Fave Five

1. We went on a trip to the Chaco...it was dry, and dusty. But clean at the same time. Interesting. The car wouldn't start a couple of times. I bought bags and bags of both marshmellows and chocolate chips.

2. The girls put smiley face stickers all over my face, and Brian took pictures of it.

3. My neighbor sent over cow stomach soup for me to try. (I didn't.)

4. Learned a new trick with my camera. Happy about this.

5. Finished hanging up the new curtains my sister made for my kitchen. Very cute.

Thanks Brenda and Betty! I like this.

My Chicken Enchiladas

Jackie's Freezable Chicken Enchiladas

2-3 cups of shredded cooked chicken breast (place in sauce pan)

Saute in small pan with olive oil:

1 small onion, chopped
1 small tomatoe, chopped
1 small green pepper, chopped

Add the veggie mixture to chicken, heat over medium heat.
Add 1/2 cup of red salsa, and salsa verde. Mix well, let simmer.

Once mixture is bubbling, turn off heat, and add 1/2 cup of sour cream. Mix well, and let cool.

Fill ten flour tortillas, and roll up. Freeze in small Ziploc bags. I prefer to freeze them individually since we're such a small family. A pan of ten enchiladas would be too much for us right now, so this makes the perfect quick meal.

When ready to cook, place in baking pan, sprinkle with cheese and more salsa if you have some. Cook at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes till cheese is melted and center of enchiladas is bubbling.

I love Mexican food.

Wordless Wednesday

My baby's eyes. They slay me.

Baby Bling

Every girl needs a little bling, right? We got this great idea from No Time For Flashcards. The idea is simple, decorate a toilet paper roll, cut it into thick circles, loop a ribbon around them...and wala! A necklace!

The finished product was proudly worn around The Fripits' neck. It went well with her princess outfit, dontcha think?

This lasted for aproximatly 8-10 minutes. I think it would have been more fun if we had painted them, added glitter, stickers, etc. All I had on hand was crayons. We'll try it again another day.

Menu Monday

Monday: Road trip to the Chaco. Not cooking.
Tuesday:Road trip.
Wednesday: Poor Man's Steak, rice, and green beans
Thursday: Fried Tilapia, Coconut Rice,
Friday: Spaghetti a La Carbonara, green salad, and brocoli
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday: SlowCooker chicken with Rosemary and Apples (bumped up from last week.)



For other menu ideas check out Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Wordle

Click to enlarge image.

Simple Woman's Daybook

(Because everyone is doing it...)



In the Kitchen: Homemade chicken stock bubbling in the crock pot, a pile of dirty lunch dishes calling my name.

I am thankful for: new flowers on my front porch

I am wearing: my croc flip-flops. Always.

I am sewing: Uh...next question please.

I am hearing: Fripits scrape the bottom of her bowl as she finishes up her chocolate chip ice cream. Great summer time snack.

I am reading: The Redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis

I just saw: A scrape on my little girls knee.

I am looking forward to: A cook out at my mom's house tonight.

I am thinking: That I need to start my bread machine.

I am remembering: Those dishes that I need to wash....

It's one of those days.

You know the days I'm talking about. It's really hot outside, I overslept (which means I haven't showered yet, or excercised...gross.)
On those days I'm shot (worn out, exhausted, frazzled, tired, cranky, etc.) by 8:30 am. That's a long time away from nap time.

We're resorting to long day activities today.

Here's to hoping we all make it.

UPDATE: Hubby has taken Oldest Child to run errands with him, Youngest Child is having a morning nap which means...(drumroll) I get to take a shower! Three cheers for the good guys!

Creative Expression

This "project" will buy your HOURS of entertainment. It's easy to do. Start by getting ready for church, then blink your eyes shut for a milisecond. When you open your eyes again your three year old will have opened every single tube of lipstick you own and smeared them on her face. And we all know how easy and quick it is to clean lipstick off before church don't we?

