Graduation boxes

I made fifteen of these goodie boxes for my customer, F.  She is graduating high school this year and wanted 15 of them.  She wanted the squares to be dark green and the side strips to be dark purple.  She said she wanted a dark purple graduation cap.  I also incorporated a decorative label on top with the numbers "2015" on it.  I am actually very happy that I finished them since I had about a week to finish it.

I had so much fun making them!  I hope to make more in the future.  This one was the easiest to make thus far.  The hardest part was cutting out thirty graduation caps and fifteen decorative labels on my Cricut Expression.  But once they were all cut out, everything else was a piece of cake.  I hope she likes them!

Tonight for dinner we are going to grill some smoked sausage and onions and while my husband is doing that I am going to make some carmelized carrots.  It should be pretty good, I hope.  Last night I made chicken burritos cause my husband was craving them.  They are seriously really good!

Random dinner

For some reason, I didn't take a picture of dinner last night.  I made chicken that I fried in some butter and olive oil.  I also made some cornbread stuffing and peas.  It wasn't the best meal in the world, but it was edible and it had some flavor so that's good.  Today we are going to go do our monthly grocery shopping.  But since my father-in-law is going to be here in a couple of weeks the grocery list is very short.  Most of the meals I'll be making is chicken with mashed potatoes and some sort of vegetable or chicken with stuffing and some sort of vegetable.  My husband also is requesting I make chicken burritos.  So, that is on the list as well.

I started working on my customer's order more yesterday but I didn't get a lot done.  But since my husband is home this whole weekend I will get a chance to get a lot done.  I really hope I can get a lot done because I have two days to finish and I am about 20% complete.

You know, I thought I almost finished the laundry mountain.  But I just realized that I have another load to do, so I am going to work on that today.  I hope I can get that done by tomorrow.  Why is it that laundry is never ending?  I wish I could just blink my eyes and make it all finish by itself.  Either that or maybe I can just clone myself.

Somewhat busy lately

I finally conquered the laundry mountain and made it halfway down.  I am almost done with these two loads that have been put on hold lately.  But I vow to finish this weekend!  I have one more load of laundry to do and I should be caught up for the next few days, I hope.  I swear, laundry is a never ending battle.

I had a customer order three of my cards from my etsy page (www.etsy.com/shop/SerendipityKisses) yesterday so I was busy working on that.  Not to mention there is another customer of mine, F, who ordered 15 goodie boxes.  I have a few days left to finish so I hope I can finish on time for her.

I've just been so busy this week.  We had a wedding to go to, doctors appointments to go to, registering my daughter for school for the following fall, and it's just been insane how busy I have been this week.  But things should calm down next week.  I don't have an appointment to take the kids or myself to until June.

My day planner said chili is on the menu today but I think I'll change my mind and make something else.  I have chicken thawing right now so I'll just have to think of something to make with chicken, I guess.  I need to work on the menu planning for next month because we are going grocery shopping this weekend.  I was going to start when the kids napped but my son was not having it.  He wouldn't fall asleep unless I was holding him.  I finally got him asleep in his crib and so I took that opportunity to tackle my laundry mountain.  I think now that it is somewhat quiet in the house, I'll do that now.

Busy day

Today has been one exhausting and busy day for us.  We went to my husband's best friend's wedding this morning.  After the wedding was over we all headed to this restaurant and ate lunch together.  We had to leave early because our son had a doctor's appointment to go to.  But he is doing really well.  After we got done with the doctor's appointment, we went to the store to pick up some more food and milk for the kids.  And now we are all home and relaxing and I am exhausted.  I hope and pray both of them go to bed easily tonight.

For dinner tonight will be the leftovers from yesterday's lunch.  I can't wait.  I am craving those delicious ribs!  We're going to have some chicken and coleslaw to go with the ribs, too.  I don't know what I plan to make tomorrow for dinner, but I think I wrote it in my day planner so I'll just look in there.

Last night, my son fell asleep super early so I was able to work on a customer's order.  My customer, F, wanted 15 goodie boxes for graduation.  So we collaborated on ideas on what she wanted and I started working on it yesterday.  I have only a week to finish but I think as long as I cut everything out ahead of time, it should be easy peasey for me to put them all together.  I hope I can finish on time.  I have until next Monday to finish.

Memorial Day weekend

I'm not going to lie.  I am really enjoying my husband being home with me during this four day weekend.  I am dreading him going back to work on Wednesday, but at least he only works for three days then the weekend is here again.  And school is almost over so he will be home the whole summer. 

