Fall TV Lineup What Should I Watch

I usually only get to watch TV in the evening after the boys go to bed.  Last season, I had ER to look forward to each Thursday, and I must admit that I am extremely sad that it had to end.  I had been watching it since I was in college.  I attended nursing school and a bunch of us, including one of our professors gathered with popcorn to catch the new show.

I admittedly out of the loop on what is coming up on the local networks such as NBC, but I am also pretty burnt out on Survivor, Biggest Loser and all the popular shows.  It seems like a good portion of the shows start out ok and then become far fetched in the story line.  I do enjoy American Idol, and America’s got talent, but beyond that, I am thoroughly bored.

So I did some poking around on the Fall Television lineup.  Fox has shows like House that I casually watch off and on with my  husband.  ABC will have the Bachelor, which I am interested in seeing if they will pick from the previous show.  CBS enters with shows like “How I Met Your Mother, Survivor, and CSI.  I love the crime scene investigation type shows, but it seems like they are running out of content, so it makes the shows redundant.

All in all, there doesn’t appear to be much to choose from.  I am hoping something sparks my interest, otherwise I will be going to bed at 8pm, which might not be a bad thing.  I miss my ER!

Organization I Finally Had To Do It

You know the dreaded refrigerator and pantry.  Lately I have just been shoving it all in there and off to the races.  I think I get so caught up with taking care of the rest of the house so I don’t trip over toys, and caring for the boys that I just don’t care about the things they can hide behind closed doors.

Since I went out of town a couple of weeks ago, the fridge sort of became a major mess.  Since my husband doesn’t know when I made things he never knows what to throw out.  If you get sidetracked, like me, I am one of those people that just shove it somewhere and go.  Well I got tired of crap falling out at me, so I bit the bullet and organized what was behind “door number one and door number two.”  Thanks to Cat she was my motivation.  I hit the pantry and fridge about two days before trash day so all the stuff would go out on Thursday.

I threw out everything that was expired, opened and stale, and anything that just wasn’t getting used because someone didn’t like it etc.  I took my entire fridge apart and cleaned it from top to bottom.  I still have the freezer to do, but I feel like I can do the weekly grocery shopping and be able to come home and put it away all nice and neat rather than just trying to find somewhere to put it.  I am in heaven now, and open the pantry and fridge at least 5 times a day to admire them  LOL. I will show you my fridge before and afters.

Look!

Aren’t You Impressed??????

Wordless Wednesday

In Our Wildflower Garden…Later I ran from the bees!

Books To Read

So I thought I would try and venture into the world of books again.  It has always been so difficult for me to sit still long enough to read a book.  My Mom has always been an avid reader, but for some reason, I just never developed a love for reading or I didn’t read enough as a child.  I am  hoping that my boys love to read, since we read to them daily.

The best books are the ones that move fast from the beginning.  If it is a good book, it grabs my attention from the first page and then I cannot put it down.  This is hard to do when you are a mom to twins, so this hampers my ability to read when I am in the mood.  Reading at night is my best option, if I can keep from drooling on my pillow!

So I finally picked up a book called Twilight.  There are many people raving on and on about this series of books that were actually intended for the teenage audience, but adults are reading them too.  I have never been much of a vampire fan, but a good romance is always a plus.  Come to think of it, the last time I read a romance was back in high school when I secretly read Harlequin romance novels.  Are those even still around?

Oh, and I remember the Judy Blume books. Who can forget Blubber and Are You There God It’s Me Margaret?  At the time there was so much conflict about kids reading these books, I thought they were the best.  I suppose, I did read a little.  I love the thrillers, and some romance, but I have yet to get into some of the more novel like reading.  Are there any good ones that you suggest?  I would love to know because I am now determined to jump into books.  Since I don’t get out much, it would be fun to escape into books, especially with the Winter months approaching.

The Things I Think About In The Dark

Every night after the boys bath and book, we tuck them in.  I Have one on one side of me and one on the other.  My husband says good night and I stay with them until they fall asleep.  It is a routine that we have acquired and it is one of my favorite times in my day.

The light goes out and they both ask me to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and they will sing along.  My one little guy will ask me questions, like, Mommy are you happy? and, where do peaches come from?  I can hear them begin to get sleepy, the sound of their breathing, how they shift in the bed, and how their body becomes relaxed.  It is funny all the things you can sense about your children just laying there in the dark.

I think about so much when I am laying there next to my babies.  I will do a majority of my worrying at this time in the day, I will think about the things I have to accomplish and I reflect.  I know a lot of people like to put there kids to bed in their room and close the door, but I just never really wanted to.  I figure that they will grow up and someday and will be embarrased to have me around all the time.  I have just come to realize that time is just passing so quickly

Next weekend my family is coming to visit, and I can hardly wait to have the company.  The boys talk to Grandma and Grandpa and ask when they are coming on their driveway.  I know that they are going to love having them here and it is a much needed break for us here because all of our family is far away.  Tonight I was thinking about the time I miss being home, and how I can change it for us.  It is so difficult to pack up everything here with a dog and a cat, and two kids and not to mention the money it takes to take a trip as a family.

The things I think about in the dark….

Mrs Dash Makes Creative Cooking Healthy *Review*

As a stay at home mom, I do a lot of cooking.  Sometimes it isn’t always easy coming up with new ways to make scrambled eggs, or new ideas for that frozen chunk of chicken sitting in your freezer.   I have spent many days just staring into the pantry or fridge wondering what I could whip up for dinner that night.

