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Monday, March 30, 2009

Make-Ahead Cheeseburger Lasagna

YAY! A new recipe. I actually cooked something new for dinner tonight and it turned out great! A new twist on the classic lasagna! Enjoy!


1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
3 tablespoons instant minced onion
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 egg
1 container (15 oz) ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Cheddar-American cheese blend (8 oz)
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, sliced
1/2 cup dill pickle slices

1. Spray 13x9 inch (3qt) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium0high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, water, ketchup and mustard. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat egg with fork or wire whisk. Stir in ricotta cheese and 2 cups of the cheese blend.

3. Spread 1 cup beef mixture over bottom of baking dish. Top with 4 uncooked noodles. Spread half of the ricotta mixture over noodles; top with 1 1/2 cups beef mixture. Repeat layers once with 4 noodles, remaining ricotta mixture and 1 1/2 cups beef mixture. Top with remaining 4 noodles, beef mixture and 1 cup Cheddar cheese. Cover with foil; refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

4. Heat oven to 350F. Bake lasagna covered, 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 25 to 35 minutes longer or until bubbly. Remove from oven. Cover with foil; let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

5. Just before serving, top with lettuce, tomato and pickles. Serve with additional ketchup if desired.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

1 Month!

Jonas is 1 month old today! Happy Birthday little guy!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

The coolest new things being used in our house:
Click here to check out more WW!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Top Ten Tuesday: Children's Books

As a primary teacher and mother to two adorable little boys I love children's books. I think I buy books for Landon and Jonas for myself truly. We belong to a book club for children and I could spend a small fortune every month ordering books, but my frugal side restricts this. Using Landon's bookshelf I bring you the top ten children's books we read in our house:

1. Any books from the Skippyjon Jones collection by Judy Schachner . Landon loves these, especially when I use my most creative Mexican voice.

2. Any books from the How Do Dinosaurs... collection by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague. Landon's bedroom is done in dinosaurs and they interest him.

3. Mouse Mess by Linnea Riley is a very cute book. Landon's Aunt Shelley gave him this book and it is one he often asks for at night time.

4. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This book is great for incorporating counting into your reading. The only problem with this book is that Landon now thinks the sun comes out from an egg. Obviously a major misinterpretation of the beginning of the book!

5. The Flea's Sneeze by Lynn Downey. This book is repetitious and reminds me of The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.

6. The Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney. Not only did these books teach Landon what a llama is, but they also teach children that it is okay to feel a certain way in different situations.

7. How Many Kisses Do You Want Tonight? by Varsha Bajaj. Once again, a good one for counting and rhyme. We always end with a shower of goodnight kisses.

8. Love You Forever by Robert Munsch. We haven't read this book in a long time, but I used to read it all the time to Landon when he was a baby. Time to break it out for Jonas!

9. Anything by Dr. Seuss. Landon loves the silliness found in these books and I love that they introduce rhyming.

10. The Toddler's Bible. Landon received this for Christmas from his Uncle Jon, Aunt Tammy and cousins and loves to read it. If it were up to him we would read 50-100 pages of it every night!

Check out more Top Ten Tuesday lists at: ohamanda.com

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Welcome to the Jungle!

Instead of fun and games though we have pancakes! Williams-Sonoma has these awesome jungle pancake molds that I just had to have! Landon and I were busy whipping up some yummy pancakes this morning. I was hesitant at first but once I got the hang of it, it was simple. I think they turned out pretty good and see many more themed sets of pancake molds in my future!
There is a lion:
A monkey:
An elephant:
The end result:
One happy little boy with his elephant:

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

So In Love!

It is hard to believe that in 2 days Jonas will be 3 weeks old! Time is flying by! I can tell he has changed so much over the past couple of weeks. His head control amazes me every day. To me, he feels more "together" than Landon did. Could have something to do with my comfort level being high with him versus Landon. With Jonas being the 2nd baby things come more natural.

My time lately has been filled with taking care of Jonas, keeping up with laundry (Jonas pees on every outfit we put on him), healing, and of course some shopping in there. Jonas is the best shopper and makes it so easy to go out and about.

Good news on the potty front...Landon went potty at school yesterday! This is a HUGE accomplishment for him considering I saw him in diapers until he graduated from high school! He is so stubborn and against pottying in the potty.

I am still working on writing Jonas' birth story. Also working on recipes. We haven't had to cook a lot lately but I will get to it! I leave you with some recent pictures of Jonas.

At 2 weeks old:
Clean after his 1st real bath:
Playing:

Monday, March 9, 2009

My 2 Sons

Wow...it feels totally weird typing my 2 sons! Kind of like when I am talking to someone and I say the kids now as well. It is hard to believe that I am Mommy to 2 precious little boys. So much has happened in the past year that makes it seem surreal that I am here with my little boy at almost 2 weeks old. God works in mysterious ways. After this post I got discouraged about having another baby but then was blessed again 2 short months later. Now here I am with an almost 2 week old!

We washed Jonas' hair for the first time this weekend. He was born with far less than Landon but it was starting to look dirty and no longer smelled like a baby. He didn't care for the event at all which makes me dread when his belly button cord finally falls off and I can give him a real bath. Landon was right in on the action though and loves helping out with his little brother.
Here's what Jonas thought about washing his hair:
Cute little feet:
Glad to be done:
Both boys clean and getting ready for bed:

We had beautiful weather this weekend and were able to get outside and take some pictures. Here are some of my favorites from this weekend:
The proud big brother:
The not so aware little brother:
Both of my boys:

I am going to work on my birth story for anyone who wishes to read it. While it was a very by the book c-section, I still would like to share my experience. I am also planning to get back into the groove of cooking new recipes so that is something else to look forward too.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Mini Photo Shoot

I had fun yesterday taking pictures of the little guy. I wanted to get some shots before his "fuzz" fell off. Here are some of my favorites:



Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Oh What a Night...and then some...

On Sunday we were thrilled to bring Jonas home before the snow started falling. While enjoying our cozy little family and watching the snow fall, our good feelings were crushed. Our power went out! Needless to say we packed in the dark and headed down to David's parent's house for the night. We ended up at my parent's house after losing power at David's parent's. We have since been "homeless." Below are some pictures of the snow at my parent's house. We have none from our house since we haven't been there since it started to snow.
Looking down my parent's street:
A tree in their backyard:
Landon trying to make a snowball to throw at me:
All three of us out in the snow:
What Jonas thinks about the whole situation:
Say some prayers that we get power SOON!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Jonas Parker

We proudly announce the birth of Jonas Parker! He was born February 26th at 12:33 pm weighing in at 8 lb 10 oz and 19.75 inches long. Enjoy the pictures!
Landon being a good big brother feeding Jonas:
Our first family picture:
The infant carrier didn't seem so big until we got Jonas into it:
Even Chewy has to greet Jonas:
A good wide eyed shot:
We are home!:
Just sleeping....what Jonas does best:
Proud big brother and Jonas:
Proud Daddy and Jonas:
Resting while I can: