French Fries and Fancy Guys

Mornin'! It's raining, it's pouring, all 5 babes are still snoring! Watch out, Dr. Seuss, I've got some pretty impressive rhyming skills. 

Last week was fabulous. One of the best ever! We went to the Galleria in Dallas to American Girl and let Rylie Cole spend her birthday money. Having my husband and two boys at that fancy, over the top place was a sight! My kids are definitely not used to seeing "fancy" guys and would do a double take every time they saw a man wearing skinny jeans or carrying a "man bag". These kids are pure country lol! 

[He drives like he is in Nascar lol!]

On the way home, we stopped at Bass Pro and saw Santa. That is one of my favorite traditions. Last time we were there, a lady had a mannequin, that she owned, sitting in a buggy and stood in line with everyone else. When it was her turn, she sat the mannequin on Santa's lap for a picture. I'm sure Santa was like, what the heck did I get myself into?! Wonder what that mannequin asked him for. 

Since Caleb found his Christmas gift early ::eye roll::, he tried them on and took them back to get the tall size. (I got him coveralls just incase y'all didn't hear.) He couldn't find any tall, so he got a refund and bought a French fry slicer. Not a little cheapo. This thing is actually for a restaurant. Obviously he really likes fries. (That's why I have the fry emoji by his name in my phone ;) ) It weighs like 76 pounds. He said he was mounting it on my kitchen wall. He better not!! It's something he has been wanting FOREVER. You should have heard his speech about it being a "good investment". He is a mess. (P.S. If you invest money, invest in Heinz ketchup, because we will be going through it like crazy now.) [You're welcome]

We also went to The North Pole of Texas and took the bambinos ice skating, too! I LOVE when Caleb is home and can go with us to do all the fun stuff. 

[Inside Santa's Workshop at The North Pole of Texas]

I'm just about finished with my Christmas shopping and while I was out shopping last week, Baby threw my phone out of the buggy and SHATTERED it. Not just a small crack. It was sharp and would cut your finger every time you'd touch it. When I picked it up, I saw the crack and was like, eh, it still works. But since I didn't have any Keplar razor-proof gloves to text with, I got a new phone. I got the iPhone 6+ and its freaking awesome. I wasn't prepared to have to buy a new phone, but I'm thankful I was able to get one. I take pictures of my kiddos on the daily. Make that hourly. The slow motion video is probably my fave. 

In not so fun news, my dryer went out. Not like it went out on the town with other appliances, like, it died. It's dead. I can't be without a dryer with a kid crew this large. So the RCC Gang and I loaded up all of our laundry and went to the laundromat and got everything done in an hour. It cost me $14, but it was well worth it. I spend so much time in my laundry room that I keep walking in there to fold some clothes and looking around and walking back out. It's so bare. And we actually have a floor in there. For a while I was starting to wonder. 

Today I have to make the drive to Walmart and get stuff for our Crawley Christmas Party that's tomorrow. I am excited! I love getting to see the family! I'm making peanut brittle, Oreo balls and buffalo chicken dip. I've never made brittle, so I sure hope it turns out! Lord knows I've had my fair share of kitchen catastrophes! By the way, did you know if you broil your meringue too long that it will actually catch on fire? Well, it will. Don't ask me how I know that.

Y'all have a fantastic Friday! 

❤️ Jennifer

10 Things About December

Good morning, y'all! 'Tis a cold one today! Brrrr! I'm sipping on my second cup of coffee and refereeing my little raccoons over Legos. Heavens to Betsy, Legos are my nemesis. The kids love them, so I deal. Most of the time. I threaten to throw the whole box in the trash almost daily. I never actually would, but they don't need to know that ;) Today I'm joining in on the Love The Here And Now 10 Things About December. Here are some of my fave things about this month! Getcha a cup of coffee, a blanket and read on. 

1) The reason for the season! My most favorite thing about December is THE reason we celebrate Christmas. Jesus' birth, y'all! Celebrating our King! It's not all about the presents and gifts. Sadly not everybody sees it this way, but don't even get me started on that. I teach my babies that presents are like a goody bag to Jesus' birthday party. The gifts are just a perk. Not the star of the show. 

2) Family time! I LOVE getting to see all of our family! I absolutely love being part of a big family. It really blows my dress up! Lol!

3) The decorations! I love the vintage, tacky, over the top, whimsical Christmas decorations. I'm very traditional, but my style is not. Give me wild and crazy! I love the glow of the Christmas tree at night. It's the perfect nightlight and it just makes ya feel good! I love going to the malls and seeing all the huge decorations!

[P.S. In case you didn't know, if you live "in town" it's a requirement to decorate the outside of your home. Brother Greg, you win at this.]

4) Holiday food! Turkey and dressing and cakes and cookies and candies and all that good stuff! Y'all know I love to get in the kitchen and rattle those pots. Desserts are my most favorite thing to make. I'm sure you can tell that by the size of my butt. 

5) Christmas parties! Every year my inlaws have the Crawley Christmas Party. We play games and swap White Elephant Gifts. It's always fun to see what you end up with. 

Tacky Sweater party 2013

6) Joy! I love hearing Christmas music while I'm shopping and I love that [most] people are so much more joyful and jolly this time of year! Don't be a Scroogey ole Grinch! Say Merry Christmas (not Happy Holidays) and spread some Christmas cheer! Just smile real big, push your buggy through the swarm of shoppers and say 'Thank you! Merry Christmas! God bless!' as you pass through. Besides, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. 

