Homemade chicken tenders

Now this ladies and gentleman is my recipe for some homemade chicken tenders. I'm talking breading them and frying them yourselves. ALL THAT JAZZ. 

You will need:

1lb boneless chicken tenderloins (or breasts just cut in strips) 

3 cups canola oil

2 large eggs

1/3 cup milk

Salt and pepper

2 cups flour

1 cup progresso bread crumbs (I used garlic&herb)

1 tbls cayenne pepper 

1/2 tbls garlic powder

1/2 tbls parsley 

The process!!

-Wisk together in a bowl the eggs, milk and some salt and pepper.

-On a plate I pour the flour And then use my finger to create a volcano to pour the garlic, parsley, cayenne and top it off with the progresso breadcrumbs. I used my hands to mix those together. Get them nice and incorporated. ITS A BREADING PARTY! 

-Now I use my Paula Deen skillet to use for the frying, mind you I have a deep fryer, (actually it's my father in laws) but it smokes a lot and makes the house smell so I opted for pan frying these babies with my overhead fan blasted. Now for the people like me who don't have an oil/food thermometer I just put my burner on medium and allowed my oil to heat up for a bit. Pretty much by the time it takes you to bread all the tenders your oil should be good and hot. So pour the 3 cups of canola oil in there and turn your burner to medium.

Let's bread these things

Take a tenderloin piece and coat it with the egg and milk mixture. Then place it in the flour/breadcrumbs mixture and coat evenly. THEN> put that tenderloin back in the egg and coat, then back into the breadcrumbs for a second visit!! So we are going to DOUBLE COAT all the tenders. Set them aside.

-Now a way to make sure the oil is hot enough for frying is (while your fingers are coated in breadcrumbs and egg) shake your hand over the oil allowing some tiny pieces of breading to fall into the oil. They will instantly start to sizzle if it's been long enough. 

-I placed about 3-4 tenders in my pan at a time. Too many will lower the oil temp and increase cooking time and might dry out the chicken. So 3 was the majority unless they were tiny end pieces. 

-I cooked each for about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. If you are paranoid like me the first couple batches I was taking a tender out (the thickest one) and cutting it at its thickest point to see if it was cooked all the way through. It was for the record. I just am scared to accidentally feed my son undercooked meat and causing food poisoning. So if you want to do that too I do not blame you at all!! 

-After the chicken is nice and cooked I placed them onto a plate covered with a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. 

This is what mine looked like after they were all done. 

I am that weirdo that when I am given extra dipping sauces at like those fast food chains I save those suckers for times like these. My husband makes fun of me but WHO CARES! I paired mine with some honey mustard and zesty dipping sauce. Mmmmmm. 

I hope yours turn out wonderful! 

Dear motherhood...

Dear motherhood,

    I don't think I'm doing this right. According to standards I am supposed to not give my son extra sugar, or processed foods, or anything from china, or too much attention, or hugs, or kisses, or BAH! 

I am sorry if I treat my sons call through the baby monitor of "mommy hold you" like my own personal "bat call". I'll barrel roll off the bed, pop up with comfy sweats, shimmy to the door, throw my hair up (this mommy stuff- means business. Can't have no rogue hairs in my face), dodge any toy car or block that my son has left as a possible land mine in my living room and/or hallway, until I reach my sons room where I slowly open my sons door and scoop him up in my arms and settle his fears while reminding him that mommy is here for him. What I hear is my son asking to be held and gosh darn it I'm going to hold him as much as I humanly can before he resents me for being "lame" and "mean". Motherhood, it just so happens I don't like when my son is playing and another child shoves/pushes/hits my son for no reason and their parents do nothing- so pardon me while I:

1. Block a kick/hit or two going in my sons direction

2. Sternly tell some other kid "ABSOLUTELY NOT! It's not okay to hit"

3. Deflect the disapproving looks from said child's parent that magically now is paying attention to them. 

4. Retaliate the look with an equally nasty look of "if your kid touches my son again I will THROW DOWN and make a scene due to your blatant negligence".