Yesterday my husband had a hard time getting her to go to bed at night.  She finally fell asleep but she woke up right before we fell asleep.  She also continued to wake up periodically throughout the night.  In total, she woke up seven times in nine hours!  I honestly don't know how she is not so tired or why she fights it every night.  She doesn't fall asleep easily at night or during nap time.  I miss the days she used to just go to bed by herself and didn't need me or my husband in the room with her.  I can only hope and pray that it will get easier.

Today for Memorial Day we smoked some ribs and chicken on the smoker.  I made some coleslaw last night.  Lunch was so amazingly good!  We got this rub for the ribs from my step mother-in-law and it was soo good on the ribs!  We plan to make this same meal next month when my father-in-law comes out to visit.  Not sure what we are doing for dinner tonight but we may end up eating the ribs and chicken again.

Lastly.. it is Memorial Day so I would like to say thank you to all the men and women who sacrifice their life to fight for our country.  I appreciate you all for what you do for our country and wish you got the recognition and appreciation that is well deserved for you.  God bless!

Chicken with Stuffing and Green Beans

Sometimes I surprise myself with my cooking.  Seriously.  I really had no idea what to make for dinner with all this extra chicken that I had in the refrigerator.  I ended up marinating it in Italian dressing for several hours.  Once it was time to start cooking dinner, I took it out and breaded them in garlic bread crumbs.  I baked them in a preheated oven of 350 for about 20 minutes.  While that was baking, I made some chicken flavored corn bread stuffing with some green beans that I cooked in butter and kosher salt.  Once the green beans were done, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top.  Voila!  Easy peasey!  My husband rated it an 11.  But it was seriously so good!  We had some chicken and stuffing leftover so we had that for lunch today.  Tonight for dinner will most likely be dumplings because I didn't feel like cooking really.  

Tomorrow is Memorial Day so we are going to smoke some ribs and chicken for lunch.  We got some rub from my father-in-law and step mother-in-law.  So we are going to use the rub for the ribs tomorrow.  Tonight while my husband is doing the dishes I am going to make the coleslaw for tomorrow's lunch.  He loves my coleslaw for some reason.

Today I felt like creating a card and luckily my husband needed more thank you cards.  So I made a few thank you cards for him with envelopes.  

Modge Podge Meal

Every once in a while I make a Modge Podge kind of meal.  For me a Modge Podge meal consists of just whatever I can find in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer and attempt to make a meal out of it.  Last night's meal was a surprising success for me!  I ended up making some chicken that I cooked in butter and added some seasonings courtesy of Mrs. Dash, I made some mashed potatoes, and heated up some carrots.  My husband said it was so amazing and rated this a 10 as well!  Holy moley!  I am on a roll, baby!  Tonight for dinner I didn't know what to make since I realized that I have some chicken left that hasn't been cooked that is still hanging out in the refrigerator.  So I put all of the chicken that was in the refrigerator in a bowl, put the whole bottle of Italian dressing that's been kicking back in there as well, and it has been marinading now for almost ten hours now.  After it's all marinating in there, I am going to coat them in bread crumbs and bake it in the oven.  I am still not sure what to cook with them, but I'll figure it out.

Can I just say that I am so excited that my husband is finally home all day?  I feel like I can get so much accomplished now!  I have a new customer who is ordering the goodie boxes so I have been collaborating with her on what she's looking for.  I can't wait to make them and take pictures to share with you all!  

It has been drizzling here off and on, so I am going to end this here and start watching some movies with my husband and kids and get some thank you cards made for my husband.  He's been wanting me to make some, so I better skip to it.

Weekend is here

Today is Friday, which means my husband will be home all weekend!  I love when he's home.  It makes things so much easier for me when it comes to doing things around the house.  The best part of this weekend is that he has a four day weekend!  He has Monday off since it is Memorial Day and he took Tuesday off.  We have a wedding to go to on Tuesday so he took the whole day off at work.

I am going to try my best to get a lot done this weekend though.  I am already in the process of creating and making a few cards to sell on my etsy page (www.etsy.com/shop/SerendipityKisses) next week.  I haven't listed anything to sell in a while so it will be nice to finally do that. 

This weekend I also need to do some laundry.  I am seriously baffled by how fast laundry piles up with a family of four.  It's just mind boggling.

I have to make this entry short because I have things to do.

Crockpot Chicken Burritos

I came up with this yummy recipe when I was craving chicken burritos one day.  It is seriously so simple and so delicious.  It just gets better and better each time.  The best part of this meal is that you can change it up by putting whatever you want in the inside of your burrito, that is you want to have salsa in there or some sour cream or maybe some homemade guacamole even.  It is entirely up to you!  I made it last night for dinner and my husband rated it a 10!  That speaks volumes because he rarely rates anything a 10, because there's "always room for improvement".  So I was elated when he said it was a 10.  Here's the delicious recipe!