7) Caleb's birthday! My husband's birthday is on Christmas and we always try to do something special for him. It's easily overlooked with the commotion of Christmas. You know I gots to remember my boo thang, too. He will be 31 this year! 

Hot husband alert! Hey, baby, how you doin'?!

8) Building fires in our fireplace! I love having a fireplace and we use it a lot! I sit on the hearth until my back feels like it's on fire and then I stand up, cool off, and do it again. Anybody else do that? I even got me pretty little leopard print lighter to start the fires with. 

9) Christmas parades and lighted parks! The North Pole of Texas is my fave! It's literally out in the middle of nowhere. Millions of lights, free hot cocoa, a train ride, music and Santa! Y'all need to check into this place!

10) Bass Pro! Typically, I can take it or leave it. But at Christmas, Bass Pro is the bee's knees! Lots of toys for the kids to play with and beg Momma and Daddy for and FREE pictures with jolly ole Saint Nick. You can't beat free. It's quite the drive for us, but worth every mile. We usually make a day of it and talk Caleb into eating at Saltgrass while we're there. 

At Bass Pro 2012. Note to self: Don't stand in front of the huge sunny window next time. 

What are some of your favorite things about December?

❤️ Jolly Jenn

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When Your House Looks Like A Seek And Find Book

Hey, y'all! We had a fantastic Thanksgiving and the food was craze amaze, as usual. Duh. Speaking of food, I saw myself in some pictures and maybe I should work on losing some poundage. Yikes! But you know what happens every time I try and do that? I get pregnant again! Ok, I'll be happy with the way I am! ;) And plus, food is good. 

The cousin crew. Lots o' kids. 

I got a HORRIBLE case of mastitis Tuesday night. Like, the worst ever. I won't go into detail, because you'd surely lose your lunch. But I felt like death and it's a miracle I felt good enough in time for Thanksgiving. Let's be honest, Caleb would've had to roll me in on a gurney before I sat that one out. 

Rylie Cole stayed the night with Nanna Tuesday and I was DYING all Tuesday night. Y'all think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. I was planning out my will in my head. Seriously. By the way, Billie-Jo, you'd get the Cricut. I woke up Wednesday and all I did was nurse Roxie (that was like feeding a rabid banshee), change diapers whenever the kids said she was stinky and peel Cuties. When I woke up Thursday, there was orange peel everywhere. My house looks like one of those seek and find books. Ya know where everything is all jumbled up and in a mess and you have to find stuff? Yeah, that's the current condition of the Crawley Casa. And has anyone seen the remote?! So today it's laundry and lots and lots of cleaning. Yay! Just kidding, y'all. That yay was fake as all get out. 

By the way, Rylie Cole turned TEN on Wednesday! Wahoo! Nanna cooked her a big birthday breakfast and they spent the day together. I am planning on taking her to the American Girl doll store in Dallas next week as her gift from us. She's so excited. So am I! I truly cannot believe I have a ten year old. I thought my babies would always stay 2 and 3. I mean, yeah, I'll probably always have one that's 2 or 3, but some of them have to get older! ;) 

And since my house is in udder chaos, I'm sure people will be coming out of the woodwork today. Ah, yes. Someone just pulled up. Timmy. Lol. If y'all know Timmy, Caleb's crazy uncle, he is like our very own Uncle Si. Time to get crackin' and knock out some laundry. TGIF! Not really. I'm a momma and that means nothing. Deuces. 

❤️ Jennifer

Teethin & Tanksgivin

Mornin'! (Autocorrect tried to change that to Mormom. Mormon moms are so smokin' by the way. What's their secret???!) 

I was just thinking, remember back when I actually had to set an alarm on Sunday mornings? Well, now I have Roxie! I really do enjoy getting up early. So, thank you, little rooster. Teething is kicking our butts, though. She's been up whaling throughout the night. Po widdle tink tink. When babies are teething, Caleb always jokes and says he's gotta go to work just to get some rest. And if you know, he doesn't get rest while he's gone working. Teething can be that bad lol!

"Let me see, should I let Momma and Daddy sleep tonight? Nahhh!" -Roxie

::In my Madea voice:: Today is our Tanksgivin dinner at chuch. 

You could say I'm pretty pumped! 

I feel a little bit like a slacker since I didn't make a big cake. The RCC Gang wanted a fruit salad, so I went with that. But none of that canned junk. Fresh. Fruit salad, brownies, cranberry sauce and cream soda. 

Time to pop the brownies in the oven and get beautified! 

Peace, love, and hair grease. (Tell me you had to read The Outsiders in middle school, too) 

❤️ Jennifer 

My Black Friday Horror Stories

Good morning, y'all! It's been a minute! Whew! How have y'all been? Y'all loving the cold/warm weather we've been having? I was diggin' the cold. Note to self: buy more firewood. 

I just want to start off by saying, CALEB IS HOME! Yay! He got in at 6 am and may actually get to go to church with us tomorrow! Fingers crossed!

With Black Friday coming up, I thought I'd share my Black Friday horror stories with y'all. I have been twice. Crazy things happened both times. 

