The Bragging Post

 Okay, I'm going to use this post to be one of "those" moms.  I've got to brag on our E-Man.  He has got some mad soccer skills for a 4 year old.  His first game was Saturday.  He was so excited!  By the time the first 2 quarters were over, there was only Ethan and one other boy from his team still interested in what they were supposed to be out there doing.  Ethan and his one and only teammate left standing kicking, Driskell, played the entire 30 minute game.  We might have to work on Ethan's concept of losing.  Once Ethan kicked it accidentally into the other team's goal.  He ran over to Chad very distraught.  Then another time he couldn't steal the ball away in time and the other team scored a goal, and this too upset Ethan very much.  And notice E-Man's stylish uniform.  Chad sponsored his team.  The uniforms look great, if I do say so myself. 

 Keep an eye on #6.

 GOAL!!!

 And another one!!!!

 Taking a break.

 That #6 is on FIRE!

 Trying to steal the ball away before the other team scores.

Good game, everybody!

All in all, a soccer game with 3 and 4 year old children is like herding cats.  Some are there to play and get serious, but most are there because their parents made them come and they just want to play with their friends and roll in the dirt.   Ethan is a serious soccer player.  He gets upset when it's time to leave soccer practice--- even when he's dripping in sweat and it's 100 degrees outside.  So, there you go, folks.  I'm a proud Mama.

And speaking of proud, Brennan did well on his first progress report.  All A's and one B.  Third grade is a HUGE adjustment year.  They start earning "real" grades and they pile on a lot of responsibility.  Some days feel like WW 3 around here between homework, piano lessons, trying to find all the parts to Cub Scout uniforms, and Lego building.  But these are the days I will soon miss, eh?  If I can survive them, I'm sure I will miss them.  (Says me as I bang my head repeatedly against the wall.)

And Brennan also got Star Music Student last week.  His piano teacher says he has a natural ability to play piano that she does not often see in beginner students.  So, I'm hoping he continues to enjoy it.  I think he might have his daddy's love of music while Ethan has my temperament and assertiveness.  Although I never played sports.

Now,  just let me get through these long days and appreciate them, because I know the years are oh-so-short.

Another kid-friendly recipe!

Yet another easy and awesome recipe from that lifesaver website I shared a few weeks ago. I was going stir crazy cooped up in the house on a rainy, hurricaney day and wanted to cook some dinner instead of feed everyone pb&j sandwiches. I had a frozen pound of (cooked!) ground beef in freezer and Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce in the fridge. Chad was out running errands, so he stopped and got the missing other two ingredients. And voila! Dinner is served. Paired nicely with some steamed green beans from the freezer and chips and dip. Less than 20 minutes prepped and cooked. (That is, if you already have cooked ground beef on hand). I also added a splash of Worcestershire sauce and Dale's to the meat mixture, and shredded cheese IN the mixture as well as on top. Yum!

Barbecue Beef Cups
Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or pork
½ cup barbecue sauce
1 tube of 8-10 refrigerator biscuits
¾ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Brown meat and drain.

2. Add barbecue sauce and mix well.

3. Place unbaked biscuit into each muffin cup.

4. Pressing to cover bottom and sides of cup.

5. Spoon meat mixture into biscuit cups.

6. Sprinkle with cheese.

7. Bake at 400°F for 10-12 minutes.

Vacation and Recipe!

I am getting SO pumped!!!!  I just booked several things online for us to do on our vacation this fall.  We are goinong to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge. Chad and I have not been on vacation since I was 8 months pregnant with Ethan.  Therefore, Ethan has never been on any sort of family vacation.  And Brennan was 4.  Not only are we going on vacation to the mountains, but we are getting to use someone's timeshare for the week.  So we are staying in a 2 bedroom/1 bath condo with a full kitchen for 7 days for only $200.  I've bought tickets to Dixie Stampede, Ripley's Aquarium of the Americas, the Titanic museum, and Christ in the Mountains.  I also want to visit one of the wineries, and of course go to the shopping center that has the massive Christmas store.  Chad and I went to Gatlinburg for our honeymoon, and haven't been back since, so we have not been in 10 years.  We are also going to drive to Chattanooga and stay for 2 days at the end of our trip.  We went when Brennan was 3 and he still talks about Rock City and the Chattanooga Choo-Choo.  And now Ethan is all about trains.  If anyone is reading this and has any recommendations for must see and must dos in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, please let me know. 

