Attempting to be a Super Mom

So I really did get behind in my blogging.  These past couple of weeks have been totally CRAZY!  Ben's birthday was Friday, and as I'm sure any parent can relate to, we've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off in order to attempt at giving Ben the perfect birthday.  I'll get to more on this shortly. We had been planning dinner with our friends Tim and Rebekah for a few weeks.  We try to do it every other week.  This time, it kept getting postponed (car trouble on our end, and personal issues on their end which is not my business to go any more in depth on).  We finally got to do it last night and it was so good.  It was supposed to be German themed, but due to a time crunch, it fell apart a wee bit.  It doesn't matter though, because it was DELICIOUS!  I made bierocks.  I posted the recipe here .They were so good and a hit for the adults.  The kids didn't really care for them, but kids are often picky.  Reb...

I have to tell you, this is not my recipe.  I got it from this blog  Dishin & Dishes .  I made it for dinner tonight with our friends for a German themed meal.  We have not eaten dinner yet, but I assure you they are awesome.  (I ate 2 1/2)  I couldn't believe how much flavor they each had. Bierocks Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef 1 small cabbage, chopped in small pieces 2 onions, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper bread dough either store bought or homemade  (on the recipe, she has a specific dough to make, but I made my own and cheated... I let the bread machine do it.) 2 tbsp melted butter Directions: In a pan, brown the ground beef with the onions. When done, add the cabbage and garlic, salt, and pepper  Stir and then cover. Let it cook over low to medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the cabbage is fully cooked.  Make sure you stir every couple of minutes so it doesn't ...

Pork Tenderloin with Potatoes and Carrots Ingredients: Pork Tenderloin (mine was about 3.5 lbs so you may have to adjust your time accordingly) 1 onion, sliced 3 large carrots, cut into bite sized pieces about 7 or 8 potatoes (I used yukon gold) 1 apple, cored, peeled, and sliced a few sprigs of rosemary 3 cloves of garlic extra virgin olive oil Directions: Preheat your oven to 350. In a roasting pan, place your carrots, potatoes, and pork tenderloin, lean side up. Pierce the tenderloin with a sharp knife a few times and then rub it with the garlic.  Cover the tenderloin with the rosemary, onion, and apple, and then drizzle the olive oil over the top. Cook for about 2 hours.  The tenderloin should be about 160 degrees and the potatoes and carrots cooked fully. When done, remove the onion, rosemary, and apple. Slice and serve with the potatoes and carrots.  I also se...

We did a quick and small amount of work lower case letter A craft the day we did the Alien. a is for apple what you'll need: red and green construction paper scissors glue 1.  Draw and cut out the lower case letter A from the red paper. 2.  Cut out a little green leaf. 3.  Glue the leaf to the top of the letter a. That's it.  Not much work, but really is pretty cute.

I just LOVE this cute little craft. A is for Alien What you'll need: Construction paper (we used green, black and pink) scissors glue hot glue gun pipe cleaner (we used lime green) 1.  Draw and cut out the letter A from the green paper. 2.  Cut out 2 ovals for eyes and 2 little circles for nostrils from the black. 3.  Cut out a pink triangle for the mouth. 4.  Glue the eyes, nostrils, and mouth onto the A. 5.  Cut the pipe cleaner to a length you feel is appropriate and fold it in half. 6.  Glue it to the top of the letter A from the back. You're adorable little A for Alien is done.

I thought this was going to be so cute, but to be honest, I haven't been wanting to put this up because I don't really like it.  We have started the alphabet over though, so maybe we'll come up with something a little better. Z is for Zipper What you'll need: construction paper scissors glue markers 1.  Draw and cut out the letter Z. 2.  Cut out a long, thin strip of paper, a bunch of little, thin strips of paper for the teeth, and a pull tab 3.  Color the letter Z. 4.  Glue the long strip down the middle of the diagonal part of the Z. 5.  Glue the teeth all along the strip on the diagonal. 6.  Glue the clasp at the top. You're done.

I was in the mood for some comfort food tonight, so I came up with a super easy and really tasty meal. Chicken and Potato Casserole Ingredients: 3 Chicken breast, boneless and skinless 8 Potatoes ( I used yukon gold) 1 onion, chopped 1 1/2 cups sour cream 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 4 tbsp butter, melted garlic powder salt pepper beau monde  (this is one of my favorite spices) canola oil Directions: Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.  Season the chicken with beau monde, and garlic powder. Cover the bottom of a skillet with canola oil and put over medium heat.  Once hot, add the chicken and fry until fully cooked. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Chop the onion, and cut up the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Put the onion, potatoes, and chicken into a large mixing bowl. In a small mixing bowl, mix the butter, sour cream, 1/2 of the cheese, some salt, pepper, garlic powder, and beau monde. Add the sour cream mixture to ...

Ok, a lot has happened since my last update on the 28th.  It has been super busy, but such a blast in our family. Last week, we started our "pre preschool" for Ben.  Basically, I have work sheets and crafts and activities planned for each day.  He's been wanting to go to school really bad, so I decided to do this for him.  So far he's really enjoying it. Tuesday night, our car broke down.  I grew up in a family where car trouble was the worst thing that could possibly happen and it gives me uber anxiety, but Shawn kept calm and his dad was able to fix the car for us on Saturday.  In the mean time, Shawn's parents let us borrow their Jeep, which I fell in love with. Friday marked the beginning of our "Stay-cation"  It started out with a play date for Ben with his friend Asher.  Ben didn't want to leave, and Asher wanted to come with us.  It definitely made me realize we don't do this sort of thing enough.  The day ended with a trip ...