You gotta try this! and a close call.

So I had some mushrooms to use before they went bad, and was wanting to make a creamy pasta dish with them. I did a little google searching and found a recipe that looked like a winner. And boy was it! This was probably one of the best tasting pasta dishes I have made in awhile. We loved it!

I didn't think about taking pictures to share with you, but here is one from the source.



I got the dish all ready and in the oven so that I could go run while it finished cooking. I set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes and told Jack to take it out when it beeped. Well, he was outside playing with the girls when the timer went off so her didn't hear it. When I got back from my run 30 minutes later, it was still in the oven! So it cooked a good 10-15 minutes longer than it should have. I was bummed and thought it might be ruined. Thankfully it still turned out great!
I cut the recipe in half and it fit in an 8x8 baking dish, making enough to serve our little family 2 times. Instead of topping with just Parmesan cheese (as the original recipe calls for) I mixed some Parmesan with Panko bread crumbs, garlic salt, and pepper and then sprinkled that on top.
Even with ours getting a little over done and it was still super delicious. I really recommend trying it!

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://www.thasneen.com/cooking/creamy-baked-pasta-with-chicken-and-mushrooms/

OK...so I really thought I was going to die on my run last night. It was not from the running though. Here's what happened:
As I was running down the sidewalk of a street near our house all of a sudden I heard a loud barking. Now, this is not unusual because almost everyone has a dog, and dogs are dumb. So they bark at everything they see! Of course, It startled me like it always does, so I looked over expecting to see a dog barking behind a fence, but when I saw a humongous dog charging toward me I literally screamed out loud! AHHH!!! This thing was going to attack me! I ran out to the street away from it, and then right before it got to the sidewalk it got caught by it's leash. Whew!!! Scared me to death, and I am sure that I looked like a real crazy woman to anyone watching. Stupid dogs :) I know most people love them, but not me. Unless they are cute and little, don't stink, or bark, or lick me. Oh wait...that's a cat. I like cats :)

Hungry Ducks!

I am loving the fall weather! This past saturday it was beautiful outside, so last minute we decided to take the girls to a local park for a picnic. I just discovered this park, and we decided to try it out even though it's a bit further away because it has a little lake. I knew Kirsten would be excited to have a picnic, but she was even more excited to feed the ducks! She had seen ducks before from a distance but this would be her first experience feeding them.

When we first got there we found a picnic area on a deck near the water and sat down to eat. Kirsten kept quacking at the ducks and begging to go feed them, so our time actually "picnicing" was short :)

Right after we finished eating Jack and Kirsten started walking out to feed the ducks, but before they even got the bread out, almost every duck in the lake came out of the water and started running toward them. This scared Kirsten to death! She wanted out of there quick!

This is only picture I could take before the swarm of ducks scared the bejeezes out of her. Jack quickly picked her up and walked back up the hill to where I was standing with Kara. The ducks followed them all the way up the hill, so I threw out the little bit of bread we brought with us while Kirsten's was in daddy's arms. They devoured the bread super quick! I apparently underestimated how aggressive and hungry the ducks would be. haha! Live and learn.

After that we headed to the playground for some fun. Kirsten was nervous about going down this slide the first time but then wanted to do it over and over again.

I am obviously more excited about Kara sliding that she is :)

                                   

                                                      Showing little sister how it's done.
                                    

This week's eats

Monday:

Lunch- pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw

 (I made a 7lb roast a couple days ago, what we didn't eat then I froze into several portions for future use)

Dinner - Baked Cod Filet's and Roasted Acorn Squash

Tuesday:

Lunch- Cobb Salad

Dinner - Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Peas

Wednesday:
Lunch- leftovers
Dinner- Lemon Chicken with Farfalle Noodles, Brocolli

Thursday:
Lunch - Tuna Salad Sandwiches, Carrot sticks, Apple slices

Dinner- Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, Green Beans

Friday:

Lunch- Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup

(I plan on following this recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/pumpkin-and-black-bean-soup-recipe/index.html )

Dinner- Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Burritos, Fresh Peaches

It drives me nuts...

...when the girls will not take their naps.

God blessed me with wonderful girls, but neither of them are excellent sleepers. Kirsten was a horrible sleeper as a baby and still wakes up most nights calling for me at least one time. She has never been one of those kids who will nap for 2-3 hours in the afternoon either. Kara is a little better than Kirsten was about sleeping through the night, but still only naps for about an hour at a time usually.

So I try to put both the girls down for their naps at the same time with hopes of getting at least an hour to myself. But today...Kara only slept for 30 minutes, while Kirsten (who I put down for a nap over an hour ago) has still not slept! I know if I let her get up now without napping she will be extremely cranky by 7 or so tonight. So i am being persistent, hoping she will soon fall asleep. ....well, that might not happen! I just heard her thumping on the bedroom wall....ughh!

With Jack working crazy hours for basketball on top of his normal full-time job, nap times are my only break. When they don't happen, the girls aren't the only cranky ones :(

One little monkey swinging from a tree!

