Plan for the Week (a little late)

Well, I'm a couple days late with this one, but have been focused on a few other things (like football and potty training).  We're not so busy this week.  Mr. Gamer had a game last night (which they won WHOOP-WHOOP)  and the rest of the week is just practice right around the corner. 

I am starting to count points with the Weight Watchers plan to try and get some of this excess weight off.  So,  I've got to try and be good with my food choices.  

Sunday - OUTBACK  (my last big hoorah)
Monday - Grilled chicken, glazed carrots, corn and peas
Tuesday - cubed steak n gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans and homemade bread
Wednesday - hot dogs, mac n cheese, steamed broccoli
Thursday - vegetable soup
Friday - spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread
Saturday - hubby duty (I work)
Sunday - again hubby duty (I again work)

I'm so thankful hubby steps up on the weekends I work.  He'll either order carry out, or fix something simple like hamburgers/ hotdogs, etc.  That way, I can sleep a little longer and not have to get up and fix supper. He's so sweet, most of the time :). 

Little Progress

Potty Update!!!!

We have completely gotten rid of all Mini-Me diapers and pull-ups.  We are strictly in training pants (more laundry for the boys, yeah).  We have made one step forward. Last night at church, she went #2 in the little potty at church.  This morning, she stayed dry for 3 hours. PROGRESS!!!! I might live through this after all.

NEWSFLASH:::
As I was typing this post,  she actually came out to me and had "the look".  We ran to her potty and what do you know??  That little girl pee-peed in the potty!!  :)  Here we go!! This is one of my WHOOP-WHOOP moments!!!  :)

Taco Soup

Tis the season for soup and I'm branching out.  The only thing I made prior to this was chilli and potato soup.  This past week, I tried taco soup (in the crock pot of course).  I had to do a bit of tweaking due to kiddos picky eating. The original recipe can be found here.


 Here's all you need:
               1 pound ground beef                                           
               1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
               1 onion chopped (I had to use minced onion)      
               1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, w/ liquid
               1 (16ounce) can chili beans, with liquid                 
               1 (8) ounce can tomato sauce
               2 cups water                                                       
               1 package taco seasoning mix
     
         Now, here's where I did most of the tweaking. The recipe calls for 2 (14.5 oz) cans peeled and diced tomatoes and 1 (4 oz) can diced green chile peppers.  Now, I know my family will not eat that.  We don't like cooked tomatoes and the kiddos don't like "spicy".  So, I used a can of tomato soup for the tomato flavor and just a pinch of red pepper flakes. 


In a medium skillet, brown the ground beef ( I put the minced onions in here), drain, and set aside.
Place all the ingredients in the crock pot and cook on Low setting for 8 hours. 

The kiddos and I ate it just as pictured.  However, hubby added cheddar cheese and sour cream to his.  Great soup for the fall season and cooler weather.

The Boys in Green

 A loss and a win for my boys in green.  Mr. Gamer's team lost 12-0. BOOOOOO!!!  They played hard though.  They lost against what is suppose to be the best team in their league, so I guess it could have been worse.  Not to mention,  there was a pretty bad call that lead to one of the touchdowns. (I sound like a biased mom, huh?)  Mr. Helper's team won 18-8, by the skin of their teeth.  They didn't play near to their ability and was tied until late in the 4th quarter.  NAIL BITTER!!!!  BUT,  my boy got past that offensive line and put a couple pretty good hits on their boys.  Can I get a whoop whoop??? 

Mr. Helper has another game on Thursday.  Hopefully they will be back to full strength and playing hard.  If not, I have a feeling their coach will put it to them in the next practice.  I laughed so hard at their game,  they dropped two punts and gave the ball back to the other team.  Their coach told them to run away from the ball next time, the result would be the same.  These guys are serious about their youth league football.  ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL????  LOL

On the cute side,  Mini-Me got into the cheerleading spirit.  Check this out!!!

Plan For the Week

Another busy week in store.  Three football games this week and some practices make for a lot of time on the road.  So, I'm thinking easy meals that can be thrown in the crock pot in the morning, quickly and easily prepared, or  DELIVERED :)

So, here goes!!