Motherhood your tougher than I was warned. Let me explain. Being pee'd on and puked on, and woken up at all hours of the night (for what seems like no reason), messy diapers that smell like rotting vinegar with a hint of "oh my good lord!!", and the all the blood curling screams was something I hadn't planned for. I got through it though. 

However -on the other hand-your way more awesome than I was warned too. Snuggles, kisses, hugs, compliments from strangers of having the cutest baby ever and OH unconditional love- blessings. 
Is it standard to become super maternal? From nuzzling my son like a mama bear would nuzzle her cub, to falling asleep with my son so close to my side you almost cant see him. WhatEv's 

As for the standards that I appear to not be conforming to-You know where you can put those. Motherhood you and I are similar in some ways. You're one tough bitch... But I am tougher. 

I am doing this my way. 

Oh My Breakfast Bake

• 6 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 6 strips of bacon cut into chunks (cooked)
• 1/2 lb sausage (I used ground but you could buy the already cooked kind in the links and just microwave it- if its raw you need to cook it before adding to breakfast bake
• Day old french bread 
• Shredded cheeses (any type you like- i used cheddar, and swiss because its what I had on hand)
• Salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons butter

Since I used a 9x9 baking dish my amounts might be need to be doubled for a family larger than 4.
OPTIONAL Add-ins
red onion ( I added this )
garlic powder
mushrooms
spinach
peppers
frozen/thawed hashbrowns (I think these would be best if they were thawed and water drained from them)

The more items you add to the bake the longer it might take to bake in the morning. (you could manually adjust the baking time if you were to sautee the mushroom/peppers/onions before so they were already soft)
NOW this is what I do and my breakfast bake was nice and fluffy. PREPARE THE NIGHT BEFORE COOKING. Stick it in the fridge overnight with a cover like saran wrap or press n seal and allow the flavors to get real comfy and nice with one another.


SINCE THIS IS THE NIGHT BEFORE:
Spray or grease 9x9 baking dish
Cube (or tear up) french bread and cover the bottom if the 9x9 baking dish with it. You might not use an entire loaf if you are only making a 9x9 size bake.

Add the sausage and bacon to the top of the bread.

This is when i add the cheeses just CHEESE that sucker up.

whisk the eggs and milk together add salt and pepper to taste
Pour over the top of the bake

Then put butter on top of the bake just take either the spoonfuls or squares and place them on top of the it all, no need to spread it around.

Cover and place in the fridge overnight. Now if one of your kiddos wakes up at like 6 or 7 am it would be a good time to place the bake in the oven.
THIS GOODNESS takes 45 minutes to bake properly in the oven at 350.
after the bake comes out you will want it to rest on the counter for about 15 minutes.


Now the the additions that you may or may not have added all are depending on your preferences. If you don't like sausage and you would much rather load it up with bacon -by all means- GO FOR IT! If you wanted hashbrowns i am pretty sure you need to put those on the bottom of the pan though.
Or you would like a veggie version get creative and put your veggies in there. This isn't rocket science...its science for sure, but not rocket science. If ANYONE wants me to make something before they try it leave me a comment and i will let you know how it turns out with pictures. Or if you want to share what you tried and loved, or didnt love I would be happy to hear about it!

Homemade chocolate chip muffins

• CHOCOLATE CHIP muffins
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions: preheat: 400 degrees     makes 12 muffins

1. Combine first four ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, sugar) in a large mixing bowl. mix

2. Combine the next four ingredients (vanilla, egg, oil, milk) in another bowl. mix

3. Combine solids and liquid and mix well. 

4. Add chocolate chips and Fold into batter. 

5. Spray with grease/PAM or line muffin tin pan and fill each spot 3/4 full. 

6. Bake 16 minutes in a conventional oven at 400 Degrees.

7. After cooking time allow few minutes to cool. AND ENJOY!!!

I'm sorry but...

You should try reading these next statements with "I'm sorry but..." before you start each number.

