Merry Christmas 2013!

Merry Christmas to you and yours, from the Seeley family!

Here is our update for the year. :)

We did manage to get a visit in with Santa again this year at the mall. The boys were definitely very into that this year and eager to ask him for what they wanted! Haha!

When did they get so big?!?

The boys had their Christmas program at preschool last week. Too stinkin' sweet. Ethan was a donkey in the nativity scene. He may have looked more like a dog, but that's ok. ;)

Ethan, the donkey :)

The first day, Ethan hid in the back, so we didn't get the best pics of him. And though Noah did manage to stand up there in front of everyone (without hugging tightly to his teacher's leg! LOL!), he kept turned to the side the entire time, so this was the best shot we got of him, before he turned. Haha!

With all of their buddies at the preschool program!

They thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas cookies after the program, which made it all worth it for them! Haha!

Ethan participated in both days of the program, since he goes to school every day, so the next day, he did a better job staying closer to the front so that we could see him. We watched as he sang all of the words and did all of the hand motions, too! :) What a difference a year makes!! I love the last pic, where they are singing, "Let's all do a little jumping, let's all do a little jumping, let's all do a little jumping, and spread Christmas cheer!"

He had no problems performing on stage this year! :)

I decided to make Christmas gifts for their preschool friends again this year. I was inspired by this pin to create my own little tags to add to the treat bags, stuffed with Hershey's kisses and a tube of Lipsmacker.

Christmas treat bag tags

The treat bags were a pretty quick, easy thing to make, which is good, since I had 32 of them to do!! Yikes! I love plays on words, so this one definitely appealed to me. :)

I wanted to make something cute for their teachers, too, but ran out of time trying to find the supplies that I needed. So, I settled with Target gift cards. When I saw the red envelopes they gave me to put them in, I was inspired to create little Santa belts out of them. This was super easy, but made for a super cute gift! I completed them with little chalkboard tags that I found in the dollar section at Target. Unfortunately, chalk didn't work well on them (go figure), but I had a silver metallic Permanent marker that worked perfectly! I love the result!

Santa belt gift cards with tags

I think that starting a bit earlier than the day before handing them out might be a good idea next year! Haha!

We had lots of fun again this year with Rusty, our elf. You can check out all of his antics on this page, if you'd like! He left good reports for the boys, and they were placed on the "nice" list. :)

They made the nice list for good behavior, but he gave them some things to work on, too. ;)

Santa brought them the toys they haven't stopped talking about this past month...a "double helicopter" for Ethan, and a firetruck for Noah! Amos couldn't ask for a Johnny jump-up, but he loves trying to jump while standing on us, so I figured it'd be a hit. ;) Daisy has enjoyed her Cincinnati football rope toy, so I think we did ok with that one, too.

Christmas morning, 2013

I hope that you have had a wonderful holiday season and are enjoying it with your loved ones today. We had a fantastic month and can't wait for what the New Year brings!

the seeley family, christmas 2013

All I Want for Christmas is Diapers! {Pampers giveaway}

Christmas snuck up on me rather quickly this year. I guess that can happen when you have a baby just a few short months before the big day! So yeah, I'm going to go ahead and blame it on the fact that I now have three little ones competing for my time and attention. Between keeping up with our elf, Rusty's antics each night, designing and printing Christmas cards and gifts, Christmas shopping, etc, etc, etc, I've been spread a bit thin this month! Consequently, I seem to be a tad more forgetful than usual lately. Is that even possible?!? Often, I forget little things that aren't a big deal, but lately, I've been forgetting more important things, like putting diapers in the diaper bag for Amos. Houston, we have a problem. Please tell me I'm not the only one who has discovered that they are completely out of diapers when they go to change a well-soiled diaper while out running errands! Ouch.

Fortunately, it's easy for me to swing by my local CVS, grab the diapers I need, and be on my way! I love how clean and organized the store always is, no matter which one I frequent. I also love that I don't have to trek hundreds of yards through the store to get what I need while dragging along my tiny one! Quick and easy.

