MOMICABLOG

I think I’m finally to a point I would rather not take the 3 kids out and about (to various events) by myself.  Now that I have 2 potty training and Sofie is walking around, eating, drinking, etc…it seems to be harder to keep up and I’m getting frustrated easily with them.  The other Mom’s at playgroup are awesome.  We have always helped each other out, but they have kids too (that are potty training etc).  I don’t want to give up on playgroups, birthday parties or other events, I know they have a blast.  It’s not fun having to keep track of Ava and Aden going different directions and Sofie wanting to have some fun too.  Most of the time she stays strapped in the stroller, I can keep one contained!  Hopefully it will get easier again as time passes. 

wow…the last 10 days have been crazy with my computer.  Ron finally had to reload to clean it up and kill the virus (actually it was called the vundo worm!).  what a pain in the butt!  I thought I was pretty good about keeping my computer protected.  I never open email from people I don’t know.  and I save most attachments to my computer so it goes thru a scan.  somehow this worm got by and screwed it all up!  He added more memory so it runs a little faster…always good!  so ladies….and gentlemen, watch out for executable files you receive.  don’t always trust it, even if you know the person!

I decided to work with my sister at her church, they needed another teacher in the 18mth old class to keep the child/teacher ratio even.  I’ll be there the same time my kids will, so that makes it easy for all of us to get up and go.  But I will be giving up my “free time” – break from my kids (since I am a stay at home
mom….24/7) to be with a classroom full of 18 mth - 2 yr olds for 4 hrs, 2 days a week.  I just feel good about the decision.  If it doesn’t work out, I don’t have to stay.  It will save us money on tuition for my 3 kids (bonus) and it’s a change that might do me some good.  I want to be the best
mom I can, and I think I’m getting burned out with  my current routine.  Maybe I can get a maid with the extra cash!!!!!  That would be NICE!  I start in October….keeping my fingers crossed.  I’ll keep blogging on how it goes!

I’ll never forget Sept 11^th, 2001….I was getting ready for work….and saw the aftermath of the 1^st plane hitting the twin towers on the news….and then live on tv the 2^nd plane crashed.  WOW!  I woke up my fiancé, and said look at what is happening!!!!!  I could not leave the TV.  I was 4 hrs late to work that day!  Sept 11^th hit at a bad time in my personal life….not that it really came at a good time for ANYONE.  But I will associate Sept 11^th with my wedding/anniversary always.  Trust me, I know there are thousands of people with greater tragedy from that horrible day.  Besides my anniversary, simple combinations of the numbers 9 – 11 make me stop and remember.   It’s true….WE WILL NEVER FORGET!  My wedding was Oct 13^th.  All of our friends were planning a trip to Vegas for the bachelor/bachelorette party the weekend after the terrorists hit.  All the flights and reservations were cancelled.  Of course I would have loved to party in Vegas with my friends, but I also understand the urgency to protect our people.  I love my country and the freedom we have.  I’m just thankful that the out of town guests were able to make it to our wedding as planned and we celebrated our love with family and friends.  I’m deeply sadden for the families and friends of those lost, and hope one day only good can come out of it all.

2 recipes that use the same ingredients…  Asparagus and spaghetti 1 bunch asparagushalf a box of angel hair pastahalf a carton of sliced mushrooms (the ones that are clean and ready to use)5 sun dried tomatoes (in olive oil)6 oz of thin prosciutto

8 oz mozzarella (I didn’t use smoked moz – just regular, and I could have done with out the cheese…didn’t seem to make a big impact on the taste.  Maybe the smoked moz would)

a palm full of fresh basil

4 tbl olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic 

Cook the asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. With a spider or slotted spoon, remove asparagus from boiling water to a bowl of ice water to cool and stop the cooking. When cool, strain, cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces, and set aside. Return the water in the pot to a boil, adding additional water, if necessary. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, prosciutto, and basil and sauté all together.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add the pasta, and if needed, some of the reserved cooking liquid. Toss to coat. Add the mozzarella. Turn off the heat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.
I changed up the original recipe, the prosciutto was a little too raw tasting to me, so I sautéed it all.  here is a link to the original recipe.http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_26145,00.html?rsrc=search 

sun dried tomato pesto and pasta

the second one I used the left over sun dried tomatoes and basil from the above recipe.  So buy a 10 oz jar of sun dried tomatoes and a package of basil in the deli section if you want to make both recipes.  Also I sautéed chicken and the rest of the mushrooms from above recipe to this one.  Are you ladies confused now?!?!?!?

