I'm a working mom, so as I've mentioned before I work from our office on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays. Tuesday and Thursday I am able to work from home! This morning was a good example. I do all the medical billing for our office and Corey my brother in law and the Ophthalmologist worked on charts last night. So he texted me said I could pick up the charts this morning and then meet Brad (our office manager) to hand them off. So I set my alarm for 5:00am! As my phone starts beeping at me I slowly awaken from my slumber to not only a beeping alarm, but also a whiny little baby girl! She was very obviously hungry. I needed to feed her, which put me a little behind. After she was done I packed her up in her car seat (the husband wasn't home from work yet so I had to take her with me) and drove to my brother in laws arriving at 5:45am. Grab the charts from their kitchen counter (everyone was still asleep) and headed back home.
Upon arrival home I attempted to put a very sleepy/cranky baby back to bed and started my chart work by 6 am. Our office manager wanted to meet at 7am this morning for the hand off. He texted me at 6 informing me that he was leaving his house in 20 minutes, whhaaa??? I had something like 60 charts to do so I had to get through them fast. I called the husband told him I wasn't going to be able to make him breakfast this morning and starting crackin' on the charts. 6:45am I'm only 1/3 of the way through, oh crap! Fingers flying over the keyboard, completed charts stacking up higher and higher. 7:10am 2/3 of the way done. Faster, faster, faster my eyes are glued on the upper right hand corner of my screen where the clock is reading 7:25am, DONE!!! Speedy, speedy -- good thing my typing skills are a killer 115WPM, round about with a few errors here or there ha! I left my house by 7:30 and arrived at the hand off location by 7:42am! I'd say that's pretty good for a quick morning's work!
Back home now enjoying my healthy oatmeal and fruit breakfast and loving the silence of the house while my husband and sweet baby sleep! I love my life...
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The Coupon Craze
Okay, so no one can deny that there is not a coupon craze going on. I mean it's obviously become a popular past time of a lot of stay at home moms. Kudos to all of them, seriously. I've been seeing these extreme couponing shows on TLC and then in addition to that I've also seen a lot of people that I am friends with on facebook talking about coupons too!
I wish I could coupon that heavily to be honest with you. To be able to walk out of the store with $1000+ of stuff for practically nothing?!?! I mean that's pretty friggin' awesome. Free stuff is the sh*t! So I've been slowly starting to "clip" coupons and searching online for good deals etc. and today was my very first awesome buy and I thought I would share with all of you.
So its not like a HUGE savings in terms of my entire grocery store trip. I think with in store and manufacturer coupons I saved a total of 21%. But the fact that I got something for free, or the store actually paid me a cent to take it made me feel pretty awesome. I'm going to keep putting a little more effort into couponing and maybe it will eventually really pay off! :)
I wish I could coupon that heavily to be honest with you. To be able to walk out of the store with $1000+ of stuff for practically nothing?!?! I mean that's pretty friggin' awesome. Free stuff is the sh*t! So I've been slowly starting to "clip" coupons and searching online for good deals etc. and today was my very first awesome buy and I thought I would share with all of you.
I purchase this Crest Pro-Health Sensitive + Enamel Shield Toothpaste from Safeway
The regular price for this product was $4.49
It was on sale for Safeway member cardholders for $2.99
When I was online last night I found that you can add additional safeway coupons to your membership card by going online and selecting the products that you want the coupon for. I added an additional $1.50 off coupon for this product
I also clipped a coupon earlier that week from the weekly circular for an additional $1.50 off this product
The regular price for this product was $4.49
It was on sale for Safeway member cardholders for $2.99
When I was online last night I found that you can add additional safeway coupons to your membership card by going online and selecting the products that you want the coupon for. I added an additional $1.50 off coupon for this product
I also clipped a coupon earlier that week from the weekly circular for an additional $1.50 off this product
That left me paying -$0.01 for this toothpaste!!! Yay!!!
It's What's for Lunch...
Like I have mentioned in a few of my past posts, I've really been putting a concerted effort into eating healthy and trying to lose the baby weight. This combined with my recipe from a couple posts back "Lazy Chicken Dinner" creates a couple recipes or moreover mumbo jumbos (because it really doesn't require cooking) that I wanted to share. The first being my signature salad I eat almost daily for lunch and the second an alternative chicken salad that can be eaten on lettuce wraps or wheat bread. Both being made from cubed chicken from the "Lazy Chicken Dinner" post, pictured below.
I make this chicken ahead of time (almost a whole bag frozen breasts) cube then refrigerate for easy access :)
Kirsten's Signature Lunch Salad
(Keep in mind this recipe includes vegetables I like I keep around the house, but can literally have anything you could possibly imagine in it!)
(Keep in mind this recipe includes vegetables I like I keep around the house, but can literally have anything you could possibly imagine in it!)
Ingredients:
Cubed "Lazy Chicken Dinner" Chicken
Lots of Romaine Lettuce
Spinach Leaves
Broccoli
Carrots
Raisins or Dried Cranberries
Feta Cheese
Salad Dressing:
equal parts Olive Oil & Balsamic Vinegar
(for individual serving roughly 1/8 cup)
squirt of dijon mustard
squirt of lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
sugar or artificial sweetener of your choice
(to taste, I tend to like my dressings a bit sweeter)
**shake**shake**shake**
voila
Combine all the above ingredients in serving dish and enjoy! :)
When packing mine for lunch I combine all the veg/chicken/cheese etc. in a large container then the salad dressing in a smaller container so as not to get the lettuce all soggy!
