Movie night with the Monday Church Group

The new women’s group I joined at church is having a night out at the movies!  At first I said no thank you, the thought of finding a babysitter and plus I have a little hard with new situations (get a little self conscious … I know it’s silly).

The group leader gave me a call said that she is going to offer daycare at the church.  So I figured it was a sign to go and I jumped at it.  I even invited my Tuesday dinner friend to come along with me. 

So I’m going to drop the boys off the thing that worries me is they want us there very early so that means the boys will be there for a long time.  Small space + my boys + yet another new babysitter.  I’m thinking of taking the portable DVD player with us and some movies.  Oh boy Please pray for strength for the babysitter to be a kind one and know that boys are good but several hours in one place may be difficult … ugh.

So I’m excited to see this movie Courageous it is from the creators of Fireproof.  I never did see Fireproof but I heard amazing things about it (added it to my Netflix queue).  I’m excited to go and here is what we’ll be seeing:

Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God ... and to their children?

Filled with action-packed police drama, COURAGEOUS is the fourth film from Sherwood Pictures, the moviemaking ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Riveted moviegoers will once again find themselves laughing, crying, and cheering as they are challenged and inspired by everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children.

Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That's courageous.

 So a good night out with the women and hope everything goes well with the new babysitter (we all know that Cole is not good with change … ugh). 

Any movie plans this weekend??

You ever like you are Alice?

Well I guess it could be Alice falling down the rabbit hole but more like Alice the maid.  Must give props to my mom I always thought she was NUTS getting up at 5am to get the floors mopped & house cleaned before work. 

Now as I find myself getting up at the same time to get a load of laundry in, dish washer loaded, sweep the floors and get the door water & food.  I find myself wondering what happened here. Then I go to work (thankfully that is in my house so I can wear PJ’s), then clock out again find myself unloading the dishwasher, washer, preparing Cole’s lunch & boys breakfast.  Then back to work, then clock off again to pick up Cole.  Get dinner prepared and then off to whatever after school program we have that day.

Well my house WILL never be crystal clean like my moms (I was a pretty clean kid … NO really I sat in my room and read books until High School … that is when it got complicated … hehe).  So to the Mom’s before us I bow down give you the praise and think to myself once more how the heck did I get here?  This after I step on a few lego’s, pick up the umpteenith hot wheel car and oh yes whatever food that was snuck in during the night into the kids room. 

I think I will sit here in my PJ’s for the whole day .. well that is until I have to pick Cole up since I don’t want to be the next fashion victim on What Not to Wear!

Weekend with the Fair and a Pooped Mom!

Friday after work I rushed to pick up Cole and then started to head to Puyallup.  Only to get a call from my parents that my mom isn’t home yet so it would be a little bit until they get there.  No worries I found STREET parking (yup no paid parking … yeah). It was about 6 blocks from the fair so we stopped at Safeway picked up some snacks along with grapes for the kids. 

We then meet up with my parents and headed to the fair.  NOW I don’t usually use strollers for the boys since they are older but it helps when we’re here for 5 hours plus my knee was acting up and as many of you know my dad had back surgery this Tuesday so the Friday before he was having problems walking so it helped him too.

Caden is not much for anything fast or goes up and down so he sticks to slow rides.  Our first stop was the carousel with Monnie, yup won’t even go on the horses … lol.  We of course had to see the fire trucks.

Next went to have the boys caricatures done, mom wanted to have them framed.  I know what a cool idea .  Then we stopped at the tattoo’s … yes airbrushed! Cole had a dragon and Caden a shark.

Then Cole and mom headed out for the bigger rides so Caden and I hit the Sillyville smaller rides.  Caden did the peaceful boat ride, me & him road the train, then we went to the cars and of course the dump truck.  Then we hit the airplanes all was good until they went up and down … YIKES oh poor thing cried and cried.  Got him calmed down and we hit motorcycles and all was good.  Both boys did the Jungle gym.

