Woot Woot! Pinterest Tuesday!

Yay, my fav time of week-talking about Pinterest :-) So if you're apart of this website you know how addicting it is...I've made so many things both food and cleaning related that it's so hard to choose which to feature! This week I chose Slow Cooker Lime Cilantro Chicken from Pip & Ebby mainly because I have had it put aside in my "to make" pile of recipes and finally got around to it.

I haven't all positive results when doing chicken in a crock pot; maybe it's just me but I find that it usually dries out. This recipes gets my stamp of approval! I did tweak it just a bit, only cooking for 5 hours on low rather than 6 and it came out perfect. I used chicken breast and it literally fell apart and spices were delish. Honestly, you can use your imagination on how to use the chicken; maybe over rice or as chicken tacos but I opted to make tostadas on corn tortillas.

I saw that a lot of my pinterest friends had pinned this recipes so thumbs up guys, this recipe is a definite make. Happy Tuesday!!

Munchkin Monday

My one post per week dedicating to schmoozing over my kid :-) We've had a lot of "mommy and me" time the past few weekends because of M's crazy coaching schedule but it's been great. I get a lot of mommy guilt because of late work hours but we've certainly made up for it. At  2 yrs old she has such a personality and LOVE it. Yeah yeah, you hear about terrible twos but I don't know if I'm buying into it. To me, these kiddos at this age are just struggling to adjust to the world around them. They have new found independence, maybe with the potty or with speech and they just need figure things out. We're doing well though, at least I think. I get those "oh the terrible two phase" comments when I tell people her age but I think it's overrated. With some patience, and beer when the little ones go to bed, both the kids & parents get through it and grow together.

Her speech amazes me everyday. My students at school ask me if she talks and I just have to laugh! The kid talks non-stop and maybe I'm just used to it by now but she narrates everything. She keeps me busy, that's for sure! What did I ever do with my time before she arrived?!?

Time Out Thursday

Boy do I need one!! Finally got to a yoga class earlier this week and by the way things are looking with my bathroom situation (see earlier post) I may need a heck of a lot more. I have such mom guilt about setting time aside to go to a class; I'm so limited when I can go because of my work schedule that I can go only in the mornings. I LOVE to exercise in the am compared to later in the day but this means I need to drop E off at "school" earlier. Older, experienced mom's may say "...come on Jenn get over it, it's just and hour or so earlier" but honestly, I feel bad! I swore before having a baby that I would never give up on my healthy habits and unfortunately during the school year, my time to exercise is the first to go. I am seriously making myself go tomorrow morning to use up my Living Social deal I purchased earlier in the month for a new different studio.
How are other moms making time for exercise--please share your ideas & strategies :-) or swift kick in the ass, whichever...

Yay!! Pinterest Tuesday!!

Geesh, it's only my second Pinterst Tuesday and I am uber psyched! I'll be reviewing two pins today; one recipe and one exfoliator for the face. Let's go!!
Recipe: Cool Rise Challah Bread from Food52

Awesome recipe blog I'll add, but this recipe was spot on! I've developed this new found desire to be Suzy Homemaker and bake my own breads and if you're a french toast fan you know that this braided beauty is one of the best loaves to make it from! This was my second time using this recipe and it came out AWESOME!! Here's my finished product:

Then I made some yummy french toast with it the morning after. Def recommended!!

Skin Care Review: DIY Facial Exfoliator from Henry Happened

Alrighty, so this blogger linked up to another blogger with this recipe. It's SO stinkin' simple: She calls for 1 tsp of baking soda and mix with your normal cleaner. Voila! Instant exfoliator! I make a subtle variation and used 1/2tsp and mixed it with my Cetaphil. I am REALLY nervous about trying new things on my face because I've had craptastic skin for pretty much forever BUT I LOVED THIS IDEA!!! No irritation and my face was smooth as a baby's butt. I'll def be adding this to my regimen and I highly recc you do too! Simple & cheap!!

Enjoy!

Do things come in 3's??

Ya know, when it rains it pours. If you own your home you know that when things tend to break, it's never just one thing or an easy fix and I swear our house got the memo the we just got our tax return. Ok granted our house was build in 1940, so for 70+ years old she's doin' pretty well but COME ON!

It started with our bathtub--when we moved in almost 4 years ago, our one full bath had on of those Re-Bath thingies that covers the old bathtub. Obviously we have no clue what the original tub looks like. Well there's a squishy, bubble type feel when you step in. Hmmm that can't be good. I noticed a really small bubble maybe a year or so ago but this has definitely grown. Well, I listened to my mom and you tubed what the problem might be. BAD IDEA. I guess over time water begins to leak into between the old tub and new tub because the seal isn't always perfect. Over time, that "squishy" feeling appears and mold can grow. EWWW! Let's be clear, I'm a type A neat freak, so it appears to be fine on the outside but my mind is running on what's going on under that liner. I could totally be overreacting but I want that thing out pronto!! So what does a person do? We have one full bathroom so a complete re-no is out of the question now, not only for the complexity of the project but heck who has 10 g's to drop with little notice? Not us. Replace the liner? Well wouldn't that just be doing the same thing and we'll have the same problem down the road. Last option is to rip out the liner and re-glaze or re-finish the original tub. I'm kinda leaning towards this, but I have yet to speak to the one company in the area that does it. Does anyone have any experience with any of the above??

