We Wanted Snow

Not a tornado.

The Hubs' cousin though, she says they will trade their snow for our tornado.

Can that be done?

I wonder if her father approves of this transaction.  Hmmmmm.

Admittedly. 

I had a moment, just as my phone texted me to take cover. 

I contemplated, briefly, homeschooling the kids and following The Hubs when he travels.

Then I wouldn't be stuck at home, while the kids were at school.

Cooler heads prevailed.  And as the kids piled into the swagger wagon at carpool, and started bickering, we were back on track.

We finished off the evening wearing rubber boots to take out the trash and then hamburgers for dinner. 

At least tomorrow is just supposed to be cold.

Animal House

The Primary Years

 

 

It was Moops' Birthday Party.  I think I counted 18 kids at one point.  And as The Hubs would declare "it was PANDEMONIUM!!!"

 

I think it was a good time for a large majority though.  Moops didn't have any meltdowns until well after the party was over. 

 

There was no vomit, spills or injuries!

 

Although my Brother In Law resorted to holding his daughter up high over his head and seranading her while singing with an Irish accent. 

 

Drop Kick Murphies, no less.

 

No, he isn't Irish. 

 

He is Texan. 

 

No, not all Texans sing with an Irish accent. 

 

Just him, and Tess who is a Segway Tour Guide in Savannah.

 

Tess is not Texan or Irish though.

 

I think.  I'm pretty sure. 

 

 

Although Moops finished the day with a balloon attached to his head.

 

 

The Little Moments

Saturday I took Izzy to a real salon to get her haircut.  She is 12 now and teetering between growing up and still being a kid.

It was a nice time.

And honestly, not all moments are pleasant.  Usually mornings challenge my inner Dalai Lama and force me to breath heavier than Darth Vader.

Just last Tuesdays I was yelled at because I was doing dishes.  Since Alex and Izzy alternate days for their chores.  Izzy automatically assumed I was doing the dishes for her brother.  I had to tell her 3 times to check the calendar.  She realized I was doing the dishes for her, so then she decided I was favoring her brother because I didn't argue with him, like I did her.

I share these events with others, and often encounter a wide variety of reactions.  Those who have had kids and are now Grandparents, grin an evil grin and nod the "been there done that" nod.  Sometimes you will benefit from the reminiscent stories of their kids past, and hope like heck that doesn't happen to you.

Parents of kids who are in puberty usually suggest a bar and offer to buy the first round.

And parents of young kids either look at you as if they encountered the giant squid on display at the Georgia Aquarium, or just go with the flow of the conversation.

And then there are pleasant moments.

Like uhhhhhhhhh.  Oh Izzy came home with a Cherry Coke for me once.  I then had to ask, how and where she was able to secure such a commodity.  There apparently is a way to hit up the local convenience store via a friends backyard.

And then there are her brothers.......

The one who eats puny corn dogs when we go out for Dinner.

And wears boots whenever he can.

The boy who lacked fear and loved to scare his Mother on a daily basis.

And loves chicken wings and corn on the cob.

And the one who has his coach in a a funky head lock, I think.

Chicken Tostadas

In an effort to use up some ingredients that were gathering dust in my pantry.  

We had Chicken Tostadas for Dinner.

Surprisingly, they were a huge hit.

Not a huge surprise, but nice none the less.

Usually, if it didn't moo in it's previous life, I catch grief.

Not this time though, I even was informed they want to have this again, very soon!

YAY!

It was pretty easy too.

I simmered some cut up boneless skinless chicken breasts with herbs and stock.

I sauteed some black beans, corn, green chile's and diced tomatoes and folded in some brown rice.

Then crisped up some corn tortillas.

Shredded some lettuce and cheese.

Voila!

Dinner.

The more precise directions are as follows.

Preheat oven to 200 F

Be sure to have a cookie sheet in the oven. 

This would also be a good time to start your rice.  I did 1/2 cup brown rice, and followed the directions on the package.  It takes about an hour for the rice to be cooked.

Mean while........

