Week in the Life, Day 5

My days are getting more and more boring. Who thought this was a good idea???

Monday, September 17, 2012

8:30 – Up, write yesterday’s “Day in the Life,” browse online. Stephen took C to school, so I’m home alone. I have a long to-do list today but I’m procrastinating…not a good sign considering it’s the beginning of the day.
9:30-10:30 – eat breakfast. more procrastinating.
10:30-12:00 – pull out my school stuff and finally start working on homework. I watch lectures online, (Zzzzzz…) read, do online homework, more lectures.
12:00-1:00 – eat lunch (hot dogs, if you’re curious) and watch TV. I’ll give you three guesses.
1:00-4:00 – more homework. I actually ended up getting a lot accomplished today, despite my attempts at procrastination earlier in the day… ha! 
4:00 – Stephen gets home from work and we start working on dinner together. (White Chicken Chili. delish!)
4:30 – dinner’s in the crock pot, Stevo and I leave to pick up C from daycare
5:00 – back home! I play games with Christopher, prep for dinner (grate cheese, wash cilantro, etc.) clean up the mess in the kitchen from throwing dinner together earlier
5:30 – start watching Elmo’s World in my bedroom with Christopher
6:00 – dinner time!
6:30-7:15 – clean up from dinner, finish Elmo’s World. We laid on my bed while we watched it. I’ve been trying to be aware of my time with Christopher. He’s at daycare all day, several days a week, so I try to get all of my “stuff” taken care of while he’s gone, so that my time with him in the evenings is as free as possible. By the time 4 or 4:30 comes around, I’m just itching to go pick him up! I still want him to be able to play on his own, independently – which he does so well. But I still want to be there for him, even if it’s just sitting next to him while he watches television. I don’t spend every minute next to him from the time he gets home until bedtime. But I try not to be too busy, either.
7:15-7:45 – bath time for C. He loves bath time. I usually add bubbles to his bath and he loves to play with bath toys – trains and boats. I turn on the water and let it run and he plays after his bath for several minutes. Tonight we ended up throwing bubbles at each other and he giggled so hard. Those are the moments I live for. After we tuck C into bed, I take a shower and then afterwards Stephen wanted to watch MORE Criminal Minds. Apparently I’ve gotten him addicted, too. Haha! And that’s what we’re doing now. (9:51) Bedtime will probably be around 11.

Goodness. Am I boring y’all to death with my Days in the Life yet? Snooore.

I snuck in to check on Christopher a few minutes ago. Yes, I still do that basically every single night. I took a picture. =) ha! I think my flash bothered him.

When we tucked him in, Elmo was on “his own pillow” up by Christopher’s pillow. At some point, Elmo and his pillow got kicked down to the other end of the bed. Ha! Kid cracks me up.

White Chicken Chili

I made this chili tonight for dinner.  My mom found the recipe somewhere and made it for us once and Stephen LOVED it and made me get the recipe from her. He and Christopher both enjoyed it tonight (as did I) so I thought I’d share it. I like this because it’s quickly thrown together, freezes well, and it’s pretty healthy (It has a lot of cheese in it but you could easily reduce the amount of cheese in it and I don’t really think it would affect the flavor. In fact, I might do that next time.) I also like that it only dirties up two dishes and that you don’t really have to cook any other side dishes to go along with it. Yes, please!

Ingredients
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 T oil
1 large yellow onion
2 T cumin
1 T paprika
2 cans green chilies (I only use 1 can)
1 can chicken broth
2 cans great northern beans
2 cans white kidney beans
2 cans navy beans
3 cups monterey jack cheese

Directions
Cook chicken, onion, and spices in oil. Once chicken has cooked, add chilies and broth. Mix and let cook for a few minutes. Pour into crock pot. Add beans. Mix well. Cook on low for 2 hours. About 15 minutes before serving, add cheese.  Serve with more cheese, cilantro, sour cream, and tortillas.