I didn’t get many pictures of Cole on rides since him and mom went off on their own.  They both loved the spinning ride and doing the slide.  Even a smaller roller coaster he talked Caden to go on with, which had to be stopped early so Caden can get off … lol.   So we only did the crusty pups, free parking and dad spent $80 for rides … YIKES.

Saturday had work off from his regular job to work his 2nd job (of the 3 jobs) so I took my chance and ran to get my toes done!!!  Quiet time, a good cup of coffee and time to read.

I picked up a kit from Lowe’s and let the boys do it with Rick at home.  it was so much fun and yeah we have firetrucks that make noises … lol.

I had birdhouse’s left over from a previous kid’s day so the boys made those also. Hehe Rick got a taste of putting this together as one person and two kid ratio!

Yes I had ONE more kit to make and the lady was so sweet she gave me 2 extra’s so we waited for or Tuesday dinner friends to come over and even had one extra for the neighbor’s son to make them too!  The Goofy Golf kit was a hit!

So there you have it a busy but slow weekend … lol.  I was pooped after Friday’s Fair day so we didn’t do much which made the boys jump off the walls.

On a side note Dad had Surgery on Tuesday, he is currently in recovery.  I will hope to have more information soon. Thanks again for all the prayers and thoughts!

It’s a Lean Meat & Blueberry thing :)

It was a crazy week last week, well I should say it’s been like that since School has started.  I feel a little like I’ve lost my hold on things lately.  I’m hoping that I’ll get back in the swing of things.  I did good on our meals at least and that is what I’m holding on to that small achievement, we won’t speak about the exercise and/or the candy … ugh!

First off I found this Baked Rigatoni with Beef that was so easy to make and was absolutely filling and yummy!

Next off I’ve made a version of these before but Skinnytaste.com posted a new recipe and I had to make them for our Tuesday Night Dinner guest.  These Skinny Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting, she posted her’s in a aluminum cupcake holder.  I used these thin paper ones that didn’t hold up well so it wasn’t as pretty but they were amazing going down.

And for the dessert a yummy Blueberry Oatmeal Cookie!  These were Cole’s favorite , he requested them every day in his lunch.  They weren’t the prettiest but very tasty!

Happy Tuesday everyone, we’re getting closer to the weekend right? lol So what is on your menu for the night?

Twist on Classics

I love to make Tater Tot casserole but it’s full of calories so sadly the boys don’t get it that often.  THEN I found this Manwich Tater Tot Casserole and knew it was a must to make.  It was a great way to get veggies in and it was very yummy!

A favorite of the boys are chicken strips I found this Sesame Encrusted Baked Chicken Tenders.   I love to find different way to serve chicken and this was a hit!

And we end with a twist on a favorite for the kids Chicken 'n' Cheese Casserole.  This was great because it not only had your mac and cheese feel you had bites of chicken in it.

Happy Monday everyone, hope you had a wonderful weekend.  So what is on your menu tonight?

We’re Hitting the Fair tonight

We have a county fair here that we do each year.  I remember being young and going several times.  Parents would drop us off and my hard earned babysitting money would buy rides, foods and my friends entrance also.  I remember every school year I would get a new pair of WHITE Keds and I would always wear them there, let’s just say the dirt and white would leave my shoes needing to be bleached each time.  Yeah no clue where I thought it was ok to wear them each time.  I use to love going and riding the rides.  I had a cute boy my senior year operating the tornado.  I rode that ride so many times, and guess what one time I heard a noise above when we were stopped.  Let’s just say the guy above me had so much to drink that it came down and thankfully I was skinner then and crunched into my friend most landed on my seat but some on my shirt.  Cute guy let me wear his shirt while I walked around in heaven .

When I was older I remember one time getting El Nino and being so embarrassed since this was pre weight loss and the overhead seatbelt not wanting to close thank god it did.  But needless to say this mommy body that is no longer in shape will be getting on rides.  We’re going with my parents so it will be time in the kiddy zone and let them run.  We’ll pay $15 for parking $10 to get in and who the heck knows how much more I will spend.  Not really for me but for the boys, so here we go.

