Fantasy Name 2.0

And for the Friends League: Demaryius Targaryen!!

Fantasy Name

Family League Team Name: Tootsie Sproles!

Shrimp and Grits

I don't normally cook 3 meals from scratch in one day.  I haven't done that in almost 2 years.  However, with Michael home and it being kind of a lazy day in with the family, I managed to get it done today.  This recipe came out of my most recent Food Network magazine, so you'll have to look at the picture for the recipe because I don't have the link.  Michael hasn't found a grits recipe he likes yet... UNTIL TODAY!!  That's right!  This recipe won him over!  I'm thinking the delicious Pepperjack Cheese was the key!  Michael and I were talking the other day about whether we'd rather have more small shrimp or fewer large shrimp in a recipe.  He likes fewer large shrimp, I like more small shrimp.  I went with the smaller shrimp for this recipe (small, 60-80/lb) because I was the one doing the cooking and also because they were the cheapest (<$5/12 oz).  This recipe was amazing and incredibly filling!  My favorite kind!  Can't wait to have it again!

Skinny Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

I've made this one before, but here it is again.  I love this recipe because it has pasta and rotisserie chicken in it and it makes it taste so much better than just a regular salad.  I don't make my own Caesar dressing because I'm lazy.  I have a bottle of Ken's Lite Caesar Dressing that I use instead, as sparingly as I can/feel like.  ;)  The whole wheat pasta definitely leaves you feeling full for hours later, always a plus in my book.

Here's the link to the original recipe!  Enjoy!

Brownie Batter Oats

These were supposed to be overnight oats, but last night Connor started getting sick and I just didn't get them ready.  Fortunately, Michael stayed home with me today for some extra rest since we were up all night and also to help me take care of the kids today, so I made them on the stove.  They were scrumptious!  I also added 1/2 a banana, 1-2 tsp melted peanut butter, and 1-2 tsp mini chocolate chips to the top.  Yum!  I like hot oats better anyway!  Delish!

Here's the link to the original recipe!  Enjoy!

Avery made her own breakfast!

My little girl is growing up so fast!  I'm so proud of her and love her so much!  If you saw my blog about my breakfast today, you'll know it was delicious and healthy and super easy to make!  Avery wanted to help make her food this morning, and since it was an easy meal, I let her do it all herself!  She did a great job!  She's growing up way too fast!

Granola Crunch Wrap

I had the most delicious breakfast this morning!!  It was a wrap with peanut butter, matchstick apples, Granola, craisens, and golden raisins!  It was delightful!  It had lots of crunch and left me feeling full for hours.  The original recipe can be found here, or you can just read my recipe below, I changed a couple things to make it a little healthier.

First, any wrap works for this recipe.  I had Fit and Active Whole Wheat Tortillas on hand, so I used them.  Flatout Flatbread is good too.  You can find both at Aldi's.  I get both frequently as tortillas, wraps, and flatbreads are versatile and we use them a TON in our house!

Matchstick apples are just any apple cut into thin strips.  I sliced my apple into wedges, the sliced them again until they were little sticks resembling matches.  I don't normally care for apples much, but cut this way I could probably eat them all day.  :P  The recipe called for 1/4 apple, but said they liked green and pink apples, so I cut up 1/4 of a Granny Smith and 1/4 of a Jonathon apple and then mixed them and divided them between 2 wraps. 

We get most of our groceries from Aldi's, and granola is no exception.  They have several different flavors.  The one I usually buy and I used for this recipe was the Honey and Oats flavor.  It's also great on yogurt!

Craisens - I actually had the name brand on this one, but any dried cranberries will work.  I always have these on hand and love using them as raisins in any recipe.

I actually bought golden raisins for this recipe.  I got about 1/4 cup for less than a dollar in the bulk food section at Sprouts.  Of course you could just leave them out if you wanted, or replace with regular raisins or more craisens.  Up to you.  I don't know if they tasted any different, but they looked pretty.  ;)  :P

OK, onto the recipe...

Apple Crunch Breakfast Wraps

Serves: 2

2 whole wheat tortillas
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/4 Granny Smith apple (or other green apple), cut into matchsticks
1/4 Jonathon apple (or other pink apple), cut into matchsticks
2 tbsp granola
2 tbsp craisens
2 tbsp golden raisins

Instructions:
Spread 1 tbsp peanut butter over each tortilla.  Divide matchstick apples in half and add half to each tortilla.  Sprinkle 1 tbsp granola, craisens, and golden raisins onto each tortilla.  Roll up and enjoy!

