Ok, I know, I know, it has been a while. But the reality is, that when you drive a school bus, go to school, raise a 2 (almost three) year old, come home and have to cook dinner (we eat out A LOT), and manage a house hold (not very well), some things (like the blog, dishes and laundry) tend to get put on the back burner, and sometimes end up burning lol. I am finally taking a breather this weekend. I have reviews in all my classes next week and finals the week after. THEN THE SUMMER OFF!!! YAY!!

Here are the highlights of the last few months.

We went to the circus and of all things Wyatt wanted to ride the pony and the camel. He said the elephant was scary. It wasnt until we were about to leave that he decided that the elephant was ok and he wanted a ride, we were out of money and it is still all he can talk about sometimes.

"I want to go back to the circus and ride the elephant"

Our boy still loves horses but the elephant is definatly in second place now.

Here is Wyatt with the horse that started it all, Baby Doll.

We had to go back to Oklahoma just to see her :)

He sure loves his horses!

Here are the kids running at the bus yard, and just incase you are wondering who is supposed to be watching them....

That would be me sitting on the other side of the room catching them as they run twords me, thank Barbara for the great picture! lol

Here we are on Wyatts birthday at the bus yard celebrating. Travis has worked for 19 days straight so his party isnt until May 7th... I plan on mailing the invitations today!

Randomness...

Here we are at the church easter egg hunt, Wyatt got to practice hitting the pinata. He will be a pro at it at his birthday party.

Stomping on ants!

Hunting Eggs.

Here Wyatt is hanging out. I was temped to take a picture of the mess, you would think a tornado hit his room. We will ask his Nana where he gets his messy gene from :)

Barbara got him an elephant for easter. Man she is sure good at getting him things, he LOVES IT!! Her name is Elle.

Here Wyatt is "being a plamingo (flamingo)"

And when you have every toy in the world what do you chose to do? Well, you put your tie on the back of your pants and march on all four like and elephant. I think the boy watched too much Jungle Book.

Here he is ready for church on Easter, he is so hansome!

and "mom, we HAVE TO take my animal with us, I buckled them, so we can be safe." Silly boy.

2011 ALREADY??

he finally decided that Santa was ok.
Found this picture at my moms, thought it was funny, to the left is my dads mom, and to the right are Susan's (my step mom) parents.


Here is our Family picture

Wyatt playing at Aunt Nicoles Thanks Giving

Wyatt thinks his autie's dog is a horse (yes, he is almost as big as one!)

Time flies when you having fun... or when you have a two year old, are driving a school bus and going to school :) Yes it has been a while, and for some of you that are ever so blessed to talk to me on the phone, or are a friends on facebook, you know how busy life is! Well here I am to overwhelm you with what has been happening with the Tucker's over the last couple months. O.A.M.C. (once a month cooking) is almost a total Failure, although I have made it a habit to cook most of the meat I buy immediately and then freezing it. School as gone well and by some grace of God I have managed to keep a 4.0, I took the TEAS (Test for essential academic skill, to get in the nursing program) and scored in the 74Th percentile. I am going to take it again so there is no question on getting in the program in the fall. Driving the bus is going well and all in all I love the kids that ride. Mean while Travis is still working at the power plant and doing an awesome job providing for our family. Wyatt is growing fast, saying the darn'dess thing and is busy being 2. IT is, by the way, not at all what I expected.

My new years resolution is to budget better in preparation for nursing school, and to overall be a better person. If there is anything that I learned in my Psych classes it is that religious optimistic people are the happiest and live the longest, so I will do my best!! Hope you enjoy the pictures and I hope to update the blog more often, but realistically probably wont this semester, I am taking Advanced composition, Anatomy and physiology 2 and Microbiology!! Wish me luck!

Here is Wyatt bowling, he was more interested in the food!!

And whe we cant make it out to auntie nikki's house, we go to walmart or smiths :)

It may be an obsession!

This may possible be the biggest horse I have ever seen. He should be named elephant!

Should we take him home?

Here is Wyatt on his aunt nikki's horse.

Cooking for the week...

Chicken lasagna
Original Recipe Yield 12 servings

Ingredients
• 9 lasagna noodles
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups ricotta cheese
• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and rinse with cold water.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the flour and salt, and simmer until bubbly. Mix in the broth and milk, and boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Season with the basil, oregano, and ground black pepper. Remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. IF FREEZING LINE PAN WITH FOIL! Layer with 1/3 of the noodles, the ricotta, and the chicken. Arrange 1/3 of the noodles over the chicken, and layer with 1/3 of the sauce mixture, spinach, and the remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Arrange remaining noodles over cheese, and spread remaining sauce evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
IF FREEZING STOP HERE. Cover and put in the freezer, wait over night, remove pan and re wrap dish as best as you can. (I wrap it in cling wrap then re-wrap it in foil) label and put back in the freezer. when ready to cook remove and put back in the original pan and bake as directed below.
4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

Meat loaf

Ingredients
1- 1 1/2 lbs ground meat (I use beef or turkey)
6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons (you can use crushed crackers, or bread crumbs)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme (optional)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and broken
3 whole cloves garlic minced
1/2 green bell pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

For the glaze:
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Dash hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Directions
Heat oven to 325 degrees F.


