Taco Casserole

This recipe is one of my favorite easy and fast meals for a busy week day. Anything that I can make that both my boys will eat and is fast is definitely a win win in my book! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef 

16oz can pinto beans

16oz Jar of Salsa

1 pkg taco seasoning 

2 1/2 cups broken up tortilla chips

1 cup shredded cheese

1 cup lettuce

1 can of Rotel

Instructions:

- heat oven to 350 degrees

- cook ground beef over medium heat until browned then drain. Stir in pinto beans, salsa and taco seasoning. Heat to boiling stirring occasionally.

- in ungreased 2 quart casserole dish, place 2 cups of the broken tortilla chips on bottom. Top evenly with beef then sprinkle with cheese. 

- bake uncovered 20-25 minutes. Top casserole with remaining tortilla chips, a little more cheese, lettuce and Rotel. I also like to drizzle a little ranch dressing on top. You can even sneak peppers and other veggies in it if you'd like. 

And that's it! Hope you enjoy! 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday friends! Gage is teething something fierce over here with 4 molars cutting right now. So despite our lack of sleep and a really angry baby, we are so excited that it's the weekend! This week's Friday Favorite's are full of Halloween and Fall goodies. Don't hate me, but this post makes my Fall loving heart so happy!

 

This Pomegranate Cider Candle is a perfect scent as we transition from Summer to Fall. It has a really yummy twist on a tradition Apple Cider scent and I am loving it! Also, check out my Crock Pot Fall Scented "potpourri" post from last year. This is one of my most popular posts and is my favorite thing to do this time of year. I will be doing an updated recipe soon so keep an eye out!

This Monster Sleep Set and Bat Sleeper are adorable! We are the type that wear Halloween and Christmas Jams all year long, and I don't even feel bad about it.

I'm drooling over this Cotton Stem Wreath from Farm Girl Boutique paired with some Outdoor Solar Lantern's and Pumpkins for my front porch.

Ryder watched "Room on the Broom" on Netflix the other day and he loved it! So Room on the Broom book is a must this year.


This Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe has my mouth watering. Prepare yourselves, Pumpkin Spice Everything is coming!

Check out my Pinterest for more Fall and Halloween goodness!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lunch Time With Nuby

Gage is at that age where he is starting to learn to feed himself with utinsels and drink out of regular cups. At meal time, instead of giving him a sippy cup we give him a Wash or Toss Straw Cup from Nuby and once he masters using that we will move on to a regular cup. So far he is loving having a cup just like brother and he is learning that it's free flow and will spill unlike his sippy cup. He even gently puts it in his cup holder when he's done using it. 

Nuby Wash or Toss Straw Cups

12months+

10oz / 300 ml

Easy to hold

Snap on straw lids

Straw runs down base of the cup

Free Flow cup

Sturdy enough to respuse

BPA FREE

set includes 4x cups and lids

Available at

Amazon

Meijer 

I love that they are sturdy enough to reuse but if you lose one or need to toss it then it's no big deal. Gage also loves to play with these and it entertains him for so long! I give him a cup, straw and lid and he puts it all together over and over. Who would've thought??

Also, am I the only one craving Fall?? I've put off posting anything containing the F word cause lets be honest, it's August and 95 degrees outside. But you better believe that September 1st rolls around and I'm pulling out the pumpkins! This little space of mine will be the first to get a Fall make over, but for now I guess a Cider candle will suffice. 

Speaking of Summer ending, our friends over at Hello Sunday are having an end of Summer Sale for 30% off the cutest Jammies you've ever seen using the code SUMMER30 at checkout.

Cheers to tomorrow being Friday!!

Follow along with our daily lives on Instagram @whitrichins

As a part of the Nuby Parent Blogger Program I received this product but all opinions are my own. 

Gage at 14 Months

14 months old?? Time flies when you're having fun! This is by far my favorite age, Still a baby but big enough to do things by himself. Learning, growing and exploring on a daily basis. 

Eating: Man this kid can eat. We have yet to find any food that he doesn't like and he eats all.day.long. Even though he eats pretty well balanced meals we still can't get him to drink cows milk. We've tried everything and he just isn't having it. Which means he is still nursing and I'm having the hardest time weaning him. He mostly nurses when he wakes up at night or wants to nap. 

Sleeping: Gage is at that age where he doesn't necessarily need two naps but one nap is just not enough. So for the most part he still takes two naps a day unless he sleeps in. He usually wakes up around 7am then naps at 10am and then 2pm. I can tell his morning nap is slowly fading away so I'll enjoy it while I can. As far as him sleeping at night....ugh. On a good night he gets up once or twice. It isn't too bad because I nurse him and he goes right back to sleep but it makes our weaning process extra hard. 

loves: Eating, his binky, his lovey, his brother, taking baths, shaking his head no at me, animals, putting things in the toilet, dirt and trucks. He is the complete opposite of his brother and he gives me grey hair on a daily basis. He has new bruises on his head almost every day and I chase him around every minute of the day. He is fearless, sassy and has the biggest attitude but he gives the best kisses and has a soft spot in his heart for stuffed animals and blankies. Gage is definitely a daddy's boy but loves mama the most when he's tired or sad. His nick name is Bam Bam {bam for short} and he definitely lives up to it.

Hates: The word no, getting his diaper or clothes changed, being sleepy, his car seat, sitting still, watching tv, cuddling and sharing toys. 

{waiting by brothers room for him to wake up}

{when he puts his lovey in the toilet and it has to be washed}

He impresses me daily with his speech and the things he understands. He is starting to say dog, cat, ball, truck, tractor, snack, night night, Ry Ry {Ryder} mama, dada, nana, papa and lovey. And my favorite thing about him is he gives the best scrunched nosed smiles. 

Being his mom has been challenging, scary, rewarding, crazy and even on his wildest days, the best thing ever. 

We're home!

After a long few day, we are finally all moved and have a place to call home! We still have so much unpacking to do but for the most part we are pretty settled. It was just my luck that I got a bad stomach flu the weekend we were moving so it turned into double the stress but we all survived and we are feeling so blessed! 

I love that the new house is a blank canvas for decorating and I can't wait to splash some color on these walls. After living in our rental the last few months, I am forever greatful for my stove, dishwasher, washer and dryer, AC and cell phone service.  

The boys are loving their rooms and they've already made friends in the neighborhood. In Ryder's prayers the other night he said "thank you for the new house and our new couch amen" oh my heart. 

After all the craziness I should now be back on a blogging schedule and I can't wait to show you more of our new home. 

Sick Days

Happy Monday friends! Unfortunately for us, the boys are fighting a nasty cold and have been for a few days. Our weekend was full of tissues, warm sink baths, cold medicine and no sleep thanks to Gage waking up every 30 minutes to nurse due to his sore throat. 

I'm not surprised the boys are sick because it's finally moving week and it's just our luck the boys would be under the weather on this busy week. But we have been waiting for this day for a long time and are SO excited to finally move in! 

Everything is done in the new house minus a little bit of lighting, the yard and a few last minute things. The house was built in almost exactly 90 days and we are so impressed with how fast it went. We have basically been living out of boxes in our rental and with most of our stuff being in storage we just haven't felt settled or at home. So we are extra excited to have a place to call home. 

This week will probably be a quiet one for the blog as we pack our rental, do final walk throughs and move all while tending to sick kids. We are feeling so blessed!

Have a great week!