random facts and ideas

store your plastic wrap in the freezer. this will avoid the annoyance of sticking to itself, making it much easier to wrap up your holiday goodies!

often times broccoli stems go to waste due to people wanting to eat only the "tree" part of the broccoli. next time, save the stems and puree them, then add to a pesto or marinara sauce. a sneaky, delicious way to get your kids, or even just yourself, to eat vegetables!i

if you are trying to watch how many carbs you are eating but still love to indulge in a bowl of pasta now and then, here is a delicious, healthy way to do so. shred some zucchini then barely saute it until it just starts to go limp. this helps you eat less pasta and more vegetables! i do half pasta, half zucchini.



author of Empowering Your Health, Asa Andrews, MD, tells us how we can get more energy first thing in the morning. i do all three and noticed a difference once starting this routine. 1. have a big glass of water. after sleeping for several hours you have lost a significant amount of fluids. "Hydrating yourself will perk you up" 2. do jumping jacks. just a few will help increase blood flow, which gives you a huge burst of energy. I jumprope for the same purpose. 3. eat up. don't skip breakfast! having the right foods in the morning kicks energy levels and metabolism into high gear. some things recommended in Womans Day magazine is plain yogurt (protein), a handful of almonds (healthy fats) and an orange (carbohydrates and vitamin C) Avocados also have healthy fats and peanut butter not only has high amounts of protein but peanut butter is proven to help kick your metabolism into high gear. A little bit on some whole grain toast will do the trick!

Recipe of the Week

This is a family favorite. Was never a huge pork chop lover but thought I would give this recipe a shot and am SO glad I did!

Polynesian Pork Chops

4 boneless pork chops, 3/4 inch thick
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup
1 can (8oz) pineapple chunks
1/4 cup water
3 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs honey
2 cups cooked rice
sliced green onions

1. Season chops with garlic. Heat oil in skillet. Add chops and cook until browned. Add onion.

2. Add soup, pineapple with juice, water, soy sauce and honey. Heat to a boil. Cook over low heat 10 minutes or until done.

3. Serve with rice and garnish with green onions.

makes 4 servings prep/cook time: 20 minutes

Recipe of the Week

This recipe is probably my new favorite. It is SO yummy and extremely easy to make. AND, sense everything is homemade you feel like such an amazing chef by the time you are serving the meal. :)

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1lb ground beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup dry bread crumbs (I use seasoned but you can use plain)
salt & pepper to taste
1 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbs cornstarch
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs soy sauce (I actually used 3 Tbs so it wouldn't be too sweet and I think it turned out just right)

1. In large bowl, combine beef, egg, onion, bread crumbs, salt & pepper. Roll into meatballs about 1-1 1/2 inches in size

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the meatballs until browned on all sides

3. In a separate medium bowl, mix together the water, vinegar, ketchup, cornstarch, sugar & soy sauce. Pour over the meatballs, and allow sauce to thicken. Continue to heat until the sauce just starts to bubble

Serve over rice and ENJOY!!! Serves 5 and takes about 20 minutes total, to prepare and cook

mom,mom,mom,mom,mom,mom.....

Why is it that kids feel the need to repeat things SO many times? Cam repeats the same word or sentence about 10 times before I even have a chance to answer her. I wonder why. Did I once ignore her and now she feels the need to have to keep repeating until she knows she has my attention? It seems to be a habit I see in a lot of young children though. Do we unknowingly ignore them? Or is it just something that is instilled in them somehow? I wonder....what are your thoughts?

Recipe of the Week

This is an amazingly delicious dish that we eat regularly here....one of my husbands favorite.

Chicken Asparagus Gratin

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Asparagus Soup
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cups hot cooked corkscrew macaroni (about 2 1/2 cups uncooked)
1 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1 1/2 cups cooked cut asparagus
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese (4oz)

1. In 2-quart casserole mix soup, milk, onion powder and pepper. Stir in macaroni, chicken, asparagus and 1/2 cup cheese
2. Bake at 400'F for 25 minutes or until hot
3. Stir. Sprinkle remaining cheese over chicken mixture. Bake 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

Makes 4 servings

Tip: for 1 1/2 cups cooked cut asparagus, cook 3/4 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces, or 1 package (about 9 oz) frozen asparagus cuts.


*Recipe taken from Campbell's 1-2-3 Dinner recipe book pg 21. Enjoy!

Baby Poop Decoder!

