Day to Day With Mom

She has decided that it’s actually fun to use the potty. She gets a thrill out of flushing the toilet and waving bye bye to the pee pee. We told her that she can’t flush the potty unless she uses it and since she loves to flush so much it seems to make her use it more often.

I’m really proud of her for all that she’s accomplished. I’m not real sure why it was so much easier to train her brother and sister then her but it doesn’t matter because soon enough she’ll be a potty time princess pro! (Hopefully before she’s married).

What a beautiful Monday Morning it is here in North Carolina! I have to work around six hours today but with the sun shining through the windows the way it is somehow it makes it seem a little less difficult sitting here at the computer and listening to grumpy people yell in my ear all day. The girls are awake and while they seem happy right now I know waking up this early they are bound to get ill real soon. Hopefully I’ll be able to find time to play outside with them between cleaning and working times.

I was looking for some really good recipes to try out and came across the Everyday with Rachael Ray website and I fell in love! Not with her but all the wonderful recipes on the website, however I absolutely love her and her cooking. I think she is just a really awesome person and her recipes always sound and look so yummy. I figured since I couldn’t find just one recipe to post I would set us up with a whole days meal plan!

Breakfast

Corn Bacon Muffins

2 cups flour 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 8 slices bacon, coarsely chopped 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 1/3 cup finely chopped onion 1 1/2 cups frozen corn 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 1 large egg, lightly beaten

 1. Preheat the oven to 400º. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper baking liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and pepper to combine.
2. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp but not dry. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a small bowl. Discard the bacon fat. Add the butter to the skillet and melt over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chopped bacon and remove from the heat.
3. Stir the corn into the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the buttermilk, egg and bacon mixture. Fold the ingredients together until just combined. Divide the batter equally among the baking liners. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let the muffins

Lunch

Open-Faced Grilled Greek Burgers

1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5 ounces)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Salt and pepper

Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

One 6-ounce package portobello mushroom caps

1 red onion, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices

Four 1-inch-thick Italian bread slices

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat a grill to medium. In a large bowl, mix together the lamb, feta, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Shape meat into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.
2. Brush olive oil all over the mushrooms, onion and bread slices. Season the patties and vegetables with salt and pepper and grill, covered, until the patties are just firm to the touch, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Grill the bread until toasted, 1 to 2 minutes on each side.
3. Divide the bread among 4 plates and top each with a mushroom cap, a lamb patty and some onion slices; drizzle with the vinegar.

Snack

Crispy Rocky Road Bites

One 10.5-ounce bag mini marshmallows

6 cups crispy rice cereal

1 cup salted cocktail peanuts, chopped

One 12-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Stir in 4 cups marshmallows until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cereal and 1/2 cup peanuts.
2. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and press into an even layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and the remaining marshmallows and 1/2 cup peanuts on top. Bake until the chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch squares.

Supper

One Pan Chicken Dinner

2 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

5 yellow-fleshed potatoes, such as yukon gold, each cut into 4 wedges

4 thin carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths

4 thin parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths

10 thyme sprigs

1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 425°. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan, rub with 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the potatoes, carrots and parsnips with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
3. Place the vegetables around the chicken and scatter 8 thyme sprigs on top. Roast until the vegetables are tender and the chicken juices run clear when a leg is pricked, about 40 minutes. Pick the leaves from the remaining 2 thyme sprigs and sprinkle on top.
 

I found this old picture today and thought it was perfect for my thinking back thursday post not only because it’s from 2007 but because it makes me think back to so many things. 

In 1998 I graduated highschool at age 17 and the mom to a child that was about to turn one. I had been with his father since I was 14 and we knew that I wasn’t allowed to move out and do anything stupid until I graduated while I don’t think my choices in life have been stupid I am thankful that my parents were able to be my parents and enforce rules upon me even though I had my own child and in the eyes of many, including myself, I was grown. With those rules set in place, the love and support of my family I was pushed to graduate highschool on time and do what I needed to do as the child I was at the time. I can’t express how important that is to me b/c so many young mothers give up on school and all the things that are important just because they think they are grown, but anyway I’ve gotten off base.

