The one where I pimp out my own son for free diapers

Well I always said I wouldn't be THAT mom....

the one begging for votes in some stupid photo contest....

but when a FREE cloth diaper by one of my favorite shops is being offered I figured I could bend the rules!

Here's where you all come into play.

In order to win the prize Jamie needs the most comments!

1.  Go to Facebook

2.  Find Twinkie Tush Diapers and "like" the page

3.  Look for the March 2011 Photo Contest album and find my lil man, photo #16

4. Leave a comment

I mean really.  How could you NOT vote for this sweet little face?!?

So go HERE and leave a comment, only one per person counts!

The contest ends Thursday, March 31st, so hurry soon!!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Red & White Manicotti

You may or may not have noticed one thing missing from TT.......seafood.  There's a reason for that.  I can't stand fish or anything else seafood-y.  Call me crazy, but it's the truth.  This makes Friday's during Lent a bit tricky for this Catholic.  Well my prayers were answered when this weeks edition of "The Leaven" (aka the Catholic newspaper) arrived.  Apparently I'm not the only one who wanted some fish free meals because they listed FOUR yummy recipes to try and I immediately knew I had to try this one!  Unfortunately for Tuesday.....Friday is still days away so I can't actually vouch for this yet, but I'm pretty confident it will be delish!  Enjoy!

Red & White Manicotti

What you need:

1 box (8oz) manicotti noodles
3 c ricotta cheese (12 oz)
2 beaten eggs
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 pkg (9 oz) frozen chopped spinach
1 jar (28 oz) marinara pasta sauce (my fave is Emeril's, it's fabulous!)

What you do:
Boil manicotti noodles according to the package.  Thaw spinach in the microwave and squeeze out excess liquid.  Pour marinara sauce into a 9x12 casserole dish.  Mix beaten eggs, spinach and all three cheeses in a large bowl.  Put mixture into a one-gallon Ziploc bag.  Remove excess air, snip off one of the corners and pipe filling into shells.  Place stuffed shells into casserole and cover with Alfredo sauce (see below).  Sprinkle with dried basil, oregano and additional Parm cheese if desired.  Cover with foil; bake at 350 for 40 minutes

Basic Alfredo Sauce

1/4 c butter

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 c flour

1/2 t salt

2 cups milk

1/2 c grated Parm cheese

dash of nutmeg

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour and stir to combine.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Add milk slowly, whisking until smooth.  Add Parm cheese and season with salt, pepper, nutmeg.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly, about 3-4 minutes.

Bon Appetite!

To Whom it May Concern

Dear Mother Nature,

Did you not hear?  It's spring now.  You can shitcan this snow business anytime!

Thanks,
Anxiously waiting for Spring

Dear Toothfairy,

Can we get a move on with Jamie's top teeth?  It's been like a month of teething and we're all soooo over it.

Thanks,

Hopes to sleep again

Dear Germs,

Please stop infecting my family!

Thanks,
So tired of constant runny noses and crummy coughs

Dear Baby Fever,

Go away.  I know the mere site of newborn clothes makes you ache and all the pregnancy announcements lately make you jealous, but get over it.

Thanks,

The girl who can't afford 2 in daycare

Dear scale,

Please give me a pretty number this week.....

Thanks,
The girl who maybe snacked a bit too much this weekend

Dear Canon,

Feel free to send me a Rebel Ti2 free of charge.

Thanks,

The girl who wants to take better pictures

Dear Friday,

Please hurry.

Thanks,

(before) and After

Living proof that despite yesterday, we really don't live in filth!

I even had time to put out the Easter Decorations!

(Don't ask to see the 4th bedroom, otherwise known as the room all misc crap goes to die!)

I agree with Kasey...nap time!

Saturday Morning Scene Disaster

Enter my home at your own risk.....

I'm linking up with Katie over at Loves of Life again to showcase what I'm doing this fine Saturday morning.

CLEANING!!

Usually I wouldn't want to post pics of my horribly cluttered house, but this is what I'm currently tackling and we're all about putting it all on the table around here.  (literally, can you even see my table?!?)

Yikes!  This is what happened when mommy works full time, often late, and is gone two weekends in a row!  Hopefully I'll be able to find my couch by Monday!

Happy Weekend Ya'll!

(haha, I just said ya'll)

Project MILF Week 3

Yes you read the title correctly.  Week 3.

Despite the fact that I posted about this 8 weeks ago, it took me 5 more to get my butt in gear.

Sad I know, but at least I finally got started and that's what counts.

So far I've lost a whopping 10 pounds.  Woo hoo!

