TV Crackdown

Let me start off by saying that I am not against TV. My husband often points out that he watched a lot of TV and he has a PhD in mathematics. It didn't seem to ruin him. Plus, there are a lot of good shows to choose from. I am pretty sure D learned to read from Leap Frog and Super Why. That being said, once D starts watching TV, he fights me the rest of the day to get to watch more and more and doesn't want to take the effort to use his imagination. I was tired of the fighting and arguing. Then we started the TV tickets.

 At the beginning of the week he gets 5 TV show tickets and 3 movie tickets. He gets to choose when to use them. I thought this was important because it makes him accountable for his choices. It can be hard on me because, for instance, this week he used them ALL on Monday. Yup, I let him watch TV for about 7 hours. It went against everything I believe about kids and TV, but I let him make the choice. But here is the wonderful part. Since we have been doing this, on days he has no tickets left, he doesn't ask to watch TV. Not even once. Sometimes he will point out he wants to watch something but he can't till next week because he used all his tickets. Today he gathered up a bunch of his Friend magazines and looked through them and then asked me to read some of the stories to him. That would have never happened before. Last week he used them all by the end of Tuesday, and he found plenty to keep him busy the rest of the week. I think this system is a keeper for us.

*Note: Saturdays are the exception. I let him watch Saturday morning cartoons regardless of ticket status. It's the day the hubby and I have to relax in the morning. Maybe the anti-TV people would think this is still excessive, but it works for us. 

321 Cake

Have you ever heard of 321 cake? I hadn't until recently. It is an easy way to make a quick single serving of cake. Here's what you do. You mix one box of angel food cake with another box of any kind of cake mix you want. The reason one has to be angel food cake is because it has the powdered egg whites in it. I just dumped the angel food cake mix and a chocolate cake mix into a large tupperware, placed the lid on, and shook it till it was mixed. You could use a ziplock bag.

Now for the 321 part. Place 3 Tbs of the cake mix you just mixed together into a microwavable cup or mug. I used some small bowls I have from Pampered Chef. Mix in 2 Tbs of water. Microwave for 1 minute. That's it. You can eat it right out of the cup. I dumped D's out on a plate just because the bowl was hot. It's not bad. It's actually pretty good. It's chocolate cake with a sponge texture. Would be yummy with fruit and whip cream. I don't make cakes often because who needs a whole cake for 3 people? But D and Hubby love cake, so this will be great. Now if I could just find a way to have single serving of ice cream......Forget it. I'll just eat the whole container.

Super Bowl Snacks

The Super Bowl was always a big party with my family. This is the first year I won't be living close enough to attend. Luckily I have great friends who are having a party. I am excited to get together with friends over good food. I'll admit, the football doesn't usually interest me, especially since my Packers will not be playing. It is the food and get together I love. So, now I just need to decide what snacks to make. Luckily I have Pinterest!!!

So, I am going to make these:

Source: myhomemdelife.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Don't they look yummy.

I also can't decide about either of these:

Source: cityhomecountryhome.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Source: justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I would also love to make one of these, but the problem is I am heading straight to my friend's house after church. They would be cold. I think the things above will be OK cold or at room temp, but not hot dips. Maybe I would have to make them at her house.

Source: my-plate.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Source: moderationrecipes.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Or I should just stick to sweets. Can't go wrong with these:
 

Source: texascottage.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Source: howsweeteats.com via Nicole on Pinterest

So many choices. Luckily, I doubt there is a wrong answer here. Yummy!!!!

A Day In My Life

Chocolate On My Cranium encouraged us to do a post of pictures from a typical day. I found this hard, because we are not scheduled people in general. Every day is a little different. I guess that is the benefit of only having one kid. D is pretty good at going with the flow of things. Here is how yesterday went.

One fairly normal thing is that D crawls into my bed to snuggle at about 8:30 am. Sometimes it wakes me up. Other times I am awake and already have read scriptures. Either way I am waiting in bed for my morning snuggle.

Usually we have some sort of outing planned for the day. Not every day, but quite often. Children's museum, zoo, parks, science museum. Yesterday was story time at the library.

Followed by playing at the library.

The comes daily tasks (errands, laundry, cleaning) and lunch. No pictures of that because yesterday was some car errands and it didn't go well. It ended with tears, mine not D's, and the great Hubby ended up having to take care of the car issues this morning.

No day would be complete at our house with out super hero practice. D had saved up for a new toy and had to practice all day. I am pretty sure it was in his bed when he fell asleep.

Afternoons D gets to watch a movie if he didn't want morning cartoons. Today was Thundercats cartoon checked out from the library. He is studying up on new moves.