Picture it: Sicily, 1914. Just kidding! Do you know what show that's from? Golden Girls! Duh! But for real, picture me, a week overdue with Rylie Cole. I stay the night with my Bubba and Christy, so I can go with her and see what all the buzz is about. I was just a young, very pregnant 19-year-old girl, who wanted to experience the madness of Black Friday for myself. Now Christy is one of the professionals. She knows the deals, she has papers (I don't know what's on the papers, but it's official), she does this every year. Well, I sleep at their house, on an air mattress and I was so fat that I kept rolling off the sides. Swear. I just decided to sleep on the floor. And why didn't I get on their comfy couch?? I'm telling ya, I was crazier back then than I am today. We get up at a time that's more like a bedtime. We throw clothes on and hit Walmart. It's already crazy in there. We man out posts. I don't know what I was after, I just remember having a buggy and filling it with everything I could and then she could decide what she wanted before we checked out. There were some pretty hot deals, though. So we shop 'til we drop and go back to her house and eat and chillax for a bit. Then Nanny and I go to the mall and my sister meets us there. I go buy all these clothes at insanely good deals because I need new, bigger jeans for after I have the baby. Then it happened, I'm checking out at Body Shop (I was just buying earrings lol), and I got some PAINS. I told my sister my stomach was hurting. We found Nanny (I didn't have a cell phone back then) and told her what was up. She said we needed to go to the hospital. I told her that I needed to run in Wet Seal, and then we would go. I go and grab what I needed, write the check between contractions, and leave with my sister. Nanny runs in Academy and Felicia (my sister) is hungry. We go through Taco Bueno drive-thru. "Hee hee, hoooo!" Lol! I was in terrible pain! We get to Nanny's and I tell her I don't think I'm really in labor. Maybe I just need to go to the bathroom. Negative. There's a baby coming. We call Caleb and gather my stuff up for the hospital and we rush out the door. It's a two lane road and we can't get around this truck. I am crying and sweating and Nanny is laying on her horn and I'm thinking, please just get me to the hospital!!! We finally get past the truck and my dear sweet Nanny flips the dude the bird. Oh, Nanny, we love you lol! We get to the hospital, I have her almost immediately. My first baby and she's a big one, 9lbs 12oz. Welcome to the world, Rylie Cole! 

So that was my first crazy experience with Black Friday shopping. Want to hear my second, and very last, one? Then keep reading! 

The next time I decide to brave the cold and the crowds, it's about 6 years later. We leave the kids with Caleb and my father-in-law and my mother-in-law and I head to Longview (50 miles) around midnight. I drive us in her Tahoe and we got about 15 miles from home and decide to make a quick stop to get coffee at a gas station. Kelley goes to get the coffee and I sit in the car and wait. And wait. I get bored, so I hop out and throw away some trash that's in the car. Big mistake. I hit the door lock when I get out and it locks the car up. And it's running. Kelley comes out and I tell her what I did. We call to have someone bring us a spare key. Timmy, Caleb's crazy uncle, brings us THE WRONG KEY. Kelley rides back with him, while I stand in the gas station and wait. There's a lot of crazies out that time of night. Speaking of crazies, Kelli Berry comes in. ;)~ We chat and I tell her what I did. We laugh and she heads out shopping. I'm just hanging out in a gas station, twiddling my thumbs. Timmy and Kelley finally make it back and we get in the car and go. We make it to Longview and it's freezing!! I'm driving, so we park and kill the car, planning out our attack. We get cold. I turn the battery on and crank the heat up. We decide to hit Old Navy. I crank the car, but nothing happens. I ran the dang battery down!!! Guess who we see again? Kelli Berry. I feel like such a dummy. We get the car jumped off and hit the stores. We get nothing. I didn't think any of the deals were that grand. I obviously have no clue as to what I'm doing. Waste of time. A good story though. 

The moral of the story is, if you have a vehicle with OnStar, please subscribe to it!!! I can't live without it in mine! My kids and I lock the keys in the car on the regular. Less than $15 a month, well worth it! 

Happy weekend, y'all! 

❤️ Jennifer 

Lysol In One Hand, Coffee In The Other

Good chilly morning to y'all! I'm getting a late, slow start today. I am Zombie Mom today, but instead of wanting brains, I want coffee. Roxie has been waking up crying the past couple of nights and Cash got a tummy bug. I think Roxie's is that she's teething. Poor little Cash runs to the bathroom and gets right back to playing. Lysol is the word of the day today! 

Caleb got home at 6 am on Sunday morning and I woke up when I heard him pulling in. He went straight to bed and I got to crafting and cooking. I made a big breakfast and the RCC Gang and I went to church. I sure hope he enjoyed those few hours the house was quiet. That's rare. When we got home, I cooked a quick lunch and tried a new cornbread recipe. It was good! It's almost exactly like what the Hotlink Place makes. Here is the recipe that I used:

Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread

2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread

2 eggs

2/3 cup of milk

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup chopped jalapeños 

1 can cream style corn

Preheat oven to 375*. Mix all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Grease 9x9 pan and pour in mixture. Bake until done and a golden color. 

I really love this time of year and all my special Christmas ornaments that I have accumulated over the years, and I'm sure Roxie will too, so they're staying in a box this year. I plan on making all of our ornaments that we will be using. You'd think after five kids, I'd be a pro at guarding the ornaments on the tree. I got other things to do besides be a Christmas Tree Security Guard! So homemade yarn ornaments it is! One of my fave Christmas crafts I'm doing this year is the Anthropology-inspired felt garland. I did this little bit while I was having my coffee before church yesterday. 

I've got a long way to go. If Roxie pulls this off the tree, it'll be just fine. Just wipe the slobber off and throw it back up there. We've got our tree up in a new place this year. I'm not sure that I'm going to like it, but we shall see. I'm also going to make a lot of pom pom balls to hang on the tree. 

Rylie (and Roxie) working on our tree last year. 

