let's go Hawks

tailgating with two of my favorite guys

Jordan and I finally got to go to our first Iowa football game of the season and thankfully they won! It was a nail biter down to the end and even went into overtime...any way it takes to get a victory, I'll take it! My mom stayed home from the game to hang out with Everly so Jordan and I were able to tailgate and enjoy some Hawkeye fun! It was a nice way to see how it will go on Monday when I leave again to start back at the hospital. But at least now I get to the spend the rest of the night and all day loving on my girl before Monday morning rolls around! Every weekend is a good one and a Hawkeye win makes it all that much sweeter!

bring on the week

This is the start of a busy but yet awesome week! First off, in baby news, I am officially in the second trimester, crazy! And at this time next weekend, I will be hanging out with my whole family....yay!! My parents are starting their drive up to Iowa/the midwest tomorrow and are making quite the rounds to see old friends and family. On Friday, Jordan and I are heading up to Madison to my brother's to spend the weekend with everyone. Ahhh I can't wait! This is a busy week with two papers due and a tough quiz but all of the studying and school work will make the week go fast hopefully! I seriously can't wait to be reunited with my family in less than a week! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend and has a wonderful start to their week!

Friday Funnies - 1.25.13

It's been quite the week around here and I'm happy it is Friday! School started for me and ended for Jordan along with celebrating the birthday of my Dad and welcoming a new niece to the world....it has been quite the week! I had an internship interview as well (so now I'm crossing my fingers for a second one!) and just received a call from another hospital to set up an interview! I hope things fall into place like I am picturing they will.... Today my cousin Cody is coming over so Jordan and I get to help him celebrate his 29th birthday as well. Nothing like some Mario Kart, Disney PowerHour and cousin shots to ring in a birthday! Other than that, we have a quiet weekend lined up and that's just how I like it! Happy weekend everyone...enjoy some relaxation, lounging and laughing! In honor of baby Lucie, this week's Friday Funnies is dedicated to some cute and entertaining babies!


image via Google
Yeah, dude! It's Friday so cheer up and party on!

Charlie bit me!

That hurted and it's stillllllll hurting!

Happy Birthday Dad and Baby Lucie!

What a special day today is....I woke up knowing it was my Dad's birthday and am going to bed in a little bit  knowing that I became an aunt today for the 4th time! What a lucky girl I am today (and everyday!) to have such awesome family in my life and two special birthdays today to remember that by! I wish I could have celebrated with my Dad and enjoyed a beer with him but I'm beyond thrilled that we got to meet the new little girl who joined the family as well. Jordan and I are going to make a rockstar team together as Aunt and Uncle!

Happy Birthday to my amazing and awesome Dad! You definitely make one heck of a dad, father-in-law, husband, brother, grandpa, uncle, and friend! Thanks for always supporting, encouraging, and inspiring us throughout life...We would be lost without your endless love and laughter that you give us! I love you, Dad! 

Welcome to the world, Lucie Jane!  Happy Birthday!
Jordan and I are so lucky and blessed to become your aunt and uncle again today!
Your auntie and uncle love you! We are so excited to watch you grow up, spoil you rotten, teach you things
and be there throughout your life! 

Well one week later....

After indulging in an ungodly amount of calories over the past five days, enduring too many belly laughs to count, and working the cramps out of my face from smiling....we are in fact, alive and survived Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Cross Family. And I am so sad that it is all over. The time definitely went by way, way too fast. My parents got to Iowa last Monday night and we all enjoyed some pizza and beers along with some laughs and good conversations. They headed up to Wisconsin on Tuesday while Jordan and I had one last day of work/school for the week. We packed up all of our stuff and hit the road first thing Wednesday morning and didn't stop going until we made it back home yesterday afternoon!!

Thursday was Thanksgiving obviously but more importantly, it was Teagan's 5th birthday! Holy smokes, where does the time go?! I can't believe that she is five now.... She is growing up into such a smart and sassy, hilarious and beautiful little girl! It is so fun watching her grow up and I'm lucky that I have gotten to play such an active role in her life. It would make me sad being so far away from her and Kemper that they don't know me when I come around! Anyway, we celebrated T's birthday after Thanksgiving dinner. She was spoiled with gifts, had a blast beating up on a pinata and then topped it off with cake....which I made! Yummm homemade chocolate cake with peanut butter icing! We capped the night off by having a bon fire once the kids went to bed....

