The Foreman Five: March 2015

Supper Sunday- One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

One Pot Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti

1 pound cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 zucchini, thinly sliced and quartered

2/3 cup peas

2 minced cloves garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/3 cup grated Parmesan

1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions:

1. In a large pot over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, garlic and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

2. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked through and liquid has reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Drain if necessary ( I had to drain but original recipe stated that all liquid should be evaporated.)

3. Stir in Parmesan and heavy cream. Serve immediately.

Fresno Friday-Fresno Chaffee Zoo

A couple of weekends ago we went to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo with Auntie Pam and Tinsley. We have a season pass and it had been too long since we went. The weather was gorgeous and it was the perfect day to check out the zoo. The girls got to feed the giraffes, scope out the other animals, and eat hot dogs. I must say their concession stand has great items and very reasonable.

We love going to the zoo and it's a great spot in Fresno especially for young children. We can't wait until they open their African Safari next year.

I also am crossing my fingers that Fresnans will support Storyland and Playland if it reopens.

Madi 10 Months

Madi is 10 months old today! She's still power crawling, couch surfing, climbing, and keeping me on my toes. She just started clapping yesterday (3/17) as well and is standing on her own more and more (the first time was on 2/27).

She's still in 6-9 month clothing and some 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. Our schedule seems to be more and more all over the place. She nurses at 7 am, around noon, around 4:30 pm, and gets a bottle at 7 pm. She naps from 9:30-11/12, 2/3-4:30ish pm, and sometimes a catnap 5:30-6pm if she took shorter naps during the day.

She loves her big girl food and is now getting three meals a day. I started leaving chunks in the food when I puree it and she HATES the chunks. She fishes them out with her tongue and fingers and makes a big ole mess. I've been putting shredded chicken in her food but she hates that too.

On February 21 Madi got her bottom left lateral incisor tooth which made six teeth. Then on March 15th she got her top right lateral incisor, so now she has seven teeth.

Also on the 15th she finally figured out how to walk backwards and forwards in her walker. It took until now for her teeny little legs to touch the ground!

Madi is still on her acid reflux medicine and we're doing blood work to see if she has any food allergies.

I can't believe it's just two short months until this baby girl is 1!!!!

Mommy Monday-Making Baby Food

I made Emily's baby food so I was determined to do the same for Madi even though I have less times with two little ones. I have to laugh though because I looked back at how I did it for Emily and as with most things I'm cutting corners the 2nd time around. I wrote on the blog back when Emily was a baby, " Then I begin the process of washing, peeling, slicing, dicing, steaming, cubing, and bagging:)

I wash all the food, then use a potato peeler on the hard fruits and veggies and hand peel the softer foods. Next I slice and dice the foods and put them in my Baby Brezza which steams and purees the food all in one. This is a must in making homemade baby food! After the pureeing is done I pour the mixture into ice cube trays. After a few hours in the freezer I pop the cubes into labeled freezer bags. When I feed Miss Em I just grab whatever cubes I want. This makes it so easy to mix up her meals and give her a variety of flavors and nutrients." Now my peeling is down to a minimum and I never label the bags. After I puree them I still put them in ice cube trays but after they are frozen I just throw them in baggies. I just combine whatever and so far she's eaten it all. I also don't buy organic food; I'm leaning towards it's all a big scheme.

This last time I made a new batch I left it chunky on purpose so Madi could start chewing and she HATES it. She fishes out the chunks with her tongue or fingers and refuses to eat it. She's a great eater as long as it's pureed.

I encourage those with little ones to make their own baby food there is a huge cost savings.

Supper Sunday-Beef Kabobs and Rice Pilaf

Last Sunday I was gone all day so on my way home I stopped at The Market on Herndon and West. They have a good selection of ready to go meats that are pre-seasoned/marinated. They can be expensive but there is usually something on sale. These beef kabobs were 50% so I picked these up. They were all ready to throw on the grill. So if you're still wanting a good meal at home but don't have much time to cook and prepare this is a great option.

I made some pilaf to go with them.

Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:

1 c. instant rice

2 c. chicken stock

2 T. butter

1 coil of Vermicelli

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a frying pan on the stove and break up vermicelli. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Brown Vermicelli taking care not to burn.

3. Add rice and chicken stock, turn off heat.

4. Cover frying pan and bake for 30 minutes uninterrupted.

5. Season with salt and pepper.

Fresno Friday- Daddy Date Night at Chuck E Cheese

Last week Emily and Kevin had a Daddy Daughter Date Night at Chuck E Cheese. Emily was in need of a little extra special attention so after Kevin got home from work they went to Chuck E Cheese Pizza. Of course they ate pizza and then played games. Emily came home with a few prizes and was super excited about her date night.

Where do you take your kids for a little extra fun in town?