My fiance and myself had spoken about what where we would live when I moved out and we both agreed that the area we lived in wasn’t a good place to raise our biracial son. The town is small and people are set in their ways, since then a lot has changed and people have grown. We lived four hours away until 2006 when we had our last daughter. It had been a really difficult year (actually quite a few) and we thought moving back home and starting over might be a good idea. We ended up moving back in with my parents. That’s right ALL of us! That was three kids and four adults in a two bedroom house. Thankfully they had an extra room that could be used as a bedroom! I never thought we would be living with my parents but God bless them! I think it put us all through a test in our lives that we all needed to go through. At the time of this picture we were finally living in our own place again. It wasn’t what we were used to but it was home again. Since then we’ve grown a lot, we’ve still had some problems but we have come a long ways.

 Parents are always amazed by their children so when I say that my son truely amazes me it’s not going to strike any importance in your mind but honestly the kid is amazing. This is a child that before he even entered the first grade had answered a million dollar question on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”. Seriously I’m not kidding! It was a question dealing with animals and where a certain animal was from. We immediately knew that Brandon would know the answer and he did! His teachers are always saying how surprised they are at what he knows about animals and science, I just hope he understands what a gift he has.

See Brandon has always been really smart when it comes to to animals and anything dealing with science. I don’t know where he gets it from because I hate science with a passion. I’m assuming it’s his dad because he’s really smart on those topics too but don’t tell him I gave him credit for it. :)  Brandon was beating playstation games at age two and has always read on a higher level then what he’s supposed to be on but what’s wonderful is instead of watching cartoons he always been more interested in Animal Planet or Discovery. I really think that alone helped to make him the person he is. He is so full information it scares me to have a conversation with him! I’ve told him so many times that he is smarter then most adults when it comes to these topics and I love it! I know if he continues on this path his dream of working with animals and science will come true.

The picture above is his science crystal he decided to make one day. This wasn’t for a class project just something he woke up and decided to do for fun one day. I’d say they turned out pretty good.

 Remember you can join Potty Time Tuesdays by clicking the link.

Angelika is finally feeling 100% better and I’m happy to say it didn’t affect her potty training at all. I was afraid that since we had to put her back in diapers while she was sick that she wouldn’t use the potty as well once she got better but thankfully she’s doing great! 

She now tells us everytime she has to peepee even when we were at my parent’s house she told everyone when she needed to go! She hasn’t done number two yet and we are having to use pullups at night because she still drinks so much during the night from her cup that she floods the pullup. I have noticed though that whenever she has on a pullup or diaper she will use the potty in it and not tell us she needs to go until after she’s used it! We try to keep her in panties as much as possible.  I think I am going to have to work on losing the cup and the pullups and deal with some screaming and wetness for a few nights. I’m sure it wouldn’t take long to conquer both but man I don’t know if I’m ready for that battle or not.

Happy Monday everyone! The weekend went by just a little to fast but it was a really great weekend. Everyone is feeling better, I got to spend some time with my parents and kids and even got a little work done.

We were even given some stuff this weekend which was a great help and a huge cleaning/organizing challenge which has taken most of yesterday and today to complete but it’s well worth it.  We were given a big bed for my son so he doesn’t have to sleep on a twin bed anymore, a really nice dresser, two chairs and easter baskets! I spent most of the day yesterday rearranging and cleaning my son’s room to make room for everything then turned around today and cleaned up my office to make a nice sitting area with the new chairs. I am seriously tired but very thankful!

So with so much work and no time for play I wanted to find a fun recipe to cook. I came across a really cute spring cake recipe from www.familyfun.com.