We then quickly shifted gears and went right into Christmas mode on Friday! We watched the Hawks lose, again, first thing which was a total bummer. Not only did they lose to Nebraska which gives them a share at the Big 10 title but it also confirmed they are for sure not going to a bowl game.  Extra sucky. We got over it quickly with a few drinks that we had during the game at least. Then after successfully stuffing our faces again with the Thanksgiving leftovers, we let the Christmas festivities begin! My mom had planned a "fashion show" for all of us...she made all of us tons of awesome projects and crafts! It included some crochet infinity scarves and gloves, fleece hats and jackets and lots of new Iowa gear. Score! My mom just keeps blowing all of our minds with how crafty she is and it rocks! Presents were a big hit with the kids and watching their eye light up with each gift they opened was enough to keep all of us happy. They are so cute and were so thrilled with everything they got...very heart warming to watch! After the kiddos went to bed and so did our parents, things got real crazy. Us adult "kids" played a new game that Scott and Kat got that is called "Cards Against Humanity." Basically, it is like a very very inappropriate version of Apples To Apples. But ridiculously hilarious and awesome. I'm not sure if we have ever laughed that hard before while playing a game before.....it will definitely be played again at our next reunion!

Saturday morning however, came way toooo early! We all hit the road to Charles City and made it to Grandma's! Just when I was thinking I couldn't possibly eat any more food, I managed to stuff myself completely. Again. There's just something about Grandma's home cooking that is irresistible. We all played several rounds of cards together and Jordan finally won two games! Third year of being at the Cross Christmas was the charm and he hit the jackpot twice! Which made me happy because then I didn't have to pay in anything, mwahahaha! 

And just like that, our four days together came to an end once we all woke up on Sunday morning. We were all avoiding saying good-bye to one another because we knew what it meant. That our parents would be driving back to Texas and that meant that none of us know the next time we will see them. And that sucks. Just leaves a giant pit in my stomach. As if I wasn't trying hard enough to fight back the tears, hugging my Dad goodbye after he just said goodbye to his own mom and sister with tears in his eyes and his noticeably choked up voice, was really tough. My dad can always put on a smile though and gave one last bear hug before getting in the car. Let's just say I was a hot mess of emotions on the first thirty minutes of our drive back home....

I'm thankful beyond thankful for the family I have in my life and these past four days just weren't enough. But I am so grateful for the time we did get to have together, the laughs we shared, the hugs and love we exchanged and the memories with each other that we made. I love how much Jordan fits in with my family and how we can all have so much fun with each other without having to do much. I can't wait until we are all together again and am already looking forward to that. I hope the day comes when we all live within a few hours of each other again because this whole living in Texas thing sucks for all of us! Wahh real life! Well I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and the time spent with family and some delicious food! I know we definitely did and now I'm dreading the pile-up of school and work stuff that I have been ignoring...well, happy Monday!

Mad about Monday?

It's Monday. I got the afternoon off unexpectedly and my parents are on schedule to get to Iowa about 2 1/2 hours earlier than I thought they were going to! How can I possibly be mad that it is Monday?!! Ahh I'm so excited to be able to spend some quality time with them tonight and enjoy some laughs, cold drinks and good conversations before mass chaos hits on Wednesday and the whole family is together. I love them all, don't get me wrong, but with so many of us it can be hard to get a word in sometimes! I'm thankful to have such a close knit family and for the special times that we get to share with each other! Tomorrow afternoon is going to be my baking extravaganza because I got put in charge of desserts for Thanksgiving and I'm really looking forward to it. I have quite the list of treats to make and it includes caramel apple cheesecake with streusel topping, chocolate cake with peanut butter icing and my famous puppy chow! Yummmy! Can't wait for all the good home cooking and treats this week...thank goodness my metabolism is still on my side!

Thankful For November

Ah it's November already! Holy crap, can you believe it?!! I know that I definitely can't! With November, comes Thanksgiving, the start of many gatherings with family and friends and also that wonderful thankful/loving/giving/caring and sharing feeling that everyone starts to have. And it always makes me wonder...why don't we act that way year round towards everyone including strangers? Why is it just the "holiday spirit" that makes us more generous, more thoughtful and more caring? I know during the rest of the year we all get busy and caught up in our own lives everyday but I think it's important for people to take a step back from time to time and realize how much a random act of kindness could mean to someone else, whether it's someone they know or a complete stranger. So with that, I'm going to kick off the month of November by recognizing something that I'm thankful for each and every day. Today I am thankful for my awesome parents because without them, I literally would not be here today. But because of them, I am who I am today. They helped shape me and taught me to be independent, responsible, caring, giving, and respectful. They have always encouraged me and supported me, been there for me when I was wrong and gave me direction again. I can count on them as a friend but know they're always there for me as a parent. I owe them more than they know and hope my own kids look up to me as much I do to them. I'd be lost without them and love them both so much. Alright November, you're about to make my heart feel really full!