The Andy Cohen Diaries

I just finished reading The Andy Cohen Diaries. I was super excited to read this since Andy is the EP for the Housewife franchises and has an up close and personal relationship with the housewives. In the end I was a little disappointed. I wanted WAY more dirt about the housewives. He mentions them a handful of times but nothing super exciting and the exciting dirt he doesn't name names, BOO!

This is a diary of one year of Andy's life. He is a major name dropper (of mostly B, C, D list people), a total pot head, obsessed with Andy Warhol, major commitment-phob, obsessed with his misbehaved dog, and a total party goer. It was a lot of the same- I went to dinner with the same people as the night before, I ate pot candy, I walked my dog, I checked into Tinder, etc. etc.

I just have to say he is major in love with his ex and now best friend Bruce. I wanted to scream the whole time, "get off the pot (toilet, not weed) and be with him!"

I still love Andy, watching all of the Housewives shows, and watching WWHL, just not a major fan of this book.

Mommy Monday-Imperfect

Yesterday I was having lunch with great friends and we were discussing how no one's life is perfect and there is no point in trying to project that we live the perfect life. I just wanted to share this sentiment and share my imperfections and struggles. On this blog I share the fun we have and nearly all of it is showing the "perfect" side of my family. However, I never want anyone to think I think we are perfect; we are far from it. In fact, as I'm writing this Emily is whining and whining. Something I'm dealing with more and more these days. I have days that are so long and some days I just don't think I'll make it to dinner time when Kevin gets home. Being a mom is the hardest job in the world and I don't think moms get enough credit or enough help.

My biggest struggle is patience. I'm always multi-tasking and my patience runs very thin most of the time. When I'm busy and Madi is fussy and Emily starts whining I struggle with disciplining and parenting the right/compassionate way. I've been working on the virtue of patience ever since I can remember but it's become more of a goal lately. I pray very often about increasing my patience, kindness and understanding. Praying is very important but I also think that we need outlets and breaks to stay sane. I think taking care of ourselves is super important because it makes us better moms and wives. I think it's quite common for moms to take care of themselves last (I'm totally guilty of this) but I'm learning that is a vicious cycle and we help no one by not taking care of ourselves. I am super blessed with a husband who sees the importance in this and is always willing to take care of the girls while I go out to dinner with friends or go to happy hour, etc. I'm trying to make it part of my normal routine to have some alone time or time away from the house. I hope no one sees this as selfish and I struggle with mom guilt but I truly believe this makes me a better mom and wife. This idea leads to another life long struggle for me-caring what other people think. I frequently do things to please other people or do things because its what society thinks is right. For example, silly things like when I NEED to take a binkie or bottle away because it's not socially acceptable beyond ____age. A friend of mine joked about "living one life and just doing me for once." We laughed about it but there is some serious truth to this!

Another one of my struggles is perfectionism and OCD. I want everything to be perfect all of the time and I'm super hard on myself if things are not just right. However, kids have forced me to let some things go. A sub issue of perfectionism is not wanting to ask for help. I'm also learning that I just have to ask for help or I won't survive ( happily anyways).

I started this blog to document our lives and share the "fun" we are having but it quickly turned into an outlet for me and something I really enjoy. Part of the outlet aspect is sharing the real stuff. Today was one of those days. I know I'm not the only one who struggles and I hope by sharing some of my downfalls it will help others to let things go and stop beating ourselves up.

Weekend Wrap Up

I had a very busy weekend. On Friday night I hosted movie night for my nieces and nephews (post here). On Saturday I cleaned house and then went to out to dinner with my best friend Gina and her parents. After a delicious dinner at Bella Pasta we went to PBR at the Savemart Center. We ended the night with drinks and a little dancing at HCK. Today some of my girlfriends and I went to see our friend, Mary's new house in Exeter. It was beautiful with such a serene setting. After touring the house we went into Visalia to have lunch. We ate at this super cute restaurant called Pita Kabob.

It was such a fun filled weekend.

Supper Sunday- Cheesy Ranch Chicken

Cheesy Ranch Chicken

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast
1/4-1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat chicken with ranch dressing. Mix cheeses together. Top chicken with mixed cheeses. Bake uncovered on greased baking sheet for 30 minutes or cooked through. To crisp up your cheese, put chicken in broiler for a few minutes before serving.

Movie Night

Last night I had my nieces and nephews over for a Movie Night. This was their Christmas gift and we finally found a weekend available for the party. Before the movie we ate pizza and then I set up a concession stand which included popcorn cupcakes that I made, candy, and popcorn. The kids voted and we watched The Lion King. During the movie we played Movie Bingo; Jordan was the winner. After the movie we played "Candy Bar Slogan Game" and then a couple of card games. The kids camped out on the family room floor (my girls slept in their beds). This morning I made waffles and the kids played a little while before heading home. We had so much fun!