Crockpot Chicken Burritos

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
15 1/4 oz. can corn, drained
16 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
16 oz. jar salsa
6 to 8 10-inch flour tortillas
Garnish: shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole

Place chicken in a slow cooker; top with the corn, black beans, and salsa.  Cover and cook on low setting for 8 to 10 hours, or on high setting for 4 to 6 hours.  Shred the chicken, stir back into the slow cooker.  To serve this, spoon mixture onto the tortillas.  Add your desired garnishes and roll up.

Serves 6 to 8.

Note: I think the next time I make this, I will add a packet of fajita seasonings.  It might add a bit more flavor to the burritos.  And I think I'll use mango peach salsa instead of regular salsa.

Salsa heaven

I don't know what it is, but I absolutely love the smell of salsa.  Every time I smell salsa, my body is in a state of euphoria bliss.  My mother-in-law actually introduced me to a mango and peach salsa and I love it!  I love it so much that I want it on everything I eat!  I joked with her and told her that I am so glad she didn't introduce me to that salsa when I was pregnant otherwise I would have ate it so much that my husband would be sick of it.  But I kid you not, mango and peach salsa is so darn good!  I found a recipe on how to make my own, so I think I'll do that this summer.  

Tonight for dinner I put some chicken in the crockpot.. I also added some corn, black beans, and a jar of salsa.  Once the chicken is done, I'm going to shred the chicken then put it back in the crockpot until my husband comes home from work.  Then when he gets home, I'll just warm up some tortillas and call it a burrito!  The house smells amazing so far from the smell of the salsa permeating everywhere!

I am proud to say I finished folding and putting away two loads of laundry yesterday.  It wasn't easy, but I did it.  My son has been super duper clingy lately and every time he falls asleep in my arms, he won't fall asleep in his crib.  So I have had to put everything at a standstill yesterday and the other day.  But at one moment, I got him to finally fall asleep in his crib.  So I took that opportunity and folded the clothes and put them away.  I even managed to put away some boxes that have been accumulating the nursery.

I can't wait until dinner time.  I am so hungry for those burritos!

Exhausted

They say if you put your child on a routine for bed time and nap time, they will know that it's time to go to bed and their bodies will start to adjust to calm down and relax so they can go to bed.  For some reason, I think my daughter missed that memo.  I struggle trying to get her to go to bed every day.  I have really contemplated on not having her take a nap.  But I know if I do, she will fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.  Then when it is time for her to go to bed at night, it will be a big nightmare for my husband.  But I thought if I schedule her nap time and bed time at the same time every day she would slowly make it easier for me to put her to bed.  It's not working though.  I can only hope and pray that when she starts going to school it will be a lot easier for me.

I finally folded two loads of laundry that has been about two weeks in the works.  I even put it away today, too!  But unfortunately, now I have two more loads of laundry that I need to start soon, too.  I think I'll work on that this weekend.  Luckily this weekend my husband has a four day weekend so I can get some stuff done around the house and I can, hopefully, make a card or something.  I have a few ideas on cards I want to make for my etsy shop, but I just haven't had the time to make it yet.

Both of my kids still are a little sickly, but it's not too bad to the point where I am going to take them to their doctor.  But it is to the point where I am getting exhausted wiping the boogies off their face and hearing the constant sniffle from my daughter.  Hopefully it goes away soon.

Savory Chicken Soup

It isn't exactly a cold day, but I wanted to make some chicken soup.  I wanted to use up all of the vegetables before they go bad and the best way I can do that is by making some soup with lots of vegetables.  I found this recipe in a crockpot cookbook that I have had for like years.  I can't wait to try it out.  Here is the recipe.

Savory Chicken Soup

2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 to 3 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 onions, sliced
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
14 1/2 oz. can chicken broth
2 cups water
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried basil

Place vegetables in a slower ooker; add chicken.  Pour in broth and water; sprinkle seasonings over top.  Cover and cook on low setting for eight hours or on high setting for four hours.  

Serves 4 to 6.

Here is how it looks after three hours in my crockpot.  Looks and smells yummy!

Short but sweet

My husband needed a thank you card the other day and I didn't have any on hand.  So I quickly made one.  This is the card that I made.  I should make a bunch of these to keep on hand for one of those, just in case moments.  But of course, I probably won't.  It was a quick and simple card I made using my Stampin' Up stamp and colored the "Thanks" sentiment.  I think the hardest part on this card was coloring the sentiment in.

