This is what 6 looks like...

Today I wish my sweet girl (oh, how I want to type "baby girl" there but it just isn't so!) a very happy birthday! 6 years ago, I became a Mommy to the sweetest baby, Brooklyn Marie.

Brooklyn Marie is now 6 years old today.

In 6 years, we have gone from Elton John...

...to Hannah Montana.

From the first day of preschool...

...to the first day of Kindergarten.

From a Carolina Cheerleader...

...to a Barbie Cheerleader.

From bald and beautiful...

...to just plain beautiful.

And from being the "little sister"...

...to being the Big Sister.

And what a perfect Big Sister she is.

Happy Birthday, Brooklyn!!! I love you more than words in a blog could express. You make me so proud of you everyday, and I fall in love with you over and over again each time I see your smiling face. Thank you for making me a Mommy, and thank you for being you.

Way Back When-esday: Brooklyn's Birthday Edition

Today's Way Back When-esday is in honor of a very special birthday girl. Brooklyn turns 6 tomorrow and my heart just smiles when I look back at all her past birthdays.

2005: Brooklyn's real BIRTHday

2006: Brooklyn's 1st Birthday

2007: Brooklyn's 2nd Birthday

2008: Brooklyn's 3rd Birthday

2009: Brooklyn's 4th Birthday

2010: Brooklyn's 5th Birthday

Yeah, I totally recycled the shirt from the year before. Only a teeny bit of belly showed. :-)

Their futures are so bright...

...they gotta wear shades!

BAH-BULES!

Jake's new obsession is bubbles. He asks about them everyday, plays with them at school whenever possible, and thinks it's Christmas if we pull them out at home.

I found one of the gi-normous bubble containers at the dollar store this week and let Jake play with the wand. He had a blast!

And then Mommy becomes the meanie when it's time to go inside...

I'm such a dream crusher.

[Don't be too sad...these meltdowns usually last 6.2 seconds.]

Slow Cooker Sunday: BBQ Spareribs & Sweet Potato Vegetarian Chili

So, today I got a little over-excited and made two crock pot meals. :-)

Lunch:
BBQ Spareribs
*courtesy of the Harris Teeter seasoning aisle

Ingredients:
1 package McCormick Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Seasoning
4 pounds of pork spareribs, cut into 2-rib sections
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Directions:
Place pork in slow cooker.
Mix Seasoning, ketchup, brown sugar, and vinegar until blended. Pour over pork. Cover.
Cook 4 hours on HIGH.

*My opinion: I think I prefer to grill my ribs, so next time I would probably take 10 extra minutes and slather them in Sweet Baby Ray's and grill for a few minutes. But, the overall flavor was great.


Dinner:
Sweet Potato Vegetarian Chili
*courtesy of my wonderful co-worker, Andrea

Ingredients:
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin (I did not have cumin on hand, so I left it out.)
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (I also used a can of drained corn because I forgot to buy two cans of tomatoes and needed a few extra ounces of something.)
1 15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
1 medium sweet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Optional: Sour cream, scallions, sliced radishes, tortilla chips, etc. for serving

Directions:
Combine the onion, pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper in the slow cooker.
Add the tomatoes and their liquid, beans, sweet potato, and 1 cup of water.
Cover and cook until the sweet potatos are tender and the chili has thickened (LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours).

*My opinion: This was a great, light meal to have when coming home from church at 8pm. (Hopefully the scale agrees with me tomorrow.) Chad loved the cinnamon flavor it had, and I really liked all the textures and flavors together and didn't even think it needed any extra toppings. I'm excited about eating it as a leftover tomorrow. :-)

No need for a title..

...and really no need for many words.

Just enjoying this beautiful day as a family.

Wordless Wednesday

Two Recipe Tuesday

Here are two recipes for ya'll to try. Both come HIGHLY recommended from my family of 4.

CROCK POT PIZZA (version 2.0)
*recipe given to me by my co-worker, Starr

Brown 1 pound of hamburger meat with 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/8 tsp of pepper, 1/4 tsp of garlic powder, and 1/4 tsp of red pepper.
Set hamburger meat aside and cook 1/2 box of Rigatoni noodles as directed. Drain and set aside.
Layer the crock pot with the following:
1. Meat mixture
2. Cooked noodles
3. 3 cups of mozzarella cheese
4. 1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
5. 1 small chopped onion
6. 1 15-ounce jar of pizza sauce
7. 1 6-ounce can of mushrooms (do not drain)
8. OPTIONAL: One layer of pepperoni

Cook on Low for 4 hours in the Slow Cooker.