You'd think I would feel fantastic and I do, but have you ever noticed that when you've been eating better and losing weight you think you will become a greek goddess overnight?

Yeah well, much to my dismay that doesn't happen.

Take yesterday for example.  I had to go buy a pair of black pants for work.  I hate pants shopping, but I figured maybe I would have better luck since I've lost a little weight.

Not the case.  It was a very depressing shopping experience that really just left me bummed.  I wasn't expecting miracles (ok maybe I was), or even a smaller size (a girl can hope though), but someone please explain to me how the size I usually wear was almost too tight.  What a shaft.

I'm trying not to beat myself up over it.  I mean it took 2 years and a baby to put the weight on, it's going to take more than 3 weeks to take it off.  Guess I was just greedy for a little more instant gratification!

Project MILF continues!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Sweet-n-Sour Chicken

There seems to be two favorite kinds of food in our household.  Mexican......and Chinese.  So when I came across this lower cal version of one of our favorties I knew I wanted to try it.  The sauce ingredients were NOTHING like the thick, sugary red sauce I'm used to and the chicken isn't breaded or fried, but I thought what the heck!  Glad I took the risk because this was uh-mazing!  I dare say better than the restaurant version because it had the same delcious tangy flavor but didn't leave you feeling greasy and stuffed to the gills.  Give it a try!

Sweet-n-Sour Chicken

What you need:

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed

2 T vegetable oil

1/2 c sliced green pepper

1/2 c sliced red bell pepper

1 c carrot strips (I used the packaged waffle cut ones)

(I also added some sliced onion)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T cornstarch

1/4 c low sodium soy sauce

1 (8 oz) can pineapple chunks with juice (I used tidbits)

1 T vinegar

1 T brown sugar

1/2 t ground ginger

What you do:

1.  Heat oil in skillet.  Add chicken and cook until no longer pink, set aside.  Add red and green pepper, onion, carrot and garlic and stir fry 1-2 minutes.  Place chicken back in pan.

2.  In small bowl combine cornsartch and soy sauce and mix together.  Pour mixture into skillet along with pineapple and juice, vinegar, brown sugar and ginger.  Stir together and bring to full boil.

I served it over brown rice.  Yum!

Bon Appetite!

Santa was a bit late this year....helloooo spring!

Nothing welcomes a new season better than a new purse.

At least in my eyes.

So last weekend while cruising the outlets I found it only right to check out the Coach store.

You know, just to browse.

Haha, yeah......riiight.

Does anyone actually just browse at Coach?  I don't have the will power.  Especially on coupon day when everything in the store is an additional 30% off.

After inspecting, trying on, carrying around and oogling over every.last.purse they had. (The hubs was thrilled)  I spotted it, sitting all by it's lonesome on the bottom shelf.  It must be fate.

Remember this post?  The one with the fake Christmas list?

Well wouldn't you know that little beauty has found it's way onto my arm, just a few months later!

I'm in love.

Definitely worth the wait.....especially at more than half off!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

From our lil Leprechaun!

AKA Mr. McCutie!



PS  It's supposed to be 80 degrees today!  Sounds like the perfect opportunity to get my green beer on!

There's no crying in baseball!

Unless you're at my house.  And then there is.  Lots of crying.

And yep.  We are totally those parents.  The ones who find it ridiculously funny slightly amusing that our son hates the baseball toy....so we taped it.  Oh, and before you go calling child services on us, rest assured this was the last time we have tried to make him play with it.  

(Pardon the crappy quality of this video....and my apparently really annoying "mom" voice)



Tasty Tuesday ~ Chicken Quesadillas

Ok.  So I know Quesadillas aren't exactly culinary genius.  Nor do you actually need a recipe to pull them off, but when I flipped my handy dandy work calendar to March and saw these delicious beauties starting back at me I knew I had to try them.  Believe it or not....I've never actually made a Quesadilla.  Shocking considering the amount of times I've eaten them at restaurants.  This version seems very healthy though and with my new MILF makeover in the works I've been trying to find good low cal recipes.   I haven't made these yet, last night was bit crazy but they're on the menu for later this week.  Enjoy!

Chicken Quesadillas

What you need:

4 oz Chicken Breast

1 (8 in) whole-wheat tortilla

2 oz low fat shredded cheese

1/8 medium onion, thinly sliced, rings separated

1/4 medium bell pepper, cut into strips

What you do:

Cut chicken into thin strips.  Coat a frying pan with cooking spray.  Saute chicken until cooked.  Add pepper and onion; cook until soft.  Set aside.  Place a tortilla in the frying pan; top one half of the tortilla mixture and the shredded cheese.  Fold the tortilla and press down slightly.  Brown on each side, cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Makes 2 servings: 168 calories, 4 grams of fat

Bon Appetite!