Pampers has always been my go-to brand of diapers since I started buying them nearly 5 years ago! All 3 of my boys have used them now, and I couldn't be happier with how well they work. They do a fantastic job keeping them dry all night long. When I feed Amos in the middle of the night, I wouldn't want to wake him even more by changing his diaper! Fortunately, that's not an issue with Pampers, as I don't have to worry about him leaking before morning. I also love the fact that when Noah wakes up in the morning, despite the huge amounts of water he drinks before bedtime, his pajamas and sheets are nice and dry. No leaks here! All of my boys have had sensitive skin (inherited from me, I'm sure), but had no troubles at all with either the Sensitive Swaddlers, or later with the Cruisers. I also use their sensitive wipes, which do an even better job now, at 20% thicker, especially with super sticky situations! I have enough things to worry about most days, so I'm glad diapers isn't one of them.

In addition to how soft they are and how dry they keep my kiddos, they also look cute! Pampers recently updated the look of both their diapers and their packaging, so they look great, too. Noah is a huge fan of Elmo and all of his Sesame Street buddies, so he loves seeing their adorable faces on his diapers. I love that they are soft and stretchy and move easily with my little man on the move! I also love their three layers of absorbency that pull wetness away from their bottoms, decreasing the likelihood for any diaper rash, or discomfort.

I love that Pampers rewards you for buying their products. You get a certain number of points for each product you buy, just by entering the 15-digit code found on the sticker on the package. Let's just say I've accumulated a lot of points in nearly 5 years. So many, that we even managed to get a free Kiddi-O Trike for Noah last year! I have a lot of points built up again, so I'll have to start browsing the catalog again soon. ;) What's better than getting free stuff just for buying necessities??

As we get ready to travel again this holiday season, I'm relieved to know that even though we'll be visiting our families in a couple fairly remote locations in Ohio, there are CVS stores nearby, in case we run out of diapers while we are there! With two little ones in diapers this year, all I want for Christmas is Pampers!!

Now for the fun stuff! It's your chance to enjoy some Pampers of your own! I'm giving away coupons for one free pack of Pampers diapers (up to $13.99) and wipes (up to $3.99)! To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win. The winner will be randomly selected after the contest closes on Tuesday, December 31st at 12:00 am, so be sure to leave your comment before then. Only one entry per person/email address, please. Additional entries will not be eligible to win. To qualify to win, you must be at least 18 years old and live in the United States. The winner will be notified by email. If they don't respond within 24 hours, a new winner will be selected. Good luck!!

All entries will be validated and removed if they do not fulfill the requirements. Please be sure you leave a comment below if you want your entry to count! ;)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Menu Monday #34

We enjoyed another week of having Josh off of work. Sadly, he's back at work today, and we were back to waking up to alarm clocks. :( Grandpa and Grandma Seeley and Uncle Jared visited for a couple days at the beginning of the week, then it was time for the Christmas decorations to disappear for the year. It's bittersweet. I love gazing at the lit-up tree in the evenings (it's always magical to me!), but I hate swatting at little hands all day as they try to remove ornaments for the gazillionth (yeah, that's a word - it's like 100 trillion?) time. This year, the tree kind of had to go, so we would have room for all the new toys the boys have! It's kind of ridiculous. They were spoiled rotten between all 3 Christmases this year!

The feast I made for New Year's Eve was fabulous! I was very happy with how the mini pizzas turned out. I will make those again. They are a great way for guests to be able to customize their toppings if you decide to do a pizza bar. That could be a fun option for a winter party, when you can't fire up the grill! The star of the night had to be the crabmeat appetizers though, but I was also equally impressed with the cranberry cream cheese crostini. I had no idea what to expect with this recipe, but I couldn't have been more pleased with the results. They were heavenly and I will definitely make them again because they were fairly quick and easy to make, too! I also discovered that the extra cranberry mixture makes a delicious salsa for corn chips! Yum. So, in Sesame Street fashion, the letter of the day must have been C...crabmeat appetizers; mini pizzas with chorizo, red onion and cilantro; Caprese skewers; and cranberry cream cheese crostini! Whew!

