I walk away for one minute...

and this happens

Teen Mom

This show is one of my guilty pleasures. MTV got me hooked with 16 and Pregnant and I continued watching the girls on Teen Mom. I haven't watched the other seasons of 16 and Pregnant and now there is Teen Mom 2 which I am still on the fence about, but the first four girls have a special place in my heart. In the first year of the babies lives there have been engagements and breakups, domestic violence, financial troubles, school issues, moving, and custody battles. I feel for these girls. Two of the girls just seem like they were destined to be in this situation. Amber was involved in domestic violence several times when she repeatedly punched, shoved, and kicked her boyfriend. We don't really know much about her family except she has a father who is sick, but seems pretty normal and her brother is deployed overseas. I am very certain that she is bi-polar. If I remember correctly from the show she is on three anti-depressants but I think she really needs anger management. Caitlyn gave her baby up for adoption and her mother still hasn't accepted it. At every turn her mother is screaming and swearing at her. The baby's father has a supportive mother but his father is a drug addict who is always in jail(and is also Caitlyn's step-father).

 Farrah is a spoiled brat who got punched in the mouth by her mother and a whole legal battle ensued. I don't condone hitting but I understand her mother's frustrations. Now that Farrah has had financial problems she has moved rent-free into her parent's rental house across the street. Maci is the only one who seems to come from a normal family but she is always chasing a guy.

 Anyway, I will get to my point. There is a lot of criticism saying this show "glamorizes" teen pregnancy. I was pregnant with my son when these shows come out and he is about the same age as the babies in the show. I watched in horror as these girls when through the hardest times in their young lives. I was 23 when Michael was born and I felt too young to have that responsibility. If it weren't for the show most of these girls wouldn't be able to support their children. They have gone through more tragedy and heartache in two short years than most people do their whole lives.

 Here is an article talking about how teens are getting pregnant to be on the show. This is a parenting problem, not MTV's fault. I cannot imagine seeing these shows as a 16 year old and wanting to get pregnant.

Kim Kardashian tweeted  "I saw a story about a Memphis high school where 90 young female students were either pregnant or have given birth this year! I just couldn’t believe this and I find it so sad and disturbing. It seems that shows like Teen Mom are all of a sudden making teen pregnancy seem cool in the eyes of young girls...but girls, these are not people you should idolize!"

Amber from Teen Mom told E!   “There’s actually a study that shows since the original 16 and Pregnant aired, the number of teen pregnancies have gone down ... the show reveals how hard it is for all of us. It doesn’t glamorize anything! It shows the heartache we’ve all gone through.” 

 I don't  know who we should believe on that topic but I believe this show can be a really good lesson to girls out there. Maybe you will be famous for being 16 and Pregnant but your whole life will change at 16. You will no longer be a teenager, you will be a mom. These girls had to finish high school quickly before they had their babies, or in some cases haven't finished and might never get a GED. They have jobs and bills and all the responsibilities that their parents have but at 16.  And for the parents, I would hope we will all teach our children the consequences of teen pregnancy and that while we shouldn't demonize these girls, they are not what you should aspire to be like.

I can't believe how fast he is growing.

Michael will be 18 months old on February 2nd. He is so smart and funny. He takes all of my spoons out of the drawers, tries to open the front door, loves cartoons, learned to say no to everything, gives sloppy kisses and is just a joy to be around.

Last year at this time...

Now...

Daddy and Me.

 

Crockpot Brown Rice Risotto

1 1/2 cups brown rice
3 cups chicken stock
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup parmesan cheese

Mix everything int he crockpot except the cheese. Cook on low 4 hours. You may need to add more liquid. When it is done cooking stir in the parmesan cheese.

This is a really hearty and low calorie dish(222 calories a serving). This recipe makes enough for an army, but it is great heated up the next day for lunch. You can stir also stir in some cooked chicken and vegetables and have a one pot meal.

Finally a Moment to Breath...

Things have been crazy here lately. Michael has been getting teeth so he is extra clingy. On top of that he got a stomach virus on Sunday night and the whole family has passed it around since then. I got sick Monday night and am just starting to feel normal again. Somehow I messed up our checkbook so we haven't been doing much. John has been working extra to make up the money and he has been working on his old truck a lot. We have been a one car family for a long time now and it is getting annoying. Tuesday we are having another play date at Seabase and hopefully I can get a play date set up with my new mom's group. Even though people have lived in PA their whole lives they are still afraid to drive in the snow, so a lot of things have been cancelled. Lately I have been thinking about making soap to try to sell at craft shows. I'm hoping that I have a lot of interesting things to blog about in the coming months. Now that the sicknesses all seem to be over I will try to post more often.

Thanks to everyone who follows me! Please don't hesitate to comment. That's how people know I have followers! HAHA

Pumpkin and Raisin Bread French Toast.

I sort of stole this idea from Cookin' With Super Pickle.

 I was only making this for John, Michael, and I so I only made four slices. It's really simple so you can make as much as you want.

 First slice a loaf of pumpkin raisin bread. I will add the recipe later.












Beat 3 eggs and 1 cup of milk in a baking dish. Let the bread sit in the egg mixture for a minute on each side.
Then cook the bread just like you would regular french toast in a hot, greased skillet.

And Ta-Da! A super good, but not so healthy breakfast!

Seabase Family Fun Center

Yesterday we took Michael to Seabase in Greensburg, Pa.It is an indoor playground with things to climb on, slides, a ball pit, arcade, miniature golf, laser tag, and a snack bar. On Tuesdays it is only $5 ($7.50 normally) so we decided to go out before the snow hit. we had a nice family day. Lunch at Subway and then we played for a couple hours. I only got one picture because Michael was having too much fun to sit still.