Next Sunday is our church's Thansgiving dinner and I plan on making a dessert. I'll be scouring Pinterest to try and find a good recipe. The thing with trying out new recipes is, they can turn out to be a flop. I have followed recipes to the T, do exactly like they said, and they turn out as a Pinterest Fail. Here is a quick, easy Banana Pudding recipe that will be sure to please your holiday guests. (Don't be alarmed by the name.)

Microwave Banana Pudding

3/4 C sugar

1/4 C flour

2 C milk

3 eggs

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Box of vanilla wafers

2-3 bananas

Mix sugar, flour and milk in a microwave safe mixing bowl. Whisk all the lumps out and microwave for 5 minutes. Whisk while adding in the eggs and microwave for 4 minutes. Add in the stick of butter and the vanilla. Whisk until the butter is completely melted. Pour over cookies and bananas and continue layering until mixture is gone. Top with cookies. Set in refrigerator until cooled. 

Rylie saw the 'Nilla wafers at Brookshire's the other day and asked if we could get the stuff for a banana pudding so she could make it. She enjoys helping me in the kitchen. Makes me proud! 

I guess Rowdy needed to see how it's done. 

Last night I told Caleb I was going to make him a dessert and held up the box of cookies. He made a joke about instant pudding and we had a good laugh. Please don't feed your family banana pudding with instant pudding in it. Don't be that wife. Homemade is super easy and tastes a million times better. Ray Charles can see that! 

No, I don't cook "good food" while Caleb is gone working. I save the good stuff for when he comes home. The kids and I eat a lot of soups, chili and stews. We do spaghettis and things that can be eaten as leftovers. Now you may ask yourself, can't everything be eaten as leftovers? I'm sure it can, but not everything tastes good as leftovers. Cooking for your family makes a messy kitchen. Did I mention I left mine a disaster last night? Time to clean it up and get ready for school! 

What Christmas crafts are you making this year? 

What will you be cooking for your family this week?

Send me an email at calebcrawley@aol.com with your ideas!

Loads and Loads of Laundry and Thankfulness

I'm up and at 'em and filled with joy! Some people call it coffee, but whatevs. 

Let's talk about household chores. Back when I was a young bride and only had a couple of kids, I believed that my precious babies didn't need to lift a finger. EVERYTHING was Momma's job. Uh, yeah. That's changed. I put these little rascals to work now. Probably not as much as I should, but it's a huge improvement compared to "the old me". I used to stay up all night cleaning and doing laundry and other household chores. Nope. Not anymore. This house will be a bigger mess than a trunkful of coat hangers and I just flip the lights off and hit it the next day. Or the next. But you get my drift. Because if I didn't, I would go insane. Literally insane. When my house is messy, it makes me want to turn into the Hulk. There is just too many people up in this casa for it to stay spotless all the time. I put up a good fight, but nobody likes Hitler Momma who yells at all the kids 24/7. And besides, the kids don't even understand German. ::sigh:: Kids. Yes, I still make them clean their junk up. That ain't my job, yo! I would pick my living room up over and over and over and over again and then it hit me. Hey! These kids are able-bodied and full of energy. "Y'all cleanin' y'all's junk up! We don't have a maid!" Ask my kids how many times a day I say that. Maybe I should just get it as a tattoo on my bicep and when they wanna trash my house, I raise my sleeve and flex. Then they flinch and shutter in fear and scamper off with an arm full of toys because Mom means business. No, no, to the tattoo. But wouldn't that be a cool scenario? 

Caleb has been on me forever to make the kids do stuff, but I wanted to be the good mom who does everything for my kids. Yeah, letting your kids be lazy little slobs isn't going to make them better people. My husband works runs his tail in the ground working for his family. Sleeping a few hours here and there. Staying gone for days. He works hard. And I'm thankful for that. No, he doesn't come home and wash dishes and do laundry. That's my job. A woman's job. I don't get out there and change his truck tires. We have an understanding and it works for us. I've always called him a caveman. He sorta is, but he's my caveman. 

Of course, I still do all the dishes and laundry, but I make them go put theirs away. Why wasn't I doing that years ago?? Geeze, Louise! It's fabulous! We call it "taking loads". Ya know, because their daddy is a truck driver. I'll have all the laundry folded and on hangers, call them in and hand one kid socks, one kid undies. They "take that load" and come back for their hanging clothes. I still probably make it too easy on them because I group all of their clothes up. T-shirts, button ups, shorts, jeans, etc. because if I didn't, they'd just hang everything up right in the middle, and wait for it, I'd go insane. That stresses me out just thinking about a jumbled up closet. It's actually easier on everybody. They pick a shirt and some bottoms and they know where everything is. No digging through the whole closet and screaming you're out of shorts. Isn't it amazing how much more clothes you have when all the laundry is put away? I'm always like, time to buy the kids new clothes, they have NOTHING hanging in their closet. ::does laundry:: "Oh, y'all good. Look at all them clothes!" 

Now back to the good stuff. I read on my friend's blog (Western Homestead dot blogspot dot com) about glittering branches for fall and winter decorations. You could do it anytime of the year, but it looks so beautiful this time of year. I had been wanting to make a Thankful Tree and then I saw her tutorial, so why not glitter the branches of the Thankful Tree?! I followed her tutorial for the glittering and found a Mason jar and put the sticks in it. The kids and I tried to gather acorns while we were out in the back forty getting sticks, but they were all gone! Good job, squirrels! Store that food for the winter! But leave me a little, alright?! I let y'all live on my land, rent free! Help a sister out! So there's 4 acorns in the jar. I'll get more later, but I had a baby on my hip (shocker) and was getting tired of toting her around. After I put the sticks in the jar, I tied a few pieces of ribbon, lace and fabric strips around the neck of the jar. Voila! Beautiful, free decorations! 

