Dinner!

Its 1:25pm, whose thinking about dinner? No one? Well, I am! I know I'll have 3 hungry kiddos by the time we get home tonight and I better have an idea of what's on the menu. Peytonn always asks me on the way home what we are having for dinner. I was reading my blog roll today and came across this Chili Cheese Beef N Mac and I thought the kids would really enjoy it. Plus, it looked quick and easy.

Source: budgetbytes.blogspot.com via Budget on Pinterest

Now, I'm not a huge fan of Hamburger Helper for two reasons: 1.) the nutritional value (or lack thereof!) and 2.) I just dont really like the taste. Now, I do have a box of Hamburger Helper in my pantry, but I'm pretty sure it is expired and been there for years. I think I  cut the Box Top off of it and never saw the thing again! But this has all things that my children love and it will be easier to control the ingredients in it. For example, low sodium beef broth, organic ingredients, and the ability to sneak in some veggies. Today is our harvest basket day so depending on what veggies we receive, I will pair this with something from our basket. Maybe a salad or some broccoli from our garden.

Plus, it does look pretty good from the picture. I'm sure the kids will eat it. UPDATE!! Made this and it was yummy!! The boys both cleaned their plates and Avonlea ate two toddler sized bowls worth. I quite enjoyed it myself! I made it as written but added some diced green pepper as well. Very quick and easy!

Hairstyle

Chicken is the new hair gel!

Here, there and everywhere!

This past weekend we traveled the 6 hours to Nashville, TN to visit my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and our niece and nephew. It was my nieces 6th birthday! I can't even believe that she is 6 years old!

We had a great time! Emma had her birthday party on Saturday at the community center park. Then we were supposed to swim in their indoor pool. Unfortunately, a kid had diarrhea in the pool during swim lessons, so they had to close the pool. We had several crying children! We decided to go back to the hotel and swim in the pool there. The kids loved it!! We spent several hours swimming.

 Then we got dressed and drove into Nashville to eat dinner and walk around Opry Mills Mall. Which is huge!! They have a Vera Bradley outlet store there and I scored a nice bag.

I love the color, purple is one of my favorites! Its enough space to carry diapers/wipes, extra outfit and the outside pockets are great for cups/snacks. Love it! Not huge at all.

Now, what is going on here? Well, we've decided to put our house up for sale. We've lived in it for about 4 1/2 years. Our plan has always been to move out to the country to raise our children. We have rented a storage unit and are starting to clear out the house and the garage of miscellaneous stuff that we don't need right now.

Yesterday, we went to look at a place in the country. It's about a 45 minute drive from where we live now, but only about 30 minutes to the north end of Indy. Which works out great for us! It has 2.5 acres, a 4 bedroom farm house, an apple orchard, and an above ground pool. Its on a quiet road out in the middle of no where. Sounds absolutely perfect! :) But we need to sell our house first. :( Please say a little prayer and cross your fingers that we sell our house quickly! Ideally, we would like to move before school starts again. Hopefully we can make that happen!

Summer reading

I have always loved to read and waaaay back in the day, I was a huge fan of the Oprah Book Club. I read many of the books that she recommended and I enjoyed them. Fast foward to today, three children and a full time job later, and let's just say that reading time is often lost to sleep, children, or chores.

However, I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I have been trying to put it to good use. I figured this was the excuse I needed to get back in the reading habit. I love getting lost in characters and stories. But I am also notorious for starting several books at once and then grasping on to one and finishing only that one. I'm trying to be better about that.

 

Growing Up Amish was the first book that I read from start to finish. I have always had a fascination with the Amish and this book gave great insight into Ira Wagler's life and the decisions that he made. Living in Indiana for my entire life with Amish communities not far away, it was nice to learn a little bit more about this "secretive" community. There's something inspiring to me about a cultural inside our cultural that has continued all of these years virtually untouched by the outside world. I recommend this book if you are looking for a light read and want some more insight into the Amish world.

I want to preface this with, I'm not huge into all the hyped up movies, books, etc out there. I have never read the Twilight series or the Hunger Games. I saw the first Twilight movie months after it came out and I really wasn't all that impressed. Its just not my cup of tea. I was really hesitant to even buy this book because of all the hype about it. I read the summary and decided to just buy the first book, Fifty Shades of Grey, in the trilogy and go from there. Well, let me just tell you, you might as well go ahead and purchase the trilogy! I started the first book and it was ok. It started to get to the "good" part and I was a little put off by it at first. I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it. I let the book rest for a few days. Then I went back and I just couldn't put it down. I was staying up until midnight (GASP!) almost every night just reading away. I could really take or leave all the "good" parts, but I am really intrigued by the characters, Ana and Christian. I love reading about their relationship, but frankly, its anything but "normal." Or maybe it is, who knows, I'm pretty "vanilla" myself. Ha! 

But I have to say, the first book stops abruptly. It really makes you want to know more, know what happens. I finished the first book and immediately downloaded the second, Fifty Shades Darker, to find out what happens. I just can't put them down!

Even if you're not into all that kinky stuff, I think you will really enjoy these books, the relationships and the story. The story just keeps you guessing and wanting to know more. I have bags under my eyes! Miss I go to bed at 9pm just cant seem to put these down!

Before I started reading Fifty Shades, I also read this book, the Secret Holocaust Diaries. It was also very good! Some of the story is a little gory, but that is to be expected. Although, I have to say, this is more of a memoir about Nonna's life than just about the goriness of the Holocaust. I am someone who loves to learn about history and completely immerse myself in it. After reading this book, I downloaded Auschwitz by Miklos Nyiszli, which is much more gory. It is actually about a concentration camp. But again, I'm notorious for starting several books at once. I started this right before I downloaded Fifty Shades, and well, you see which book took over. But I fully intend to finish Auschwitz as well.