Nutrition:
Calories: 330
Carbs: 52g
Fat: 11.6g
Protein: 9.5g

Good Morning!

What up, Party People?  I am EXHAUSTED this morning!  I worked or for a couple hours yesterday and gave blood and now I'm beat!  I went to bed at 10, but getting up by 7 still seemed like a lot of work.  I've got some new recipes for you today (or this week) depending on how motivated I'm feeling.  I'm way behind on laundry, so it should be my top priority today.  Plus, Meredith and Oliver are coming over today, so I doubt I'll get much done in the morning.  And Nate and his mom are coming over, after they have lunch today, to see the kids.  So I guess that leaves nap time for my to- do list.  Wish me luck!  ;)  *yawn*

Real Life

I try to keep things pretty upbeat here on the blog, but I about lost it last night.  Fortunately, I've had a night to sleep on it now, so this post won't be quite as charged as it would have been last night.  As you know, we went on vacation to Texas last week.  For anyone who's vacationed with small children, you'll know those vacations are anything but relaxing.  For one, you're going a lot to get as much activity and as much of the city in as you can in a short period of time.  Secondly, small children need to be constantly watched, especially in a new environment, which can be kind of stressful.  So yes, we had a good vacation, but let's not kid ourselves, it was work.  While we made the 8.5 hr drive to Texas in 9 hours, it took 10.5 hrs to get back home, which was exhausting.  Overall, the kids have been good this week.  Yesterday morning I was pleasantly surprised to find it was already Thursday.  It seemed the week had gone by quickly.  But it was around lunch time yesterday that things started falling apart.  I took the kids to the gym yesterday morning, so Laney missed her morning nap.  Cue grouchy baby for 2 hours before afternoon naps.  On vacation the kids were still recovering from colds, then on Saturday we went on a tourist bus tour with no windows while it was raining, plus walking several blocks in the rain to our lunch spot.  All of that, I think, made Avery sick again.  She had a fever most of Sunday and was lethargic a couple more days.  Because she's an extrovert like me, I think she tried to jump back into life too fast even though she's still sick.  Cue fussy four year old who melts down at each bump in the road.  Connor's potty training has been going well, but sometimes he resists going when I suggest he does.  Cue whiney toddler dragging his feet.  As if all of those things weren't enough, they got worse as we went to Life Group last night.  I really crave that night each week to meet and have fellowship with my friends, to be spiritually (and physically) fed.  But I can't relax and enjoy my time there when the kids are yelling, things are being knocked over, shouting, kids are getting hurt, no one wants to share, and they are generally just a wreck.  I was embarrassed by my children's behavior last night.  I couldn't wait for Life Group to be over so I could put their shoes on them and usher them home.  When we got home I texted my mom to ask if she would come and babysit.  She, being the wonderful, amazing woman she is, said she would.  I feel like sometimes she and Michael are the only people I can be real with.  Who know when I'm really struggling and need a break.  Life Group should be that place, but I'm not super close with all the members yet and don't feel comfortable sharing that kind of stuff with them all yet.  Plus, I don't want to feel like I'm inconveniencing people with my problems or just complaining, I mean, this is the job I chose.   So this is me, real life, struggling.  Embarrassed when my kids misbehave at the youth director's house with his son seeing their actions.  Tired of listening to whining, crying, complaining, screaming, shouting, and fighting.   Concerned I'm not doing enough, being enough for the kids, for Michael, for myself.  So I'm taking the day off.  My mom is coming to my rescue and I'm out of here.  I'm leaving the noise, runny noses, diapers, and sibling rivalries behind.  I'm going to the gym to work out my frustrations until my mom needs to go home to cook dinner and my afternoon of freedom is over.  I'm so thankful for her.  Don't know what I'd do without her.  She always listens and understands when I complain.  She doesn't judge, just offers unconditional love and help.  I just need a break.  :\

Zoo and Snake Farm Pictures Continued...

