I am the mom...

I will NOT lose my temper. I will NOT throw things. 

I will NOT have a temper tantrum.

   I will always be good.  Because I am the mom. 

I am the mom.  I am the mom…..

Cumin, my new best friend!

So recently I've become a member of Pinterest and have found so many yummy recipes lately.  And I have found a new love of cilantro and black beans (which I never used to like - I credit Thing Two for changing my taste for these), and along with cumin, avacado (sometimes), lime and anything Mexican flavored.  Last night I made Crockpot Salsa Chicken with Cilantro Lime Rice - yum!  Not quite as good as Chipotle, but a great first start for sure!

So this isn't mine (didn't get a picture taken, and I made wraps).  Two quick recipes to make.
Crockpot Salsa Chicken Tacos
Throw in a crockpot for 2-4 hours (mine cooks hot and fast)
*2 Large chicken breasts
*1 Jar Salsa
*1 Package Taco Seasoning
*1/2 can black beans
Shred after cooking, before serving.

Cilantro Lime Rice
*2 Cups Rice (I had some brown long grain pre-cooked and frozen that I used)
*1 Tbls Oil of your choice (I used safflower)
*3 Tbls of chopped Cilantro
*2 Tbls Lime Juice
*~ 3/4 Cup Corn

I threw the chicken and rice on a wrap with a little low-fat sour cream, tomato, lettuce, and a bit of chedder cheese.  YUM!

Sleep Schedules, and why silly Mommies don't follow them sometimes...

So last week I had two lovely afternoon's out in a row with two good friends of mine (separately).  Wednesday I went out for lunch (and ran two quick errands after) with friend one while friend two watched Thing One and Thing Two.  Her youngest is friends with Thing One and Thing Two just follows the two around. 

I had a lovely time out at lunch and running my two quick errands was a dream!  The first was getting some blush that I desperately needed at Ulta.  I have been thinking I needed a new container since before Christmas and since it is obviously almost Valentine's Day...yeah it was way time to actually make that happen.  I also ran to Aldi quickly to get a few last minute things for dinner that night.  Oh to be able to watch out for only me was so lovely!  As any mother with wee-uns can attest, it is always easier alone.

So after I scooted to my second friend's house and meant to stay for just a bit, then dash home so Thing Two could get a nap in.  That didn't happen.  I just have such a great time with this friend.  We have so much in common, yet she has older kids so she's full of great advice, and I just really enjoy spending time with her.  There are times our boys have more of a hate/love than a love/hate relationship - but we tell them to be nice and be friends (they really do enjoy each other's company most of the time).  So anyway, I didn't leave her house till 3:30 (BAD mommy!).  Thing Two fell asleep on the way home and didn't nap after (of course).  I did get her to bed early that night, but that is NOT the same as having a decent nap.

Flash forward (back?) to Thursday.  I attend a Mother's Of PreschoolerS meeting two Thursdays of month at a local church.  I actually started going to MOPS because of already mentioned friend.  We had already talked about going to McDonald's after for the kids to play and for us to rehash the events of the morning (like hearing from one that Catholics are not Christians and other such nonsense).   And as I said before, I really enjoy her company.  So we met, we talked, the kids played (and found some choice swear words in the tubes), and I finally dragged us out the door at 3:00 (TERRIBLE mommy :( ). 

I tried in vein to keep Thing Two awake on the way home.  Not a chance that was happening.  I did actually get her back to sleep after we got home and she slept for about her normal nap time.  But OH, was she cranky.   Like I finished making dinner with her on my hip cranky.  And she went to bed early.

The next day,  I watched a friends kids for about 2 hours which pushed poor Thing Two's nap back a bit later than I would have liked, but I'd already agreed to watch her kids earlier in the week.  Whatcha' going to do?  She slept her normal time.

Saturday, she did have a nice long nap.

Today, she had a nice long nap.

But oh my did she go down hill quickly tonight.  And she went to bed early again.

Sigh.... I know better, and I paid the price for my time with good friends.  It seemed worth it at the time, but this week, I'll stick to our normal nap times.

Poor Ma Ingalls

So today is a full moon (I think, or so I've been told.  It looked rather large yesterday morning).  And I think my kids got the memo.  Thing 2 was very whiiiiinnnnnnny all day and Thing 1 was just a pill.  All day. For instance, one of his daily tasks is to feed our two cats.  This has never been a problem before today.  If the cat food container is nearly out of food - he tells me.  He's fairly responsible with this task - until today.  I asked him to go feed the cats after breakfast (like normal) and to let me up after (we keep them contained downstairs at night).  The cats were so annoying all morning.  I asked Thing 1 several times if he had fed the cats (three times, I'm pretty sure) and even asked him to show the cats that they had food (For years, I fed them.  They're still getting used to Thing 1 feeding them).  He did.  So at this point it should be clear - the cats have food, they're just being a special brand of annoying today). Finally I went downstairs to do some laundry and noticed....the bowls were EMPTY.  I was already irritated at Thing 1 for asking me for the 100th time "can I play Wii", "can I have a chocolate muffin with my snack".  This did not leave me in a continued "best of moods" mood.  And all day, I was apparently Thing 1's go to for entertainment, though I told him like usual "you are in charge of your own fun."  So this brings me to my point.  Poor Ma Ingalls.  At the end of the day (before daddy got home) I finally told Thing 1 to put the TV on.  I just was done with it.  And it got me thinking.  Poor Ma Ingalls.  When the kids were driving her bananas, she didn't have the TV to flip on to save her poor mind from losing itself.  When it was blizzarding outside, what did poor Ma Ingalls do?  She just lost her mind a little more....  Poor Ma Ingalls.