Pictures

Walgreens this week has 50 pictures for $5.00.
I need to make sure I do this by Saturday!

That is a great deal.

Baseball

ahhh my boyfriend!

Fenway

We are headed to Fenway today! This is going to be Ryan's first Red Sox game. It should be fun. There is nothing better than Fall at Fenway park with the family.Hopefully will have some great pictures to post.

Last night Papelbon did not pitch I hope my boyfriend is out there tonight!

Swiss Chicken Casserole

Last night I thought I would try something new, and I loved it.
I had the Swiss cheese in my fridge since I made French Onion Soup on Sunday and I was thinking I would probably never use it. I get to work and everyday I have recipes emailed to me, and guess what was in my inbox? Swiss Chicken Casserole, I thought what are the chances of that I will try it.

I got the recipe here in case you want the original I changed it up just a little bit. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Swiss-Chicken-Casserole-II/Detail.aspx?ms=1&prop25=24253909&prop26=DailyDish&prop27=2009-09-27&prop28=DailyRecipe&prop29=FullRecipe&me=1

Here is the recipe the way I made it.


Pre-heat oven to 350

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast
Montreal Chicken seasoning
Shredded Swiss cheese
1 can Cream of chicken soup
1/4 C of White wine
1 box of Stovetop Stuffing
3 TBS margarine

I had a package of Perdue chicken breasts (about 3 breasts)
I washed them and added Montreal Chicken Seasoning to both sides of the chicken.
I sprayed the baking dish ( it was an 11x something, and it was glass)
Added a handful of shredded Swiss cheese on top of each piece of chicken.
Mixed wine with Cream of Chicken soup, and poured on top of the chicken.
Added Savory Herb stove top in top of all of the chicken. Cut pieces of margarine and placed on top of that. Covered with aluminum foil and let that bake.

It made my kitchen smell soooo good! If you try it let me know if you liked.

My me day

Yesterday, Thursday I had the whole day off. But it was not just that I had the whole day off with NO KIDS!!!

I love my kids but it was so nice to take some time for myself. I am a little embarrassed to admit this but I spent almost 5 hours at the mall!!! I got some really good deals.

I always feel guilty when I drop off my kids like I feel like I am bothering the person that is watching them, and then I am missing them the whole time I am away. Now that they are both in school all day I felt free to enjoy myself. I have every other Thursday off since I work every other Saturday.

I do have to let you know that at Victoria's Secret they have make-up I am a Make-up addict I will take pictures of my make up closet one day it's a little too much. They have great make-up if you have never tried it I suggest you try it for yourself. At the one that I go to they have a booklet with a coupon on the back if you spend $30 save $10. They have lip gloss for $8 and lip stick around $10.00 which if you have gone to CVS you know that a tube of Lipstick will cost you about the same and this is good stuff. I heard that MAC and VS makeup are very comparable.

Back to School

It's been a while but there is a good reason. I have been getting 2 boys ready for back to school. My youngest Ryan started all day Kindergarten. He is loving every minute. He is normally not very talkative, but since he started school he has been filling me in on what he does. He loves gym and having lunch in the same cafeteria as his big brother.

I think the worst was the first day leaving him there all day . I was sure I would be getting a phone call to come pick him up but he adjusted just fine. I felt sick leaving him.

We also had some fun on Ethan's first day of school. I Left work at 3 and went to my mom's house to wait for the bus. The boys get dropped of at Grandma's house because there is always someone there. Well I started waiting for the bus at 3:30 and by 4:00 he still hadn't showed up. Ryan was with me waiting since he didn't start until the next day. While we are waiting Rob has just arrived at our house and heard the message that Ethan is on a bus and they are trying to verify where to drop him off. It's not a good feeling picturing your 8 year old on a bus especially since Ethan tends to be a nervous person. I drove to the school and as I am pulling into the school my mom called to let me know that Ethan was dropped off. WHAT A RELEIF!!!

It turns out Ethan told them they were putting him on the wrong bus but no one would listen. For 3 years he has been dropped off at teh same place. Thankfully the next day it was all set.

Anyone else have any fun back to school stories???

Chicken Ceasar --easy

This is one of my easy summer day go to meals. It has been hot and steamy- not that I am complaining I love the heat. I would rather have this than New England winters.