If you're anything like me you wonder about your babies poop sometimes. It's like a surprise everytime you change their diaper, what color is it going to be this time? :) Well after changing an orange diaper yesterday I decided to look into it and found this site which I am now fond of. Check out the poop decoder....it may help you too.

So when Andi was having green poop for awhile I looked into it and like the above site says there is nothing wrong with that, especially for formula fed babies, but if you are breastfeeding and they are having consistent green diapers it could mean that they are not getting enough hind milk so make sure they completely drain at least one side every feeding as to make sure they are getting the proper fore milk/hind milk ratio.

A Challenge for All Moms

So lately I have talked to a handful of moms about how discouraging it can be when it comes to feeling like you are accomplishing anything. I have read a lot about this lately due to me feeling the EXACT same way and I've come to this conclusion....I don't think there is a single mom (or stay at home dad) out there that doesn't feel the same way.
After talking to lots of moms and reading lots of articles I have decided that really what it comes down to is that we need to change our attitude/expectations as to what we are "suppose" to be accomplishing everyday. When it comes down to it (in my opinion) there are 4 things that should be on your checklist everyday. They are: 1. housework (this includes dinner) 2. time with the kids 3. me time and 4. couple time. If you can do SOMETHING in each category everyday you are doing AWESOME!
Housework is pretty explanatory, couple time can be something as simple as just sitting down and sharing each others day without any distractions (kids, computers, cleaning etc) to playing a game or cuddling on the couch while watching a movie. The two harder things (again, in my opinion) are "me" time and kid time. As mothers we tend to feel guilty if we aren't spending every second with our children and even guiltier when we feel frustrated with them and feel like we NEED the break. What type of mother needs a break from her children?! Answer: EVERY mother. And the truth is the children need a break from you too...even if they don't know it yet. I try to look at it this way, when I'm not on the floor playing with my daughter or reading with her, I'm teaching her. Teaching her to be independent, teaching her to use her imagination, teaching her its ok to not have to be entertained constantly, etc. "Me time" is hard because, again, as women we seem to feel guilty when we take it, but, if we are honest with ourselves I think we could admit that we are much better (for me, MUCH more patient) mothers AFTER taking some time for ourselves. Maybe its only for a half hour while we check blogs and emails or maybe its an evening away, whatever is needed to rejuvenate and feel up for the challenges of motherhood again.
I have found it is much easier for me to mentally handle everything if I make a WEEK to do list rather than a daily one. My daily one is just to check off each of the four categories...spent time with my daughters...check to kid time! Dusted, picked up house AND cooked dinner (wow, look at me go!)....check to housework! Hung out with hubby when he got home....check to couple time! Took a bath and read....check to me time! As for my weekly list, I have to remind myself regularly that although it would be ideal to accomplish everything on that list by the end of the week it may not (and probably won't) happen. I can transfer whatever didn't get done to the next week....what really matters is that my kids are happy and healthy, my marriage is strong and I'm staying sane....most of the time. :)
So I challenge all of you moms to try to be a little easier on yourself this next week. Try to pat yourself on the back a little more often and find a little more time for yourself...free of guilt. And if you ever need to just vent to someone, or know that someone understands what you are going through look around you and remember that every mother is feeling the same way you are...hoping others can relate to her so she can feel a little less guilty.

Oooh, that smells nice!

Here are some odor controlling tips:

If your fridge stinks but you don't have a box of baking soda try soaking some cotton balls in vanilla extract and place it in your fridge to help banish the odors.

You do a load of laundry and then forget all about it until a couple days later. Of course at this point your clothes/towels wreak of mildew. Run the load again adding some white vinegar this time which will absorb the stench, leaving your clothes smelling as if they had just gone through the wash for the first time.

Newspaper is a great way to help control odor. Wad some up and place it in the foot of your shoes when you aren't wearing them or put a couple sheets at the bottom of your trash can.

To clean a rancid garbage disposal you can "pour in 1/2 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup white vinegar. After it's done fizzing, pour a teapot of boiling water down the drain. The concoction will clear out clogs, too!" (as taken from Woman's Day magazine) After doing this I ran some lemons through to help leave a fresh aroma throughout the kitchen.

Worse Mother of the Year Awards

I really do try as hard as I can to be the best mother I can be. I keep a constant prayer with me that I will be guided through every decision, I read to Cam, we play games, we wrestle/have tickle fights, I feed her (well, i try really hard, she isn't the biggest fan of this) I teach her and introduce her to new sights, sounds and activities but through all of this I still fall short of being the "best mom". My humbling moments I call my "award moments"....when I receive the "worse mother of the year award" because that's what I feel I deserve. Of course, after all is said and done I can look back and laugh and admit that not only did that just happen but things similar to it is sure to happen yet in due time. I know I'm not the only mother who has felt this way either. Here is the story of when I received my first award...