1. Your kid will fall off the bed- listen I don't mean to sound brash but it happens. Whether it be the couch or the bed they are going to fall off at some point. Also ties into your kid will get hurt. Cuts/scrapes/ other boo boos are going to happen. Your job is to be prepared for them and try your best to prevent them. But sometimes no matter how careful you are  -let me just say it- shit happens. 
2. No blood no bandaid. A lot of people freak out when their child falls and just simply lands on their butt. Let me give you a hint- they won't freak out if YOU don't freak out. I normally stop and like freeze in my tracks and look at my son and wait for his unguided expression of pain or being scared. I have quickly learned my son is pretty freaking durable. I look in his eyes when I help him back up and sweetly say "you are okay" and smile. I guess it is going to come in handy later in life metaphorically speaking . When he falls down I will be there to encourage/ help him Stan back up and remind him he is okay.
3. You will lie to your kids. I never wanted to lie to my son. Like EVER. But I found that I was catching my self in little white lies to keep my sanity in tact. Like when your child has a favorite toy that is especially noisy and only has one freaking setting-loud as heck- and after a while the noise induces your body to produce twitching like actions. Yeah at that point you need to do something. Suggestion: with ninja like actions sneak into said child's room and smuggle the toy out of there like a columbian drug lord, and if anyone asks "Its Broken...Uh oh?"
4. Your going to think other kids are ugly compared to your beautiful creation. 
5. You aren't in the parent club until someone asks you if your kid clad in all blue and a baseball cap (or in all pinks and a tutu) is a boy or girl. SMH. 

Can I get a witness.

Sensory bags

Alrighty - sensory bags here we go.

 What you would need

There are ao many possibilities but I have

• shaving cream
• Hot glue gun
• Aloe vera lotion (you can also use hair gel)
• Glitter
• Food coloring
• PompomS
• Clear glass rocks/beads
• Tiny little gems
• Fuzzy yarn/ string
• Plastic bags (I have different sizes- and mine are freezer bags)

Now you don't require all of these things but I make two different types I bags and I used a little bit of everything. I have all these things on hand usually contained within my craft box.

You can put pretty much anything you want inside your sensory bags. 

Now here are your basic steps to make one EASY!! 

1. Take one size of plastic bag that you would like to use (each sensory bag uses two bags)

2. Fill with your choice base substance-  I chose aloe Vera. You only need about 1/3-2/3 cup depending on the size of the bag you chose. You don't need much.

3. For this one I am making : it's going to be "all things shiny" so I sprinkled a fair amount of glitter on top of the aloe Vera.

4. Then I added the little gems and glass beads. 

5. To seal it properly i squeezed all the air out the best i could and I used my hot glue gun along the top in between the two sides of the zip.

6. Place inside a second bag either the same size or the next size up. And repeat hot glue step. 

I also made one that I call "all things fuzzy" 

My son enjoys squishing them both.
In case you didn't check it out before, See what else you can do with shaving cream!
Thanks for checking this out! Have fun!

Wondrous Quesadillas

Wondrous quesadillas!

Toddler approved! 

Ingredients:

Flour tortillas (I only used three being that there is only three in my family)

Ground beef 1 lb

Frozen grilled chicken chunks 

Butter

Shredded mild, sharp, and medium cheddar cheese (I found all three mixed in a bag) 

Steps!

1. Brown ground beef

2. Heat up chunked grilled chicken 

3. On one side only butter one side of the tortilla.

--On medium heat -- heat a large pan to fit a tortilla (folded in half)

[now here is a part where you kida have to work quickly: especially if your pan is already heated]

4. Place tortilla butter side down in pan and on half place a handful of shredded cheese (of all three) in only half of the tortilla. (you might hear a bit of a sizzle when the tortilla touches the pan depending on how hot it is --it's okay) 

Spoon ground beef over half of the tortilla (over the shredded cheese) 

5. place chunked chicken on top of the ground beef 

6.Then quickly fold empty half of the tortilla over the full half. 