 http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_27248,00.html

I half’ed the recipe… and it fed us (me, Ron, Ava and
Aden), my brother and Debbie!  SO GOOD!  I got the recipe from my Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) book but you can also find it on the www.foodnetwork.com website  

3 cups chopped yellow onions (2 large onions)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
5 pounds ground turkey breast
1 1/2 cups plain dry bread crumbs
3 extra-large eggs, beaten
3/4 cup ketchup Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature. Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 1/2 hours until the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.

I’ve discovered the convenient world of postal service shops.  Some are called Mail Copy or Pak Mail.  So easy and never a line like at the post office.  They offer all the parcel companies (UPS, DHL, etc) so you can really pick the cheapest service.  Small shops and much more friendly!  My
mom thought they added fess to the parcel services…they don’t.  They make their money on business services.  I’ll never go to the post office again to ship or get stamps!

I don’t get it.  all the reports say wood chips are better.  but I believe pebble stones are better.  I spent an hour on a playground yesterday with my 2 older kids and we all had “injuries” related to the wood chips.  A wood chip pierced thru my flip flop, stabbing into the mid section of my foot.  My son had a wood chip pierce into the cuticle area of his big toe.  and then my daughter, oh lord….she couldn’t walk 5 feet with out having to clean out her shoes.  As I was sitting there watching them run thru the playground, I realized…if one of them fell, oh the pain we would all feel!!!!!  seriously, wood chips…..sharp enough to go thru my flip flops…..sharp enough to go in skin!!!!!!!!!!  pebble stones would NEVER do that!  Which wold you rather fall on, wood chips (SPLINTERS) or pebble stones?!!?!??!?!?!?!

let’s see, when comments are made about how loud I am when I’m cooking or do dishes….and then on one paticular night, a comment is made about me shuffling one glass around in the dishwasher (trying to make everything fit) is not humorous…YOU WONDER WHY!?!?!??!?!

A friend sent this to me.  I’m not sure who pulled it together or if it was published any where, but it’s great info (especially when I’m feeding 3 kids now)!

 Monday
Margaritas - kids eat free all day
Hangtown Grill - kids eat free all day
Gattiland - moms eat free
TGI Friday ‘ s - kids eat free and get free animal balloons
Texadelphia South - kids eat free
Zuzu - kids free after 6:00 p.m.
La Salsa - kids eat free after 4:00 p.m.
Double Daves Pizza - kids under 5 eat free
Serranos - kids eat free
Joes Crab Shack - Kids meal $0.99 up to two meals per paying adult

Tuesday
Spaghetti Warehouse - kids eat free at night
Fazoli ‘ s - kids eat for $0.99 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Kerbey Lane - kids eat free all day
Denny ‘ s - kids eat free from 4:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Chick-fil-A - kids eat free after 5:00 p.m.
Bennigan ‘ s - kids eat free after 5:00 p.m.
Zuzu - kids eat free after 6:00 p.m.
La Salsa - kids eat free after 4:00 pm
McAllisters - kids eat free
Double Daves Pizza - kids under 5 eat free
Central Market - N. Lamar kids eat free
Joes Crab Shack - $0.99 kids meals up to two per paying adult Wednesday
Luby ‘ s - kids eat free after 4:30 p.m.
EZ ‘ s - kids eat free all day
Moe ‘ s Southwest Grill - kids eat free after 5:00 p.m.
Central Market - kids eat free after 5:00 p.m.
Zen - kids eat free after 5:00 p.m.
La Salsa - kids eat free
Double Daves Pizza - kids under 5 eat free
Joes Crab Shack - $0.99 kids meals up to two per paying adult