Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I love using my crock pot, although I don't use it as often as I'd like.  It's so easy to wake up in the morning, throw everything in the pot and let it cook until dinnertime.  The aroma that fills the house is wonderful and it makes it especially easy on days when I have plans and won't be home in time to cook. 

Today I decided to pull the crock pot out of the cabinet and put it to good use.  My husband had picked up a roast from the store and so I decided to make that dinner for tonight.  I'm not a big fan of pot roast but it's a simple meal to throw together. 

I received a slow cooker recipe book with the crock pot years ago and pulled out one of the recipes from there.  It's very simple to make and doesn't require a lot of ingredients. 

POT ROAST

This is what it looks like after cooking for 8 hours

3 potatoes, thinly sliced

2 large carrots, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3-4 lb pot roast

1/2 cup water

Put vegetables in bottom of slow cooker.  Stir in salt and pepper.  Add roast.  Pour in water.

Cover.  Cook on Low 10 - 12 hours

I actually left the onion out this time since I didn't have one.  I also didn't start the roast as early as I should have so I cooked it on high for the first few hours and then back on low.  Now I turned it back on high until we eat in a few hours.  This is actually one of my dad's favorite meals.  

Don't forget the gravy! 

Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken

I wanted to try something new for dinner yesterday and, as usual, I looked up one of the recipes I found on Pinterest.  It was delicious and even the kids ate every bite.

BAKED PARMESAN GARLIC CHICKEN

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pack Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

6 boneless chicken breast halves

Preheat oven 400 degree F

Mix cheese, garlic and Italian dressing mix together

Moisten chicken breasts with water, coat with cheese mixture.  Place in shallow baking dish.

Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle

If you like Parmesan cheese you will love this dish because that's what you taste the most.  I made this with a side of corn and scalloped potatoes.  Yummy! 

Clutter Be Gone

Isn't that the truth?  I have often encountered many times where cleaning the house seemed like a waste of time and today was one of those days.  My kids have a lot of toys.  Too much!  Toys in the living room, toys in the dining room, toys in each of their bedrooms and toys downstairs in the rec room.  My goal when having children was to make the rec room the only place in the house where the toys would be.  So much for that!  I don't know why it's so hard for us to stay organized and keep everything where it belongs but keeping this house clean feels like it's more than a chore.  I am fortunate that my parents like to splurge with the toy buying for my kids ... but for goodness sake ... it's just too much.  The problem isn't my parents and their generosity.  The problem is me and how I hate to get rid of things.  We still have toys from when Matthew was little.  I hate to part with any of it but since our home is being taken over by a massive amount of toys I guess it's safe to say this is the time.

Next weekend our community is holding a yard sale and I will be participating.  It's a perfect time to get rid of things we do not need.  It's time we say goodbye to the things that the kids have outgrown and even the things my husband and I have outgrown.  It will be hard to see all this stuff go but it's time.

This morning I attempted to go through the clutter in the living room and sort through what we would keep and where it would go and what needed thrown out or what was worth selling.  As I was putting things in it's appropriate spot the kids decided to grab some toys and play with them.  When they were finished playing the toys were kept wherever they put them instead of where I wanted them to go.  Ugh!  After awhile I decided to just give up.  It's obvious I wasn't getting anything done and it was best to wait until the little one went down for her nap.

I've set some rules in this house and my five year old knows that he cannot watch television or play video games until his toys are picked up.  This rule has worked well.  However the amount of toys in this house is so bad that even when the house is clean it still doesn't look clean.

It's not just the toys.  My husband and I seem to have our things piled everywhere too.  We seem to throw our mail and other things on the dining room table and don't tend to it right away.  Then the stuff piles up for awhile.  Oh I just infuriate myself over that! 


I've attempted to declutter last year but that didn't work very well so my goal for this summer is to get it all done!  If we don't use it we don't keep it.  If we haven't used it in awhile it goes away!

I spend so much time cleaning but I can hardly ever see a difference.  I clean and clean so much that I have to remind myself once in awhile to stop and enjoy the children.  Some day, when the kids are grown, the toys will no longer be here.  I will miss it then ... I know. 

And So It Goes

Well, I mentioned how I blog on Xanga and have for years.  This weekend I received an email from the site that they are most likely shutting down this summer.  If they can raise enough funds they will keep it open but the format will change and ... I think we have to pay for it?  Ugh!  I know Xanga isn't as popular as it used to be and every blogger seems to go with other sites like Blogger, Tumblr, Wordpress, etc.  It will be sad to see it go and this will be my only home to blog.  As of now I will still keep it open to the public but I won't be using it as often or quite like I did with Xanga.  Good things don't last forever.  I love blogging.  It's a great outlet for me, especially as a stay-at-home mother that doesn't have a lot going on aside from taking care of a house, a husband and the kids. 

Matthew is now finished with his first season of tball.  This evening the boys, parents and coaches are getting together for a little party at a playground down the street from my house.  It's sad to see the season come to a close but Matthew looks forward to playing again, and maybe this fall.  The rest of the week will be a busy one.  Today I'm planning to take the kids to the library to sign up for The Summer Reading Club.  This will be the third year we've participated.  We read books to the kids, log the minutes and earn prizes.  The final prize, after reading a total of 800 minutes, is a free ticket to the minor league baseball game in our area. 