Can I have my hour back please?

Why is it every year when the clocks "spring" forward I'm dragging serious ass for days.

I mean seriously....it's ONE hour, but apparently it makes all the difference.

I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning.  Not only was it Monday, but even though my clock said 6:05 I knew it was really only 5:05 and getting up that early is NOT cool.

To make matters even worse, as the hubs went to let the dogs out I heard:

"Are you freaking kidding me?!"

I peaked down the hallway to see what the problem was only to notice it was snowing.

Seriously Mother Nature.

W.T.F.

Wasn't it in the 70's on Saturday?  We were cruising the outlets and Jamie was sporting his new shades and now I'm searching for his hat and gloves?!

Ugh. 

Come on spring.  I've sprung forward, lost an hour of sleep.....now throw me a bone with some nice weather!



Our Saturday Morning Scene

What are the EyeCanSee's up to this weekend?

We're down at the lake visiting Grampa!

Nothing better than waking up to this!

What are you doing this fine Saturday morning?  Link up with Katie over at Loves of Life!

Hello Friends!

Hi all, Jamie here! 

Looks like I'm bit late to my own party considering I turned 7 months on Wednesday. 

Oops!

Mom blames it on me....she's been a bit on the sleepy side since I've decided to be a screaming banshee the past few nights between the hours of 1 and 4am.  In fact I've earned a new nickname around here....High Maintenance Jamie (pronounced "high-may")  I don't know how I feel about that, but since my language skills these days don't go much past "bababa" I guess there's not much I can do about that.  Except maybe sleep through the night, but what fun would that be?!  

Check out my official 6 mos pics!  Aren't I a ham!?!

I'm slooooowly coming around to solid foods.  I eat half of the tiny stage 1 containers a day....if mom's lucky enough to get me to choke it down.  I definitely prefer the fruits to the veggies, I'm no fool, I like the sweet stuff!  Mom just picked up this fancy new food that's spinach, peas and pears to try and sneak the veggies past me, we'll see how I like it.

I'm sitting like a champ these days....so much for rolling over, mom thinks we may just skip that milestone.  Though I sleep on my side now, and mom find me in all sorts of crazy positions in the morning, so she's pretty sure I could roll over if I wanted to.  I've also started trying to get up on my knees when I'm on my tummy, but tend to get frustrated easily when I fall back down.  I'll get the hang of this crawling business eventually, but for now mom says she kinds likes that she can still leave me for a minute and know I'll be right where she left me when she comes back!

Our weather around here has been better, I even got to go the the park for the first time!  Mom put me in my big boy stroller and off we went.  I LOVED the swing and laughed the whole time!  It's right up the street from our house so I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time there this summer!

I still only have 2 teeth on the bottom....mom finally caught them on film!  (Only took her 2 months, she really needs a new camera....hint hint ;)  For awhile there she was convinced I was cutting my top two teeth, all the tell tale signs were there....but now they've come and gone with no teeth.  Hmph.  Guess she was wrong, fooled her again!

I've become quite the snuggler this month.  I love to reach my arms up when I want you to pick me up and then I'll wrap my arms around your neck and give a big ole bear hug.  I've even been known to give a wet sloppy kiss or two if you're lucky!  Mama thinks I'm going to be quite the flirt when I grow up!

That's all folks.  Until next month...peace out!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

So the calendar hanging in my office at work has recipes on it every month, fun right?  Well this one was staring me down the entire month of February and I finally got a around to making it.  Chicken stir fry is a staple in our house so I always jump at the chance put a twist on our usual Asian cuisine.  This one fit the bill nicely....plus it's good for you and totally Project MILF friendly!  Double bonus!  My only complaint is the 2 T of soy sauce left it a bit lacking.  Next time I may add a little of our usual stir fry sauce just to spice it up a bit, otherwise it was delicious....enjoy!

Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

What you need:

1 cup uncooked brown rice, cook according to package

1 T vegetable oil

1/2 lb beef sirloin steak, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups broccoli florets

4 green onions, thinly sliced

2 T light soy sauce

What you do:
While rice is cooking, brown beef with garlic in oil over high heat.  Stir in broccoli and onion; stir fry for 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender.  Add soy sauce.  Stir in cooked rice; heat thoroughly.
(Makes 4, 1 cup servings with 204 calories and 3 grams of fat)

Bon Appetite!