I don't have a picture for the following recipe, I haven't actually made it in quite sometime and it just popped in my head while I was cubing the chicken this afternoon.
Healthy (Waldorf-ish) Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup cubed "Lazy Chicken Dinner" Chicken
1/4 cup sliced grapes
1/4 cup cubed green apples
1/8 cup walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup plain 0% fat Greek Yogurt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
salt & pepper to taste
Bib Lettuce for wrapping
Now I wrote a post a while back, probably almost a year, raving about Greek Yogurt. There are a ton of varieties out there now even Dannon has jumped on the bandwagon. My favorite being Fage because it's so ultra creamy and delicious. But the really cool thing about Greek Yogurt is that it takes on the taste of almost anything you add to it. So for instance you can add a little bit of mayonnaise to it and it tastes like mayo with significantly less calories and fat and much more protein. Greek Yogurt is a great source of protein. So for this recipe you have the protein of the chicken and yogurt and the fruits and nuts keep it pretty healthy although grapes tend to be high in sugar at least its natural. The lettuce wraps keep the carb count down, so you are good to go! :)
My family is coming over for Memorial Day weekend to swim in the pool and hang out in the backyard so I think I'll throw a couple of these together and maybe take some pics to add to this so you can see what it looks like. Until then enjoy! <3
Healthy (Waldorf-ish) Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup cubed "Lazy Chicken Dinner" Chicken
1/4 cup sliced grapes
1/4 cup cubed green apples
1/8 cup walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup plain 0% fat Greek Yogurt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
salt & pepper to taste
Bib Lettuce for wrapping
Now I wrote a post a while back, probably almost a year, raving about Greek Yogurt. There are a ton of varieties out there now even Dannon has jumped on the bandwagon. My favorite being Fage because it's so ultra creamy and delicious. But the really cool thing about Greek Yogurt is that it takes on the taste of almost anything you add to it. So for instance you can add a little bit of mayonnaise to it and it tastes like mayo with significantly less calories and fat and much more protein. Greek Yogurt is a great source of protein. So for this recipe you have the protein of the chicken and yogurt and the fruits and nuts keep it pretty healthy although grapes tend to be high in sugar at least its natural. The lettuce wraps keep the carb count down, so you are good to go! :)
My family is coming over for Memorial Day weekend to swim in the pool and hang out in the backyard so I think I'll throw a couple of these together and maybe take some pics to add to this so you can see what it looks like. Until then enjoy! <3
Saturday, May 21, 2011
A Car Chase with Me in Hot Pursuit
Now that I have had 1/2 a day to calm down for my short but intense car chase this afternoon I thought I would share my embarrassingly gullible experience with everyone.
I went to the local Asian food grocery store for a couple of things this afternoon. I left Maddie with my mom so that I could run in and out of the store really quickly. After finishing my shopping I walked to my car, got in and started it. I reach over to the passenger seat to get something out of one of the bags and I hear a knock on my car window. There is an young Asian man roughly my age standing at my car door. I roll down my window slightly and he says to me in a somewhat genuine tone, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I just ran out of gas I don't have my wallet I need to walk to the gas station can you give me 2 or 3 dollars so I can get a little gas from the station?" I was really thrown off by the whole situation. I mean when someone approaches you while you are sitting in your car, and then stands there staring at you I didn't know what the hell to say. I looked back to see if he even had a car and he points at it and says, "that's my car right there". So I reach into my wallet and give him $2. He says thank you so much that he is having the worst day ever and I just saved him. This does not make me feel any better that I was just pressured into giving him money, but I assure myself I did something good and I sit there in my car looking through my rear view mirror to see what happens next....and you will not believe this....
He gets into his car which is literally 15 feet from mine, starts it and starts backing up. I just about lose it...I know I'm going to regret admitting this additional part and I'm a total idiot for doing what I did (and thank goodness Maddie was not with me)....but I throw my car into reverse and back out of my spot and start speeding through the parking lot trying to keep up with him. He takes a right the opposite direction of where I'm going, but I was literally livid at this point, I floor is down the street and pull up next to him. I roll down my window and I start swearing words sailors wouldn't say! You God *bleep* mother *bleep* lying son of a *bleep* you *bleeping* lied you stupid *bleep*hole. Pointing my finger accusingly at him, let me remind you this is all happening whilst driving. We pull up to a red light he is turning left and I am just staring at him, yelling at him calling him a *bleeping* liar over and over again. Its very obviously not the $2 that is the issue here. I am soo angry not only at him, but myself for being so stupid. The story ends pretty abruptly here. Another gullible move on my part. He is saying through his window I'm sorry I'm so sorry motioning to pull into the gas station. So I pull into the gas station and just as I do he speeds off. I throw my car into reverse again trying to maneuver my way out of the gas station which is literally impossible with an RV trying to turn out and many a car trying to get in. People are honking at me and giving me weird looks. Ugh I was soo deflated at this point, so upset that he got away without really getting a piece of my mind, some sort of retaliation on my part - Ugh again!
