Eat This

I almost didn't sit down to write this post. Monkey has been sick for a while and today he not only woke up cranky and not feeling well, but one eye was almost swollen shut. Today is my Saturday, so I'm home with crankypants. An upset one year old is akin to a sixteen year old girl with PMS. We went from playing happily to screaming to reading quietly to screaming. If I close my eyes, I can still feel him pulling on my legs to be picked up and hear him yelling in my ear to be put down. You better believe that the second I'm done here I'm pouring myself a very very very tall glass of wine. Very tall.

One of the things that has been super challenging since becoming a domestically challenged mommy is preparing meals. Any meal. Even snacks. I've had to rely on ready made options more often than not and you know what? We're all alive and nourished. In fact, I was able to throw together a really scrumptious dinner thanks to my Ergo carrier and stuff I already had on hand. Never underestimate the power of your pantry.

  Kinda Sorta Chicken Spinach Alfredo

Printable Version

1 package precooked chicken strips

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

1 jar Alfredo sauce

1 regular package spaghetti

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Salt and Pepper to taste

**This is not a particularly sauce-y recipe. Have you cleaned Alfredo out of a toddler's hair lately. If you prefer more sauce, add an extra jar.**

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions. Cook spinach on medium heat in a small saucepan. Once heated through, add garlic. Add precooked chicken strips and jarred Alfredo sauce. Heat through. Combine with spaghetti.

The really epic thing about this? I got to eat this meal hot. 

Mommy made. Monkey approved.

Get used to seeing spinach in just about every recipe I make. Monkey had low iron at his nine month check up and one of the ways we're trying to up his levels is through his diet. Leafy greens are iron rich and spinach blends in to just about everything. It's like tofu. Just not. Now, where's that wine?

**Domestic Day** Not-So Vintage Postcard Calendar Journal

I am not a Martha Stewart wannabe. I am not crafty or creative or a DIY-er. I do, however, have an excellent ability to read directions and the need to relieve some stress. I don't normally take the time to make the time for myself as dishes do not wash themselves, er, well dishwashers don't load themselves and the girls can't feed themselves (although we are working on fetching mommy's phone, since every time I sit down, snuggle under a blanket and start to fall asleep, the %^#*@ rings). In order to make sure that I do get some time to work my little grey cells (10 points to the first person who can name the literary character I just referenced!!), I've decided to institute a Domestic Day. Once a month, I will sit down and attempt to not super glue my fingers together again produce a project. Don't hold your breath that it will turn out.

For my first project, I turned to Pinterest, and let's be honest, with it's plethora of ideas, where else am I going to go? I chose this particular project because it seemed like a neat way to start a new year in our new home. So I set out to recreate the Vintage Postcard Calendar Journal from designsponge.com, with the idea being that I would have somewhere to record our day to day happenings that we could look back on in years to come. Here is what went down:

So this project called for a fruit box and twelve postcards found at a flea market. I have no fruit box and I don't know where the nearest hospital is, let alone any flea markets, so I improvised. I found a cute little box at the Dollar Tree (my undomestic mecca) and postcards from our local Christmas shop featuring different parts of Oregon. I also completely lucked out by finding a random date stamp at our local Bi-Mart, which is infamous for having everything but the one item I need.

This was my work surface, our coffee table in the living room. I project-ed while Husband watched TV and wondered what the heck I was doing. (And yes, the wine is vital to this project. In all actuality, I feel wine is vital to all creative processes).

The ability to stamp clearly increased exponentially with the amount of wine consumed. (Early efforts will probably have to be redone when I've regained any semblance of patience to sit still for that long again)

Ta da! It doesn't look so bad now does it? I'm rather pleased with myself and can't wait to start using it (I may have tried to start using it yesterday, when I thought it was January 1st. I'm a bit sleep deprived). Husband was even slightly impressed, although, we're both doubtful that we have anything interesting happening in our lives yearly, yet alone daily.

So what did you create this year? A scrapbook? A scarf? A hole in your budget from trying to buy too many craft supplies?