Happy Halloween!

We don't have big Halloween plans tonight. We're not taking Hudson trick-or-treating (I mean, he's not old enough to get it or eat the candy, and the idea of strangers opening their doors to him would probably freak him out) and don't have any family in town to go see in his costume, so he's just going to dress up and help us give out candy to the trick-or-treaters tonight. I'm really afraid anything more would just scare him or weird him out. Next year, I think he'll be old enough to do the trick-or-treating and other stuff, but this year we're keeping it simple for him.

Here's a pic from Halloween 2011...

He was 6 months old and dressed as a cheeseburger! We just kept it simple and visited family in Gadsden the Saturday before Halloween. I wish we could've done that this year, but since we went to Tuscaloosa this past weekend, we were not able to do it. We'll just take lots of pictures and video and share them with everyone.

I'm hoping to get some pics of him in his costume this afternoon outside when he gets up from his nap.  What is he going to be this year, you ask??

We tried out our costume last night for a practice session. I thought he'd hate it and scream until I took it off. He loved it!! He's been obsessed with cows lately and loves to moo. HA!

I'll get some good pictures tonight and post them tomorrow.

Happy Halloween and be safe out there tonight!!

I Put Some New Shoes On

And suddenly everything's right. Know that song? I like it a lot. It's just one of those happy songs that makes you wanna dance.

So, speaking of shoes, Hudson loooooves shoes! He didn't at first, and wanted them off of his feet the second you put them on. But once he was able to walk well and wear the cool big boy shoes, he became obsessed. He tries his hardest to put them on by himself, and he'll try to put ours on our feet too. He knows when we put his shoes on, it's time to go somewhere and he runs to the back door to the garage. HA! 

We went out for a bit yesterday and we got him a few new pairs of shoes. The boy really only had like 1 pair that fit well and were comfortable for him to walk in for a while at a time.(his gray NBs) They'll probably be too small in the next few months, so we picked up a few more pairs that he can grow into and so the child can have options. ;-)

He had a blast in the shoe store. It was just about nap time and he was kind of in that delirious stage you get in when you're really really tired. Yeah. It was awesome.

He loves these boots. He wore them out of the store and was checkin' 'em out the whole way home. We picked up a new pair of NBs too...they're red, white, and gray, which are some of our favorite colors. RTR! ;-)

We also snagged some new Halloween slippers(as well as more long-sleeved pajamas, per pictures) at Target while we were out. 

And I'm pretty sure I'll never get them off of him. :-)

Momma may have gotten herself a couple pairs of boots too. Shoes all around!! Poor Daddy, he missed out. I know better than to get him something without his approval. The man is picky. Maybe next time!

Shabby Apple

You may have noticed the new ads for Shabby Apple dresses on the page. I wanted to take a second to promote the great products they offer. If you're looking for a very cute dress or top for a special occasion, some stylish accessories, trendy maternity clothes, adorable little girl dresses, or even some unique home decor, you need to check out Shabby Apple. They have some of the cutest styles you'll find, for very affordable prices. If you've never shopped with them before and aren't sure how their clothes fit, they have a great tool to help you find the perfect dress for your figure and they're always standing by to help with any questions or concerns you have. If you're looking for a new dress for work, play, or an adorable dress for your little girl or a gift for a friend, click on one of those ads and check out their products. I'm sure you'll find something you like.

Happy Monday, and Happy Shopping!! :-)

Alabama Saturday

We haven't been down to Tuscaloosa for gameday in about 2 years. I don't know exactly when the last time was, but I was pregnant with Hudson, I know that much. We are huge Bama fans and always make it to a few games each year. With Hudson being so little last year, and the fact that I was pumping and Tuscaloosa is a 3 hour drive, it really wasn't an easy thing to do so we skipped out last season. Booo. Yesterday was homecoming so we decided to make the drive and take Hudson for his first experience down there. Most of our time was spent at Joseph's fraternity house, but we also walked around the campus, the quad, and checked out the new sorority houses they're building. The game was at 7:30 so we weren't about to go to it, especially with an 18 month old in 40 something degree weather, so we headed home around 4:30 and made it home in time for Hudson to get a quick bath and get to bed. We were able to watch most of the game so that was good. He was a tired little boy, after only napping about an hour each way and sleeping less than 10 hours the night before. He had a great time and was in a great mood though, so we had a blast. Here are some iPhone pics from our little road trip. I didn't want to lug my nice camera around, so these aren't the best.

Hudson enjoyed checking out where Daddy spent a lot of his time at Bama, and where he'll be hanging out in about 17 years. ;-) 

Put him outside and this child is happy! 

 Giving Mrs. Pat some lovin'. Pat and her husband, Roy are very special to us! Roy has served as Lambda Chi's faculty advisor for years and they're such sweet people.

Sweetness.

A former Lambda Chi president with a future Lambda Chi president. 

Love them. 

Why is this always the face I get in pictures? *sigh* 

That's a little better, I guess?

I finally got to meet Miss Emma Ramey. She is Leslie's daughter and she is so sweet and pretty! Leslie's husband is a Lambda Chi alum also and Leslie and I were sorority pledge sisters at Bama. I only stayed at Bama for a year before going to JSU and graduating with my teaching degree. Leslie and I keep up with each other via blog/twitter, but haven't seen each other in a while. Love her!

Hudson finally got to meet his new girlfriend and he loved her.  

