Meatloaf Patties

We had this for dinner a few nights ago and thought I would share it with everyone. This is one my husband's favorites. I think I got the recipe from a Rachel Ray book my Grandparents had or maybe from her show, I can't remember. I have tweaked it adding some ingredients and leaving some out. I didn't write down the name but I call it Meatloaf Patties. It's just like meatloaf but instead of putting it in a loaf pan you make little oval patties.

Meatloaf Patties

About a pound of hamburger
1 beaten egg
2/3 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 small onion
4 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup  grated Parmesan Cheese
Medium can of sliced olives
salt and pepper

I use a 13x9 baking sheet or pan, doesn't really matter as long as its big enough. I drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of pan to help from sticking. The best way to mix it well is to use your hands. Yes I know its messy but its the only way to get everything all mixed up evenly. Mix all ingredients together and form 4 individual oval meat loaves and coat loaves with Extra-virgin olive oil and arrange on baking sheet. Roast at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes or so give or take.

The original recipe says to roast for 18-20 minutes but it seems like mine are always in the oven for at least 45 minutes. I think there is something wrong with our oven because it always takes longer than what the cooking instructions call for. I love cheese so most of the time I will sprinkle the loaves with mozzarella cheese and let cook for another couple of minutes just to melt the cheese.

I always make mashed potatoes to go with patties and then some type of veggie. On this night we had asparagus. I coat the asparagus with extra-virgin olive oil and garlic then roast on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 5-10 minuets, depends how crunchy or mushy you like them.



The completed meal.....YUMMY!!!!!

Ok on a side note....we finally made our first sale on Etsy!!! Whoooohooooo, so excited and hopefully there is more to come real soon.

Snow Day

A couple weeks ago Ryan was on vacation. We didn't have anything big planned because well that was his last pick at work. He gets 3 weeks vacation for the year and they have to choose all 3 weeks in December and they choose according to seniority. But he did get his first pick, so that was awesome! By the time it came down to his third and final week there was only a couple weeks left in January and February. He choose January because he wanted a vacation before baseball started up. So we didn't really have time to plan anything big and exciting, plus we were just coming off the most costly month for us....you know birthdays and Christmas.

 So we planned a day to take a drive to the snow. One of the best things about living in northern California is you can take a 1.5-2 hour drive and either be in the snow or on the beach. We decided to go to Boreal Mountain Resort. They have a tubing hill. Ryan really wanted to take Cameron tubing. So we loaded up the truck and went on our way.

Getting ready for the snow with his new thermals.

First of all it was a challenge to find snow clothes for the kiddos without paying $$$$. We couldn't find snow boots or snow bibs that fit Cameron. And if we couldn't find any for Cameron we certainly couldn't find any for Easton. They stayed pretty dried. It would have been better for Easton because he would fall then start to crawl but overall it wasn't that bad. The only bad thing was Easton's mittens kept coming off and his hands would get wet from the snow  and he really didn't like that very much. Plus his shoes kept falling off, then his socks got wet and once again he didn't like that either. And Cameron's gloves were too big for him so he kept taking them off and on but both did ok and stayed pretty warm and dry.

On our way tubing. So glad we brought the wagon.

On their way up the hill. There was this belt thingy that would pull you up.

This isn't the best picture but you get the idea.

We lasted about 2 hours tubing and being out in the snow. Which I think is pretty good for a one and three year old. Easton was too young to go tubing but we put him the tube and pulled him around, which he loved. When i first saw the smallest hill for the little tikes, I thought there was no way Cameron was going to go down. Ryan went up with him first and walked him down about a quarter of the way down the hill and let him go from there and he loved it. He was smiling the entire way down. They went a few times then Ryan made me go because he said it was so awesome. I went a few times but the first time I thought I was going to die. And I went down the smallest one that only the kids 42" inches and smaller can go down. You go so dang fast, kinda scary.

Ok......he isn't all smiles here but I promise he was.


 We all had a great time and can't wait to go back, probably not until next year. It will get easier as they get older and they will enjoy it more too. It was the first time either of them had seen the snow. It was kinda cool because usually Cameron has already seen something or done something before Easton since he is older. So this is one of those "first things" they got to do together.

 And this was Easton's tubing experience for the day.

 He loved being pulled around in the tube,he laughed and giggled the entire time he was in it.

Look at me......I am tubing!!!!!

 Cameron loved the snow, he is still talking about it.

We managed to get someone to take a little family picture.

The little man trying to walk in the snow

The best picture of them together the entire day and I think it turned out pretty good.

Of course we had to bring some snow home with us.

Ryan got stuck building the snowman all by himself. Cameron said it was too cold, he just stood by and watched dad and helped gather items to make Mr. Snowman look complete:)

Easton wanted nothing to do with Mr. Snowman. I think this is the only picture I got of him standing with the snowman. He would squat down and just start to cry, poor dude he's like get me away from this crap.

Cameron was so excited and happy when Mr. Snowman was all finished. He watched him melt away little by little each day.

Wild Child

Does a 3 year old know how to be quite, do they even know what quite means?