Perfect Picks

Oh yeah, we're the highlighted team...at the top!

Jordan and I play in an NFL Pick 'Em Pool with my dad, sister, brother, several uncles and then lots of co-workers and friends of my uncles. We thought it would be a fun thing to get into and give us all something to talk smack about with each other. Well.....it has quickly turned into MUCH more than that. Basically, it's a really easy concept: you pick who you think is going to win every NFL game for the week and then give a tiebreaker score. That's it. No picking individual players or a defense. And the people who finish in the Top 3 each week win money! This pick 'em pool is perfect for me and Jordan because it's a great combination of my luck and his football knowledge (although, I know my fair share of football facts.) After a few kind of rough weeks, we've slowly been creeping our way back up to the top. Then the past two weeks, the Top 3 places came down to the tiebreaker score and we got beat out. Devastating. And so this week we came back with a vengeance!  AND WE TOTALLY DOMINATED!!!! We had PERFECT picks across the board for a solid 13-0 showing and no tie breaker to determine the winner. We outright won it and made some huge ground for the overall points for the season to get within 3 of the winner. Whoop whoop! Now that's what I call teamwork, baby!

Dance With My Father

Tonight on my drive home, I heard the song "Dance With My Father" by Luther Vandross start playing on the radio. At first I was like, "oh wow, I haven't heard this song in forever...." and then my thoughts quickly changed to, "oh wow, holy shit, this song is making me an emotional hot mess!" And I didn't change the radio station. I couldn't change the radio station! And before I knew it, I was a bawling and blubbering mess trying to sing along with tears streaming down my face! The song brought on so many emotions, all good ones, and reminded me of the most special day I've ever shared with my dad which was of course, my wedding. He constantly supported me and Jordan throughout our year long engagement (well, he always did and has, but especially during our engagement!) and he did whatever he could to help give us the most wonderful and amazing wedding that he could give us. And wonderful and amazing it definitely was. I will always cherish the pep talk we had before walking down the aisle together and seeing the smiles exchanged between him and Jordan as he handed me off. Then, my Dad totally blew us away with his hilarious and heartfelt father-of-the-bride speech. His speech left us laughing, crying and laughing some more. And the song "My Girl" will always hold a special place in my heart after dancing to it with my Dad. A simple song tonight on the radio instantly flooded my mind with some of my most cherished and favorite memories with my Dad. And it reminded me just how lucky I am to have such an all-around truly caring, genuine and loving Dad. Can't wait to see him and my mom at Thanksgiving!!

crock-pot pot roast...and homemade beef stew for later!

If there's one type of dinner that I love, it would be the easy crock pot meals! Throwing all the ingredients and goods into the crock pot in the morning, working the day away and then coming home to a delightful aroma and knowing all we have to do is dish up the goodness that was cooking all day....ooh boy! I love crock pot meals so today I threw together one of our favorite comfort foods: a beef pot roast! And there was a good sale going on in the meat department this weekend which is why I bought the roast in the first place! Growing up I remember always raising my nose when my Dad said we were having roast for dinner and now I love it...funny how that happens! But I have put a twist on Dad's classic roast recipe and it really amps up the flavor! The second best part of this is since it's only me and Jordan, we always have tons of leftovers so I can make beef stew after. Such a great two-fer recipe!

Beef Pot Roast Ingredients:
2-3 pound beef roast (round, chuck or rump...we always have chuck)
6-8 russet potatoes, cubed
1/2 white onion, sliced and chopped
1 small bag of baby carrots
1 packet of dry Italian dressing
1 packet of dry Ranch dressing
1 packet of dry brown gravy
1 1/2 cups of water

Directions: 1. peel, slice and cube the potatoes, slice onion then throw those along with the carrots into the crockpot. 2. place beef into crock pot on top of the veggies. 3. mix the italian, ranch and gravy packets with the water in a small bowl (helps to keep them from clumping together) and pour the mixture over the meat and veggies. 4. cook on low heat for 8-10 hours (medium heat for 6-8 or high heat for 4-6) 5. enjoy!

