Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Chicken Parmesan casserole

This was another thrown together meal
Chicken Parm Cassarole

2 chicken breasts cooked and diced
spaghetti noodles or angel hair pasta
1 can spaghetti  sauce
2 cans diced Italian tomato's
2 cups motzrella cheese
2 cups stovetop crushed

Cook the pasta until tender.  drain. Pour cooked hot pasta into a greased cassarole dish. Top with the diced chicken, tomatos and spaghetti sauce. Then add the cheese on top. Then added the crushed stove top. Cover with foil and cook for 30 min. @ 350. uncover and cook until topping is browned and crunchy.


Monday, May 21, 2012

Supernova progress report

Supernova is now 6 1/2 months old.
he can sit up by himself and lower himself to the floor.
he can army crawl but hes also getting on all fours and rocking.
he can use his sippy cup and play with cheerios.
he likes banannas but hates squash and avacado
he has two teeth
still wont sleep without mommy
he likes to give zerberts
and he says yiyiyiyii,  mamama, dadada, and blahblahblah


Sunday, May 20, 2012

My day

My day
Tennie Hardin


 My mommy is sleepy today so we are gonna write together about my day!
I get up around 6:30 just about the time Daddy has left and Mommy is busy fixing breakfast, trying to critique sissys clothes, get lunches made, and setting breakfast out. I find this is the best time to really get people's attention so I tell everyone that they are ignoring me!. As soon as sissy's are gone I get milks and nakie time! I play with my friends, my toys and my doggies while mommy washes diapers and dishes until I've decided mommy isn't paying me enough attention. I get cuddles and milks then we go run errands! I like this part because I get to go to daddy's work then the store! Everyone at the store LOVES me! Sometimes mommy takes to long so I have to let her know it's time for a nap and of course more milks. I don't like to take naps alone so I let mommy know the crib upsets me and I want more snuggles. She loves me so she lays down on my big bed with me. Then when I get up mommy is GONE so I have to let her know I'm all alone. I do this LOUD just in case she can't hear me.
 When I wake up of course I need more milks! While mommy and I are snuggling my sissys come home!
They are LOUD! And so much fun! I am always so happy to see them! They all hug me and kiss me and tell me how much they missed me.  Mommy has to help them do stuff and get supper ready so they read to me and play with me. They aren't mommy and aren't as much fun so I really get upset after a while.  Then daddy comes home and loves all over me, and gets me ready for dinner. I get milks first then I have to sit in a stupid chair and eat goo. I really dont like a lot of the stuff mommy lets me try. I have learned a cool trick I learned how to spit the goo at daddy! My sissys REALLY liked that!!  After that mommy just gives me cheerios to play with. Then after dinner im pretty sleepy so daddy gives me a bath while mommy helps my sissys and gets my jammies out. When daddy and I are done mommy tortures me by putting on those yucky jammies and diapers and not giving me milks. I tell her how upset I am at her but she just laughs at me!! Then FINALLY I get my milks. I like this part because mommy sings to me as I go to sleep and drink my milks. Soon i'll wake up and want my mommy but for now it's time for bed.

Puzzle Pasta

This dish is names puzzle pasta because it came together like pieces of a puzzle. I asked Big_Gwrl what she wanted for dinner and she said she wanted bow noodles. Middlest got meat she picked bacon. Eldest got something creamy she picked cream cheese. I added cooked chicken for Big_daddy.
So here is our yummy puzzle pasta

Puzzle Pasta

1 8oz. tub of low fat cream cheese
1/2 a box of Bow Tie pasta
1 cup grape tomatos halved or quartered (depending on what you want)
1/3 cup of chicken stock
1/2 a package of bacon
3 chicken breast  cut into pieces
2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste)

Boil water to cook your pasta.
While your water is heating cut the bacon into small pieces and fry it and drain on paper towels.
pour pasta into boiling water cook.
When pasta is ALMOST finished mix cream cheese, garlic, and chicken stock in a small sauce pan on low heat until smooth.
drain pasta and pour into a large bowl add bacon, chicken, and tomatos. then pour sauce over the top and mix well. I served this warm because no one wanted to wait but i think it would be amazing cold!





