totally changing my blog.

So, I really wanted this to be about my family.  But it isn't.  I have been so busy with life that writing about seems like work.  SO I am taking this blog in a new direction... probably several new directions.

My husband is facing losing his job and has already lost some military pay.  No huge deal, but it sure does hurt when you get used to having a set amount of money and it changes.  I also had a car accident in June, and then Justin's car broke, a lot, in August.  It seems like every time we think we are okay with money something else happens.  So what is a girl to do?  I could go get a job, but most money I make I feel would go to day care, and frankly, I have not worked out side my house in over five years.  Who would want to hire me anyway?  In an effort to save money and be more aware of what I am teaching and feeding my family  I have started making things on my own... I know you are thinking, big deal, you stopped eating out.  Not only that but I have started doing all of the baking for my family... I have started making our snack foods.  I am going to make our laundry and dish washing detergent.  hot damn, I turned into a crazy lady.  The Navy has officially stressed me out to the point that I am probably officially certifiable.  I wish I could figure out how to make my own electricity.  LOL  AND I am checking into the zoning laws for where we live.  I totally want chickens and a goat for milk.  Bet the HOA will say no even if the city says yes.  I am hoping if I keep them in the back yard that it will be okay.

A lot of me online friends ( that sounds pathetic as hell, huh?) have requested that I start blogging about the foods I make and the ways I am saving money.  I am sure I will not be as great as a lot of people out there with coupons, but I hope that people like where this goes.  Feel free to share these things with your friends.

Here is hoping that we are all happier with what this turns into.  I will still sneak in stuff about my kids and life, but hopefully they will be interesting and instructional.  Keep your eyes peeled.  Tonight I will be discussing things to make for the hard to buy for men in your life.  

Memorial day.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about Memorial day and what it means this year.  I have always known it was a day to remember people who gave their lives for our country... for our freedom.  People who gave up so many moments of their lives so that I can enjoy the moments in mine.

It seems like this day, like so many others, has become about commercialism.  About what sells we can catch and where to get the best deals. Or just about a day off from school and work.  We get so frustrated about what to cook, and who is coming over...  So bogged down in the things that really do not matter.   I saw on a friends Facebook page that she was able to go and visit her dad's grave for the first time in her life.  He died before she was born.  When I looked at the pictures I cried.  I am so ashamed that I, as well as just the country, have lost sight of what a gift our freedom is.  I have decided that next weekend when we have been paid, I will load the family up and we are taking a trip.  We are going to go and see some places that have to do with the revolutionary war, the civil war, and I really really want to take them to see the Vietnam war wall.  It is so important to help our children remember (or learn) how lucky we are to have the freedoms and peace that we have, and  the cost of those luxuries.

Today, I am making it my promise to my kids, and myself, that we will not allow the sacrifices of all the men and women who have gone before us to go unnoticed.    So tomorrow we will cook out, and we will enjoy the company of friends and family.  BUT we will also say a prayer of thanks for the people who fought to make it possible for us to live this way.

YUMMMMMMMY

So I haven't posted in a long time.  I am not going to apologize because I have kids and a life and I am sure you understand.  I am writing this solely because I made a really awesome dinner today.  I have a hard time eating rice , pasta and other stuff like that... but I CAN eat oatmeal.  But I am not really wanting things to be sweet.  So here is the recipe.

Savory Italian oatmeal casserole.
1 cup oatmeal (not instant)
3 tsp chicken base (or 3 bullion cubes)
1 sweet onion
3 cloves minced garlic
1 zucchini
1/2 jar prepared pasta sauce
1 can of tomatoes and chilies
1 chicken breast cooked and cut up.
1 cup of shredded cheese


Bring the chicken base or bullion cubes and 3 cups of water to a boil.
In a large sauce pot, melt the butter and add the oats. Stir for 2 minutes to toast. Add the boiling stock and reduce heat to a simmer. Keep at a low simmer for 25 minutes, without stirring.

Saute chopped onion shredded zucchini and garlic in oil or butter.  mix all ingredients in a casserole dish and top with cheese of your choice.  I used cheddar.  Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. 

My kids... ate seconds, both of them.  Ivy asked if she could have it for lunch tomorrow.  YAY YAY YAY   I did good.

I will write more later.  There are some cool pictures and fun stuff to write about, but it will have to be later, after the kids go to bed.

Making apple head dolls

So yesterday I put the little brother-a-saurus down for a nap and we carved the faces for our dolls....  It was pretty funny.  Ivy had a great time and wanted to use every apple we had in the house, but I told her one per person was good enough,  Here Ivy is with Justin holding her apple. 

Basically what you do is get a firm apple and peel it,  Soak it in a lemon juice water salt mix for a few minutes then carve a face in it.

  Here they are peeling and carving...

here are the faces,

So after that we are letting them dry for a few days (hopefully not longer) and then we will make bodies for them and dress them.  I think we will probably cheat and use that as the project for next week. 