And this was a recipe that I tried out on the family last week. Surprisingly, a winner with all 4 of us!

SOUTHWESTERN BLACK BEAN BURGERS
*recipe given to me by my co-worker, Valerie

Ingredients:
1 can (15-19 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons of light or fat free mayonnaise
1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin (OR I used chili powder.)
1/2 teaspoon of hot pepper sauce
nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
In a large bowl, mash beans and mayonnaise with a potato masher until almost smooth with some lumps.
Stir in cilantro, bread crumbs, cumin (or chili powder), and pepper sauce until combined.
With lightly floured hands, shape bean mixture into 4 round patties.
Spray both sides of each patty lightly with spray.
Heat skillet over medium heat until hot.
Add patties and cook until lightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Turn patties over and cook until heated through (about 3 minutes longer).
Top burgers with lettuce and salsa and serve on a whole wheat bun or whole wheat pita.

Nothing says Valentines Day like...

1. Spending 4 hours in a Girl Scout cookie trailer filling 24 troop orders.

2. Eating pigs-in-a-blanket and mac-n-cheese with my kids (thanks, Gramma and Pops, for letting us crash dinner after a sudden change of plans! Such a yummy surprise! :-) ).

3. Ending the day by laying on the couch at 8pm in my pajamas watching The Bachelor with my husband.

*While it may not sound like a romantic, spectacular Valentines Day to all you young'ens out there, today was just another perfect day for the Johnson family. Though we don't usually acknowledge this particular holiday, I did find myself smiling at the Facebook posts and pictures of everyone's flowers and cards and candy. And each time I saw another box of candy or red balloon, I would just say a quiet prayer of thanks to God for blessing me with the three best gifts I could ever ask for. My life truly is complete with Chad, Brooklyn, & Jake. But I didn't need February 14th to come around to remind me of that.

Happy Valentines Day, everyone! And whether you were celebrating big with the one you love or celebrating "Singles Awareness Day" quietly at home, I hope that you remember the One who loved you first.

"And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love." -1 Corinthians 13:13

A girl after my own heart...

She chooses to have her 6th birthday at the Spa later this month and now...

Brooklyn let me (double) french braid her hair one night after her shower so when she woke up in the morning, her hair looked like this:

She was so excited to show her hair off to her friends (and teachers!) at school that day. (We straight-haired peeps really get a kick out of having body in our hair!)

She's also growing out her bangs and excusing herself to go and "floss her teeth after dinner." When did I start living with a teenager?

A 15.5 Month Update

Just a quick post to let you know that I took Jake to the doc this morning for his 15 month check up.

Shocker: He was not a fan of Dr. D. SAY WHAT???? This is no child of mine. We have the BEST pediatrician in the world. Seriously, like I wish he were MY doctor. Brooklyn loves him and Jake has always loved him, but today? Not having it. In my mind I was saying "Look, Dude, you think having your ears checked is bad...just wait 5 minutes for when the nurse comes back with 3 shots in hand. You are gonna be begging for a heartbeat listen."

But Jake is a healthy baby boy. And that's all that matters. Despite him being thoroughly pissed off during the exam.

He weighs 26 pounds, 7 ounces (75%) and is (I think) 32 inches long (85%). That's when he started to lose his mind so I got a bit distracted. Head measurements were right about 50%.

Despite having a touch of a runny nose and cough, he is doing great this winter and is hitting all of his milestones perfectly. We got several comments about what a "great little talker" he is. I just say that in our house you have to learn to talk, and talk loud, if you are gonna get anything. :-)

Jake continues to be a great eater. He eats whatever we eat for dinner, which makes life and mealtimes super easy now. He's started running- not walking any more. And he has figured out how to climb up the outside of the staircase in the house. We blocked off the stairs with an ottoman, but he just figured out how to climb up the side by holding on the railing. Little Spiderman.

And yes, he sported his UNC pajamas the other night at bedtime. It amazes me how Facebook exploded last night over the Duke-Carolina game. I have never claimed to be a die-hard sports fan. In fact, I would probably always prefer playing a sport over watching it. But being a Carolina alum, I obviously have mad-love for the school and always hope for a win. However, I will never seem to understand the ultimate HATRED that people have for Carolina. I mean, what did the school ever do to you? Did the beautiful campus offend your senses? Did the historical Old Well spit in your face? Did Dean Smith kick you in the shins as a child? Probably not. But people still continue to hate on a school that I find to be one of the best academic institutions in the USA. And a school that provided me with 4 of the best years of my life and 5 of the bestest friends ever and a sorority with sisters to last a lifetime. So why the hate, ya'll. :-)

But I digress...as I tend to do in this blog.