All I can really say is do not believe a single beggar out there, they are all cheats and liars and on top of that drug dealers of addicts. I should have known better and you better believe that's not happening to me again. The next person who approaches me like that will either 1. get run over by my car or 2. get shot if they don't leave me alone.
Now that I've gotten myself all flustered again by revisiting that awful event I need to relax, watch a little extreme couponing, look at my beautiful baby girl and be thankful for her and my family and smile that nothing worse happened.
Stay safe readers! :)
I went to the local Asian food grocery store for a couple of things this afternoon. I left Maddie with my mom so that I could run in and out of the store really quickly. After finishing my shopping I walked to my car, got in and started it. I reach over to the passenger seat to get something out of one of the bags and I hear a knock on my car window. There is an young Asian man roughly my age standing at my car door. I roll down my window slightly and he says to me in a somewhat genuine tone, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I just ran out of gas I don't have my wallet I need to walk to the gas station can you give me 2 or 3 dollars so I can get a little gas from the station?" I was really thrown off by the whole situation. I mean when someone approaches you while you are sitting in your car, and then stands there staring at you I didn't know what the hell to say. I looked back to see if he even had a car and he points at it and says, "that's my car right there". So I reach into my wallet and give him $2. He says thank you so much that he is having the worst day ever and I just saved him. This does not make me feel any better that I was just pressured into giving him money, but I assure myself I did something good and I sit there in my car looking through my rear view mirror to see what happens next....and you will not believe this....
He gets into his car which is literally 15 feet from mine, starts it and starts backing up. I just about lose it...I know I'm going to regret admitting this additional part and I'm a total idiot for doing what I did (and thank goodness Maddie was not with me)....but I throw my car into reverse and back out of my spot and start speeding through the parking lot trying to keep up with him. He takes a right the opposite direction of where I'm going, but I was literally livid at this point, I floor is down the street and pull up next to him. I roll down my window and I start swearing words sailors wouldn't say! You God *bleep* mother *bleep* lying son of a *bleep* you *bleeping* lied you stupid *bleep*hole. Pointing my finger accusingly at him, let me remind you this is all happening whilst driving. We pull up to a red light he is turning left and I am just staring at him, yelling at him calling him a *bleeping* liar over and over again. Its very obviously not the $2 that is the issue here. I am soo angry not only at him, but myself for being so stupid. The story ends pretty abruptly here. Another gullible move on my part. He is saying through his window I'm sorry I'm so sorry motioning to pull into the gas station. So I pull into the gas station and just as I do he speeds off. I throw my car into reverse again trying to maneuver my way out of the gas station which is literally impossible with an RV trying to turn out and many a car trying to get in. People are honking at me and giving me weird looks. Ugh I was soo deflated at this point, so upset that he got away without really getting a piece of my mind, some sort of retaliation on my part - Ugh again!
All I can really say is do not believe a single beggar out there, they are all cheats and liars and on top of that drug dealers of addicts. I should have known better and you better believe that's not happening to me again. The next person who approaches me like that will either 1. get run over by my car or 2. get shot if they don't leave me alone.
Now that I've gotten myself all flustered again by revisiting that awful event I need to relax, watch a little extreme couponing, look at my beautiful baby girl and be thankful for her and my family and smile that nothing worse happened.
Stay safe readers! :)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Three's Company
While the hubs is at work Maddie and I like to sleep with the TV on! :) I like the background noise and the dim light allows for me to see where she is in the bed whenever I wake up and also when nursing. Don't judge! Everynight right before its time to fall asleep I turn to channel 58 (Nick at Nite or TV Land, which ever you prefer - I consider them synonymous) because they play old reruns through out the whole night. It normally starts off with Everybody Loves Raymond and leads into The Nanny occasionally or Home Improvement, Roseanne will occasionally have a marathon.
As of late, I will be risen from my slumber by the little squeaks of a hungry Maddie only to be able to not only nurse my beautiful baby girl, but also enjoy a rerun of one of my favorite old TV shows, "Three's Company". This feed normally occurs between the times of 2-4 am. I'm always tempted to stay awake to watch the rest of the episode and sometimes the episode after, but it is 3 o'clock in the morning and although I do love me some 70s physical humor sitcoms, sleep at this point in motherhood is critical!
So I've gone in search of DVDs and I have recently found it quite impossible to find a box set of all 7 or 8 seasons of the show. Occasionally I will find something on a fishy website, which I debate to myself is it worth possibly getting my credit card information stolen or wasting $100 on something I'll never get?! So I'm thinking its probably best to purchase each individual season off of Amazon.com. Maybe I should start slow with seasons 1 and 2 and then progress as I get through all of them :)
As of late, I will be risen from my slumber by the little squeaks of a hungry Maddie only to be able to not only nurse my beautiful baby girl, but also enjoy a rerun of one of my favorite old TV shows, "Three's Company". This feed normally occurs between the times of 2-4 am. I'm always tempted to stay awake to watch the rest of the episode and sometimes the episode after, but it is 3 o'clock in the morning and although I do love me some 70s physical humor sitcoms, sleep at this point in motherhood is critical!
