Friday Recipe - Salsa Chicken with Rice

This is a dish that is quick to prepare and uses very few ingredients! Love these kinds of dishes for busy week nights.

Salsa Chicken
INGREDIENTS:
4-6 chicken breasts
1 c salsa
shredded colby-jack cheese (the Mexican blend cheese tastes good on this dish too)
tortillas, warmed
white rice, cooked

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Lay chicken breasts in dish. Cover with salsa. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until juices run clear.

Spread cheese over top of chicken and salsa. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes or so, until cheese is melted.

To serve: Place a scoop of rice on plate. Top with a chicken breasts, be sure to collect some of the salsa and juices from pan also. Serve with a warm tortilla on the side.

When your husband says "Don't plan anything for my 50th birthday"...

I think you should NOT listen to him. Just sayin'.

For a couple months my husband all but threatened my life if I planned ANYTHING for his 50th birthday coming up on March 1. Then his mom told me she was going to plan a party anyway. I decided I should warn my husband and he said "Well, you tell her I won't be there." So I took the hints that he really didn't want something.

Now, as we are just a few days away from his birthday, I am getting vibes from him that he really didn't mean all that.

I am so confused and so upset.

Bottom line: There is no big party planned. There are no big surprises involved. There are, however, a few nice little things planned for him to enjoy his weekend - but now he won't cooperate and is sending me signals that maybe he did really want a big "to-do" after all.

Where's that bleach bottle?

Yesterday morning I started not feeling well. My head hurt. Then my stomach. After we ran some errands I ended up in bed for the rest of the day sleeping and hanging over toilet waiting for the inevitable.

Mr. Man fixed lunch and cleaned that up. Then he kept the kids entertained so I could sleep. Then he made dinner. Cleaned that up and then went to the grocery store for me.

I am so lucky he didn't have to work this weekend and was there to take care of me!

I still don't feel 100% today... getting there, but still not great.

Meal Plan for Feb 20 - 26

We ended up with several unexpected invitations to dinner last week so there are 3 meals on this week that are carried over from last week. I already bought the stuff to make these dishes so I just added them to this week's meal plan.

SATURDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - tuna noodle casserole / peas
Dinner - Baked Ziti / salad / garlic rolls

SUNDAY:
Breakfast - cinnamon toast
Lunch - Left overs
Dinner - Ribs / crash hot potatoes / corn / bread

MONDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Meat roll ups / crackers / fruit / jello
Dinner - Beef Stroganoff / Rice / Salad

TUESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Spaghetti O's / Fruit / Cheese stick
Dinner - B.F.D. (Breakfast For Dinner) - Eggs / bacon / hashbrowns / toast

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Burrito / Fruit / Carrot sticks / Cookie
Dinner - Mexican Chicken with rice

THURSDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Meat roll ups / Crackers / cheese stick / fruit
Dinner - Chicken / Cheesy broccoli / applesauce

FRIDAY:
Breakfast - Toast / eggs / applesauce
Lunch - Pizza / Salad / Fruit
Dinner - Mozzerella chicken / Garlic pasta / Crusty bread / salad

Friday Recipe - Mexican Dip

This is one of my favorites. I like this with a brunch meal, but it is good any ol' time. I got this recipe from a party I went to with my sister and her husband, it came from my brother-in-law's aunt. Sweet lady who knows how to throw a party! This dip is so, so, so, good!

Mexican Dip
INGREDIENTS:
2 (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1 large avacado, cubed
1 (12 oz) jar of salsa
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c sliced black olives
1/2 c sliced green onions

Sprinkle cubed cream cheese in a 10" round dish. Layer remaining ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve warm with tortilla chips and/or veggie sticks.

For printable version of this recipe click here

How early do you let your kids outside?

I have a question for you all:

How early do you let your kids go outside to play?

When I was growing up my mom said we couldn't call people (and by calling I mean by telephone and/or ringing someone's doorbell) or go outside to play before 9:00 am. During the summer time I think we were allowed to go outside at 8:00 am but still couldn't call people before 9:00 am.

