Let Us See......

So I decided that I wasn't gonna cook Corned Beef and Cabbage last night like so many people did.  Instead I went in search of a traditional Irish meal.  Looking through the list I found a recipe that just jumped out at me.  The name Bangers and Mash.  I didn't care how complex this recipe was I was gonna make it.  I opened it up and saw how easy it was.  All I did was quartered 8 medium potatoes covered them with water, put them on the stove to boil, added salt and let them get tender.  While those were cooking I took beef sausage and heated it in a skillet, removed that from the pan added a tbsp of butter, diced a medium onion, fried that up, and then made a brown gravy (dry mix from package).  Put half in a baking dish then put the sausage in the pan.  I then mashed the potatoes to the consistancy I liked.  Put them on top of everything, then put the rest of the gravy on top of that.  Put all that in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes and dinner was done.  It was so yummy.  The kids asked if I can make it again.  WOO HOO 2 days in a row made something that they asked me to make again.

Dinner tonight... I am going to make Shrimp Jambalaya minus the meet so just shrimp.  Never made it so we will see how this will turn out lol.  A lot of my cooking with seafood is relatively new.  I have made some things like fish sticks or premade fish fillets.  This is a good adventure.

St. Paddy's Day.......

Well I made this dish last night called Chicken Divan and Mint-Cilantro Rice.  It was AWESOME!!!!  I took some chicken legs and lined them in a 9x13 baking dish.  Made this sauce with cream of broccoli soup, mayo, curry, pepper, lemon juice.  Poured it over the chicken and then put mozzerella cheese on it then put bread crumbs mixed with butter over that.  Put it in a 350 degree oven for an hour (when the chicken reached a temp of 180).  For the rice I took 2 tbsps olive oil and sauteed the rice til golden brown and then added some green onions and then added lite coconut milk and chicken broth (keeping the 2 cups liquid per 1 cup rice ratio).  Brought that up to a boil reduced heat and simmered for 15 minutes.  Removed from the heat added some cilantro and mint (fresh and chopped).  Let stand for about 10 minutes.  It was so good.  The kids told me that I had to make it again.  I know I did real good when the kids tell me to make something more then once.

For dinner tonight I decided not to make corned beef and cabbage.  Instead I am making Bangers and Mash.  I was thinking that this year I was gonna make something strong to my roots lol.  I picked traditional Bangers and Mash just because of the name.  We will see how this all turns out.

Last Nights Dinner and What Is For Tonight.......

Ok I am on my computer today.

Dinner last night came out kinda ok.  For dinner I made BBQ Chicken Kabobs with Bomb Bakers.   Not something that I would cook again like that.  Wed. I did all the prep for this dinner.  I cut up the chicken, onions, yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms, yellow green red and orange peppers.  I put the chicken in a bowl with some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce.  In a separate bowl I lined with a paper towel and put all the veggies in it and put a paper towel on top and put the lid on top of that.  I then took about 8 potatoes and put them in a pan with water just covering all potatoes and put about a cup of salt in it and let them soak over night.  With all the running around that I had to do I lost track of time and had to just combine the chicken and veggies in a baking dish and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.  I also cooked the potatoes at that temp on the rack in the oven.  I took the potatoes out the water and set them right on the oven racks.  After all was cooked I just made the potatoes like any other baked potato.  It wasn't as dry as they normally are.  It didn't have much flavor and what it did have it was over powered by the squash and the zucchini.

That brings us what is for dinner tonight.  I am making Baked Talapia with a Tomatoes and Avocado sauce with Carrots on the side.  Again another seafood dish that I will not eat so this may prove somewhat interesting.

How was last night and whats for tonight

i didn't taste the food last night.  i don't like any type of seafood.  the kids sure enjoyed it.  i took and boiled spaghetti noodles and rinsed them tossed them with about a tsp of olive oil to prevent sticking.  the night before i put small cooked peeled devained shrimp in the fridge to defrost.  i took those out gave them a quick rinse and set them aside.  i took 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil and heated in a skillet.  i threw in 2 cloves finely chopped garlic 2 tsp Worcester sauce pepper and simmered that stirring constantly for about 5 minutes.  i then added the shrimp and stirred that for about 2 minutes added the spaghetti and tossed so everything was coated and removed from heat.  i sliced some romaine hearts and threw them in there and whoa la that was dinner.

for tonight i am making bbq chicken kabobs and baked potatoes.  i am just wondering if everything will come out ok.

