Tiffany's Birthday Lunch

Yesterday, we celebrated Tiffany’s birthday at Chimichurri's in Kingwood. Pictured top row is Stefanie, Tiffany, Laurie, Caroline. Sitting is me, Tracy, and Brenda. We all ordered the executive lunch. It included salad or soup, choice of main dish and a dessert or coffee. Wonderful meal! Gorgeous weather! Great friends!

The Barger Zoo

For SPICE, Bailey is doing an animal study. She has been working on the Study of “ologies” over the last three months. They have a notebook with pages such as zoology and they have to pick an animal, write a sentence or two about it, then draw a picture. For the year end project, she has picked an African Elephant. Here is the elephant mask that she made.

Not to be out done by his sister, here is Jack's mask.Now I can really say "This place is a zoo!"..... LOL ;~)

Fun in the Sun

Bailey, Christian and Jack enjoy some fun in sun! I just love how the pool tags work in our neighborhood. Our pool had swim team this past week and we were able to go to another Kingwood pool. How great is that?!?

Old Lady

Here she comes, slowly, with her hunched back, babushka and cane. Bailey is always playing make believe and this time she is playing old lady. She put together this getup on her own and then asked me to take a picture. I only hope that I age this well ;~)

New Kitchen Facet

One of my Mother's Day gifts was a new kitchen facet. Here are Christian and his helper, Jack, installing it for me. Even cuter than the picture, is Christian calling me to take it. Here is the finished product. Great job to both of my handymen!

Fish Food Solution

I know people who take pictures when their kids do things that make them upset. I am just not there yet. The other day, Jack dumped the entire container of fish food into his tank. Bailey came to tattle and the fish lived. It was a BIG mess! This was just not a Kodak moment for me and I didn’t get any pictures.
Here is what I have come up with for the solution. I bought 7-day pill organizers for both kids and loaded with a daily amounts of fish food. This way we know which fish has been fed and that they got just a small amount. It seems to be working. Have your kids ever done something crazy and you took a picture?

Poker Chili

Once a month, we host a Hold’em tournament for the Kingwood Poker Club. And every month I make a big pot of “Poker Chili” for the players. I have even had some of the guys ask for the recipe. So, here it is!

Poker Chili
2-3 lbs ground beef (80/20 works best)
1 small Chopped onion
salt/pepper
3 cans Kidney Beans
2 cans chopped tomatoes with chilies
1 can tomato sauce
1 lg can tomato paste
½ cup Chili Powder
In a large pot, brown the ground beef. Add onion and salt/pepper to taste. Then add all the canned ingredients and Chili Powder. Simmer over low heat for approximately 45-60 minutes and serve.

We have a great group of guys that come to play. If you are interested in joining the fun, just let me know!

How do you do that?!?

Have you ever wondered “How do they do that?” when looking at other peoples blogs? I have been blogging for almost a year now and I often wondered how some of my fellow bloggers come up with the neat little gadgets, buttons, headers, backgrounds, etc. that they include on their site. Here are some links to some great ideas and how to’s:

For Free Blog Backgrounds The Cutest Blog on the Block has so really good one and instructions on how to uses them. The also have a tab for Blog Secrets which include how to customize your banner, change the 'comments' line and 'posted by' at the bottom of each and much more.

Aqua Poppy Designs and Shabby Blogs also offers free backgrounds.

If you want to add a signature to your blog post, there are some great tips on Moms Who Blog or you can go to My Live Signature.

Blog Buttons was my biggest challenge. Heather over at Five Makes A Family was a huge help (Thanks!). First you need to build the graphic. You can always create your own button using Photoshop or other image editing software. Second, save this graphic and upload your picture to the web. I use Picasa (a Google Pack Software) to host my pics online. To find your picture location, just right click and select properties. Here is were I had trouble...the code. It will not let me post it, but leave me a comment and I'll email it to you. Add a gadget to your sidebar and paste in your code.

Good Luck and Happy Blogging!

Pony Rides

Here are Jack and Bailey riding ponies at Old MacDonald's Farm.

Mother's Day Weekend

I've had the most wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Bailey and Jack both made me a large paper flower.