I have mentioned our neighbor kid before who gives me trouble sometimes. He likes to conveniently leave right at clean up time, he gets into my things without asking, he destroyed Mr. Man's wagon, he has rearranged furniture in my house to his liking... So anyway, this kid rang my doorbell at 7:40 am this past Saturday. We had all stayed up a little late watching a movie as a family Friday night so we were all still asleep. I stumbled down to the door and told him we were all sleeping and that when the kids got up and were ready to go out I would send them outside. He said ok and then I watched him as he ran across the street to another kid's house.

I went back to bed and no sooner did I get settled then Spirit came in and asked who rang the doorbell. When I told him even he, at 9 years old, said "It is ONLY 7:40 in the morning!" We laid there for awhile and a little after 8:00 Lady Bug joined us. Then at 8:25 the doorbell rang again. Yes I was furious. Yes I flew down the stairs like a mad woman. Yes I opened the door and said (I didn't yell, but I was firm) that it was WAY too early to be ringing my doorbell and that we still weren't up and that I would send the kids out when they got up and had breakfast.

So after we all got up and were dressed and fed I let the boys go outside (Lady Bug had no interest).

I would NEVER let my kids go ring someone's doorbell that early, especially on a Saturday but probably not any day of the week (unless of course they were expecting us). Am I over reacting? How early is too early to let your kids go out and start ringing doorbells.

I will also add in here that I know we are more "family-oriented" than some of our neighbors. The neighbor kids have told me that we take too long to eat meals, they have also commented that they don't even sit down as a family and each person just eats when they want to. We treasure our Saturday mornings together. Sometimes all 5 of us will lay in my bed and watch TV or just talk. I don't want to over react to this poor kid if I am all wrong here.

So, tell me your thoughts on this.

Cleaning house

A friend of mine said one time "Cleaning house while the kids still live with you is like shoveling snow while it's still snowing!" So true, so true. But we can't just NOT clean the house. That would be gross.

I spent 6 hours scrubbing my house yesterday while Mr. Man was at work. The kids helped a little and cooperated very nicely. I did my kitchen last, on my hands and knees scrubbing my old tile floor. Boy it was sparkling and I felt good. Tired, but good!

I had just headed upstairs to lay down on my bed and relax for a minute when Lady Bug came in from outside. She said "Mom, I fell in the mud and got my hands dirty."

I got up to help her wash hands.... as I look down the hallway that she trudged through I noticed mud on the carpet in a little trail from where she had come in the back door and all the way through the kitchen and up the stairs.

I said nothing, but grabbed her and took her to the bathroom where I took off her boots. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said "I'm so sorry momma." I said it is ok, but there is mud on your boots that got on the floor." As I was cleaning her hands up she said "I'll clean it up momma."

We headed downstairs together and cleaned it up TOGETHER. My floor was no longer sparkly in the kitchen, but I didn't care. She had fun outside and then she and I giggled together while we wiped up the mess and vacuumed the floors.

Meal Plan for Feb 13 - 19

Our meal plan for this week looks like this:

SATURDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - Burritos / fruit
Dinner - Ribs / cheddar biscuits/ garlic fries / baked beans

SUNDAY:
Breakfast - heart shaped pancakes / bacon
Lunch - Left overs
Dinner - Chicken / Applesauce / crash hot potatoes / broccoli & cauliflower

MONDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - PB&J / chips / fruit
Dinner - Creamy Chicken Pasta / rolls

TUESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - left overs
Dinner - Hawaiian meatballs / steamed rice

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - ham sandwiches / chips / fruit
Dinner - Mexican pizzas

THURSDAY:
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - ham sandwiches / chips / fruit
Dinner - Spaghetti / corn / garlic toast

FRIDAY:
Breakfast - pancakes / sausage links
Lunch - left overs
Dinner - oven fried chicken / salad / rolls

Friday Recipe - Hello Dollies

I have no idea where that name comes from, but these are a very yummy and very easy cookie bar. My good friend (whom I have known for 30 plus years!!) makes these and she got the recipe from her mom.

