Sunday, July 31, 2011

Day 2

Lazy Sunday! For breakfast I made Cinnamon Rolls. We all ate far to many but it was yummy!

For lunch I made sandwiches. We really miss eating at Thundercloud so I made Ham sandwiches with Guac, onions, cilantro, mayo, and provolone. OMG they were the best!

Dinner I threw a previously made pasta bake dish in the oven and made garlic cheese bread. It was not a yummy as lunch but at least I didn't give in and go to BK. :-)


Tomorrow Noah will be heading to his first day of Camp! I am so excited for him! Pictures to come!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Cooking Challenge

I decided to challenge myself to cook every meal for the next 30 days. No eating out at any meal. Today was the first day in the challenge.
I will focus mostly on dinner unless I whip up something note worthy for breakfast and lunch. Today it was just cereal for breakfast and hotdogs for lunch.

Tonight for dinner we had yummy tacos and grilled veggies (bell peppers, onions, zucchini, and squash)

After washing and chopping the veggies I covered them in an Italian Dressing, Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder. Then grilled them until yummy!



For the tacos I browned about a pound (probably a bit less) of ground beef with Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder. I drain all the fat once it's fully cooked. Then before putting it back on the heat I add 6 oz of tomato sauce and a chili powder/cumin/water mix. I don't actually measure. Hmm...2 spoonfuls of chili powder and 1-1.5 of cumin and about 2 cups of water. Then I let it simmer for about 30 minutes or more if I have the time.
I served the tacos with cheese, cilantro, and onions.
Yum!



Here's hoping I can keep up with my challenge. Good night all!

Friday, July 29, 2011

Missing Texas

This month I have really been missing my family and friends. Nick, the kids and I usually make a trip to Texas this time of year but sadly finances have made travel difficult. It's awful that my siblings haven't met their new niece and nephew!
The plan now is to drive down for the Christmas Holidays. It's going to be an interesting trip. Traveling with Noah has always been fairly easy, but I am not sure how the twins will do sitting in their car seats for hours at a time. My biggest concern is saving enough to make it down. As gas prices go through the roof, so does the cost of travel. Oh remember the days when gas prices were under a dollar a gallon!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

I Love Baking

One of my greatest joys is cooking and baking. In the last 2 years I have become pretty good, if I may toot my own horn a bit!

Today I decided to try and make my own cookie/cake recipe. Coming up with cooking recipes is one thing. Cooking is all heart and I find it more difficult to screw up. Baking is a lot about chemistry though. If it's not just right you end up with disaster. Believe me I have had a few. Muffins that could be used as cannon balls to name one. :-) However I got it JUST RIGHT today! I am so excited. These cupcake/muffins are super yummy, fluffy, with a light sweet flavor. I am so excited I wanted to share!
So here they are. I call them Chocolate Milk Cupcakes.

Chocolate Milk Cupcakes
1 cup butter soft
1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tbs Vanilla
2 tbs (give or take) chocolate syrup
1 cup chocolate milk (low-fat milk)
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add the egg and allow it to fully mix. Then mix in syrup, vanilla, and milk. The mix will look a bit lumpy (this is normal). Then slowly add all dry ingredients. Once the batter is well blended it will be thick and creamy.
Spoon batter into cupcake liners. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350* for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Top with powder sugar or a light frosting.
Makes 2 dozen

Thursday, July 21, 2011

And I'm back again!

4:54pm
Wow... I kind of dropped of the map for a while. I guess it's a forgivable offense; since I can play the twin card. It's so much more difficult than I ever imagined. I always get asked "How do you do it?" and the only accurate response is "I have NO Idea!"
Life seems to be speeding by and all I can do is keep up. The twins are demanding and Noah is even more so than usual (the competitor in him has come alive)!
Our day usually starts at 6:30am when one of the twins wakes to eat. Shortly after the other is awake and we are kissing daddy goodbye. Noah usually wakes around 7:30. And the running begins. Feeding, diapering, playing repeat. And that is just the twins. Noah is usually asking me to play with him, take him outside, make him food, or give him a drink. It's exhausting.

But. I am realizing how lucky and complete my life is. Nick and I have gone through so much together. We were children when we first met and now look at us. It's so amazing getting to spend my days with my best friend. I feel like we have grown stronger as a couple since moving. With no other family around we depend on each other so much more! Communication is also something we have gotten better at. We share everything; good and bad. As tired as I am at the end of everyday I wouldn't have it any other way and couldn't imagine doing it with any one but Nick.

Noah is amazing. While he drives me crazy with the over 400 questions he asks a day (I seriously want to keep a ticker to see how many), I love that he is this little funny person. He is reading like crazy. Nick and I have given up on spelling things. Our new tactic is to spell backwards. He loves numbers and like I said asks questions about everything. I am so excited for him to start school. This next year he is still going to be in pre-k but will be attending 3 times a week. Being a Big Brother suits him well. He is great with the twins. He is always helping me and I couldn't be more proud.

Liam is adorable and growing so quickly. This week he has been taking two long naps! He is sitting up on his own and only falls periodically now. Instead of crawling he is scooching on his rear across the room. I think he will be crawling sooner than later. He does this singing-talking thing that is adorable.

Ellie is my stubborn little clone. She is so girly too! Usually she is a good sleeper but she is either getting more teeth or is having a growth spurt because boy has she been fussy. She is also sitting up well, but falls over more often than her brother. She doesn't really scooch on her rear like Liam but when she is on her back she gets around. I say she is stubborn because she doesn't want to bear weight on her feet, she won't eat solids or take a bottle. She wants what she wants and will not give in. She is talking and cooing too. She says dadada, gaga, and maaaa. :) Her little girl voice is super cute.

Nick is doing well. He is quitting smoking again and doing a wonderful job. Work has been stressful. I think it's difficult for him to balance the chaos at home with the chaos at work. He is trying so hard and I appreciate him more everyday.

As for me I am doing ok. TIred for the most part but that's part of the job. The weight loss has gone well. All the weight I gained during the pregnancy fell off pretty quickly. I have about 16 more pounds to loose before I reach my ultimate goal. I was approved for the skin removal surgery. I am really nervous about that. It's supposed to be very painful and can take up to 6 weeks to recover. I'm not sure how that's going to work with 3 kids! But it's something I really want to do. I am excited about my body but the skin makes me self-conscious. I'll figure it out. :)
Well it's now 9:52pm, it only took 5 hours to finish 1 entry. Ahh I love those kids!
Good night!