What's For Dinner Tonight and a Review of Last Night...

well i made baked pork chops with sage Parmesan crust with orzo and rice pilaf with spinach.  what i did was take and put about 2 tbsp of butter and heat it in a skillet on low.  while that was doing its thing i took the pork chops and dipped them in flour then eggs that were whisked well and then i dipped them in a bread crumb Parmesan cheese 1 tbsp rubbed sage and the zest from 1 lemon.  turned the heat up to medium high and put the pork chops in long enough to brown both sides... about 2 minutes each side.  i would then transfer them to a baking sheet and when all the pork chops were done browning and they were all on the baking sheet i put it in the oven at 425 for about 20 minutes when the chops had an internal temp of 160.  for the orzo and rice i took about a tbsp of butter and heated it on the stove.  i put about two thirds cup raw rice and half cup of orzo and stirred til golden.  i then added 3 cups water some garlic little salt and onion powder.  brought it to a simmer and turned the heat to low and covered.  it simmered for about 20 minutes til all the liquid was absorbed.  when that was all done i added 1 10 oz bag of frozen spinach heated and squeezed of all juice.  i really didn't like the way the rice came out but i loved the pork chops.

what is for dinner tonight.  i am making a lemon garlic shrimp with pasta and romaine lettuce.

sorry for all the typos but i am on my phone and for some reason it looks like this.

Just tired of it all today.....

Today is just one of them days.  I am just fed up with being a stay at home mom.  I am in the kitchen getting everything out need out for supper.  I tell my 4 y/o that she can have a jello cup, but she had to eat it in the dining room.  Then I go into the living room and there is orange jello EVERYWHERE.  I get the floor picked up and decided to wait a little bit and then vacuum.  I go to the bathroom and come back into the living room and there is red jello EVERYWHERE.  I wanted to scream.  I get it all picked up and scrub a couple of spots and have to go to the bathroom again.  I walk in there and my 4 y/o squirted my older daughter's body soap all over the radiator, floor, and toilet.  I am at the point where I just wanna run to my room and just cry my eyes out.  I now have 2 hours til the oldest two get home from school and 3 hours til my third comes home.

On the bright side I am making baked pork chops with a sage parmesan crust with orzo and rice pilaf with spinich.  I hope it comes out ok.  I am on this kick where I do something new every night for supper.  I made my menu for three weeks and got main entree and 2 sides for every meal.

Last night I made enchiladas for the first time.  I made everything from scratch.  The tortillas, the sauce, even the mix that went inside.  Then I made a black bean and corn casserole as the side.  It all was amazing.  I ended up making 2 different sauces for the enchiladas.  I made a mild tomato one and a spicy ancho chilie mole type one.  I first boiled the chicken in chicken broth with all the spices (garlic, onion, oregano, thyme) in a coffee filter, because I was gonna use the juice for the sauces.  As that was cooking I made all my tortillas (20) and started to cook them.  As they were warming up I was cooking my sauces letting them reduce.  Then after the tortillas were done I drained the chicken and diced that after it cooled a little bit.  After the mole was thicker I started to add the chicken broth to it.  I took some thin sliced onions and caramelized them in a skillet and added the chicken. I removed it from the heat and added oregano, and garlic powder, cheese, and sour cream.  I put some in each tortilla and rolled them and filled a 9x13 and a 9x9 pan with them.  Then I poured the sauce over the tortillas and covered them.  I also put cheese on the top.  I put them in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes (til sauce was bubbly and cheese was melted).  For the black bean salad I put 2 cans of black beans and 2 cans of corn and rinsed them good.  Then I took a medium onion and finely diced it.  Added about 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinaigrette mixed and put in the fridge and wha la there was dinner!

Is It Really Worth It.......

Sometimes I ask myself all the things that I do "is it really worth it", "does this really matter", "if I didn't do this or that would it really matter".  I agree that not all the time I am the best mom, wife, sister, aunt, daughter, or friend.  I am human and I screw up and stretch myself to thin.  I don't mean to, but I want to do everything and help someone who needs it out.  I just wonder in the long run does it really matter or am I just gearing myself up to be a bitter person?  I do like helping people out, but not at the expense of getting bitched at for something that in my eyes really didn't matter.  I won't get into details, not the place to be ousting people.  I just really feel that yea I could have thought better, but I fucked up.  No one got hurt (physically or emotionally).  I do tons of running around for my kids.  Some days with all the running around and lack of sleep I just make minor judgment calls.  I am just really torn up about it.  I am to the point where for the first time my youngest slept through the night, but I was up all night beating myself up over it.  So in turn I am short tempered and still kicking myself in the ass over it.  Pretty soon soccer starts and I will be stretched thinner.  Not only did I sign up 3 kids, but I signed up to be a coach.  Why do I do this shit to myself?  Some days I wanna cry and some I just wanna scream.  I wonder what it's like just to be content!