Flower Power Cake
	2 1/2 to 3 cups white icing
	1 baked 13- by 9-inch cake
	4 baked cupcakes
	5 baked mini cupcakes
	1/4 cup green icing
	Green gel icing (optional)
	Candy for decorations, such as spearmint leaves, colored sugar, colored nonpareils, LifeSavers Gummies, sour rings, jujubes, M&M’s Minis, and Jujyfruits

1. First, frost the 13- by 9-inch cake with the white icing. (Tester’s Tip: To avoid dark crumbs in the light-colored icing, we used a white cake and cupcakes.) Arrange the cupcakes and mini cupcakes (you can cut them in half horizontally for thinner flowers if you wish) on top of the cake, wherever you’d like a flower. Cover them with the white icing as well, including the sides.

2. Using a pastry bag (or a plastic bag with one small corner cut off), pipe a green icing stem for each flower. If you’d like, you can also add green gel icing grass. Place spearmint leaves along the icing stems, then decorate the cupcakes with colored sugar and candies to create a garden of colorful blooms. You can also pipe on dollops of icing, as we did with some of our flowers.

I am working from home today but not with my job. I actually have no hours scheduled to work today but I’m going to start my “spring cleaning” today which is more of a “germ free cleaning” then anything else. Today is of course the first day of spring and while the weather is really cold and yucky today I’m happy because everyone finally seems to be getting better. My girls are now running around, eating like normal and being extra bad yep they are back!  My son is still not feeling completely better but after feeling so bad all week he is finally starting to move around more and is able to hold food down. My fiance headed back to work today after being sick the past couple of days so that’s a really good sign!   Thank God I haven’t gotten sick (knocking really hard on wood) I don’t think the family would make it if I did! Of course I have had a lot of help from my parents during this month of sickness which has helped so much! I’m hoping all of the sickness is over as spring comes in hopefully we’ll all be healthy.

So today is going to be spent cleaning the house really good and spraying everything in sight with Lysol! I think in a way I’d rather be working!

I can never get this link to work so please feel free to join Potty Time Tuesday by jumping on over to Healthy moms where you can not only join in with your potty training tips, get training advice but so much more parenting information!

Ok so Angelika was doing wondeful using the potty. She had gotten to the point where she was using it constantly with only and few mistake and then it happened… a mother’s worse nightmare! She got the flu! So yes we are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with plenty of green… green faces that is!

Now the flu , or flute as she calls it, is bad on anyone at anytime but seriously did it have to happen during potty training? Between the yucky tummy and the throwing up the last thing my babygirl wants to do is run to the potty. She definitely isn’t able to control certain potty issues and panties are not happening right now!

I’m hoping once she’s feeling better she’ll be able to pick it right back up but it definitely has me worried.  Thankfully her older sister is now feeling better, she is getting better everyday, but now her big brother is going through the tough parts of the flu while the girls are hitting the ending of it. Keep them all in your prayers as we all know how bad it is to be sick.

Good luck to all my potty training mamas!

I love St. Patrick’s Day goodies! The color green makes me think about spring and how close it is. So today’s recipes are St. Patrick’s Day goodies that I came across and some I’m hoping to make myself.

♥Irish Fondue Casserole  

• 12 slices firm white bread
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound (2 cups) shredded Kerrygold Blarney Castle cheese or Swiss cheese
• 2  teaspoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups half and half
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
  

Cooking Instructions

1. Cut the crusts off the bread slices.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the butter, mustard and garlic. Spread each slice of bread with some of the butter.
3. Arrange 6 slices, butter side down, in a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded cheese, chopped chives, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Evenly sprinkle the cheese over the bread in the baking dish. Top with the remaining bread, butter side up.
5. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, half and half, milk and chicken broth. Pour over the bread. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Uncover the fondue and bake it for 1 hour, or until the top is lightly browned and the inside is fairly firm.
7. Remove the fondue from the oven. Let it rest for 10 minutes. Cut into 8 or 10 wedges.
   