So I've gone in search of DVDs and I have recently found it quite impossible to find a box set of all 7 or 8 seasons of the show. Occasionally I will find something on a fishy website, which I debate to myself is it worth possibly getting my credit card information stolen or wasting $100 on something I'll never get?! So I'm thinking its probably best to purchase each individual season off of Amazon.com. Maybe I should start slow with seasons 1 and 2 and then progress as I get through all of them :)
Here's the intro with all the cast members! Doesn't that twangy 70 theme song just bring you back to the old days when you use to watch these reruns. Why do old sitcoms always make you feel good?!
Baby Maddie Boo
I miss my darling little baby boo while I'm at work all day.
I won't see her for at least another 5 hours and I've already been away from her for 7.
Fridays are a long work day, but that doesn't bother me.
I wish I could just pack her away in my bags and bring her with me to work.
What a friggin' cutie!!!
Here's a little taste of her cuteness for all of you to enjoy!:)
I love you Miss Maddiekins :)
(I know I have far too many nicknames for her)
I won't see her for at least another 5 hours and I've already been away from her for 7.
Fridays are a long work day, but that doesn't bother me.
I wish I could just pack her away in my bags and bring her with me to work.
What a friggin' cutie!!!
Here's a little taste of her cuteness for all of you to enjoy!:)
I love you Miss Maddiekins :)
(I know I have far too many nicknames for her)
Muah muah muah I just wanna kiss all over those little cheekers!!!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Protein Pancake
This is a recipe my trainer came up with (I think, at least she's the one who gave it to me) Its a low fat, no sugar recipe for tasty banana cinnamon protein pancakes.
I've been back on my modified (due to breastfeeding) diet for a couple of weeks now and I'm actually making these at this very moment! :) They are super easy and super healthy. And surprisingly kid friendly...my nieces love them too!)
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until liquified! :)
4 egg whites (you can add an egg yolk if you need the calories/fat)
one banana
1/4 cup oats or 1 bag instant oatmeal
one packet sweetener (I use Truvia you can also use regular sugar if you aren't into the artificial stuff)
dash of cinnamon
Pour 1/2 the batter into a medium heated non-stick pan
watch for the bubbles as you would a regular pancake
flip and repeat with the remaining batter
this recipe makes 2 large pancakes :)
if I'm in a rush i throw these suckers into a plastic bag and kind of just nibble on them during my commute or if I have an extra minute I like to eat them with sugar free syrup! :) Either way they are pretty yummy for pancakes with no flour or sugar!
Try 'em out and let me know what you think!
<3
I've been back on my modified (due to breastfeeding) diet for a couple of weeks now and I'm actually making these at this very moment! :) They are super easy and super healthy. And surprisingly kid friendly...my nieces love them too!)
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend on high until liquified! :)
4 egg whites (you can add an egg yolk if you need the calories/fat)
one banana
1/4 cup oats or 1 bag instant oatmeal
one packet sweetener (I use Truvia you can also use regular sugar if you aren't into the artificial stuff)
dash of cinnamon
Pour 1/2 the batter into a medium heated non-stick pan
watch for the bubbles as you would a regular pancake
flip and repeat with the remaining batter
this recipe makes 2 large pancakes :)
if I'm in a rush i throw these suckers into a plastic bag and kind of just nibble on them during my commute or if I have an extra minute I like to eat them with sugar free syrup! :) Either way they are pretty yummy for pancakes with no flour or sugar!
Try 'em out and let me know what you think!
<3
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Have I Forgotten Something???
As the days meld together and all my memories become a complete blur in time and space I realize I have completely forgotten about one thing...myself!
I have not showered in a couple of days...I think since maybe Friday - I should maybe get on that...
Its 10:30 a.m. I've pretty much been awake since 5:30 a.m. yet I have not eaten breakfast yet...and instead I sit here writing another blog entry, while the little nugget takes a nap :) (aren't you lucky)
I did however manage to give Maddie a bath and dress her in the cutest little spring outfit, get the husbandio ready for court by looking for an unfindable tie for about 25 minutes, did the dishes, started a load of laundry and started "nesting" again by cleaning out closets and bags of stuff <<<< I don't think this has stopped since 6 months into the pregnancy! I think I like it though ;)
So generally speaking I've had a pretty productive day by 10:30 a.m...but I should still really eat breakfast...oh and shower!!! :D
Happy Tuesday Ya'll!!!
I have not showered in a couple of days...I think since maybe Friday - I should maybe get on that...
Its 10:30 a.m. I've pretty much been awake since 5:30 a.m. yet I have not eaten breakfast yet...and instead I sit here writing another blog entry, while the little nugget takes a nap :) (aren't you lucky)
I did however manage to give Maddie a bath and dress her in the cutest little spring outfit, get the husbandio ready for court by looking for an unfindable tie for about 25 minutes, did the dishes, started a load of laundry and started "nesting" again by cleaning out closets and bags of stuff <<<< I don't think this has stopped since 6 months into the pregnancy! I think I like it though ;)
So generally speaking I've had a pretty productive day by 10:30 a.m...but I should still really eat breakfast...oh and shower!!! :D
Happy Tuesday Ya'll!!!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Its a Boogie Woogie Monday
This post is all thanks to my commute to work this morning...
My drive is roughly 30 minutes from doorstep to doorstep and the last 5 minutes could not have been enjoyed more due to the late Mr. Michael Jackson. I'm pretty sure I was not born when this song debuted on the top hit charts, but damn do I love me some disco!