Hello Dollies

Put in 9x13 pan in this order:
1 stick of butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs, mix with butter and pat onto the bottom of the pan

Then sprinkle these over the crust:
1 small package (6 oz) chocolate chips
1 small pkg (6 oz) butterscotch chips
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts (I use chopped pecans)

Then drizzle over everything:
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Bake 20 minutes @ 350

Viola! Easy peasy!!

Just like her grandmother

When I was growing up my mom was a firm believer that every room needed a trashcan. And indeed every room in our house had a trashcan. The living room, the family room, the playroom, the basement, the laundry room, every bedroom and every bathroom. Every.single.room had a trashcan. The poor sibling who got assigned to empty trashes for the week... it took a whole day to get that job done!

Anyway, Lady Bug had mentioned at Christmas time that she wanted her own trashcan. When we moved into this house 2 years ago I took the trashcan that was in her room and put it in the bathroom upstairs. Which meant every room, but hers, had it's own trashcan and she was starting to feel a little slighted!

As it got closer to her birthday she mentioned it again. I plum forgot about it.

Her birthday came and went and she mentioned it to her dad that she was the only one that didn't have her own trashcan. He wasn't sure what to say and wasn't sure of the importance of it all.

Lady Bug is just like my mom and feels that every room needs a trashcan!

One of Lady Bug's birthday gifts from mom and dad was a desk of her own. It is nothing fancy, but it is a little art desk and she loves it! The other day I walked in and she had been snipping paper with her scissors and there was paper scraps ALL.OVER.THE.FLOOR.

Me: "Oh, Lady Bug. We have a little problem here. Look at the mess you've made."

Lady Bug: "You're the one who didn't get me a trashcan for my birthday."

TRANSLATION: WE don't have a problem. You do mom, because you are the one who slacked off and didn't buy me a trashcan for in here. Not MY problem at all.

So guess what we are going shopping for this weekend? Yep, a new trashcan for Lady Bug's room.

NOTE TO MY MOM: Are you happy? You have a granddaughter after your own heart, don't ya?

First-aid kit for the sickies

So with all illness that took over my house the last couple of weeks, we have started this "First Aid Kit for Sickies" This has come in handy in the middle of night or early morning cries "Mom, I don't feel good."

I am not sure about you, but sometimes (often times) when sickness starts to take over the house, Tylenol can end up not getting put back in the medicine cabinet. It might end up on the kitchen counter where it was given out last, or moved to a different bathroom. Sometimes the thermometer can end up in the weirdest places too. This has happened to us so many times. When the sickness took over last time it went like this --first Spirit got sick, then Lefty, pretty soon Lady Bug had it and then Mr. Man got something all together different than any of them!

I have now created the "First Aid Kit for Sickies"!!!

Picture this of a scenario BEFORE the carry-all creation:
Kid wakes up in the middle of the night. I get up with child. Need the thermometer and Tylenol but can't find it. Remember that we have had to use it in the last day or so for another sick child, but now no one remembers where it ended up. So I am looking upstairs while Mr. Man heads downstairs to look. We finally find the thermometer, but still can't find the Tylenol. After about 20 minutes we find the Tylenol. Now that Mr. Man and I have everyone settled back down in bed, we are wide awake from all the commotion of looking for things. An hour or so later, we are able to drift back off to sleep, only to be awoken again and start that chaos over again.

Now picture this AFTER the carry-all creation:
Kid wakes up in the middle of the night. I get up with child and head directly to medicine cabinet to grab "First Aid Kit for Sickies". Easily find thermometer and take kid's temperature. Yep, need to administer Tylenol so grab handy-dandy chart printed in big lettering and easily determine dosage amount. Get child settled back down into bed. Quietly get back into bed and easily fall back to sleep. Catch a few "zzzzzz's" before the next round of cries.

Instead of it being a 1/2 hour (or more) deal, it is roughly 10 minutes or so. Can you scream Time-Saver! Ya, baby!

