First (Temporary) Tattoo

My little 22-month old wanted to be like her big brother, who always insists on having a temporary tattoo on him.  This is her first one.  She loves her little giraffe. 

First Day of Summer

Yes!  We have officially made it to summer.  Aside from the dreadful humidity I really enjoy so many things about this season.  The warm weather, swimming, riding my bike (yeah, I need to get that thing out of the garage and wipe the dust off), bringing the kids to different parks and playgrounds, barbecues, ball games, the nearby amusement park and well ... anything outdoors.

This summer I am going to strive to make it as fun as possible with the family.  The television will be turned off for most of the day while we spend as much time outside in the fresh air.  The mornings are the best time to be outside before the humidity kicks in.

Today I decided to put the housework aside and just have fun with the kids.  I spend so much time worrying about what needs to be done and need to remind myself that it's more important to make enough time to play and enjoy life.  I took the kids in the backyard and played in the sand box, on the swing set and even had a water gun fight before the two of them splashed in the baby pool.  Brianna, who is usually fussy about getting wet, didn't seem to mind getting squirted or soaking in the pool.

Then we headed inside for lunch and laid Brianna down for her nap.  Matthew and I played one round of Chuggington (one of his favorite board games) and then I allowed him to play some video games while I did my exercise routine.  Now I'm giving myself a moment to blog before everything begins again.  Actually, Matthew is begging for a snack so I guess my time is up.

Wishing everyone a happy and fun summer. 

Monday, Monday

Hello readers ... I hope you enjoyed your weekend.  As usual, it went by too quickly.  The yard sale was Saturday and we made out better than I had expected.  My husband is awesome when it comes to selling things so I let him be in control for most of the time.  I don't know what I'd do without that man sometimes.  While the yard sale was going on the roofers started working on our house.  Yes, we're in the process of getting a new roof.  It desperately needed done.  The back half is complete and I wish I had a decent picture to post on here but I will once it's all complete.  They still need to do the front half of the house but because rain is in the forecast for the next two days they won't be back until Wednesday. 

Sunday was Father's Day.  I can't afford to spoil my husband as much as I'd like to but we did get him a few gifts, one was a mug Matthew had made in school last month, and a few handmade cards as well.  We relaxed at home for most of the day.  I can't say everything went perfectly especially when the cabinet over the downstairs bathroom fell and crashed on Matthew while he was going to the bathroom.  I don't know how it happened and he still won't admit to anything but the poor boy has a little gash on his back and said his head hurt.  I heard a crash and then a scream so we rushed down the stairs to see what happened.  I was expecting a lot worse, let me tell you. 

I called my dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day and I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was depressed so I suggested that we meet him for dinner.  Our treat.  That cheered him up.  My parents and I are the only family here in Pennsylvania, the rest live on Long Island.  So he had no one to visit him and spoil him and I was the only one who could make that happen.  I wish I could do more for that man.  You see, over a year ago he retired and had so many plans to vacation and fish.  Well, those plans were cut short when my mom had a stroke.  We thought that was it for her but she survived and is improving all the time.  She still can barely walk on her own and needs a lot of help.  My dad is spending his retirement as her caregiver.  I'm the only one close by that can offer any help.  He's worn out.  He's tired.  He needs a break every now and then.  But he always seems to be in good spirits.  I know my mom wouldn't have made such progress without him. 

So that brings us to today.  Monday.  Another week has started.  I'm not particularly a fan of Mondays since it's the first day Rob is back to work.  Right now Brianna is napping and my mom is resting on my couch.  My dad took Matthew to the movie theater to see the new Superman movie.  So, this is one of his breaks.  Since my mom's stroke she gets tired a lot and naps every afternoon.  So I'm sitting on my bed in my room playing on my laptop and doing my best to remain quiet so my mother and daughter can both sleep. 

There's so much that needs done around the house but I don't want to make any noise.  Plus, this down time for myself is nice. 

On tonight's menu I plan on making a Chicken Parmesan Casserole recipe I found on Pinterest.  Oh I can't express just how much I love Pinterest.  It has saved me from many nights when I didn't know what to cook.  Pathetic, right?  I always hated cooking.  I would stand in the kitchen and panic because I didn't know what to do.  Plus, let's face it, my husband had me spoiled.  He loves to cook and was always so great at it.  So I was used to leaving it up to him.  I realized how unfair that was, even though he said he doesn't mind it.  I really want to be a good housewife and have dinner ready for him when he comes home from work.  I'm getting better and better at it and yes, I've finally found a love for cooking!  I still get picked on by my husband and family members for not being a cook ... but hey, I'm trying! 

Well, until the ladies wake from their nap I guess I'll hang out online and read up on some blogs and see what everyone else has to say.  Have a great week y'all! 

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.