Safe or Unsafe That Is The Question.......

Right before we bought the house I talked with the school that my children attend and discussed with them whether or not I was still in the school district or not and then where the bus stop was.  The principle informed me that there wasn't one and we were considered to live within walking distance.  We discussed the pros and cons for a little while then told me that it would be good to have one in front of my house.  Let's jump forward two months.  I meet my neighbor.  She has a kindergartner and was told that the bus would stop in front between the two houses.  Later that day I was told by the bus driver that the school district superintendent said that it was unsafe for the bus to stop on the main street like that and that it was safer for the kids to cross the main street and get on the bus on the little side street.  EXCUSE ME????  Are you freaking kidding me?  I have two that get on the bus, but I cross FIVE kids across in the afternoon.  My neighbor has a daycare so there are days that she crosses up to 10 kids.  Another neighbor only crosses one child, sometimes three.  So between the three of us we can have up to 18 children crossing the street, a main road where people this it is OK to go 45 instead of the posted 25.  This superintendent (Dr. F) came to the stop and "talked" to us parents (more like at us).  He stated that it was unsafe for the bus to stop on the main street and we the parents have to "help" walk our children across the street.  We tried talking to him, but he stopped us and hopped into his car and drove off.  Both the neighbor and I called the school and said if we can get a crossing guard, in turn the school said you have to talk to the street department.  We contacted the street department, they stated that we have to talk to the police department.  We called the police department, and they said that is a decision for the school district.  Called the school district about 7 times and the neighbor lost count.  No one wants to acknowledge this matter.  Once it started to be dark when the children cross the road I was wearing bight colored sweatshirts.  I am not a small lady to say the least either.  I look down the street and noticed that all the cars were stopped at the light about a half a mile down.  I start to cross the street and about half way across I hear a loud engine accelerating.  I look and see this car speeding forward with NO lights on.  Lucky my kids and I got out of the way fast enough.  There were a few other instances that were similar where I almost got hit by a car crossing that street.  When trying to reach Dr. F he is always either in a meeting or out of the building.  I wonder what is safer.  The bus stopping on the main street or us walking our children across the main street?

Mexican Teen Starving Herself To Try To Get Tickets To Royal Wedding.......

Here is the link for the clipit comment thingy they did on their Facebook.  Here is the link for the story.

I just got seeing this clip on the news about this Mexican teenager at the British Embassy for tickets to Prince William's wedding.  Then I was on Facebook and I was reading all the comments on there about it.  People are so cruel and uneducated.  I say that if she wants to go on this hunger strike to try and get tickets to this wedding then it is her choice.  What is it "our" place to tell her what she should go on a hunger strike for?  I really don't understand why people are being so harsh about it.  She is in HER country, doing what most teenagers do.... protest about one thing or another.  I remember when I was in the fifth grade I would have done this for NKOTB tickets if I thought I could get away with it!

