Yay me, I figured out how to add a Facebook like button to my blog! I am waaay excited now, this is totally a big deal to me! I am not overly computer savvy and have pretty much been learning about this whole blogging thing as I go. So please follow me on Facebook, help me feel even more proud of myself. I would really appreciate it! =) And it wasn't nearly as hard as I feared it would be. And bonus, I didn't destroy my site by playing with the HTML!
I have been absent a bit because of the craziness that is the Holidays. To be politically correct I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays, because I know I have readers of different faiths. Also Merry Christmas, because this is what we celebrate in our household. I hope this season has brought your families, happiness, peace, and joy.
This year I am very thankful for answered prayers, lower levels of stress, the kindness of (near) strangers, our friends and family, and my husband (I don't know what I would do without him).
I don't really talk about it much, but I have been praying more and attempting to find some sort of faith that works for me. I'd like to think that my prayers have been heard; there have been several incidents to make me think so. So thank You!
To say that our budget has been tight the past 6 or so months would be an understatement. Lately it's more like what bills can I put off or what can we do without so we have enough money to buy diapers and food. (I can see our tax refund on the horizon now and I can't wait.) After months and months of trying John got a job working from home, and his first paycheck literally came just in time. The fact that he can work from home and choose his hours is pretty amazing. I am very appreciative of what he has been trying to do for our family. With his anxiety, I know how hard it can be for him to do this. I feel like I don't thank him enough.
Even though work has been just ridiculously busy, my stress levels have dropped quite a bit. I think it's because John is working and even though our budget is still really tight, we have some breathing room. I am thankful that we can pay our bills and can actually afford to order a pizza every once in awhile now. (I love you pizza and have missed you more than I realized.) And our tax refund is so close I can taste it!
Because of our monetary problems we didn't have any money to buy the boys presents this year. Although I did manage to spend a few dollars here and there on a few little things for them over the past month or two. I want to thank again our friends, our family, and friends of our family, who helped to make Christmas very special for the boys. I wish I could show you how their eyes just lit up Christmas morning. And also thank you guys for helping us through this very rough patch. Without everyone I don't know how we could have made it.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
How Do I Not Remember Buying That???
Today while cleaning I came across DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) for the 360 (XBox) sitting at the top of one of our closets. Since it's almost Christmas my thought process went something like this. "Am I supposed to see this?"
"Wait, we don't have any money, how would John have bought this for me?"
"If he didn't buy it for me for Christmas, just how long have we owned this?!"
"Why can't I remember buying this???"
"Has this really been sitting at the top of the closet since we moved in?" (Which by the way was a year ago. Have I mentioned I am also not the most observant person?)
I then found the game portion of it open and on the video game shelf (the dance pad was in the closet). "Huh, apparently we have had it for awhile."
I told John he could have wrapped it up for Christmas and I would have never known. Really though, how do I not remember having this?!? When John traded in his original XBox and everything that went along with it, including my beloved DDR game (ok maybe I didn't play it as much as I should have, but still) I made a BIG deal about making sure he replaced it for me on his new (at that point) 360. Which makes it even more baffling to me that I can't remember him buying this for me. Like I know my memory isn't always the greatest (I blame hereditary for that), but really, why can't I remember this??? I am very excited that I stumbled upon this, now I just need to find some time to play. I would have today during nap time, but I caught a cold from the boys and I feel like total crap.
"Wait, we don't have any money, how would John have bought this for me?"
"If he didn't buy it for me for Christmas, just how long have we owned this?!"
"Why can't I remember buying this???"
"Has this really been sitting at the top of the closet since we moved in?" (Which by the way was a year ago. Have I mentioned I am also not the most observant person?)
I then found the game portion of it open and on the video game shelf (the dance pad was in the closet). "Huh, apparently we have had it for awhile."
I told John he could have wrapped it up for Christmas and I would have never known. Really though, how do I not remember having this?!? When John traded in his original XBox and everything that went along with it, including my beloved DDR game (ok maybe I didn't play it as much as I should have, but still) I made a BIG deal about making sure he replaced it for me on his new (at that point) 360. Which makes it even more baffling to me that I can't remember him buying this for me. Like I know my memory isn't always the greatest (I blame hereditary for that), but really, why can't I remember this??? I am very excited that I stumbled upon this, now I just need to find some time to play. I would have today during nap time, but I caught a cold from the boys and I feel like total crap.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Recipe: Candied Chicken Breasts
The other night I made one of my favorite dinners, candied chicken breasts, mmmm... I'm pretty sure the sauce and the frying negate all the healthy aspects of the chicken. You can find the original recipe here. After making this many many times I have made some changes to fit our family's tastes and this is how I make it.
