Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Chicken Spaghetti Bake
1/2 lb. spaghetti
1 can fat free cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup cheez whiz type cheese
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Cook your spaghetti. Saute the chicken and onions until cooked through. Put the corn into the boiling pasta water for the last 2 or 3 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350.
Mix the soup and cheez whiz into the chicken. Add your drained spaghetti and corn. Mix thoroughly and put into an 8x8 inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes.
This is one of my favorite go to dishes. We always have pasta and chicken and some kind of cream soup. You can change the type of pasta and use cream of mushroom soup too. Any frozen vegetable that you like works in this dish. It takes about 15 minutes of work.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Kindness and morals today.
It shocks me how inconsiderate people are in today's society. I hate going to the mall because of all the loud teenagers who swear and talk about vulgar things, walk into my baby stroller, and are just generally rude. I was taught to always say please and thank you, give up my seat to an elderly person or pregnant woman. If I was running around a store being loud and disruptive or swearing and bothering people at a restaurant my parents would have kicked my butt(figuratively). I never would have acted like that to begin with since I KNEW it was wrong. I hope that Michael grows up to be polite and helpful, luckily he has me for a mom ;). John and I are only in our 20s but we are always saying "I hate teenagers."
I was thinking about this because a few weeks ago we helped our elderly neighbor and everyone was so impressed by our kindness. His wife stopped by our house a couple days ago to bring us a box of chocolate and a thank you card. Her husband has dementia and one day while she was out he decided to take a walk in his pajamas and fell right in front of our house. It was January in PA, he didn't have on any shoes, or a jacket. He fell and hit his forehead but wasn't seriously injured. We brought him inside, called 911, cleaned him up, got him some water and tried to find his wife. The paramedics and police were with him in our house for at least and hour and they all said thank you to us about 10 times. What were we supposed to do?
It is sad to think that people wouldn't help their neighbor, or even a stranger for that matter. John says I am a sucker for charity. I will probably end up being one of those people who get robbed in one of those scams where a woman rings your doorbell covered in blood and a man jumps out of the bushes with a gun(not that I'm actually afraid of this but it does happen.) I would rather trust people and be able to feel good about my choices than hide from the "what-ifs." There are far too many stories about people being hurt because no one wanted to get involved.
I was thinking about this because a few weeks ago we helped our elderly neighbor and everyone was so impressed by our kindness. His wife stopped by our house a couple days ago to bring us a box of chocolate and a thank you card. Her husband has dementia and one day while she was out he decided to take a walk in his pajamas and fell right in front of our house. It was January in PA, he didn't have on any shoes, or a jacket. He fell and hit his forehead but wasn't seriously injured. We brought him inside, called 911, cleaned him up, got him some water and tried to find his wife. The paramedics and police were with him in our house for at least and hour and they all said thank you to us about 10 times. What were we supposed to do?
It is sad to think that people wouldn't help their neighbor, or even a stranger for that matter. John says I am a sucker for charity. I will probably end up being one of those people who get robbed in one of those scams where a woman rings your doorbell covered in blood and a man jumps out of the bushes with a gun(not that I'm actually afraid of this but it does happen.) I would rather trust people and be able to feel good about my choices than hide from the "what-ifs." There are far too many stories about people being hurt because no one wanted to get involved.
Friday, February 18, 2011
I Love You Through And Through
I love you through and through.
I love your bottom side.
I love your inside and outside.
I love your happy side, your
sad side, your silly side,
your mad side.
I love your fingers and toes,
your ears and nose.
I love your hair and eyes,
your giggles and cries.
I love you running and walking,
silent and talking.
I love you through and through...
yesterday, today, and tomorrow, too.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Chewy Chocolate Cherry Cookie Bars
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup dried tart cherries
- 1/4 cup milk
Once the brownies are cool you can drizzle some melted white chocolate on top.
Valentine's Day
Heart shaped pancakes with strawberry syrup and chocolate sprinkles. |
Michael's gifts. The lion has animal cookies in it. |
Like he needs more stuff. |
My gift because John broke my big mug. |
John's gift. A metal garage sign and beer shaving soap. |
Giant steaks I made for dinner. |
Steak, cheesy mashed potatoes, and asparagus. |
Chewy Chocolate Cherry Cookie Bars |
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Not Your Grandma's Tuna Noodle Casserole
My Grandma never actually made tuna noodle casserole but the original recipe calls for canned cream of celery soup, egg noodles, and peas...three things we rarely have in the house. So, I decided to update it a bit.
