, being very lazy, the camera didn’t come out.  I did get a pic of the boys on my iphone, though!

Finally, back home to Dallas!  I had enough time to walk in the door and shower before I was off to the Black-Eyed Peas concert with the best group of Tech girls EVER!!! (PS…no, Megan was not drinking!)

Finally a little relaxation with the hunkiest man in the world and the two best gifts I have ever received!!

Is It Really March?

I cant believe that March is already here.  I am so excited to FINALLY have a week of freedom, fun, and family.  A lot has been going on around here as you will see.  I hate that I haven’t fulfilled my resolution of blogging 3 times a week, but I am happy with what I have done so far.  First off, Wes and Campbell went to the Monster Truck Jam at Cowboy Stadium and had a wonderful time.  Great bonding…ha!

Emerson Mae is just talking up a storm…She has been babbling since she was born and we just knew she was going to be a talker like her mother.  She has been saying simple words like mama, dada, ball, etc. since late last summer.  I can’t believe I am just now blogging about her talking…never too late.  I had two videos from bath time, but I wasn’t paying attention to camera placement, so I will have to send those out through email, but will work hard to get more videos of her talking.  She doesn’t cooperate very often…she is happy all the time, but has a definite mind of her own.  Her way or the highway kinda thing!

She says things like: thippycup (sippy cup), boop (book), bow, all dee (all done) dog, cat, pees (please), thank you, yuv you, hi everybody, eat, nack (snack), up, no way, doe away(go away), stop, thock, thoos (sock, shoes), nose, ees (ears), head, dance, and the list goes on!  She also signs for more, please, thank you.  She sings row, row, row, your boat and twinkle, twinkle!

We ALSO went to our Family Skate Night our PTA puts on and I am WAITING VERY PATIENTLY for Kaci to email me the pics.  My classroom kids always love seeing my personal kids.  It’s so fun to mingle with them outside of school (in moderation).  It was a fun event and yes, Wes even got on skates and he swore he was going to attempt a triple axel.  Anyhow, pictures will be coming soon.

Campbell and I were playing soccer outside and he was trying to get the ball away from me (you know my mad soccer skills).  Anyhow, the ball went under the trees and the tree attacked him.  He blamed it on me of course because I kicked the ball under the tree.  PS…He has gotten a haircut since then.  It was a little out of control, now it is almost a buzz cut thanks to Wesley.

FINALLY, I am so excited about heading south to visit the family over spring break.  Best of all I am coming back home just in time for the Black Eyed Peas concert with my favorite girls!  I doubt it will top the NKOTB concert back in ‘08, but it will be a great time nonetheless!