Monday - Papa John's pizza (I worked last night, I deserve this one!!!)
Tuesday - Spaghetti and meatballs
Wednesday - Potato soup
Thursday - BBQ chicken (in the crock pot of course), green beans, homemade mac n cheese
Friday - pancakes, eggs, bacon, fried potatoes
Saturday - Subs, pasta salad, and fruit
Sunday - Steak n Gravy, mashed potatoes, peas, corn

A little late posting this, I know.  I've been a little busy:)    Have a great week!!

A Winning Week

Tuesday September 13, 2011,  Berea Bulldogs beat Blue Ridge Tigers 28-6.  Give me a whoop-whoop!!!  That's my oldest #50.  I wish I  could have gotten a better picture, but every time I tried, that big boy # 98 got in my way.  I must say, I was a little nervous(that boy was BIG).  I think I had more butterflies than the boys did.  They did a great job.  Mr. Helper (#50) held his own against that big #98 and got around him a couple of times.  I was so proud. 
                                            
Here's Mr Gamer # 4.  Can you believe this guy plays defensive line.  He doesn't look very big, but that boy can bust through an offensive line like nobody's business (well, maybe I'm a little biased).  His team played Monday night September 12, 2011 against the Crusaders and beat them 22-0.  I was at Mr Helpers practice and didn't get any game photos of that one.  I heard that he broke through that offensive line and caused a fumble that one of his teammates ran back for a touchdown.  Again, can I get a whoop-whoop??  So proud of my boys.  This has been a very good experience for them and great exercise.  I should have let them sign up years ago.  I was just concerned about all the running it would cause and I was right.  Hubby and I are running in opposite directions on Mondays and Tuesdays now to get the boys to practice and games.  And often times, we end up at the same place in two different vehicles in order to let them watch each other's games.  FUN!!!!  I'm loving it.  Hopefully next week will be as good.

Mini-Me Turns 3

I'm a little late with this post, seeing as how Mini-Me's birthday was on Labor Day, but I've been a little busy. We have started our school year and both of my older boys are playing football. We are constantly on the go it seems. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday's are either practice or games or sometimes both (one with practice and one with a game). Hubby and I are sometimes waving at each other as we go in opposite directions.

Since Mini-Me's birthday was on Labor Day and I had to work the entire weekend, we celebrated the following Saturday. I made a Dora cake for her (that's what she asked for), we blew up balloons and had a good time. It was just our "little" family. She had a good time. This was her second little birthday celebration. Her Aunt Marsha in Alabama had some birthday cupcakes for her when they were visiting them over Labor Day weekend. I think she had a pretty good birthday overall. Now, if I can just get her to remember she's the big girl and not the baby and use the potty!! :)

HE will take you through the fire again

One of my favorite songs.

JUST HOLD ON.............

Italian Crock Pot Chicken

Once again, I was looking for easy prep meals that I could get started and leave to let cook. I found this one on a facebook page of the Crock Pot Girls, check them out!!

I will tweak it a little the next time I make it, but it was good this way too. Here's what you need:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (whole or cut into bite size pieces)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 stick of butter (use butter, they say it is better than margarine)
1 env. dry Italian dressing mix
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
any kind of pasta





As you can see, I cut my chicken up into pieces. Saved having to do it after it cooked.








Melt the butter, place the chicken in the crock pot and pour melted butter over. Sprinkle the chicken with dry Italian dressing. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours. I did mine for 3.5 hours















Looking pretty good so far huh??? I almost just wanted to eat it this way:) BUT........Now, blend the soup and the cream cheese (make sure you add the water to the soup) and pour over the chicken for the last 1/2 hour.




I took the chicken out, mixed up the soup and cream cheese, then put the chicken back in to finish cooking.








Serve over any kind of pasta. I used bow tie pasta:)





Here's where the tweaking comes in. Hubby said it didn't really "taste" very Italian. So, next time, I'm going to add some peppers, mushrooms, and maybe tomatoes to give it a more Italian flavor. However, I added peas and corn to this plate and mixed it all up. YUMMY!!! However, when I add all the other stuff, the kiddos probably won't eat it. They did at least eat it plain like this.