I'd post more today, but Dax, Meredith, and Oliver are all coming over today and I need to pick up the house at least a little bit.  Enjoy these last few zoo pictures!  More tomorrow!  Love Y'all!  (That's Texas jargon)  😉😙

More Pictures!

Last post was all before and after The Gristmill.  A couple more from lunch, then Buc'ee's and the first few from the zoo!

Texas: Day 3

Thanks for your patience with the vacation updates!  We got so busy having fun that I didn't get around to posting at the end of the week.  Day 3 of our trip was Friday.  We had big plans of all the things we wanted to do, but kept running into problems.  First we wanted to go to the Space and Time Park, which was similar to the Dino Park we went to the day before, a museum trail type thing.  However, when we got there, they appeared to be closed.  I called and they said we could take the trail (1.5 miles), but that with all the rain recently, it was very muddy and we would get really dirty.  We weren't really dressed for that, so we moved on.  We went to Buc'ee's, which is apparently a Texas Gas Station the size of a Wal-Mart Super Center.  It was crazy!  There had to be 50-100 gas pumps!  And they were all over the state!  There was food and souvenirs and everything you could need or want there.  Later in our trip we got a souvenir there.  It was already lunch time by the time we finished filling up, so we went to the Gristmill in Gruene, outside New Braunfels.  It was a cool restaurant that had been converted from a Cotton Gin.  It was built into the side of a hill that overlooked a river (where we even saw a few people floating the river in tubes).  The food was great!  Michael and I shared Catfish with Zucchini and Squash!  Yum!  I liked it more than Michael did, to be honest, but it was on the healthier side (we made a couple good choices while we were on vacation) and I didn't feel loaded down when we left.  After lunch we went to a Snake Farm/Zoo.  It was pretty small, especially compared to the Wichita zoo, but it was fun!  It was packed with animals for as small as it was.  There was a petting zoo where we fed the animals, Connor enjoyed it, Avery didn't like them jumping on her.  There were lots of bird roaming like Peacocks, Chickens  and Guineas.  The chickens were so used to people, Aunt Shanna was able to pick up one of the babies and the kids got to pet it.  They enjoyed that.  The wolf exhibit was close enough to the fence to get a great look at him.  In Wichita you look down from a sort of bridge and sometimes can't see the wolves at all.  Inside the building were a slew of snakes, which didn't bother me, but when I saw a large cockroach on the outside of the glass, it was about time for me to call it a day.  Overall, it was a great day (despite lots of driving and not as many attractions as we intended).  On the way back to the house we stopped at a local grocery store called H.E.B.  Apparently it's the initials of the founder who was named Harry E. Butts.  Fortunately, someone convinced him to go with his initials for the store chain.  Good call.  ;)  The store was full of beautiful produce from Mexico and Chile as well as fresh, hot tortilla and a fresh squeezed juice bar.  My healthy little heart was so happy!  Can't wait for Spring and Summer produce here in Kansas!!  It's almost grill time, Folks!!!  We had Chicken Tortilla Soup for dinner, which was great because it was in the crockpot and ready when we got home from our day of excitement.  We had such great food on vacation!  I'm not sure if I mentioned it on the Day 2 blog or not, but for dinner Thursday we had grilled loaded Salmon Patties and an Asian coleslaw salad.  They were divine!  The Salmon Patties were loaded with cheese and Jalepenos!  I'm going to try to find some here in Kansas!  The only Salmon I've ever liked!  Boy was it good!  One last thing and then I'll get to pictures (probably a few posts worth of pictures or the blog won't post), the kids did really great throughout the whole trip.  Some days they didn't get naps at all and they just pushed through.  They were well behaved and for the most part left when we said it was time.  I was very proud of them!  :)  OK, picture time!!!

