Foo Who?

I don't know about all of you, but I LOVE music. It makes me feel good, happy and I have some pretty good memories associated with certain songs.

Of course my taste really does range from country, to oldies, to old rock, to alternative, to classical and even some hip hop songs.

Driving home from the bank today a Foo Fighters song came on the radio and I was just rushed with memories that has now inspired me to write this blog. Of course I had the kids in the car, one was napping, so It wasn't like I could crank the volume and belt out the words, even though I wanted to.

I started thinking back to when Tyson and I first met. Music was such a huge part of our relationship. He introduced me to music that I didn't listen too, like Foo Fighters, Offspring, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Blink 182, Elvis Costello, etc. We also have been to a ton of concerts together, he of course has been to many more than I have. We have been to Pearl Jam, Offspring (I even won us backstage passes), The Rolling Stones, The Warped Tour (a bunch of bands playing) and I know there are more, I just can't remember.

My point...now in the reality of our situation, having three kids, cleaning, laundry, home improvements, we just don't have time to sit down and listen to the music we love. It is not like I can blare the radio while the babies nap and clean the house. It is not like we can just drop and go to a concert with out having planned in the future for a babysitter.

My Vow: To pick a CD and play that CD until I have finished it and start the process over again. I of course won't be able to play it as loud as I would like, but maybe I will have some happy endorphins running through my blood to make the day that much better!

My Menu

It is that time again...I am so excited for fall (minus the allergies) because I am going to be doing ALOT of homemade soups, stews, etc....bring on the cold front, I LOVE winter time! Nothing is better than a warm home filled with the aroma of food cooking!!! Well, not this coming week, but soon!!

Sunday: Spaghetti batch (we were down to 2 or 3 in our freezer), sadly that is all I served (we had a late lunch)

Monday: Chicken, rice and corn

Tuesday: Taco's, tator tots, and refried beans

Wednesday: Kielbasa (in my dutch oven), noodles and green beans

Thursday: Pork Chops, rice (again, but we are trying our own rice instead of buying the flavored packages...so we need to practice!) and mixed veggies

Friday: Pulled Pork, twice baked potatoes, and corn on the cob

Saturday: Appetizer day! Wings, potato skins and whatever else I can create to be an appetizer!

Nothing new this week as far as my menu goes...but stay tuned as I will be having some "NEW" recipes in the future! Have a great week!!!

Flashback Friday

It has been a while since I have done this....here is my flashback Friday, I am going 3 years back to a year ago!


Here is Morgan 8 months old

Here is Morgan 18 months old


Here is Morgan at 2 1/2


Here is Cameryn and Jaidyn at 8 weeks old!

Morgan's first haircut

Morgan was long over due for a hair cut, I had not cut any of her hair since she was born and it was turning into a ratty, nasty mess that was very hard to brush even after a bath! Her Grandma Debbie cuts hair and since we were going to McCall for the weekend, I took the opportunity to have it cut. I just wanted the rats nest to be gone and for the hair to be out of her face all the time. I have to say that I am very, very happy with the results and it looks so cute on her! Today after a bath it was so easy to brush and it is nice to see her eyes all the time! Here are some pictures of before, during and after!!!

My Menu

It's that time again for my weekly menu! I am happy to report that I stuck to my menu last week!! Wednesday was up in the air and I decided to make homemade tuna casserole, it turned out very good! We went to McCall this weekend and it was nice to not have to worry about cooking. Tyson's mom cooked us both dinners, pork chops one night and ham the second night! We made it to the pancake house and it was delicious as always!!! Here is my menu:

Sunday: Braut burgers, tator tots and beans

Monday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy and salad

Tuesday: Chicken Fajitas, Spanish rice, and refried beans (mostly for Morgan)

Wednesday: Pork Chops, Couscous, and corn

Thursday: Upside down pizza (new recipe), hot wings and salad

Friday: Crock pot Friday, Beef with mushrooms over egg noodles, rolls and green beans
Saturday: Roasted Chicken (in our smoker), twice baked potatoes and corn on the cob

Last night I decided that I am going to devote Friday's and Sunday's to the crock pot, for some reason I struggle to find motivation to cook on those days so I think this will be the easiest solution. Plus it is going to be getting colder out and there is nothing better than having your house filled with smells of food cooking in the crock pot!! Have a great week everyone!!!