Don't stop til you get enough!!! I can't stop til I get enough and I'll never get enough, I'm dancing as we speak people....can't stop moving.....Mmm yeah!
It's Monday ya'll!!! Roll up those sleeves put a little pep in your step and start the week off right!!! With a little disco dance session....'cause you totally know I am ;) Mmmhmm
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Nipple Confusion?!?!?!
Nipple Confusion?!?!? I Don't Think So....
If anyone was going to get nipple confusion it was most definitely my little Maddiekins. Due to some adverse anatomical issues (which I may decide to delve into more detail about in a future post) I had one of the most difficult times breastfeeding. I know, I know all mothers have a hard time the first couple of weeks, but let me just give you a glimpse into my world. She is currently 7 weeks old and every single time she latches it's painful, I've just gotten really use to it.
When I was still in the hospital I had a lactation consultant (LC) come and give us a little assistance in terms of breastfeeding. I was truly in a state of self hatred the first couple of days after delivery. Baby Maddie latched onto the breast immediately after delivery with the assistance of a nipple shield. I continued to attempt to nurse using the shield the entire night. My nipples began to bleed and the LC immediately informed me that I should cease the use of the shield due to nipple confusion among other reasons. I attempted to bring her to the bare breast. She latched like a champ, but I was in such excruciating pain that I would bite down on my lower lip and curl my toes just to get through the 5 minute ritual. The LC told me it should not be that painful and that it obviously had something to do with the anatomy of my nipple so she suggested I do nipple rest which refers to pumping during feedings and supplementing with formula. I was soo deflated. If I had the energy at that moment I would have punched myself square in the face. I had basically gotten myself to a point mentally that if I did not breastfeed my little girl I was not a real mother.
Side Note: For those of you out there who choose to formula feed your babies, do not take that comment the wrong way. There is 100% nothing wrong with formula feeding for Maddie's first 2-3 days of life she was solely surviving on formula. There is a lot of pressure out there from peds, OBs, nurses etc. that make mothers think that formula is no good when in actuality there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is a personal choice and my choice just so happen to be the breast.
Onward...So I was on nipple rest. Do not get me wrong though, even pumping was extremely painful at the lowest level and this also caused my nipples to bleed. I can see why so many mother's have the baby blues. Its a depressing time the first couple of days after delivery. By day 2 my milk had started to form. I was elated! I did not think it was going to come in that early and it just meant the world to me at that point to be able to give 5 ml of my own breast milk to my little tiny girl.
This whole routine of pumping and feeding lasted 2-3 week, I felt like a milk factory, pumping every 2-3 hours just to keep the supply up. I was so exhausted by this ritual that my husband was the one to feed her from the bottle. We were alternating with seriously 4 different brands of nipples/bottles; Dr. Browns, Tommee Tippee, Medela, generic nipples from the hospital. On top of that she was taking the Soothie pacifiers too! I was soo fearful that when I started to breastfeed her she would have nipple confusion. But again she latched on like a champ to anything she could get into those chompers of her. She is soo friggin' cute! :P
So to those of you out there who for whatever reason, be it doctors, family members, other mothers, are hearing about this nipple confusion theory...do not believe them at all. Every baby is different and will have their issues or lack there of, in regards to nursing - but do not get discouraged in the slightest. If I, of all people, can do it... you can too!
Baby Maddie is now fed directly from the source 4 days and 7 nights out of the week. The 3 full days that I am away from her she eats like a champ from the bottle, all different kinds. She also loves her NuNus, all varieties!! Nipple confusion, in my opinion, is a big crock o' sh*t! :)
Cheers! <3
OMG Mashed Potatoes
So to go along with the whole LAZY CHICKEN DINNER post I wrote a couple days ago... I found:
The most DELICIOUS mashed potatoes I have ever tasted in my entire life.
I am somewhat of a connoisseur of foods thanks to my foodie sister and ethic mother ;)
So when I say these are the most delicious mashed potatoes I have ever eaten in my entire life, I sincerely from the bottom of myheart stomach, mean that. I have had homemade mashed potatoes, box mashed potatoes, diner mashed potatoes, 4 star restaurant mashed potatoes. Pretty much you can call me the Queen on the topic of the taste in regards to mash potatoes. :)
I have never in my life ever experienced such a flavor in mashed potatoes before and I don't know if I've been missing something when it comes to making them all these years, but golly if you have not tried this before please please please do...and tell me what you think.
Back to the LAZY CHICKEN DINNER reference...whilst making this recipe the other day in the slow cooker I decided instead of microwaving the potatoes I would throw them in the slowcooker with the chicken and the soup (first time was beefy onion and the second time was chicken noodle). After a couple of hours of slow cooking where the chicken wasfork finger(fall apart) tender the potatoes were super ready to be smashed up. Per my usual recipe I take all the potatoes out and put them in a large bowl, add a 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4-1/2 cup of half and half or cream, whatever I have in the fridge. Obviously you have to add quite a bit of salt and course ground pepper. Being post pregnancy I have been avoiding such decadent foods and normally would just package this up in my handy dandy ziploc plastic containers for the hub's dinners, but instead I decided to give these suckers a little sneaky sneak taste. They were soooo tempting! AND.....OH.....MY.....GOD.....the FLAVOR from the soup?!?!?! Are you KIDDING ME?!?! My knees buckled from beneath me, I was in mashed potato HEAVEN!!! I looked over my shoulder (even though it was just me and Maddie home) just in case someone was watching me sneak another large spoonful of this delicious delicious mash! Oh goodness gracious you have to try this if you haven't already. AMAZING!!!I kinda wanna go to the fridge this very second to sneak another bite...YUM
The most DELICIOUS mashed potatoes I have ever tasted in my entire life.
