Tag: mom

Sum Sum Summertime

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Like most Phoenicians do, I dread summer time in Arizona all winter long. I hate the thought of the air conditioner running non stop only cooling the house to 81 degrees and yet getting a $400 electricity bill. I loath having to cool the car down after leaving the grocery store to avoid giving Bay and myself third degree seat belt burns. I despise watching my lovely garden wither and die despite numerous shade devices, water and love.

But last weekend, it hit me…I kind of do love summer. Yes the heat is horrible, especially in August and September when you know the cool weather is so close, but there are some great parts about summer around here:

~the smell of Water Babies sunscreen and chlorine

~tan skin and swimming

~blueberries, strawberries, watermelon and summer salads

~getting into the great restaurants because everyone else has skipped town

~summer vacation: Montana! San Diego! Flagstaff!

~Arnold Palmers

~this summer I’ll have to do without delicious margaritas, but a girl can dream

~Baylor’s birthday, my birthday (hello 3-0!) and our anniversary (what’s the 7th anniversary gift? sunscreen?)

~4th of July fireworks, patriotic music and bbq

~baseball

~coming up with ridiculous ways to enjoy being outside sans pool – like rigging a hose to the top of the slide and putting a wading pool at the bottom under an umbrella and a mister

Sure all these things exist year round, but there’s something so right about enjoying them in 110 degrees that makes them even better than any other time of year. Maybe it’s the heat that has warped my brain, but at least I am enjoying the results.

Interesting Enchiladas

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I think *no jinx* I might be through the morning sickness business. I say this because over the last week I’ve stopped being totally repulsed by food and even, dare I say, started to get hungry for things besides turkey sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls. That said, I got a huge hankering for sweet potatoes…and black beans. A quick trip to my Pinterest “YUM” page and I found a recipe for sweet potato and black bean enchiladas. I added the ingredients to my grocery list and headed out the door.

While I was mixing, I started getting second thoughts. Who they hell thought sweet potatoes belonged in enchiladas?? But I was already knee deep in the recipe and thought we could have quesadillas if it turned out as wrong as it sounded.

To my, and PW’s surprise, they were DELICIOUS! I put my own spin on the recipe by adding some frozen corn – a yummy addition if I do say so myself. I love how easy this is since most of the ingredients will last for a few weeks in the fridge and pantry making it a “go to” meal since it won’t require a trip to the store for fresh stuff. Also, I think it would freeze nicely AND would be a  nice gift recipe – you know, when someone has a baby, is sick or just needs some home cooked food!

Ingredients:

Small corn tortillas at room temperature (so they break less)

1 large sweet potato

1 can of black beans – I like Bush’s

1 small jar of salsa – I used Newman’s Own

1 can of red enchilada sauce – I used Hatch

1 small bag of frozen corn

Mexican shreded cheese

Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Peel and cube the sweet potato into bite sized pieces. Put into steamer basket and cook until soft – about 15 minutes.

3. Drain can of black beans and pour into a large bowl. Add cooked sweet potato and about 3/4 of the jar of salsa. Mix in about half the bag of frozen corn. Add several good shakes of salt and a little pepper. Stir until combined.

4. Using a greased baking dish – take tortilla, spoon in mixture, roll and place seam side down in dish. Don’t panic if they break or spill, just squish them together. Repeat, lining them up side by side until the dish is full.

5. Pour can of sauce over the top of the tortillas so that it’s evenly distributed. Cover top completely with cheese.

6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the top is getting crispy. Serve with a big dallop of sour cream.

 

*this is where a picture would be…but since I thought they were going to be crappy, I didn’t take one! Oh well, use your imagination 😉

 

 

Big Helper

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Yesterday morning, Baylor emerged from her bathroom declaring that she had brushed her teeth all by herself. We all got very excited and I made a mental note to rebrush them later…

While passing by her room, I noticed a very strong smell of strawberry…upon further inspection I found that apparently in the “toothpaste on the toothbrush” portion of the morning, she had squirted about a third of the bottle of toothpaste into the sink. And now it was hard and not easily washed off. Crap. I made another mental note to deal with it later.

In the evening, PW and I were making dinner and chatting about schedules when it dawned on me I hadn’t seen or heard the munchkin in a while. My “what are you doing??” yell was answered with “ANYTHING!!” which is translated to I’m not doing anything which is always a lie. Two minutes later she came running into the kitchen announcing that she had cleaned all the toothpaste out of the sink! Awesome, I thought…and then I really thought about her cleaning skills and got a little worried. I asked her to show me her good work…which is where I discovered that apparently in two year old world, cleaning the toothpaste out of the sink means using goldfish crackers to do so.