Pay no attention to that dust, it came with the house...3 1/2 years ago... 

Then I cut some leaf shapes out of paper and people wrote what they're thankful for and we clipped them onto the branches with clothes pins. How cute is that?! 

Isn't it sweet to hear kids talk about what they're thankful for?

Y'all go check out my friend's blog and make your own Thankful Tree! After all, don't you have so much to thank God for?

❤️ Jennifer

Parties for Penny Pinchers

Hello. Yep, you read that right. Not a whole lot of enthusiasm yet, but I'm getting caffeinated, so give me time. ::sigh:: Let me see, hello! Good glorious morning! Yep, coffee is working. 

So it's supposed to be "arctic-like" today. Yikes! I try not to make wasted trips to town (unless I just REALLY need a Diet Dr Pepper with coconut cream pie flavoring), so I'm going to try and hold off on the grocery store until RCC #1 has dance this evening. Reckon they'll still have milk and bread? I sure hope they do! All you Dooms Day Preppers, leave enough for my crew, aight?! When Caleb wakes up, I'm probably going to sweet talk him into firing up the fireplace. WHY can't I keep a fire going?! Don't get me wrong, I keep HIS fire going, just not my fireplace fires. It's a skilled craft that I am not skilled in. 

Last night, we had Remmi a little party. It was so simple and super and fab. Y'all Pittsburg people know we got an awesome new store (wow, easily entertained much?) way out here where we live and, sadly, I go there nearly every single day for something. It's 1.2 miles down the road, so I don't mind making trips to it. Shout out, DG! What what! I got the majority of the stuff for her party there. 

The paper fans & tissue balls ($1-2 per pack) the plates, cups, most of the food, and even some of her gifts. 

Yep, I'm that mom. Hey, they have some good stuff and I like to take advantage of it while I can, ya dig? The stuff I got her was actually pretty cool. One of the things I got her was a porcelain tea set ($5). I'd rather walk on tacks than buy those cheap plastic toys that fall apart in kids' hands. [And for the record, no, we do not go ape and buy our kids millions of gifts that they will play with for a week and not appreciate, just for the sake of them having something to rip open. In my opinion, that is ridiculous and that causes them to not appreciate their things because there is an abundance of toys. I don't want to rob them of their childhood, I just refuse to raise ungrateful children.] Last week I decided I wanted to make Rem a pretend stove for her birthday. She likes to "cook", so I figured she'd like it. I was wrong. She loves it! Jackpot! I bought a $10 nightstand at a store downtown (Max and Zoe's-thanks, Elance!) painted it with some leftover hot pink paint, painted "burners" on the top and Caleb screwed on some wooden drawer pulls to look like knobs. I'm not 100% happy with the way it turned out, simply because Caleb was gone working and I went ahead and painted it and could not/would not cut a perfect circle hole in the top for her to have a sink. I told my friend, "Rem doesn't have Pinterest, so she doesn't even know she's missing out on a sink!" I intended on making the drawer pull down like a real oven, well y'all know I put it off until it was too late and I couldn't. But it turned out pretty great and she was thrilled! Yay, Momma and Daddy! 

I've got about $20 in this and she couldn't be happier. I got a wire rack (from DG, of course) and put it in the top drawer so it's like an oven. All her fake food and dishes go in the bottom drawer. 

I actually went to Hobby Lobby last week to buy party supplies and put a bunch of stuff back because I knew "my dollar store" had most of it. Why pay more if you don't have to??? I ended up only getting two things there. No, I don't have a fever. I just like to save a little money, especially since I don't have deep pockets. Caleb hauls cows and is self-employeed, so we are usually either eating high on the hog or barely making it. I don't like the barely making it, but we make it work. That's life. Pull up your bootstraps and get on with it. I got the tassel garland ($4.99) and some little ice cream cups ($2.99) there. I got the Happy Birthday banner on clearance at Walmart for fifty cents! I love a good deal.

She wanted a bwoo cake, I made her a bwoo cake. We had punch, cookies, Olaf's noses (carrots), snowballs (marshmallows), and Nanna brought over fried chicken with all the sides! That was just perfect! 

The birthday girl blowing out her candle. 

I pray our babies always remember how special they are to us. I saw a quote once that said, 'Children are a poor man's riches'. Hmmm. Pretty accurate, don't ya think?

Last night while I was cleaning up, Rowdy asked me if he could have something homemade. That's a pretty cool thing for an 8 year old boy to ask for. Money does not make a great life. Sometimes it makes life easier, but not necessarily better. So the moral of the story is, you don't have to spend loads of money on your child to make them feel special. It's the effort and love you put into it. 

 Stay warm and cook something hearty for your family today!

❤️ Jennifer

Babies, Birthdays & Blessings

G'mornin'! Y'all wanna hear a story about some crazy girls who have lots of kids? Well, ok! You came to the right place! My best friend and I have been pregnant together more than once. We like it that way lol. Nobody wants to be pregnant alone! I remember Laura coming to my house and telling me that she was pregnant. She was like, "I wish you were pregnant with me this time." Well that was on a Tuesday. Two days later on Thursday, I found out that I was pregnant, too! How crazy is that?! Our wombs are so in sync. Hee hee ;) At this point, we are officially in that category with "crazy people" who have a whole litter of kids. Big families are totally cool by the way. Getcha one!