Last night for dinner we had this Oriental Chicken with Brown Rice and Steamed Vegetables.  I thought it was going to be this really amazing meal.  But between both of my kids not feeling well and taking care of stuff around the house, the meal ended up being a total disaster.  I don't even want to post the picture I took of it last night.  It was a true disaster.  My husband even commented and said that I usually cook such delicious meals that he didn't know what happened to this meal.

Tonight for dinner will be leftovers of stuff we have around the house.  But tomorrow I plan to make a chicken soup with some vegetables.  I am trying to use up all of the vegetables before it goes bad.  Sometimes when we buy vegetables, I have a bad habit of not cooking everything and then it ends up wilting or rotting.

Runny nose times two

Yesterday my daughter was out of sorts.  She had a runny nose and she napped easily during nap time and she fell asleep easily for bed time as well.  It felt weird with both kids asleep before 8:00 last night.  But my husband and I enjoyed the peace and quiet for ten minutes before our son woke up crying.  I had the humidifier on for our daughter last night and this morning she seems to be doing a little better.  Her nose is still runny but not as bad.  But now my son has a runny nose.  So, I think tonight I am going to put the humidifier on in his room for him since it worked pretty good for his sister.

Tonight for dinner I am making this dish called Oriental Chicken.  It has soy sauce and honey in the crockpot.  I'm going to serve it with brown rice and some steamed vegetables.  I haven't made this dish yet and I can't recall for the life of me where I found this recipe.  I will post the Hawaiian Kielbasa recipe and picture this weekend.  I keep forgetting to get the picture from my husband's phone.

This weekend I need to wash the kids clothes.  I feel like I just washed their clothes last week.  I also need to finish the load I started last week, too.  I don't know why but laundry is like on the bottom of my priorities of household cleaning that I do on a daily basis.  I always procrastinate when it comes to laundry.  But I need to finish soon.

Also, this weekend my husband wants to go buy a pair of jeans since all of his jeans has a hole in where the knee is at.  He also wants to go get a haircut since his hair is growing out.  Other than that, there are no other plans for this weekend.

I didn't get much sleep last night even though I was so tired.  My daughter woke up twice last night and my son woke up once.  This is getting really exhausting on my body, having to wake up multiple times a night for her.  I can not wait until she finally sleeps through the night and I have to just hope and pray that he sleeps through the night as well.

Runny nose

My poor little girl.. she has a runny nose today.  So, today during nap time I put the humidifier on in her room.  She started to fall asleep in the living room about fifteen minutes before she usually goes for her nap.  So I just woke her up and had her go sleep in her room.  I gave her some milk and within seven minutes she fell asleep.  She slept for only an hour so hopefully she goes to bed easily for my husband tonight.  I plan to leave the humidifier on in her room tonight as well.  Hopefully her runny nose is just a 24 hour thing.

Last night I made a Hawaiian Kielbasa in the crockpot.  I took a picture of the yummy-ness but I took a picture on my husband's phone since my battery died on my phone.  So, I'll have to post the picture tomorrow.  It was really good though.  The recipe called for crushed pineapples but I only had cubed pineapples.  So, I just took each one out and just cut them up small.  It turned out really well and can't wait to make it again.

This weekend I don't think we are going anywhere or doing anything really.  My husband just texted me and asked me if I had any thank you cards.  So, I guess while my son is still sleeping, I'll go and make a quick thank you card for him.  I'm not sure how many he needs but I'll just make one.  Hopefully I can get it done.

Tonight for dinner we are just having leftovers.  We ran out of white rice so I'm going to use brown rice this time.  I prefer brown rice over white rice anyway.  It definitely is better for you and I personally think it tastes better.

It finally happened!

I don't know what happened last night, but for the first time in a long time, my daughter and son both slept all night long.  We went out to dinner with my parents but we go out every month and neither of them have slept all night.  But I'm grateful they did.  Tonight we are going to put our daughter to bed at 8:15 or 8:30.  Hopefully she sleeps through the night again.

Last night at dinner was a nightmare.  I barely ate my dinner.  I managed to eat five bites of Spanish rice and half of a tamale.  I did get to finish my Pepsi though.  I only managed to eat dessert but that's because my husband brought a plate of different kinds of desserts for me to try, but he fed them to me cause I was holding our son.  He was nonstop fussing and I didn't exactly want to hand him off to my husband because he was taking care of our daughter, who was also fussing.