♥Roast Chicken with Bacon and Cabbage

• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2-1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups shredded cabbage (about 1/4 head of cabbage)
• 2/3 cup canned chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until crisp. Drain well on a paper towel-lined plate.
2. In the same skillet, brown the chicken for about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken breasts from the skillet, and transfer them to a large shallow baking dish. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the chicken is done.
3. Wipe out the skillet. Heat the olive oil over low heat for 1 minute. Add the onion and garlic and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook for another minute. Pour in the broth, turn the heat up to high, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cabbage softens.
4. Using a slotted spoon, spoon the cabbage onto plates. Bring the cooking liquid to a boil and allow it to reduce by half.
5. Stir in the half and half. Whisk in the butter. Stir the bacon into the sauce. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
6. To serve, slice the chicken into thin pieces. Arrange the chicken on top of the cabbage on the plates, and pour some sauce around and on top of the chicken.

♥ Irish Soda Bread

• 4 tablespoons sweet butter, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ cups buttermilk
• 1 cup currants

Cooking Instructions

1. Butter a cookie sheet. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar together to combine. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each additition.
2. In a medium bowl whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to combine.
3. Beginning and ending with flour mixture alternately add flour and buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Stir in currants.
4. On a generously flourered hard surface knead the dough about 4 minutes until smooth and not sticky, adding flour as needed.
5. Form into 7½-inch round. Transfer to prepared cookie sheet.  Etch an x in the top of the loaf.
6. Bake about 1 hour 10 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped on. Move to a rack to cool completely before slicing.

♥ Lime Pie

• 5 egg yolks
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 prepared graham cracker pie crust
• Whipped cream (purchased or fresh) or non-dairy whipped topping
• Green sprinkles for decoration
  

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sweetened condensed milk and the lime juice until it is smooth.
2. Pour it into the pie crust. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until set. Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.
3. Pipe whipped cream on top of the pie or spread it with non-dairy whipped topping. Sprinkle the top of the pie with green sprinkles.
   

♥ Sugar Cookie Shamrocks

• 1 roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 3 teaspoons milk
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 or 5 drops green food coloring
• Green sprinkles
  

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Alternatively, spray the baking sheet with cooking spray.
2. With a lightly floured rolling pin on a floured board, roll the dough out until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Cut out cookies with a small shamrock cookie cutter. Arrange the cookies on the baking sheet about an inch apart. (You can make two batches of cookies or use two baking sheets.) Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are lightly golden brown.
3. While the cookies are baking, prepare the icing: In a small mixing bowl, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat the sugar and milk until blended. Add the corn syrup, vanilla extract and green food coloring and beat until smooth. If the icing is too thick to spread, beat in an additional 1 or 2 teaspoons of milk.
4. When the cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and cool them on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to finish cooling.
5. Frost the cooled cookies with the icing, and sprinkle them with the green sprinkles.
   

♥ St. Patrick’s Day Punch

• 1/2 gallon lime sherbet
• 2 liters 7-up or Sprite

Cooking Instructions

1. Let the sherbet soften in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before preparing. Mix sherbet and soda in punch bowl or large mixing bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed until well blended. Serve immediately or chill in the refrigerator.

Recipes can be viewed at http://recipes.kaboose.com   and if you’re like me and like to make sure what you’re cooking looks the way it’s supposed to look then the site also has pictures of most of the recipes.

This weekend hasn’t been the best weekend but it’s turned out ok. The weather has been cold and rainy which is such a major disappointment after having weather in the 80’s last weekend! My middle child has finally gotten better, my youngest daughter was sick at the beginning of the weekend but is now getting a little better, and it seems that my son may be getting sick now. Let’s cross our fingers that his isn’t as bad as theirs.

Today my dad and fiance went to pick up a refrigerator because a while back mine decided to die on me. We didn’t get a new frig but it looks really nice, double door with ice maker and is bigger then the last one we had. So far it’s cooling great!

Other than that my weekend has been nothing but work, take care of sick kids, and watch the rain cover my yard with mud puddles. There hasn’t even been any good movies on that I haven’t seen a million times! Maybe this weekend was just one of those weekends where you should stay in bed and sleep the whole weekend away. Boy that would be nice!