The Germ Pit

Most parents cringe when they see the Play Area at the Mall. I know I have before. There are snotty nosed toddlers/kids running around while 'most' of their parents aren't paying attention to them. I have gotten over the "cringe" part and just make sure it's not too busy, and bathe my children in sanitizer after we leave.

There is always that one kid that is the Brat of the Play Area. Thank GOODNESS, it is not my child. I think he just gets so excited to play with other kids that are as wild as he is. =) There have been times when older kids have pushed my kids down, spit at them, and screamed at them "leave me alone". Most of the time, parents don't do anything, and keep playing Bejeweled on their iPhones. So, I will make a remark or just leave. Most of the time we just leave the situation.

Today, while at the Germ Pit...I got very upset. All I saw was Grady fall down a slide and he was holding his face. My friend saw what happened, but didn't tell me until after the incident and we were across the play area. I think she knew I would have gotten upset, but I still kept my cool even after she told me. Inside, I wanted to run across the Germ Pit and smash the kids that hurt my baby...he's almost 3, but still my baby. So, this is what happened to Grady. There were twin boys about 2 1/2 years old...one scratched Grady's face and the other pushed him down the slide (luckily the slide was two ft tall). The Mom did make the boys apologize to Grady, but that was it. I am sorry, but if my kid did that to another child...we would have LEFT the play area. Why let them stay and keep playing?? Oh wait..they WEREN'T playing. They were pushing other kids, spitting on kids, and just being spoiled rotten brats. Grady hardly ever gets his feelings hurt, and this totally crushed him. So, I sat down with him and told him, "if another kid is mean to you..you TELL THEM THEY ARE MEAN and tell Mommy".

I understand that we all have our not so consistent days in parenting, and that we get side tracked. But, don't let your kids be a Bully. I believe it reflects on the parenting. That's just my opinion. Has anyone else had an issue with their kids being Bullied or being the Bully? What are action's you took??? Since I am a new parent, I feel I need advice!!!!

Beachside Cupcakes

On my friends Birthday, I knew she was missing home (Florida). So, I made her these cupcakes. Can't get much better than a cupcake...and the beach!!!

I iced half of the cupcake with a vanilla icing. Then, I dipped it in Brown Sugar (sand). Then, I just made the "waves" with Betty Crocker Blue Icing. I love the icing in the long tubes that have the tips you can add on. I buy these all of the time when I don't feel like messing with food coloring.
Excuse the ghetto fab umbrella's. I couldn't find lil drink ones ANYWHERE. So, I made my own! I used a candle and tissue paper =)

 

These were sooo much fun to make. The ideas are endless. I have seen some made with goldfish crackers, pretzel sticks for fishing poles! That's actually where I got the idea...thanks Pinterest =)

Laundry....go fold yourself.

FYI, I really wanted to put a different four letter word in place of "fold" in this title. Just sayin....

I have a love/hate relationship with laundry. Wait, let me rephrase that statement. I have a HATE relationship with laundry. It's the folding and putting away part. I am sure I am not the only person that feels this way. I mean, It's freaking 2013...I need a robot that folds it.

I am thinking about putting myself on a laundry schedule. Does anybody have any tips?
For an example:
Monday: Dark Clothes. Wash/dry/fold
Tuesday: Put away Dark Clothes
Wednesday: Light Clothes. Wash/dry/fold
Thursday: Put away light clothes
Friday: Towels/sheets. Yes, I would wash and dry them seperately.

Or, I could always hire a laundry service!!!! My husband actually offered the idea when we had our second son.

I believe the reason I get so behind on folding them is because I am obsessed with other things  in the house being clean. My floors, kitchen, and living area. I see it as, those are the places we are in the most, so they need to be super clean. As long as I have clean clothes and they aren't wrinkled, I am happy. But then, it turns into 6 loads of laundry that needs to be folded!

My husband will fold them every now and then. But guess what??? I am a control freak and I don't like how he folds or puts them away. Yes, I am apparently bat shit crazy.

OR, I will fold it and my two boys will go knock them down. Brats. I really..REALLY do not want to fold laundry during nap time or their bed time. I would rather relax with a glass of wine (no, not during nap time...hmm..but sounds lovely), or do the other million things I need to do around the house.

 

 

 

 

If you see any of these people, please contact the Police.

 

Ella has been kidnapped by her mother, Danielle Lovemore and we are asking your help to get her back. Any info call Marana's Police Dpt at 520.382.2000

 

 

 

Clean my floors!

We live on base, in a beautiful home. However!!!!, our floors are horrible. They look like the floors in a school cafeteria that was built in the 80's. I am not exaggerating.

I am a freak about my floors. With two dogs and two boys under the age of 3, these floors get dirty FAST! I sweep every day (75% of our home is tile...excuse me, laminate), and mop every two days. Sometimes you will see me mopping every other day.

I had tried pinesol, vinegar, mr clean, steam mops, and mop n glow. Most do the job, but with a little bit of elbow grease. I use a libman mop that has a cloth head, and can be tossed in the wash. Most of my friends are always saying how great the floors look...they better look DAMN good!!! Well...let me tell YOU!! I found a great mix! I found it on Pinterest.
Its a MUST and can be used on any floors.

Magic and amazing floor cleaner: (I named it)
*2 gallons of very warm water
*1/4 cup Baking Soda
*1/4 cup vinegar
* teaspoon of dish soap

Put the BS in the water first and let it dissolve. Then, put in the vinegar. Once the bucket (I use my kitchen sink. Dirty water section and clean water section), put in the soap. If you put in too much soap, the suds will cause streaks on your floor.

:) Happy Mopping!

Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken

I have seen SO many repins on this chicken. I HAD to try it out, and glad I did!!! I followed the recipe to the T. I actually used my Blender since I don't have a food processor. It worked great!!

I do recommend, to definetely leave the pretzels in bigger pieces like the recipe calls for. I got a little, umm..BLENDER HAPPY, and the pretzels were like saw dust. I used them anyways, and the chicken wasn't very crunchy.

BUT, let me tell YOU!!! That sauce is TO.DIE.FOR!!! If you like the Chik Fil A Sauce, then this is pretty dang close to it! I wanted to lick the bowl!! I also dipped my veggies in it.

I seriously want to HUG the person that came up with this recipe. It's easy and healthy recipes that make me want to cook....oh wait, and DELICIOUS recipes =)http://www.facebook.com/BrownRiceLife#!/BrownRiceLife

Potty training

Boy oh boy!!!
We started potty training our son, Grady in Sept. He was doing fabulous (minus pooping on the potty). Then, I decided to drive across the country to visit family. So, we are back to square one.

I will admit, I havent been as consistent as I should be. He has the concept. But let me tell YOU!!!!!!!!
This kid, he will pee in the potty all.day.long. Will he poop in the potty!? Hell, NO! He prefers to poop on his train table (that is now in the trash), in the back yard, on the carper (not the tile that takes up 70% of The house, or in his clean undies.

Today, As my friend was leaving, we saw Grady in the backyard. Pants off, undies off, squatting and pooping. He was so proud of his accomplishment while I was so embarrassed. Yes, I know hes learning and kids will be kids. But, this was the first time my friend had been to my house. Luckily, she has two boys (phew).

After the day I had, I poured myself "grape juice" as our neighbor called it, at 4pm. Hey, it was 5 o'clock Eastern Time!

 

Melt in your mouth chicken

Holy cow, this is delish!
Chicken breasts
Mayo or greek yogurt
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix about two table spoons of mayo with about 1/4 cup of Parm. I sprinkled the chicken with garlic and pepper (I don't cook with a lot of salt).
Put in a shallow casserole. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. I have made this with tilapia as well. My picky 2 year old loves it.

Nutella rocks...however....

I LOVE Nutella. I mean, who doesn't?!?!? I found two recipes on Pinterest that I HAD to try.
1. Nutella Ravioli
2. Nutella Cupcake that do not require icing

Both of my results were beautiful!!! Looked exactly like the pic I pinned. However, and that's a big however...they were horrible!!! The ravioli was chewy. Next time I will use lumpia instead of wonton wrappers. The cupcakes, well...were so dense and were tossed. It broke my heart.

Monster Party decor

All of the decor ideas came from Pinterest and were so easy!!! Tissue paper pom pom tutorial to the table cloth drapes. All from the Dollar Tree!!! I hung the the streamers by threading string through them...that way I didn't have to worry about so much tape and could move them around the way I wanted. Easy peasy.

Monster Party!!!

The monster utensil box was made by a tissue box. Love it and was so easy!!!

The cupcakes were iced and then dipped into glitter. Eyes were Candy Melts by Wiltons.

Picture frame material was bought all at the...wait for it...Dollar Tree!!! Yes, squiggly eye and a pack of 8foam frames for $1. Give me a hot glue gun and I can do anything....except take care of stretch marks.

For the snacks, I purchased the plastic bowls from the Dollar Tree months ago and have reused them for other parties.

Parkers 1st Birthday, Monster Bash

When Parker was about 6 weeks old, I found a Shirt that was for a 1st bday and had a monster on it (for only $3.98) So...that's when I decided he HAD to have a Monster Party!!!

I knew Pinterest would help me. I found amazing ideas, and links to other sites. Catchmyparty.com was sooo helpful.

Here is the Birthday Boy!!! He had such a great time getting into his awesome Monster Cake made by yours truly.
I used Green Icing by Betty Crocker and candy melts for the eyes.

Cookie Monster for the win!!

I had SO much fun making these cupcakes with a friend. The theme was cookie monster so these cupcakes were a MUST!!
My friend purchased the material/cupcakes and of course the wine (decorating cupcakes is so much fun while sipping and giggling with a great friend).
We used:
Blue Icing by Wilton's
Black glitter gel icing by Wilton's (for the pupils)
Candy Melts by Wilton's (for the eyes)
Half of a choc chip cookie.
We cut a slit in the cupcake so the cookie would stay upright. We then iced the cupcake, then put the eyes and cookie in the mouth.
They were a huge hit!!! The Birthday girl loved them, and that's all that mattered.

Oh, Pinterest....

I grew up with a Mom that was crafty, a good cook, and threw amazing Birthday Parties. Luckily, I inherited creative side and I love to use it!!!  I have always been hesitant to try new recipes, until Pinterest.. One of my first boards was named Chef Brown Rice. My maiden name is Brown, and I am now a Rice...pretty cool, right??!!
The first meal I made from Pinterest was Bubble up Pizza...
It was actually pretty good!!

When we first got married, I had served raw chicken about 5 times. Chicken that was coated in garlic salt (yes, it was horrible), and pasta far too many times. I learned to read reviews, and go to other websites along the way to learn about different spices/herbs/roasting/baking/boiling/broiling. 

Thanks to Pinterest and allrecipes.com, I pat myself on the back about 4 times a week with a great meal.

Not only has Pinterest helped me with cooking/baking, it has helped me decorate my home and get great ideas for Party Planning!!!

Move over, Martha was my very first Board I started pinning to. It is just craft ideas for in the kitchen and around the house.


When it comes to parties...I LOVE IT!!! I love the planning, the organizing, the night before, the day of, and by the time the party starts..I am over it.

I am in the process of learning how to set this up, post pics, and update as easily as possible. Be patient, and thank you for reading!!!