Ingredients:
1 package of chicken (between 1 and 2 lbs, or 3 to 4 chicken breasts, it's usually kind of what ever I happen to have on hand.)
2 Cups dried bread crumbs (I usually never wind up using all the bread crumbs, so I cut it to 1 cup the other night and I didn't feel like it was quite enough. Also I use the Italian flavored kind.)
1-2 Eggs mixed with a little bit of milk (to help make the bread crumbs stick to the chicken better, I like my chicken extra crispy.)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (at this point I usually just eyeball it.)
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons black pepper (again with the just eyeballing it.)
Vegetable oil (what ever you feel is enough to fry your chicken in, I always end up using more than I probably need to.)
Sliced pineapple rings (Used as a topper. I never cook the pineapple with the chicken. If I happen to have some on hand I'll stick it on top when the chicken is done. I've made this with and without the pineapple and I don't think it really makes much of a difference.)
Sauce Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Onion powder to taste (I usually use a few tablespoonsful)
3/4 cup water
Directions:
1- Cut up chicken breasts into smaller chunks.
2- Mix together bread crumbs, flour, Italian seasoning, and black pepper.
3- Dip chicken into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture.
4- Brown chicken on both sides then place in a baking dish
5- Mix together well the first 6 ingredients for the sauce, then mix in water.
6- Over low heat bring sauce to a boil (it takes forever.)
7- Pour sauce over chicken
8- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 to 60 minutes. (Or until your chicken is cooked through.)
9- Let cool and enjoy, top with pineapple if you would like.
Ingredients:
1 package of chicken (between 1 and 2 lbs, or 3 to 4 chicken breasts, it's usually kind of what ever I happen to have on hand.)
2 Cups dried bread crumbs (I usually never wind up using all the bread crumbs, so I cut it to 1 cup the other night and I didn't feel like it was quite enough. Also I use the Italian flavored kind.)
1-2 Eggs mixed with a little bit of milk (to help make the bread crumbs stick to the chicken better, I like my chicken extra crispy.)
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning (at this point I usually just eyeball it.)
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons black pepper (again with the just eyeballing it.)
Vegetable oil (what ever you feel is enough to fry your chicken in, I always end up using more than I probably need to.)
Sliced pineapple rings (Used as a topper. I never cook the pineapple with the chicken. If I happen to have some on hand I'll stick it on top when the chicken is done. I've made this with and without the pineapple and I don't think it really makes much of a difference.)
Sauce Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1/2 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Onion powder to taste (I usually use a few tablespoonsful)
3/4 cup water
Directions:
1- Cut up chicken breasts into smaller chunks.
2- Mix together bread crumbs, flour, Italian seasoning, and black pepper.
3- Dip chicken into egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture.
4- Brown chicken on both sides then place in a baking dish
5- Mix together well the first 6 ingredients for the sauce, then mix in water.
6- Over low heat bring sauce to a boil (it takes forever.)
7- Pour sauce over chicken
8- Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 to 60 minutes. (Or until your chicken is cooked through.)
9- Let cool and enjoy, top with pineapple if you would like.
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| I took this photo with my phone so it's not the greatest. That plate is glass, you know, for the adult who can't stand having their foods touch. =) |
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Why Does He Put Food Up His Nose?!
I don't know why Owynn insists on sticking food up his nose. I don't understand the appeal of it. I've blogged about our previous adventure here and here. Sunday before we went to the birthday party he stuck macaroni and cheese up there during lunch.