If you have leftovers (and you probably will if you add in extra potatoes, lots of carrots and/or have a big roast like we usually do!) here is what you'll need to make the beefstew:

1 16oz can of beef broth
1 packet of dry onion soup mix

Directions: 1. take out the meat from the crockpot and shred with two forks. 2. cut potatoes into smaller cubes if necessary. Add meat and veggies back to the crock pot. 3. add the beef broth and dry onion soup packet and stir together. 4. place crock in refrigerator to store if you plan to eat it the next day or in a freezer safe tupperware to enjoy on a cold day! It defrosts great and tastes just as good as it was fresh from the day I made it! We like to pair it with some crescent rolls and a big glass of milk! Perfect for a chilly fall or winter day meal!

sibling love

I love my siblings. And I especially love weekends together when it's my siblings plus all of our significant others. Just call us the 6-pack. We were always really close growing up that's for sure. I mean, my sister and I shared a bedroom until we were 12 and 14 years old. And my brother and sister are only 17 months apart in age. So to say that we're close and love each other, is an understatement.


This past weekend we all traveled to Madison, WI to cash in on our Christmas present from our parents. My mom and dad got us a weekend getaway which consisted of dinner, drinks, and a comedy show all on their tab. Amazing? Yes. Much needed? Hell Yes. Worth the two-day hang over? Absolutely. We all started off the night by having dinner at Cooper's Tavern. The drinks were flowing and it was set up to be a great night. Until I turned on my camera. Errrr or tried to and realized I forgot to put the damn battery back in it!! UGH! Nothing pisses me off more than my own stupid mistake! Thank god for my sister and her obsession with pictures as well that she had her camera with her. Ahhh problem solved!! Dinner was fancy and delicious, nom nom nommmm. We then decided to go on a mini bar crawl as we made our way to the comedy club. And of course we ended up at a bar that had some amazing mixed drinks for the lovely price of 2 for 1. Seriously, those bahama mama's were to die for! Turns out we didn't need to go to any other bars after that. We love some good drink deals! And we drank the shit out of those good drink deals mind you!


Finally, once we were all good and half way to stumbling, we made our way to the comedy club. And conveniently enough, they had an open table for 6 just waiting for us....IN THE FRONT ROW! No joke, Jordan stretched out his leg and his foot was touching the stairs to go up to the stage. Great, not only now were we front and center at the show but we were also the drunkest. And for anyone who's never been to a comedy club, you HAVE to drink while there! I'm not making this stuff up...they have a two drink minimum for everyone! A couple rounds of shots later and with the table loaded up with some drinks, we were set for the show to start. And let me tell you, these comedians, whose names I couldn't even tell you if my life depended on it, were all hilarious! Like, busting a gut-can't breathe-watering eyes-knee slapping hilarious! Well, let's be honest, from what we all collaboratively remember at least. Shockingly enough, for as obnoxiously loud and drunk and up close and personal to the comedians, none of us got heckled during the show. Probably a smart call on their part.


Naturally, once the show got over, everyone made their way out and made their way home. Not us though, of course not us. We made our way to another bar. Where we threw down a few more drinks. And then shit hit the wall. Next thing I know, us three Cross siblings were all getting into it and crying about family stuff and drama. Is there anything more bonding than bawling over beers and family drama with both of your siblings? I think not! Meanwhile, all of our significant others just stood to the side all thinking, "what the fuuuck have I gotten myself into?!" But that's the beauty of unconditional love and even in our drunken crazy emotional states, they all still love us in the morning. Before we knew it, it was bar close and time to head home. Janelle and I took off running, Jordan chased after us, and threw us both in the car. Classic Cross Sister scene. They all got Taco Bell and I got put to bed. Good night. 


Overall, the weekend was a total 100% success. I loved every minute of it. And Jordan loved that I was still drunk on Sunday until 4pm. And I love that he pulled over at an Arby's because I thought I was going to crap my pants. And then he bought me some curly fries, mmmm. Seriously, thank god for the unconditional love he has for me. So thanks Mom and Dad for the awesome Christmas present, it was totally worth every penny. I don't know what I'd ever do without my siblings and weekends like this definitely prove that. I can't wait until the next time that the 6-pack reunites because it's bound to be another epic weekend, that's for damn sure.