First put a pot of water on to boil. You'll be cooking a 1/2 lb of rotini pasta.
While you are waiting for the water to boil, thaw 1 cup of frozen chopped broccoli, chop up half a medium onion, and drain 2 cans of tuna. Put the tuna and broccoli in a 13 inch glass baking dish. You can put the onions in with the pasta to make them tender. Once the pasta goes into the water, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Next make the sauce for the casserole:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup skim milk
4oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. fresh garlic
1 tbsp. dill
Heat the milk and cream cheese in the microwave for about 2 minutes so the cream cheese is melted. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
*The sauce may taste a bit salty but it will be fine once you mix it with everything.
Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and pour it in the baking dish also. Pour the sauce over the top and mix everything thoroughly. Sprinkle on top a mixture of 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Put a little olive oil or butter on the top to help the bread crumbs brown.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Now serve yourself a big bowl and enjoy!
First put a pot of water on to boil. You'll be cooking a 1/2 lb of rotini pasta.
While you are waiting for the water to boil, thaw 1 cup of frozen chopped broccoli, chop up half a medium onion, and drain 2 cans of tuna. Put the tuna and broccoli in a 13 inch glass baking dish. You can put the onions in with the pasta to make them tender. Once the pasta goes into the water, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Next make the sauce for the casserole:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup skim milk
4oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. fresh garlic
1 tbsp. dill
Heat the milk and cream cheese in the microwave for about 2 minutes so the cream cheese is melted. Stir in the remaining ingredients.
*The sauce may taste a bit salty but it will be fine once you mix it with everything.
Once the pasta is al dente, drain it and pour it in the baking dish also. Pour the sauce over the top and mix everything thoroughly. Sprinkle on top a mixture of 1/2 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Put a little olive oil or butter on the top to help the bread crumbs brown.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Now serve yourself a big bowl and enjoy!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Price of Beauty
Botched Butt-Enhancement in a Hotel Blamed for Death
Posted by Julie Ryan Evans on February 10, 2011 at 10:50 PM The Stir on Cafemom.com
You would think that anyone would run from offers of any medical procedure done in a hotel. But in a search for perfection at a bargain, Claudia Adusei elected to undergo a butt-enhancement procedure in the most unseemly of places -- a Hampton Inn. That vain search is thought to have cost her her life.
The 20-year-old student traveled from England to the hotel in Philadelphia to get some more junk in her trunk. But instead, after receiving the injections, she started having problems breathing and chest pains. By the time medics got her to the hospital, she was dead. While her case is still under investigation, authorities say it's likely her death was caused by the procedure.
Tragic, awful, and so preventable. But while it's easy to sit back and say how could she? and she should have been smarter than that, it's also not that difficult to see how a young woman could get caught up in the excitement of it all and go for the thrill of the bargain. A large derriere certainly has done Kim Kardashian well, so why not? It's just a little injection, not like real surgery or anything.
Women host Botox parties in their homes; you can get your teeth whitened in a mall; and many spas perform treatments and procedures you once could only get in a dermatologist's office. The procedures are becoming so common and so prevalent that their risks are often overshadowed by the results we want to see. Many seem to forget that more than our beauty is at stake.
Unfortunately, sometimes you get what you pay for. And when it comes to your health, it's not time to bargain. Hopefully, Adusei's death won't be in vain, and rather serve as a cautionary tale to all women to do the research, to know what's being done, and ultimately to really evaluate if ANY risk is worth the price of physical beauty.
Can you imagine ever getting a cosmetic procedure done in a hotel room?
Most of the comments on this story are from women who think this girl is an idiot. While I agree that she should have been smarter, isn't it sad that she thought this was her only option? We don't know her side of the story. Somewhere she got the idea that her body wasn't good enough and to be accepted she needed to change it. As parent's it is our job to teach our children to love themselves. Luckily, I have a boy so this probably won't be an issue, but girls aren't the only ones with self-esteem problems. Michael is a very beautiful little boy and everyone tells him so. I also tell him he is beautiful, but I also tell him how smart, funny, and, sweet he is just as often. I try to point out to family that being beautiful is not what makes him so great. Who knows, he may grow up and be very ugly. Are we all going to stop loving him? I don't think so (although I know how some will act).
