Poop Happens!

Last week we were bombarded with lots of rain here in south Texas.  The natives were getting restless being cooped up for so many days, so I picked up some little things to keep them entertained.  One of the items was Play-Doh, because even at the age of 45, I still love the smell and squish of this stuff!

I also passed by a section of the toy aisle dedicated to pranking.  My boys LOVE pranking, especially when their victim is their father.  I saw a small Play-Doh like kit called...POO-DOH.

  

And as the mother of four boys, 

I knew my kids had to have it.

Let me tell you, this stuff did NOT disappoint!

There they were, the boys and Mary Grace, sitting around the kitchen table getting along, laughing, and telling every poop joke known to man...

and making every color of poop known to man...

for HOURS!

The kids got their prank on by putting some 

on the carpet for dad to discover after a hard days work.

Pretty real looking, right?

But being a veteran father of five, he fell for it for 

about half a second before getting retaliation.

A week later they are still giggling and joking about poop.  

They are also plotting and scheming.  

I'm not going to give away all the details, 

let's just say that the upcoming holiday season will be 

very eventful!

Running of the Bulls

On Sunday, Kyle and I participated in the 
Houston Texans 5k race, The Running of the Bulls.

Kyle is a HUGE Texans fan!  

So much so that he got up at 5:30am to head into Houston.  

Check out my still bloodshot eyes in our pre-race selfie...

The event was huge, but really fun.  The race course went all around NRG Stadium, the Astrodome, and the Texans practice field affectionately called "the bubble."  We really had the best time together and he totally pulled me through the race because I haven't worked out in weeks!

The race ended by running through the Texans Toro tunnel, which is the same one the football players run through at the start of games.  Here we are at the finish line, I'm a hot sweaty mess and Kyle didn't even break a sweat!

The after party was on the floor of the stadium, 

 which I believe was Kyle's whole motivation for going.

Well, that and CHEERLEADERS.

When Doug was about Kyle's age, he had some photo opps with the then Houston Oilers cheerleaders, the Derrick Dolls. 

Kyle thought it would be funny to recreate his dad's photo.

So here 'ya go...

Thanks for being my 5K buddy, Kyle!
But I think next time we'll ditch the cheerleaders 
and go on a zombie run instead!

Easy Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

I'm all about the quick and easy 

and that is exactly what this casserole is!

It's perfect for a no fuss breakfast or dinner and can even be made into soft tacos for a meal on the go.  Plus, it's super versatile to cater to the tastes of your family.

To make this casserole you'll need:

12 eggs

1 bag of frozen hash browns 

(I use "O'Brien" potatoes because they have peppers and onions already mixed in)

1 16oz roll of sausage

2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup of milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Several dashes of Tabasco or Sriracha

Line your crockpot or spray heavily with cooking spray.

Brown sausage in a separate skillet and combine all the ingredients in your slow cooker.  Give everything a good mix.  Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or overnight.

Be aware that slow cookers have different cooking temps.  

Mine seems to cook very hot.  

Our casserole was perfect after 5 hours of cooking.

Change up the flavors by adding:

Bacon or ham

Spinach

Different cheeses

Hot or maple sausage

Pickled jalapenos

Green onion

You can even scoop this filling into flour tortillas, wrap the individual tacos in freezer paper, and freeze for an anytime snack, just microwave for 1 1/2 minutes when you're ready to eat.

Plus, if you use a liner, there will be no dishes to do.

THAT is probably my favorite part of this recipe!

 

Growing ginger

This is one of two patches of ginger I planted a little over a year ago.  I noticed that the leaves were starting to turn brown and so I decided to go ahead and harvest it.

A gentle pull to the base of the plant and the ginger came right up.  It was so gorgeous and fragrant that I went ahead and pulled up the whole darn patch.

I had initially planted a thumb sized piece of store bought ginger.  A year later, I now have well over 20 times that amount!  You don't have to wait a whole year like I did to get your own ginger harvest, but you do have to wait at least one season.  If you plant in the early spring, you can harvest by late fall.

Trust me, it's worth the wait!

Now to decide what to do with all this fresh ginger.

Ginger ale, ginger beer, gingerbread...

The newest altar boy...

Our sweet little Daniel Vianney served his first Mass

 yesterday morning!

We are so proud of him.

Heavenly Father, we ask your blessing upon them, 

that they may serve at your altar with reverence, attention, 

and love, in order to draw others to do the same. 

We ask this through Christ our Lord. 

Amen.