This Year's Love.

I am kind of in love with 2013.  There have just been so many moments.  Moments where I just take the time to enjoy and take everything in, to love on my husband, to watch the two tiny little beings we created grow.  I'm trying to put my phone down and put the unimportant things on the backburner and just be present.  Play and play with my children.  Memorize their ever changing faces.  Take in their sweet baby/toddler smell. Except for Addie's stinky feet, that can get pretty bad!  I hold hands with my husband and though I know we knew what we were doing as we were doing it but I am still pleasantly surprised to see this wonderful family and home we have created together. 

                             

  

6 years together, 4 years married and the past 3 I have felt a little like we were in baby mode. Pregnancy, birth, rinse, repeat.  But now we are here. We are finally here. We have our family and my heart sometimes feels like it's going to explode.

Pom Poms & A Butter Dish.

This entry could also be titled, "How To Keep A Toddler Busy For 33 Minutes." Yes, I timed it.

Cut small shapes in the lid of an clean empty butter dish or other plastic container, provide small pom poms or other small objects and let your kiddo go to town pushing them through the top again and again. It's great for their fine motor skills and great for a mom to make dinner uninterrupted.

Sickling.

My littlest little is under the weather. A sick baby is heartbreaking to a mamma but I have to say I am enjoying all the snuggles and Tinker Bell watching with the scent of Vicks Baby Rub in the air.

Lazy Mom Dinner - Sausage, Potato, Onion & Pepper Bake. (Gluten Free)

My favorite kind of dinner is the kind that can be whipped up quickly, using as little pots and dishes as possible (possibly the crock pot) and that my family will actually eat. I call these my "lazy mom" dinners or "two kids have been screaming at me all day what can I make that is yummy and takes the least amount of energy exertion?" dinners.

This one is all of those things plus toddler and bachelor approved as well. SCORE.

Ingredients

Sausage link(s) (at least 1lb), sliced into rounds
4-5 decent sized potatoes, cut into chunks
2 bell peppers, sliced
1 small jar banana peppers
1 large onion sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp Tony's (or any creole seasoning)

Cover a cookie sheet (make sure you use one with a lip) with foil.

Place all ingredients on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and use hands to mix everything together to coat with the oil.

Sprinkle with the salt, pepper and seasoning.

Bake @400 for 30-35 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

That's it!

Get your grub on.

First Day Of 2013 - Crock Pot Lasagna Soup. (Gluten Free)

Forget cabbage, black eyed peas and resolution making, we spent the majority of our day trying to keep our two year old from picking the scab on her lip (she re-busted it last night excited from fireworks) and trying to get our 8 month old to poop.

I did manage to throw together an easy lasagna soup in the crockpot. It's a one pot meal = Mom bliss.

Ingredients

28oz can of diced tomatoes (I used some that were garlic/oregano flavor)
6 oz can tomato paste
1 lb ground beef (I used ground turkey)
3 cups beef broth
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 tbsp dried basil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups uncooked shell pasta (I used gluten free pasta to make the dish gluten free)
1 cup water
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded cheese for topping (I used mozzarella)

Mix together can of diced tomatoes and tomato paste in the crock pot.

Next add beef, broth, garlic, parsley, basil, onion and salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. When 30 minutes are left in cook time, add the noodles and water, recover and cook for remaining 30 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese on top.

New Year, New Blog.

I am not big on New Year's resolutions. I don't need to set myself up for failure for not accomplishing 623 tasks within a year set before me. I am a mother of a 2 1/2 year old and 8 month old, I get to do that every day!

What I do love about the New Year is the clean slate.  The fresh start. To put all the dark and twisty and embarassing behind you and focus on the bright, new and shiny.

So every year my list is simple:

Be a better wife.
Be a better mom.
Be a better person.
Find the joy in all things.
Learn from mistakes.
Try again.

And no matter how bad the adversity gets....

... choose to be shiny.