Sunday Confessional

This week, I forgot to defrost the chicken ahead of time.

I know. Someone needs to take away my Girl Scout badges.

Sometime around 4PM on Tuesday I realized that the whole chicken I was going to roast for dinner was, unfortunately, still in the freezer.

So I called my mom (because that is generally my answer for everything, call mom - she always knows what to do). She had no words of wisdom, but as we were chatting she told me about a vegetarian tamale pie she had made the week before. And as she is talking, I am digging through the kitchen cupboards.

Wouldn't you know I had all the ingredients?

pantry cooking. yes please.

And it was really good, and really easy. And the 2 year old ate it. I know.

So make some Tamale Pie!


Tamale Pie

1 cup instant polenta
1 can of beans (I used red kidney, black beans or pintos would also be great)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup jarred salsa ( fresh would make a soupy mess)
seasoning (I used an ancient pack of taco seasoning - next time I'll use cumin, oregano, cilantro, chipotle and some salt)
1 cup cheese (I had Italian blend - I would have preferred cheddar)

preheat oven to 350

1. Prepare your polenta and spread into a buttered casserole (bonus points if it has a lid!).
2. Dump beans with liquid (bean juice?) into a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Mix in 1 cup of salsa and seasonings.
3. Spread bean mixture over polenta. Top with frozen corn and sprinkle with cheese. I sprinkled the cheese with chipotle and cilantro just to give it some color.

polenta and beans. noms.

4. Bake covered for 15 min, uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

*I really think this would freeze well.

I Lied

Yesterday I said I had no real resolutions.

I lied.

Based purely on the amount of chocolate I consumed today, it is safe to say that my resolution for 2011 is:

To make sure that every single Christmas treat is eaten by Jan. 5th.

That is all.

Yada Yada Yada

Happy New Year!

It's been so long since I've blogged that I feel like I've forgotten how to type - let's all say a collective prayer of thanksgiving for the all-important spell-check.

Done? Super.

I'm not making any real resolutions this year, I'm just planning on continuing to nurture my family, take care of my home (as time allows) and volunteer until I can't breathe (seriously, I need to start sitting on my hands so I stop signing up for everything!).

That's it. I'm not even going to strive to write here X times per week, because that's just not how my life is going. Except I am super excited for the second season of Worst Cooks in America to start tonight. I loved it last season, so I'm going to do some recapping here, I'm hoping a few other fans will chime in? It'll be much more fun that way.

I'll be back tomorrow - or the next day...

big news!

From my local paper:

"Three frozen cheeseburgers and a sweatsuit were missing Sunday from 532½ S. Main St., 111."

Better lock up the freezer, there's a cheeseburger thief on the loose!

i figure it's about time for a new post

What can I say? Life is freaking busy.

Boys - both are adorable and wonderful. Except that ever since Max hit 4 months, he has decided it is super-duper important to wake up at least 3 times a night. So I could totally live without that.

Also, he can't decide if he is a happy and round baby, or a really upset and round baby. He is for sure round, especially when compared to JJ.

Max stats - 4 months
15 pounds - 50th percentile
25 inches - 50th percentile

I'm pretty sure JJ always hung out around the 10th percentile. What I know for sure is that JJ is still wearing size 4 diapers (I'm sure he could do 5's, but hello?! they cost more!), and I just stuck Max in a size 3 for bedtime (because if I have to change one more sheet at 3AM, I am going to scream. Also, all of the sheets might be in a giant ball in the washer...). Draw your own conclusions, I think Max is going to give JJ a run for his money one day ;)

you can tell it was a momentous occasion because my hair is in a towel
and I'm wearing a bath robe

Last night Max had his first bites of "food." It was a big step for me. JJ had food for the first time at 6 months, and he had delicious mashed banana - unprocessed and wonderful, he's been a total fruit-arian ever since. Giving Max rice cereal at 4 months sort of made me a bit uneasy. Maybe I'm just crazy (probably). Anyway, he managed to ingest a little bit of it, and he seemed to like it (no tears, lots of grunting), but he hasn't pooped since he ate it, and he didn't magically sleep through the night after eating (I was totally hoping that would happen) - so I'm still on the fence. We ended up at a corn maze/pumpkin patch for the evening and came home too late for baby mealtime, so I just nursed him :)

I know I have more, but coherent-sentence-formation is eluding me. So here are JJ and J running through the corn maze.

ps - JJ is totally wearing his sunglasses upside down

Busy Bees

We have been swamped the last two weeks!

