Lucky girl

Some days it's not pretty and other days it's just peachy.
Some days I yell more than I want to and
other days I sit and stare at them and wonder how I got so lucky.
Some days I need a break away from the neediness and other days I need them to need me more.

But every day no matter what that day has brought me, I thank god that these 3 are mine!

Happy Mother's Day!

Sooo not about the dishes

I found some, super cute, new dishes at our local Home goods store a few weeks ago. I've been telling myself for awhile that is was time for a change. So I've been on the look out the last few months for some. When I walked into the store that day, I knew my wait was over. I carefully went through all the plates, bowls and smaller salad plates, looking for any dents or dings. Rolled my buggy to the counter, paid, and happily went on my way in life.

Fast forward to last Tuesday or I guess rewind, either way you know what I mean. I brought my oldest to the DMV to take his driver's test so he could get his license. He's had his permit since February of 2011, has gone through the mandatory state requirements and the (even more important) mom and dad requirements and we all felt that he was ready for the next footstep in the sand.

And he is.

But me, not so much.

He passed his test with flying colors, has gotten compliments on his driving from his drivers ed instructor, and the DMV instructor. He is patient when he needs to be and nervous when he needs to be, he does it all right.

But the first time he pulled off in my car with out me in it, to drive himself somewhere that I would not be, I got a little sea sick feeling. I didn't lose my shit, and I was very thankful for that, because we were in a public place and when you look up Ugly Cry in the dictionary, my face is what you would see :)
But sea sick non the less.

I was proud of myself and I celebrated that evening by happily taking my old dishes out and placing the newly washed, super cute, dishes in. I took all the old bowls, plates and smaller plates and made a stack on my counter. As I was stacking and repositioning I had a thought; I would pack these old dishes up and save them for Alex. In two years he would be going to college and this would be one less thing we would need to buy for him.  

And then y'all, I lost my shit.

all

over

the

floor

All I remember was hearing myself mumbling through my snot something about his first steps, pubic hair, a car, leaving me, and then my funeral.

And then I regained my shit and went on with life.

I have found that tears, whether they are ugly or not, are just needed sometimes. At least for me.
For the happy and the sad and sometimes even the in between stuff.

I am SO happy and thankful and blessed that my boy is on such a great path in life.
And am even happier that God chose Brian and I to guide his journey.

But I do oh so wish that I could stretch the path out just a little bit longer.
You know - just so I can have more time to buy new dishes and daydream about my kids growing up and oh ya, lose my shit.....again and again and again.

spaghetti bake

Whenever I set out on my evening routine of cooking dinner I know from the moment I start to lay out my ingredients which one of my 3 children will not like whatever it is that will be on the menu that night. And frankly, call me mean, but I usually don't care.
Trying to please all 5 of us at one time is like me trying to squeeze my be-hind back into my teal Bongo jeans from 10th grade....ain't going to happen.

So on the rare occasion that my 3 children all come to the table with a happy face on, with no threat of death or (even worse) punishment from some sort of electronic device before hand, I feel it is my duty to share my wealth of knowledge to every other dinner maker in the world! When you throw my husband into the equation and he too is pleased upon entering the dining room, I feel the need to shout it from the roof tops people!!

Spaghetti and meatballs or meat sauce (depending on how lazy I am feeling) is a staple in our house. I can take 2 and half pounds of either lean ground meat or lean ground turkey breast and make MAGIC happen. With that traditional dish I have added a few more steps that has turned this regular dish into, 'oh yeah this is some good stuff!"

This is how I prepare this dish for my family (I have 2 boys that combined, eat more than most small countries do) so my portions might be larger than what you need. This is not an exact anything, modify as you need to for your family...

the goods.....

2 and half pounds of either lean ground meat or lean ground turkey breast
about 1 to 2 palms full of each: basil, oregano, italian seasonings, minced onion, garlic powder, and Tony Chachere's
2 jars of spaghetti sauce ( I use whatever brand is usually on sale)
2 pounds of penni pasta ( not picky on this either, but I do use whole wheat)
1 bag of mozzarella cheese
about a half of a cup of fresh parmesan cheese

here we go.....

~boil your pasta as directed on package
~brown your meat until cooked all the way through
~after meat is cooked all the way, sprinkle half of your seasonings (put the other half aside) onto      the meat and let cook down for 2-3 minutes
~pour spaghetti sauce on top of meat and sprinkle the rest of the seasoning into the sauce.
~ stir really well, reduce heat, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes.
~Preheat oven to 400
~After pasta is done and drained and after your sauce has cooked down for about 10 minutes, pour pasta into spaghetti sauce and stir well
~If you are using a pan that can be used on the stove top and oven then leave the spaghetti concoction be. If not, pour concoction into a greased oven safe dish.
~Grate your half a cup of fresh parmesan on top of spaghetti concoction and stir really well
~Sprinkle your bag of mozzarella on top, I do not stir this in
~Bake until cheese is bubbly

I serve with garlic bread and a Caesar salad and everyone is happy!

I think what a lot of us need to remember is that dinner (for most of us anyway) doesn't need to be rocket science or something that looks like it could be photographed for a fancy magazine. It needs to be half way recognizable for the little ones and inhale-able for the older ones, at least in my house anyway. And for the ones that don't like it, sorry for you.
There's always tomorrow :)

Happy Cooking!!

simple pleasures

I recently realized while watching my 3 children interact with each other (the tall one telling the girl one that she was telling the hazel eyed one the wrong story) how lucky each of my days with them are. While listening to them, I knew the girl one was going to get her feelings hurt by the tall one and the tall one was going to be aggravated that the girl one was upset (again), all the while the hazel eyed one was going to be like, "mom, what's for dinner?"

Simple pleasures in life.
Simple being the silly arguments and pleasures being the 3 humans god has in trusted to me.

In the last few months I've done a lot of reevaluation's in my life. And in the process I've tried to do a lot of listening.
Listening to myself is hard for me.
I try and talk myself out of things or into things. All the while knowing that I just need to breathe and listen, and the right way will be shown to me.

So I have.

The good, the bad and the not so tasty morsels that I, somewhere along the way, have manged to bury inside me, I've allowed them back to the party.

I decided to listen to myself the same way I would with my children. Not judging right from the start and letting my thoughts and words marinade for awhile.

Another simple pleasure.
Simple being me, always trying to be my own worse enemy and pleasure realizing that I'm really just getting to old for that shit.