The night before I took chicken breast and cut them up into small pieces -I used my kitchen shears I got at Target. I don't know how I went so long with out owning a pair. I put the chicken breast pieces in a glad bad and added:

** Olive Oil (Portuguese kind my favorite) maybe a TBS or less

** a teaspoon of vinegar

**teaspoon of lemon juice

**a few shakes of Montreal Chicken Seasoning.

I left the bag in the fridge overnight but you can wait a half hour and that's long enough

Then the Chicken was sauteed until cooked in a little bit of Olive Oil. I grabbed a bag salad, added shaved some fresh parm yum! I like Kens Creamy lite Cesar and dinner was done.

I think it tastes as good as when I order it when we are out except it's a lot cheaper ( and I can eat in front of the tv).

Back to school

I just got back from the mall with 2 boys! Oh how they hate the mall. Does anyone else have a boy that doesn't go into a store with out complaining? I mean every store Target, the grocery store anything besides toys r us. I was there for them. It's not like I was shopping for myself, if I am I usually sneak out while they are watching a RedSox game with Daddy during the week, or ask my mother. Most of the time we were there I heard this store is boring or, I'm bored. So I told them I would leave, we would go home and I would come back another day and buy them all girl clothes. So I am at least ready for the first few weeks of school. I feel somewhat accomplished.

Is anyone else done? Does anyone else not like back to school? I actually enjoy having the kids home it's so much easier than packing lunches, leaving clothes out running around in the morning because someone can't find their special pencil.

This is the first year they will both be in school all day. I can't believe my baby is in all day Kindergarten. Let's hope I can make it through the first day.

Do it your-self (kinda)

I had this crazy idea that I could build a patio all by myself. Thanks HGTV. They make it look so easy.

So, I started working on it. Really I just made a huge hole in my backyard. I just dug away and filled the wheel barrel up with so much dirt that I made the tire go flat. My husband kept calling me up saying "It's getting dark, come up". Oh there was no way I was stopping I felt like I was accomplishing so much , it was just a tiny dent.

Well it's been almost a month and I haven't done anything else. Rob had to take over my patio which went from an 8 x 10 to an 8 x 5 and now it might just be a 5 x5. What ever it takes to finish this project which looked so easy, I though I could finish it in a weekend. Rob had to finish leveling it and digging some more.

I also ended up injured from all the digging. I had to make a Dr's appointment and tell them about all the pain I was in and how I was not even able to sleep. Turn out I have Sciatica . Can I tell you I think it hurts more than labor.



If it ever gets finished I will post some pictures. One good thing, the boys had fun picking up all the worms to use on their next fishing trip.

I think I have watched to many of those Home Depot commericals the "You can do it we can help." Where's the help?

Going out to eat

So in the last post I talked about http://www.restaurant.com.

I love them. This was the first time I had used them, even though I know they have been around. In case you have never used them I will tell you how it works.

***Before I even went on to their website I searched coupon or promo code in Google.***

1. You go their website and enter in your zip code.

2. Pick a restaurant. (read the stipulations like the one I picked said must spend $35.00, some say must spend $50.00)

3. Go to checkout enter your promo code in my case a $25.00 gift Certificate ended up costing me $5.00.

4. Print out certificate and take it to the restaurant.

I can't believe it was that easy, and that it took me so long to use this site. I plan on using it again for a girls night out!

Night out

My boys slept over at my parents house last night! I know I could hardly contain myself. We washed and scrubbed them clean said goodnight and dropped them off at my parents. Then we went out to dinner! No kids just the two of us. It feels like it's been forever. I went to www.Restuarant.Com and ordered a certificate for $25.00 and only spent $5.00. This was the first time I had used them and it's worth it. We went to The Tavern from Tower Square. The view of the lake was so nice. We talked and not just about the kids. The food was perfect. I am still full this morning. It's a must to get out once in a while with out the kids. It was a great night.

The Library- more than books

I love the library. Since I have kids I have really started to use it a lot more. I can't believe all the FREE stuff. At our library they have story time (hours are set up by age). Once a month they have a family night and a theme. You can rent movies and I am not talking about old stuff either. You can also rent excersice DVD- usually for two weeks.
I have also used the passes they offer to go to museum's, zoos, and the aquarium. With the pass you get a discount off the admission and in some case you can get in for free. Our libary also offers a search you can do from home and then they email you to let you know when the book or movie is ready to be picked up.
Their website also offer an e-books for kids. Where they can have a book read to them. Kind of like a book on tape only it's online, and you are looking at the pictures while listening to someone read the story.
So if I am not here you can find me at the library.