I never had issues with my appearance as a teenager, but I know my sister did. It wasn't to the point where she was depressed or wanted to change herself, but she would say things about how she wished she was skinny like me, or tall like me. I always thought Ashley was beautiful. Our Grandmother always used to tell me how pretty I was and Ashley how smart she was. We weren't traumatized by it, but I was always annoyed that she didn't think I was smart because I was. And I know it hurt Ashley's feeling quite a bit.
So let's all agree to love our children (and everyone) for who they are, not for their looks, or what they can do, but who they are inside.
The 20-year-old student traveled from England to the hotel in Philadelphia to get some more junk in her trunk. But instead, after receiving the injections, she started having problems breathing and chest pains. By the time medics got her to the hospital, she was dead. While her case is still under investigation, authorities say it's likely her death was caused by the procedure.
Tragic, awful, and so preventable. But while it's easy to sit back and say how could she? and she should have been smarter than that, it's also not that difficult to see how a young woman could get caught up in the excitement of it all and go for the thrill of the bargain. A large derriere certainly has done Kim Kardashian well, so why not? It's just a little injection, not like real surgery or anything.
Women host Botox parties in their homes; you can get your teeth whitened in a mall; and many spas perform treatments and procedures you once could only get in a dermatologist's office. The procedures are becoming so common and so prevalent that their risks are often overshadowed by the results we want to see. Many seem to forget that more than our beauty is at stake.
Unfortunately, sometimes you get what you pay for. And when it comes to your health, it's not time to bargain. Hopefully, Adusei's death won't be in vain, and rather serve as a cautionary tale to all women to do the research, to know what's being done, and ultimately to really evaluate if ANY risk is worth the price of physical beauty.
Can you imagine ever getting a cosmetic procedure done in a hotel room?
Most of the comments on this story are from women who think this girl is an idiot. While I agree that she should have been smarter, isn't it sad that she thought this was her only option? We don't know her side of the story. Somewhere she got the idea that her body wasn't good enough and to be accepted she needed to change it. As parent's it is our job to teach our children to love themselves. Luckily, I have a boy so this probably won't be an issue, but girls aren't the only ones with self-esteem problems. Michael is a very beautiful little boy and everyone tells him so. I also tell him he is beautiful, but I also tell him how smart, funny, and, sweet he is just as often. I try to point out to family that being beautiful is not what makes him so great. Who knows, he may grow up and be very ugly. Are we all going to stop loving him? I don't think so (although I know how some will act).
I never had issues with my appearance as a teenager, but I know my sister did. It wasn't to the point where she was depressed or wanted to change herself, but she would say things about how she wished she was skinny like me, or tall like me. I always thought Ashley was beautiful. Our Grandmother always used to tell me how pretty I was and Ashley how smart she was. We weren't traumatized by it, but I was always annoyed that she didn't think I was smart because I was. And I know it hurt Ashley's feeling quite a bit.
So let's all agree to love our children (and everyone) for who they are, not for their looks, or what they can do, but who they are inside.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cake
At this point you can put the mixture in a 9inch glass baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.
Or you can do this..
Stir in 1/3 cup Craisins, put mixture
into a greased muffin tin, and sprinkle some honey roasted sunflower kernels on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Each muffin has about 170 calories.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
I care about my child's safety more than you care about yours...
if you choose not to extended rear-face your child in their car seat. Its as simple as that. The law says children can be in a forward-facing car seat at 1 year and 20lbs but it has been proven that children are much safer in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the seat limit, which is usually 30lbs. There are no added benefits of forward facing. I have heard lots of excuses for it like..."they are bored", "I want to be able to interact with them", "I want the air conditioning to reach them", and blah, blah, blah. None of those reasons are valid. My son can see much more in his large rear-facing seat looking out the side and rear windows than he could staring at the dashboard in a forward-facing seat. If your car is cool from the air conditioning then your child will be cool facing backwards. I sing to Michael, talk to him, point out things he can see, etc. As for their legs being squished(another common excuse), Michael weighs 28lbs and is 33 1/2 inches tall and fits comfortably with lots of leg room in his seat. If you get the proper car seat there should be no problem with your child fitting in it. I read an article about car seat safety once and one quote really stuck out to me: "Broken leg, cast. Broken neck, casket." Think about that. They are not that expensive. Ours cost $150 and should last him until he is 10 years old. I don't see that as a valid excuse either. As a parent I feel that any price is worth it for something that will keep Michael safe.