We no longer have a swing set in our backyard since moving to this new house and Kirsten really misses having it. So while she was napping yesterday I decided to try to make her a swing to hang on a little tree we have in our yard.
I have some old dresser drawer front panels lying around that I had saved to use as shelves, so I used one of those along with some rope we had in our shed to build her a little swing. The wood already had a couple of holes from the drawer handles so I just had to make those a little bigger and then loop the rope through it.
When Kirsten woke up from her nap I told her I had a surprise for her in the backyard. She was really excited when she saw the swing hanging from the tree.
While she was swinging on it she said "Next day, you can make me a slide! Just take a hammer and put it up and boop boop boop. Then we'll have a slide too!"

I was so happy this worked out like I envisioned it. I loved being able to surprise Kirsten and give her something fun!

The weather was awesome outside today, so after nap time we took a walk to the small park that is just down the street from our house.

This was Kara's first time in a swing. She was a little unsure at first but after a few seconds she started smiling and loving it :)

Kirsten's a little dare devil on the swings, and always wants to go really high! We do the under-doggy :)

My sweet girls already have so much fun together. I love it!

Four things...

I was bored so I took this little survey to kill some time. So if you want to read it, here are some random facts about me. Now I'm off to bed :) Night night all!


Four TV Shows I watch

• The Office
• The Biggest Loser
• Parenthood
• Wheel of Fortune (haha)

Four Things I’m Passionate About

• My family
• Jesus
• treating others with love and respect
• being a good wife and mom

Four Words/Phrases I Use Too Much

• Um..
• though 
• "stop whining"
• really ...

Four things I do every morning

• drink a glass of water
• brush my teeth
• cuddle my girls
• eat breakfast

Four of my favorite foods

• Pizza
• brownies
• strawberries
• any kind of Pasta

Four Things I’m Looking Forward To

• Fall weather
• Seeing my family again
• church on sunday :)
• going to sleep soon

Four Things I Love About Fall

• Thanksgiving 
• the leaves
• trick or treating with my girls
• Christmas is only a few months away :)

Peas and Oreos

I made peas for Kara this week for the first time. She has loved everything else I have given her so far... but she wasn't as excited about the peas.

I think this face says it all...

"I'm not so sure I want another bite."



Aw...man!

Haha! We'll try it again in a couple days, maybe she will learn to love them like her big sissy :)


On Friday the girls and I went shopping to buy a couple presents for Jack's birthday this coming Thursday. After we got back we hid the presents in a closet and I told Kirsten she had to keep it a secret until Daddy opened them at his party. She was so excited and kept asking "Is Daddy's party today?" "Let's celebrate today!" We have started to make a bigger deal out of our birthday's the past couple years because Kirsten loves it so much!
Kirsten could not wait to make daddy's cake and open presents, So yesterday afternoon we decided to go ahead and celebrate since Jack would be working all day on his birthday anyway.
Kirsten helped me wrap up his presents and since it was such an impromtu party we made Oreo Dessert in leiu of a real cake. Jack loves it and it's super quick to put together.

Oreo Dessert -
1 box of Vanilla Pudding (or chocolate if you prefer)
2 - 8 ounce containers of Cool Whip
1 package of Oreo's (crushed)

Make pudding according to package directions. Let set, and then fold in one container of cool whip and about 1/2 the oreos. Spread into 13x9 dish. Top with 1/2 the remaining oreos and then spread the other container of cool whip on top of that. Sprinkle with remaing oreos. Chill and serve :)

Daddy and his girls.  I love them!

Hi Honey, I'm Home!

Before Jack and I had kids we decided that I would be a stay at home mom if we could make it work financially. When Jack took his current job here at Asbury I was super excited that he would be making enough for me to be able to do just that. It has been such a blessing to be able to be with my girls, watching them grow and learn. We have a smaller house than many families I know, can't go on distant vacations, and sometimes things are a little tight, but none of that matters to me in the least! Family is most important and I am so thankful I get to raise my girls at home :)

We have been watch the classic tv show "Dennis the Menace" on netflix this past week and it got me thinking about how much things have changed  for the average family since then. In this show you see the Mom at home (pretty much always in the kitchen) taking care of the kids and everything around the house, while Dad goes to work to support his family. They sit down for all their meals together at the kitchen table (and not in front of a TV), and Dennis runs around the neighborhood playing with his friends with a slingshot in his pocket :). And all the neighbors know each other and watch out for one another. Oh how times have changed in the last 50 years.

Sometimes I feel like one of those mom's - when I am standing at the stove cooking supper and Jack walks in the front door from a day at work. It's like the "Hi honey, I'm home" scene in all the classics. But you'll never find me cooking in a dress, I always use my dishwasher, we eat in front of the tv far more than I'd like, and Kirsten never says "Jeepers Mom!"

My life as a stay at home mom is not always glorious, there are days like yesterday when the girls are crabby, the house is a mess, and Jack is working late that I just want to crawl under the covers and sleep for like 15 hours. But thankfully those days pass, and the next day is always better! We had a great day today :)