Attempting to be a Super Mom

The weather in my neck of the woods: Right now it's 58 degrees but it's supposed to warm up to 72 today. Things that make me happy:   When my kids get along. Book I'm reading:   Cleaving by Julie Powell What's on my TV today:   Hopefully some fun Halloween stuff. On the menu for dinner: Chili and crackers. On my To Do List: Fold and put away laundry Make beds Trick or treating Some Halloween crafts New Recipe I tried or want to try soon: I'm not really sure.  I have seen a lot I'm really interested in trying, just can't think of them off the top of my head. In the craft basket: Something Halloweeny today for the kids, but nothing for me yet... Looking forward to this week: Trick or treating tonight, and maybe some baking this week. Tips and Tricks:   I can't think of anything off the top of my head again today. My favorite blog post this week:  Didn't get much reading done yet...  I'll catch up soon. No words needed (fa

I got this recipe, as I mentioned in the last post, from  Full Bellies Make Happy Kids - Iced Pumpkin Cookies .  We've been all excited about baking in this house lately, especially anything pumpkin, so I knew I had to give them a try.  They came out so soft and fluffy, like cake more than cookies.  They didn't last two full days in our house. Iced Pumpkin Cookies Cookies Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup pumpkin 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract Icing Ingredients: 2 cups powdered sugar 3 tbsp milk 1 tbsp melted butter 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions: Preheat the oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.  Beat until creamy then mix

How is it possible that the time throughout the day seems to move so fast, yet the overall time (weeks, months, etc) seems to be dragging along?  I feel like there is not enough time in a day to get everything we want done.  Maybe I'm not budgeting my time wisely, but I feel like the minutes and hours just fly by and at the end of the day I'm left thinking Why didn't I get this done?   On the other side of the coin, I'm not a patient person.  I wish I could be, but I'm not.  This pregnancy is driving me nuts.  I thought that with 2 small children already, time would fly by.  That's not the case.  I find myself anxiously awaiting February.  I'm probably crazy, but I can't help but be excited. Ok, now onto what's new... Last Thursday started as a pretty normal day for us.  We were completely out of food in the house so we planned on going grocery shopping as a family as soon as Shawn got home from work.  The weather here has been a little chilly off

Tonight, we tried another recipe from Full Bellies Make Happy Kids.  You can find her recipe at  Full Bellies Make Happy Kids - Creamy Taco Pasta Bake .  I altered it, just a tiny bit to fit what we had here and it was a total success. Creamy Taco Pasta Bake Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef 1 can rotel, undrained 1 packet taco seasoning 1 brick of cream cheese (8 oz) 1 lb penne or any other pasta you choose shredded mozzarella cheese (I used about a big handful) provolone cheese slices Directions: Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. Brown the ground beef.  When done, drain add the taco seasoning and rotel.  Stir well and let simmer for about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir constantly until it's all melted.  It helps to cut the cream cheese into small cubes. Add the cooked pasta and about 1 cup of the pasta water.  Mix well and add the mozzarella cheese. Preheat the oven to 450. Put the pasta hamburger mixture into a baking dish a

The weather in my neck of the woods: It's in the 80s today but is supposed to be chilly and rainy by Wednesday this week. Things that make me happy:   Doctor's appointments where I get to see my baby (sono).  I'm not a patient person.  I can't wait for February.   Book I'm reading:   Cleaving by Julie Powell What's on my TV today:   The last 2 episodes of Bones season 6 On the menu for dinner: Pineapple brats/hot dogs, grilled asparagus, cheesy potato casserole, and strawberries On my To Do List: Fold and put away laundry Organize the kids new play room New Recipe I tried or want to try soon: This week I'm planning on making Creamy Taco Pasta Bake . In the craft basket: Ugh at this time I don't really have anything, although I wish I did.   Looking forward to this week: Hopefully catching up on sleep, and getting ready for Halloween.  We'll be carving pumpkins this week! Tips and Tricks:   I can't think of anything off the top of

All of this wonderful weather has caused us to try to fit in as much as we possibly can before it inevitably gets cold. I will apologize ahead of time.  I have a tendency to get photo happy and in this post, I really did. As I mentioned before, we were going to try to go to the zoo a few weeks ago, but it didn't really work out due to cold and rainy weather so we put it off for a week.  That next Friday, Shawn's mom wasn't able to go because she had a mandatory work meeting, which sucks, but happens sometimes.  Finally we were able to go the next Friday (two weeks ago). It was so much fun to do this together and even Shawn's dad was able to get away from work to go with us! I couldn't believe Ben wanted to ride on the sky tram!  Shawn took him and Ben wasn't even scared until Shawn got out his phone.  Then, Ben was worried about the phone getting dropped.  What a brave boy I have. Shawn's parents did it too. Last weekend was packed