On a different note:  I made the best chicken spaghetti last night.  I know everyone has their own version of this comfort food, and I've made it many different ways, but this has to be my favorite.  A coworker emailed it to me, and I believe she got it off of Pinterest.  I don't frequent Pinterest much.  Let's face it, it's full of things that look awesome and beautiful, and things I have not the time, energy, or resources to bother with.  My three kids are my DIY projects and they take up enough of my time and money.   Anyway, the recipe is below.  It was doubled very easily and I put the extra pan in the freezer.  Which, I'm trying to be more conscious of freezing extras or leftovers.  I'm so tired of wasting food and I'm also tired of coming home after a long day of work on Mondays and Tuesdays and trying to figure out what to feed the masses on top of homework, soccer practice, baths, and bedtimes.  In this recipe, I doubled all the ingredients, and the cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken I just bought the family sized cans.  This is meant to be a very easy recipe with very few ingredients, but instead of using canned chicken, I boiled chicken breasts and then used that broth to boil the angel hair pasta in. 

Chicken Spaghetti

Serves 8

• 8 ounces angel hair pasta
• 2 cups chopped, grilled chicken or 1 large can of chicken
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 10-ounce can Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, undrained
• 8 ounces sour cream
• Sprinkling of Parmesan or Mexican-blend cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Boil pasta as package directs and drain. Mix all other ingredients (except cheese), add to cooked pasta and put in a 9" x 13" baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with your choice of cheese and return to oven to melt.

Enjoy with a simple spinach salad and thick, crusty slices of warm French or multi-grain bread. Yum!

It's just been one of those days.

My piano player

Brennan has begged to take piano lessons. So now, almost $1,000 later, he is signed up for the year, and has a new keyboard to call his own. I sure hope he takes after his daddy when it comes to playing musical instruments. His dad went to college on a scholarship to play drums. Fingers crossed.

Massages

Someone had given me a gift certificate for a one hour message as a little "happy" around Christmas. I've never had a massage. Not too fond of people groping around on me. Especially without full clothing attire. I finally scheduled it and went today. It was heaven. Forget what I said about groping. I think full body massages could cure all of the problems in the human race. Pure bliss. The end.

Just another day....

Last night I made homemade lasagna for the first time EVER. It was an all day affair. I've always been too afraid to make it, because lasagna, in my opinion, is hard to perfect. But after all that time, it was worth the effort. Brennan said, "Mama, I can tell you worked on that all day. It was the best lasagna EVER". Made me feel like I've accomplished something significant as a mother.

We've been trying to get our picky little eaters to eat better. Brennan's a little too old to "eat like a T-Rex", but after we went and saw the massive lifelike dinosaurs at the Science Museum, we've been telling Ethan to eat like T-Rex. Sometimes he reminds me of the little brother on "A Christmas Story" when his mom tries to get him to oink and eat like a pig. But since he's started playing soccer, we've been telling him that all the veggies and things he may not otherwise like will make him a BIG, STRONG soccer player. So he's actually been eating like a T-Rex who wants to be a big, strong soccer player. Today at lunch I told him if he ate all of his lunch he could have some Oreos. He looked at me and said, "No, I'm not going to eat those. Those don't make me play soccer very good".

Then after I recovered from the shock he announced he wanted to put on his Lion King costume. (Last year's Halloween costume). As I cleaned up lunch, he climbed up the toybox in his closet like a monkey and retrieved his costume. So proud of himself he proceeds to put it on inside out and loses his tail in the process.

Once he was situated, he told me he was ready. I said, "Ready for what?" "Mama, he said, "it's time to go outside and get some treats". Then after a few minutes, I realized he was getting ready to go outside and go trick-or-treating. He thought wearing the costume entitled him to the right to go knocking on all of the neighbors doors for candy. The pictures posted are .1) Him explaining to me that it was time to go outside and 2.) his disappointment after I told him that it was NOT time for Halloween. Try explaining THAT to a desperate 3 year old.

If third grade homework and tests don't kill me first, I'm as ready as anyone for the fall! So tired of the hot summer!!!!