Monday, May 14, 2012

getting to know you...

I decided that we are gonna play inside the actors studio. just as a way for some of you to get to know me better.

What is your favorite word? LOVE and GREASE 'cause they both are THE word
What is your least favorite word? HATE 
What turns you on? CAPTAIN AMERICA
What turns you off? SOMEONE THAT COULD DELIBERTLY HURT ANOTHER
What sound do you love? CHILDREN GIGGLING
What sound do you hate? PEOPLE YELLING AT ONE ANOTHER
What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?  A BREAD BAKER I love bread.. I love the way it smells, the way dough feels, I love EVERYTHING about bread!
What profession would you not like to participate in? CUSTOMER SERVICE REP Those poor people have some real jerks they have to deal with and I know I sure wouldn't have the patients to! 
What’s your favorite curse word? SHIT
If heaven exists what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? NOW SEE THAT WASN'T SO BAD WAS IT? 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Mothers Day

                                                             Happy Mothers Day.
                                          I would not be a Mother if not for you babe.
                              Almost 9 years ago you asked me to help you raise your daughter.
                            We added another daughter to the mix the next year. One more two
                             years later. Then this year we added our son.
                             They are the very best of me.
                             Thank you for giving me four beautiful children.








Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Nothin better to do

 
 Yesterday I mentioned I co-sleep with Supernova. Sometimes I feel like it's some horrible secret that I have to keep to myself. There is such a stigma attached to it. There are dangers but I don't move a lot in my sleep, I don't take sleeping pills, and I don't drink alcohol. I didn't plan it.  I always nursed the girls in bed at night then transfered them to their crib. It just kind of evolved when Big_Daddy moved out of town. It was easier to just keep the baby in bed with me than to keep getting up and down all night long. I figgured out real quick that you get to actually sleep that way. When we moved south we transitioned Supernova back into his crib at night. Lately though he's been going through everything teething, growth spurts, allergies, you name it. Meaning he hasn't been sleeping well at night so in order for us to get more sleep (any) we've had to start up again.
  There are a lot of benifits to co-sleeping. Babies are programmed to be close to thier mothers. So sleeping next to them keeps baby feeling more secure in thier world. Mom's warmth and breathing helps regulate thier body tempature, helps keep them from falling asleep to deeply.. preventing SIDS, it also helps moms to be quicker to respond if there is a problem with baby. I am not in any way trying to convince anyone to co-sleep with thier child. It's just what works best for me and Supernova at this time.
    We have had a few kinks we needed to work out. For instance Big_Daddy does roll over in his sleep and it worries me that our bed is so far off the ground.  So we placed the foam mattress cover we used while I was pregnant on to the floor made it up like a bed and on nights when Supernova needs to be close to me he and I will move down there. That way he doesn't get rolled on top of and he can't fall out of the bed. Daddy also gets the sleep HE needs to talk care of us.
    I don't know why right now Supernova needs his mommy so close to him. I do know that my job as a mother is to do what my family needs me to do. Right now my little man needs his mommy close so if I have to lay down with my chubby bubby so he feels more secure then that is what I will do. There isn't anything that I have to do that will not wait. It has taken me a long time to figgure that out and maybe this is Gods way of convincing me I need to prioritize how I do things.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

6 months of breastfeeding, co-sleeping and cloth diapering

Today is the day! I have reached my first goal of breastfeeding Supernova until 6 months!
I am sooo flippin excited!!

I have been a cloth diapering, co sleeping, breastfeeding momma for six months!!