(By the way, if you have to chase said toddler through the house with a washcloth, while wearing your high heels, you should get 1000 Mommy Points dont'cha think?)

(No idea what Mommy Points are, or what they would be good for, but it sounds fun.)

Anyway, the way I see it, you can spend hours planning cutesy crafts and activities for your kids....or you could blink and see what they come up with on their own. Their choice won't always be a clean one though.

Menu Monday

Monday: Blue Cheese Burgers and corn on the cob



Tuesday: Mrs. Wilts Saucy Chicken Sanwiches and chips



Wednesday: Mexican Potatoe Casserole and tortillas



Thursday: Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli and green beans



Friday: Bean burritos with homemade cornmeal tortillas



Saturday:Pizza



Sunday: Slow Cooker Chicken with Rosemary, Apples and Onions



Freezer Meal of the Week: Cheese Filled Manicotti

Cute little boats

We made this cute little craft during a ladies Bible study at my house. All the "littles" were there so we turned on the hose, filled up a large bucket and let them float the boats while we studied the Bible. It worked great! Kept the children entertained for about 15 minutes. The original directions called for a foam sail, but we used small pieces of cardstock, which we first painted. This used up more time, and gave a cuter end result.

Materials:

Sponge

Straw

Paper

Paint

Water

More detailed instructions can be found here.

Parmesan Garlic Potatoes

(Sorry for the bad picture. I'm quickly learning that it's really hard to photograph beige colored food.)

Parmesan Garlic Potatoes

3 large potatoes, thinly sliced.

1/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp. garlic powder

salt to taste

pepper to taste

5 tbsp. melted butter

Melt the butter and pour into baking dish. I used my cast iron skillet. Mix flour, garlic powder, cheese, salt and pepper in shallow dish. Wet the sliced potatoes in a little bit of water, then dredge in the flour mixture. Put the potatoes in the baking pan with the melted butter. Try to keep it down to one layer. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

These are out of this world. The recipe came from a great cooking blog, but it has since been shut down. :-( I'm so glad I wrote the recipe down, it's quickly become a family favorite!

Hair basket

I keep a small basket in my kitchen with hairbrushes, bows, and a bottle of detangling spray. I usually do the girls hair in the morning when they are both strapped into their highchairs. It's much easier, and with slightly less wiggling. Growing up, my mom would gag if she ever saw a hairbrush in the kitchen. She thinks it's disgusting. Right now, it works for us.

What do you think? Hairbrush in the kitchen...gross...or not?

I keep it in the kitchen for easy access, because as you can see by the picture....doing my girls hair is no easy task.

Maple Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Maple Oatmeal Riasin Cookies

These were really good. And addicting! I ate way too many...(and enjoyed every bite, thankyouverymuch.)

Homemade wagon

This cute idea came from Chasing Cheerios. It was easy and quick. I just poked holes in the end of the box, tied a string through the holes to use as a handle. The Fripits played with her Choo Choo train for about 10 minutes outside. She tried pulling the Abster in it but that didn't work so well. It was an easy, quick way to recycle that old Battleship game box I had hanging around.

For Breakfast

Brown Sugar Oatmeal Pancakes



Strawberry Sauce



The pancakes were okay...not as fluffy as I like, but they are a tad bit healthier than a regular recipe. The sauce was really good...and a great way to use up all the strawberries that were getting soft and mushy in my fridge.

Dear Baby...

Dear Baby Of Mine,

Could you please stop growing up?

Thank you.

Love,

Mommy

P.S. I think your chubby cheeks are cute.

P.P.S. Your toes, too.

When in doubt...build a fort.

1 foam mattress

1 large quilt

1 kitchen table

1 princess outfit (complete with plastic high heels)

2 small children

equals:

30 minutes of fun

The girls and I both enjoyed the fort we built in the kitchen. We played peek-a-boo, pretended we were sleeping, pretended to come in for a visit, and even had a tea party.

It's not an original idea, but it's tried and true. :-)