On New Year's Day, our Caribbean Jerk pork roast was delicious, as usual, but surprising to me, I actually really liked the sautéed red cabbage (a Rachael Ray recipe) that Josh made. In the past, I have tried preparing it other ways, and I was never a fan. But the flavors that he used this time were great (for the recipe, he used whole grain mustard instead of mustard seed), and the final dish was a good one. I would definitely make it for dinner if I could get the kids to eat it!

On Friday, we decided to check out our local fossil museum, as it's just down the road from our house. Ethan went in October with Uncle Mike and cousins Jacob and Rachel, and he kept telling us he wanted to go with us too, so we decided to check it out after naptime. The boys had a good time, especially when they got to dig for fossils. :)

 

After we were done there, we headed to Carrabba's, to beat the dinner rush. That place is always busy, but luckily there wasn't a wait at 5:30!

On Saturday morning, I made blueberry pancakes with a blueberry syrup. They were very tasty. I used my strawberry pancake recipe, but substituted 1/2 whole wheat flour for the all-purpose flour, and blueberries for the strawberries. For the syrup, I used the rest of my fresh blueberries, some granulated sugar, some cornstarch (as a thickening agent), a splash of water and a splash of orange juice. The orange juice provided just the right amount of tartness to counter the sweetness of the berries and sugar. It was perfect.

We enjoyed some time outside that afternoon, since the sun finally decided to make an appearance after days and days of rain!! The boys enjoyed riding around in their new dune buggy, and I managed to slow down the tiny one for a pic. :) He is such a sweetheart!

On Sunday morning, I decided to use up some of the ingredients that were leftover in the fridge, so I threw together a frittata, using the rest of the cherry tomatoes from the Caprese skewers, and the green onion from the cranberry cream cheese crostini. Perfect! I had also bought an extra package of English muffins in case I wanted to make a double batch of crabmeat appetizers, so those made a good side, topped with some strawberry preserves. I hate wasting food since it is so darn expensive lately, so I was happy that I didn't have to throw out this stuff! I used my basic frittata recipe, just changing up what I added to the eggs, milk and cheese.

Sunday: Leftover chili with whole wheat spaghetti and shredded cheddar

Continuing the trend of cleaning out the fridge, we ate up the leftover chili we had. This time, we served it over the spaghetti (Cincinnati-style), topped with the cheese.

Monday: Crunchy chicken, pierogies, sautéed corn

I made this meal a few weeks ago for the first time in awhile, and it was gobbled up by everyone, so I'll make it again. I coat the chicken in egg, then a mixture of crushed cornflakes, paprika, salt and pepper, then bake it. I sauté the pierogies in a little butter, as well as the corn. :)

Tuesday: Beef stroganoff over egg noodles, steamed peas

I haven't made this meal in ages, and Josh requested it awhile back, so I'm finally getting to it. I basically use Betty Crocker's recipe, as that is the recipe my mom uses. It's tasty served over egg noodles. I wanted to sauté some snap peas in a little EVOO, but our local store didn't have any, so I'll steam some frozen peas, unless I stop by Fresh Market to pick some up in the morning.

Wednesday: Whole wheat Pizza pancakes, Caprese salad

I haven't made these in awhile, but the boys love them, so I'll make them this week. I'll be using sausage and pepperoni in them. I still haven't updated my original recipe, but I now make my own Bisquick, and also sub 1/2 whole wheat flour, too. On the side, hubby and I will have a Caprese salad - fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil, drizzled with a little balsamic vinegar. Light and delicious.

Thursday: Cream cheese chicken chili over rice

I've only made this one once, a couple of months ago, but it was good. I really liked how the rice sopped up all of the liquid, and it did help cut down a bit on the mess factor with the tiny one, too. :) Instead of using a dry packaged ranch dressing, I make my own. It's super easy, much cheaper, and no extra ingredients that you can't pronounce!

Friday: TBD

We'll probably go out.

Saturday: TBD

Ditto.

It is going to be a rough week getting back into a routine again and back to preschool for Ethan tomorrow. I'm hoping it goes better than I am expecting it to! Is everything back to "normal" at your house, too?