This time I made a mental note to tell PW that this was a daddy clean up job.

 

Maternity Jorts

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I remember being perplexed about this with Baylor, but my animosity towards the designer of maternity clothes has gotten worse this time around. Why the hell do all maternity clothes have bows, cap sleaves, ruffles or all of the above? Why are maternity shorts either of the baggy no shape variety or denim? Why must I dress like a 5 year old OR a redneck? Why doesn’t J.Crew have a maternity line?!

Oh. And don’t get me started on those assholes at Pea In The Pod. Their very nicely cut white shorts are SIXTY DOLLARS. I don’t spend $60 on any one item (ok, face cream. But really, that’s an investment in my future) why the hell would I spend it on shorts that I will wear for MAYBE 1 year total? Those jerks are trying to take advantage of my need for stretching waistlines and decent fabrics.

I mean I get it. I understand that some women want to cover up their arms or are in need of shapeless shorts to cover their posteriors. I was that lady (I tried on my postpartum shorts last week and they fell off while buttoned – Jen the trainer really had her work cut out for her) and there’s a strong possiblity that I’ll be that chick again. However, I have very strong intentions of keeping my sessions with Jen going, running and keeping my cookie cravings to a manageable amount (1 box is not a serving size). That said, until I balloon so the size of, well a balloon, I would like to look decent until the point where I wrap myself in a bed sheet toga style and call it a day.

See what I mean?

Ugh. The frayed cuff is a nice touch.

If I wanted to dress like Mrs. Dugger, I would grow my hair to my butt and move to Arkansas. Until then, no gracias.

Where to start? The pattern? The sleeves?  Bleh.

I guess where you see a need, it makes sense to fill it. I’m over starting a retail store though so if anyone out there is feeling ambitions, lets talk; I’ll design the clothes and the store, you run it and sell stuff – deal? Until then, I’ll be the lady hunting around Target and then running to the tailor to make me a decent wardrobe for the foreseeable future.

Aunt Beth

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I’ve been a step-aunt for several years now, but last Thursday I became a full fledged aunt when Mr. Mason finally made his entrance into the world! At 7lbs, 19 inches and just a smattering of hair, he really is cute!

And thankfully his mother was able to talk his father out of naming him Vercingetorix. Not kidding. That was on the table. Gary finally relented and said that it would be up to Ali to explain to him some day why his name isn’t as cool as it could have been. Ali was happy to take on that responsibility knowing that Mason would probably endlessly thank her for talking him out of it.

Easter Fun

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We had a great Easter filled with fun and family. Smarty pants B, upon discovering the bunny balloon she had been eyeing for weeks at the grocery announced “the Easter Bunny shop at Safeway too!!”.

A little baffled by the chick that makes cheeping sounds when you hold it

After mass we headed to my mom’s house for brunch. It was amazing as always and included lots of running on the golf course.

Zoe and B sharing some bubbles – well, in theory anyway

Big kids, little kids and the big kids at heart playing catch

After a little spillage in her dress, she changed into one of Noni’s shirts (which she spilled on) and then enjoyed her gardening themed Easter gift from her buddy Joyce.

Mom’s Night Out Giveaway

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I’m so excited to announce that today I am giving away TWO TICKETS to the next Scottsdale Mom’s Blog Mom’s Night Out!!

The event is being held on Thursday, May 10 from 7:00PM to 9:00PM at the Ice Den in North Scottsdale. Each ticket is a $10 value and includes:

:: a glass of wine ::
:: delicious snacks ::
:: raffle entry & chance to win spectacular giveaways ::

If you’ve not been to a Mom’s Night Out event before, you’re in for a treat! Not only is it a great excuse to get out of the house / work early and enjoy a glass of wine with friends, but the giveaways are AMAZING. SMB draws some really fantastic sponsors like Boon, Giggle Boutique, Rodan and Fields and lots more. All you have to do is sit back, enjoy and wait to win!

 Here’s how you enter: comment below on why you need a mom’s night out. Potty training not going well? Work kicking your booty? Family making you bonkers? Tell me all about it! I’ll randomly choose a winner tonight at 10pm and announce the winner on tomorrow’s post. So get writing and good luck!

If you’re interested in purchasing tickets, send me a message and I’ll let you in on the early “friends only” link!!