What's for dinner?

The other night I made one of these for dinner. Now, I'm not saying that this is what Martha Stewart makes for her family or anything. But it was yummy! And easy. And we both had seconds.

So basically, a winner.

And while I'm the topic of food, I have to share the most amazing, delicious recipe for mashed potatoes that I've ever tasted. Which is really saying something, because I love me some carbs and have enjoyed a lot of mashed potatoes in my time.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
(courtesy of Robin Miller on Food Network)

4 red potatoes, unpeeled and chopped into small pieces
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, combine potatoes and garlic. Pour over enough water to cover and set pan on high heat. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.

Drain and return potatoes and garlic to cooking pot. Add buttermilk and mash until large lumps disappear. Folk in parsley, chives, salt and pepper.

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Mother of the year, right here

Here's what happens when mom's on a conference call and a feisty toddler really wants her attention:



You may be asking yourself, "How did Janie get her hands on an almost completely full bag of marshmallows?"

And the answer would be that her mom practically threw it at her in a desperate attempt to buy a few more minutes of quiet.

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Things making me smile this week...

1. My new devotional book. I've only done about 5 of the 90 days, but I can already tell this is going to be a great book for me.

2. Big hugs from Janie. While I was carrying her through Target the other day, she moved my hair out of her way, laid her head on my shoulder, sighed and said "I love you." (Honestly, I don't think life can get much better than that.)

3. Rob's new work schedule. There's been some changes at Rob's job. The highlight for me - Rob gets to be home on Sunday nights again - yeah!

4. I recently discovered this little bit of candy perfection - the new mint & dark chocolate version of 3 Musketeers. In the words of the Wiggles - "Yummy, yummy."

5. An empty laundry basket. Seriously. Seeing the empty basket, knowing that everything is washed and dried and put away - it just makes me happy.

6. A successful attempt at a new recipe. Well, hopefully. I'm trying something new tonight - I'll have to let you know if it's a hit or a miss. Fingers crossed!

7. New & returning fall TV shows. Finally! I'm so excited to be reunited with all my old friends... Friday Night Lights, Ugly Betty, Grey's, Survivor. Plus, my new summer favorite, Mad Men, is still going strong.

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Shake your boots

The other night, while Rob was graciously in the kitchen cleaning up our dinner mess, Janie and I were in the living room having a dance party.

We were getting our groove on to 'Shake, shake, shake... shake, shake, shake... shake your booty.' We really had a good thing going. And then Rob and noticed that Janie was making a weird hand motion. It was definitely not a normal part of Janie's dance repertoire.

She had her hands in front of her, palms down. Then she would move her hands together so that her index fingers were touching, and then move her hands back and forth.

Rob and I laughed and shook our heads, thinking what will this cutie-pie kiddo think of next.

And then we realized, she's doing sign language! She's signing BOOTS!

Poor girl. Like she doesn't have enough reasons to think her mom is a nut. Now I'm dancing around the living room in celebration of fall footwear.

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Yuck-o

This morning, while working in the 2-year-old class at church, I cleaned up both barf and pee.

To be totally honest, I actually CAUGHT the barf in my HAND and then had to clean it up.

It was mom-instinct. I couldn't help it.

And the offending fluids didn't even belong to my own child.

I can say with certainty that it was the single grossest hour I've experienced so far as a mother.

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Money for nothing

As a stay-at-home-mama, I often wish I could do more to contribute to our bottom line. So in a recent spurt of good stewardship (also known as: being cheap), I contacted all of our utility companies in search of a better deal. And yeah! I found some!

We cut our cable bill in half. But we still get all the channels we're addicted to; and as an added bonus we also get some cool new cable features. (Seriously - OnDemand is the best cable invention ever.)

We're also saving some cash on our phone and internet plans. And by combining our phone/internet/cell phone bills into one statement we saved even more. Sweet!

And biggest savings of all - we lowered our car insurance by $150. :)

Just a couple hours of phone-ing and internet-ing means more $$$ in our budget for play days with Janie, paying off some debt, or building up our savings. Yeah!

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What a steal

Okay, so yesterday I got some new clothes for Janie - for free!! Yipee!

Actually, I kind of felt like I was stealing them.

A local department store was having a sale, and (double bonus!) I had a $10 coupon. Plus, my mom got a coupon in the mail too and donated it to me. :)

So, armed with my coupons and some shopping determination, I scoured the racks for good deals. It wasn't all that hard really. The sale was pretty rockin, especially in the kid's area.

Two cute tops and pair of pink pants later, I was back in my car without having to even open my wallet.

I'm not quite sure that giving away their merchandise for free was the intent of the coupon. But a mama on a budget isn't going to say no to free stuff for her growing girl!

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