Halloween post just a bit late

On Being Mom:
      I think part of the pressure I am constantly feeling when it comes to trying to be the best parent and mother that I can be to Charlotte is my perception of what is expected of me. I think that people care if charlotte looks cute, clean, and happy all the time. In reality people are trying just as hard as I am at pleasing everyone that they don't even have time to notice the things I do wrong with my kid because their trying to not screw up their own kids. Sometimes being a great mom is exhausting and I just gotta let some things go, the other day charlotte walked around ALL day with a smudge of dirt on her face and NO ONE noticed!

      Jaysen and I took Charlotte to the Pumpkin patch/ Corn maze in Fallon before Halloween and it was very fun. Charlotte LOVES dirt, animals and running around like a wild woman. Going to the pumpkin patch was like taking her to Disney land, she was so happy. It was our last weekend of good weather for a while I'm afraid.

Whats cookin good lookin?
       Truth be told I haven't been cooking anything new or interesting lately but I did make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies because its fall and I wanted to. They turned out great and they are moist, soft, and delicious.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 16 oz can of canned pumpkin
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons milk
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. Add Flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add vanilla extract, milk and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonful onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Crafts

 The only craft I did in October was making charlotte and I matching Halloween costumes and I think they turned out awesome! 

The Latest Reading:

I have been reading this awesome series, a coworker of mine turned me on to these books called the Psychic Eye Mystery series by Victoria Laurie. These books are awesome! I'm telling you, they a funny, witty, interesting and mostly unpredictable. Read them and you will not be disappointed.

I'm back!!!!

Sorry everyone, Jaysen and I both started school about three weeks ago and between school, work, loving Charlotte, homework and of course crafting, I have been VERY busy and haven't had time to fill y'all in on what we have been up to. 

Let's start with...being a mom. 

 

    Charlotte is doing very well and is a thriving happy 16 month old. I want to get her into something so that she gets a little more interaction with kids her age other than just at church. I think she is to little for school/day care but I might try a little dance class. If I find something good I'll let you know.  

    Charlotte loved the balloon races this year and she also loved the dirt, rocks and creepy crawly things that were around also. 

 

    My mom and I took Charlotte miniature golfing the other day and while it was very fun it certainly wasn't the kind of serous Mini golf competition I am use to.

 

Now onto the cooking aspect of my life. I have been cooking a lot but mostly just repeats or easy random stuff thrown together, I did however make chicken pot pie, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies and a "baked pasta primevera" (basically Mac n cheese with Parmesan cheese, broccoli and ham). Here are all my "famous" recipes.

 

Chicken Pot Pie

 

1 pack of two pie shells

3 cups of cooked chicken shredded or diced (when I'm feeling truly lazy I buy the frozen already cooked chicken)

1 14-16 oz. pkg. peas and carrots

2 cans of cream of chicken soup (undiluted)

 

Mix chicken, peas and carrots and cream of chicken soups and pour into one of the pie shells. With the other pie shell roll it out into a circle or cut into strips and make a crisscross pattern to cover pie mixture. Brush one beaten egg yolk on top of the crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until done.

 

Flickette Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

1 cup butter softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 pkg. 12 oz. chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts

 

Cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla.

Combine flour, salt, and baking soda and add to the sugar mixture.

Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Drop by teaspoon on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes.

Makes 8 dozen 2in cookies.

 

 

 

Famous Oatmeal Cookies

 

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. vanilla

3 cups oats (uncooked)

1 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

(I like to add chopped  nuts)

 

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat together shortening, both sugars, egg, water, and vanilla until creamy.

Add combined remaining ingredients; mix well.

Drop by rounded teaspoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. 

 

Baked Pasta Primavera

 

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

2 Tablespoons olive oil

8 cups broccoli florets

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

4 1/2 cups grated parmesan or Romano cheese, divided

4 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. black pepper

2 cups diced baked ham or prosciutto

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

 

Grease a large baking dish. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse. Toss with oil. Spoon into a large bowl.

 

Preheat oven to 400F. Place Broccoli in a large saucepan; add enough water to cover. Cook broccoli over medium heat until tender, about 5 minutes; drain and rinse with cool running water. Add broccoli to pasta in bowl.

 

In another pan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour. Cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, 4 cups parmesan, mustard and pepper; fold in ham. Add sauce to pasta mixture in prepared dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and remaining 1/2 cup parmesan. Bake until bubbly, about 25 minutes.