Kids Update

Just thought I would update you all on the changes that have been occurring with my three girls. Cameryn and Jaidyn are only 8 days away from being 14 months. I have been finding myself over this past week remembering what it was like a year ago. It was my first week alone with all three girls and it was very tiring! I have to say that I miss them being tiny little babies, but it is so much more fun now that they are getting around!!

Favorite food(s):

Morgan: Jam sandwiches (what she calls Peanut butter and Jelly), Gogurts (frozen of course), popsicles and M & M's

Cameryn: she eats everything and anything you put in front of her. Her particular favorites are watermelon, peaches, pears, banana's, and cheese

Jaidyn: she pretty much eats everything as well, however she is fond of watermelon, cheese, goldfish crackers and ritz crackers.

Favorite toy:

Morgan: she has really been into her stuffed animals, particularly her big "ahah" which is a huge monkey she got from her grandma debbie.

Cameryn: anything that her big sister Morgan has or anything her little sister Jaidyn has. She is our toy "stealer"

Jaidyn: anything that she can push and walk with. Also things that make loud noises, like the dog bowls

Favorite activity:

Morgan: Painting, painting, and painting. She loves to play with paint! She really enjoys riding her bike as well!

Cameryn: Bath time, she loves splashing the water!! In fact when I start to fill the tub up, she comes cruising to the bathroom all excited.

Jaidyn: Bath time as well, just like Cameryn, sometimes she gets mad when I take her out of the tub!

Eating habits:

Morgan: she loves to "snack" through out the day, We had to put a child proof handle on our pantry door otherwise she would get in there and help herself. We really have to watch how much we let her eat otherwise she won't eat her dinner. She does pretty well with this...I am lucky to say that she loves fruit so I know that she is at least getting some healthy snacks!

Cameryn: she is a shoveler, she shovels the food in so fast that when I give it to her, she is usually done within a few minutes! She is also the messiest eater I have ever encounter, from her hair to her legs she usually has some type of food on her!

Jaidyn: she is a picker, she usually eats one entree at a time and literally eats one piece at a time, she takes FOREVER to eat, as well as drink her milk!

Sleeping Habits:

Morgan: when she sleeps, she will sleep a long time, usually up to 12 hours. She is a mover, and usually wakes up once a night and makes her way to our room. I think her toddler bed is too small for her and that is why she is waking up. Depending on the time of night I will either move her back or let her sleep with us, especially if it is close to the babies waking up. For some reason she sleeps longer in our bed (I think because of the size)

Cameryn: she is the first one to go to bed, Jaidyn can be a light sleeper and Cameryn likes to "talk" herself to sleep. This has gotten better since I just transitioned them to one nap a day, but she is always the first to go down so she won't wake up Jaidyn. She will sleep up to 12 hours a night and sometimes a 3 hour nap.

Jaidyn: when Jaidyn is tired, she is tired and needs to get to bed ASAP and she is not afraid to let you know. She will just meltdown over the littlest things. She is my constant 530 am wake up, but usually she goes back after I give her paci back to her. She will sleep up to 12 hours a night as well, and usually 2-2 1/2 hour naps.

Favorite T.V. show

Morgan: Morgan LOVES T.V. This is the first year that she has really been into it, sometimes we have to restrict the amount she gets because she would sit in front of it all day and all night. Her favorites right now are Caillou, Cat in the Hat (as of this week), Dora the Explorer, Go Diego Go and Elmo's World

Cameryn: thankfully she doesn't really pay attention to the T.V. when it is on.

Jaidyn: mostly she doesn't pay attention either, UNLESS Elmo's World is on....she really likes Elmo!!

Mode of Transportation:

Morgan: walking, running, biking (she LOVES her bike)

Cameryn: Crawling and kinda walking, she is getting better every day, but she has a hard time bending her knees, so it is really funny to watch! But she sure is proud of herself when she is walking!

Jaidyn: Walking, walking, almost running and sometimes crawling!!

Choice of Words:

Morgan: here are a few of her favorites, "Can we do that later?", "Sooooo, whats the plan today", "Swiper no swiping, swiper no swiping, swiper nooooo swiping" (after Dora, and mostly when the babies get close to her stuff), "Mommy, I'm hungry, can I have a snack?", "Maybe tomorrow...(fill in the blank), "when I grow up I want to be (fill in the blank, usually a fireman or something she saw on t.v.)

Cameryn: Mama, nanana (i think for banana) and dada

Jaidyn: Mama and dada

Dislikes

Morgan: Typical 3 1/2 year old stuff, she dislikes time outs, having to stop watching TV especially to go to bed. But she is going thru a phase right now of being afraid of the dark!