So, like, DO NOT drink the water around here... My friends, Holly, Billie-Jo, and LO. 

So, I was pregnant with our fourth RCC and we decided that we didn't want to know what it was going to be. I tried to do that on RCC #3, but caved at 7 months. Everywhere I went, people would ask me what I was having. When I told them I didn't know, they'd guess what they thought it'd be. Let me just tell you, older black people can judge a belly. I swear they just know. That's a talent. All I knew was, whatever it was, it was a big one. (Waddle waddle.) Turned out to be our smallest one. Well, if you want to call 8 pounds 9 ounces small. We grow some big ole babies! 

Caleb was hauling sand and he was gone a lot, so they scheduled a date to induce me, since I was overdue. Story of my life! I'm always overdue. My womb is just too cozy, I guess. Of course I picked 11-11-11, but the hospital was booked that day. So I settled for 11-10-11. You know when you're ready to have a baby, you're just like, whatever, ASAP! That morning, we got to the hospital and so it began. Blah blah blah, needles, shots, and all that jazz. "It's a girl!" Yay! I secretly wanted another girl. Victory! Pretty clothes and bows and all that cutesy stuff! 

I remember feeling so awesome that day. Even more awesome than usual. 'Yeah, ya know, got my four kids and it's fabulous.' Love this life! 

Remember those pregnant girls up there?  Well here's what was in their bellies. Adaly, Bixley, Remmi and Tucker Tex! 

Now Rem is three and it's been a truly awesome three years. 

We call her Little Old Lady. She's always wearing little heels and is usually way overdressed. She drinks coffee with me every morning and makes us crack up at her cuteness and silly little personality. (I'm sure she got that from me) I absolutely LOVE being her momma. We never knew we wanted a big family. The babies and blessings just kept coming and now here we are in the middle of chaos, craziness and a whole lot of fun. This is our life! (Yes!) Sometimes I get all giddy and think, I love this circus. Who would've thought that a couple of kids who met in Home Ec would've made it this far? I sure didn't. Whew, that husband of mine, he's a doozy at times. But me, I'm always perfect, so yeah. Ha! Yeah, right. 

Aw! Look at us! I am smitten with him... and then I want to plot his disappearance. He's something else. Thank you, Lord, for this man who drives me bananas and has given me all these babies. Where would my life be without him?! I don't want to know. 

We are having Rem a little party at home and she's all in to Frozen and pretending to cook. Yes, I'm so proud. [tear] Thats my girl! I bought a little nightstand and am turning it into a play stove. Duh, I got the idea from Pinterest! Like y'all didn't know. 

Looking back, I can not believe how blessed we have been. Five perfectly healthy, amazingly fantastic babies! I can't thank God enough for my blessings, but I sure try. 

Psalm 127:3-5, my most favoritest verses

Well, time to put the finishing touches on Rem's gift so it'll be dry in time for her partay this evening. Did I mention I'm a bit of a procrastinator?? 

Now where'd Caleb put that electric screwdriver...

❤️ Jennifer 

God and Grub

Heh heh hello! Heh heh hello!  (That was a rap just in case you weren't sure how to read that.) I'm pretty pumped up this morning! Date night tonight!! What what! Y'all know we NEVER get date nights. Never ever. I think we've had, like, MAYBE 3 since Roxie was born last September. Caleb likes to be at home. I usually beg him to take me out, and he always talks me into cooking at home and staying in. He says he eats at restaurants all week long while he's out of town working, so when he comes home, he wants home-cooked food. (That makes me feel good.) :: sigh:: Ok, fine. But not tonight! We goin out!! And when I say 'out', that means Chili's and a show. Hey, I think I'm pretty easy to please! My inlaws will be watching the RCC Gang tonight, so y'all keep the inlaws in y'all's prayers. Seriously. Lol jk! ;)

Vroom vroom! My inlaws are some pretty cool cats.

I spent most of my day yesterday doing laundry and rocking babies that didn't feel so hot. Roxie had thrown up (right in the middle of our bed) the night before last and Rem woke up yesterday feeling puny. Nobody else felt bad and they're back up to 110% today and bouncing off the walls. Already. We also watched Moms' Night Out yesterday. If you haven't saw it yet, go to Redbox and get it! It's grool. (By the way, if you don't know what grool means, rent Mean Girls while you're at it.) It was such a funny show and appropriate for the whole family. That's a huge bonus! While watching it, you see all these frazzled moms and you're like, "Yep, I'm that one! No, she's even more of a mess, I'm that one!" Totally relatable movie and I highly recommend it. Also, they mention God (several times) and they all go to church! Pretty awesome, right?!

Now speaking of church, I [STRONGLY] feel families need to be in church. We need our armor. God's word is our armor! I was not raised going to church every Sunday and look how I turned out. Lol! That was a joke, y'all! Although we didn't always go to church, I knew that my Nanny was a good, Christian woman who loved and worshipped God. I'm thankful for that. Caleb was raised up in church and I'm dearly grateful he was. If it wasn't for his momma staying on us to go to church while we were dating, I'm not sure we'd be where we are today. So thank you to Nanny & Kelley. ::tips invisible hat:: If you want to start bringing your family to church, but you're too shy, don't know where to go, or your husband doesn't want to join you, that's ok! Come to Crossroads Baptist Church! It's a picturesque little white church with a pretty cool preacher who will make you laugh, but who also speaks the Truth! C'mon! You can sit with me! [Send me an email (calebcrawley@aol.com) or message me on Facebook if you're interested.] I NEED God in my life, y'all! For real! I lose my mind (and my temper) on the daily. I am beyond thankful for God's grace and forgiveness. And also Caleb's since he's the one who is so lucky to have to put up with me and my mouth. God changes people and I have seen his handiwork with my own two eyes. Let Him change you, too! Now if you don't believe all that and you don't want to hear it, all I can say is, hell is hot, y'all. I'm just teasin' and playin'. A little. ;) 

