Friday, June 15, 2012

DB's First Sleepover

First of all, let me apologize for my blogging hiatus...I've become a victim of the insanity of summer! 
A couple of weeks ago, DB spent the night at my house for the first time by herself...we had been planning it for weeks.  On the agenda: pizza, snacks, and lots of Disney movies! 

She tried to sneak into the front seat of my car!


She was all packed and ready to go!
(This was only one of her bags...in true Decker fashion, she had about 4 bags total with her!)


First on our agenda...Pocahontas and popcorn!


DB is so like me...she takes her animals/dolls everywhere with her.  This bear, "Snuggle" was Sister's when she was little!


DB had never seen a "pizza man", so I treated her to a pepperoni pizza delivered right to my door just for her...she thought it was SUPER cool!


After pizza, we made "skinny" rice krispy treats...she was such a big helper!



Voile!


When I caught her jumping off the couch, I knew it was time for bed!



DB, I LOVED having you over for our first slumber party!  I have a feeling this is the first of MANY more to come...love you!

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May Recipe Club

Anna Kate, a.k.a "Sister", hosted May's RC and chose "Skinny Girl" as our theme.  All the dishes had to be on the "skinnier" side.  All the dishes tasted amazing and you couldn't tell that they were "skinny" dishes! 

Sister outdid herself with the tablescape!


The night wouldn't have been complete without our favorite SkinnyGirl drinks!


Rhonda's "Cool Strawberry Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips"

Strawberry Cucumber Salsa:
1 cup chopped strawberries
½ cup chopped kiwi
½ cup chopped seeded cucumber
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp lime juice
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger

Cinnamon Tortilla Chips:
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 flour tortillas

Mix all salsa ingredients in bowl. Cover. Refrigerate 30 mins to blend flavors. Preheat oven to 375. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Spray tortillas lightly with no stick cooking spray and cut into 8 wedges. Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake 8-10 mins or until crisp.

 


Mary Colleen's "Dixie Caviar Cups"
1 (15.8-oz) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 medium-sized plum tomato, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 medium-sized green bell pepper, finely chopped
1/2 small sweet onion, finely chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced*
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup Italian dressing
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
30 Belgian endive leaves (about 3 bunches)
1/2 cup sour cream
Combine first nine ingredients in a large Ziploc plastic freezer bag. Seal bag, and chill 24 hours; drain. Spoon mixure into a bowl; stir in cilantro. Spoon about 1 rounded tbsp mixture into each endive leaf. Dallop with sour cream.
*2 1/4 tsp finely chopped pickled jalapeño peppers may be substituted.
NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used Bush's Black-eyed Peas



Lauren's "Bean Salad"


Ashley's "Three-Bean Salad with Roasted Onion"
1 large red onion, peeled and halved (about 3/4 lb.)
cooking spray
3/4 lb. wax beans, about 3 cups (I had to use green beans)
1 1/2 cups frozen black-eyed peas
1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp mustard seeds, crushed
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Preheat oven to 450. Place onion halves, cut sides down, in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 450 for 30 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly; coarsely chop, and set aside. Trim ends from wax beans, and remove strings. Cook black-eyed peas and lima beans in boiling water for 4 minutes. Add wax beans; cook 8 minutes or until tender. Drain. Combine vinegar and remaining 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well with a whisk. Add onion, peas and beans. Toss to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 8 hours.



Caron's "Southwestern Bell Peppers"
olive oil
½ lb lean ground turkey breast
½ cup onions, chopped
1 heaping tbsp of taco seasoning
2 cups whole grain brown rice, cooked
4-5 organic bell peppers, halved and seeds removed
1 can of black beans, drained & rinsed
½ cup of frozen corn
1 (15-16 ounce) jar of salsa
shredded cheddar cheese
Optional Toppings:
fresh cilantro
sour cream
sliced avocado

Preheat the oven to 400. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish about 20-25 minutes just until cooked thru. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them. Brown ground turkey with onions. Cook rice according to package. In a bowl add the taco seasoning, cooked ground turkey, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well. Carefully spoon the turkey mixture into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish. Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way thru. Before removing from the oven, sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back into the oven just until the cheese has melted.  Garnish to your likings and serve!
*Note: The turkey can be cooked in advance with the onions.