September brought a new Service League year, and has been consuming a large amount of my free time; the rest of my time is consumed by these two little monkeys.

Peanut and Bun
Hiking Monkeys!

Last week Hubs was out of town. And this week Bun has been a sick little baby :(

In fact, Wednesday night (midnight-ish) I came this close to taking him to the ER. He was crying so hard that I had no idea what else to do. Then, just as I was changing out of my pj's he calmed down and went to sleep (Hubs was holding him and patting his little back). A few of my friends suggested Gripe Water, and we have used it a few times in the past two days and it has been amazing!

We have our happy little baby back!!

Anyway, we have a busy weekend ahead:
* 5K in the morning - the one I mentioned here
* Wrap up the Service League Garage Sale Fundraiser - I cleaned most of the closets and moved a bunch of stuff out of the house!
* Put out the fall decor
* Tidy up the master bedroom - it *might* look like a tornado went through *maybe*

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?

PS - Welcome to my new followers!

A Bright Baby Shower

A bit ago I mentioned a baby shower I was throwing. The baby arrived last week (my incredibly-adorable-first-ever-nephew!) so I figured I should probably get to recapping the party. As luck would have it, The CSI Project is having a Party Ideas Challenge this week. So I'm linking up!

When I think of my SIL I think of bright colors; I decided that would be my "theme" for the shower.

Not exactly a theme, but it worked for decorating. Since this shower was thrown eight weeks after my son arrived, I purchased almost everything months in advance and planned to add either bright pink or turquoise accents (depending on baby's gender). This worked out great!

For invitations I simply purchased note cards, ran them through my printer and added "It's a Boy!" tags to personalize them.

so simple!

Inside:

Blankets and Booties, Diapers and Pins,
This is where the love begins!
Onesies and Bibs, Toys and More,
This is what baby showers are for!

Please Join us for a Baby Shower Honoring
Super Sister-in-Law

The tables were set with white table cloths, a runner made of turquoise tulle, a centerpiece, and small gift bags with turquoise tissue paper.

bright centerpieces on an overcast day

The guests filled their gift bags with candy from a small candy buffet to take home as a favor.

I think Buddy the Elf would approve

I kept the menu simple, my philosophy with parties is not to overwhelm people with choices. Instead I like to offer a well-planned meal that most people will enjoy. I got lots of compliments!

Michigan Salad
Assorted Mini Quiches (I totally cheated and bought these at Sam's)
Fruit Salad
Rolls and Butter
Punch
Cake

nom nom nom

my MIL turned a watermelon into a bowl shaped like a baby seal :)

I have played enough shower games and won enough bath sets/picture frames/stationary to stock a Hallmark store. I am OVER shower games.

Instead, I purchased an 8 x 8 scrapbook and everyone made a page. This was a great activity, and I hope that my SIL will enjoy filling the pages with pictures of her new little guy :)

Unmade

It was a hectic week.

So hectic, I didn't make the bed yesterday.

chaos

I love making the bed because I love getting into a made bed each night. It feels more comfortable and relaxing than climbing into a mess of blankets and trying to make them right (which never works).

I like to keep our bedding simple; fitted and flat sheet, duvet with cover, two pillows each and a throw pillow to finish. Much more feels like overkill.

And, seriously? Stacking up loads of decorative pillows takes time, and they collect dust and feel so very... 90's in aesthetic. At least to me.

I prefer my streamlined bed :)

How many pillows are on your bed?

we're back!

We're back from our week at Houghton Lake. On the way back we even got to stop at Laura's farm! I love her pigs! And her bebes, of course ;)

I want a cottage. "Want" is not strong enough...I need a getaway place about two hours from my house. On the water, no tv, lots of board games, a live in nanny would also be helpful ;)

fishing

Anyway, right after Max was born one of my friends gave me a copy of Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison, I had a chance to read it while we were gone, and it was wonderful! I highly recommend it for all parents. In fact I'm ordering a whole bunch of copies for my expectant friends. I'm really thinking of doing a read along on the other blogg-o, if you are interested please let me know.