**My notes – we just added cheese and cilantro to ours tonight, no sour cream or tortillas. Honestly, I didn’t read about the tortillas until I decided to type it up just now, or I might have done that. We had a few crackers with ours. I don’t think it needs the sour cream. I DO think that the cilantro is what really makes the final dish. It definitely needs the cilantro. This makes PLENTY, so  make sure you have a LARGE crockpot. Plan on having leftovers to freeze for later!

Enjoy!

Week in the Life, Day 4

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Our Sunday was booorrring.

8:15 – up with Christopher. I make him breakfast and while he eats, I get his church clothes ready.
8:45 – dress C for church, wait for his grandparents to pick him up. we play with toys while we wait.
9:10ish – my parents come by to pick him up. my mother-in-law calls and I talk to her for about 20 minutes
9:30-11:00 – I vacuum, put away dishes, clean up the kitchen, clean out the fridge and freezers. Housework never ends.
11:00 – Stephen gets up, we discuss plans for the day
11:20 – I get in the shower
11:45-12:30 – get dressed, hair done, makeup, etc.
12:30-2:00 – go pick up C from my parents house, go to Walmart for weekly shopping trip
2:30-4:00 – C naps, at 3:30 Stephen went to meet with the football coach for his post-game interview. I watch 2 episodes of Criminal Minds.
4:30-6:00 – prep/cook dinner. We had filet mignon, potatoes, (roasted for me and C, baked for Stevo) mushrooms, and green peas. This took awhile because Stephen was walking back into the living room every 2 minutes to watch the Cowboys game
6:45-7:30 – clean up from dinner, then I got down in the floor and played trains with Christopher for 30 minutes or so. He is so good with independent play, but he also loves it when others get down on his level and play his games with him. He giggles and is in such a good mood. I treasure this time with him!
7:45 – Bedtime for C
8:00 – Stevo and I watch Big Brother
9:00 – Stephen starts watching The Green Lantern. As in, the movie. No, thankyouverymuch. Saw it in the theater. That was plenty for me. I retreat to our bedroom and watch 2 episodes of…wait for it… Criminal Minds.
11:00 – Stephen’s movies goes off and we watch Breaking Amish together
12:00 - bedtime!

Week in the Life, Day 3

Whoa… I’m on a roll! Maybe this whole “week in the life” thing will get me back into the habit of posting daily?!? I STILL need to blog about C’s birthday party…which was a MONTH ago. Blogger of the Year, I am not.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

8:45 – Christopher wakes up, I inform Stephen. ha! Stephen gets up. I lay in bed, hoping to fall back asleep. I don’t. So, I lay there and savor the quiet, catching up on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and blogs. I’m not sure what I did before social media.
9:30 – I crawl out of bed and make my way into the living room. Christopher runs and screams “MOMMY!” as though he hasn’t seen in weeks. My heart melts.
9:30-10:15 – I eat breakfast, (Raspberry PopTart in case you’re curious) (or as C calls them, “top-part!”") family “down time,” Stephen watches College Game Day, (ugh) I play SongPop
10:15-11:15 – I shower, we talk to my family via Facetime, we make plans to go to my parents house for the afternoon, Stephen showers
11:00-11:45 – I do my hair and makeup and get Christopher and myself dressed
12:00 – head to grocery store to buy ingredients for Symphony Brownies (yum.)
12:10-12:20 – grocery store
12:30 – arrive at my parents house
12:30-6:00– hang out with my parents and my brother and sister-in-law. We ate lunch together, talked, played a few rounds of Scattergories, watched the Arkansas/Alabama game, (don’t want to talk about it) Christopher napped laid in bed for two hours and never fell asleep, basically just enjoyed ourselves.
6:00 - Ty and B leave to go to her family’s house.
6:00-9:30 - my parents and Stephen and I decide to play a round of Hand and Foot. We munch on leftover pizza for dinner and lay C down for bed at 7:30. After Stephen and I lost at H&F, we played a game of Spades. We also lost at that. (Again, don’t wanna talk about it!)