So, last night wasn't fun at all.  I wish I could have ate more but whatever.  Then today I finally got my daughter to nap but my son was awake when I finally got her sleeping.  When he finally fell asleep himself, I couldn't get up because he fell asleep on me.  Every time I tried to put him in his bed, he'd wake up crying.  So, I didn't get to eat lunch til a bit later and when I got to eat, my daughter woke up and wanted to eat my lunch so I gave it to her.  I'll just save my appetite for tonight's dinner which is going to be Hawaiian Kielbasa.  This is a big meal so there will be lots of leftovers for this.  I can't wait.

Taco Bell is so awesome

Last night was supposed to be leftovers for dinner.  But my daughter had a mid afternoon appointment that I couldn't change the time to, so we got done kind of late.  So we agreed that we would have Taco Bell for dinner.  I don't think my husband would ever say no if I asked if he wanted Taco Bell for dinner.  But then, neither would I.  Two of my favorite foods are sushi and tacos.  Not in that order, of course.  But those two I could eat forever and never get tired of it.

Yesterday was an exhausting day trying to get my daughter to fall asleep.  It was even tougher for my husband trying to get her to fall asleep at night.  I don't know what it is and what we are doing wrong when it is time to get her to bed.  We have a set routine because they say children need a routine but it doesn't seem to work for her.  

Tonight is another somewhat lazy night for dinner.  We are actually going out to dinner with my parents so I don't have to cook.  But tomorrow I'm making a dish I have made before with kielbasas and pineapple.  The best part of this dish is that there is a lot of leftovers so it should last us a couple of days.  

I am almost done working on the wedding card.  I have a few more things to do to it and then I will be all done.  I hope they like it.  I need to finish working on my mother-in-law's card.  She texted me yesterday evening to let us know she made it to Florida.  So now it's just a matter of time when she sends out her little postcard letting everyone know of her new address in Florida so I have until then to work on it.  

I can only hope and pray that tonight when we get home from dinner with my parents that my daughter falls asleep easily for us.  It really gets exhausting trying to get her to sleep every single day and night. 

Blanket: Friend or Foe?

Every day and every night my husband and I struggle getting our daughter to fall asleep.  I remember when we used to tell her that it was time to go to bed and she would gather her laptop and her toy cell phone and she would walk with us to her room.  We would change her diaper, give her a kiss, and walk away.  There she would lay in her bed and play on her laptop or her phone and eventually she would fall asleep.  But now, you would think we give her a can of soda before nap time or bed time.  It is a nightmare trying to get her calm and to fall asleep.  I can't exactly leave her room otherwise she cries or throws a fit.  It's getting to the point where I am crying hysterically cause she is exhausting me.

One thing that drives me crazy when I put her down for nap time is when she is laying in bed and I cover her up.  Then she kicks the covers off so I put the covers away from her, but then she wants them back.  Then as soon as she is covered again she kicks them off.  It is an exhausting game she plays.  I swear we must have covered her and uncovered her at least 100 times today during nap time.  I know next time I should just take it away but my son was falling asleep and I didn't want her crying or screaming to wake him up.  It is days like today I wish I could just clone myself so I can get stuff done.

Luckily I don't put her to bed at night anymore.  My husband does that, and he struggles getting her to fall asleep, too.  I am hoping and praying that once she starts school it will be a lot easier as she will have daily activities at school to keep her busy.  I try to keep her active at home but sometimes it's not easy when I have my son to watch and take care of as well.

I have been working on the wedding card yesterday and today.  I'm almost done.  I can't wait til I am done so that's one less thing I have to worry about.  I need to finish the laundry I did last week as well.  It seems laundry is one thing I take forever to finish.

By the way, my daughter has no patience and can't wait til she starts building that.  That is all.

Relaxing day

Last year for Mother's Day, my husband bought me this coffee mug.  It is one of my all-time favorite possessions that I own.  I never thought I would be capable of being a mother.  When I was in my teenage years I never envisioned my life to be where I am today; married to a wonderful man and a mother to two children.

This year for Mother's Day, I made my mom, my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, and my step mother-in-law all Mother's Day cards.  I also made my husband's two aunts and his grandmother all thinking of you cards.  I forgot to take pictures of the cards I made them, but they all called to thank me for their cards.

Tonight for dinner we are having leftovers.  I made a Mushroom Chicken thing last night for dinner.  It was pretty good.  There's still plenty of that and the Hamburger Soup I made the other night so we can have a smorgasbord of food to eat tonight.

Once the kids nap today, I need to finish doing laundry and hopefully finish my mother-in-law's retirement card I have been working on for her.  I will definitely take a picture of her card because I think it is turning out super cute so far.  My next card I need to make is for a wedding card.  One of our friends is getting married in a couple of weeks so I am making them a card.  I am making a card that is called a Joy Fold Card.  It's cute and I never saw anything like that before.  I made my step mother-in-law a birthday card in that style and she loved it.  When I finish the wedding card I will take a picture of that.