And I celebrate a great game last night (though a loss)...

And I celebrate even more a HEALTHY, HAPPY (except at the doctor's office) 15 month old Jake-Jake!

Way Back When-esday: Valentine's Day Edition

In honor of the upcoming "love-ly" holiday, here are some pics from Valentines Day past...

2006

2007


2008


2009


2010

Happy Way Back When-esday!

Monday Meal Re-Cap: Sweet and Sour Ribs

Last night's Slow Cooker Sunday was another success! As you know, we lead church every Sunday night. Yes, even Super Bowl Sunday night. :-) But, in honor of the game, we "splurged" and made boneless ribs in the crock pot last night. Here is the recipe.

Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs

Ingredients:
3 to 4 lb. boneless country style ribs
1 can pineapple tidbits, undrained (20 oz.)
2 cans tomato sauce (8 oz. each)
1/2 c. thinly sliced onion
1/2 c. thinly sliced green pepper
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. tomato paste
2 tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Place ribs in an ungreased slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; pour over the ribs. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender. (I did 7 hours on high and it worked great, too.) Thicken the sauce if desired.
Yield: 8 servings (*Or 3 servings if you are eating dinner with Chad and Joe.)

Slow Cooker Sundays!

So, in a previous post, I talked about our family's new tradition (and I take "tradition" lightly because with our family's crazy life nothing is ever set in stone). But, I talked about our "Slow Cooker Sundays." This has been a miracle worker for us on our busy Sundays when we spend all morning at church, are home for Jake to "nap," and then back to church for the better part of the late afternoon/evening. We started doing crock pot recipes so I could prepare the meal before we left the house around 3 or 4, and then it would be ready around 7:30pm.

The requirements for MY recipes:
1. I have to know what the ingredients are....nothing crazy that I have never heard of and have to run to three grocery stores just to find. It's all about total convenience for me.
2. It cannot have any additional "steps" to complete when I get home. The goal is to be able to spoon out whatever is in the crock pot as soon as we walk in the door. No additional making rice, boiling pasta, etc. Even "shredding meat" may be pushing it for me. I want my meal ready so that poor Brooklyn does not eat dinner at 8pm. (Jake is fed at his grandparents around 5:45 so don't worry about him! And a bonus: he goes to bed when we get home so we actually eat a quiet meal. ha ha! Brooklyn could eat then too but I think she loves to take advantage of staying up a wee bit later on Sunday nights. (EDIT: I do want to make it known that the grandparents do not starve Brooklyn. She is offered dinner but I know she likes staying up a bit later and eating what we eat, so we let her just snack over their house and eat dinner with us. :-)) The most I will do when I get home is throw a bag of steamer veggies in the microwave if we need an additional side, but that is it! :-)
3. It cannot cost an arm and a leg to make. Again, convenience and cost-effective is what I am going for with this.

And finally,
4. Personal endorsements are nice but not really a requirement.

So, here is what we have made in the house so far...

Crock Pot Roast and Veggies
*I don't have a recipe for this one because it actually came in this dehydrated packet from one of those holiday craft shows. My parents gave it to me for Christmas, and even though we were a bit skeptical (how can potatoes, onions, carrots, and mushrooms come from a 6x6 box?), it was very tasty! I just added a rump roast to the cooker, covered it in the dry veggie/seasoning packet and added water.

Crock Pot Pizza
*This recipe was given to me by a co-worker, and I have lost it in cyber-space. But here is a link to a very similar one that I think will taste the same. It just made Brooklyn giggle everytime we said "Crock Pot" and "Pizza" together.

Crock Pot Lasagna
*Now, THIS one I have the recipe for and it is FABULOUS! It was passed along to me by a college friend, and fellow blogger, Joni.

Ingredients:
* 1 pound ground beef* 1 large onion, chopped* 2 garlic cloves, minced* 1 can (29 ounces) tomato sauce* 1 cup water* 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste* 1 teaspoon salt* 1 teaspoon dried oregano* 1 package (8 ounces) no-cook lasagna noodles* 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese* 1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) 4% cottage cheese* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
In a skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, salt and oregano; mix well. Spread a fourth of the meat sauce in an ungreased 5-qt. slow cooker. Arrange a third of the noodles over sauce (break the noodles if necessary). Combine the cheeses; spoon a third of the mixture over noodles. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining meat sauce. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until noodles are tender.