I am somewhat of a connoisseur of foods thanks to my foodie sister and ethic mother ;)
So when I say these are the most delicious mashed potatoes I have ever eaten in my entire life, I sincerely from the bottom of my
I have never in my life ever experienced such a flavor in mashed potatoes before and I don't know if I've been missing something when it comes to making them all these years, but golly if you have not tried this before please please please do...and tell me what you think.
Back to the LAZY CHICKEN DINNER reference...whilst making this recipe the other day in the slow cooker I decided instead of microwaving the potatoes I would throw them in the slowcooker with the chicken and the soup (first time was beefy onion and the second time was chicken noodle). After a couple of hours of slow cooking where the chicken was
Saturday, May 14, 2011
I wanna be a billionaire so frickin' bad...
Seriously though, doesn't everyone???
I need to come up with a million dollar idea, stat! So my husband and I don't have to work anymore and we can spend all our time with our adorable little family!
On our drive back from work yesterday, my brother in law and I were talking about this as we usually do. Attempting to think up crazy million dollar ideas and then he goes isn't that lady from the housewives just the luckiest person on earth.
Bethenney Frankel from Real Housewives of New York and then consequently Bethenney Getting Married and Bethenney Ever After concocted this brilliant idea of starting a predominantly female marketed cocktail brand called SkinnyGirl Margaritas etc. The company then expanded so quickly and so amazingly well that she was able to sell it to this huge spirits company for something like $120 million. I mean I remember her on the first season of Real Housewives peddling her products at the local supermarket living with her friend and not knowing what the hell was happening next in her life. She owes a debt of gratitude to BravoTV because they are really the ones who marketed her product in my opinion. Had I not watched Real Housewives I would never have heard of SkinnyGirl. The first time it ever even came up was when it was branded at Jill's auction I think during the 2nd season. She is damn lucky..that's all I gotta say. Although I'm sure she works hard, I don't follow her that closely and honestly don't watch the shows - but I gotta come up with something like that, seriously!
Side Note:
I hear the Real Housewives series is coming to Scottsdale. I was secretly hoping my sister would be scouted out as one of the "talents" but that's wishful thinking. And I'm pretty sure she wouldn't accept the offer anyway. From what I hear all the Real Housewives out here are going to be Sun's wives (Phoenix Suns the basketball team). Its going to be a complete flop if you ask me. You gotta get real people with rich husbands, not like athletes' wives they always end up leaving the show(i.e.; Atlanta) or like Miami being a complete waste of television time slots.
Had my secret dream come true and my sister selected as a Real Housewife of Scottsdale, then I would have had to force myself in front of the camera as the funny, off beat sister that hangs around too much but you kinda love her and wanna see what happens in her life too and then I would get my own television show called something like "Kirsten's Catastrophe" preemptively placing me in a position where I can just like market my own feces and people would be like oh shit, yes! That would be (singing vivaciously) AWESOME! wishful thinking yet again...
Back to the drawing board
I need to come up with a million dollar idea, stat! So my husband and I don't have to work anymore and we can spend all our time with our adorable little family!
On our drive back from work yesterday, my brother in law and I were talking about this as we usually do. Attempting to think up crazy million dollar ideas and then he goes isn't that lady from the housewives just the luckiest person on earth.
Bethenney Frankel from Real Housewives of New York and then consequently Bethenney Getting Married and Bethenney Ever After concocted this brilliant idea of starting a predominantly female marketed cocktail brand called SkinnyGirl Margaritas etc. The company then expanded so quickly and so amazingly well that she was able to sell it to this huge spirits company for something like $120 million. I mean I remember her on the first season of Real Housewives peddling her products at the local supermarket living with her friend and not knowing what the hell was happening next in her life. She owes a debt of gratitude to BravoTV because they are really the ones who marketed her product in my opinion. Had I not watched Real Housewives I would never have heard of SkinnyGirl. The first time it ever even came up was when it was branded at Jill's auction I think during the 2nd season. She is damn lucky..that's all I gotta say. Although I'm sure she works hard, I don't follow her that closely and honestly don't watch the shows - but I gotta come up with something like that, seriously!
Side Note:
I hear the Real Housewives series is coming to Scottsdale. I was secretly hoping my sister would be scouted out as one of the "talents" but that's wishful thinking. And I'm pretty sure she wouldn't accept the offer anyway. From what I hear all the Real Housewives out here are going to be Sun's wives (Phoenix Suns the basketball team). Its going to be a complete flop if you ask me. You gotta get real people with rich husbands, not like athletes' wives they always end up leaving the show(i.e.; Atlanta) or like Miami being a complete waste of television time slots.