Using a spatula press the tortilla down a little so everything sticks together and the cheese spreads-- NICE AND GOOEY!--

Check the bottom side often until golden brown and flip. Continue cooking on the other side until golden brown. I like to use a pizza cutter to cut into triangles and then serve. 

I like to serve them with queso cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream!

  

Go to creative everything.

You see this giant pad? 

Yeah that one.

Well I have to just share thing simple thing with anyone who wants to take the time to read this. 

This is a giant newsprint paper pad. The sheets are huge and personally I think the more coloring room you have the better. 

My son knows now that when mommy takes out the giant pad of paper it's time to be creative. Usually he suggests a medium he wants to work with- yesterday it was play dough- the day before it was water colors... Now let me explain. 

Looks like I am a weirdo mom. I know; me saying my son experiements in different "mediums" sounds like I'm crazy and some sort of a hipster. But only having a single form of expression gets pretty boring. A medium is basically different creative forms- clay, painting, pastels, linear work, there are so many different ways to use different styles of creativity and expression. I bet you wouldn't consider snow a medium. Letting your kid go outside accompanied by yourself and just letting them build something. Building and playing with Legos is also another medium and does help build creativity. But I digress. 

Back to the giant pad: 

My son chose playdough yesterday and naturally I grabbed the big pad and flipped it open to a clean page- and this is why-

Playing with play dough on carpet or a counter scares me a little. 1. Playdough gets into carpet (and stays fairly easy) 2. Counters tend to be up high and you just plain have to be more careful. I feel like you don't get as wide of a range of motion if you wanted to go edge to edge.    

Now I'm speaking in terms of a toddler- if you have a 12 year old it might be easier to work on a counter. It's all based on how you feel your child will do. Or some families are lucky enough to have a "craft" table which [i am so jealous]. 

This is what our playing with play dough on the pad looked like

We also have painted 

And colored 

All within a giant pad of paper. 

By far my favorite purchase ever and if you can find something similar go for it!! The bigger the better! 

When you lovely folks find your giant pad to do works on ---what did you use it for?! 

Crazy awesome craft box

I have this magical box.

Well it's a giant storage container filled with tons of craft stuff! Magical right?! My little man loves it. It has all different types of paper, fuzzy things, shiny jewels, crayons, markers, felt, pipe cleaners, Pom poms. ALL SORTS OF STUFF. 

When this big box emerges in my house my son gets all excited. He gets to explore and feel and experiment. 

Now this box does contain mommy's craft supplies so -this box is for supervised fun. 

I do have a "let mommy do the dishes" bag that I can take down for my son that contains supplies similar to the ones my son chooses out of the big box. 

 This bag contains 

• foam sheets
• Small containers of play dough
• mini colored pencils (watch for another post about how to create these yourself!)
• big crayons
• little crayons
• color wonder markers
• color wonder color pages.

The play dough requires some supervision - but my son will sit on the kitchen floor and play.

This is just one of my little tricks to have a minute. Thanks for checking it out! 

What would you put in your crafty bin? or your "let mommy do the dishes" bag. 

Mini bag courtesy of my sister in law, she is a 31 consultant. You can get a bag just like it here!

Easy Window art

Window art is something my son quickly got excited over! We live in a home with a sliding glass back door. When I see it I think it's beautiful outside and WHAT A UNIQUE CANVAS.

All you need is a sliding glass door or a window and some crayola markers. They make window ones specifically but crayola markers are all washable all it takes is a wet rag to wipe the canvas clean.

Take a peek!

Things You Need to Know.

1. PLEASE AND THANK YOU. Those words. One thing i will always remember as a kid is a lot of my friends parents told me that i was very polite. I addressed them by Mr.& Mrs and always said PLEASE AND THANK YOU. I mean even as a teenager. Imagine a new friend of your kids coming over your house (as a teenager) and if you offered them something to drink and they say "Yes please" and then a "Thank you" my standings with them would be positive from that moment forward. Manners to me are important. And I think they are more appreciated than folks realize.