So I changed Cam's diaper and it was a STINKY one so I needed to run it out to the trash outside. That morning had been trash day so I had to run it out the front door rather than going through the backyard like i usually would. Now, you need to know that our front door has one of those handles that even if its locked from the outside you can still open if from the inside. So I left the door slightly opened so I could get back in. I'm still not sure if it just continued to close on its own some how or if Cam came over and pushed it close the remainder of the way....all I know is that as I was stepping off the front porch step I heard a click behind me and my heart skipped a beat. I ran back to the door and tried opening it, praying that I had heard things but the door didn't budge. "OH MY GOSH I JUST LOCKED MY ONE YEAR OLD IN THE HOUSE!!!!" was all I could think. I ran around back still praying but this time that the back door would be unlocked, although I knew that would be a miracle because we NEVER (at that time) would leave that door unlocked. I tried the door and every window to no avail. I tried looking inside and my heart fell...I couldn't see Cam but I could hear her crying which broke my heart. I ran from neighbor's house to neighbor's house pounding on their doors yet NO ONE was home, or so they wanted me to think. I heard a car coming down the street so I ran after it until they stopped. I started crying as I explained the situation and asked if I could borrow their cell phone. The husband was NOT happy about being so inconvenienced but the wife insisted on helping and staying with me until I got in. Long story short I ended up having to call 911. The operator was sweet and tried calming me down but really it just pissed me off. After I explained the situation and she called for the fire department and police she asked me "Why are you crying?" WHAT? What do you mean "why am i crying?" Did you NOT just hear what I just did?! I felt horrible! But she tried reassuring me that this wasn't the first time a mother had done this and that accidents happen and I do appreciate her efforts. She said police should probably be arriving there first and should be there soon and we hung up. I went back to the backyard to try to see Cam again. I knocked on the sliding glass door and yelled out Cam's name trying to get her to come to me so I could make sure she was ok. She came around the corner from our bedroom and stopped crying as soon as she saw me. From this point on she was fine, never cried again, just stuck her face against the glass and made faces and laughed as if this was all some sort of funny game we were playing. Now at this point I'm already feeling like a bad mom but little did I know that feeling was about to intensify. Cam leaves the room and goes back in our master bedroom, to my horror she comes back around the corner with a match in her hand! WHAT?! I couldn't believe it! Where did she get that?! We only have matches in the bathroom (a necessity of course :)) but we keep that door close. Luckily she drops that pretty quickly and walks back over to the sliding glass door but only to reach up and grab the cord to the blind and drape it around her shoulders. Luckily it wasn't around her neck....YET! I started to panic and cry again trying to calmly ask her to drop the cord somehow she seemed to understand and took it off and dropped it. Right about that time is when the police officer got there. He walked in the back yard and saw me, this grief stricken mother, and started laughing! He asked "What's going on here?" and i hurried to explain the situation. He was so confident he would be able to quickly and easily open a window but really he quickly discovered that he couldn't. It seemed like forever but the fire department finally got there and got to work trying to bust in without breaking anything. Cam this whole time is LOVING the attention. She is still busy making faces, smiling and waving at everyone....so proud of what she has accomplished, or so it seemed. :) It took them a good 10 minutes to finally get in. They tried taking off part of the sliding glass door yet couldn't seem to accomplish that so they tried two other windows still to no avail. Finally, it took three of them on one window to finally get in. They kept joking with me about how at least I didn't need to ever worry about someone breaking in. One firefighter stayed with me the whole time trying to distract me. He was asking me about our backyard landscape and why I like palm trees and all sort of random questions. I tried to be polite and answered all his questions but never took my eyes off of Cambyrn. When the firemen finally got the window open one of them climbed in to open the sliding glass door...as he walked towards Cambryn he started talking to her in this baby type of voice thinking she would be scared of him. Instead, she walked up to him and gave him a high five. "Way to finally get in stranger!" :) We all laughed and he opened the door, I rushed in and picked up Cam crying hard all over again. The firemen immediately started walking away, another rescue completed but they didn't leave until they made sure I had my keys on me. :) I felt horrible. Not only for locking my child inside (or myself out) but for wasting their time. All while they were working there I heard calls coming in like "drug overdose in circle g", "domestic abuse at ______address" and I kept thinking about how there are all these very serious things going on and this particular squad is busy letting a silly mom into her house where her one year old was stranded. I'm sure they were looking at my little forming bump (at the time) and hoping that was from eating too many doughnuts and not another baby growing...after all I seem to struggle at times with one! :)
I called my mom shortly after and was crying while telling her....she just started laughing. Next thing I knew I was laughing with her as I finished explaining everything. Good thing I didn't call her (or my siblings who also laughed when I told them) while it was happening or I would have been REALLY upset that they were laughing. All that night and for days following Ty would say to me "Remember that time you locked our daughter in the house?" and we would laugh. Thank goodness for the ability to laugh!

