This is love!

My boy is in love.  With a girl name Cassidy!  It's official, and I have proof!

(Excuse the shirtless BBQ dinner, it's Friday night in Houston y'all!)

Shout out to "Uncle Nat" = Uncle Matt for the video!

A dance, an oops and a first love?

Cooper's teacher sent us a video of him dancing during music class today.  I couldn't believe my eyes! This is the same kid that cries his eyes out every morning at drop off?! Clearly aced Toddler Manipulation 101!

For those of you who haven't had the pleasant opportunity of trying to get crayon marks off your floor I'll go ahead and save you a step...Mr. Clean magic erasers!  How did Moms survive before these?!  (Yes, I am blogging about cleaning products, sheesh.  Moving on...)

In other news...Cooper boy won't stop talking about a little girl in his class.  He says her name over and over and giggles to himself.  What the what?!  Slow it down Macho Man! 

Mama's got a new toy!

Mama's got a new camera lens...sorry Coop!  When we were at the river a couple of weekends ago I totally got "lens envy" watching my photog friend in action.  Here are a few from tonight's shoot.  Cooper just loves having his picture taken, can't you tell?!

Sweet face.

In action.  Why are boys so sweaty?!

"OK, Mom. Enough with the pictures."

"I'm DONE!"

Maroon!

I am very lucky to have two people in my life, my husband and my best friend, who do most of my clothes shopping for me!  I know I'm spoiled, but we all have our strengths and weaknesses!

I'm not totally deficient.  I can pick out clothes that I like and I do ok keeping the basics stocked.  Plus, I have ZERO problems in the shoe and handbag departments!  But, the thought of stocking up my fall wardrobe or picking out an outfit for my Christmas pics makes me a little queasy.  And once I find something I like, you are sure to see me in it 500 times.  (Just ask Kyle about the "winter pants, 2009" or the "summer shorts, 2012"!)

To all my Aggie friends...check out Lyndsey's picks for maroon this fall!  LOVE!

Shoes {obsessed with maroon on the feet this season!}

1 2 3 4 5 6

Game day tops

1 2 3 4 5 

Leg guitars

1 2 3 4 

Bottoms Up

1 2 3 

Happy First Weekend of Fall!

P.S. A litte more maroon...

I know these are considered filler flowers but I dig them and they were only $10 at Central Market!

P.P.S. FUN weekend song.

XO,

LZ

Mac n' Cheese? Yes, please!

WARNING: THIS RECIPE WILL RUIN YOUR "SKINNY" DAY.

DISCLAIMER: I CAN NOT ATTEST TO ANY HEALTH BENEFITS OR LACK THEROF.  I CAN ONLY ATTEST TO THE CHEESE EUPHORIA THAT COMES WITH THIS RECIPE!

I love cheese.  I know, everyone loves cheese.  It's like saying "I love my Mom" or "I love sunshine, babies and puppies."  So when cheese doubles as a side dish, a la mac n' cheese, I'm all over it!

On weeknights, I still love my blue box, but a couple of years ago I went on a hunt for the perfect "Gucci" mac n' cheese recipe!  On my quest, I stumbled upon the Cheesemonger's Mac and Cheese on Epicurious.com.  After several iterations, here's what I've settled on as my favorite version:

Casey’s Mac n’ Cheese

(adapted from “Cheesemonger’s Mac n’ Cheese from Epicurious.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese (8oz)
• 2 cups coarsely grated smoky gouda (8oz)
• 1 1/2 cups diced Brie (no rind) (6oz)
• 5 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 3/4 teaspoon (scant) nutmeg
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 3/4 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
• 1 pound pasta (I like “pope hats” or spiral)
• Salt to taste
• Cayenne - dash

Preparation

Mix all cheeses. Set aside 1 cup for topping; cover and chill. Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until mixture turns golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add rosemary and nutmeg. Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until thickened and smooth, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add cheeses from large bowl. Add cayenne. Add salt to taste. (Be generous because the pasta soaks it up).  Stir until melted and smooth.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; toss. Stir until golden and crunchy, about 2 minutes. Transfer to plate.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook pasta in boiling salted water until tender but firm to bite. Drain. Transfer to large bowl. Pour cheese sauce over; toss. Put in baking dish / dishes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese and the breadcrumbs. Bake pasta until beginning to bubble and tops are golden, about 20 minutes.