The Christmas Letter I Didn't Send

As usual, I sent the obligatory Christmas letter to family and friends this year with our Christmas card. It's always upbeat and paints a happy picture of our little family. While everything in it was indeed true, it of course just highlights the positive aspects of our life right now. So, in an effort to showcase what life is really like with two boys (under 4) and a dog, I present you the Christmas letter that I didn't send out this year. Thanks to Anna at My Life and Kids and an episode of Up All Night for inspiring me to write this one, too! :)

Dear Family and Friends,

Another year had gone by and like they say, the years are short, but the days are long. So long. We finally found a house (because we're really, really picky) after being cramped into an apartment for six long months. We quickly learned that two small boys and a dog require more space than a 3 bedroom apartment can offer. Apparently, we love moving during the best weather times of the year (during ice storms in Kentucky, when we hit record lows in Georgia, etc). This time we chose the dead heat of July. That was fun. If we wouldn't have had movers, I probably would have given up and we'd still be in the apartment. We are enjoying living in the (new to us) house, but have learned there are downfalls to buying a house that you didn't build yourself (like we did with our first two). Someday, I'm hoping that we'll finish all of the renovations that we want to make to this one. I guess it's easier to make a list of them rather than to actually start them. In nearly six months time, we have managed to swap out most of the brass door handles for oil-rubbed bronze ones, and install under cabinet lighting in the kitchen. We've hung some pictures on the walls (mostly using nails that were already there) too, but that's about as far as we have come. Perhaps the New Year will bring us renewed energy to tackle more of that list? I'll keep telling myself that.

We were able to move in to the new house in time for little Noah's first birthday party! He's 17 months old now. I seriously don't know where the time has gone. I know that's very cliché, but I guess that's what happens once you have more than one child. Are we crazy for wanting to add another to this brood?? Noah has really started to develop his own little personality now. It's possible that he may have quite the stubborn streak. No idea where he would get that one from! ;) He seems to throw more tantrums than Ethan ever did, but we're hoping by ignoring them that he'll stop doing it. FYI, so far, it doesn't appear to be working. Noah is also not the traveler that Ethan was/is. He truly hates being strapped into that car seat for more than 30 minutes. He's not afraid to let you know it either. It makes our trips to Ohio truly delightful, though we continue to make them regularly. I think we went 9 times this year. That has to be a record for us! We also threw in a trip to Florida, too. That was a much easier drive when we lived just 4 hours away in Georgia. Noah is very independent, as well. While Ethan was happy to let us spoon feed him until well past 2 years, Noah won't let you come anywhere near him with a utensil. He insists upon feeding himself, no matter how messy the meal. It's so much fun to clean up after tomato soup dinners! Though he has proven to be more difficult than his big brother (who wouldn't love nightly feedings every 2 to 3 hours with Noah until he was 8+ months old?), I am very thankful that he is sleeping through the night. With all that said, he truly is a pretty awesome little guy. He has the sweetest demeanor (when he isn't throwing those tantrums), and we've declared him to be the best hugger ever. He was a quick mover like his big brother, crawling at 5 months, cruising at 7, then walking at 10 months. These boys like to keep their Mommy on her toes! Things haven't progressed in the speech department very quickly though until recently. He's saying "mama," "dada," "nana" (that's for banana, sorry Grandmas), "Grandpa," "cheese" (said while grinning from ear to ear with a cheesy grin, of course) and is getting fairly decent at some other words now. He signs for "more," "cup," and "all done." Yes, food is very important to this little guy! We're hoping he'll start saying more soon (Mommy is actually undecided since the big one never stops talking now that he started!), which we think will be soon based on how much he is babbling now. The boy loves to dance (Gangham style, anyone?), read books (it's super cute when he lays on his belly in his room to listen), and cuddle. He finally enjoys playing with his big brother (when they aren't fighting over toys, that is), and that makes us happy.