Going out!!! Jaysen, Charlotte and I have been going out having LOTS of fun. Personally my favorite thing to do is to go get frozen yogurt. My top three frozen yogurt places are YoShow, Yogurt Beach and U-Swirl. I LOVE YoShow but it's pretty far away from us. That place is awesome for charlotte, they have a large side patio that is set up very comfortably with tables and chairs, chalk for the littles and a giant outside checkerboard painted on the cement with big plastic pieces. It is a very fun dessert place. Yogurt Beach has more of a selection than YoShow but less entertainment, and U-Swirl is OK. U-Swirl is closest to us so we go there sometimes if we don't want a longer drive but their yogurt machines aren't that great, but other than that charlotte loves that place too. 
      Lets talk about Five guys. Ugh where do I start, I do not like that place, they are over priced and their restaurant area doesn't feel all that welcoming or comfortable. Their burgers were average. I will say this however they are slightly awesome because they have all the free peanuts you want and they have these super cool soda machines with like 200 flavors its nuts. So this is what I do, I go to in and out and get a burger, then drive to Five guys and get the peanuts and the drink and then go across the street to YoShow and get dessert. I feel very sorry for Jaysen having to put up with my craziness all the time but at least his life isn't dull with me around.

 

Crafting. Charlotte had this ugly green blanket she liked to drag all over the house and I really disliked that dumb thing so I decided to make her a cute purple and pink blanket and use her ugly blanket as the innards for the new blanket. I thought I was quite genius and I think it turned out rather cute. My quilting skills could use a little improvement but it was my first quilt after all.

      After my creation of the blanket I became craft Crazy. I decided to make my own laundry soap, a bow holder for all of charlottes bows and matching Halloween costumes for Jaysen, Charlotte and myself.
         The laundry soap is awesome, its a powder, I only use about 4 Tablespoons per load and it smells really good. Its kind of expensive to make but it lasts way longer so in the long run its cheaper. I know I got it from someone's blog but it was a while ago so here's the recipe I don't know who first created it but it wasn't me.

1 (4 lb 12 oz) Box of Borax- Found in the detergent aisle
1 (3 lb 7oz) Box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda- found in the detergent aisle
1 (3 lb) Container of Oxy Clean- found in the detergent aisle
2 (14.1 oz) Bars of Zote Soap- found in the detergent aisle (we chose to do pink for the scent but the white would be just fine. You can also use Fels Naptha)
1 (4 lb) Box of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda- Found in the cooking aisle
1-2 (55 oz) Bottle of Purex Crystals Fabric Softener- Found in the detergent aisle (completely optional but it makes your fabric smell good and feel soft.)

1. Grate zote soap with cheese grater or food processor.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bucket.
3 Use 2-4 Tablespoons per laundry load.
        
        Charlottes Bow holder was GENIOUS I just wish it had been my idea (I saw it on pinterest and then copied the idea).

 

 

          As soon as our costumes are all ready and photographed I will post and write about those, but until then have a great day every body, and be sure to read my next post about this new series I just started reading! Be kind to one another.

Lists, lists, lists

       She's "buzzlightyear" in case you couldn't tell. 

         Whew it has been a rough week since my last post I don't even know where to start. I have a mile long list of things to do ALL the time and it is quite exhausting (I hope I am not the only person in the universe to have this problem, I do however think God is probably pretty swamped all the time so I guess that is one person with my problem).
          I have been trying to get in better shape and my goal was to run every day that I am off work and so far I have failed. I started out strong but then Charlotte came down with a cold and the world stopped. She was staying up all night, crying all the time, acting clingy and snotty(litterally). It was awful and so tiring I just didn't have any extra energy for ANYTHING let alone running. I did however go to this excercise class with my friend, whoshall  remain nameless, and it was so hard, I was so SORE! (I have been informed that, that is a good thing.) We went to this place called "The Lean Lemon" they are not really for me as far as a gym/thing to do for exercise but I strongly recommend them, the girls that own "The Lean Lemon" were wonderful, and knowledgable. Here is a link to thier website, check it out, seriously they are GOOD! http://www.theleanlemon.com/

I also got an app on my phone to help you build up to running a 5k in eight weeks but I wasn't impressed. I didn't feel like my workout was as strenuous or as effective as when I was just running to my "sweet jams". So I don't think I'll be using it again. 
        I am part of a committee at church  where we do this thing called "Super Saturday" where all the women get together on one saturday of the year to do crafts, take classes, and just be united. I am in charge of teaching two projects, a 72 hour food kit and an emergency family binder. I'm pretty excited about it actually because in preparing to teach and organize these projects I am actually making these projects and they are awesome! I'm thinking possible Christmas gifts. Here is the link to the the emergency binder I made that I got off of Pinterest http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2014/02/updated-family-binder/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+30handmadedays+(30days).

