House Guests

A few weeks ago my mom decided she was long overdue for a little trip to Texas, so she planned on driving down this weekend. We spent Friday just cleaning and getting ready for her... I'd actually sold my old guest room bedding at our garage sale back in May, so I ran out to pick out some new things. Sam's for a down alternative comforter, pillows, and 600count Egyptian Cotton sheets. (You'd be surprised. you can find some high quality things at Sam's!) And Target for the duvet and ruffley bed skirt. BEFORE...

{I have loved this hand-me-down Croscill bedding... But it was starting to look pretty grungy and dated. It was time.}

AFTER...

{Like I said - generic but nice. I still have a few more re-dos for this room. Some color for the bed, rearranging of furniture, paint, some pretty things for the walls... But for now I'm just glad we have decent bedding for our guests. Also - I picked up these sheers at Target (they're pretty bc they have like white emboidered pin stripes) and am SO proud that I hung the rod ALL by myself!!! You'd just have to know my relationship with power tools to appreciate this...}

Mom pulled in to town around 4 on Friday, and we were SO surprised that my brother Nick had joined her for the trip! Nick had never been to Texas before, so he got a kick out of seeing it all, despite the insane heat. And oh my, Nana and Nick - Knox was in 7th heaven! He thinks N is his personal playmate. He imitates everything he does and doesn't hardly let him out of his sight. Poor Nick was exhausted by the end of this trip. Knox had him playing trains, wrestling, shooting rocket ships, shagging baseballs, you name it! I could just kick myself for not getting many pics this weekend. We were busy!
Friday night we let Nick and Mom get cleaned up then took them out for a steak dinner. Texas style at Saltgrass! Delicious :) Once we got home we played outside for a little while and watched a bit of Despicable Me - Knox's favorite movie these days - before calling it a night.

Saturday we decided we should do something fun and different so we packed up and headed to Hurricane Harbor! I love theme parks, and this was a first for us all. We were lucky that Saturday was one of the first overcast days here in forever so the sun wasn't as brutal. We stayed for about 5 hours. I just wish there were about half as many people there and that the kids would've lasted twice as long ;)

We were all so exhausted by the time we got home on Sat, so mom just decided she'd make us a tray of lasagna for dinner. Huge treat. I think this may be my favorite meal. In fact - I've always wanted to try The Pioneer Woman's Best Lasagna Ever, but never have because I truly believe my mom's is! (And I can't get over the fact that the PW recipe calls for cottage cheese. I have no doubt it's delicious, but still...) I paid extra close attention to how she made it yesterday so I can replicate in the future. (I'll post the recipe at the end!)
Mom and Nick got to hang around for a little while this morning, but ended up hitting the road around 10 so they could get back to work tomorrow. So it was a short trip but we'll see them again very soon! The kids and I are meeting my Dad and siblings at Lake Oauchita (Arkansas) in just 2 weeks for a long weekend lake trip. Then we're driving back to Memphis with them for a little family visit.

After they left we headed to El Fenix for lunch and then to the mall. Since I'm now back to all my old sizes after weaning Hadley, I was needing some new VS things... We were randomly walking past a store and I saw a camel colored leather handbag that I loved. With a shoulder strap and handles. (Thank you Pinterest for keeping me up-to-speed on all the cool things.)

I kind of stared at for a bit and James just said - Get it! You'd just have to know that I'm so not a purse girl. Or label girl for that matter. Sometimes I wish I was but at the end of the day I always talk myself out of splurging on myself and in to getting something for the kids or house in stead. I'm the type to just throw my wallet in the diaper bag or carry a $30 Target special. So this was a big deal. About 10 minutes after we bought it the guilt set in and James had to force me to NOT return it... He's so awesome. That was a nice surprise :)
I think we were all still exhausted from Hurricane Harbor so as soon as we got home we all crashed for naps! (Not to mention it was back to 112 degree heat index today, and that just sucks the energy right out of ya.) Tomorrow I'm set to get back on my gym routine in the morning with a new class. Then who knows what the week will hold for us...
*Mom's Lasagna

1-1.5lbs lean ground beef/sirloin
1/2 lb Italian sausageof meat
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 jar pasta sauce (She uses Garlic & Olive Oil by Bertolli.)
1 small can of tomato sauce (With Italian spices)
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp Italian seasoning
16oz ricotta cheese
1 egg
4 cups shredded mozzarella (or Italian blend)
shredded Parmesan
10-12 lasagna noodles

{1} Cook meat, onion, and garlic in large skillet. Drain any excess fat and return to pan.
{2} Add pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and spices to meat mixture. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Stir frequently.
{3} While sauce is simmering, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain. You will probably only use 9 noodles total, but it's good to have extra in case some break.
{4} Mix ricotta cheese and egg in a medium sized separate bowl. Stir in about a cup of the mozzarella cheese.
{5} Put lasagna together in a large rectangle casserole dish. Start with just a small amount of sauce mixture on the bottom. Then - a layer of noodles, 1/2 of ricotta mixture, 1/3 of sauce mix, 1/3 of mozzarella, a layer of noodles, remaining 1/2 of ricotta mixture, another 1/3 of sauce mix, another 1/3 of mozzarella, and a final layer of noodles. Top the last layer of noodles with the rest of sauce, and then sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Mom adds some shredded Parmesan on top too.
{6} Bake at 350 for 35 minutes, or 45-50 minutes if cooking from refrigerator.

**TIP** This is a very hearty dish, so unless I'm feeding a crowd I usually divide this in to 2 8"x8" trays - one to bake, and one to freeze for later. When doing this, I recommend using 1.5lbs of ground beef (instead of 1) and the 1/2lb of sausage. I also add 1 more small can of tomato sauce and increase my sauce spices by 1/2. (So 1.5tsp of each.) I cook a full box of noodles (use kitchen shears to cut them to the size of the smaller tray), and I use a 30oz. ricotta cheese, mixed with 2 eggs. This all just ensures that I have plenty to layer in both dishes. You don't have to use all of it, but I end up using most of it. When freezing a tray, I reserve the final topping of cheese in a ziploc bag and wrap it up with the tray. That way I can sprinkle it on right before it's ready to bake.. To bake from frozen - let thaw in the fridge for 24-48 hours, then bake at 350 for 45-50min.

This is one of those dishes that would be great to take to a new mommy. It's easy enough to put together and a crowd pleaser. It also freezes well. Mom stocked our freezer with trays after we had Hadley... I'm enjoying a plate of leftovers as we speak :)