2. Be nice to EVERYONE. I do not care where you are from, how you talk, how you dress I wont be mean to someone. I want my son to give everyone a chance. Not every kid will like him. He wont get along with everyone either, but i certainly want him to give it his best shot at trying. The bullying thing is huge with me, i will not tolerate any bullies or bullying. Being nice to everyone- I hope will avoid at least HIM being the bully. 

3. STRANGER DANGER. Now being nice to everyone does have its limits. Stranger danger is always on my mind. I want my son to be respectful of adults but i do not want him to think he has to listen to a joe schmo on the street for no reason. Stranger Danger is being taught in schools and pre schools for that matter, PROPS!

4. It's okay to be SILLY. Be silly, be yourself. have fun doing it. Who cares what anyone thinks of you. If you want to dance and wiggle around because you have a song stuck in your head then by all means...SHAKE YOUR MONEY MAKER. But dont let anyone get you down or tell you its not okay or appropriate to wiggle in the soup aisle at wal-mart to some "in-your head- jams". 

5. BE YOURSELF. easy enough. 

6. Emotions are natural. I know emotions are scary. And to a boy is sometimes something strange and only for girls to experience. Crying when you're frustrated or sad is perfectly fine and healthy. If you are angry- its okay people get angry...Its important not to dwell in anger as well though. Understanding is another valuable trait. Being excited its an awesome feeling, and gets your blood pumping. Enjoy that. 

7. MOM will always worry about you. Yes believe it or not- no matter how old you get Mom is always going to worry about you. She took care of you, kissed boo-boo's and fought away scary monsters. She is going to always want to know that you are safe, happy, and OKAY. It will never change no matter what. 

8. LOVE unconditionally. With all your heart. There is a lot of hate out there. Don't be apart of that.

9. STAND UP. Stand up for whats right, for what you believe in your heart to be true. People will try to knock you down but stand up and hold your head high.

10. _________________ (you fill in the blank) What would you add. 

Chicken pot pie- my way

Okay people this is My recipe for chicken pot pie. There are a ton of different variations that I will list at the end but let me do the easiest way that I tend to do the most first. Here we go.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

Package of Pillsbury pie crusts (comes with two in each box- you will only need 1-unless you skip the bisquick topping and use the other pie crust for the top then of course you will use the whole box)

1lb boneless skinless chicken tenderloin/or breast (cut in chunks)

Frozen bag of mixed veggies (greenbeans, peas, corn, carrots) 

1 can cream of chicken (with or with out herbs)

1 cup bisquick mix

1/2 cup milk (additional 1/3 optional)

1 egg 

Garlic powder (I like to use tastefully simples garlic garlic and onion onion) 

Onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Steps: preheat oven to 375

1. Take your pie crust out of the box and allow the wrap to get to room temperature, as well as pull your veggies out and allow them to defrost a tiny but either in a warm bath in the bag in the sink or just on the counter. 

2. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and place chunks of bite sized chicken on the  sheet and season with garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper. I place my chunks in the oven for about 20 ish minutes at 375. I like it to be just barely cooked through because they will be making another trip in the oven for about 25 mins. 

3. Spray dish with Pam and Unwrap and unroll your pie crust to fit in your deep casserole pan/dish. Make sure to press sides to make sure it won't slide down in the pan onto itself. Place pie crust in casserole dish in the oven (with nothing in it yet-just the crust) for about 10 minutes. Monitor it u want it to be just under golden brown. 

4. After chicken is cooked- In a mixing bowl place chicken (I end up breaking my chunks even smaller), mixed veggies, and contents of the cream of chicken soup and mix well till thoroughly coated. Now this is where that optional 1/3 cup milk comes in to play- if you want it to be a little thinner (I sometimes do) add that additional 1/3 cup in here and mix well. 

5. After removing your pie crust out of the oven- empty contents of mixing bowl into casserole with browned pie crust.

6. Topping: combine the 1 cup bisquick mix, 1/2 cup milk and 1 egg into a bowl and mix well until no lumps. Pour over the top of your chicken/veggie mix already in your casserole dish. 

7. Place back into oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

After it's done go to town on the sucker. 

