Breakfast is Always a Good Idea

When you have kids, skipping breakfast is no longer an option. The kid has to eat, so you may as well too.  

I love oatmeal.  But I hate cooking it on the stove because it turns breakfast into an event (yes, I am THAT lazy.)

I used to get the oatmeal packets in the box thinking I was being healthy, but knowing otherwise.  They have way too much sugar!  And I'm really weird about how much sugar my kids get.

I decided to start making my own oatmeal packets.  

You need-

Snack size ziplock bags

1/2 cup of 1 minute quick oats

1 T of Brown sugar, nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips...the possibilities for this last one are endless (I usually add brown sugar and 1 T is a bit much, so I do half.)

To cook-

Empty into a bowl

Add 3/4 cup of liquid (I use 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup of milk)

Stir around a bit.  Microwave for 2 minutes.

I always add frozen blueberries to mine.  My daughter and I eat this almost every morning.

After eating this for several days in a row, I stopped making the "packets" and just measured it out daily-it seemed like a waste of baggies.  So now whenever I get a new oatmeal container, I write the recipe on top. 

An extra bonus-it's a lot cheaper than buying the boxed packets!

What's your go-to breakfast? I always love new ideas!

It's My Day, I Can Do What I Want

What the hell is wrong with me? Today is Mother's Day and all I want to do is clean the house with nobody around.

I had big plans for today. I wanted to sleep in. Then I was going to drag my family to the mall (on a Sunday) so I can stock up on Godiva.  After that, I wanted to take a nap, and when I woke up, I was going to leave.  I don't quite know what I was going to do when I left, I just wanted to get away.  For an unknown amount of time.

Well, after not feeling well all day yesterday, I am fully caught up on sleep.  So now all I can think to do for Mother's Day is send the family away so I can clean the house in peace.  

I'll still get my chocolate, and I'll probably still leave this afternoon. But right now, at this moment, all I want to do is clean.  Ugh!  I know, it's annoying to me too.

What's your ideal Mother's Day?

Best Cookies Ever

I know, I know. Everyone claims to have the best chocolate chip cookie recipe out there. So I guess I'll just say, these are pretty high up there. The recipe is from my mom and I have no idea where she got it, so I'm going to say that she came up with it.

You will need-

1 cup butter or margerine (I use Gold n Soft margerine)

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar (I use dark)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup of chocolate chips (or, if you're heavy handed like me, twice that)

Soften the butter. Do not melt it! Soften it. Add the sugars, egg and vanilla. Stir well.

Then add one cup of flour, the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix. Add remaining flour and mix. Mix in the chocolate chips. 

This is where you eat the dough. You shouldn't because raw eggs are bad. But, seriously, this will be the best cookie dough you've ever tried. But don't do it.

Drop spoonfuls on your cookie sheet. Cook at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes or until they're at desired done-ness. I like them undercooked a little so they're really gooey.

If you don't want to cook the whole batch, just freeze the dough. I like to spread it into an ice cube tray so when you pop out the dough, it's a perfect sized cookie.

The ones I don't use, I just put in a plastic bag in the freezer. 

These cookies never disappoint and people always ask for the recipe. So here it is!

What's a family favorite recipe that you would like to share?

The Incredible, Edible Egg Dye!

Ok, Pinterest, we tried it. Well, sorta.

This year I was excited to finally color Easter eggs with my daughter. I have fond memories growing up dying eggs. 

You mix the water and vinegar, add the color tablets and watch it dissolve. Then you add your hard boiled egg into the mix and you wait. And wait. Annnnnnnd....wait. Check on it, then wait some more.

It always ended up taking the entire evening. Not for this mama!!

I'm sure many of you have seen on Pinterest the amazing shaving cream method of dying eggs. Great idea! But I don't trust my two year old to refrain from eating it.

So I thought I would try this method with a twist. Why not use whipped cream? Sure, it adds a step in the process but it's still fast and there are no worries about ingestion.

You will need:

Hard Boiled Eggs

Heavy Whipping Cream

Food Coloring

A Pan (I used a disposable one-good for lazy, ahem, easy cleanup.)

Mixer

Add cream to the mixer and turn on high.

Once it's the proper consistency, add to your pan and spread out evenly.

Add drops of food coloring all over and swirl them around.

Then add your eggs. Roll them around so they get completely covered.

(Z was a lot daintier with this part than I expected.)

Put them aside to dry a bit. 

Once you feel they're ready, wash them off and return to the egg carton.

Our finished product.

The old fashioned way, the eggs are definitely a lot brighter. But this way was much more fun for me and it was a lot quicker. And as we all know, quicker is better for a little one with a short attention span.

A Vacuum Toy that Sucks (Review)

This post includes an affiliate link, which means I make a small percentage if you purchase through the link.

Fisher-Price Brilliant Basics Corn Popper

You probably remember this from when you were a kid. I do. I never had one myself, but I recall playing with one at our church's nursery. 

Now I know why we didn't have one. When they're pushed, they make a popping noise. Hence, the name. The noise is so obnoxious I want to throw it out the window. 

Unfortunately, my daughter freaking loves this toy. She loves the sound it makes. And she feels like she's helping mommy by "vacuuming." Sorry Love, you're not. On top of that, my son likes to chase her when she's playing with it. 

So, as much as I hate this toy, I give it five stars. Because it serves it's purpose. It makes the kids happy. Even if it's slowly making mama go insane. *****

It's No Walk in the Park...

Recovery from birth is awful. At least it was for me with my first one. I was recovering from an emergency c-section. 

They don't let you even try to stand up for the first 12 hours. Then when you do, you have to have two helpers to get to the bathroom.

The first day they keep pushing on your uterus to get it back to its original size. It was just the size of a watermelon! Can't we take a few days to get back to the size of a pear? No. Push that uterus back in shape and while we're at it, we're gonna squeeze all the fluid out that's still in there. Gross. And like everything else the past few days, it's out of your control-and I'm sure very necessary, but whatever!

On top of all the nastiness and pain, they then hand you your tiny bundle of joy. Whom you're supposed to stare at admiringly and tear up whenever they gaze up at you. 

I just couldn't wait to hand her back. Don't get me wrong. I have loved my daughter since before conception. But I just had major abdominal surgery and it was all her fault. 

Then you go home after three glorious days with an entire nursing staff taking care of you and your baby, and now you are on your own. 

My husband and I are very lucky. We have always had a lot if help from friends and family. And also, lucky for us, most unsolicited advice is at a minimum. I know plenty of people that have parents and in-laws who "know better than them"-ugh!

The only thing I could do for the first two weeks was feed the baby and feed myself. Awesome side note about breastfeeding-you can and WILL eat everything in sight. 

I couldn't really walk properly until the whole six weeks was up. I was always on top of my meds and stool softeners (they are as important as the pain meds, believe me!!)

It was scary those first six weeks. Because I didn't know how fully my body would recover. It did. And if you're going through the same thing, yours will too. I promise. Your body just grew a baby, then you had major surgery. It takes time to recover even without the surgery. So give yourself a break. 

That disconnect you may feel towards the little one-It's normal. It will go away. Give yourself, your body and your mind, time to heal. Then before you realize it, that child is your everything.