- Middlest I fell prey to the not gaining enough weight thing. Which if you don't breastfeed means Dr.s tell you your baby isn't gaining enough weight and you need to suppliment with formula and pump to see how much you are making. Breastfed babies gain weight diffrently than formula fed babies.Not everyone is good at pumping milk. A breast pump doesn't work as well as your baby. If I had known to ask a Lactation consultant to weigh her before and after feeding I would found out the truth as well as ways to boost my supply. My mom and I couldn't even find anyone who had EVER even heard of La Leche!! Anyways one bottle of formula gave way to more then when I got a job where I couldn't breastfeed it was just easier to quit.
- Big_Gwrl I hated breastfeeding. I hated having someone touch me constantly.  I just couldn't do it without hating that poor little defenseless baby.  So under the urging of my mom and Big Daddy I quit. We both were much happier with bottles and they allowed us to bond without the feelings of hatred.
- Supernova I read up on the latest news. Met other breastfeeding moms in my homeschool group who wern't afraid to answer questions. I met several lactation consultants and made sure I was ready for this one.
I knew what to watch out for depression wise and I wouldn't beat myself up if I couldn't which was why my goal was set to six months instead of 1 year. I really think having that support system really helped me on my journey. I knew if I had any problems all I had to do was make one phone call. When the dr. told me he wasn't gaining weight fast enough, to give him cereal at 3 months, or to give him water to hydrate him when he had RSV I either ignored him or called the LC. I'm not going to say it's been fun. Or easy because it hasn't been. Getting up and feeding the baby many many many times during the night isn't fun. Cluster feeding and growth spurts aren't easy.Drinking 10-15 bottles of water a day is yucky! When those little fingers pinch and when Supernova keeps kicking my sholder I want to quit. But I keep going knowing that he's only trying to stay awake. If you don't have kids or if you are going to try breastfeeding again my advice would be get a big squishy chair JUST FOR YOU and a small fridge filled with bottles of water. Also  Drink drink drink drink drink. You should be drinking at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water a day! Bottles work best for me but thats just me. Also make sure you keep up your caloric intake!
Your little one needs the extra calories and you need the energy!

As for cloth diapering. It's a commitment. You have to commit to using cloth diapers. It's an expensive up front investment, but it's cheaper the long run. I think we are up to... maybe 600$ in diapers BUT these are diapers that will last until Supernova is potty trained! I would buy one of several kinds before your baby gets here and try them out to see what kind works best for you. We have 30 pocket diapers, Tons of unbleached prefolds, 3 all in one diapers ( for the diaper bag), and 6 covers. I had more covers but They were not one size and Supernova outgrew them. I didn't like them enough to get more. I do a LOT of laundry but we have a system that works. We use laundry baskets in each room I change the baby in. Every other day I walk around and dump them into a "traveling" bucket and wash them. Hang dry if sunny.. if not the diapers are air dried for 2 hours in the dryer. oh. If you do line dry your diapers outside.. just a warning throw them in the dryer for 10/15 min before you fold them so any bugs get killed.



yummy yummy fruit salad!!!



Sorry I couldn't resist :)

Healthy Fruit Salad with not so healthy topping (for the kiddos)

4 cups (ish) green (seedless) grapes
4 cups fresh blueberries
4 cups fresh strawberries

dump in a bowl and mix together!

Topping:

1 block low fat cream cheese- room temp
1 large jar Marshmellow cream
1 cup greek vanilla yogurt

Start by beating the cream cheese until smooth. Then add the marshmallow cream and yogurt. taste. Add more yogurt if you want it to be a little runnier.
the topping is meant to be more of a thick drizzle topping and not a thick dip.



Monday, May 7, 2012

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti bake

This turned out really well. Even the doubting Thomas Big_Daddy gave it a thumbs up.

Ingredents:
Spaghetti sauce
1 lbs hamburger
a large skettie squash
low fat Mozzarella cheese

cut the squash and scoop out the seeds. Cook until tender and scoop the meat from it's shell ( this part is best done ahead of time)
Brown up your meat and drain.
then mix together in a large bowl
the squash, skettie squash, and the cheese ( lots of cheese)
once mixed well pour into a casserole dish and top with more cheese and parm.
cook at 400 until the cheese is melty and bubble.
serve warm with garlic bread!