We always try and fit in something education in our day. Science, math games, cooking. Also, he has been learning to read. We practice his reading or I read to him. None of this is very scheduled. Here is where my lack of scheduling is my downfall. I don't get all the school stuff I would like to.

Evenings are different always too. Hubby teaches a night class a few times a week, so a lot of times it is just D and I. Yesterday we went to a friends house to babysit her girls. They made up all sorts of fun games, like freeze dance.

Last night I found this shoved in the couch. Any guesses why? Yup, D pulled off the button and hide it. That is not like him, but I guess a new challenge/parenting issue is part of a typical day. Nothing we can't handle.

Most nights I try and make it to the gym at night. Not last night. I big bowl of popcorn and Lost. Yes, I have never seen Lost, but my hubby owns them all on DVD, so we started watching them together. It is way better when you can ask questions and someone actually know the answers of what is going on.

And in case you were wondering, I did share some of my popcorn with the hubby. :)

If I Had A Brother...

A couple if days ago, we went to a friends house.  They have a boy a year older than D and a girl the same age as D, as well as a one year old. D and the older two play together really well. We are lucky enough to be able to schedule weekly play dates.

Last time we where there I heard the boy and D talking. D was explaining how it would be if he had a brother. It isn't the first time he has talked about if he had a brother or sister, it was just the first time I have heard him talking to his friends about it. It made my heart hurt a little.

When D has talked to us in the past about if or when we get a baby, we have explained that we probably won't. He takes it as a fact and it doesn't seem to upset him. I think he just wants another kid around. He wants what he doesn't have, but he is content overall. Our family of three is enough.

ABCs of an Abundant Life

In our church magazine, the Ensign, the First Presidency Message for January was writen by President Monson. It is entitled "Living The Abundant Life." It was just what I needed to read. The whole Ensign for January was extra great, but especially the First Presidency Message. If you haven't had the time to read it, please do. It is so inspiring.

A is for attitude. “The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”-William James

B is for belief—in yourself, in those around you, and in eternal principles. "Don’t limit yourself and don’t let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities."

C is for courage. "There will be times when you will be frightened and discouraged. You may feel that you are defeated. The odds of obtaining victory may appear overwhelming. At times you may feel like David trying to fight Goliath. But remember—David did win!"

We are trying to incororate these ideas into our family goals this year. This month we all set goals for a better attitude. D is also working to remember  what the ABC stand for.

"At the advent of a new year, I challenge Latter-day Saints everywhere to undertake a personal, diligent, significant quest for what I call the abundant life—a life filled with an abundance of success, goodness, and blessings."

I am taking Presidents Monson's challenge to life a more abundant life this year. I would encourage other to do the same, and not only members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but all people. This is a message to the world, an invitation to become happier and more fulfilled in life. I think that is something we all need.

Cafe Rio Chicken

I found a yummy looking recipe I just had to try on pinterest, where I find all my ideas. Yes, my name is Nicole and I am a pinterest addict. But I digress. Back to the chicken, Cafe Rio Chicken to be precise.

Source: chef-n-training.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

So I did the recipe a little differently. You can click on the pinterest link to find the original at chef-n-training.blogspot.com. The original is probably more spicy, but I changed it up knowing what D would eat. Anything even remotely spicy and he opts out of dinner. It really is one of those recipes you can change to your own liking.


Cafe Rio Chicken
Adapted from chef-n-training.blogspot.com.

• 2 lbs chicken breasts
• 4 oz Italian dressing
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 pkt ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup of water)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin

I put my chicken into the crockpot frozen. (If I have to defrost it, it is no longer a quick recipe for me.) I added the rest of the ingredients. I put it on high for a couple of hours and then lowered the heat to low for about 5 hours. When the chicken was done, I shredded it, placed it back into the crockpot and left it on low till dinner. 

An easy trick to shred the chicken is place it in your kitchen aid with the paddle attachment. Run the mixer on low for about 5 seconds. Perfectly shredded chicken. I know you have to then clean the bowl and attachment, but that is still less time than shredding 2 lbs of hot chicken. Note: Never do this with cold chicken. I have never tried it, but I heard it can break your mixer.

We used the chicken to make burritos. A tortilla, some rice, some beans, the chicken, and a little cheese. So yummy. I made about 18 burritos and still had chicken left. No, we did not east 18 burritos. But I probably could have. Yum yum! I wrapped the extras up in foil, threw them in a freezer bag and labeled them. Homemade frozen burritos. 

The chicken was great. D, the 4 year old who decided recently he doesn't like any meat, had 3 servings.  This is definitely going to be a freeze staple in my house.