Well last night at dinner he must have thought it would be fun to stick as much corn up there as possible. (Seriously, why???) I pulled 4 kernels out fairly easily. But I was still pretty sure there was more up there, so off I went in search of the flashlight. Found it, (crap it's dead), pray we have enough of the right size batteries, (score we do!) I look up Owynn's nose and sure enough there is at least one more in each nostril (this can't be comfortable). So I go and find a bulb syringe and manage to suction them out. At least he doesn't mind his nose being suctioned. I grabbed the flashlight and there are even more stuck in each of his nostrils! (WTH kid!) At this point I'm asking myself, why this? Why now? Ugh! So I call my mom for some advice, then I have to hurry up and get the boys into bed, because John has a shift he needs to work. After more talking to my mom I finally decide to call the on-call doctor, because after googling I've seen way more than I need to about kids getting infections and aspirating their food and I've become completely paranoid. The doctor said that because I've pulled out so much already and there's at least one piece in each nostril I should probably bring him into the ER to be checked out just in case. Crap crap crap crap crap, I really don't want to be dealing with this right now. So I wake Owynn up (he's not too happy with me at this point), put on his coat, shoes, and mittens (ok he does look pretty darn cute), grab his teddy bear, and off we go to the ER. They got us in immediately, thankfully we live in a small city with several hospitals so we've never had a wait. Owynn was weighed, 27.4lbs yay! He had his temperature taken and his pulse, he cried pretty hard over those (at this point I am really glad I remembered to grab bear). Owynn was looked at by the doctor and there was no corn that he could see. *Sigh* At least I feel better now, somewhat. The doctor said it was very unlikely he aspirated it, it probably made it's way into his throat and he swallowed it. He did say to keep an eye on him though just in case. And if he starts having like a mega runny nose out one side that isn't from a cold, that means the corn is still stuck waaay back in there. It may come out on its own then, but if it doesn't then we would have to bring him back in. Joy.
So I bring Owynn home and give him a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter fudge and some milk. He loved the fudge, he was making his happy food noises while eating it. I love when he does that. I change his diaper and jammies, he says night night to Daddy, then goes over to his door and says "bed!" Ok little man it's time for some sleep. By this point it's around midnight and I am totally wiped out from the day so John and I head to bed too. Ugh, is it Friday yet? I can't take much more this week.
Work has me stressed beyond belief, but I keep telling myself I definitely should not post an angry rant about work, even though I really really want to. K mini angry rant, they messed up my paycheck this week and I am 4 hours short. That is a lot of money to me people! This on top of everything else, I keep wondering when I am going to hit my breaking point. Friday can't come soon enough. I have moved from constantly repeating that I love my job, down to I appreciate the fact that I have a job, because right now I most certainly do not love it.
Well last night at dinner he must have thought it would be fun to stick as much corn up there as possible. (Seriously, why???) I pulled 4 kernels out fairly easily. But I was still pretty sure there was more up there, so off I went in search of the flashlight. Found it, (crap it's dead), pray we have enough of the right size batteries, (score we do!) I look up Owynn's nose and sure enough there is at least one more in each nostril (this can't be comfortable). So I go and find a bulb syringe and manage to suction them out. At least he doesn't mind his nose being suctioned. I grabbed the flashlight and there are even more stuck in each of his nostrils! (WTH kid!) At this point I'm asking myself, why this? Why now? Ugh! So I call my mom for some advice, then I have to hurry up and get the boys into bed, because John has a shift he needs to work. After more talking to my mom I finally decide to call the on-call doctor, because after googling I've seen way more than I need to about kids getting infections and aspirating their food and I've become completely paranoid. The doctor said that because I've pulled out so much already and there's at least one piece in each nostril I should probably bring him into the ER to be checked out just in case. Crap crap crap crap crap, I really don't want to be dealing with this right now. So I wake Owynn up (he's not too happy with me at this point), put on his coat, shoes, and mittens (ok he does look pretty darn cute), grab his teddy bear, and off we go to the ER. They got us in immediately, thankfully we live in a small city with several hospitals so we've never had a wait. Owynn was weighed, 27.4lbs yay! He had his temperature taken and his pulse, he cried pretty hard over those (at this point I am really glad I remembered to grab bear). Owynn was looked at by the doctor and there was no corn that he could see. *Sigh* At least I feel better now, somewhat. The doctor said it was very unlikely he aspirated it, it probably made it's way into his throat and he swallowed it. He did say to keep an eye on him though just in case. And if he starts having like a mega runny nose out one side that isn't from a cold, that means the corn is still stuck waaay back in there. It may come out on its own then, but if it doesn't then we would have to bring him back in. Joy.
So I bring Owynn home and give him a couple spoonfuls of peanut butter fudge and some milk. He loved the fudge, he was making his happy food noises while eating it. I love when he does that. I change his diaper and jammies, he says night night to Daddy, then goes over to his door and says "bed!" Ok little man it's time for some sleep. By this point it's around midnight and I am totally wiped out from the day so John and I head to bed too. Ugh, is it Friday yet? I can't take much more this week.
Work has me stressed beyond belief, but I keep telling myself I definitely should not post an angry rant about work, even though I really really want to. K mini angry rant, they messed up my paycheck this week and I am 4 hours short. That is a lot of money to me people! This on top of everything else, I keep wondering when I am going to hit my breaking point. Friday can't come soon enough. I have moved from constantly repeating that I love my job, down to I appreciate the fact that I have a job, because right now I most certainly do not love it.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
It's the busiest time of the year!