Time to put the kids to take their nap.

Hamburger Soup

The past few nights it has been a bit chilly here so I decided I wanted to make some soup for dinner last night.  This is a recipe that I created myself.  My husband thought it was a little bland, but that's because I purposely avoided any spices but I suppose next time I make it, I will add the spices he wants in it.

This soup is pretty hearty and filling.  It is a nice thing to eat while watching television or at the kitchen table.  I probably won't make this meal for my kids until they are a little bit older so they can enjoy it then.  Right now, my daughter is a somewhat picky eater but she will eat anything once as long as she sees me eat it.  But she won't take more bites after the one.  Anyway, here is the recipe for the Hamburger Soup.  I hope you enjoy!

Hamburger Soup

1 lb. ground beef (I used ground turkey)
6 cups water
2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 cups diced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped celery
4 tbs. uncooked rice
2 medium onions, chopped
2 tsp. salt

Brown the beef in a skillet, chopping into bite size pieces as it browns.  Drain.  Add six cups of boiling water in the saucepan.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for approximately thirty minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  (Note: I let it simmer for about an hour because my husband likes the vegetables to be very tender.)

My Mother's Day card

I made this card for my mother for Mother's Day.  My mother likes simple things so that's why when it was time to make her a card, I didn't even hesitate on making her a simple card.  I made this card last night while my husband was watching the kids.  It literally only took me fifteen minutes to make.  I just used plain white cardstock cut in half and then scored and folded in the middle.  Then I got my Stampin' Up Flower Shoppe punch and Petite Petals punch.  I punched out three flowers using yellow cardstock with the Flower Shoppe punch and I punched out three flowers using Stampin' Up Pistachio Pudding paper with the Petite Petals punch.  I mounted them on dimensionals and then stamped the sentiment Happy Mothers Day on the bottom using my Stampin Up Chocolate Chip ink pad.  My husband mailed off the card today so she should get it by tomorrow, just in time for Mother's Day.

Growing up, I never really truly appreciated my mother the way I should have.  But now that I am a mother to two children myself, I can understand what my mother went through when she was taking care of me and my sister when my father was working.  The biggest difference is my sister and I are four and a half years apart (a whole new generation according to my sister, but whatever), and my two children are only 22 months apart.  We both wanted two children and when he heard how my sister and I are not close, he decided to have our kids to be close in age so they could be close.  We want our children to be close, something I don't have with my very own sister, but I don't want to get into that.

Tonight for dinner I am making a Hamburger Soup.  It has been kind of chilly at night so I decided to make soup for dinner.  Tomorrow I am making an Oriental Chicken Wrap for dinner.  I have some laundry to do this weekend, too.  Laundry seems to always be never ending.  I still have a pile of darks laundry that I never got a chance to put away yet and it's still sitting in the clean laundry basket waiting to be folded and put away.

Last night it seemed to take forever to get both kids to fall asleep.  But I got my son asleep finally but my daughter was still awake.  At one point she woke him up so I had to get him back to sleep again.  But she finally fell asleep around 8:00.  The good news is that she slept all night, but my son woke up in the middle of the night.  Once this summer gets here, we are going to put her on a strict schedule of one hour nap and eleven hours of bedtime sleep.  I think I might incorporate bath time/lavender lotion/soothing music in there for like one hour prior to bedtime.  But we will see how that goes.

Mother's Day

I can't believe this weekend is Mother's Day.  Is it me or does this year seem to be flying by very fast?  I can't believe how fast it's going.  This weekend my husband and I agreed mutually that we wouldn't do anything too spectacular for Mother's Day.  I don't mind because I know he appreciates all that I do for the kids and how I take care of the house.  

I made this card for Mother's Day and I am selling it on my etsy page, www.etsy.com/shop/SerendipityKisses and I love how it turned out.  I wish it was easy to make a nice masculine looking card for Father's Day.  I have some ideas.  I'll work on them next weekend, I think.  This weekend my husband is going to fix his brakes in his car.  When the kids nap I will work on a wedding card.  We're going to a wedding in three weeks and I want to start working on it as soon as I can so I don't forget.  I might make an extra one of that card and list it on my etsy page as well.  I haven't really listed anything on there lately.  But I am hoping this summer I can post a new card once a week on there.