Speaking of the big brother...he is almost four now! He has grown up so much. He can be a super awesome helper around the house, when he isn't running around naked in it, squealing, "Naked boy!" Awesome. He continues to love playing with his cars, and we're working on the whole sharing with his little brother thing. That's not going well either. He started preschool in August, going two days a week. Mommy loves a little silence around the house those days, and Ethan loves playing with his new friends. Win-win! We're a little worried that he already has 2-3 girlfriends on most days. It's going to be a long 15 years with that one! He started speech therapy in March to work on saying more words, and to get better with his pronunciation. He has been doing really well with this, but as stated earlier, it's hard to get him to stop talking now. Whose idea was it to speed him along? While we're proud that we were able to potty-train him quickly, we're not so proud of his obsession with his wee-wee. Please tell me this goes away eventually? Ethan is super intelligent, sometimes too smart, we think. He doesn't hesitate to remind us most days that, "Mommy, I'm just three," or "Daddy, I'm just one boy," and "That's ok, Mommy. Some people don't know things." He's quite the funny little man!

Daisy continues to enjoy her princess status of the house. Do all dogs enjoy 1/2 of a king-sized bed to themselves every night? If it's possible, she may be getting even lazier in her old age. Moving from dog pillow to couch to bed all day is hard work I guess? She's been getting more stubborn about eating, too. Unfortunately, this then results in either, a) Josh force-feeding her, or b) her vomiting about once every 1-2 weeks. That's fun. Fortunately for her, she's still the most obedient of our children, so we'll keep her around for awhile.

Josh is enjoying his new job at Eastman. At first, he had to get used to the slower pace of the research environment, but now he thinks it would be hard to go back to the crazy hours he used to work. Kristy agrees. Josh would probably love to pursue some actual hobbies now that he has more free time. For now, he'll have to settle for playing his X-box at the house while the boys nap, since Kristy likes to flee the house for some "me time" whenever she gets the chance!

Kristy continues to stay at home with the boys. She dreams of someday doing a little more than wiping butts and noses all day, but will have to settle for that for now. She continues to enjoy cooking and trying new recipes (at least when the boys eat them anyway), and blogging here about various things. She is thankful she has been able to make a few friends here and enjoys getting to spend time with them.

As I mentioned earlier, we enjoyed a trip to Florida this year. Once we got there, that is. The boys really did love the beach and the pool. While Kristy still dreams of tropical, kid-free vacations now, we did have an enjoyable time. We're excited to go back next year!

Love,

The Seeley Family
josh, kristy, ethan, noah and daisy

Looking all sweet and innocent here, of course. ;)

And there you have it. I hope your Christmas was great!!

Menu Monday #32

Are you ready for Christmas tomorrow?!? I think we are finally ready after a bit more shopping this weekend, and some wrapping that went on during naptime today. We still have some cookies to bake tonight and then we will be all set!

On Wednesday, the boys and I made Rudolph ornaments. You can check those out on the elf on the shelf page. So sweet.

On Thursday, we had Ethan's preschool Christmas program. They had learned several songs with motions to perform for the parents on stage. Sadly, once Ethan saw us when he entered the room with his class, he didn't want to go on stage, and wanted to come sit with us instead. So, no pics or videos of that. :( Maybe next year! We did enjoy some muffins and juice with him after the program. I put together Rudolph bags for Ethan's teachers and little Rudolph candy canes for his classmates. I traced his hands to make the ears, and he stuck the wiggly eyes and pom-pom noses on the bags. Super cute. The candy canes have pipe cleaners for antlers, then wiggly eyes and pom-pom noses. I added little tags that wished each child a merry and bright Christmas. :)

We enjoyed the first day of winter on Friday by waking up to SNOW!! Very fitting. I was still laying in bed when two excited little feet came running into our room. Ethan happily informed me that, "Mommy! There's snow on the ground!!" It was almost as exciting as Christmas morning for him! :) Once Daddy arrived home from work, we ate lunch and headed outside to play in the snow. It was still coming down, but the ground was warm, so there wasn't as much of it as we would have liked. We did manage to build a small snowman - the boys' first! They loved it. :) After playing outside in the cold, we headed in to warm up with some hot cocoa. I was never a fan of it growing up, but tried out a recipe for a homemade version from Hershey's that I loved! I added the extras. :)

Peppermint Hot Cocoa
(single serving)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Dash of salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 tsp cocoa
• 1 cup milk
• Whipped cream
• Peppermints, crushed

Directions:
Mix the sugar, cocoa and salt in a large mug. Add the milk and stir well. Microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes, or until hot. Stir in the vanilla. Top with some whipped cream and some crushed peppermints. Delish!