9:30 – drive home. this is really early for a cards night, but nice! We usually come home around midnight when playing cards because we don’t start until C goes to bed at 8ish. Tonight we got smart and set him up with an episode of Sesame Street and we started early!
9:45-11:00 – Stephen turns on the Texas/Ole Miss game, we switch back and forth between that and this morning’s Pioneer Woman. I blog and browse the internet. Oh, and I cough basically non stop. Dear Cold/Coughing/Runny Nose/Stuffy Nose/Allergies/Sinuses/etc, you’ve all come and tortured me over the past 2+ weeks. I’m tired of you. Please leave. Seriously, it’s been one thing after another for way too long now. Since Wednesday night my throat and voice have conspired against me and I kind of sound like a man. It’s really awesome sauce. On opposite day.
11:00 – I realize I should really be working on homework instead of blogging and watching the Longhorns. Hmm, decisions, decisions. I continue to browse Pinterest.
11:45 – my laptop flashes 10% battery. I ignore it.
11:47 – my laptop DIES. I think it lied about the whole “10%” thing. Drag butt off couch. Plug laptop in. Pinterest distracts me again.
11:57 – finish blog. go get ready for bed!

Week in the Life, Day 2

heeeeyyy, check it out. day 2!

Friday, September 14. 2012

7:40 – Christopher starts my day way earlier than I would prefer for him to
7:40-8:15 – breakfast for C, I sit on the couch and zone out.
8:15-9:00 – Christopher watches 2 episodes of Elmo’s World, I eat my breakfast
9:00-10:00 – Christopher and I hang out in the front yard, I weed the flower bed, he rides his bicycle in the driveway
10:00-11:00 – back inside, clean up, C plays with toys, I browse Pinterest for lunch ideas
11:00-12:10 – run errands – Stephen’s office for his paycheck, bank deposit, grocery store for 3 items for lunch
12:15 – get home and realize my oven and stovetop are not working because of gas problem (see bottom of post for details)
12:15-12:45, call Stevo, he suggests we go eat lunch somewhere, my brother shows up, Stephen comes home from work, we decide to all go get pizza buffet for lunch together
1:00-2:00 lunch with {some of} my people
2:00-3:45 – Christopher naps, I watch 2 episodes of Criminal Minds (although I really should nap instead)
3:45-5:00 – Christopher watches television (Elmo) and plays with toys while I browse online, make hotel reservations for War Eagle with my mom in October (so excited!), random other things
5:00-6:00 – start making dinner while Christopher plays with toys (he’s such a good self-entertainer) Stevo popped in to change his clothes and say goodbye to us before he left for the football game. I played with C while my chicken was cooking.

6:00-6:30 – eat dinner, clean up, use bribery to get C to eat
6:30-7:00 – we go outside to play, Christopher rides his bike again (see aforementioned bribery)

7:00-7:40 – Christopher’s bath time, brush/floss teeth, we read three books he picks out
7:45 – C goes to bed, prayers, night night sleep tight!
7:45-8:00 – I pick up/clean up a little, settle down with another episode of Criminal Minds
8:00ish – my parents knock on my front door, they visit for about 30 minutes
8:30-11:30 – Criminal Minds and blogging
11:30 – Stevo finally got home from the game/work
11:30-12:30 watch TV with Stephen, bedtime

**So, apparently there was some sort of huge gas leak or something that happened a few days ago, and basically everybody in town – including restaurants and the hospital – had NO natural gas connection because it had to be turned off. We have a gas stove and oven, but we check it last night and we were able to turn it on. So, Stephen and I thought that we had lucked out and kept our gas. Fast forward to lunch today: I was wanting something for lunch that I’d seen on Pinterest, but I needed one thing for it. (I hate it when that happens.) I actually needed to do a big shopping trip, but I just wasn’t up for making a long WalMart trip by myself, so I decided to run to our small grocery store to pick it up. When I got home, I turned on the stovetop to get a pan hot. The flame started and I went to work prepping other things while my pan was getting warm. Several minutes later, I threw some meat on my pan and realized that it wasn’t quite hot enough yet, as my meat didn’t sizzle. I thought it was strange…and eventually realized that the gas wasn’t working. Apparently we were just using what little bit of gas was left in the pipe? Anyway, it kind of ruined my lunch plans and I was back at square one – basically no food at home, not even bread for sandwiches. SO, lunch out. Thankfully, my gas was turned back on before dinner so I was able to make these Chicken Cordon Bleu Wraps. (They were yummy!)

