Summertime Summertime...

I love Summer.  So does my little man.  We are at the playground, splash pad or pool almost every weekend day.

I mean, it's about a million and a half degrees here in Houston, so I guess most other people are doing the same thing ;)

Look at that grin!  I'd do just about anything to get one of those each day!

This one too ;)

And...Jaxson has discovered the magic of snow cones this summer.  He started the summer loving blue ones (blue cotton candy), but has changed over to red (cherry).  He asks to go get a snow cone EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

We humor him at least twice a week..sometimes lots more.

Jaxson is also loving splash day at Primrose.  They get to play in the sprinklers and little pools at his school during the summer.  He's going to be so sad when that ends in a couple of weeks.  They have snow cones there too (are you seening a trend?!)

We've also made a couple of road trips...Port O Connor, Dallas, Austin...we'll head just about anywhere!

Joe Cool

We also spend at least one afternoon a week fishing.  A perk of living by the lake that I love taking advantage of.  Daddy always joins and usually ends up manning the Buzz Light Year fishing pole.  

What would summertime be without cheap plastic cups that you throw away later?

And swimming in the backyard until your hearts content?

Bandit, who has quickly become Jaxson's little mascot, even hopped in for a cool dip.

Isn't this the cutest set?  I got it on sale for $8 during Gymboree's sale last month.  Score!

Yes, this was danger!  We had to buy a new snow cone because that one became brown soup.  EWWW!

We also went to McDonald's for the first time ever.  Hubby makes fun of me because I don't want to feed Jaxson their "food".  So, we tried it.  He took one bite of a chicken nugget and said, "Momma, that isn't chicken".  You're right baby, it isn't.  Please don't eat it.  Sometimes, Mommas know best!

And we've spent great times with special friends.

Play Doh is all the rage at the Ellis household...and has ruined one of our chairs...oops.

And we discovered popsicles....

I love summers.  Jaxson makes them so much more fun.  I can't wait for many many more!

What do you love about summertime?

TBT

 For TBT this week...I looked back through what pictures I took during this week 2 years ago.  Look what we were doing!

I can't believe that it's been 2 years!

Building the house was so fun.  

And look how small our little guy was!

I remember how much fun it was to come and look at the house each day to see what had changed.

Jaxson liked going too :)

He still loves playing with the fan pulls!  

What a difference 2 years makes!

The Dragons...

Well, Jaxson named his TBall team this week.  They were all huddled around, trying to decide on a team name, and Jaxson said "DRAGONS!  LET'S BE DRAGONS!".  I'm pretty sure it's because we watched How to Train Your Dragon the night before.  Oops.

So, the team is named The Dragons.  I giggle every time I hear our coach say, "Come here Dragons".  It cracks me up.

At least he's comfortable speaking up.  I like that.

He's getting better too, and liking it more.  Spending less time eating snacks and a little more time playing.

Hubby joked that their little bench could be a Nike ad for toddler shoes.

I'm so glad we did this.  It's so H-O-T...but worth moments like this!

TBT

I couldn't resist a good 'ole TBT post.

Just hours old.  I hardly remember him being so little!

After his first bath at home

What happened to this little baby!?!

MC Froggy Pants!

His board room picture!

How have 3 years already gone by?  In the words of my Great Grandmamma Mary....That ain't right...it just ain't right...

Egg Cups - Low Carb Eats

As many of you know...I'm a fan of the Atkins diet.  Well, an Atkins way of life actually.  That is literally the only way I can control my weight without devoting the time to a work out schedule.  I know, I know, it's not that good for you...etc, etc.  But, it works for me.  I just got back on the wagon last week, and I've lost 7 lbs.  I bought my first "Mom Swimsuit" this week.  A tankini with a skirt. WTH has happened to me?

Anyway...I love egg cups. When I do low carb, these are something I make every Sunday.  I actually really love them.  And, I can freeze them in baggies, which makes it super convenient to take them to the office during the week.

First, I brown a pound of turkey sausage.  I like the JennieO brand.  Then, I preheat the oven to 350, and spray my square tin with Pam.  You an use a muffin tin too, no big deal at all.  Just MAKE SURE you spray it with pam or olive oil or something.  You will HATE LIFE and NEVER make them again if you don't.  Just sayin'.

Sprinkle the sausage into the tins.  I usually have about half a cup left over, so don't worry if there is a little left.  If you are doing Atkins, you can melt some cheese on it later and call it lunch :)

Then, scramble 9 eggs.  I do what my great grandmamma does, and add "just enough" water to the scrambled eggs to make them "just right".  I also add flax seed and Nature's Seasoning, which I think is one of the best prepackaged seasonings on the market.

Pour the egg mixture over the sausage and then sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top.  Stir it with a fork to make sure the cheese is covered.

Pop in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes.

Yum!  You can also do these with shredded bacon, or add onions, green peppers, rotel...the baking pan is our oyster!  I'm weird about food getting old, so I pack six of them in a large baggie (for 3 breakfasts) and then freeze the rest in small baggies, 2 in each baggie.  I just put them in the fridge from the freezer the night before, and they are fantastic the next day.

I hope you like them!

Happy Birthday Cash!

Jaxson's best friend, Cash, had his 3rd birthday party!  It was at a gymnastics place, Cypress Gymnastics.  Jaxson had a great time.

He wasn't scared of anything (shocking)

Jaxson & the birthday boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASH!

They had a ton of things for the kids to jump on.  The only hard part was that this is actually a serious, Olympic-athlete training facility (apparently Jonathan Horton trained here) so there are lots of safety rules.  It was hard for Jaxson to understand the one at a time on each activity thing.

But he still loved it.

So did Daddy

Jaxson sitting with "Gia-nanna".  He adores her.

Isn't she beautiful?

CUPCAKES!

Our friends said that this was the best party yet, you pay, buy cupcakes and $50 worth of pizza, plates and decorations and then you go home without having to clean up.  What are your thoughts on parties at home versus parties at a place like this?  We've only done the at home, and are considering a venue for next year.  I'm curious to hear what you all do!

Happy Birthday 'MERICA!

I love July 4th.  It means freedom, American Pride, hot summer afternoons and friends.  This year was no exception.

Jaxson's Primrose had a parade.  It was adorable.  His little class was so cute!

Our neighborhood had a parade too.  Our best friends joined us.  We decorated the golf cart, grabbed some beads, a pitcher of mimosas and headed out!  It was super hot but super fun.

Jaxson loved throwing the beads on the parade route.  It was pretty cute.  

I made the kids firecracker hot dogs.  Aren't they cute?  They actually ate them!

Courtney made the cutest oreo pops.  I may have eaten three of them...

I made my homemade chocolate chip cookies in blue and red.  I think I'll add sugar cookies to the middle next time and do red white a blue.

We headed to the fireworks show over the lake and had a wonderful time.  The boys loved it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'MERICA!