In a bowl, combine crushed croutons, black pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and green pepper in a food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground meat, with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat.


Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of a tray.
IF FREEZING leave loaf on parchment paper on a cookie sheet, freeze for 4 hrs then wrap in foil. THE glaze can be prepared and froze in a ziplock with the meat loaf or prepared on baking day.

Combine the ketchup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes. Bake an additional 35 Min.

CHICKEN ENCHILADA CASSEROLE

Serves 5 to 6.

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 doz. corn tortillas, cut in quarters
1/2 c. onions, minced
1/2 cup diced green Chile's
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 c. Cheddar cheese, shredded

Alternately layer tortillas, chicken, onions, chilies, soup and cheese until all ingredients are used. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

I am cooking extra chicken to freeze for fajitas at some point. I also have stroganoff and pork chops on the menu. I cooked the pork chops in a 12" skillet and serve with potato's I will post the recipe for the stroganoff later :)

Once a Month Cooking... (OAMC)

As far as I can tell here is the grocery list:

3 cans Cream of mushroom soup
1 can beef broth
5 cans chicken broth (or you can heat up water and bollion)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 containers green chili
Corn tortillas
7 Green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers (other colors if on sale)
10 onions
3 cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
rice for spanish rice
soy sauce
brown sugar
white wine (for baking not drinking)
cooking sherry
powdered sugar
mozzarella cheese (5 pks shredded 1 lb not)
2 pkgs parmesan cheese
1 pkg pepperoni
5 lbs of potatoes (this is most of our sides)
flour tortillas (the big package)
MEAT:
15 LBS boneless skinless chicken breast (this is only a pound 1/2 a meal, if you eat more and it is a good price, I would buy more to have on hand just incase)
3 pkgs pork chops (not sure on the weight)
7 lbs Ground beef (again this is only a pound a meal, I use 1.5 when I cook because I am feeding 4 adults, you can also substitute ground turkey if you prefer)
A pork tenderloin (i think these are usually in 5 lb packages)
2 pork picnic roasts (can be substituted for tenderloins if the price is right)
1 pkg steak of your choice ( I usually find the best price is petiet sirlions)
chuck steak
1 pkg bacon

Vegetable oil
3 envelopes italian salad dressing
eggs (probably 18ct)
bean sprouts
16 oz ricotta cheese
2 pkgs lasagna noodles
2 pkgs spaghetti noodles
16 oz cottage cheese
16 oz sour cream
3 jar spaghetti (marinara) sauce
1 pkg fresh or frozen spinach (what ever is cheaper)
1 bottle Teriyaki marinade (I prefer the KC Masterpiece)
1 bottle BBQ sauce of your choice
1 pkg bread crumbs
1 can ranch style beans
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 can pinto bean
1 pkg carrots
2 cans pineapple
1 can of mushrooms (or fresh)
apple cider vinegar
corn starch
1 pkg frozen peas and corn
16 oz egg noodles

Seasonings:
ginger, sesame seeds, cinnamon, thyme, chili powder, basil, oregano, pepper, parsley

Whew, I think that is it, sorry if I left anything out! I will post recipes another day :)

Once a Month Cooking... (OAMC)

So I have decided that it is better to cook for one or two whole days that for a couple hours each night (especially on days I have school) I think this is a wonderful idea. One shopping day a month too, which help financially because I seem to spend $100 no matter what I go into wal-mart for! OK so here is Novembers menu:

1- Chicken Enchilada's
2-Meat loaf
3- Teriyaki Chicken
4-BBQ pork
5-Hamburgers
6-Homemade pizza
7-leftovers
8-Hamburger meat with potato's and green chili
9-Caribbean Jerk chicken
10-Egg Foo Young
11-Chicken Lasagna
12-Chicken Parmesan (not a frozen meal but way easy)
13- Pork Burritos
14- Leftovers
15- Texas Chili
16- Beef Lasagna
17- Pulled pork sandwiches (a crock pot meal)
18- Eating Out
19- Steak, potato's, salad
20- Tortellini
21- Leftovers
22- Chicken kabobs
23- Beef stroganoff
24- smothered pork chops
25- THANKS GIVING
26- leftovers
27- meatballs
28-leftovers
29- Turkey noodle soup
30- spaghetti

Here are a few other things that I am going to prepare just to have:
Sweet and sour chicken
Chicken casserole
Pepper steak
Fajitas

Its has been too long!

Camerons Graduation

Wyatt and daddy at the zoo 4th of July

Last weekend he was bit by a mosquito on the eye! Poor baby! It took 4 days for the swelling to go down!

Travis's Jeep

So over the summer I took Chemistry in an accelerated 8 week coarse... It was tough! Wyatt was with Barbara half the time and Patty half the time. I also got my CDL over the summer and started driving the school bus (Wyatt loves it).

Now I am driving a bus and taking anatomy and physiology 1 and medical terminology. This is by far the hardest classes I have taken so here the blog sits, not being updated :(

Wyatt goes to Patty's the two days I am in school and helps me any other time I need help! She is great!