 

Week in the Life, Day 1

I've noticed several people have been doing "Day in the Life" posts recently. I thought I might do one... except since I don't have a job that I work 9-5 every day or even a similar daily schedule, I'm thinking about doing maybe a "Week in the Life" post. Maybe 5 or 7 days? Can I really commit to posting 7 days in a row? I'm going to attempt it. Ha.

Week in the Life – Thursday
6:00 - alarm went off, I hit snooze twice
6:15 - in the shower
6:30 - out of the shower, Hubby jumps in
6:30-6:40 mousse in my hair, blow dry, make up on
6:50 - wake up C, get him dressed
7:05 - Stephen & I are in the car to take C to daycare
7:30 - Stephen & I are on the road to Arkadelphia for the day
9:00 - arrive in Arkadelphia, Stephen goes to class
9:00-10:00 - I sit in the car, catch up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Blogs, waste time
10:00 - I meet with my Marketing group in the library to work on a paper and discuss marketing project (this is why I'm in Arkadelphia today, I normally wouldn't be on Thursdays)
10:00-11:15 - group meeting
11:30 - pick up my darling sister-in-law and head to lunch with her
11:30-12:40 lunch with Britney, gripe about school, talk about baby fever, gripe about husbands (more me than her!)
12:40-1:10 - sit in car at HSU parking lot and chat with B for a few more minutes
1:15 - B heads to work, I run a few errands on campus
1:30-2:40 - I hang out in the air conditioning and waste time blogging (ha!)
2:40-5:00 - Stevo and I fill the car up with gas, drive to Mena, pick up C from daycare, and come home
5:00-6:45 - I felt almost comatose on the drive home – Stephen drove and I was so sleepy – but after we got home I suddenly got a burst of energy. When we got home I got Christopher some apple juice and he asked to watch Dino Dan (his latest obsession). Stephen was playing a game on his iPhone so I took the opportunity to clean and pick up the house like a madwoman. I think I got more done in that hour and a half than I do most days when I’m home alone while Christopher is at daycare. Cleaned, picked up, made dinner, ate.
6:45-7:30 - we all go outside, play with the dogs, run around the yard, jump on the trampoline, etc
7:45 - get C changed into pjs, brush and floss teeth, tuck him in, say our prayers
8:00 - I sit down for the first time since being home, with the exception of dinner. Big Brother time!
8:00-9:00 - Stevo and I watch Big Brother (Team Ian!)
9:00-whenever Stephen and I are night owls, so we usually stay up waaayyy later than we should. We watch tv, play Wii, waste time. We usually stay up until midnight, sometimes later…but we’re both tired tonight so I think we may actually try to go to bed earlier than normal.

Jesus, YES!

I’m not sure what song this is? Christopher goes to children’s choir at church on Wednesday nights and has been singing “Jesus, YES!” over and over. This is on the way home from daycare today. I can’t wait to watch him perform in front of the whole church!

The Proof is in the Pin!

Hey guys! I’m linking up with Sarah over at Life {Sweet} Life today! I love Sarah’s challenge of actually becoming doers and not just pinners. Over the summer I took a Pinterest-vacation, if you will… but I’m glad to say I’m back on the Pinterest bandwagon.

Since this is the first link-up, I’m listing a few of my favorite Pins from the last year or so.