We’ll go visit our animal friends:

Cole will do some Mutton Buston (Riding a Sheep)

We’ll watch the amazing pumpkin carver.

And we’ll watch the crazy long line for the Roller Coaster.

We will hit the kids area SillyVille

We will of course have fair food

Which always will include a Krusty Pup

And you MUST have a Fair Scone

(or take a Dozen home .. that won’t make it home)

And you must end your night with a swing to see the colors and lights!

So there you have it fun times coming to me tonight … hehe promise no white keds this time.  So any of you do the fair by you?

Can I crawl under a rock?

Sometimes I want to just crawl under a rock and say forget it.  I also have a habit of if I’m embarrassed I won’t go back to a place.  So I’m taking advice from my mom and putting on my big girl panties and dealing with it … UGH sometimes being an adult sucks … lol

So here is the backstory of why I wanted to hide under that rock!  Monday was a day off from Cole’s school the local Fair is going on they gave 0the kids tickets and the called it a fair day.  For us who work can’t just take off and run around all day at the fair which meant both boys in my house all day!  Since Caden’s little adventure the other day I told the boys they had to stay inside or in the back yard all day.  So to boil it down it was a day of fighting, screaming and maybe a few tears from mom loosing her mind!

Monday is ladies group at church I joined and it was my night to bring treats.  I ran around like a mad woman after work to get the dishes ready, boys were going crazy since they were inside all day.  We of course then late to the meeting.  I drop the kids off in the kid zone and this is where the nightmare starts.  The babysitter is use to one girl and here come my boys!  The girl is a nice teenager who … know this is ONLY my assumption … is use to this girl doing her homework and she has  a pretty peach job.  Now when you add in two boys who want to play and be loud you have a harder time.  I heard her tell the boys no a few times (rooms next to each other). 

My boys sadly saw that she wasn’t being forceful or going to play with them so they pulled the ok fine you don’t want to give us attention we’ll cause a ruckus and pull out all toys. 

Fast forward to the end of our meeting I walk in to find the babysitter sitting in the SAME spot and all the toys on the floor.  She then whinned to me they wouldn’t listen and did this.  I calmly said ok well we can pick up the toys that is not a problem.  Then she made a HUGE stink in front of the ladies so the head of the group then asked me to come outside and talk with her and the babysitter.  I felt like I was back in school and being called out in front of all my friends.  The leader then asked me what we can do to make the situation better and if their were any SPECIAL NEEDS for my kids?  I was a little offended at that they are boys they were locked in ONE room for 1 hr 45 min.  I said just put them in time out, the girl then stomped and told me she tried that but they didn’t listen.  I wanted to scream come on WHO is the person in charge, but I did kind of grumble under my breath well I don’t know then.

The group leader did say oh I remember when my boys were young I would cringe when I would see the Sunday School Teacher coming towards me.  I wanted to say then why are you making me feel like this and not maybe say something to the babysitter like they are kids.  But whatever I wanted to cry and run away and never go back to the Monday night group but I’m going to make myself go one more time and just hope it was the day and NOT the combination of my boys and a babysitter that really doesn’t want to do a job.  Ok I know I maybe sounded a little like a mother bear but I use to babysit all the time when I was young it is how I paid for my school clothes and first car.  If the kids were little poo’s I just dealt with I didn’t wait until the parents came home and laid it all out on them it was just part of the job.

UGH … I can do this (yup if I repeat it enough it may actually come true). 

Image found HERE

Weekend Wrap … Yes it was kind of Chill!

Rick was so sweet he knew how sad I was over the B&B and the dinner we had.  He went to my favorite restaurant Old Spaghetti Factory and picked up dinner for the family.  He even plated it all up!  Yup he got happy face from me!