I really need to work on posting on a more regular basis. Between home, work, and the Holidays, it's been pretty busy around here. We had a fun weekend here though. We spent Saturday over at John's parents doing laundry. The boys had a lot of fun visiting Grandma and Grandpa. John watched the Big 10 Title Game, and sadly Nebraska lost (badly).
Sunday we went to a birthday party at Lost in Fun for P & W's son No No (at least that's what Owynn calls him). The place was huge and the boys had so much fun! Inside they had playground equipment, both a ball and a foam pit, those climbing play places like see you see sometimes at fast food restaurants, and sooooo many bouncy houses. And they weren't like basic bouncy houses (they did have a couple of those), they had multi-leveled bouncy houses with slides and everything. The boys went nuts. There was an area for smaller kiddos, but the boys decided that they could do everything the big kids could do too. And I realized that I am so not in shape to be running around someplace like that after rambunctious toddlers and climbing into and all over the play areas. We were there for about 2 & 1/2 hours and by the time we were done John and I were more worn out than the boys. I can't get over how much fun the boys had. There was a big open room there with a big basketball hoop, a smaller one for kids, and a lot of different basketballs. The boys spent a lot of time in there running around and throwing balls (which is two of their favorite things to do). At one point Owynn got accidentally hit in the head by a basketball after it went through the hoop and was bouncing around on the floor, and it knocked him over. Owynn got up and looked at the lady who had initially thrown it, shook his finger at her, and told her "No No!". He is one tough little boy. I spent a lot of time helping the boys up the surprisingly steep "steps" in the bouncy houses so we could go down the huge slides. I was so worn out, but it was so much fun!
Work has been crazy, but the days surrounding a holiday always are. Corporate decided to cut our budget hours again too, it's been more than a little frustrating lately. Monday was just a disaster of a day, it was horrendous. When my shift was over I got the hell out of Dodge. I came home and made Grammy's peanut butter fudge. It is sooooo yummy. I used the last of my marshmallow Fluff (which by the way is hard to find out here), but it was totally worth it. The boys discovered the deliciousness that is Fluff, they kept stealing my spoons of Fluff off the table. They loved it and made a big Fluffy mess. The fudge didn't set quite right, so I'm not really sure what I did wrong, but it still tastes wonderful. I need to make sure to give Grammy a call to figure out what I did or didn't do.
Sunday we went to a birthday party at Lost in Fun for P & W's son No No (at least that's what Owynn calls him). The place was huge and the boys had so much fun! Inside they had playground equipment, both a ball and a foam pit, those climbing play places like see you see sometimes at fast food restaurants, and sooooo many bouncy houses. And they weren't like basic bouncy houses (they did have a couple of those), they had multi-leveled bouncy houses with slides and everything. The boys went nuts. There was an area for smaller kiddos, but the boys decided that they could do everything the big kids could do too. And I realized that I am so not in shape to be running around someplace like that after rambunctious toddlers and climbing into and all over the play areas. We were there for about 2 & 1/2 hours and by the time we were done John and I were more worn out than the boys. I can't get over how much fun the boys had. There was a big open room there with a big basketball hoop, a smaller one for kids, and a lot of different basketballs. The boys spent a lot of time in there running around and throwing balls (which is two of their favorite things to do). At one point Owynn got accidentally hit in the head by a basketball after it went through the hoop and was bouncing around on the floor, and it knocked him over. Owynn got up and looked at the lady who had initially thrown it, shook his finger at her, and told her "No No!". He is one tough little boy. I spent a lot of time helping the boys up the surprisingly steep "steps" in the bouncy houses so we could go down the huge slides. I was so worn out, but it was so much fun!
Work has been crazy, but the days surrounding a holiday always are. Corporate decided to cut our budget hours again too, it's been more than a little frustrating lately. Monday was just a disaster of a day, it was horrendous. When my shift was over I got the hell out of Dodge. I came home and made Grammy's peanut butter fudge. It is sooooo yummy. I used the last of my marshmallow Fluff (which by the way is hard to find out here), but it was totally worth it. The boys discovered the deliciousness that is Fluff, they kept stealing my spoons of Fluff off the table. They loved it and made a big Fluffy mess. The fudge didn't set quite right, so I'm not really sure what I did wrong, but it still tastes wonderful. I need to make sure to give Grammy a call to figure out what I did or didn't do.
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