Cameryn: Hates it when Jaidyn takes her toy that she is playing with away from her. She also gets really mad if I take something she shouldn't have away from her!

Jaidyn: She is very, very afraid of the cat and the vacuum. One day the cat had walked by her, the cat didn't even give her a second thought but you would of thought that she had just fallen and gotten really hurt by the way she was crying! Same with the vacuum, I either vacuum when she is napping or when someone is here to be able to hold her, she watches your every move as well when you are using it!

My Menu

Here is my menu for the week. For the most part I stuck to my menu last week with the exception of Thursday. I had planned on Chicken but I had pulled some really ripe tomatoes from our garden and decided I wanted BLT's instead. Oh and Friday, I didn't feel like cooking so we ordered pizza :). Saturday we ended up doing appetizers, I made my very good Franks Spicy Chicken bites and Teriyaki Bites (basically Chicken, cut in pieces, dredged in egg and flour, fried, than dipped in the dipping sauces and baked for about 20 minutes, very yummy!)

Sunday: Cheeseburgers (from Friday's menu), tator tots and baked beans

Monday: Tilapia, salad and green beans

Tuesday: Fried Chicken (from Thursdays menu), noodles and corn

Wednesday: ?? Maybe breakfast for dinner...otherwise I have some beef I need to use.

Thursday: W.T. Baked Potatoes, chili and Mac and Cheese (I have a meeting for my Boise Mom of Multiples to go to so this is an easy meal for Tyson to make)

Friday: We are headed to McCall for the weekend!!

Saturday: Pancake house here I come!! McCall again!!

We are very excited to be going to McCall this coming weekend. My Mother in Law Debbie is living up there with her boyfriend Joe (more like a husband--they are not officially married but have been together forever!) We haven't been out of town in months so it will be nice to have a change of scenery!!! Have a great week!

Love

I have to say that everyday I feel truly blessed to be able to stay at home with my girls. I only wish I had done this with Morgan and for some reason we thought we wouldn't be able to afford that option, but so far we have made it work! Of course I do have some frustrating days, I do get tired and wish I could take a nap, and I do sometimes just want a few hours to my self. But I figured that will come with time. Here is a list of some of the things I love about being home.

1. I love being in control of our everyday happenings, what they eat, where we go, what we play with, etc.

2. I LOVE Cameryn's smile, she has the biggest smile it lights up the room.

3. I LOVE Jaidyn's giggle, it is the cutest thing I have ever heard.

4. I LOVE having conversations with Morgan, the things she comes up with is unthinkable!

5. I LOVE that if I want to wear pajama bottoms all day, I can.

6. I LOVE that I have time to cook and be creative with our meals.

7. I LOVE that I have time during the week to do laundry instead of trying to get it finished on the weekends.

8. I LOVE that I get to take a ton of pictures a day, more than we ever did with just Morgan.

9. I LOVE watching my girls grow and develop a true friendship for each other.

10. I LOVE that I have time to organize things (now unfortunately this doesn't happen too often, but it is still a nice feeling)

11. I LOVE that I don't feel rushed to be able to get quality time in with my girls, unlike how I felt after an 8 hour day at my old job.

12. I LOVE hearing the twins wake up, they don't cry, they giggle at each other!!

13. I LOVE to see the girl's excitement when daddy comes home for the day.

14. I LOVE being able to walk out the door and take a walk to the park w/o anything holding us back.

15. I LOVE the time between 9-1030 pm as that is my down time and I finally can unwind and watch TV, it feels so much better than when I was working at a "job"

Of course there is a TON more that I love about being a stay at home mom, just thought I would share a few things about how I feel!!! I know that one day, I am going to have to go back to work and part of that sounds really really appealing to me right now (mostly for adult interaction) but I remind myself that I wanted to always stay at home, at least for a few years when I had kids and that puts me back into reality!!

My Menu

I didn't post a menu last week, not because I didn't have one, just because I was being lazy and didn't feel like posting. Here is my menu this week

Sunday: Appetizers, spicy and teriyaki wings, shrimp cocktail, and potato skins

Monday: Carne Asada, grilled veggies and potatoes

Tuesday: Pork Chops, rice and corn on the cob

Wednesday: Spaghetti, garlic bread and Salad

Thursday: Homemade fried chicken strips, noodles and green beans

Friday: Cheeseburgers, baked beans and fries

Saturday: ??? Either we will do Tilapia, or if I don't feel like that we will do appetizers again, that is always one of our favorites

Have a great week everyone!!