Saturday after work we headed over to Rachel’s house for some coffee and play time.  Her daughter Abby is a girl after my heart and loves shoes.   Why not try them on.  Oh yes why not my leopard with pink rain boots rocks and they begged to be tried on.  Caden’s fireman boots also were a hit .  She was so sweet and even feed the boys!

Sunday at 7am I meet up with one of my best friends for breakfast!  She is one of my bestie’s I was the LOUD 20 y/o that moved in next to her house that would have loud parties every weekend and she would walk over holding a baby to keep it down .  Yes she even came over a few times to hang out with us young crew too!  15 years later we’re still friends and I cherish these moments to just hang out and talk.

I was having a heck of a week with Caden and his “adventure” so the weekend was a slow one, which of course makes the boys go crazy and mom loose her MIND.  Yup that is me being a crazy poser .. hehe.

Last Sunday was Cole’s Sunday to sing in church for his school.  Here is his cute 2nd grade along with the 1st grade class.

We are also enjoying our fall teachers in swim class.  Cole had a problem sitting still (or in this case standing in water with out splashing) but thankfully got better by the 3rd class.  The boys are liking the 4pm class and I’m liking we get home earlier.  Caden is sad that his Maggie is not teaching the class but we’re adjusting .

There was our crazy weekend.  How was yours, did you do anything fun?

Monday Ladies Group Treats

This Monday was my night to make treats, and as you all know I can’t just make one thing, so I made three .. lol.  These treats where a hit it was so funny the ladies were almost pushing each other out of the way to get at them.  One lady said I’m hoover here just push me out of the way if you want a bite.  One lady told me she would lick the bowl .. hehe. And the best part they were all from Skinnytaste.com so they were weight watcher friendly.

First I made Pumpkin cupcake with Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese frosting.   Now I need to perfect my scoop into the cupcake because these were a little stiff so the tops didn’t turn out pretty … but they tasted amazing.

Then I found a recipe my mom would make on the site that was a skinny version … All over it!  I made this delish Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip, that was so good you wouldn’t know it was low fat.

And for the recipe that had the ladies push each other out of the way for and one said she would LICK the bowl for .  This Skinny Hot Artichoke Dip was so simple to make.

Happy Tuesday everyone hope you enjoy the recipes.  What is on the menu tonight?

Tuesday Dinners (Pineapple Chicken & Blueberry Scones)

Happy Monday everyone, I seems to be a crazy week already.  I’m just hoping that we want have any drama like last week.  We did have a great dinner with our Tuesday dinner date.  I switched swim days so I can attend a small group at church on Monday which works out better since now we can swim at 4p instead of 6:30pm and be home earlier.

So I found this Crockpot Pineapple Chicken recipe and let it cook away while I ran out got the boys to swim and back home.  This was a very yummy dish and easy to make.  It was a little dry I think next time I won’t drain the pineapple.

And for a yummy simple dessert I made this Blueberry Streusel Scones that turned out so yummy I had to send the left over’s home with my guest so I wouldn’t eat them all. SUPER easy and yummy!!

Happy Monday everyone!  So what is on your menu tonight?

The Day I Feel to my Knee’s

Yes this is my blinds and sadly this is the last of my worries for Thursday.  I was brought to my knee’s with fear and Thank God it ended the way it did.

Let me back up, the day started out on a good note.  Cole was easy to wake up (which usually is a bear to do).  He had been having a great week at school with his focus and for you who follow me know that this is something that is so hard for him.  So I thought I would do something special for him.  Instead of the egg sandwich I make I told him as a treat I would take him to McD’s for one.  He was so excited for a rare treat.  We got there ordered and then drove away I told him ok one is for your brother so ONLY eat one.  He says mom there is only one in here … UGH.  Then I take a sip of my coffee to find it is black even though the lovely sticker on the side said cream and splenda.  So I go back to find a HUGE line, of course I was in PJ’s and didn’t feel like going in .. UGH so instead of the 15 min early for Cole to adjust before the bell (which he needs) we were 5 min before.