Trying to get a 7 month old and an 18 month old to stay still for pictures....next to impossible. 

Hudson was so sweet and kept giving her hugs but this after-the-fact pic is the best I could get. He also enjoyed bumping bellies with her...for some reason. HA!

They had some great food and desserts at the house. These little cupcakes were adorable. Red velvet, yum! They also had these cute little cups filled with strawberry shortcake, and some with lemon meringue. I'll have to steal their idea for that. They were perfect little portions and the strawberry shortcake was delicious!! It was all just mixed together and dumped in the cups. Easy and cute! Hudson and I gobbled it up.

We walked around the campus and I had to check out the new sorority houses they're building. ADPi is getting a new one and it's going to be fabulous! I'm pretty jealous of how beautiful all these new houses are going to be!!

After a good walk around the quad and the campus, we were cold enough and decided to get in the car and head home. Hudson napped until about halfway home and we knew he'd be starving when he woke up so we stopped the first chance we could to eat a quick dinner. Cracker Barrel it was! Yum!

Such silliness at the dinner table. 

Seriously, I think people were glad to see us leave. He was in a hyper mood! HA!

We had a great day and I'm glad we made the trip down. It's a good drive, but it was worth it to see some friends and experience an Alabama Saturday. We're hoping to go down again in a few weeks for a game, just us. We miss it!

I hope y'all had a great Saturday too.

Happy Sunday, everybody!!

High Five for Friday

Seriously....UP TOP, Y'ALL!!!! I am so glad it's Friday. It's been a long week and we're ready to have Daddy home for the weekend.

Here are some of the things I loved from the week...

1. Our first family pumpkin carving. I love how Hudson copied Daddy and "carved" the top with the pasta scoop. :-)

2. I love how excited this little guy gets about a balloon. I blew him one up yesterday and he's in heaven. 

3. Shrimp & Grits night was this week. It makes me happy. That is all.

4. The cold front we've got coming in tomorrow. That makes me SUPER happy. I'm not a lover of extremely cold temps, but I do love when Fall feels like Fall. :-)

5. The fact that I figured out how to revamp my blog, complete with social media icons and more. I'm still workin' on it. There's only so much work you can get done with a toddler pulling on your shirt all day. ;-)

What were your favorite things this week? Feel free to link up with Lauren @ From My Grey Desk to share yours. 

Have a wonderful, Fall weekend!! 

Crock-Pot Chicken Chili

I wasn't really in the mood for the bbq chicken sandwiches that were on the menu for tonight, but I wanted something relatively healthy that I could throw in the Crock-Pot, especially since I've done a good bit of hands-on cooking so far this week(we had shrimp & grits last night, YUM!). I wanted a dinner that would be cooked for me! I figured I'd throw together some stuff and try to come out of it with a decent chicken chili. I've seen some recipes floating around on Pinterest, but haven't really looked at them and haven't tried them so I wasn't sure if it'd come together well or not. 

It came together wonderfully! It is most definitely one of our new faves around here. Tons of flavor!

Joseph didn't really care for the way it looked, but he got past that once he tasted it! The beige-y color isn't that appealing, I agree. ;-) But I promise, it's delicious!!

Crock-Pot Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

3-4 chicken breasts (I use Perdue frozen boneless skinless breasts. They come out great and are cleaned of the nasty crap really well!)

1 packet Taco seasoning

1 packet Ranch dressing mix

2 cans Ro-Tel

1-2 cans black beans (or kidney)

1-2 cans corn

1 8oz package cream cheese

Directions:

Put 3-4 frozen chicken breasts in bottom of Crock-Pot. Sprinkle packets on top.

Dump beans, Ro-Tel, and corn in and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-6 hours. 
**DO NOT DRAIN CANS!!! **

You can go ahead and drop cream cheese on the top, then let it cook all day. You can also wait until the last couple hours to do this, and let it soften first before adding it.

Shred up chicken with forks, and make sure cream cheese is mixed in really well.

It's that easy! And that delicious!!

I guess you could also call this chicken taco soup. It's got pretty much all the components of taco soup in it, just with chicken and some cream cheese. (I'll have to try the cream cheese in my regular taco soup!) It'd be great with some sliced jalapeños on top, but we don't have any. I thought it was great with just some crackers. :-)

I hope you get to try it out soon. It's going to be great on those cold Winter nights!

Bunny Fwand

Hudson's Uncle Adam gave him this bunny when he was born. He's recently developed an obsession for it. He carries him all over the house, talks to him, mostly bossing him around, and just sits down by him like they're best buds. It's pretty cute. He pitched a fit for him last night before bed and he and Daddy went to get him from the living room so he could see him before he went to sleep. Umm, bad idea. Full on meltdown ensued and I almost gave in to letting him sleep with it. We put it on top of his hutch and he finally calmed down. I'd let him sleep with it if it weren't so big. Hudson doesn't sleep with anything in his crib and I kinda like it that way.

Mr. Bunny has to help him with the cleaning supplies.

Just chillin'. 

Last night I made my Faux-sagna and I couldn't believe how much Hudson liked it. He can be picky sometimes but he usually likes pasta(he gets it from his momma). He's liked this in the past but especially liked it this time. :-)

Silly boy. I said "Let me see your face." so I could get a picture of the mess, and this is what he did.

 "Mom, can I just eat in peace?"

He's learned you have to eat up every last bite...even the pieces on your hands. ;-)

Happy Tuesday!!