Anna Kate's "Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken"


2 slices center cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
3 jalapeños, chopped (remove seeds for milder)
3 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
4 oz reduced fat shredded cheddar jack (Sargento)
2 tbsp chopped scallions
8 thin sliced skinless chicken breast cutlets, 3 oz each
1/2 cup Italian seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 1/2 juicy limes, juice of
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
olive oil non-stick spray

Wash and dry chicken cutlets, season with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450°. Lightly spray a baking dish with non-stick spray.  Combine cream cheese, cheddar, scallions, jalapeño and bacon crumbles in a medium bowl.  Lay chicken cutlets on a working surface and spread 2 tbsp of cream cheese mixture on each cutlet. Loosely roll each one, secure the ends with toothpicks to prevent the cheese from oozing out.
Place breadcrumbs in a bowl; in a second bowl combine olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Dip chicken in lime-oil mixture, then in breadcrumbs and place seam side down on a baking dish. Repeat with the remaining chicken. When finished, lightly spray the top of the chicken with oil spray.  Bake 22-25 minutes, serve immediately

Liz' "Pasta"


Virginia's "Skinny No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie"
 (Silver Spoon Award)



5 oz reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup Confectioner's sugar
1/3 cup Better 'n Peanut Butter
8 oz fat free frozen whipped topping, thawed (or truwhip for healthier option)
reduced fat graham cracker pie crust
3 tbsp Hershey's chocolate syrup

Beat cream cheese and Confectioner's sugar together in a medium bowl. Mix in Better 'n Peanut Butter and beat until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into graham cracker pie shell; cover, and refrigerate until firm, at least 2-3 hours. Drizzle with chocolate syrup before serving.  
 



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Sunday, June 3, 2012

JJ's Baby Shower

Yesterday morning, we hosted a baby shower for JJ at my house.  Louis Tucker Wedgworth is due next month, and we wanted to shower him and his momma before the big day!  We went with a light blue and white theme to match the nursery and the super-talented Sydney made all of our adorable paper products!

















Baby Louis-your "aunts" love you very much and we can't wait to meet you! 


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Before & After

This month marks my 3 year anniversary in my house!  Ever since I moved in, I've been dreaming of finding drapes for all my bay windows...I have a set in my kitchen as well as in my bedroom.  It took three years of brainstorming and saving, but I finally got them done!  I am absolutely in love with how they both turned out!


Before in my bedroom...


After!  These chocolate silk drapes have totally transformed my bedroom.  And, they also provide lots of shade from the sun...I'm in LOVE with them!


Before in my kitchen...


After!  A HUGE thanks to Momma D for finding this fabric...it turned out BEAUTIFULLY!  And also a huge thanks to Aunt Jenn for her help in hanging them!



If you're in the market for rods for your tricky bay windows, I found mine here.  I also bought my drapes for my bedroom from the same website.  If you're looking for a great Ikat fabric, I found mine in Boaz, AL at Wilson's Fabric!


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End of the Year...

Well, another school year has ended.  This marked the end of my 5th year working as a school-based SLP...gosh, time is flying by!  This May also marked the leaving of one of my coworkers in "The Nest"...Mrs. Caffey, a.k.a. Ashley, decided to leave our special ed dept to become a 1st grade teacher.  Not sure what I'm going to do without her being ten feet from my room everyday...I think I'm in denial!  She has been such a blessing to our special kid-os and we wish her well with her 1st graders!


All the children of "The Nest" and the aides/teachers made her this as a parting gift...the flowers are the children's finger prints and the caterpillars/lady-bugs are the adults.


We also brought her one of her very favorite things...Ashley Mac's strawberry cake!


We all got a little emotional on her last day!


Lee Anne, Sally, Ashley, Susie (we will miss you, too!!) and Jennifer


"The Nest" is so fortunate to have such special people to work with our amazing children!


The "teachers" of The Nest...Ashley, what will we do without you?!


My sister from another mother...think this will have to be framed in my classroom. 



Since the school year has ended, who do you think I am spending my days with??  The Crowe girls, of course!  I am soaking up as much time with them as possible and stealing all of LL and DB's kisses!


LibbyLicious had her six-month check up this week...she is growing like a weed!



Can y'all see why we like to call her "brows"?!


We thought she was so heavy, but she actually weighed less at her 6 month appt than DB did!


After the dr's, we went to the library for a little fun!  DB LOVES checking out books!


DB loves to tell secrets to Little D!


While Sister and DB played, I hung out with my LL...happiest baby EVER!


After a yummy lunch with Meghan, we saw this on our way home and just had to stop...nothing says summer like a stop by the DreamCakes truck!



I apologize for my blogging hiatus, I'm spending today catching up...happy Summer, y'all!   :)


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