Here we are on the train at Old MacDonald's Farm.

The kids made me pancakes.

We went to Los Cucos for a wonderful Mexican meal.
We also got donuts, went to the pool and had a delicious grill steak and baked potato dinner.
Christian and Jack need a rest after such a great time!I am blessed to have such a wonderful family!

"Pretty" Easy Waffles

This yummy looking strawberry and whip cream topped waffles makes its way onto our breakfast menu often. Frozen waffles are quick, easy and work great for school mornings. I love the presliced strawberry that come with sugar already on them, also in the frozen section. After I purchase them, I stick them in the frig and they are ready to use after a few hours. These work great to "pretty" up your waffle. They are also a great topper for ice cream!

To make, you will need frozen waffles (as you can see, I'm a fan of the Great Value items from WalMart), sliced strawberries with sugar and a can of whipped cream. Prepare waffles according to package directions. Spoon some of the thawed strawberries with juice on top of the cooked waffle. Top with whipped cream.

If you have small kids or a husband that can't cook, this would make a great Mother's Day Breakfast.

Mother's Day School Gifts

The best Mother's Day gift is a homemade one. This year both kids brought home some really cute gifts. Here is the card Bailey made for me.

She also made me a set of six "modern art" note cards.

Jack did a kind of Mother's Day Mad Libs and decorated a flower pot with finger print flowers.

Accessory Update with Paint

Lately, I have wanted to update my dated home accessories. I still have some brassy items that are in need of a make over. I bought myself a can of black satin paint and went to town. I started with this brass candle stick lamp and loved the results.

Next, I did a few picture frames.

The ones in the picture got a face lift too, but the transformation was not so drastic with the thiner frames.

This can of spray paint cost me less than $5.00 and helped me make the updates I was looking for. Now I have the itch to paint. Think I might be contagious!

Cinco de Mayo Treats

On May 5th, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo - the date Mexico declared its independence from Spain. We made these cute Sombrero treats to help celebrate. To make one, frost the edge of a cookie with white icing and roll it in colored nonpareils. Next, coat the bottom and the lower edge of a sugar cone with frosting. Roll the edge of the cone in the nonpareils, then set the cone in the center of the cookie.

Top Ten Swine Flu Symptoms

Top Ten Swine Flu Symptoms
10. Bacon tastes "funny"
9. Boyfriend demands you wallow
8. You respond to the question, "Can pigs fly?" with, "No, swine flu."
7. Prefer your flu shot honey-baked
6. You are no longer kosher
5. Litter of eight children no longer seems unusual (Octomom only)
4. Snout constantly dripping
3. Bird flu seams, like, so 2003
2. Sam I Am will not eat green eggs and you
And the number one swine flu symptom...
1. Aching, fever, coughing, and CNN cameras in your bed
Jason Rohrblogger (4/30/09)

Manicotti

One of my favorite things to make is manicotti. It is a dish that looks like you have slaved all day, but it is really simple to put together. Serve with salad and bread and it makes for a great company meal. This recipe you stuff your noodles uncooked and can make it up ahead of time and refrigerate.

14 uncooked manicotti noodles
1 3/4 cups (15-oz.) part skim ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (reserve 1 cup for the top)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups (28-oz. jar) spaghetti sauce
1 cup water
1 lb. Italian sausage, browned

Heat oven to 400. Combine ricotta, 3 cups mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, parsley, salt & pepper; spoon into pasta tubes. Spread thin layer of sauce on bottom of 13x9x2 inch baking dish; arrange filled pasts in single layer over sauce. Combine remaining sauce, water and sausage. Pour over pasta; cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Remove foil; (top with shredded mozzarella if desired) bake 15 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly

The Pool is OPEN!

Yesterday, the kids and I picked up our pool passed and headed for an afternoon of fun in the sun at our neighborhood swimming pool. It was a wonderful sunny afternoon and we saw lots of friends from school there. We are looking forward to another summer using the pool as much as possible.

May 2005 - 2009

May '09 Picture of the Month

May is here and summer is fast approaching. Bailey and Jack are looking forward to the pool opening and going to the beach.