Had my secret dream come true and my sister selected as a Real Housewife of Scottsdale, then I would have had to force myself in front of the camera as the funny, off beat sister that hangs around too much but you kinda love her and wanna see what happens in her life too and then I would get my own television show called something like "Kirsten's Catastrophe" preemptively placing me in a position where I can just like market my own feces and people would be like oh shit, yes! That would be (singing vivaciously) AWESOME! wishful thinking yet again...
Back to the drawing board
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Confessions of a Co-Sleeper
Eek....I'm fessing up people!! (or lack there of)
Prior to little Maddie-boo being born, I thought to myself
"I will never co-sleep with my child, that is soooo dangerous"
And to be quite honest, I do agree. It is dangerous and it's definitely not for everyone.
During Maddie's first couple of weeks of life I had her sleeping on a large square coffee table (that we so not conveniently moved into our bedroom) inside her "nap nanny" (really great invention by the way - they should totally make these in adult sizes) which she absolutely loved. We set her in that thing and BAM she was out like a fat kid in dodgeball. The one thing that was okay about this situation is that I was pumping and bottle feeding at the time so physically getting up out of bed wasn't necessarily a "chore" since I had to get up and do my whole routine anyway. But as my nipples toughened (TMI sorry!) and breast feeding became significantly easier I slowly integrated her into our king size bed.
So that brings me to our sleeping patterns now....the hubs is only sleeping with us 3 out of 7 nights a week as his work shift is 8pm to 6am. So honestly sharing a King size bed with a baby and one adult is not that bad, right?!?! Either way she has one entire side to herself and I have the other. When she wakes up (which is anywhere between every 3-5 hours) I just pull her snug to my chest and she eats then falls back asleep and I plop her back on her side of the bed. To be quite honest with the whole internet world out there...I love it! I feel so close to her and I feel like she can really depend on me and my husband as parents. The bonding is incredible and I don't know if I ever want her to sleep by herself. (over protective first time mother?! Yup, that's me and I'm proud of it!)
The hard situation is when my husband is home and we are all sharing a bed together. He builds this kind of "wall o' pillows" to barricade himself off from us, to each their own, and he feels safe this way. Her and I share a little over 1/2 the bed. I sleep a little less soundly, but that's okay. As long as she is comfortable, snug and warm next to me - I don't mind.
Bottom line is this people...
My daughter is my world. Everything I do from work to sleep to all the little things in between is for her! I would never intentionally put her in harms way and I weigh the pros and cons of every situation. I feel like emotionally the co-sleeping is great opportunity to bond with my little baby girl and having that physical separation from her at this age would be devastating (more for me than her). So my mind has changed. I'm a pro-co-sleeper now.
I'M A CO-SLEEPER!!! :\
Prior to little Maddie-boo being born, I thought to myself
"I will never co-sleep with my child, that is soooo dangerous"
And to be quite honest, I do agree. It is dangerous and it's definitely not for everyone.
During Maddie's first couple of weeks of life I had her sleeping on a large square coffee table (that we so not conveniently moved into our bedroom) inside her "nap nanny" (really great invention by the way - they should totally make these in adult sizes) which she absolutely loved. We set her in that thing and BAM she was out like a fat kid in dodgeball. The one thing that was okay about this situation is that I was pumping and bottle feeding at the time so physically getting up out of bed wasn't necessarily a "chore" since I had to get up and do my whole routine anyway. But as my nipples toughened (TMI sorry!) and breast feeding became significantly easier I slowly integrated her into our king size bed.
So that brings me to our sleeping patterns now....the hubs is only sleeping with us 3 out of 7 nights a week as his work shift is 8pm to 6am. So honestly sharing a King size bed with a baby and one adult is not that bad, right?!?! Either way she has one entire side to herself and I have the other. When she wakes up (which is anywhere between every 3-5 hours) I just pull her snug to my chest and she eats then falls back asleep and I plop her back on her side of the bed. To be quite honest with the whole internet world out there...I love it! I feel so close to her and I feel like she can really depend on me and my husband as parents. The bonding is incredible and I don't know if I ever want her to sleep by herself. (over protective first time mother?! Yup, that's me and I'm proud of it!)
The hard situation is when my husband is home and we are all sharing a bed together. He builds this kind of "wall o' pillows" to barricade himself off from us, to each their own, and he feels safe this way. Her and I share a little over 1/2 the bed. I sleep a little less soundly, but that's okay. As long as she is comfortable, snug and warm next to me - I don't mind.
Bottom line is this people...
My daughter is my world. Everything I do from work to sleep to all the little things in between is for her! I would never intentionally put her in harms way and I weigh the pros and cons of every situation. I feel like emotionally the co-sleeping is great opportunity to bond with my little baby girl and having that physical separation from her at this age would be devastating (more for me than her). So my mind has changed. I'm a pro-co-sleeper now.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Man Hands & Sausage Fingers
Unfortunately for my Maddie-Boo she has inherited
2 awkward physical traits from both me and her father :\
2 awkward physical traits from both me and her father :\
1. My man hands.
Granted they have assisted me in my long swimming career, but now that I am retired and just a normal every day Mom/Wife/Woman, the man hands are not so "helpful" anymore, except to awkwardly and very manly open tight bottles and cans! (not a good thing)
2. My husband's sausage fingers
And for him, not such a horrible thing. He's a guy so he's supposed to have manly big hands and its actually pretty good for him at work too cause his tough, albeit fat, hands can take a lickin' that's for sure. Broken fingers, deep gashes, tough fist fights, you name it, they've handled it!
