Welcome Back, Silly Millie.

What a whirlwind yesterday was. Work was busy as usual. From 4:30 - 6:30, I was on the go, go, go! I called my dear friend T, who was helping me arrange a dinner for our friends. On my way to her house, I go home to get my part of dinner and I pull up to the house only to notice out backyard is wide open. NO DOGS. My heart sinks. I have one dog who is dumb as mud and follows his nose... HE WAS IN THE FRONT YARD. Millie, my smart girl was GONE. I frantically search the neighborhood. Noah is in the backseat being an ANGEL. After about 15-20 minutes, I had to do the MUST-DOs on the list. I prayed Millie would come home on her own and went to T's house. After the MUST-DOs were done, I came home and continued the search. Cullen got home and the search party widened. We posted notes on Craigslist, Killeen Animal Control and with the HH Animal Control....

Noah ran through the house, funneling his hands around his mouth, yelling, "Ninny?" "Where's Ninny??" Break.My.Heart.

About 7:15, this feeling came over me. I went out front, and there she was, a couple houses down.

So Welcome BACK, you Silly Millie!

The Pioneer Woman

I love cooking. I love being in the kitchen. It is the heartbeat of my home. It is where most of the great memories start or end. It is where my children will remember me...either cooking my butterscotch cookies or chasing their daddy out of the kitchen before he eats all my cookie dough.

Our PTA president and another board member asked me to be in a chili cook-off at school. Without hesitating, I say yes. (I am a glutton for punishment; I cannot say no...AND, see above, I love to cook). So, here I am. It is Sunday. The chili cookoff is Tuesday at 5:30. I have been scouring websites for the perfect white chicken chili. (Why white chicken chili?? Well, because everyone makes regular chili, and I need something that will stand out.) I finally found one I am satisfied with... Pause.

I recently purchased a Pioneer Woman cookbook. If you are a new cook and need help, she is your gal. She takes pictures at every step. She makes cooking seem like an armless baboon could do it. She has a white chicken chili recipe. It has 274 great comments attached to this deliciously simple recipe.

Unpause. After much stress, headache and kitchen pacing, I am making the Pioneer Woman's White Chicken Chili. So, Ree Drummond, if I win Tuesday afternoon, half of my prize is owed to you. (The other half, of course is mine...because I was able to pull off a perfected masterpiece!) 

All In A Days Work

Well, for those of you following the baby-sleeps-in-a-big-boy-bed saga, let it be known...we have reached success. 

Here is a brief run-down of the week.

Monday: Noah was a fuss bucket. We put him to bed asleep. He awoke and decided to  crawl out of his crib for the first time in his life. We were up at 1:15 and stayed up. Until after work. He turned into a holy-terror over night.

Tuesday: My parents came to town to pick up their Harley-dog and see Noah. Dad fixed Noah's crib - he turned it into a big boy bed. I prayed for great night's sleep. I prepared for a HORRIBLE night. I knew we would be up all night...again. Not.A.Peep! 

Wednesday: We prepped for bed. Noah sleeps in footed zip-up jammies (you know, because God forbid his feet touch air at night. You know I was raised right.) Fearing that Tuesday was just God giving me MUCH needed sleep, I knew this night would be terrible. Did he wake up? Yes. Did he fuss? Yes. Did we get him? Nope. I found him this morning pulling at his door, in a diaper only, with a new pack of diapers (104 count) hanging from the rafters and everything below. They were absolutely everywhere. He also had little bits of carpet indention all over his left side. He clearly slept on the floor. 

Thursday night: I laid him down...thought he was asleep. He wasn't. I went ahead with the plan. I laid him down, gave him a kiss and said night night. I shut the door; he screamed. He got out of bed and pulled at the door. Finally after he stopped crying, we went to check on him. We first grabbed the flashlight to look under his door. We didn't even want to attempt to go in if he was asleep against the door. He wasn't. I went inside his room and found him.........asleep. Laying in his bed, asleep. 

I, my friends, call this a success.