Next problem: Yesterday our microwave died. Really, REALLY? I guess one doesn't realize how much a microwave is used til you don't have one. Seriously, how am I going to heat up water for my hot chocolate? :-) Ok lame, just kidding. Fortunately that was an easy fix; Evelyn and I took to Sears, after I did my research online of course, and purchased a new Kenmore over the stove microwave. Ok, I'm a little excited about this purchase cuz let's face it who doesn't like to update. I remember the times when Jager Bombs were excited and listen to me, I'm swooning over a new microwave. Lame-o. Eh well I guess comes with the territory of maturity.

Happy Friday :-)

Hope you all have more exciting plans than I do!! I am a coaching widow. A what, you ask? A wife who lose's her husband a few months out of the year when he coaches a team. Thankfully we've reached the tail end of this winter season however the next weeks are the absolute pits!!!

Two day tournaments for the next 3 weekends plus, since my husband really likes to fill his plate, Sundays for a whole different set of kids tournaments. Inhale. Exhale.

Almost done....almost done.

Dazzle me please with your more exciting weekend plans please!!

Time-out Thursdays

Let's face it, whether you have children or not or work or stay at home we ALL need breaks here and there. Hopefully we can find our outlets, be it exercise or crafting or what have you but it's so very important to not lose sight of one's self. Once I had my daughter in 2009, I knew I would need something to help keep my anxiety in check and maintain my energy--that's when my neighbor suggested yoga. She had been practicing for years and raved about it so I said hey, I'll give it a shot. I started with a 6 week Introduction to Yoga series at a local studio and was HOOKED!! I couldn't wait to start taking "real" classes. If you've BFed before you can appreciate what it's like to try and exercise with milk filled boobs, let alone perform poses that require said BFing mom to lay on her belly. I survived though, and the former "gym-rat" converted to become a yogini.

Two years and counting I have never looked back. I have had absolutely amazing teachers, that I won't lie, I have had not so nice thoughts about when they called for yet another vinyasa BUT at the end of the class the sweet serenity is SO worth it.

So how have I been doing this week, in making time for myself? ::big thumbs down:: Eh, not so great. It's Thursday and I haven't made it to class once but thankfully I have a little yoga group I started at work that meets Thursday nights; I'll sneak in a little sweat and opening then.

What's your time-out strategy?

Will you help me make friends??

Pretty please?? As I try to grow my little corner of the web, I think I need a little help from fellow bloggers :-) Mind giving me a little shout out one of these days?? Thanks buddies!!!

Welcome to Pinterest Tuesdays!!

If you haven't heard of Pinterest yet, you seriously have been living under a rock :-) Thanks to facebook, it seems as though everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, and for good reason! Who doesn't love useless hours of searching for random things that one needs or doesn't need? Who doesn't love snagging crafty ideas from crafty people?? As a self proclaimed non crafter, I.stinkin.love.this.site. I've decided to take ideas from Pinterest and actually put them to use, instead of just going on a pinning marathon. I have tested and will test ideas, crafts, recipes you name it and give the thumbs up or thumbs down. In honor of Valentine's day, my review is two fold: a hairstyle for my little valentine as well as a treat for her class's party today. Read on :-)

This pic unfortunately does not have a source, as it was just uploaded "user" but if this is your kid please let me know and I'll totally give you credit!! I broke it down into steps to show you how it's done:

Step 1: I always wet her hair with a spray bottle then style. Make the pig tails a bit higher to allow space for the heart below the elastic.

Step 2: Topsy Tail it!! Remember this back in the 90's?? BUT your tucking the hair UNDER so it comes out the top rather than over the top and the hair ends up under

Step 3: Now that the hair is coming out the top, split it in half and twist. Secure each twist below original elastic. Voila!!! LOVE THIS!!!! Kudos to the one who came up with it!


PART TWO of my review :-)

Ok, for E's valentine's day party I took this idea from A Turtle's Life For Me and adapted for V day. Great Halloween idea, Natalie!!

Here's my rendition, clearly not as awesome but hey I tried:

Materials: Clear plasticware

Googly eyes  Black Sharpie

Strawberry Yogurt (I used Trader Joe's)

Crumbled up Oreo's

So yeah, I can definitely work on this, as the eyes are too high and maybe more yogurt but overall super idea and I am sure the kids will love it! Enjoy!!

Hello!!

Welcome to you newbies and welcome back to old friends!! I've decided to close the door on my old blog, which I've lovingly tended to for 3+ years and start fresh. Life is ever evolving, and with that requires change at times SO here I am starting new.

So what can you expect to read about? Sure, of course I'll write about my kid! What proud mom doesn't?? I'll have weekly Pinterest reviews and ramblings of ways to stay sane.

Happy Blogging!
Jenn