Ground Beef Stew (perfect served with cornbread)
*This one we actually made on a Saturday for lunch because we have been loving our crock pot so much!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 package baby carrots
3 cups water
1 envelope dry onion soup mix
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 to 1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can (6 ounces) Italian tomato paste
Directions:
In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain well. In a crock pot, combine the next 8 ingredients.
Stir in the beef. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Stir in soup and tomato paste; cover and cook for 1 hour or until heated through.

Taco Soup (also yummy with cornbread)

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (*I used ground turkey, and it was awesome!)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can white corn
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
Directions:
Brown beef in skillet. After draining beef, add all cans (undrained) and envelopes to the beef in Crockery Pot. Cook on low 2 to 4 hours.

And I have been SO in love lately that I even tried a recipe mid-week...
Chicken and Rice Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of cream of celery soup

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup of (uncooked) white rice

Directions:

Cut the raw chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir together. Cook on high 3-4 hours.

That's it for now! I'll keep you posted on any future "winners" that we encounter. (This Sunday = Sweet and Sour Boneless Pork Ribs) And if you have any great recipes to share, PLEASE comment below.

Happy Slow Cookin'!

Way Back When-esday

I got kinda carried away with my Way Back When-esday pics today...

Here is Brooklyn early February 2006 (11 months old)...

Brooklyn early February 2007 (almost 2)...

Brooklyn and her "Shout sisters," Allie and Zoe, early February 2008 (Brooklyn- almost 3, Allie- 1, and Zoe- 18 months)...
The SAME "Shout sisters" growing up fast in early February 2009 (Brooklyn- almost 4, Zoe- 2 1/2, and Allie- 2)...

And finally, our little Pookie made his appearance by early February 2010. Here are sweet siblings, Brooklyn (almost 5) and Jake (3 1/2 months)...

A whole lotta nothing...

*I'm trying to lose more weight...I think it makes me crabby/happy at the same time. Therefore, my mind has been a constant newsfeed of calories in/calories out. It's so time consuming but totally worth it.

*I am currently obsessed with watching the Kennedy Home Videos on TLC. There is just something that fascinates me about that tragic family.

*Jake is growing up so fast. He is repeating a lot of words now, continuing to be a little flirt and social butterfly, and 90% of the time moving too fast and running into walls and chairs and cubbies. We get a lot of calls during the day from school just letting us know that "Jake is OK but when you pick him up you will notice..."

*Brooklyn turns 6 this month. I have been struggling with what to do for her first birthday out of pre-school....who to invite, where to hold, etc. However, I made some plans this week that I am super excited about. More on that later!

*I have a new love. My crockpot. Recently, we started "Slow Cooker Sundays" where I make a meal before we leave for Shout (evening worship service our band leads), and then it is ready to go when we return home around 7:30pm. Favorites have been Crock Pot Pizza, Pot Roast, Crock Pot Lasagna (thanks, Joni!), Taco Soup, and Ground Beef Stew. I have found that the best way to choose recipes is to ask people. Trial and error is nice for some, but I prefer having a recipe with a personal endorsement.

*We just dedicated our new worship space at church. It's designed for Contemporary worship and our band is really enjoying the space.

*Work is super busy as always, but I love what I do, and I am so thankful for a job.

And speaking of thanks...

*I am so thankful for friends who are pregnant and having babies. They completely give me what I need as far as a "teeny baby fix," and I can happily return home knowing that my family is complete.

*I am thankful for friends that currently have kids and loan me their clothes. My children will never go naked, and I am so thankful that we can all share clothes and baby stuff. What a money-saver!

*I am thankful for grandparents. Chad and I are so blessed to have parents that (1) live close by, (2) are available when needed, and (3) love their grandchildren and cherish every moment that they can spend with them. They certainly make our crazy life easier to manage.

*I am thankful that Jake sleeps 10 hours a night...I just wish it were 8:30-6:30 instead of 7:45-5:45. :-) Seeing a 5 on the clock in the morning just mentally makes me sleepier. :-)

*I am thankful that my daughter is coming out of her shell at school...I just wish it were in front of us. :-)