Energized!

On Sunday we came back from a week at the lake.

I am refreshed and energized!

drool factory

I read an awesome book while on vacation, Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison. It was wonderful. It's not a book about God, it's a book about slowing the pace of life down and letting your children soak up childhood, being happy with what you have, and appreciating all of the little things that make life so amazing.

I was thinking it would be really fun to do a read-along here on the blog. If you are interested let me know.

More later :)

Plans and Things

I had great blog plans this week. I was totally going to implement a new "schedule" for my posts; Monday for cleaning and organizing, Tuesday for cooking and entertaining, Wednesday for decorating, Thursday and Friday for whatever else is running through my brain.

You'll notice I only posted on Monday.

Ok, and Friday ;)

this was supposed to go on Tuesday's post

That's just how it is some weeks.

Today I am packing, for we head to the beach tomorrow :) Hooray!

And maybe I will finally make a concerted effort to figure out Live Writer. Maybe.

Direct from Clutter-ville

Let's talk about my closets....there are six in this house and at the moment, I feel like they are about to explode.

clutter to the right
perhaps I have a third child living in there?

It's not that they are too full (although, they do contain a ridiculous amount of randomness). It's that they are so unorganized. It drives me nuts. So I've decided to make closet organization a priority for the next few weeks.

Hooray!

Actually, the timing is perfect because in about a month my service organization is having a garage sale fundraiser. So I can clean out the clutter, and instead of just dropping everything at the GW I'll send it to the garage sale. Two birds, I'm all about it :)

I had a little time yesterday (double nap!!), so I tackled the hall closet.

clutter way up high

wasted space below

I decided the easiest way to do it was old-school, Clean Sweep style (I loved that show!). So I labeled three areas in my hallway "Garage Sale," "Keep," and "Craig's List" (CL was for the few items that weren't GS worthy, but still not garbage), and I had a small bag for any trash I might find.

yep, that was all mashed in my closet. yikes.

The only trash I came across was an ancient package of plastic knives which had spilled all over the floor. Knowing that I wasn't storing actual garbage made me feel much less like a hoarder :)

About an hour later I had a clean and shiny hall closet!

holy cow! there was a kid in my closet! ;)

breathing room

organized, and there is nothing on the floor!

What are your current organizing goals?

i bet....

Bet you wish you looked this awesome today.

Happy Monday!

Today's Mommy Must Haves

I woke up at 3:00 to nurse* Bun this morning, he went right back to sleep but I just couldn't.

So today I am relying on some of my favorite things to keep me going.

Headbands - so I don't have to "do" my hair

Giant Coffee - it's called caffeine, it is my friend

Hotsling - currently my favorite sling for Bun, it allows me to get work done (or blog), and play with Peanut all while cuddling the bebe :)

I'm rocking this sling today, and wishing I was as cute as this model!

Crock pot - I was up at 3 AM, I can only assume I'll be completely useless by dinner time. Enter crock pot, pot roast and veggies. Hello healthy dinner!

Happy day everyone!

*speaking of nursing, Ameda is giving away a nursery makeover, check it out.

of course I don't work for any of these companies, but you knew that ;)

Ready for the Weekend!

I've got almost everything ready for a baby shower I am throwing on Sunday.

I'm not quite sure how I'll fit everything in the Jeep...

And, just like I wanted, Hemnes has a new home in the master bedroom.

I'm really happy with the way the grey and blue play together :)

Now, if I could just find the time to organize my clothing...

Have a great weekend!

a friday memory

Around here, Friday is trash day.

Which means every Friday morning I make a sweep through the house and find all of the trash that J forgot to put at the curb (he generally misses the bin in the kids bath, office and - most unfortunate - the diaper pail).

But it also means that I put on my super-duper-listening-ears.

Because I have a little boy who loves to watch the trash man take our garbage :)
And, even though he is inherently a bit creepy, we must have a pretty good trash man. When he sees JJ's little face smashed up against the living room window he makes sure to do "the big dump" and empty the collection bin into the truck.

And then JJ claps.

<3

toddler logic

JJ gets food all over his hands, then wipes them on his shirt.

JJ gets boogers all over his hands, then sticks them in his mouth.