1 – Bubble Up Enchiladas – found here. I’ve made these several times and my husband and I both like them. The next time I make them, I’m going to use a mild enchilada sauce. It’s a bit spicy for my three-year-old. We usually top this with avocado and light sour cream (although recently we’ve quit using sour cream altogether and we now use Greek yogurt; we used it with this the last time I made it and it was fine!) Also, the  next time I make it I’m going to try throwing some corn or olives in with it. I serve it with a side of black beans. Easy, healthy, yummy. Win-win-win.

2 – Wrapping Paper Bows – found here. I’m notorious for wrapping a present and not putting a bow on it. Unlike my talented mother or sister-in-law, I can’t take ribbon or tulle/mesh and create gorgeous bows. And I hate it when the store-bought bows aren’t sticky enough and fall off, or they’re all smashed, etc. Sooo when I saw this idea last fall, I KNEW it was for me. I did most of my Christmas gifts this way last year. It’s a great way to use left-over bits of wrapping paper, too!

3 – Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies – found here. I made these for the St. Patrick’s Day Bunco that I hosted this year. They were SO GOOD. I think the reason they were so good is because you take a Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix (which makes the best plain sugar cookies anyway) then add chocolate chips, crème de menthe baking chips, and mint extract to it. De-LISH.

4 – DIY Razorback Canvas – found here. Simple tutorial for making your own Razorback canvas (or whatever type of mascot you choose. I did this, then wrote “Woo Pig Sooie” in the Razorback. I wish I had left it blank because I don’t like the way my handwriting turned out using a Paint Pen. (Should have practiced.) Here’s a photo of mine while it was in progress.

5 – The Best Broccoli of Your Life – found here. This is actually an Ina Garten recipe. I’ve made this twice, once last year but then not again until last night. I’m not sure why I went so long between times, because it is really good! I’m like a toddler when it comes to eating veggies, and growing up I only ate broccoli if it was covered in cheese sauce. I struggle with feeding my family fresh veggies so this is definitely going into the rotation. My husband could have eaten the whole pan. It calls for parmesan cheese after they’ve finished roasting, but my husband requested that I leave it off because he loved it without the cheese. The instructions say to add lemon zest and lemon juice after it has roasted, but after adding the lemon zest, I thought it was plenty lemon-y. It also calls for pine nuts, but I used toasted slivered almonds instead. I also didn’t use the basil, same as the person in the original link.

6 – Melt In Your Mouth Chicken – found here. I made this for dinner last night, along with the broccoli above. First of all – it was SO GOOD! I will say that it looks NOTHING like the picture, and I was really afraid it was going to be awful. But it ended up being delicious! This is something that I can see myself making once a week because it’s so easy and healthy. Now – PAY ATTENTION HERE!!! When I pinned it, the little description box below the pin said:
So much better than fried!!! Melt in Your Mouth Chicken Breast, 1/2 c parmesan cheese,1 c Greek yogurt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt 1/2 tsp pepper, spread mix over chicken breasts, bake at 375 45 mins 
However, when you follow the link to the original page the recipe actually calls for a cup of MAYO instead of Greek yogurt. One of the reasons I repinned it is because of my recent love affair with Greek yogurt. I was disappointed because I just couldn’t imagine spreading a whole cup of mayonnaise (sick) over two chicken breasts. I decided to try it with the Greek yogurt. This may be why it ended up looking different than the picture above. Regardless – I’m glad I made it with the yogurt, and it’s going into my rotation for easy quick-fix meals. I also want to add that my three-year-old GOBBLED it up like it was going out of style. He RARELY eats all of the protein on his plate. Stephen and I laugh that he may end up being a vegetarian like his PopPop, but he ate ALL of the chicken I gave to him, which goes to prove how yummy it was! I’m including a picture of mine – just so that you’re forewarned if you decide to make this yourself. It won’t look like the picture in the original link! (Unless maybe you use mayo?) Oh – and one other thing. I read somewhere recently that if you cook with Greek yogurt, you should do it in ceramic or glass pans, not metal. The acidity from the yogurt reacts with the metal and creates a bad flavor. Not sure if it’s true or not, just throwing that out there. =)

Happy Pinning!!!