Tonight for dinner is going to be leftovers because my daughter has an appointment to go to this afternoon and I prefer to have leftovers today.  We're going to have the leftover Sloppy Joe Chicken.  I just need to make the rice while the kids nap and cook it before my husband comes home from work.  Tomorrow I am going to make some chicken and veggie wrap thing, I think.  I forget.  I wrote it down in my Erin Condren day planner but I forgot what I am cooking tomorrow night.  I am so thankful tomorrow is Friday.

I am so sleep deprived.  But the sad thing is, once I am in bed and the kids are sleeping I am wide awake.  My husband can fall asleep in less than five minutes while I'm laying in bed trying to fall asleep.  Then the sounds of my son snoring on the baby monitor keeps me awake as I am listening to him sleeping.  But I guess I shouldn't complain.  There are several people out there in this world who can't have kids or aren't married so I should be grateful for what I have and not complain about the petty things.

This summer I am going to go full force on potty training my daughter after my father-in-law goes back home.  He's coming to visit us for the weekend next month.  It will be easier if I start potty training her once he leaves.  I don't think he wants to see his granddaughter walking around the house bottomless.  Wish me luck that potty training goes well.

Sloppy Joe Chicken

Yesterday while the kids were napping, I got dinner ready in my crockpot.  I made a dish called Sloppy Joe Chicken.  I didn't know if I would like it or not because sloppy joe's just don't sound appealing when you add chicken to it.  Maybe I'm just weird.  But I made it because there wasn't a lot of ingredients needed for this meal and my husband likes sloppy joe's.  We both enjoyed the meal so much and I can say I will be making this meal again!  He rated this a 9 1/2!  Wow, I'm impressed with such high ratings from him.  Here's the recipe!

Sloppy Joe Chicken

6 skinless chicken thighs
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 1/2 oz. pkg. Sloppy Joe mix
2 tbs. honey
cooked rice

Place chicken in a slow cooker.  Combine remaining ingredients except rice; pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low setting for six hours.  Discard bones.  Serve chicken and sauce over cooked rice.

Notes:  I used boneless skinless chicken thighs and when it was nearly done I shredded the chicken because my husband prefers shredded chicken.

Leftover Mock Pierogies

I made these for dinner the other night and I didn't care for them.  But today I was hungry and lunch was approachiing.  I waited til my daughter was awake to heat these up again to eat them for lunch.  Interestingly enough, these were fantastic the next day!  I don't know if it was because the flavors got to soak in overnight or if it was the melted cheese from the microwave that made it taste better.. but this was my lunch.  In the blue cup is my cherry coke.  It has been a much needed caffeine kind of day for me.

My daughter woke up three times last night!  Oh my.  When does this ever end?  I am getting so tired of waking up in the middle of the night one or multiple times a night.  The other night she barely napped at all, I woke her up after she fell asleep for thirty minutes, but even then she woke up in the middle of the night.  It's getting exhausting.

I have been trying to make and finish my mother-in-law's card but for some reason it is taking longer than anticipated.  I hope to finish it this weekend since my husband will be home to help me watch the kids.  But we'll see.  I don't think we have anything planned this weekend really.  It is getting warmer here lately so going out anywhere is going to be more challenging as we don't want to let our kids outside for that long and get too hot.  

Tonight for dinner I am using my crockpot and I am making a meal called Sloppy Joe Chicken.  It looks good so far and smells amazing!  I can't wait to try it out.  I am really loving this new cookbook I am using for some of the crockpot meals.  But I do miss making casserole dishes, but Fall will be here soon.  My mom bought me my crockpot like ten years ago and I never really used it until I moved in with my husband.  And it wasn't until I started to meal plan that I decided to use it full-time.  Planning out meals for a month is actually very easy and very relaxing for me.  I look forward to when I get to plan the next month's meals.

Mock Pierogies

I have never had pierogies before so I don't know what they were supposed to look like or taste like.  But my husband has talked about loving them so when I found a recipe for Mock Pierogies, I thought I would make it for him.  He said it didn't taste or look like what he was used to eating.  I didn't really care for the meal.  It seemed the recipe lacked taste and flavor.  Not to mention it was very cheesy.  I love cheese but this recipe was a bit overkill on the cheese.  I don't think I will ever make this dish again.  If I do, I'll put some sour cream and maybe salt the pasta and potatoes beforehand.  With that said, here is the recipe for the meal.

Mock Pierogies

1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup onion, chopped
6 to 7 potatoes, peeled, cubed, and cooked
16 oz. pkg. shredded cheddar cheese, divided
16 oz. pkg. bowtie pasta, cooked

Combine butter and onion in a slow cooker; add potatoes.  Sprinkle with half the cheese.  Spread pasta on top; sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover and cook on low setting for 30 to 40 minutes; stirring occasionally.