This weekend I was shown, yet again, how lucky I am to have the husband I have.  We have been teaching Ivy to ride a bike without training wheels.  My husband decided to ride along with her... on a purple and pink 20 inch Hannah Montana bike.   We had bought it for her, but it was too big so we got her an 18 inch bike instead.  I don't have any pictures of him on the bike, but it was pretty great of him to do that. 

Plans for this week... I am going to try to teach Ivy to make home made spinach ravioli by hand, make more bibs( trying to make enough to start a business with), finish up the training pants for Drew and potty train him.  I am really hoping this weekend will be nice.  If it is we will go to Williamsburg to look around the colonial area.  We have passes, and we really like that place.  They kids get to see what life used to be like, we all get fresh air and exercise, and the food is pretty awesome too.  Ivy really loves history, just like her nerdy parents.  lol 

Still no word from the Navy.  Not that that is a surprise.  I figure that they will not tell us what is going on for at least a month.  This is literally killing me since I am a planner.  My parents are looking to move out here to be close to us... It would be pretty wonderful if we know where we were going to be living so they can know where they want to go.  I want to know where Ivy will be going to school... I want to know where, and when (IF?)we are moving.  But, I know that it doesn't matter at all what I want.... The Navy does things on it's own time.    Eh... I will update more about that when I know something.

Glamor Magizine... hah and some serious stuff too.

So today I check my email and there is an offer to get Glamor magazine for a year for 6 bucks...  I guess that is a great deal... but I don;t need Glamor magazine.  I need exhausted mom magazine.  I need a  magazine that will tell me how to accessorize the bags under my eyes, the vomit or snot in my hair that I don;t notice til I am already halfway through grocery shopping.  I need something to tell me useful things, not how I should be wearing 150 dollar shoes.

This weekend I found out that a friend's dad is in the hospital and will be having open heart surgery Monday.  That is so bad. What is even worse is that he(the friend) is deployed with the Navy so he doesn't even know.  I told them how to send a red cross message and hopefully it will be fast enough he can get home.  So if anyone reads this, please keep their whole family in your thoughts.

Today I will be starting the apple head dolls with Ivy and Justin is here to help too.  Drew is not really big enough to help with carving, so that will be done at nap time.  I didn't write much this weekend because I have been pretty busy.  Yesterday a friend of mine and I threw a baby shower for another friend.  Not a lot of people were there, but it was really a lot of fun.   We made a cake and my friend Amber is so very creative.  She designed this cake.  I cut it but she decorated it.  It turned out so cute!

Honestly, I have just not been feeling very good.  I have a million and one things on my mind with some stuff going on with my hubby's job, and the kids... and the uncertainty of everything right now.   Them Mom and Dad had a car accident and that was pretty worrisome.   I guess I have just been stressed out.

Ehh whatever.  Monday is one of my best friends birthdays, so I am going to have lunch with her.  This week is shaping up to look like a busy one.  I really need some time to stay home so we can do potty training boot camp (Holly style) with Drew.  I am sick of diapers, and he is such a big boy ( in a 4 or 5T and he turned 2 Dec 23rd) that I need him to be out of Diapers asap... they don't came any larger than a 7 and that is what he wears.  I need to make a few more pairs of training pants and get it started.   Wish me luck.  Though he is a pretty smart kid, so I think he will get it pretty quickly. 

Well.... isn't that special.

I was thinking today about old SNL skits, and The Church Lady came to mind.  Probably because I seem to meet people like her more and more often.... or maybe it is just the thought of Dana Carvey in a dress that makes me giggle.  Anyway, My husband is active duty Navy, and that has been a hell of a roller coaster ride.  Anyway, he made a mistake while on watch and now his entire life could, and probably will, change.  And that is ok... but the people who know could totally be the Church lady.  Everyone asks me every time I talk to anyone if I know what is going to happen.  So many people have been talking down to me like if my husband isn't a Nuke anymore it is the end of the world.  Well... guess what you crazy bitches, it isn't.  I don't wear my husbands rank or NEC.  I don't care what he does.  I just want him to be happy with what he does every day.  Do I want his job to change?  DO I want to lose the killer bonus he gets?  Of course not!  BUT I will say that 150 bucks a month IS NOT worth the hell he goes through.  Not worth the hell any of them go through if you ask me.  Anyway, I was talking to someone I know today and was explaining to her the different things that could happen ( to my knowledge anyway, things can change so fast)  and she actually said in this snotty voice, "Well.... isn;t that special."  I seriously had a vision of her doing the dance and asking who's fault it might be.... mmmmmm SATAN? 

I think the world would be so much better if people would stop acting like they were better than everyone else.  But I guess I am guilty of that too sometimes.  Sometimes I even want to say that to people.... isn't that special.  Usually when they are telling how much better their kid is than my kid.  Maybe I am just old, Maybe I am just a mean bitch, but I am so tired of everything being a freaking competition. 

