Easter Pictures

I tried to get a picture of all three kids - not happening. As I said in my last post - Edward does NOT sit or stand still for pictures. I tried about three times and just gave up - he just kept running away. So, I did this:

Here are the girls by themselves...

And here is Edward by himself . He was wandering around the parking lot, and I just kept taking pictures of him walking around until I got a decent one. He stayed still for ONE second in this picture because a squirrel had caught his eye...

Well, I didn't get one of all three kids, but as Moms we have to be flexible, right? I did get pics of all of them in their Easter outfits, even if it was separately. As my mama always told me: There's more than one way to skin a cat. ;)

Bzzzzz, clip, clip, snip, snip!

It was time to chop the locks. Edward's hair is starting to get a little bit of curl to it, and being half curly, half straight AND getting longer on top was becoming a serious hair emergency.

You can't see it very well in this first picture, but what kept happening was that the bottom part of his hair would lay flat, and the top part was thicker and would frizz out like crazy, making his head look like it was a mushroom shape sometimes - not good.

Lou has a set of clippers, so I thought I would be brave and try to do it myself. It took me three weeks from my decision to build up the nerve actually to do it.

Here is the "before" picture. The towel that I put on to keep the cut hair off of him didn't last long. He ripped it off right after I took this picture and wouldn't let me put it back on. So much for minimizing the mess...

The lollipop was my trick to getting him to stay in his seat and stay happy. It worked...sort of. Everytime I brought the clippers close to him, he would whip his head around to see what I was doing. It was probably really funny to watch, me trying to cut the hair on a constantly moving target. But the lollipop did help enough that was he focused enough on eating it that he didn't try to get down from the chair.

Okay, the big part was done, now it was time to trim the areas over his ears and the parts on top that were uneven. I have to tell you, at this point I looked at him and thought I had butchered his hair. I thought it looked terrible - what had I done to my baby's hair?!!

And here he is after he is all done. Look at his onesie - COVERED in lollipop slobber!! But boy was he happy!!

I was still unsure of how it looked - I didn't really like it, so I decided to turn to some good old hair gel and see what I could do.

And here he is! Some gel up on top and it suddenly turned super cute! The part in the back looks funny in this pic, but it's not hair sticking out, it's just the shadow on the wall. I couldn't get him to sit still for me to take a picture, which is why it's not the greatest shot. I always have to photograph Edward on the run (he basically NEVER sits still, especially not for pictures...)

This one is a bit closer and you can see it better. Anyhow, although I was unsure of my little-boy-hair-cutting skills at first, now I love his hair, and have gotten enough compliments on it that I don't think I only like it because "I" did it. :)

Fabulous dinner idea for Cinco de Mayo

Good gracious how I love mexican food. And one of my favorite websites, ourbestbites.com, has triumphed once again in this area. Here's what I made for dinner tonight, each and every element a BIG hit (I should have made a double recipe)!!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

(click on title for recipe)

Yes, baked, not fried, so a healthier version of one of my favorites. So stinking good. I even cheated and used canned chicken (looks kind of like tuna fish - please don't judge me!:), and they still turned out finger licken' good! Crispy, flavorful shell and yummy filling - my family gobbled them right up! Oh, and another side note: I used reduced fat cream cheese, and again, it didn't take away from the flavor at all.

Quick and Easy Black Beans

(click on title for link)

Another HUGE hit! These were fast (ready in about 10 minutes), super easy and had loads of flavor. Lou and the girls were actually dipping their taquitos in their beans, so I tried it, and yes, it was really yummy that way, too! Seriously, TRY these!!

Simple Green Salad

Okay, no recipe for this - just make your favorite green salad - a great fresh tasting compliment to the taquitos and beans.

Anyhow, loved loved LOVED this meal - it's going into the family favorite folder for sure!