Here is some info from CPS Safety . This is an organization dedicated to care seat safety. All of their information is thoroughly researched and from credible sources.
Here is some info from CPS Safety . This is an organization dedicated to care seat safety. All of their information is thoroughly researched and from credible sources.
Rear-facing - Unmatched Safety
Rear-facing is the safest position the child can ride in. It is strongly recommended that all children stay rear-facing beyond the minimum requirements of 1 year and 20 lbs. Children should not be turned forward-facing until they reach the maximum rear-facing limits of a convertible seat (that allows rear-facing to at least 30 lbs). These limits are either the maximum rear-facing weight limit or when the top of their head is within one inch of the top of the seat shell, whichever comes first. While most parents are aware that they must keep their children rear-facing "until they are AT LEAST 1 year old AND 20 lbs", very few are told that there are significant safety benefits when a child remains rear-facing as long as the seat allows. For most children, rear-facing can and should continue well into the second year of life.
A few quotes from their site:
Rear-facing CRs provide the best protection from injury for any child that can fit in one.
- SafetyBeltSafe USA technical encyclopedia, written by Kathleen Weber, retired Director of the Child Passenger Protection Research Program in the University of Michigan Medical School
- SafetyBeltSafe USA technical encyclopedia, written by Kathleen Weber, retired Director of the Child Passenger Protection Research Program in the University of Michigan Medical School
...a child should remain rear-facing for as long as possible...even beyond their first birthday, increasing their protection until they are 30 to 35 lbs.
- Dr. Michael Sachs, Pediatrician and Child Passenger Safety Expert
- Dr. Michael Sachs, Pediatrician and Child Passenger Safety Expert
...for optimal protection, the child should remain rear facing until reaching the maximum weight for the car safety seat, as long as the top of the head is below the top of the seat back
- American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement
- American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement
A child should stay rear-facing for as long as possible
- Flaura Koplin Winston, MD, PhD, principal investigator of Partners for Child Passenger Safety, a research collaboration between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Company.
- Flaura Koplin Winston, MD, PhD, principal investigator of Partners for Child Passenger Safety, a research collaboration between The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance Company.
Basically, the longer a child can ride rear-facing, the better protected his or her spinal cord is in the event of a collision.�
- Joe Colella, Former Child Passenger Safety Training Manager for the National SAFE KIDS Campaign
- Joe Colella, Former Child Passenger Safety Training Manager for the National SAFE KIDS Campaign
These passages link to the original articles.
Please check out all the information on this great website. Do your research before you make your decision. Being stubborn on this issue can risk your child's life. I am not writing this to judge anyone or offend anyone. If you choose to ignore straight facts about car seat safety and forward-face you child at the minimum limits then you don't care about their safety as much as you should.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Kisses
Today as John was going to take a nap after work he gave me a kiss as usual. I was holding Michael and told him to give Daddy a kiss. Instead he pushed Daddy's face over to mine and we kissed. Then he pushed us together 3 more times to kiss and smiled really big each time we did. Every time John would turn to leave Michael turned his face back to me. It is so funny and sweet to see the things he picks up on.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Chick-fil-A
I know Chick-fil-a has been in the news a lot lately for being "anti-gay", but I love our local restaurant. It is the only place within 40 miles of my house that has an indoor play place. I can take Michael there to play and get a good lunch. It is more expensive than McDonald's but its also better quality food. Our local restaurant in Greensburg, PA has little cups of cheerios for free for babies, they give out balloons in the evenings and they come to your table to get you refills on your drinks. We were there on Thursday just to get out of the house and Michael knocked his fruit bowl all over the floor. They gave us a new one without charging us and an employee came over to sweep up the mess right away. They also keep antibacterial wipes by the door of the play place.
So whether they are "anti-gay" or not I will keep going there.
So whether they are "anti-gay" or not I will keep going there.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
18 month Check-up
Michael is doing wonderful. Today he is 18 months old and is right on track. He can say about 10 words, he runs and climbs, knows how to play with cars and makes vroom vroom noises. He pretends to talk on the phone and stirs in empty bowls. He is rarely sick or fussy.
He has gained 2lbs and 2 inches since November. He weighs 28lbs and is 33 1/2 inches tall.
He has gained 2lbs and 2 inches since November. He weighs 28lbs and is 33 1/2 inches tall.
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