Cameron is so loud and wild. He wakes up Easton all the time. It's a wonder he can even sleep at all with the loud mouth doing laps in the morning.

He is absolutely driving me bonkers! He doesn't listen. He says NO all the time. He throws fits the second we tell him NO or tell him to stop doing something. He screams and yells like it's the end of world. Hits and pushes Easton when Easton does something Cameron doesn't want him to do, like come in his room or play with his toys. I guess it's just his age. We thought he was bad a year ago but it's only getting worse.

And to make it worse he wakes up at 5am every morning and doesn't nap. Well some days he crashes out on the couch or on his bedroom floor, I guess it catches up with him after a few days and most nights he is falling asleep at the dinner table.

OK I am done complaining about my loud crazy child:) Oh and just now as I was finishing this up he started drinking from the apple juice container and split apple juice all over.

New Etsy Listing

Finally posted a new item on Etsy yesterday. It's a mini baby boy 6X6 scrapbook album made of K & Company scrapbook paper. K & Company is one of my very favorites. I just love love all their baby designs. Take a look...thank you.

Doctor Appointments and Date Night

Yesterday the boys had their one and three year old check ups. We scheduled them back to back while Ryan was on vacation and it worked out well. Cameron wasn't too sure about the whole thing, he especially didn't care for getting his blood pressure taken.  Easton could have cared less, he just wanted to walk around and grab everything insight. Both boys are healthy and big for their age, but we already knew that. Of course Easton was off the chart when it came to his weight but the doctor said he is totally fine and not to worry about it. He freaking weighs almost 31 lbs....can you believe that?! He is only a year old and weighs more than some 3 year olds.

Easton had to get 6 shots! We were a little skeptical at first for him to get all 6 at once but the doctor said it's perfectly fine and it's up to us. So instead of torturing him again one day next next week we decided to just give them all at once, he did great! He didn't cry till the third one and he only cried for a couple seconds.

On a side note the technician that came in to give the shots asked if Easton was breastfed because babies with big legs are usually breastfed babies, he thought it was interesting that he was only breastfed for about a month and had such big legs. Well he is a big boy, have you seen the rest of him!

A little later it was time for DATE NIGHT......whooohoooo, finally a nice relaxing meal without the kids. It's always weird to go anywhere without them. Feels like I forgot my purse or something. Taking the kids out to eat these days is a chore and pretty crazy so it's nice for just the two of us to go out by ourselves. We went to BJ's for dinner and then went to see Country Strong.

Can I just say what a great movie?! I was really surprised to how good it was. Ryan liked it as well. It's not just a movie about a country singer coming out of rehab. It deals with a lot of different issues. But for such a good movie it sure was *ucked up but i guess that's what makes a good movie good, it's *ucked up. It is sad but anytime a movie is about alcoholism it's bound to be sad. It's sad how badly alcohol effects the lives of people and so many are not able to fight the battle and win. Some of the reviews weren't that great but we liked it and thought it was pretty good.

I Feel the Need, the Need to Scrap.

I really need to scrap.

I am so far behind and I always have ideas that pop in my head. I miss hanging out with my scrap buddies once a month or so. And it's nice to have some time with other adults without the kids.

I have been working on the same month in Cameron's book for over a year now. I really haven't had many opportunities the last year, now with 2 kids it's a little harder finding a babysitter and my poor 75 year old grandmother cannot watch both boys all day long. There are only a handful of people I trust and feel comfortable watching the boys, so that makes it harder. And when I do have sitters it's a pain in the butt getting the boys' stuff ready to go to two different places plus getting my scrap stuff together and loaded in the truck. It takes like an hour or so to drop off both boys (at different locations) and then get to my scrapping destination.

I think someone should open up a scrapbook store with on site daycare....that would be awesome!

I am hoping I can try and get more done at home. It's hard to do that also because we don't have an extra room and all my crap is scattered at the kitchen table and then when it's time to eat lunch and dinner I have to clear it off, such a pain. And I always have to go referee the kids. For the most part they are good but it's so hard to get anything done when I have to constantly stop what I am doing.

My goal is to finish all those unfinished pages that needs titles or journaling. I really would like to start Easton's book but I haven't even finished Cameron's 1st book, must get that done before I start something new or nothing will ever get finished.

Hopefully I can accomplish something soon.

Check it out....a super cute cool blog.

I have come across a great blog.... Kevin & Amanda. I just love it! They have some super cool fonts for all my scrapbooking buddies.  I have downloaded several already, there are so many to choose from. Amanda has some helpful tips on photoshop and photography that are easy to comprehend and understand. And who doesn't like great new recipes?! I haven't tried any yet but they all look super yummy:) She loves to bake so there are lots of sweet baking recipes listed. Check it out and enjoy.

Kevin & Amanda

Happy Birthday Ryan

Happy birthday to my wonderful Husband! I hope you have an easy and early day at work. And may the next 30 years bring you more happiness, joy, adventures, and lots of golf:) I love you so much and hope you have a great birthday.