Serves 6 to 8.

No naps

This is my life.  My daughter has been refusing to take a nap or even fall asleep.  She fights it every single day, two times a day, fourteen times a week.  I don't know why she keeps fighting it when I know she's tired.  Yesterday she took forever to fall asleep.  Luckily she went to bed at 9:00pm but still, she should be asleep between 7:30-8:00pm.  I read that kids need consistency and a routine, but for her, it doesn't seem to apply.  It is an hour and a half past her nap time right now, and what is she doing?  She's playing on my husband's iPhone.  We tried to put her to nap but she was not having it.  Then my phone rang and it was my father-in-law who wanted to Skype so he could see the kids.  All I have to say about this day is that I hope and pray she stays awake until it is time to go to bed tonight and she'll sleep easily and she will sleep through the night.  It is seriously beginning to take a toll on my body waking up in the middle of the night. 

Right now I am in the process of making a "house card" for my mother-in-law since she just recently retired and is moving to Florida in two weeks.  I stole the house card idea from someone on YouTube, I forgot who.  But I plan to make the house look like her house in Florida.  I made her a card like that before that looked like the house that she used to live in.  I made my husband's grandmother a photo album with pictures of the kids.  She loved it.  I might make another one like that but we'll see.

Tonight for dinner I'm making a meal called Mock Pierogies.  It is going to be cooked in the crockpot.  I have never had actual pierogies before so I don't know what it is supposed to be like.  But my husband has had them so I thought I would make it for him to bring back memories for him.  I showed him the recipe but he said it looks like nothing like the pierogies he used to eat.  So, here goes nothing.

New bed

Today was a fun and challenging day.  Today I took apart my daughter's old bed and put it back together again in the third bedroom for my son.  While I was doing that, my husband was putting together her new bed.  I don't know what possessed me to think we should do it right then and there, but we did.  With all the chaos going on, my daughter was getting hyper and it was getting close to nap time.  But I figured let's finish this and put her down to nap.  It took me two hours to fall asleep finally!  Two hours!  I know I probably should have just let her not nap if it took that long.  But we are planning to go grocery shopping today and then go get a mattress for her new bed and we're going to go to Babies R Us to get a new baby monitor for his new room so we can hear him.  But I already put her monitor in his room so we just need a monitor for her room now.  I know if we just skipped her nap and ran our errands, she would have fallen asleep in the car and we would have had to wake her up to let her know when we got to our location.  And it's getting too hot outside so I didn't want one of us to go in the store while the other stays in the car while she sleeps either.  So, that is why I waited for her to finally fall asleep.  I know I am going to probably regret it tonight when it is time for her to go to bed.  But whatever.  No one said parenting is easy.

Tonight for dinner I am just reheating up leftovers.  We really need to do some major food shopping.  Today is the last day I'm cooking dinner in the oven.  Starting tomorrow it will be either the stovetop or the crockpot for meals I will be preparing.  But I will post the picture and the recipe.

My mother-in-law recently retired and is waiting to make her move down south to Florida in a couple of weeks.  I am planning on making her a retirement card.  I can't wait to make her the card.  It's been a few days since I really made anything.  I just cleaned up and somewhat organized the third bedroom.  The third bedroom has almost all of my crafting supplies so when it comes time to make something, I will have to go in there.  

Summer vacation is almost here!  Yay!

The weekend is finally here

The weekend is finally here and I am so happy about it.  Tonight for dinner is going to be leftovers from a meal that I made and then stuck in the freezer.  It was one of those meals you make and put the other half of it in a glass dish and bake it when you're ready.  I can't wait for dinner because I am hungry!

Tomorrow we are supposed to go food shopping.  Every three weeks I plan the menu out for the whole month and write down the meals I want to make in my day planner.  After I do that I start to write down every ingredient those recipes call for.  Once I do that, I go in the pantry, freezer, and the fridge and cross off everything we don't need because we already have it in the house.  Once that is all done, I rewrite the list and put it in order of how I usually walk in the grocery store, that way I'm not hunting around my list to make sure I got everything.  This whole process makes it easier for me because I am usually in the store trying to hurry to get everything done while my husband is in the store with our kids and trying his best to entertain them while I am walking around the store.

Sometime this weekend I need to finish folding and putting away the laundry I did over the week.  This is the second time this week I have had to wash our bed sheets as our daughter peed through her diaper and got pee all over our bed and her pajamas and herself.  I can not stress enough how much I can't wait til my kids are both out of diapers and both self sufficient so I don't have to constantly be watching their every little move.  I know it will happen but until then I am doing my best to enjoy them as they are now.