Go home start to work the neighbor’s son had a doc apt so her other son came over and him and Caden played so nice in their room and in the front under my window of my office that I watched them the whole time.  His mom text me she was home so I told the boys they could head over.  I watch them walk over and go back to work.

5 minutes later his mom came over we are talking both thinking the kids are at each other’s house.  Then PANIC set in they are gone.  I walk up down street screaming their names.  The worker guy next to my house says “Oh I saw them walking to the main road”.  Ok I don’t want to say it’s his responsibility but as a human if I saw a kid walking where I know they don’t belong since they have worked there for 8 months and know us and the kids. 

So the panic set in we both were in our cars doing circles around the blocks.  I’m on my knee’s praying to God where they are.  I passed a cop car once with lights on but didn’t stop.  Thankfully my neighbor did because he HAD the kids!!!  THANK GOD, our boys were with the police officer.  They said they wanted to go exploring!  We have both ordered ID bracelet's and made a plan we will walk the kids between the house and ONLY play inside until the big kids are home.

I can’t thank God enough no longer are the boys to walk between our house’s with out us, we learned a lesson that even after 3 years of our families walking between that we can’t always trust that they will stay between our houses.  Yes I’m human and I make mistakes and believe me yesterday was taught me just that, so please no rude comments I’m still having a hard time.

On the other side the blinds above are because Jake was inside when I started to scream for the boys he got so upset he tried to get out and was jumping up on my couch to the window and destroyed my blinds.  Rick sadly had ANOTHER tooth ache ended up going to the doc and yet again had emergency surgery to remove it.  Yesterday was just not a good day for anyone.  Rick did send me a sweet text that he is going to help out much more.  Our lives aren’t perfect and we have some cracks but we're working on it!

We also had to install a new blind since that is our front window and I didn’t feel comfortable having my front room exposed like that.

Disappointment and a feeling of loss

Ok YES I know it is just a show but it was one I have actually really liked.  It started with a feeling of mom’s talking about kids, family and spouses.  I know it’s silly but I felt like they were my friends and that I was part of a mom group! First they kicked off Marissa Jaret Winokur which was ok because the show was just starting out trying to find where they fit in and her as a roaming reporter just didn’t fit in correctly.  Then you had these amazing 5 women that played well off each other and just fit right in.  Sara needed Leah to pull her out at times and you could feel the sister vibe that we know of with teasing but all love behind it.

Last week it came back on the air for it’s season 2, I noticed Leah Remini & Holly Robinson Peete were missing.  Ok I’m a little dense I guess because I thought oh it’s back to school maybe that means that they took time off to get the kids ready.  Then this week comes and they are still gone.  Having a DVR is what hurts me here I usually skip the credits etc and just go to the show, so I backed up and watched the credit’s to see they were no longer there .  So I then was on a mission to find out what happened.  Thank you Google you helped me find out what happened.  I went to Twitter @LeahRemini & @LeahReminiGuard Leah’s two accounts to see what was going on.  Sadly she was not asked to return and then Holly was not asked to return.  I was at a loss, now from what I’m reading it sounds like Julie Chen may have been behind the firing of these two favorite characters.

Now nothing against  Sheryl Underwood or Molly Shannon but they just don’t fit in the show has lost it’s pazaz that made it so special and want me to tune in everyday.  It has been removed from my DVR and I don’t miss it with the new format.

For any of you who would like to go into the fight to get them back or just to keep up to date check out the Twitter accounts above or these new FB sites:

• The Talk sucks with out Leah and Holly
• Leah and Holly LIVE
• BoyCott "The Talk"
• Keep Leah Remini On "The Talk"
• Bring Leah and Holly back to The Talk
• Leah And Holly Fans

So sadly I say Good-Bye to a fan favorite of mine and hope either CBS comes to their sense’s and bring our ladies back or they get their own show another another station who knows what they got would be Gold.  Just my humble opinion but it was something that moved me enough to write about!  So farwell to a show that was, I love you Sharon and I’m really sorry that I won’t be seeing you each day .