You can see it is just a simple plastic container with a handle. As of right now, here is what is in my little carry-all kit: thermometer, several medicine dispensing spoons, Tylenol, a cold & cough medicine, some cough drops, a dosage chart I got from my doctor that I enlarged so the print is easier to read in the middle of the night, a small roll of toilet paper (for clean ups or nose blowing), a rag (for cleaning up a possible spill or possibly needing to give someone a cold rag for their head) and I recently added our pediatrician's phone number (typed up and taped to an index card in big lettering so it is easy to see at night!), a small flashlight (needed to see in the dark!), and also some hand sanitizer (for me!).


This carry-all is so easy to grab for those middle of the night cries. It is so easy to tote around, but yet contains everything I might need with a sick kid. When Spirit got sick a couple weeks ago we ended up just keeping the carry-all on his desk because we ended up in there so often during the night checking on his breathing and such. Then when the sickness subsided I stored it back in the medicine closet. I still have other medicines in the closet, but this carry-all contains things I might need with those middle of the night cries.

**FOR A DOSAGE CHART CLICK HERE**

This is what Works For Me - go here to get more tips and tricks and ideas!

My little Lady Bug

Lady Bug turned 5 yesterday (isn't that a cute shirt? I had my friend make it for me and I just love it! Lady Bug loved it too, she wore it yesterday and again today!) I can't believe my little girl is F.I.V.E. She was so excited to be turning 5. She has been excited since about Thanksgiving! At one point she was asking me how long it was until her birthday, I told her it would be a few months. She asked how long was a few months, I made the mistake of saying "Your birthday is after Christmas." so on Christmas she started telling everyone it was her birthday now. Well, not quite.

So after more weeks of waiting somewhat impatiently she finally turned 5 and had a birthday party! She got lots of fun stuff-- movie, books, clothes, shoes, a Barbie laptop, a desk for her room and money!

We had a "family" birthday party for her this weekend with just our family and then in 2 weeks we are doing a "friend" party with some kids from preschool.

The neighbor kids got together with Spirit and Lefty and made her a birthday poster.... it was very cute.

Meal Plan for Feb 6 - 12

Tomorrow Lady Bug turns 5. FIVE!! Yikes. Scary. This fall she will be starting kindergarten...doesn't seem possible that my baby is growing up! Some of the menu selections this week are Lady Bug's requests.

SATURDAY:
Breakfast - French Toast / bacon
Lunch - Mac-n-cheese / peas
Dinner - Zesty Crock Pot Chicken / Corn / Applesauce

SUNDAY:
Breakfast - Pink pancakes / fruit
Lunch - Eat out for Lady Bug's birthday
Dinner - Spaghetti with homemade sauce / Salad / Garlic bread

MONDAY:
Breakfast - Cereal / toast / juice
Lunch - meat roll ups /crackers / fruit
Dinner - Hawaiian meatballs with steamed rice

TUESDAY:
Breakfast - Cereal / toast / juice
Lunch - Left overs
Dinner - Mexican Pizzas

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast - Cereal / toast / juice
Lunch - meat roll ups / fruit / chips
Dinner - Breakfast For Dinner (pancakes, bacon, eggs)

THURSDAY:
Breakfast - Cinnamon toast
Lunch - Ham sandwiches / chips / fruit
Dinner - Beef Stroganoff with rice / candied carrots

FRIDAY:
Breakfast - Cereal / toast / juice
Lunch - meat roll ups / cheese sticks / fruit
Dinner - FFY (fend for yourself and get those left overs cleaned up!)

Friday Recipe - Cheesecake Dip

I love cheesecake but can not bake one to save my life. So this is how I can easily get a cheesecake fix. Is it the same as Cheesecake Factory - well, no, but this will do in a pinch!

Cheesecake Dip
INGREDIENTS:
3 oz cream cheese
2 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls milk
2 c thawed Cool Whip
1 tsp vanilla

Beat cheese, sugar and milk until well blended. Fold in Cool Whip and vanilla. Refrigerate. Serve with graham crackers, apples or strawberries.