      I have this fantasy of having Charlotte potty trained before she is two. Who knows if it will happen but she does like wearing big girl panties and she likes to sit on ther little potty so we have made progress. 

        Today Jaysen and I made pizza! It was very fun and, surprisingly, something I have never bade before. We put too much sauce on them but they were still delicious. 

        If any of you haven't seen the movie Pollyanna 1. You should and 2. There is this scene in Pollyanna where they are talking about the bible having 812 "happy texts" like where we are told to rejoice and be glad in The Lord and stuff like that and I am curious if that is actually true so I am trying to read the bible and count the "happy" ones so...I'll let you know what I find out if I ever accomplish my goal. 

       Well that's all I've got for now so "be kind to one another" 

Fourth of July resolutions

Happy Fourth of July everyone! 

 

      I have never really been one to make new year resolutions but it does seem to be a common thing for me tostart making    resolutions around summer time. With that being said here are some of my Fourth of July resolutions. 

1. Be Awesone (obviously) 

2. Try to run/walk every day that I am not working ( for sure run/walk at least once a week) 

3. run 2 miles without stopping. 

4. do 100 push-ups in a row (I can do 3 in a row right now) 

5. Eat better 

6. Cook something at least once a week. 

7. Eat more fruits and veggies. 

    

      Last night as I lay in bed contemplating what I would do today I thought. 'Charlotte and I will get up early as usual and get an early start to walk/run around the sparks marina before it gets too hot'. 

    I had wonderful intentions of keeping my Fourth of July resoultions and then Charlotte woke up at 11:35 pm for a bottle and then up again at 2am and didn't go back to sleep until 4:30am, as I sank back into bed for a few short hours of rest before a VERY LONG day started, I thought 'no way in heck are we going to make it to the marina before it gets hot out'.

    This morning as I predicted, I was exhausted and nowhere near getting us to the marina before the sun began to cook everything alive so I settled for two VERY LARGE cups of coffee (those of you who know me are well aware of the fact that I don't drink coffee or much of any kind of caffein really) lets just say 'desperate times called for desperate measures'. After filling myself full of coffee, grapes and apples Charlotte, Jaysen and I were off around our block for a 2 mile run/walk. It felt wonderful to accomplish something and I felt good (I also thought I was having a heart attack half the time) to be working out and actively participating in becoming a healthier me. (And then I went off and ate two big hunk candy bars!) - what was I thinking. 

   If anyone has any awesome healthy recipes they want to share I would be eternally grateful and of course I will keep you updated as life goes on. I'm behind on my reading and my cooking so nothing to report there. 

     Be kind to one another! 

"One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it's worth watching."

    I have very exciting news! I am going back to school and I'm super pumped, I have no idea what I am going to major in or be when I grow up but I am excited to get back into the intellectual swing of things. Jaysens response to be my question of "what do I major in?' was to tell me to find something I like and that I'm good at but the only thing I am really good at that I like is being a mom and obviously that isn't a college major so until I figure out was else I'm good at I will just try to be a good example to Charlotte.

        I made some roasted red bell-pepper hummus the other day and the best part about it was that nobody in the house likes it but me so I didn't have to worry about it disappearing. I would post the recipe but I just threw random stuff in it. Sorry.
       
      I have been reading a lot and have been mildly disappointed, I finished a book last night and it was just crass and not good, the girl stays with the abusive boyfriend  instead of going with the chivalrous rescuer. GAH!
      I did however read A Brothers Duty by Bill Sanderson and it was acceptable, a nice little christian love story and I also read A Caribbean Spell by Maureen O. Betita, it was basically a knockoff of Pirates of the Caribbean the movie with sex,  but it had some interesting twists and I always like a good adventure. Neither of the books were that spectacular but they were free so... for the right price they were interesting to read.
   

Find your passion and start doing what you love.