After awhile you just have to find ways to be creative in preparing the same old chicken breast or steak.  I have spent days where I pounded chicken, breaded it, boiled it, you name it, just to make it interesting.  A few times, it wound up in the trash or I got some “what is this?” look from all members of my family including my twin toddlers.

I am always looking for healthy ways in which to prepare our meals and I usually tend to use a lot of butter or something to compensate for the lack of taste in some of the things I have made.  I have found, that using the right seasoning can make a world of difference when you are preparing a meal.  You can often give chicken a totally different taste based on what seasoning you use.

I recently received a bottle of Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning and I was more than eager to give it a try.  When I saw that it was Fiesta Lime, I automatically thought of a meal with Mexican flair.  So I cooked up plain old chicken breast and sprinkled a little of this on it.  We made some spanish rice, cut up some fresh tomatoes from the garden, lettuce, and warmed up some soft tortillas.  It gave the chicken a southwest flair and wasn’t overly spicy either.It was delicious and the only thing I added to the chicken was Mrs Dash!  The whole family devoured everything on their plate and my sons were asking for more.

Mrs Dash has no salt or MSG which makes it a nice healthy alternative to overloading your food with sodium and butter.  It was as if I created an entirely new meal and the only thing I added was a different seasoning.  It was a refreshing change from the ordinary yes using familiar ingredients which made meal preparation easy.  Mrs Dash has a whole collection of various seasoning you can try and they aren’t just good on meat.  You can sprinkle a dash here ans there on your salads vegetables and even soups.  It is a great addition to your spice cabinet and can make ordinary meals you have prepared over and over have a new an exciting taste without adding a bunch of unhealthy ingredients.

Thank you to Mom Central and Mrs Dash for sending out a sample for me and my family to try.

Pillsbury Simply Refridgerated Cookies

We love cookies in our house and one of my most favorite snacks has to be chocolate chip cookies and milk. They are the best when they are out of the oven, but I am not always in the mood to go though the whole spiel of making homemade cookie dough.

I have always been a fan of baking and usually steer clear of pre-made cookie dough. I try and make things that have natural ingredients especially when it comes to sweeteners. It seems like so many things these days contain high fructose corn syrup and not just normal sugar. Everything is ok in moderation, even sugar, and it’s actually probably healthier than the modified high fructose used to sweeten just about everything these days.

We were given the chance to try Pillsbury’s new Simply refrigerated cookie dough and the boys and I were very excited to bake them. The new cookies come in two flavors, Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter. They are made with wholesome ingredients like flour, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla and have zero grams trans fat, no high fructose corn syrup, no artificial colors or flavors and no preservatives. They are just “Simply” made with all the good stuff that makes them taste homemade without the mess of making the dough yourself.

I made the cookies with my boys and it was nice to include them. They had fun putting the cookies on the baking sheet to go in the oven. They were very eager to eat the cookies, so they were really excited to see that they were done in just about 13 minutes. The chocolate chip cookies were so good and we polished a dozen cookies off by the end of the day between the four of us. The next batch I make, I think I will have to hide them. Pillsbury Simply cookies taste just like homemade without the mess, so I will definitely keep a couple packages on had for those sweet tooth cravings.

Thank you to My Blog Spark for giving us this wonderful opportunity to try Pillsbury Simply Cookies!

Would you like to try Simply cookies for yourself? DoubleBugs and My Blog Spark are giving readers a chance to win a fabulous prize pack that includes A coupon for free Simply cookies, a cookie jar to put these wonderful cookies in, a notepad for your grocery list, and a reusable canvas tote (perfect for your grocery shopping trip to get your cookies).

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED!

Pillsbury is also offering a coupon for $1.25 off Simply cookies if you “simply” must try some now!

Here’s What You Gotta Do!

Tell me a way in which you simplify cooking or your everyday life and leave me a comment about it

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Contest Starts August 7, 2009 and ends September 7, 2009

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*winners chosen via random.org*

Wendy’s Boneless Wings

As a busy mom to twins I don’t always necessarily want to cook three meals a day, 7 days a week.  You tend to get burned out really fast.  For me it is a treat when my husband brings me home something, or makes a late night run, or when we can all just grab something that doesn’t require me standing in the kitchen.

One of my favorite things to eat are chicken wings, but the worst part about them, is the fact that they are all bone and not enough of the good stuff and tend to be rather messy.  I like mine a little on the hot and spicy side but I also love  barbeque wings as well.  To my surprise, Wendy’s now has new boneless chicken wings.  Made with 100% whole chicken breast,  hand tossed in one of three sophisticated flavors: Bold Buffalo, Honey BBQ, and Sweet & Spicy Asian Chicken you are sure to find one that you will love.  We really enjoy going to Wendy’s especially for their Frosty’s in the Summer, and I love the fact that you can get more than just a plain burger when you go.

In addition to a great menu, I also feel like Wendy’s offers a healthier selection of food.  I can’t wait to try their new Boneless Chicken Wings!  I might be sending my poor husband on more late night runs to Wendy’s.  You gotta love cravings!  You are sure to find something to please all members of the family, and it is a great way to give Mom a break from the kitchen to let the whole family indulge in something they all love.

**I wrote this review while participating in a blog and giveaway campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Wendy’s and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.**

Umi Is Celebrating 5 Years!

Hey all, Umi shoes is celebrating their 5th Birthday.  For one day only Thursday August 6, 2009  at 11pm till Friday August 7th, 2009, 11pm they are offering 40% off of all their shoes online. Just enter the code BDAY5 You won’t want to miss getting in on this deal.  I love Umi shoes!

Wordless Wednesday

Chicago

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