On a side note ( it is actually way more important than me bitching about how people act) I have decided what this weekend's project will be.  We are going to make apple head dolls.  They take a while to dry though so it will probably take more than a week to get all of the pictures up.  The really exciting news?  My hubby will be able to do this one with us. 

 Hopefully soon we will have some answers as to what is going to happen with the hubby's job, but either way things will be ok. 

For you viewing pleasure.... the church lady.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnCZxLvYXI8

Do you ever have those no shit moments that make you want to slap yourself in the forehead?

I just had one of them right now.  I was reading this article about how it is important for moms to take good care of themselves so they can take good care of their families.  Now I know this about eating healthy and being active.  Who the hell doesn't?  BUT apparently I was so wrapped up in being a mom I forgot I need a life too.  I need to get out there and do things that I think are fun.  WITHOUT the kids.  Now I know you are reading this thinking that any moron should know this.  And you are right... too bad THIS moron was forgetting.  With Justin (the hubbster) being in the Navy and his schedule sucking more than my Dyson ever could, and being the chauffeur to my 6 year old, and running the house, and everything else I TOTALLY forgot that I need to have fun too. 

Now I just need to find someone I trust to leave the monsters with.  The problem is NOT that I have no one I trust... the problem is if I leave the kids with the people I trust I have no one to go do anything with.  So Now I am renewing my vow to be a better wife.  I don't think Justin and I have had more than one date in the last 3 years.  So... this is something I need to change. 

So I ask myself what the hell do I want.   Sometimes... it is just a nap.  Sometimes, I want to go out and see a movie, or just get my hair cut.  I love my kids so very much BUT I really need a break from them.  Wow, I feel like such a bad mom for saying that, but it is still

 So This pointless random collection of words is just that I should totally take more care of myself.  So I can take better care of my husband and my family.  On that note I am going to go to bed and start making plans for a happier family, starting with a happier me.

Project 1 1/24/11

So Today my little girl stayed home sick.  Which always sucks because by the time the cold meds kick in she feels great and is driving me up the wall because she is bored and feels good.  Drew decided that this would be a great day to practice jumping.  Off of the coffee table.  Onto his sister's stomach.  She threw up on him.  After that mess was handled, and oh yes, it WAS a mess, I fed them lunch and put Drew down for a nap.  I had Ivy help me make dinner.  I had already put a pot roast in the crock pot and a ton of veggies, so she got to make Rosemary Garlic Cheesy beer bread.  She measured it all out and mixed it up and did it all with only supervision from me.    I am very proud of her.  Then she wanted to make 10 different kinds of desert but I told her that she had done enough cooking for one day and we would talk about baking desert on the weekend.  Anyway, here are the pictures and the recipe.  I am sure that anyone over the age of 4 could mix it up and over the age of 5 ( if they listen well) could do all the cooking on their own. 

Cheesy Rosemary garlic beer bread
3c self rising flour
2 tbls of sugar
1 cheap light beer (can or bottle 12 oz, we used Natural ice)
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp minced or dried garlic. 
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
melted butter
Preheat oven to 350.  Spray loaf pan with Pam.  Mix flour, sugar, garlic, and rosemary together.  Add beer and stir til mixed ( about 50 strokes with a spoon).  Then stir in the cheese.  Dump mixture into loaf pan.  Bake for 1 hour brushing melted butter onto when halfway done baking.  Allow to cool completely before taking out of pan. 

 Aren't these the most awesome freaking pj pants you have ever seen?

Please ignore the mess behind her.  My boy went on a rampage before nap time and I hadn't cleaned it up yet.  This is my sweet beautiful Ivy and her bread.  We ate it with dinner and it was DELICIOUS!! 

What this is about.

This is my space to be myself.  A sarcastic, funny, person who doesn't feel her age( that is right... I still feel about 18), but is very happy to be who she is.  I am 30, a mom, a wife, a post gastric bypass patient, a pet owner, and so many other things.

I am sitting home with my two kids because Ivy (she is 6, and in 1st grade) is home sick.  Drew ( my giant 2 year old) is also sick, but he is still able to bother his sister.   I feel like we get so wrapped up in other things we , as a family, son;t do enough together.  So I have decided TODAY that that will change.  It could be the cold medicine, or it could be I am trying to be a great mom, or really any number of other things, but I have decided to start doing a weekly project with at least Ivy.  Drew will help with some, but not all will be something he can do.  I will be posting what happens here along with pictures of the finished project (and of the kids if they will hold still long enough to get pictures).  I will also be posting my opinions, thoughts, and random fancies on this blog. 

This is about my family, I guess pretty much everything I do is, but mostly... this is about me.  ME being a better mom, a better person, and a better role model.  I will share things that are challenges for me ( I struggle every day with my weight loss surgery, and body image, ways to be a better mom, and so much more), make me smile, and probably more than a few dirty jokes.