Now for the additional things you can do to it or change about it- the cream of chicken soup in a can -some people don't like serving it so if you have the time and supplies to make a homemade version by all means -go for it-

Another thing I sometimes do is before adding the final topping is making some garlic mashed potatoes (they can be instant -it's okay) and putting them on top of the veggies first THEN putting my topping on top of the potatoes. You might want to be careful in this step your casserole dish tends to be pretty full at this point depending on the depth. 

Another thing you could use instead of cooking raw chicken is using a rotisserie chicken and just chopping that up too. 

All the additions really depend on how much time and or energy you have.

Bath paint fun

My son loves to paint. As do I. I'm glad we have that in common. I don't paint every night with him but I do some sort of painting whether it be bath or water color or washable finger paints - at least once every week and a half.

Going into painting anything with a toddler you have to have the mindset "I'm going to have to clean in some sort of way." Obviously. 

This post is specifically about bath paint. It's awesome. I even join in. And I know kids as old as 10-12 to enjoy it. 

This is what you will need.

1.Shaving cream (white and already foam) don't know how it will work with the shaving cream that's a gel first. 

2. Food coloring

3. A small bowl to mix. 

Now I put the finished paints one by one as they are done into a 1/2 dozen cupcake pan. It is metal and it works for basic colors. (Just a suggestion you could use a plate or some other thing like six tiny cups) [also-pan is not pictured above]

Step one: spray about a handful of shaving cream into a bowl and take your first basic color of choice (I chose green).

Use your best judgement in how many drops to use. I use about 6-8 drops. 

And then you mix. (My son is helping me mix- and he wanted to do the red) 

The colors you should be able to make using just the food coloring are red, green, blue, and yellow. 

The colors you will need to make as well but require mixing two colors are purple and orange. 

Purple- 4 drops red and 3 blue. 

Orange- 3 drops red and 4/5 yellow. 

You will end up with six colors. 

This is what mine turned out to look like. 

They are good to go! 

I grab a few different sized paintbrushes and sometimes a sponge brush and plop my son into the tub ;naked or you can have just a diaper on your kid-it's up to you- I like to merge right into bath time after this activity...so were usually "ready" ;)

Look at that huge canvas!! He has such a good time! A little tip don't plug the drain in the tub during painting the water will turn colors. But keep the water running.

Best thing is the clean up is relatively easy. I use a cup to pour water over the mess or if you have a removable shower head -I am SO jealous- all you have to do is 1. Snap a picture of your loved ones artwork

2. Rinse with water! And viola! Awesome right?!

Don't make me put you in the time out boxy thingy

My son already loves hitting a baseball or well anything really. I am in full support of him being entirely active in sports and activities and enjoying being a kid while he can. I want to try to encourage him to try out for anything he wishes to attempt.

Now on another side note my son is being groomed slightly to lean towards playing hockey. My wonderful husband played it all his life and he loved it. So naturally my son is going to at least get a taste of it. Okay okay mom did play a little floor hockey in high school and ended up elbowing a girl in the face because she was crowding the ball- but that's besides the point. Hockey is a crazy sport to watch and for those of us who enjoy it- it scares me as a mother to think of my son out on the ice being pushed and shoved around. 

As the person who brought him into the world I feel like I have some say as to who gets to lay a finger on my son...and I imagine it will be hard for me to stay seated in the stands with my mouth shut and butt glued to the bleachers if my son got hurt by some malicious play. Oh mama bear would emerge. 

I think there is a reason that there are no mothers coaching or refereeing boys hockey -I can see it now-  "Both of you...Settle the f*ck down. You say your sorry. And you say your sorry. Don't make me put you in the time out-y box-y thingy."

good grief.

I will say this, as my sons BIGGEST FAN (wudd-up); I WILL be the mom with all the teams matching sports gear, a giant poster with bright colors, and yes ill be the one screaming the loudest you can bet your butt.
Because at the end of the day I want my son to know how much i love, support, and care about him. And when one of those other kids says "Dude your mom is CRAZY" I hope his answer will be "And your mom is LAME"
Haha no but seriously. ;)

Mommy's scary voice

Mommy has a scary voice. I'm waiting for the day my son decides to tell a story of a time I had to use my scary voice. I call it mommy's monster voice. RAWR.