       Today I was off work and it was very fun for me to spend the day home with Charlotte watching her favorite movies, going outside and cooking. I know its awful that we let her watch TV and movies but at least she has good taste, her favorite movies are The Sound of Music, Marry Poppins and Pollyanna.
        Charlotte and I made Turtle Brownies (from a box), banana nut bread and Chicken and rice. I don't know what my mom does but she makes the BEST banana nut bread and I just cant seem to get it the same, its very annoying, I'll try making it again tomorrow. This is the recipe (if you figure out how she gets it so delicious let me know)

Banana Nut Bread
By: Marie Chamberlain

1/3 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 3/4 Cup Flour
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 Cup Mashed Bananas
1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts.

Cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs to the sugar and shortening and beat well.
Sift together all the dry ingredients and add to the shortening, sugar, egg mixture. Mix in bananas and nuts and mix well. Pour into a greased, floured loaf pan. Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes.
Remove from pan and cool on rack.

       I also made the Chicken and Rice dish tonight that despite the fact that I think rice is stupid and I don't like peas I rather like this dish its yummy, easy to make and easy to eat.

 We ate it outside in our beautiful backyard. Here's the recipe for that also-

One-Dish Chicken and Rice

1 (10-ounce) Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1/3 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Cups Chopped Cooked Chicken (I usually just buy the frozen already cooked chicken in the freezer aisle because its fast.)
1/2 Cup Chopped Onion (Jaysen doesn't like onions so I just put onion powder in instead of actual onions)
1 Cup Frozen Peas and Carrots
2 Cups Cooked White Rice
1-ish Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Blend soup, milk, salt, pepper and mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Combine chicken, onion, peas and carrots, and rice in a large bowl; mix gently.
Gently fold soup mixture into chicken mixture to combine. Fold in half the cheddar.
Spray a medium casserole dish with cooking spray. Spoon in chicken mixture.
Sprinkle top of casserole with remaining cheddar. Bake until top is golden brown, about 25 minutes.

I promise it is really delicious. Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at Roasted Red Bell pepper Hummus.

Aren't our flowers beautiful! 

The best way to predict your future is to create it!

        Charlotte is so cute! Just saying. She still is only saying baba mama and dada no other words so that is disappointing but I'm not too worried yet. She learned how to jump this week and it's a very funny thing to watch. I worry a lot now that she is self feeding that she isn't actually eating enough food, she plays with it, eats a bit  and then feeds the dog her food. It's very frustrating. 

        Charlotte and I went to the sierra safari zoo on Monday and it was very fun. If you haven't been there you should go it's cool the peacocks are free to roam wherever they please, Charlotte didn't like it. 

       I cook, sometimes. I work about three days a week so naturally unless I'm feeling  energetic after work I don't make dinner those nights and Charlotte and I usually just wing it and eat whatever is in the fridge (I dont think that qualifys me as the worst parent of the year award). Jaysen works nights and is usually not home for dinner so when he is off I try to make something. This week I made what I call Pizza Roll Ups as a snack for Jaysen they are very delicious and not very good for you but they are super easy and only takes five ingredients to make. 

Please note 1. go easy on the garlic salt and 2. you must use the cheese stick cheese, regular cheese just makes a mess. http://www.asparkleofgenius.com/2010/09/back-to-school-with-frigo-cheese.html 
     I also made what I like to call "Enchilada Thingy" this week, it is also super yummy and easy to make. However I will warn you that if you use whole regular chicken breasts don't use three, its too much chicken. http://damndelicious.net/2014/02/19/chicken-enchilada-skillet/
      I made a caprese pasta that was very delicious, when I make it again I think I will add a 1/4 cup more sauce and a bit more cheese,(you can never have too much cheese) and maybe some type of meat. http://www.iheartnaptime.net/caprese-pasta/

        I don't really like smoothies all that much but I tried these smoothie shaker things the other day and it was wonderful, like a dessert in a cup that doesn't make me feel like I need to run ten miles to work it off. Try it out, just sayin.

       In the month of May I read about twenty books but most of them weren't very good. Lately I have been having trouble finding books that are entertaining and mind challenging at the same time. I also can't seem to find very many books that don't have tons of sex scenes, what is that all about!? Seriously! I read two books that are note worthy. I read a book called The Good The Bad and The Ugly Men I've Dated by Shane Bolks it's cute, nerdy and a fun easy read. The other book I read was Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie, this book was good, a nice little love story an a fun mystery.

     Have a good day everyone, "be kind to one another" -Ellen