Spring Projects

Evan just completed a stellar backyard landscaping project. We just recently had a deck added on to the back of our screened in porch. Evan designed and created by hand the landscaped border that runs around the perimeter of the deck. He used a special saw and cut each piece to fit. After creating the wall, he hauled several truck loads of dirt to fill the space. Once the soil was ready, he planted 5 Encore Azaleas'.  A side note- if you are in the area and are ever looking for a great place to buy trees or bushes, visit Olive's Tree Farm in Fuquay Varina. Hands down better than anything you would ever buy at a Lowes or Home Depot. They are healthier, greener, and offer much more variety in color. Also, they are so friendly. I loved the farmy, down to earth, ride on Gators, and let the dogs roam free feel of it. (Not to mention so did Ethan!) So here are a few pictures...

 

Note that the area closest to the fence we will be planting a Crate Myrtle when they are ready to be planted. The ground is still too cold.

 

 

 

 

I don't think the pictures do the project justice. Evan did such a great job. The wall is at least a foot tall and required a lot of stacking and sawing.

 

 

Already in bloom! They will bloom all of spring, part of summer, and all of fall. They bud a deep purple, but bloom a lilac color.

 

 

Another sweet sign of spring...look what we stumbled upon in our back yard....

 

 

Baby bunnies!!!

 

 

I hope that everyone enjoys this week of beautiful spring like weather! It's been long overdue! I also hope these baby bunnies make you smile as much as they did me!

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup & Other Happenings...

All I can say is wow! This was absolutely fantastic! And again, so easy. In case you are interested, I have been getting all of my new recipes from Campbellskitchen.com.


What You'll Need

 

1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups frozen whole kernel corn
1 can (about 15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 soup can water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
4 corn tortillas (6-inch), cut into strips
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

 

 How to Make It

 

Stir the picante sauce, soup, chicken, corn, beans, water and cumin in a 4-quart slow cooker.                                                    

 

Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours or until the chicken is cooked through. *Note- I cooked my chicken prior to putting it in the crock pot, and just cooked it for a shorter length of time*

Stir the tortillas, cheese and cilantro into the cooker. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Serve with additional cheese, if desired. *I also served mine with small crunchy tortilla strips on top of the soup*

 

                                

 Other Happenings...

 

If mother nature would only cooperate. This winter has felt like an eternity of rain, cold, and too much doom and gloom. Ethan and I have been cooped up for way too long. Our indoor activities are running thin, and so are my patients.  Spring...please please hurry.

 

Ethan had his 2 year check up last week. So we all know he is very small. However, at his last appointment (18months) he was at the 11th percentile for his weight and at his 2 year check up he was down to the 3rd percentile. We have had some major toddler table time battles in our house. Ethan has really been into showing his authority at the dinner table, and just simply refusing to eat. He wants to eat junk. Ice cream, cookies, crackers...junk. So when I tell him "No" things become quickly heated. Which brings me to my next point....

 

TIME OUT. Yes that fun little activity has been firmly introduced in this house. It didn't seem to really bother Ethan until the last week or so when I decided to get a timer. The rule is he cannot move until the timer goes off (2 minutes is like 2 years apparently). This last go round he decided to hit mommy...twice. Why you ask? Because (as mentioned above) he wanted ice cream for dinner. There were plenty of tears and "mommy I'm sorry" going on. Yes, I melted just a bit. But, I am sorry there will be a no tolerance policy for hitting in this house. All I can say is...he hasn't attempted that trick again. (for now) :)

 

Looping back around to the eating. So after much trial and tribulation we came to a much needed conclusion. Ethan is a social eater. When we sit down together at the table and eat as a family, HE EATS. HE EATS EVERYTHING. OMG. Pork roast, green beans, chicken pot pie, ect, ect. Why in the world haven't I figured this out sooner?! Mom fail number 255677. Live and learn.

 

To sum it up...we've been living in the world of two year old behavior. It has been a challenge, yes. But we are learning, and surviving. Let me emphasize that Ethan is a good kid. He is just going through what all toddlers go through- living in a world that he thinks revolves around him, and learning how to share, behave, use manners, be kind, and curtious of others and their feelings...well mostly just to mom (because lets face it, he is perfect for everyone else).

 

 

 

Slow Cooker Apricot Glazed Pork Roast

Okay, so I didn't want to post 2 recipes back to back, but this has been the week of trying to broaden our meal time horizon. So I'm 2 for 2 this week, and this one was too easy and delish not to share. EVEN MY SON ATE IT, AND LOVED IT. OH HAPPY DAY!!!