That evening, we indulged in a Cracker Barrel dinner. Josh loves their country breakfast and I have a soft spot for their dumplings. It appears little Noah has inherited this love, too. :)

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed some of my whole wheat banana bread pancakes. This time, I also added some chopped walnuts. It was a great addition. The cinnamon vanilla maple syrup came out wonderfully this time, too. Maybe because I didn't measure anything? I tend to cook better that way for some reason. We spent a lazy day around the house, but managed to get a few things done. I decided it was time to tackle my laundry room/entryway from the garage. I'll post pics of that project soon! On Saturday evening, we were in the mood for pizza, so we visited our new favorite, Scratch, for dinner. We loved the pizza that we ordered last time so much that we got it again. Andouille sausage, pepperone, onions and fresh spinach. Yum. We also had more of the pesto cheesesticks, with the red sauce this time. The boys can pound those pretty hard!

On Sunday morning, Ethan helped Daddy make scrambled eggs and Cream of Wheat for breakfast, as that has become our normal Sunday brunch. I decided I wanted some steel cut oats instead, so I made some Apple Cinnamon Oats for myself. For dinner, we decided to go out, and enjoyed some international cuisine at Yong Asian House, before hitting up the grocery store. Their chicken and steak teriyaki with fried rice was pretty tasty. Definitely satisfied the lack of hibachi I have had in my life lately. Then, we loaded up with sugar, milk and butter at the store and began baking our Christmas cookies when we got home. On our list this year: pecan butterballs (aka, Russian tea cakes, or Mexican wedding cakes), peanut butter fudge, peanut butter blossoms, snickerdoodles, sour cream cookies, and of course, the obligatory cutout Christmas cookies with frosting. We managed to finish the first three last night, and will be tackling the rest tonight/tomorrow! We may all be bouncing off the walls by the end of it, but we're all enjoying it. :)

Last week's new recipes, Taco cupcakes and Mexican rice, turned out great. The taco cupcakes were really awesome and I'll definitely make those again. I loved the addition of the beans with the meat. They were very hearty and the recipe yielded 16 cupcakes, so I had lots of leftovers! The rice was on the hot side, probably due to the chili powder. I'll make it again, but definitely reduce that amount. Hubby and I love spicy food, but it was hotter than I prefer and way too hot for the boys. Here's what's on the menu this week...

Sunday: Yong Asian House

A yummy meal to fill us up before grocery shopping.

Monday: Hearty meatball stew

This is our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. It's one of my dad's favorites, and for some reason, I only seem to make it on Christmas Eve, instead of throughout the entire winter. I'm not sure why, though it is a bit time-consuming. It will be Noah's first year of getting to try it, so I hope he loves it, too!

Hearty Meatball Stew

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed tomato soup
• 3 carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 can (7.5 oz) Pillsbury biscuits
• Paprika

Directions:
Original family recipe: In a medium bowl, combine the ground beef, egg, onion, salt, pepper and garlic powder; mix well. Shape into 1 1/2-inch balls. In Dutch oven, brown the meatballs; drain. Dissolve the bouillon in boiling water. Add water, soup, vegetables, thyme, and remaining garlic powder to the meatballs; stir gently. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Separate the dough into 10 biscuits; cut each biscuit in half. Place biscuit halves on hot stew mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes; cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes longer.

My changes: I add more spices to the meatballs, and make them as I normally would for spaghetti and meatballs. I also use an entire pound of carrots (minus a couple that we leave out for Santa's reindeer with the milk and cookies!), 2 large (or 3 medium) potatoes, and 2 cans of biscuits (my favorite part!). This yields a big batch, but allows for leftovers for the week. I would like to try using my own biscuit recipe sometime. Maybe next year?

Tuesday: Manicotti, French bread, applesauce

This has become our traditional Christmas dinner meal. It is probably my favorite meal from my childhood and I love that my boys love it, too! I'll make the bread in the bread machine.