You know the one I'm talking about right?  The one that peeks out at wits end. My lucky husband has witnessed it a couple times. And even he said out loud "ooohhhhh mommy got angry".

D*MN STRAIGHT

I had a right to be angry. When the day isn't cooperating and everything seems out of control, and no one is following directions that moms put in place so things run smoothly-  that voice peeks out to let surrounding ears know "mom means business". 

I didn't know my voice could go that deep- or that...well monster-y (lack of a better word). The maybe two times I have ever resorted to using it out of desperation - the look on my sons face was turned from "mayhem" to "okay mom is way more upset than I am.." Eyes all big and everything. I don't raise my voice often. But when I do raise my voice it's for good reason. 

I have to say either I'm blessed with a fairly well behaved toddler currently in his terrible two's or my mommy's monster voice is legitimately scar worthy. Hmm I guess only time will tell. 

When does your mommy monster voice come out? I wanna know!

I had to have at least one picture on here. 

Hello world!

Lets try this thing out! I am Mom. Mom I am.
Sorry I read a lot of Dr. Seuss Books to my beautiful baby boy.
What a splendid way for me to bring up my son...also he is not so much a baby any more. More or less a toddler who uses me as a trampoline, napkin, jungle gym, and a healer of Boo-Boos. Great job description right there!
So this is my first post and I figured i would just lay down the law right here...well MY law.
Okay so its not really a law either. Its just basically telling a little bit about me and why i do the things I do/post the things I post.
I am sicilian. AND PROUD. For those who don't really know what Sicilian is---My ancestors reign from Sicily...

BOOM. 

Any who like many other ITALIANS/SICILIANS- I have this rule where any recipe I have attained through my wonderfully crazy family I will not share with the world. Basically you have to have my blood running through your veins in order to peek at my awesome book of family recipes. I have two books. 

One with Family recipes, and the other with recipes I have conjured up all by myself. And those are the ones I will be happy to share.  So when you see me using gravy [AKA pasta sauce] {the red kind} I appreciate the need to know how to make it, but you can bet your BISCUT you will not be receiving my recipe for my one of a kind-family retained gravy. Don't hate me. Im working on making it purchasable. Give me time. 

Now DISCLAIMER: I love comfort food. I also love healthy food. ACTUALLY i love all types of food. great disclaimer eh? I feel like the recipes i cook the most often are comfort food. I do have my bursts of foods/recipes where Im all "Im going on a diet.." (you know, where you stick to healthy eating and taking the stairs until your period hits) [then you're all] CARBSSSSSS

YEEAAHHHHHHH

OK. Also i am a first time mom. Not a perfect mom but a good one---if i do say so myself. 

I love being a mom. I have a little human punching me and prodding me for 9 months then KAPOW! 

Push--push--PLOP you gotchyerself a screaming, pooping, beautiful cheesy baby you get to attempt to bring up in the world to make good decisions. That thought alone during pregnancy was SCCCAARRRYYY and truthfully brought me to tears on a few occasions. I also cried at the fact that i was going to "Get fat" Hahaha. 

Besides the point. I trail off in talking quite a bit 

I promise I WILL LAND THE PLANE. 

Another thing i feel you should know is I am an artist. I have my bachelor of fine arts. And frankly you can ask my mom...I have loved art since i was a youngin'. I signed up for additional art classes to go to when i was NOT even in school. Dedicated right here! Need to let you guys know that my posts will probably include creative exploration with my family. I love making messes and WHUDDYA know my two year old does too! PERFECT! So we get messy, but i have learned some awesome things in the past two years to control messes, maintain a two year old, tire out a two year old, and prevent forest fires {thanks smoky!} Join me as I continue my messy, crazy, creative life with my loving husband, and my adorable two year old---and lets see what trouble we get into. :)