Daily Doldrums Of A Stay-At-Home Mom

Every day I get up and look at the face of my youngest who yet again finagled his way into my bed.  He smiles then smacks me (sometimes in my face) and then laughs hysterically.  I then proceed to wake up the two oldest.  After some fighting, saying five more minutes, then me telling them that if they don't get up they will go to bed an hour earlier tonight, they get up.  As they get dressed and can't find this or that, I go downstairs to try and get one cup of coffee in.  I pour my cup and my third comes down all sleepy eyed and grumpy and tells me her sister woke her up.  I tell her to go watch TV as I get her breakfast.  As I get her breakfast, my fourth comes down and tells me his brother woke him up.  I tell him the same as the last... go watch TV and I will get you breakfast.  He then goes on this story of how I have to make him pancakes (every day he wants pancakes).  I get them both cereal.  As I sip my coffee feeding the baby his cereal, my husband says that he will feed the baby if I make his lunch for work (in other words he just wants me to make his lunch and won't take anything if I don't make it).  As I am finishing up his lunch he yells at me that it's time for the kids to go to the bus stop.  I make sure my oldest took his medicine and my second has her glasses on and go to the bus.  I talk with the other moms while waiting for the bus.  I then proceed to walk back across the street and go in the house so my husband can leave for work.  He leaves and the kids tell me they are still hungry and they want yogurt.  So I get them yogurt.  After that my third and fourth tell me they want pickles, because they are still hungry.  I say no they can have pickles with lunch.  While I go to the bathroom I hear them in the kitchen helping themselves to the pickles.  I take the pickles away and tell them that they can have them with lunch.  As I am putting the first load into the washer I hear them again.  Again I put the pickles away.  I get the load into the wash.  I then go into the kitchen and start some of the dishes.  Get them knocked out (not all just some).  I pick up the dining room and the living room.  By this time it's almost time for lunch and I switch the clothes and put another load in the wash.  I get lunch started.  Since they want pickles I make sandwiches.  As they eat lunch I again pick up the living room and vacuum.  They are finished with lunch.  My third is off to school on the bus.  Trying to get the baby down for a nap and my fourth down is near impossible.  I give up.  I get the clothes out the dryer, put what is in the washer in the dryer, and put another load in the wash.  Time to get the two oldest off their bus and walk them across the street.  If they have homework I help them with that, if they don't then I have them start on their chores.  My second reminds me of a Winter Sing tomorrow and tells me that I have to sign a permission slip so she can go from her school to the high school to practice during school hours.  I sign the paper and help pick up the playroom.  I tell her to put it in her backpack.  I get my fourth off the bus and off to the kitchen I go to start supper.  I look at the menu board and see that I am cooking spaghetti and meatballs.  Dinner is done and we sit down to eat.  I get the three youngest bathed (separately), get them dressed and get the older two to get in the shower.  Everyone is bathed and off to bed they go.  As I sit on the couch (drifting in and out of sleep), I wonder where the day has gone.  My husband wakes me up like every couple of minutes and says that I should go to bed.  I tell him that if I wanted to be in bed I would be there.  I finally decide that it was time to venture upstairs and go to bed.  The baby wakes up about seven times during the night to eat.  Here comes 6 am.  Another day like the last, but I wouldn't change it for anything!

The Things My Three Year Old Says......

I have to laugh at my kids most of the time.  Joey is a hoot.  Yesterday I was mixing the meatloaf and Joe was sitting on a chair watching me.  All of a sudden the conversation turned like this:

Joe: My poo is fighting
Me: Your poo is fighting?
Joe: Yes my poo is fighting
Me: Who is your poo fighting
Joe: My other poo
Me: where is your poo fighting at
Joe: In my butt

That wasn't the last of I heard about his fighting poo.  I thought I was in the clear after that, but no.  Later I was in the shower and he comes in and it goes like this:

Joe: Mom I just have to poo
Me: Then go poo
after a little bit
Joe: Mom..... my poo is fighting
Me: Is your poo fighting your other poo
Joe: No mom (sarcasm) my poo is fighting my butt
Me: Really (in disbelief that we are again on the fighting poo subject)
Joe: Yea and my butt is a loser..... I just go a lotta poo.

I am so happy that my three year old finds so much fun in talking about his poo so much.  This I know is another reason I lost mom of the year award lol.  It is one of his "quirks" I guess.  I just think (which I am assuming Joe doesn't care) that I don't really need to know about his bowel movements.  He will go into the bathroom come out and inform me what every turd looks like most of the time.

February 14, 2011

Today I was woke up with kind of a start.  Jose came in and surprised me with breakfast in bed.  While I was in bed sipping my coffee I spilt it all over myself.  Jose then let me take a hot shower uninterrupted.  I came out to 2 dozen roses, a box of chocolates, and a sappy mushy card.  I also had to take my wedding ring off.  I don't know what I did to my finger, but it is all bruised and swollen.  It took me about an hour to get it off.  My ring was cutting into my finger so bad.  I feel so naked with out it.


Tonight I am gonna cook meatloaf, roasted potatoes, green beans for supper.  It is an adventure cooking tonight.  All the kids want to help.  Joe and Nani want to crack the eggs and Jakob and Elisa want to mix it.  Jakob also asked me if he can cut the potatoes.  I just don't know about that part.

Jon is hobbling around like he has two broken legs.  He got shots.  He lost a little weight.  It was expected since he is weaning.  He does drink milk and eats real food.  I don't know he has cut down to two nursing sessions during the day, but refuses anything that isn't me at night.  He will nurse at minimum seven times a night.  The doctor said he is a little behind developmentally.  Just because my son isn't hitting milestones at the rate everyone else's kids are doesn't mean he is behind.  I just think that with having four siblings to do things for him that he is just lazy.  So what he doesn't have a vocabulary of like 100 words and isn't feeding himself with a fork and spoon.  It gives me the chance to do it for him.  So what he was spinning around in circles holding his ears in the doctors office when Joey started screaming and it got a little loud... he does that when he gets a little too overwhelmed.  I think the doctor was a little quick to judge and should ease up on him a little (and me).


So here is my first post.  I promise they will get better the more I type!