Manicotti

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup parsley
• Dash of pepper and salt
• 10 manicotti shells

Directions:
Fill dutch oven 3/4 full with water, bring to a boil and add manicotti shells. Let cook according to package directions. Brown the ground beef in a skillet, then drain. Add the spaghetti sauce and let simmer. In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese and the Parmesan cheese. Add the eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture. Pour half of the meat mixture into the baking dish. Put in the stuffed shells and add the remaining meat sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 40 to 60 minutes. This would also make a great vegetarian meal by taking out the beef. It will still be delicious!

Wednesday:  TBD

My parents should be here for dinner, but I'm still deciding what I want to make. I am thinking about doing a big turkey dinner. I despise ham, and don't really want to make one of those, but a turkey dinner might be nice?

Thursday: Pizza casserole

Ethan requested this meal! I made this one up a couple years ago, and it's a tasty one. I line a casserole dish with large pepperoni, then top it with a pasta mixture (whole wheat rotini, pizza sauce, diced red, yellow, and green peppers, onions and more pepperoni), then top it with some shredded mozzarella cheese. Cover and bake it until the cheese is melted.

Friday: Out to eat

We want to take my parents to Scratch for some pizza! :)

Saturday: TBD

Not sure what we'll do yet.

We'll also do some bigger breakfasts for the holidays this week. On Christmas morning, I like to make "Santacakes" for the boys. I color pancakes red and green, and add chocolate chips for "reindeer poo". Hehe. With company in town, I'll make breakfast casserole one day and my favorite coffee cake another day. Yum!

Happy meal planning to you this week. Will you be doing a lot of cooking and/or baking, or are you traveling for the holidays? We decided to stay in Tennessee this year, after making 9 trips to Ohio already this year! We needed a break and wanted to spend a relaxing couple of weeks at the house with the boys. We will have both sets of grandparents and Uncle Jared visiting us this year and look forward to entertaining!

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to share the Christmas card and newsletter I created for this year. :)

 

I love getting cards in the mail, especially photo cards. Here's how I am displaying mine this year, thanks to Pinterest...

I need to hang more ribbon!

I love all the pictures of the cute kiddos! One of our friends even announced the good news that they are expecting their first baby this year by including an ultrasound pic! Yay! :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Menu Monday #31

We spent a lot of family time together this weekend. Like every other parent out there, we hugged our little ones a lot tighter and prayed for the families suffering this horrible tragedy. I still haven't found the words for how I am feeling, nor do I know if I'll ever truly understand why these things happen. I'm fortunate that our boys are too young to know what is going on, too innocent to have to grasp the situation themselves. I have been thinking about everything since Friday...about mental illness, gun control, media influence. Perhaps I will tackle all of this in another post at some point, in an effort to sort out my thoughts and try to make some sense of this horrible situation. For now, I will continue to pray for the families and cherish every moment I spend with our boys. I'm crying inside for all of those mothers who won't be sharing Christmas with their little ones this year, but trying to maintain normalcy for our boys, as they have no idea what has gone on, but they do know this is supposed to be a happy time of year.

On Friday evening, I had had a Girl's Night scheduled, and I went ahead and went to it. I knew the boys would be safe at home with their Daddy and they love that special alone time with him. They enjoyed some pizza and root beer and watched Christmas movies that evening. While they were having fun at home, I had a nice evening out with some friends. We went to The Battery, in downtown Johnson City. They just opened in March, but we hadn't been there yet to check it out. Set in what appears to be an old factory, the inside has been updated, but retains its brick walls. Very nice. The atmosphere was great for a girl's night, or date night. The food wasn't bad, but not my favorite. My caesar salad was excellent, but I made the mistake of ordering the salmon for my entrée. It wasn't bad, but I have been spoiled with Josh's superb grilling skills. It's super moist and delicious when he makes it, and the salmon I had was kind of dried out, so it lost a lot of its flavor. The potatoes they served (like a potato au gratin) were pretty good, as well as the grilled asparagus. Overall, it was a good experience, but I would definitely try one of their steaks next time instead. We had a nice evening sharing stories and laughs, much needed after a day of mourning.