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it's time to start digging up some good recipes! I swear, I look forward to food WAY too much. I want to make good, make that great, stuff and I want my babies to remember how fab their Momma's kitchen skills were. I always tell my boys, marry a girl who loves God, treats you good, and wants to learn how to cook. They just laugh and think that's gross. Good. Rylie shows so much interest in cooking and that makes me very happy! She also keeps asking for me to teach her how to do laundry and that makes me even happier lol! Raising these kids right! 

Cash and Rowdy cooking homemade tortillas. 

Rylie sewing little pouches for the other kids. 

I'm always pinning good stuff on Pinterest, so go follow me and get some good ideas to whip up and impress your crew. 

I hope I inspired y'all to rock that momma life and enjoy the day that The Lord has made! Happy Saturday, y'all! 

❤️ Jennifer

Fun and Festive for Fall

Hello! Hello? Is anyone there? It's been a coon's age since I've posted something! We've had a pretty busy week! We had Halloween, our church's fall fest, Sunday dinner at my in-laws', winter clothes shopping in Longview, clearing out clutter, whew! Y'all know I like to take it easy. A busy schedule wears me out! 

[2 buckaroo bunnies, 1 Where's Wenda, 1 Elsa and 1 baby that was too cold to wear her indian costume] 

Along with my busy schedule, I've made some pretty fabulous foods. One of the easiest, best-tasting meals I have ever made was the Pulled Pork. Why haven't I been making this all along??? My crew went nuts over it! A friend of mine (Sandy Hooper) brought me ALL the stuff to make it and I'm so glad she did! Did y'all know I have some fab friends? I'm blessed!! She brought me TWO pork loins because the population here at the Crawley Casa calls for doubled recipes a lot of times. 

I put the two cuts of meat in my crockpot, dumped in the Red Pepper Jelly {this is from Mayben's in our little downtown, check 'em out} covered the crockpot with foil, put the lid on and let it cook on high for a few hours, then turned it to low to continue cooking. After it was done throughout (about 6 hours), I took the meat out and sat it on a plate and shredded it with a fork. I dumped some of the juice out of the crockpot and dumped in a whole bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, put the pork back in and stirred it all up. Bam! Supper is ready! We ate ours on hamburger buns and with Loaded Baked Potato Salad. We really love barbecue around here and it sure hit the spot! Mmm! I'm getting hungry! 

Since Halloween has come and gone, it's time for fall decor. My Halloween mantle and fall mantle look a lot a like. Different, but real similar. I don't have a lot of fall decor, so while I was in Longview, I got a little fox and an over-sized acorn to add to my cuteness. They were both 50% off at Hobby Lobby. Yes, I have to drive an hour to get to Hobby Lobby. It's tragic. I'm sure my husband likes it that way. Hobby Lobby equals an empty wallet. But not this time! ::pats self on back:: I also made this scrappy bunting, threw it up there and called it a day. 

The bunting I make for most every occasion is uber simple. Just get about an eight of a yard of 6 or so different fabrics (I used 8). Rip (or cut) those fabrics into strips and then cut them into little squares and rectangles. They don't have to be perfect. Put them in the order that you like and stack them all up in the correct order. Set your sewing machine to a straight stitch and sew them all together. My friend, Billie-Jo, dropped in yesterday morning and I made it while she was here. So I made her a strand, too. 

After I sewed all the pieces together, I snipped little pieces out of the bottom of some to mix it up a little bit. Voila! Pretty bunting for just a few of bucks. It really adds some whimsy and fun to your home. I had some leftover, so B-Jo and I decided to hang it here. 

Kind of hard to see, but you get the jist of it. I love a happy, colorful home! I have little things like this hung all over our house. It always looks like we are decorated for a party lol! 

Now y'all run and get the stuff and cook your family some pulled pork and make ya some happy bunting! Toodles!

❤️ Jenn

We Grow Kids and Pumpkins

Y'all! I am ecstatic! Nanny came for a visit today and she and I were in the house, cooking Chicken Croissant Roll Ups, when the kids came running in from the pasture. They were hollering and jumping up and down. I immediately thought they had seen a snake! We have pumpkins growing out in the back forty!!! Eek! Yay! After Halloween, I always let the kids smash their pumpkins out in the pasture. So now we grow pumpkins! How perfect that try discovered them on Halloween. Happy Halloween, right?! 

Nanny with Rowdy, Cash & RC...and our 67 dogs. 

Rem last year with a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. This year, with a pumpkin we grew!

There's more, y'all! 

Chicken Croissant Roll Ups

2 cans chicken, drained

2 cans crescent rolls

Cream of mushroom

Cream of chicken

Shredded cheese

Milk

Preheat oven to 350• Spray 9x13 with cooking spray. Dump chicken in a mixing bowl and shred with a fork. Add in a couple of spoons of each of the soups and a little cheese. Stir it up real good. Flatten out the crescent roll triangles and spoon in a little of the chicken mixture. Roll up croissant and place in pan. Continue until all of the rolls are used up. Sometimes I have leftover chicken and I just empty my cans of soup and stir it all up. I add a little milk to thin it out. I let those cook for a while so that they can get a little done around the edges and they won't be doughy. Then pour the soup mixture over the top and top with cheese. Bake until golden and bubbly. 