Breakfast Cookies

What's Cooking? Breakfast Cookies for the Life Hacker on the Go

I have been looking for healthy breakfast ideas that are actually filling. I can't stand eating a big bowl of oatmeal and fruit and yogurt isn't cutting it. I'm going to make these over the weekend after I've gone grocery shopping. I will report back with how they turn out. I might also add some thing to them.

What a life!

First Michael took a nap until 6:40pm.

 Then he played the guitar, after he threw his dad's shoes all over the living room.

 Then he found a hiding place.















In between all that he tortured the dog, hit his head on the tv stand, ate maybe one noodle for dinner, and eventually went to sleep...at 12:30am.

Ranch and cream cheese chicken pasta

Saute 1 red pepper and half a small onion in olive oil. I added salt, pepper, and garlic because I pretty much add that to everything. Add in frozen peas and cook until heated through Once the vegetables are soft add cooked chicken chunks. I used chicken from a whole chicken cooked in my crockpot.  You can also use raw chicken breasts, it will just take longer to cook. 

Next stir in ranch dip mix, 8oz cream cheese, and half a cup of milk. Stir thoroughly and cook until melted. Stir in cooked rottini or other small pasta.

SNOW!

Sweet Potato and Cheese Wonton Cups

12 wonton wrappers
1 cup frozen diced sweet potato
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1oz shredded cheddar cheese
half a small onion diced
2tbs. parmesan cheese
salt, pepper, oregano

Cook the sweet potatoes and onions in a skillet with a little olive oil until tender. Mix the veggies with the cheeses and spices. Put the wonton wrappers in a greased muffin pan. Fill the wrappers with the filling. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Tofu Vegetable Fritters

As part of trying to lose weight and eat healthier I thought I would incorporate some tofu. The only thing I really know to do with tofu is season it and saute it in a skillet, then add it into something.

I made these tofu veggie fritters yesterday. They tasted like and egg scramble. 

This is how I made them:
  Put 12oz. firm tofu, 1 egg, 2 tbs. flour, and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese in a food processor. Process until smooth. I added salt, pepper, and garlic. In a bowl chop up a few slices of onion, half a red pepper, 10 black olives, and 1/4 a hot pepper. Stir the tofu into the veggies. Put into greases muffin tin. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. You will get about 8 fritters.

Sourdough Bread From a Homemade Starter.

My husband loves sourdough bread and I had never really eaten it so I decided to give it a try. Of course I couldn't make it the easy way and use yeast. I decided to grow a colony of bacteria on my counter instead. Here are the basic steps I took to make it. I'm assuming the result was good because I made the bread two days ago and its almost gone.

 To make a starter you need a large mason jar, 1 cup of flour, and 1 cup of water. Mix the flour and water together in the jar, loosely screw on the lid and sit it in a warm spot. Keep it between 70-80 degrees. Temperatures over 100 will kill it. Every 24 hours you must throw away half of your starter and add a fresh half cup of water and half cup of flour. It will be bubbly and have a slightly sour smell when its ready. Mine took 3 days but it could take longer.

 To make the bread: Pour your starter into a large bowl. Wash the jar because you will have leftover starter to put back into it. Add 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of warm water to the starter. Mix thoroughly. Sit it in a warm place to ferment, or as bakers call it "proofing". This is now called the "sponge".
 

 I proofed my sponge in the bathroom by the heater because it is the only warm place in the house where the dog and toddler can't get to it. It took an hour for mine to become frothy and smell sour like beer. It can take some starters 6-8 hours to proof. Just remember this is an all day process. The longer you let the sponge proof the more sour flavor your bread will have.

 Now to the recipe:
 2 cups of starter
3 cups flour
 2 tbs. olive oil or softened butter
 4 tsp. sugar
 2 tsp. salt

Mix the 2 cups of starter, sugar, salt, and oil(you can leave this out if you wish) together. Knead in the flour a half cup at a time. Yo may not need to use all of the flour. I only used 2 1/2 cups flour to get the right consistency. Let the dough rise loosely covered with a towel in a warm place. I put mine in the bathroom again. Let the dough double in bulk. Mine took 3 hours, but I don't think that was quite long enough.

Put the leftover starter back into the jar and give it a fresh feed of 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Poke a hole into the lid and keep it in your fridge. Feed it 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water once a week. This will be your starter for next time.

After rising in the oven.

 

 

 

Punch the dough down and knead it a little more. My dough didn't really need to be punched down. I got impatient after 3 hours. Slit the dough down the middle if you want, cover it with a paper towel and let it rise again, until doubled in bulk. I turned my oven on for a few minutes and put the dough in there for about an hour.

Now bake the bread at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Do not preheat the oven. Let the loaf cool on a cooling rack for an hour before slicing.

My bread was very dense but still tasted good. Next time I will let the dough rise overnight. I am also going to try to make a sweet sourdough.

I got all my information from this great site Sourdough Baking. The Basics by S. John Ross.

This weight loss stuff sucks...

because I totally can't do it. I have been eating healthier and using an online food and fitness journal. I haven't been exercising enough but I got a Bhangra Masala Dance (bollywood dancing) workout dvd. It is a really intense workout and really fun. I've used it once and I'm about to do it again. I'm hoping the exercising will pay off. I also want to start going to a Saturday morning Zumba class.

 I was always skinny and active in high school. I ate whatever I wanted. Now I have no idea how to lose weight. Any suggestions out there? Good workout dvds or recipes would be appreciated.