In a good sized pot, add the following

Chicken, boneless and skinless cut into chunks

(for our family of 6, I used 6 breasts)

  

2 cloves minced garlic

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 tbl oregano (dried)

1 tbl Rosemary (dried)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chile powder

1-2 cans of chicken stock

Salt and Pepper to taste

Do not add all the stock at once.  Instead, just coat enough to cover and then simmer over medium low heat.  Stirring frequently.

On another burner.

Yes folks, this is NOT a one pot wonder meal.  

Sorry to disappoint.  

In a skillet over medium high heat, coated with just enough oil to cover the surface.

Begin browning the corn tortillas.

I flip frequently to brown evenly.  

You may have to add oil on occasion, but not a lot.  

Just enough to coat bottom.

If you are not up to the task.  You can always buy pre-maid tostada thingies.  If that is the case.  Do NOT preheat your oven.

As you brown the tortillas to your desired doneness, transfer to hot oven.

Be sure you are still stirring and adding stock to chicken as it cooks.  You can jab at it some with a spoon to break it up as well.

Once rice is ready, comes the rest of the meal.

In a large skillet over medium heat.

Coat with oil (or use skillet you browned tortillas in)

Add in 

1 14-oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 4-oz can diced green chile (if you want heat, do jalapenos)

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1/2 bag frozen corn

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 tbl Oregano (dried)

1 tsp ground cumin

Salt and Pepper to taste

Stirring frequently, combine all ingredients and cook until juices reduce by about half.

Fold in rice.

Allow to simmer over low heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently.

Once ready to eat.

Layer tostadas with 

Beans and Rice

Chicken

Lettuce

Diced Tomatoes and Onions (if you want to )

Shredded Cheese

Serve.

Organized I Am Not....

I think my picture is in the thesaurus when you look up the word "organized", but as the antonym.....

I do try though.  I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to becoming more organized.  AND I have even implemented some of the pins I have saved to the board.

I even have some works in progress......

 

The above is the beginning stages of organizing the boys' room.  Red for Moops and green for Ike.

I think my kids view me more as a UnaMommer when I go into their rooms with aspirations of not stepping on Legos.  Because, just as soon I have completed and intricately assembled my visions of organized bliss.  They have assembled as an EOD squad and are ready to dismantle and detonate in record time.

We are still in deep negotiations as to how "WE" will be utilizing said containers.  I'm hoping to come to an understanding, faster than the Govt agreed to a budget....

A few months ago I made us a handy little shoe and bag station in our garage.  I'm still tripping over shoes, but the belts are put away everyday and we haven't had to go hunting for them lately!

And yes, I still need to paint the bench my sister and I made this past Summer.  At least it is being put to good use.

We Are Now Ten Days Post Christmas

Christmas decorations have been put away. 

Leftovers are fully consumed.

The Holiday Hangover is slowly but surely fading with each passing day.

And in turn being replaced with feral children, a mountain of laundry, and the need to go to the grocery store.

We had a great holiday this time around. 

First and foremost, we successfully avoided injury.

~YAY!

Mom.  I do want to Thank You for all the bandaids you sent, just in case.

Second, we had all of The Hubs' family in town.  As well as my sister, her hubs, their 2 dogs and of course their brand new baby.  I think 13 humans and 2 canines in total.

We played pass the baby a lot.  My Sister was a good sport and didn't freak out about it.

The Hubs wouldn't let me do my idea of creating a Christmas tree out of presents, thus saving us the task of putting up the tree and then taking it down........ 

Oh well.

We ate..  A lot!

There were a few mistakes made.

It was a case of too many elves, lots of wine, and tons of presents needing to be wrapped.  Moops was none too thrilled with the zebra hairbrush he got, but Izzy loved it.  She traded him the Ninjago set she got, for the brush. 

I have a nifty new camera to take lots of pictures with!  Which I would be posting now, if Blogger would let me.

Izzy has a brand new Ipod thingy which has already been confiscated twice. 

And we consumed enough chocolate to last us through the next millenium. 

Oh yeah.  And Moops turned 7!

Now, we only have to survive 3 more full days of Winter Break before we fling our kids back into their school routine, and we can get back on track with our usual crazy.