Surviving At Home

Greetings to all of you visiting me for the first time! I look forward to getting to know you.

Let me preface my plan by saying…I am not a cook. In fact, I couldn’t be more opposite of the definition of cook. I need a recipe for nearly everything (except boiling water); I skip any recipe that has unpronouncable ingredients; I either over season or under season our meals (there’s no in between for me); I love caterers; AND I have an incredibly picky family. So needless to say, cooking is definitely NOT a favorite thing to do and our meal plans are incredibly boring! I look forward to seeing some of your plans and being inspired.

Monday: spaghetti & meatballs
Tuesday: Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken& rice *see below for recipe*
Wednesday: turkey club sandwiches & salad
Thursday: turkey burgers (shhh…don’t tell my hubby!) & roasted potatoes
Friday: BBQ chicken & cornbread

I know, I know…we need veggies added to this plan. Our usual is putting the baby carrots on the table and letting the girls help themselves. My youngest likes her version of salad (everything but the lettuce) but my oldest thinks we’re poisoning her by even offering such a thing.

Here is the recipe for the Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken. It’s from Cooking Light but I think you need to be a member to see the online recipes, so I’m not sure if my link will work. Just in case, here it is (and it’s delicious!!):

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 (6-oz) skinned chicken breast halves
8 (4-oz) chicken drumsticks, skinned
1/4 c honey
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1-1/4 c finely crushed cornflakes (about 4 c uncrushed cereal)
1/2 c finely chopped pecans
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken; set aside. Combine honey, mustard, paprika, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Stir well. Combine cornflakes and pecans in a shallow dish; stir well. Brush both sides of chicken with honey mixture; dredge in cornflake mixture.

Place chicken pieces on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray, and bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until done.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week, and come back to visit soon!!

A mother can be almost any size or any age, but she won’t admit to anything over thirty. A mother has soft hands and smells good. A mother likes new dresses, music, a clean house, her children’s kisses, an automatic washer and Daddy.

A mother doesn’t like having her children sick, muddy feet, temper tantrums, loud noise or bad report cards. A mother can read a thermometer (much to the amazement of Daddy) and like magic, can kiss a hurt away.

A mother can bake good cakes and pies but likes to see her children eat vegetables. A mother can stuff a fat baby into a snowsuit in seconds and can kiss sad little faces and make them smile.

A mother is underpaid, has long hours and gets very little rest. She worries too much about her children but she says she doesn’t mind at all. And no matter how old her children are, she still likes to think of them as her little babies.

She is the guardian angel of the family, the queen, the tender hand of love. A mother is the best friend anyone ever had. A mother is love.

- Author Unknown

I get very sentimental on Mother’s Day, thinking about how quickly these years have gone by. It seems like just yesterday we were hoping for the positive pregnancy tests and I remember my labors and deliveries as clear as day. And yet, my oldest is 10 now and she’s quick to remind me that she’ll be off to college in 8 short years. I don’t feel old enough to have a 10-year-old!

Today I will remember all of our good times and tell funny stories as we turn the pages of our family photo albums. I also want to refocus my attention to finding the positive in my children, rather than being so quick to criticize the negative.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all!

After living in my town for 7+ years, I’ve discovered that with a little bit of research you can find different and interesting activities for your kids during the summer months. Here are some ideas based on what’s offered in my own town:

1. Book Stores: the big chain stores usually offer summer storytime programs, sometimes with a visit from a favorite character.
2. Local Parks Department: hopefully your town has a parks department because I know ours works overtime providing activities for the kids. They offer bus trips to sporting events and Broadway shows; Italian language classes; free tennis lessons and $10 golf lessons; swimming lessons at our town lake; and our 7-week town summer camp that is extremely reasonable in price.
3. Toy Stores: we have a small mom-and-pop toy store (where you can rent the toys prior to purchase) and they often have summer story and craft times and playgroups. Great way to meet new people in your town.
4. Historic Sites: our local museum is offering a summer camp for the “Renaissance kids” that will cover different art, science projects. I never would have known this was available if the brochure didn’t come home from school.
5. Children’s Museums: these museums are built just for kids’ enjoyment and ours offers many different week-long educational camps, including weather, crazy concoctions, fossils, Native American Tales, and space exploration. A few years ago my oldest went to the puppeteer camp and had a fabulous time.
6. Minor League Sports Events: we’re looking forward to taking our girls to see the local baseball team. They have a really nice stadium, many fireworks nights, and often do give-aways at home games. Sometimes a local radio station is broadcasting from the games and you can visit the dj’s at the booth.
7. Places of Worship: Every year I see many signs for various church camps, all with different themes. There are a few here in my part of NY that are extremely popular, thus difficult to get registered, so be sure to note when registration begins!

Don’t forget to check out your newspapers’ calendar of events for smaller goings-on, like town carnivals and craft fairs. Use your imagination and have some fun!!

I can’t believe that on a picture perfect spring day with bright sun, light breeze, and 70 degree temps, that not one child is outside playing today! That blows my mind. Hopefully they’re all at the baseball or soccer fields enjoying the day.

My youngest helped my husband dig up dandelions bright and early this morning while my oldest helped me wash windows (it was like pulling teeth!) but now we’re all headed outside for a rousing game of Cosmic Catch. My oldest got it for her birthday in April and it’s pretty cool. Like an electronic version of hot potato.

Maybe I’ll even be brave enough to get MY bike out of the shed and wash it down and take the baby seat off. Haven’t used it in many, many years, and now my youngest is on her own bike so we can toss the baby seat (no, definitely no thoughts of having a 3rd child!!)

I’d love to know your ways of getting your kids out the door on nice days like this one. Does it take a lot of convincing or do you have a nature lover who hates being cooped up indoors? What’s your trick?