Top 5 Websites

These are some of my favorite sites. Let me know what yours are.

1. http://www.facebook.com/ I am addicted.

2. http://www.beingfrugalisfabulous.com/ Great tips about $aving.

3. http://allrecipes.com/ Great recipes.

4. http://www.sailsinc.org/attleboro/apl.asp Great site for kids/and me.

5. http://kandeethemakeupartist.blogspot.com/ Every mom needs to feel pretty.

Just Tuesday

This is just one day in the life of a mom. The alarm went off around 7:15, I took a shower. Before I can even get out of the shower Ryan, is at the door holding his best friend (a stuffed penguin, Loretta). He is in a panic asking if I have seen his Pirate eye patch. He really needs it because his left eye will not close so he wants to cover it with the patch. We go through the toy box in his room and it's not there. I told him I can pick one up at IParty, but he doesn't want one from there.

I have to leave to get to work woo-hoo early day! I leave work go to Stop and Shop, picked up some sale items. I get home and Rob is just getting back with the boys from the Golf Clinic. We head to the park it's so hot even the animals are being lazy. We come home and it's into the sprinkler, I love when you can do 2 things at once cool off the kids and water the lawn. Rob helped with dinner yay Rob. Now I am going to climb Mt. Laundry and get the kids in bed.

Spice it up

Money saving tip:

In the last recipe it called for Cumin and Chili powder. I just wanted to let you know where you can find them cheaper. One of the places I go to get spices is, CVS they are usually .99 and go on sale for .88. That is where I got the Chili powder, and last week imitation Vanilla was .88. Wal-Greens will sometimes have them on sale for 2/$1.00. I also like Christmas Tree Shop. If I have looked at all those places and still can’t find what I am looking for then I try Target or Walmart. If I missed something let me know.

What's for dinner

Veggie Quesadillas

Super easy to make on a hot steamy day like today.

I cut up my favorite veggies:

Green Peppers

Squash

Onions (red /yellow doesn't matter)

sliced mushrooms

Whatever you like.

I saute the veggies in a pan and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and a little chili powder.

When the veggies are soft I transfer the mixture to a bowl and put a flour tortilla into the pan the veggies where just in. Add cheese veggies and more cheese and cover with other tortilla. Cook for a minute or 2 on one side flip it over and cook the other side. That's it!

Trash Day

It's an exciting day at our house today, it's TRASH DAY!!!! Ethan, has been obsessed since he was 2. Everyone said, it's just a phase he will grow out of it. He is 8!!! He was also nice enough to pass his love for trash day along to Ryan. The trash men are like celebrities at our house. This week is really special since we have a new recycling bin, they can't wait to see how it works. What you want to see pictures, don't worry he has his camera ready. "Awesome that is way cool." is what I just heard them saying. I have never heard them say that about anything I do.
I never knew they made so many trash truck, recycling trucks. Ethan would wake up from a dead sleep if he heard the truck coming. Even in pre-school his teachers couldn't drag him away from the window I was spoken to a few times. What is the fascination?

Ethan's Idea

This is Ethan my 8 year old. He had a brilliant idea yesterday, and I am not sure why no one else had thought of this. I love how an 8 year old mind works. It started with Ethan talking about The Homeless he started with, "Mom, do you have to pay to get a job?" I explained to him, how that works. He thought a bit and said then, they can get jobs and then get a house. I had to explain to him that it's hard to find a job right now and you need to have transportation to get to work and clothes for the job. I told him maybe we could bring them food. Right now the homeless have been in the news around here you read all about it here: http://www.abc6.com/news/51705657.html. Ethan then says "I have and idea." I can't wait to hear this, "let's give them scratch tickets and maybe they will win some money." Why didn't I think of that? I had to laugh at least he is trying to come up with a way to help.

First day jitters

I have never done anything like this. I am not sure how much to put on here.

I feel so vulnerable. It's like the first day of school. What should I write, or even more importantly where do I start?

I have the two boys Ethan is 8 and Ryan in 5. It's amazing how opposite they are. There isn't a day that goes by that one of them doesn't crack me up.

I also can't believe that I ended up with 2 boys I am a very girly girl and grew up with a sister. I had no idea how gross boys could be.

So here starts the ride. enjoy!