My crew loves these and they're easy and quick. 

This is the only picture I got. We were too excited about the pumpkins! 

Now it's time for a slice of that pumpkin cheesecake Nanny brought with her. 

Happy Halloween, y'all! Have a boo-tiful day! 

❤️ Jennifer

A slice of Banana Nut Bread with a side of fear

Helloo! ::that was in my Mrs. Doubtfire voice:: Yesterday was great and fabulous and busy. I spent it cleaning and baking. I had had a dream the other day that I got stopped by the cops for speeding. They looked inside my car and told me that since it was dirty (it's not, y'all) and I had kids, they wanted to see my house too, just to be sure it was in livable condition. The cops took my kids (remember this is ONLY a dream lol), and CPS showed up at my house and said my house was too messy to raise kids. They kept my kids!!! When I woke up, I felt weird and just wanted to clean. Ya know, just in case... ;) Well, my boys' room was actually THAT messy. Boys! But not anymore! We got it licked. 

Yay! -baby photobomb-

They have bunk beds, but sleep together most of the time. Best brothers is what they call themselves. I just love that. 

I also baked banana nut bread yesterday because I had 50 million bananas that didn't get eaten. {Also, if autocorrect could stop changed banana nut, to banana but, that'd be great.} I tripled my recipe and it made 11 loaves. We go through spells with them. One week we eat 3 pounds, the next we eat none. But I always buy them. Cheap, healthy snack! Here is my recipe and it's so easy! It doesn't mess up your whole kitchen and you only dirty up one bowl. Winning! 

I usually keep my loaf pans and reuse them since I make this so often, but I was feeling generous ['tis the season] lol. Somebody (Cash) picked the top out of a few loaves to "see what it tasted like", so I had to get creative and hide that. I dug through my baking cabinet and found these Halloween picks. Then I just ripped some fabric into strips and tied on a pretty bow. Voila! Beautiful, dahling!

Banana Nut Bread

3 ripe bananas

1/3 C melted butter

1 C sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1 C chopped pecans 

Preheat oven to 350• Mash bananas in large mixing bowl. I melt my butter in a small glass bowl while I'm doing this. Mix in all the ingredients and pour in 3 small greased loaf pans. Bake until cooked through, usually about 70 minutes. 

Time to have me a slice! Or six. 

❤️ Jennifer

Make The Days Count

Good morning! I didn't have any coffee yesterday, so today I may celebrate and have an extra cup. Caleb has been home and it's been fabulous. He has been working so hard here lately. Yesterday we had a lazy day. Not really "lazy", just enjoying one another. We sat around watching Green Acres (I was raised on it, so you know I bought the DVD), eating Little Debbies and playing with the kids. If y'all know Caleb, y'all know he is just a big kid. Seriously. The kids love it! He plays with them like he's one of them. I'm blessed to have him for a husband. 

[In the middle of a backflip. I'm over here with a bad back, like, yeah, good for you lol. Cool dad award.] 

Roxie turned 13 months over the weekend. Here's a little progress picture.

Y'all know how when it's someone's child's birthday or major milestone, how they always say, "Where has the time gone?" It always gets me to thinking and reflecting back. I make a point to be engaged with all of my little babes, everyday. Playing, reading books, giggling, breaking up fights, coloring, feeding them, finding lost shoes, rocking, kissing boo boos, telling funny stories, filling sippy cups, tickling, big hugs, THAT'S where the time has gone! I know that the years go way, way too fast, and my kids are still little, but I enjoy every day I have with them. I saw a quote that has really stuck with me. "Don't count the days, make the days count". I've been Momma for almost 10 years now and I think back to when Rylie Cole was first born and I can't believe it's been that long, but I KNOW where the years have gone. 

I smell a poopy diaper, time to get busy. Make your day count today. Enjoy it. These are the best days of our lives!

❤️ Jennifer 

Cookie Cake Recipe

Good morning! Hi! Hello! Hey! How you doin'? I'm up having my coffee and eating puppy chow. I can't stop! I bought way too much at Brookshire's because I was trying to get bonus points. It's bad. Their sale this week is awful. I'm going to have to pay full price to fill my bus up. Hate that. But I'll get 'em next week!

I'm seeing all this Christmas stuff everywhere I go and it's making me ready for the holidays. One store I went to the other day was even playing Christmas music. In October?! That's cray cray. I ain't gonna lie, as soon as Halloween is over, I'll be trying to put my Christmas decorations out. Ya know, right after Halloween like a normal American. 

[Christmas 2013]

I finally finished Roxie's costume. It only took me about 20 minutes. I just winged it. Nothing fancy. Comfortable and cute, that's what I like. I'm ready to see her in it! My MIL came and picked up Rem (and Rylie and Rowdy and Cash, she can't leave with just one lol) so that they could go get Rem's Elsa dress finished. 

[Halloween 2013]

I have to bake cookies today for the cookie walk for our first fall festival of the year. Yay! I'm thinking about doing a cookie cake, like the kind you get at the mall. I got the recipe from Doughmestic Housewife on Instagram. I'm 100% sure that mine won't be near as cute, but I'm ok with that. I'm also going to make some almond bark candy. I can't ever make that just to keep here at the house. I can eat my weight in that. Basically I can eat my weight in anything. I'm a champ like that. 

Time to gather up my baking supplies and get crackin'.

❤️ Jennifer