Tilapia and Asparagus with Capers

Michael and I had this delicious meal for dinner last night.  It didn't take too long to put together or cook, but before we got to dinner we went to the gym, Aldi's, and Sprouts.  So by the time we got home and I began cooking dinner we were starving.  It was amazing and REALLY hit the spot once we finally got to eat.  When we have fresh fish from the farm I'll make this recipe with Bass.  In this case I used Tilapia, although the recipe called for Cod.  Basically any white fish will do.  Michael didn't care for the Fish and Chips recipe I made a month or so ago, but he did like this one, so it must have been the way it was prepared and not the Tilapia itself.  Gonna make a fish eater out of him yet.  ;)  The kids would have eaten fish with us as well, but as I mentioned, it was late and they were getting fussy and needed to go to bed, so I whipped them up a couple grilled cheese so they could go ahead and eat and then we could work on getting them to bed and watch the K-State game in peace.  Best laid plans...  They fought bedtime as usual and we were up and down throughout the game.  *sigh*  I'm going to really enjoy waking them up before they're ready when they get to school age.  #Payback  I served the fish and Asparagus with a side of jasmine rice (which has been larva free since I began throwing the rice in the freezer for a week or more once we get it into the house).  The whole meal came out to 400 calories!  Perfect!  If you want to try this recipe as well, here's a link.  I should note, I didn't have lemons, so I used about a teaspoon of lemon juice on each filet.  Don't omit the capers either, they are delicious on this recipe.  And sorry the picture isn't too pretty.  You're lucky I took a picture at all since it was after 8:30 before I got to sit down and eat my dinner.  :P  Enjoy!

Banana Split Overnight Oats

I haven't got a chance to try them yet, but I gotta say, these look soooo tasty!  With all the add-ins the calories get up there fast (over 500).  😨  But I tend to plan meals for my calorie allotments most of the time and then Michael gets way under what he should have, so this is more his speed for breakfast.  Next time I make this for myself I'll cut down to half a banana, use almond more, and reduce my chocolate chips and walnuts.  By doing that I will probably save 120-150 calories and get this meal back in my range.  If you're interested in making it yourself, here's a link!  Enjoy!

More Pictures

I can only post a few pictures in each post, so here are more pictures from yesterday.  :)

Texas: Day 2

Our room we're staying in here at Chuck and Shanna's is really more of a studio apartment.  It's over the garage, fully furnished, with every convenience you can think of at our disposal.  From a TV, couches, and chairs, to a Keurig, fridge, and microwave, to exercise equipment and a dresser for clothes in case we don't want to live out of a suitcase, this room has it all.  It's also removed from the main house, so we stay out of Chuck and Shanna's way pretty well.  And in the morning when the kids wake up and are ready to start the day, but we aren't yet, the kids can go downstairs and into the kitchen of the main house where Chuck and Shanna, early risers, are up and around to get them some fresh fruit, juice, or other breakfast item.  Seriously, this is the life.  :)  Yesterday we ate breakfast at a little hole in the wall that was nothing to look at.  But their breakfast tacos were awesome!  The one Michael and I had featured beans, potatoes, eggs, bacon, cheese, and bbq brisket.  Yum!!  Like I said, not much to look at, but ooooh so tasty!  We also went to a Dinosaur Park yesterday.  It featured a 1/2 mile trail with life sized Dinosaur replicas all over in the trees and brush near the path.  The kids loved it!  We spent about 3 hours there between the path, the playground, eating our sack lunch, and the fossil and bone excavation areas.  We came back to the house and the kids settled down for a nap.  When they woke up, the Farrier was here.  The kids got to see the horses nails trimmed (filed) and a beautiful Texas storm.  Did you know it rains straight down here?!?!  They can leave the windows open and sit on the porch during a storm because the wind doesn't blow the rain into the house!  So cool!  Reminded me of Cameroon!  We're having a great time!  Stay tuned for more stories of our adventures!!

Texas: Day 1

We left for vacation at 3:15am.  The drive was supposed to take 8 hours 30 minutes according to Google Maps.  We made 2 planned stops in Moore, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas.  We also made one emergency bathroom stop for Avery.  Otherwise we drove straight through.  We made it to Chuck and Shanna's at 12:10pm.  Our 8 hour 30 minute took 8 hours 55 minutes!  How amazing is that?!??!  We added less than 30 minutes to the trip!!  The kids did awesome!  We're all having so much fun!  The kids were warned about Fire Ants and where not to step, now they hesitate to go in the grass at all.  :P  Better over cautious than under, I suppose.  They got to ride the horses, Taddy and Mingo.  They even scooped up horse poop.  ;)  The adults went out for the evening to a Speakeasy Bar and to a restaurant for dinner.  It was a wonderful time!  And I got my first picture of a mural!  Looking forward to many more around town!  I'm so glad we got to have so much fun on our first day in town!  More fun to come!  Stay tuned!