EXCUSE ME??!!

Oh well, at least he's cute :)

Regaining Control

Today I feel completely out-of-control.

There's just SO MUCH to do.

*children are still both in pajamas
*the house feels about one-step away from a CPS nightmare
*I feel completely unprepared for a baby shower I am throwing on Sunday
*I have yet to cook a decent meal for anyone this week (we had frozen pizza for lunch yesterday, and SPAGHETTIO'S today (that's how desperate I was))
*the baby is 10 weeks old and I still haven't mailed out his birth announcements
*and so much more....

So I decided to start at the beginning and gain control of ONE little thing.

I cleaned out my purse. And I consumed a healthy dose of caffeine. And the Heavens parted and the Angels sang :)

Now that I feel better, I am ready to get some things done!

Happy Thursday! I hope it's productive!

PS - super article from Simon Doonan - enjoy!

Clampett-Mobile

First - A huge thank you is in order for all of the sweet comments on my last post :) I wanted to write back to each of you, but the children have been needy - and I need my sleep - but I really appreciate all of your positive and loving comments!

We took a little trip to IKEA on Sat...

And by the time we left, our Jeep pretty much looked like this:

source

with a few diaper boxes (there was a great sale at BRU!), a stroller, and two car seats for good measure.

Hubs has been honing his Allen-wrench skills - I should have pics to share soon (need to remember to charge the camera).

I hope you all had an equally exciting weekend!

I'm a Work in Progress

It's Progress Party time at Serenity Now!

I wish I could show you some major before and after photos of my home. But I can't, because not much has changed around here. Today I did order some art to hang over the piano, though...so that's a little progress.

The biggest project at the moment is me. I'm not changing dramatically, but I'm trying to make sure I don't lose myself in all the wonderful-ness of motherhood. And I mean that in the nicest way possible. You see, back in 2008, after Peanut was born I was not very happy.

I was ecstatic that I was a mother (Peanut's arrival answered many years worth of prayers), but I felt lost and lonely. Looking back I'm sure I had at least a touch of PPD, and it was very easy to forget about myself (which made everything worse). Now that I have two boys I don;t have time to be sad; so while taking care of them is my number one priority, I am working on taking care of me, too.

The first thing I did was promise myself that if I felt sad to tell my OB - and to do it right away (thankfully I have been so HAPPY!). I realize PPD doesn't necessarily surface in the first few weeks after baby is born, so I'll continue to monitor my feelings.

Then I had my hair cut :) It had gotten ridiculously long, and the ends were super-straggly.

pay no attention to my double chin

There was a silver lining to the long-hair-due-to-neglect -- I had enough length taken off (and the ends weren't really very bad) that my hair was donated to Locks of Love. So I felt pretty good about that (although, after doing some research, if I donate again, it won't be to LoL). I feel much sassier now.

omg - I got bangs!

Last night (wait for it) I went to the gym. I have a secret plan (which I guess is now public) to run a 5K in the fall with Hubs. I'll be pushing the double jogging stroller, so we'll see how long I can actually run for, but it's a goal :) I plan on starting the Couch to 5K plan within the next two weeks.

The next part is going to take a real leap for me, I'm seriously thinking about going back to school in January. That would mean putting the kids in day care, and taking out a student loan, and probably cutting back on some of my volunteering. But I know the longer I put it off, the harder it will be to go back. I'm not sure if I'm going to finish the STC degree I started at Tech, or if I will switch to Interior Design (that's what I really want to do) - either way it's going to be slow going. Not to mention I will be a "non-traditional student." Ugh. But I need to earn a degree.

The last bit is far less important and way more fun. I'm updating our master bedroom!

This is how it looks today (the bassinet will be gone within a few weeks, but it's a pain to move):






Right now I'm thinking - new dresser for me (the one pictured is Hubs, he found it at a farm auction and I love it!). Possibly this one from IKEA, I love it in grey. Maybe a stencil (similar to this) on the wall behind the bed. New bedside lamps. Finally do something about that awful bedskirt (a remnant from bedding which was replaced 2 years ago). And a new sitting area in front of the window - I would love two rattan chairs, but would really need to luck out and find them at the thrift store or on CL.

So that's my "progress," my totally selfish, all about me progress :)