Chili Casserole

Tonight was one of those dinners that just comes together and makes something REALLY yummy.
I had a pound of hamburger defrosted that needed to be cooked and not much else. (haven't gone grocery shopping yet this week)
I went pantry scrounging and found a can of corn and a can of black beans. So I decided to make a mexican casserole... but I didnt have taco seasoning so it ended up being a chili kind :)

preheat to 400

1 lb of ground beef
1 can black beans
1 can of corn
1 cup of rice & 2 cups of water
lots of cheddar cheese
1 1/4-1/2 LARGE cans of tomato sauce
1 pkg of chili seasoning
2 boxes of jiffy corn bread mix

Cook your rice accoring to directions we used brown but white would work just fine.
Brown up your ground beef and drain it well.
Once your rice has cooked add the following to a large bowl rice, drained and rinsed black beans, the drained can of corn, the ground beef, your chili seasoning and the tomato sauce ( taste frequently if you need more sauce) then add the chedder cheese and stir up.
Pour into a large casserole dish. spread evenly.
Mix the cornbread mix in a seperate bowl according to directions. pour on top of casserole and spread evenly.
cook until the cornbread is cooked all the way through.
serve hot.
Top with sour cream :)

Enjoy!!!


Wednesday, May 2, 2012

meeting new people in the community.

So I decided I needed to get out and make some... contacts? today. I went to the local (only) baby resale store to see if THEY knew of any moms groups for stay at home mothers. I met some nice ladies who told me we dont have anything like that around here. *sighs*
Off to the next destination.
the core of every community.
The Library.
Story time. Free books. Summer reading programs.
I walked in and went straight to the desk. Glancing at what would be HOPEFULLY our home away from home this summer.
I asked the librarian for a library card. She looked me up and down. Sniffed. Then said she needed proof of residence. I whipped out our lease (which the website said was okay).
She looked it over and said
 I don't think your name is Timothy. So we can't use this.
 my name is right here under people who live at this residence. Smiling.
She started filling it out then set her pencil down and said we have to have refrences. 
REFRENCES? I just moved here. I don't know anyone yet. Thats why I'm looking foward to starting to come...
Yes well we still need refrences. Somebody to vouch for you to say you are trustworthy. Somebody that doesn't live at the same address. 
oh... smile is quickly fading
Well can I get the time and dates for..
No there wouldn't be any point since you arn't a member and your child is to young for our activites.
 I took back my lease and my drivers license. And started walking away. I am embarrassed to say tearing up. When she said....
Sorry it's only policy...Why don't you come back after you've met some people. 
.....
I try VERY hard to be nice and courtious so I kept walking because I really wanted to say some not very nice things. 
This also comes after going on that silly zoo field trip where I tried to talk to some of the other moms about the school and it's teachers while we were waiting for the bus and they looked at me adjusted thier circle and kept talking to each other. 

Then people wonder why I don't want to meet new people.
Although the Mayor did personally deliver our new trash can.





Depression Lies

This must be a bad time of year for depression. The Bloggess and a lot of other have been struggling with thier inner demons a lot lately. Me included. 
It seems like there is sooo much in the would that I am supposed to be doing. I am almost 33 at stuck home cleaning house ( or struggling to) the mother to 4 kids one a teenager, 2 elementry school girls who this week can't stand the sight of each other, and a teething, nursing baby. My sister is graduating soon with her doctorate, my brother with his masters, my parents are traveling the US. and here I am with a baby stuck to me night and day. literally. 
For the past few days these thoughts just keep circulating. I decided I needed a change. So I dyed my hair lusty lavender. It SUCKS.
I forgot something REALLY important. 
To turn these things over to God. 
I sat in bed this morning playing with the baby and I started talking to God about all these things that keep going through my mind. I remembered that doing all these huge adventures are not me.
I always wanted to be a stay at home mother.
I always wanted to have lots of kids. 
I am doing what I wanted. 
I am not jealous of my brother and my sister. I am proud of them. I am proud of me. I am proud of all I have done. I am not depression. I will not allow it to win. 

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.