My second award came when I was chasing her around the mall waiting for Tyson to get done with his shift. She would run, I would chase her and she would squeal and laugh with delight as I captured her. This was a wonderful fun, funny game that was helping us pass the time until I picked her up and pulled her arm out of socket. Elbow to be exact. It was BY FAR the most heart wrenching experience. She just held her arm limp at her side and try holding it with the other arm and just CRY and CRY AND CRY. Needless to say I cried a lot with her I felt so guilty. Guilty because I had accidently caused this pain and guilty because I couldn't fix it. No kisses on her elbow would fix this problem. We took her to the urgent care where they did xrays and then put it back in place. They didn't want me going with her to get the xrays done because I was already crying and they didn't think watching them twist it to take xrays and making her scream louder would help me. So Ty took her by himself. She was tough and even calmed down while we waited for the dr to look at the xrays. He came back in and set it in place. She screamed while he did it and I sat silently crying while watching it. Ty was brave of course and was holding her and comforting her. As soon as he set it she reached for me and I held her and cried. She stopped within 45 seconds. The Dr gave us instructions on what to do with her and then told Ty to make sure I got some ice cream and a foot rub when we got home because it was probably more traumatic for the mother than the baby. I agree. :) She will never remember that whole experience yet I will never forget it.

I think the lesson to be learned through all of this is that no mother is perfect. We never will be. Not only will we make countless little mistakes we will back some pretty big ones too including some big, unforgettable accidents. I know this blog is long but hopefully it helps you realize there is always someone out there doing something worse than you! :) j/k Loves to all you mothers for your bravery and love!

My hands are full with one....

So I have decided to start doing 2 new things....1) I will actually start to blog on here regularly again 2) I'm adding another element of what I will blog about. I have decided to have posts about the joys and challenges of motherhood. This obviously goes along with the whole "how to survive/better being a house mom" theme I have going on here. The point of this is to A) have a place I can..well, vent I guess. I don't know if that is necessarily the word I'm looking for but either way I'll go with it and B) hopefully give other moms hope/realization/encouragement that they're not alone in their happiness, frustrations and moments of thinking they are a bad mom. So here goes the first of many:

I decided to go the grocery store today while Ty was at work. I really don't do this too often due to not having the car and because Cam can be a little difficult at the store at times. However, today I thought I would give it another try because we really need milk and Ty would be home too late for me to go after he got home and still be back in time to feed Cam and get her to bed at a decent hour. Well, lets just say I will probably never do this again. She gets harder the older she gets and though its not HORRIBLE (she just has her days) it is MUCH harder when I'm trying to keep her in check and get our groceries all the while having trouble walking due to my sciatic nerve problem getting worse as I get larger with the pregnancy. As I was trying to steer the shopping cart and hold my 16 month old daughter who was throwing a very large tantrum it dawned on me that in 3 short months I would have another child here with me while dealing with this. I became rather overwhelmed and that is when I decided maybe grocery shopping would work best when I could go by myself after the kids have gone down for the night. I know this won't always be possible though so to all of you mothers out there who already have multiple kids here is my question: Where do you put the older one? I mean, I'm guessing the baby is in the car seat in the front, the groceries are in the back of the cart and although I could put Cam back there I know I would then have all of the eggs being dumped on the floor....but I also see it being a problem just letting her walk because then she gets really upset when I don't let here pull everything off the shelves onto the floor...or she refuses to leave an aisle and move on to the next one. If I put the car seat in the back and Cam in the front then where do the groceries go? I'm hoping this complicated problem will be resolved after I have the baby and my "motherly instincts" kick in to high gear. Or that ya'll have some great advice! :) I hope that this post doesn't come off as me complaining too much about my "angel baby" as people have referred her to. Don't get me wrong, I know I am SO lucky....Cambryn really is SUCH a good little girl...there is just something about the grocery store and tantrums that seem to go hand in hand in her little mind. :)