What You'll Need

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Chicken Broth
1 jar (18 ounces) apricot preserves
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1 boneless pork loin roast (about 4 pounds)

 

 How to Make It                                                 

 

Stir the broth, preserves, onion and mustard in a 3 1/2-quart slow cooker.  Add the pork to the cooker, trimming to fit, if needed, and turn to coat.                                                    

 

Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or until the pork is fork-tender.     

 

*Note- I cooked my roast on low for 6 hours (per my crock pot setting) and it was ready after only 6 hours. Don't over cook it.     

 

Pairs well with rice. I used the extra juice to put over the rice.  Hope you enjoy! This makes plenty for the whole family!

 

                         

A recipe worth sharing

Campbell's Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas-

What You'll Need

 

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (6-inch), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

 

How to Make It

                                                   

Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl.                                                    

 

Stir 1 cup soup mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl.

Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side down in an 11 x 8 x 2-inch baking dish. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the filled tortillas. Cover the baking dish.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling. Top with the tomato and onion.

 

 

I  am always looking for easy, tasty recipes. I feel like we always eat the same thing over and over! This was super easy, and VERY good.

 

I will try to post recipes as a come across the good ones! 

 

Enjoy!

                               

When "mommy" needs a break

Okay. So I'm warning you. If your not a mom, you may not appreciate or enjoy this post as much as others.

When your a mom, you just know. You hit a brick wall. It's time for a break. It's time for two seconds of uninterrupted peace. And by peace I mean no whining, no crying, no snot wiping, butt wiping, & food face wiping. No entertaining, no cooking 3 million meals just to be told by your two year old "no I want something else." I could go on and on...

The fact of the matter is, I'd had it. This week did me in. Between the stomach bug that Evan & Ethan got, and the pesky cold that they both had, mommy was tired of taking care of everyone. As my mother once told me "being a mother is like a cookie jar. Everyone takes, but nobody puts anything back in. " BINGO! My week in a nutshell. Fact of the matter is, it had been a long week of taking care of my family and I was left feeling drained and well let's just be honest...a bit on the moody side.

So, today after a morning family trip Costco, Ethan decided to throw (of all days) one of the biggest most embarrassing fits he's ever thrown in public. He wanted goldfish. I mean come on people, that's a serious life altering toddler problem! After some words exchanged between me and Evan (nope they weren't nice words) I.Was.Done. DONE! I quickly paid for my items, and left that place as quickly as I could. We loaded up Ethan, and drove (in silence) home.

Mommy was done. Mommy needed a break.

So, this afternoon I napped. When I woke up I was feeling very tired (I mean, seriously I think I only slept 3 whole nights this week) and still grumpy. However, my dear friend Sam and I had dinner plans. Just.What.I.Needed. A mother and friend who gets it. Someone to laugh, vent, and and share stories with.

So, I finish my week with a dear friend, in my favorite dinner spot.

Re-group, and re-charge.

When the stomach bug hits...

Something a mother prays every day...

 Please Lord, I can handle snot all day long. But vomit!? No. Please. No! Pleaaasseee don't let my child catch the stomach bug...

And then, it happens. Evan had the 24 hr bug on Tuesday, and then Ethan caught it Wednesday late at night (or early in the morning) Thursday. I was already sleeping downstairs in the guest room trying to avoid catching anything from Evan. I'd just settled into a good sleep and I hear Ethan start gagging and screaming over the monitor. I knew in that moment what had happened.

A deer in headlights. That's what I felt like. What do I do first? Where do I start? How do I handle this? Evan came to the rescue (thank goodness he was pretty much recovered) and helped handle this two man job.

After 4 rounds of vomit, 3 loads of laundry, 3 baths, and a few good carpet cleans later...we survived. Ethan finally settled down enough to sleep around 3:30am, and I "slept" (yeah right) on the couch in the playroom which is right across from Ethan's room. I think I finally fell asleep around 5 or 5:30am and Ethan was back up at 8. Much to my surprise the next day was not bad. We were fortunate enough that Ethan didn't get sick past 3am. We just hung low and tried to re-cooperate. Ethan did have a fever of 101.5, but doctor said not to worry. By that night Ethan was getting his appetite back and it was smooth sailing from there.

I guess if we had to get the "bug" at least it was the 24 hr one!

I survived and now I'll be better prepared for next time!

Welcome!

A blog! Something I've wanted to do for a long time...now it's a reality. I know my web page needs a lot of work (and I'm trying to learn how to navigate it).  I thought this would be a great place to share my stories of motherhood & just life in general in a more in depth structure. I hope you will enjoy following me!