Looking forward to a fun summer before sending our big guy off to kindergarten. 

My New Fitness Blog

I'm always at a loss for what to put on this page.  What should I write about?  Does anyone really care?  I decided, after stumbling upon someone else's fitness page that I wanted to create one for myself.  So here it is.  Another blog.

http://runningwithsunshine.blogspot.com

Feel free to leave comments and feedback and I welcome any suggestions you'd want to see on the fitness page or even this page.

I have been trying so hard in the last year to find the motivation and knowledge to keep a healthier and more active lifestyle.  I think having a blog to list my goals, track my progress and give lots of advice on what has worked will be a good step.

I'll still update this one from time to time. 

Memorial Day And A Delicious Dessert

I hope everyone enjoyed Memorial Day weekend.  There are no words to describe how blessed I feel to be part of this great country and for how thankful I am of the men and women who put their lives on the line just to protect our freedom.  Although most find it a day to celebrate with a barbecue Memorial Day is a day set aside to remember those who lost their lives in battle.  I'm so thankful for that sacrifice made by so many.

And yes, we did enjoy a barbecue at my parents' house.  My dad always makes good food on the grill and there were a lot of sides to go with it.  I decided to make a dessert that my husband and I both enjoy.  I was given this recipe years ago by a former coworker who brought this pie in one day for a party.  I fell in love with the dessert and had to have the recipe.  I hope she doesn't mind that I will share it on here.  It's too delicious.

BANANA PINEAPPLE DESSERT

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Mix together and pat into the bottom of a 13"x9" pan

3 bananas, sliced

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 (4 oz) boxes of instant vanilla pudding

3 1/2 cups milk

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained

8 oz container cool whip

Layer the sliced bananas on top of the graham cracker crust

In large bowl place the softened cream cheese and whip with a wire whisk until smooth.  Add the milk and mix well.  Add the pudding and continue beating until well mixed and thick.  Pour over the bananas.  Layer the pineapple over the pudding mixture and top with the cool whip.  Chill for at least 4 hours.  Serve. 

Enjoy!

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

I haven't been a good blogger on here.  I'm very consistent with keeping up with my personal blog on Xanga.  I have been on Xanga for years and have many readers on there that I've become very acquainted with.  It's nice to see who exactly is coming onto my blog and I receive so many comments and feedback from them.  There are also a lot of Xanga blogs I read too.  The Xanga community has been my home since I was first married and I'm most comfortable there.  I wanted to give Blogger a try and leave it open to the public so family and others can easily view it but I'm sorry to say I'm just not as consistent with it.  Since Xanga is kept private and only viewable by a select few who have Xanga accounts, I find myself easily able to write just about anything from my personal feelings regarding any certain situations, certain events going on with the family and even lots of pictures.  I try to be a little more discreet on here and because of that it's hard to know what to write.  Also, I have only a few other Blogger blogs that I read regularly and they don't update as much. 

I have decided to write a blog today with just some random thoughts.  Brianna is napping and Matthew is playing a video game.  While I wait for the last load of wash to finish I might as well blog. 

A lot has been going on lately in our family.  Matthew recently graduated from preschool.  The school held a very sweet ceremony and the kids wore caps and gowns and were presented with a diploma.  Matthew enjoyed going to the school and made lots of friends.  He is excited to start kindergarten in the fall.  I have always enjoyed teaching Matthew different things at home but preschool has taught him so much more.  He can recognize and write all the letters in the alphabet and is learning how to spell.  He knows all the days of the week and months of the year.  Preschool also gave him the experience to learn social skills that he didn't get by being at home with me.  Now he's done with preschool and officially on summer vacation.  He is also near the end of his first year of t-ball and that has been going well too. 

Brianna is getting closer to her second birthday.  She can repeat anything we say word for word and her little voice is so adorable.  She's very clingy to me just like her brother was.  She's also learning a lot and it helps to have a big brother who is constantly wanting to recite the alphabet and count numbers.  She is picking up on all that too.  She tells me when she "pooped" her diaper and for awhile she was willingly using the potty but that has stopped.  I'm not the type of parent who rushes to get my little one's potty trained.  Matthew learned on his own when he was almost three and I know Brianna will get it when she's ready too. 

My husband is doing well.  He is back to work after taking three days off.  Then, because of Memorial Day, he will have a three day weekend.  It's nice having him home.  He works a full forty hour week as an accountant and also has another bookkeeping job from home.  He's always been a hard worker and I'm so proud of him for always wanting to step up and do what he needs to for himself and his family.  Yesterday we celebrated his birthday and six days ago we celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary. 

Yes, 11 years!  I shouldn't brag, but truthfully I feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful man and at a young age.  He is a great person.  Never complains about anything, always works hard and is a great husband and father.  I couldn't imagine having anyone better as my life-long partner.  It hasn't been an easy 11 years but it's been totally worth it.  I'm blessed!