Waiting for our food!

On Saturday morning, I treated the kids to more strawberry pancakes with cream cheese icing. Ethan had requested them again and well, I kind of just felt like giving that boy anything he wanted this weekend. I'm sure you know how I felt! We enjoyed the rest of the morning in our jammies watching Christmas movies. Later, after naps, we cleaned up and went Christmas shopping for the boys! It's possible that the boys may have went around the stores pointing out some things they wanted, that "Santa" then purchased! ;) I am super excited about the one big item we got for them to share this year. Is it bad that I might be more excited to play with it than them? Haha! We enjoyed a yummy dinner at Carrabba's while we were out. Their chocolate bread pudding is absolutely amazing. Please go enjoy some while they are still offering it!!

Helping crack the eggs!

On Sunday morning, Ethan and Noah helped Daddy make scrambled eggs and Cream of Wheat for breakfast. As one of the boys' favorite meals, it enjoys heavy rotation in our weekend schedule. :) Later that day, we decided to head to the local mall for some more shopping and a chance for the boys to sit on Santa's lap! We had skipped it on Saturday because the mall was super packed. We were hoping for a shorter line on Sunday, and it wasn't too bad. Ethan was very excited for the chance to meet Santa, but Noah wasn't as equally pumped. Fortunately, there were no tears, but we weren't going to get a smile out of him either. Maybe next year. :) The boys had fun shopping with Daddy for presents for Mommy. ;) There are now 2 little packages hiding somewhere in the house that will drive me nuts waiting to see what they are! Haha!

Sunday: Dinner at the mall

We ate at the food court while we were out. Burgers for the guys, and a grilled sub for me.

Monday: Taco cupcakes, Mexican rice

On the menu this week!

I'm going to try a couple new recipes from Plain Chicken. She always has tasty recipes, so I am sure these will be good, too. The taco cupcakes are made with wonton wrappers, like the lasagna cups I have made in the past. Should be a tasty combo with ground beef, black beans and cheddar cheese. On the side, the Mexican rice should pair well with these. A very fun, kid-friendly meal.

Tuesday: Crunchy chicken, pierogies, corn

I haven't made this meal in ages, but it used to be one of Ethan's favorites, so we'll see if he still likes it as much. I slice my chicken breasts thin, then coat them in some egg, then a mixture of crushed up cornflakes, paprika and a little salt and pepper. I bake them in the oven until tender and juicy. I buy Mrs. T's frozen pierogies since I have never tried making my own, though I should. If you aren't familiar with them, they are dumplings stuffed with a potato filling. Heavenly! I heat them up on the stove top by sautéing them in a little bit of butter. So good! I'll also sauté some frozen sweet corn in a little butter, too. Not the healthiest meal, but super tasty.

Wednesday:  Grilled pork chops, roasted butternut squash, and toasted pine nut couscous with dried cranberries

We skipped this meal last week, but it's supposed to be warmer and not raining on Wednesday, so a pretty decent day for grilling. Pretty crazy for the week before Christmas, but I'll take it!

Thursday: Chicken parmesan, whole wheat rotini, roasted green beans

This is another meal I haven't made for awhile, and another favorite of Ethan's from a couple years ago. I coat the chicken breast (sliced thin), in a little egg, then a mixture of bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese and parsley. I bake these until tender and juicy, topping them with a little shredded mozzarella cheese near the end. I serve them over the rotini, with some tomato sauce. Last week's fresh snap beans were awesome when I roasted them in the oven with a little EVOO, sea salt and freshly ground pepper, so I'll do that again.

Friday: TBD

We'll probably eat out somewhere. We'll see what we're in the mood for that day!

Saturday: TBD

Maybe we'll eat out again. Maybe not.

Happy meal planning to you this week. I was in the mood for some comfort food this week, and it showed! Are you finished with your Christmas shopping? We're not quite done yet, but I feel better knowing that we have at least started now!

If you haven't checked out Mom of the Year's posts on What Real Moms Want for Christmas, please do so! Keep tuning in...the post for this week will be coming up on Thursday, instead of today.