But for a lady/woman/girl/baby girl I dunno....
You decide
Lazy Chicken Dinner
So I've become incredibly lazy about cooking dinner lately. But I also recently noticed that our credit card bills (although paid completely off monthly) has sky rocketed. So the two combined =
LAZY CHICKEN DINNER!!! :)
Ingredients:
1 lazy ass chef (check)
Ingredients:
1 lazy ass chef (check)
2+ frozen chicken breasts
1 can condensed soup of your choice
1 can condensed soup of your choice
deep pot or slow cooper
numerous potatoes
and vegetable of your choice
Instructions:
1. In deep pot or slow cooker
follow condensed soup instructions
Instructions:
1. In deep pot or slow cooker
follow condensed soup instructions
2. Once boiling add frozen chicken
and reduce the med/low heat
(will take 15 minutes to cook thoroughly and much
and reduce the med/low heat
(will take 15 minutes to cook thoroughly and much
longer if you want it super fall into pieces yummy)
3. Stab potatoes with fork
and place in microwave for 5 minutes
4. Steam your veggie variety of choice
3. Stab potatoes with fork
and place in microwave for 5 minutes
4. Steam your veggie variety of choice
either using your microwave or boiling on stove
5. Place chicken, potato and veg on
plate and serve to hungry husband!
Yes I'm lazy, but it's also called bein' a workin' mom yo!
Friday, May 6, 2011
Workin' Mama thanks her Mom
This week has been harder than most weeks.
I normally work Monday, Wednesday & Friday from the office and Tuesday and Thursday from home if I'm not completely caught up. Mon & Wed our hours are 9-4 so we are normally out of here by around 5 or 5:30 and home by the latest 6. Sometimes way earlier. Fridays are our long days when we have office hours from 9-7 and normally don't get home til around 9.
However, this week its been a little different. Our hours were extended til 5 on Monday and we actually didn't leave til close to 7. Wednesday was the same and today we are scheduled til 7 which means again we probably won't get home til 9. On top of that we work tomorrow 9-3 which probably puts me getting home at least to 5. At least I had Tuesday and Thursday home with my little schmookadoo (Maddie).
Everyday I go to work I drop my little baby Maddie off at my Gramma's house. My mom is staying with her the next 6 months since my Aunt (my Gramma's caregiver) left for China. This is actually really ideal for me because my Gramma's house is only about 5 minutes from mine and in the direction of work. I am super grateful for my mom, she really does take great care of my daughter and she's always willing to help out even if she has something else going on. For instance tomorrow she has her Pond Society Tour and her house is open for people to come and see her pond and even though she lives 30 minutes north of me (and not in the direction of work) I'm going to be dropping Maddie off with her and she's going to watch her on top of having her Pond Society stuff going on. Talk about having an amazing mom on Mother's Day weekend of all times!! :D
But besides being extremely accomodating the real reason I am so grateful for my mom is because she watches Maddie making it so we don't have to send her to day care or have a stranger/nanny come in and take care of her at the house. Honestly I would completely lose it if I had to leave my daughter we a stranger. I know that person doesn't care as much as family cares and you never know what the hell is going on when you are gone. I know my mom loves Maddies as much as I do and will tend to her every need.
So on that note....thanks Mom for being totally awesome at your job. And a Happy Mother's Day to all you Mamas out there! ;)
I normally work Monday, Wednesday & Friday from the office and Tuesday and Thursday from home if I'm not completely caught up. Mon & Wed our hours are 9-4 so we are normally out of here by around 5 or 5:30 and home by the latest 6. Sometimes way earlier. Fridays are our long days when we have office hours from 9-7 and normally don't get home til around 9.
However, this week its been a little different. Our hours were extended til 5 on Monday and we actually didn't leave til close to 7. Wednesday was the same and today we are scheduled til 7 which means again we probably won't get home til 9. On top of that we work tomorrow 9-3 which probably puts me getting home at least to 5. At least I had Tuesday and Thursday home with my little schmookadoo (Maddie).
Everyday I go to work I drop my little baby Maddie off at my Gramma's house. My mom is staying with her the next 6 months since my Aunt (my Gramma's caregiver) left for China. This is actually really ideal for me because my Gramma's house is only about 5 minutes from mine and in the direction of work. I am super grateful for my mom, she really does take great care of my daughter and she's always willing to help out even if she has something else going on. For instance tomorrow she has her Pond Society Tour and her house is open for people to come and see her pond and even though she lives 30 minutes north of me (and not in the direction of work) I'm going to be dropping Maddie off with her and she's going to watch her on top of having her Pond Society stuff going on. Talk about having an amazing mom on Mother's Day weekend of all times!! :D
But besides being extremely accomodating the real reason I am so grateful for my mom is because she watches Maddie making it so we don't have to send her to day care or have a stranger/nanny come in and take care of her at the house. Honestly I would completely lose it if I had to leave my daughter we a stranger. I know that person doesn't care as much as family cares and you never know what the hell is going on when you are gone. I know my mom loves Maddies as much as I do and will tend to her every need.
So on that note....thanks Mom for being totally awesome at your job. And a Happy Mother's Day to all you Mamas out there! ;)
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