For Chocolate Cheesecake Dip:
1 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
1/2 bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/2 bag of chopped heath bar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Mix together. Serve with graham cracker sticks

There's a reason he is called Spirit

Our sweet 9 year old boy, whom I refer to as Spirit on this blog, got his name from having such a sweet spirit.

A couple of days ago, he was intensely watching me make coffee and asking detailed questions about how I make it. From pouring the water in the coffee maker down to how much sugar and cream I usually put in my cup.

Last night as he was getting ready for bed, he said "Tomorrow if you get up before me can you NOT make your coffee until I get up?" So I agreed.

This morning I had just gotten out of the shower and could hear some rukus in the kitchen...guess who was MAKING my coffee for me? Yep, my Spirit.

As I started down the stairs Mr. Man stopped me and said "he really wants to make your coffee so it is all ready for you when you come down. So just go back up and finish getting ready."

When I came down it was brewed and he was pouring it into a cup for me!

He did a good job too! I was pretty proud of him and he was quite proud of himself as well.

Here's the deal...

If you stopped by here in the last day or so you may have noticed I made my blog "private".....then back to "public" again today.

I had some issues with a family member who didn't like something I put on here way back in October but chose yesterday to chew me out for it. I took a little time to reflect about what she said to me and have decided this is my blog. It always has been MY blog. I started it as a way for family who don't live close by to read up on whats what in our life and see the kids grow up and experience all the cute and funny things they say and do. I never post anything that isn't my business to post, unless the person gives me specific consent to do so. I post a lot about our family and some about extended family although mostly this blog is about things that happen around my house with my family.

I never mean to offend, but I suppose it is bound to happen from time to time. I welcome anyone to tell me that I have offended and I will decide whether or not to remove the posting. Once in awhile I have received a negative or nasty comment that I chose to delete. It is MY blog and I can do that.

So there. I love all my readers and hope that you enjoy reading my stuff.

XOXO

Weekend recap

The anniversary weekend getaway was wonderful!!!

We got up to the condo about 8:00 pm on Thursday night. We decided to get settled in and then go out and see about finding some dinner. Well, being a small mountain town there weren't a lot of places open passed 8:00....so we ate Taco Bell.

We went back to the condo and watched a movie -- Mr. Man picked it out and it was a thriller. Not a bad movie but extremely predicable.

During the movie Mr. Man realizes he doesn't have his phone -- we searched and searched and he decided he needed to check back at Taco Bell. Sure enough it was in the parking lot and had been run over -- crushed and destroyed. :-(

We slept in on Friday but then needed to head to Loveland (the nearest city to where we were) to find a phone store to replace Mr. Man's crushed phone. PLUS, where else should you go on your anniversary but LOVEland?? Perfect! We ate lunch in Loveland and then headed to the phone store. We also bumped into my sister-in-law who lives in Loveland. We visited with her for a few minutes and then we headed back to the mountains. We walked around main street and enjoyed some of the shops. (Guess who forgot to bring a camera...whoops)

Since we ate a late lunch we decided to just pop some popcorn Friday night as our dinner (the things I can get away with when there are no kids around) and watch movies. It was so relaxing.

Saturday we watched a love and marriage DVD until about noon and then we went into the mountains to do some hiking. They have trails that you can snowshoe on, but we decided to just hike the easier ones in our boots. It was a beautiful day and we hiked to some waterfalls that were completely frozen over. It was gorgeous!

Saturday night we went out to eat and then back to the condo to finish watching the love and marriage DVD. We tried to go to bed early because we had to get up early to head back into town Sunday.

Sunday morning we were on the road early. We stopped and ate breakfast then took the scenic route home. We went to church with Mr. Man's parents and afterward we took them to lunch (well we wanted to take them to lunch but they ended up paying.... my mother-in-law can be very sneaky...) After lunch, we surprised them by arranging for some of the family to meet us a park and we did a 60 dove release in honor of their 60th wedding anniversary. It was gorgeous!

Now it is back to reality. Boo hoo.