Some other books that I've downloaded, but haven't finished yet are:

--Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila
--Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith by Father Robert Barron
--The Everything Grow Your Own Vegetables Book

....and a few cook books.

All in all, I'm loving my Kindle!

Go now, go get that Fifty Shades of Grey, I promise you won't regret it!!

10 months old

And here we are again, another month under our belts! My baby girl is 10 months old and getting so big!

Here is what Avonlea is up to these days:
--crawling like a mad women! This child is everywhere and has discovered the dog food bowl and the washing machine!
--her first bottom tooth finally broke through on 5/27/12. She's been wearing her amber teething necklace for over a week now and it has made teething sooo much better! We've also used the Hyland's teething tablets if necessary.
--wearing 12-18 or 18 month clothing
--wearing size 4 diapers
--saying "dada", "mama", "hi", and "ball"
--starting to wave "bye bye"
--she is off of pureed foods and solely on table food
--drinking 6oz bottles
--averaging waking 1-2 times per night, which is amazing compared to what is used to be like!
--pulling up on everything and will take steps holding your hands
--hates grass but loves to be outside!

Avonlea is still a joy to have around! I absolutely LOVE the hugs she gives. She will wrap her arms around your neck and just squeeze. Melts my heart!! She is usually happy and smiles so much. We constantly get stopped at the store by strangers. She smiles at them and they just eat her up!

 *This is an 18-24 month outfit!

She loves to eat as well! Most meals, I have to cut her off either because she's ate it all or she just wont stop. We're also working more on using the cup. She does well holding it up, but she is particular about the spout on it. She still will not suck from a straw, she just chews on it.

She also loves bath time!! I'm pretty sure not a single thing in the bathroom is dry by the time she is done, but she has such a blast in the tub! I'm also drenched by the end! :)

I just love my sissy girl!!! I can't imagine life without her! She makes me smile and laugh so much!

Garden, allergies & graduation

You know, cause they go hand in hand. No?

We've had quite the busy week! On Monday, Peytonn graduated from Preschool. Their school had a little ceremony complete with caps and gowns. The kids sang some songs for the parents and then the head priest and the teachers handed out diplomas. It was really cute! I can't believe my first born will be in all day kindergarten in just a few short months!

The on Tuesday, Peytonn and I traveled to Riley Children's Hospital for more allergy testing. Peytonn's last allergy test was when he was 3 years old and he was allergic to grass, pigweed, and oak trees.

This time around, he was allergic to 9 different things. Mostly different kinds of trees and weeds. He is due to have his tonsils out in July and then weekly allergy shots will start in September.

This week, Peytonn also learned how to ride his bike without his training wheels. He is so proud of himself!!!

Our garden is coming along nicely this year, unlike last year when is was severly neglected. Which was mostly due to my laziness pregnancy. This year, all of the flower beds and the vegetable garden are in much better shape! Thanks to Pinterest, I was able to make my own tomato cages this year. They are 100 times better than the cheapo store bought ones.

So far, we've planted tomatos, broccoli, peppers (red, green, yellow), jalapenos, red onions, green onions, and cilantro. I also have 2 basil plants planted close to the house in an old, smaller flower bed. The boys are very excited because there are little baby broccoli on each plant. Peytonn also spotted 3 baby tomatoes and some peppers last night.

We've also gotten 6 qts of natural strawberries for the last two weeks in a row. With the first batch, I made some strawberry chipotle jam/sauce. Its AMAZING! I canned most of it but left some in the frig to use.

Source: cookinfood.com via Courtney on Pinterest

This week, I simply put each container in a quart size ziploc bag and froze the berries. Then I can make jam later or pull them out to use in smoothies or cooking.

But the recipe for the jam and the chipotle sauce are very good!!

Things I never thought I'd do...

Today, I'm linking up with Toddle Along Tuesday. The topic is "Things I never thought I'd do" as a parent. This should be fun! :)

1. I swore up and down and all around that I would NEVER sleep with my children! That was too dangerous!

Newsflash.....I've co-slept with all 3 of my children! Why? Uhh, cause when you're up every 45-90 minutes to feed a baby, its just easier to roll over, latch them on, and go back to sleep! But don't you worry, every one has survived and all now sleep in their own rooms in their own beds!

2. I swore I would not let my kids watch a bunch of TV.

My kids watch TV, they even watch movies. But my kids are pretty darn active and don't really sit for long. If we are inside, usually the TV is on, but that doesnt mean they are watching it. We play outside a lot and go for walks, etc. But yes, my kids do watch TV.

3. I swore I would never count 1-2-3 to my kids, like my mom did.

Ha! Well, it seems to be the only thing that works for Bennett. He needs those extra warnings to shape up. I dont have to use it for Peytonn.

4. I swore my kids would not eat junk food!

Yeeeah. It happens. For the most part though, my kids eat home cooked meals daily, with a variety of foods. My kids are not picky eaters and eat just about everything. But yeah, sometimes its hotdogs and mac n cheese. But i have been a stickler about our milk. We have always drank either raw milk or organic milk. Its just not something I am willing to budge on. So yeah, we stomach the $6-$7 a gallon for milk.

Overall, I had all these ideas in my head about what kind of parent I was going to be. In reality, I feel like I've had to change my parenting several times depending on which child it is. Peytonn is pretty easy to discipline. Bennett on the other hand, its like Parenting 101 all over again! As parents I think we do the best that we can.