I made it for friends last weekend and it was gone so fast we didn't get a picture!  Test it out and let me know what you think!!!   

Take me fishing

Do you remember the commercial a couple of years ago where the little girl at the end says "Take me fishing, because my wedding will be sooner than you think."???  I don't know what it is about that commercial but it gets me every time!

That's how I felt watching these two fish this weekend.  It rained pretty much the whole time so there was nothing to be caught but it didn't matter one bit to the Cooper boy.  As long as he had his Daddy to help him cast he was happy as a clam.  Well, his Daddy and our sweet friend Dave who trekked down to the water with him armed with a fishing pole, bubbles and plenty of rocks to throw while Mommy and Daddy got to watch the A&M game, whoop!

We had a blast at the river last weekend with some of our dearest friends.  It was one of those "eat too much, drink too much, laugh too hard" weekends.  (Check it out on Lyndsey's blog here.)  

The week in pictures

Kona got an "SEC" collar, because she's cool like that and she roots for the good guys...

The pre-game photo shoot:

"Why did the Aggies have to lose?!"

Meanwhile, Cooper on lead [fake] guitar. 

They will never admit this actually happened.

In preparation for going out of town this weekend, our kitchen exploded upon itself.  Welcome to the wine and cooking party!

In other news, school is going much better for the Cooper boy.  The crying is down under an hour and he has started participating in art/music and is eating his lunch.  Whew!  That was rough.

Random thought of the night...Why does saran wrap never stick when you want it to? UGH!

Game Day Buzz

It's Game Day, y'all!  What goes better with an afternoon of football than the perfect cocktail to set the mood (and maybe calm your nerves)?!

A favorite around our house is the Brewmosa!

Recipe here!

Enjoy!  Gig em' Ags! BTHOF!!!

Only one way to go from here

Last week as I was leaving Cooper's school, the teacher warned me that the second day of class is usually worse than the first because the kids are smart enough to remember where they are.  Boy, my kid must be pretty dang smart because he remembered all the way from the parking lot!

Growing up, my Mom always encouraged us to "find the silver lining in the clouds".  So, with that in mind, here are my thoughts from today:

1. He didn't cry more than he did last time.
2. He wasn't the only kid that cried so hard that they puked.  In fact, another kid puked twice.  Point, Cooper.
3. When asked if he wants to go back to school he says "Yeah! Cool!" (cool = school in Cooper language).  I'll take it.

Here he is leaving the school parking lot.  If you look REALLY closely, you can see a hint of that winning grin (behind the puffy eyes and really sleepy face)! Yep, I'd say things are looking up around here!

[Note: I decided to chronicle the good, bad and ugly parts of our going to school adventures in hopes that I can look back on this in a few weeks and tell myself "it wasn't so bad"!  Thanks for all of your kind words.]

Always something there to remind me

Paci in your purse?  Cheerios underneath your car seat?  Fingertip marks in your favorite lipstick tube? Yo Gaba Gaba episodes clogging up your iPad?

I remember the first time I went to pay for a work lunch and a diaper came flying out of my purse along with my wallet.  There are always seem to be [not so] subtle reminders of the Mom life outside of your "life" life.

Case in point...Tonight I decided to unwind (teething monster is back) with a glass of wine and a bubble bath.  I had settled in, wine in hand, candles lit, favorite playlist in the background when I surveyed the scene and realized...what would my relaxing bath be without my yellow plastic watering can?!  I mean, how could I possibly unwind without it!

Ahh, Mommyland.