Things I Learned From Taco Dinner

Things I've learned from this evening's taco dinner:

1). When you purchase a hard and soft taco dinner kit, make sure it says "KIT" on it, otherwise, you're just getting a bunch of shells.  Having a bunch of shells and a bunch of ground beef does not a delicious taco make! 

2). When you realize you goofed and don't have seasoning for your tacos and you pack your kids up to go to the store just to buy taco seasoning, don't cheap out and buy the generic store brand. I'm generally all for store brands and often can't tell the difference from the "good" stuff...not true of taco seasoning. I spent a good 10 minutes adding cumin, paprika, salt, onion salt, and garlic powder to make it edible. 

And lastly,

3). I have spent years making tacos for me and the hubs.  Always the same.  One taco kit, one pound of ground beef.  We eat as much as we want and still have leftovers for another day.  Now that Aidan is eating tacos, I need to buy 2lbs of ground beef for taco night from this day forward.  This is just the beginning of the changes to my grocery planning raising 2 boys (and their dad!). 

Quite an educational dinner tonight!

911 - EMERGENCY!

WEEEEE-OOOOOOH, WEEEEE-OOOOOOH, WEEEEEEEE-OOOOOOOH!!!!!!!!

 

I hear that a lot.  A LOT.  Its like a constant soundtrack in my life.  Only its not coming from actual emergency vehicle sirens (well, usually), its coming from my children. 

When we go to the mall, we have to sit in the fire truck at the arcade - regardless of the fact that Mommy never has quarters to pump into said fire truck.

 

We find fire trucks in malls we're visiting for a first time...

My boys run around the house screeching siren sounds and calling for back-up to fight yet another fire or help Mike Flood off another roof.  (If you have no idea who Mike Flood is, you're better off.  Google "Fireman Sam", but don't let your small children see/hear anything or they may demand you become Fireman Sam fans too!)  I hear these sounds first thing in the morning, all afternoon, before and after dinner, as they squirm out of our hands as my husband and I try to get them into pajamas at bedtime...sirens, all the time.  We were grocery shopping earlier today and Aidan was hanging off the end of the cart screeching out his siren warning to oncoming traffic as we weaved in and out of
every. aisle. we. went. down.

This is a way of life now.  I don't try to stifle their passion.  There are worse things they could love at this very impressionable age.  I'm embracing this love of all things fire rescue!

 

Every time we drive though the center of town, my 3 1/2 yr old starts polling all passengers (usually just me and his little brother that has no idea what he's talking about) as to whether or not the fire station doors will be open.  I have to HOPE we hit a red light directly in front of the fire station so he gets his moment to look on with admiration at the large brick building, and maybe even see a real, live, actual FIREMAN!  If the light's green...I have to go slow and risk the people behind me getting irritated.  The things you do for your children.

 

I know 4 different fire stations within 10 minutes of us that we drive by intentionally on a regular basis just to keep my little men happy in the back seat.  Driving down the road, conversations are consistently interrupted by "FIRE TRUCK!!!" or "AMBULANCE!!!" or "MOMMA, DID YOU SEE THE FIRETRUCK/AMBULANCE?!?" 

God forbid I didn't notice...its nearly unforgivable at this point.

I can say with a fair amount of certainty that the highlight of my kids' summer has been getting to climb around a real life fire truck, push buttons, try on helmets, fasten seat belts, ring bells, turn on sirens, and ask lots and lots of questions to a real live fireman at our town's Family Fun Day!

 

I'd be lying if I said that I didn't get just as excited as Aidan...it was such an amazing experience for my fireman enthusiasts!  As a mom I can tell you, I have passion for things I never imagined before kids.  We're a Fire truck/man/station loving family!

 

Amusement Park Fun

Aidan's been on rides before - he went to Disney at 16 months, Canobie Lake last summer, Marshfield Fair last summer...he loves going on rides.  But there was something especially exciting watching him at Carowinds yesterday. He's older, so there's more understanding of what's going on.  He has more opinions of what he wants to ride and doesn't want to ride, and his enthusiasm is just really adorable!   Carowinds' kiddie section is called Planet Snoopy.  Being his father's son, Aidan's been watching Peanuts shows for sometime now, and he loves Snoopy and Charlie Brown!  So, this made Planet Snoopy even more thrilling for my little guy.  Every corner we turned, "Mom, there's another Snoopy!" It is indescribably fun seeing your children experience things that excite them so.  He rode the carousel (with Daddy and Liam), the boats, a train ride, and a helicopter ride with Mommy (twice).  I think the helicopter was his favorite - it was just precious watching him play the role of pilot. He told me at the start of his first helicopter ride "I'm having a great ride today Momma!"  Love.

Mommy had a great time too!  Despite the incredible heat and humidity, and significant amount of time spent in Planet Snoopy, I got to ride a couple coasters - my favorite!   I rode The Intimidator - a race car inspired roller coaster.  It is, hands down, the most incredible roller coaster I've ever been on!  The seats are shaped like race car seats - deep bucket seats.  The only restraint is a v-shaped padding attached to a metal lever in the ground that lowers over your legs/pelvis.  Your head, arms and entire torso are completely unrestrained in anyway.   I've never experienced anything like it!  I rode this coaster just anticipating the padded lever over my pelvis to fail and my body to go catapulting through the air...my body felt weightless as it spent the greater portion of this coaster lifted off the seat.  I screamed and laughed my way through the whole thing simultaneously...I loved it!

Exhaustion

ex·haus·tion  

/igˈzôsCHən/

Noun A state of extreme physical or mental fatigue. The action or state of using something up or of being used up completely: "exhaustion of fossil fuel reserves".

Synonyms weariness - fatigue - depletion - lassitude - prostration I. Am. Exhausted.  Physically, mentally, emotionally fatigued.  Do you ever feel so tired that you honestly just don't think your brain can hold anything else?  That's where I'm at right now.  I keep trying to tell my brain to just STOP THINKING.  But, its not listening to me.  It. Just. Keeps. Thinking. I am in desperate need of some quality time with a good girlfriend.  I want to be able to sit, and just exhale, and not have to be responsible for anything more than breathing in and breathing out.  Kids are asleep, husband is out...bed is calling!

Block Party

Our neighborhood is pretty small - 36 houses total.  All our houses are close together, and there are a handful of "common areas" scattered throughout the neighborhood.   This past Saturday, on one of those grassy patches of common area, we had a neighborhood Block Party, complete with grills, kiddie pools, water tables, and a big bouncy house for the kids.  (It should be noted that of the 36 houses here, most of them have multiple children living in them...you should see this place at Halloween! ) 

In addition to all those things set up for family fun, we also had a bike parade for the kids!  Oh my goodness, they were SO excited!!  They all decorated their bikes/tricycles/push cars with streamers, balloons, flags, flowers...whatever they could get attached (I saw a Cookie Monster doll tied to one little boy's ride).  They paraded up and down the street around orange street cones -made it very official that way, hehe.  At the end they were all awarded with...what else?  CANDY!!  It was a great time for all the families there and I feel so lucky to live in a neighborhood bursting with little ones :-)

A Peanut Butter Kick

I'll admit, I have a slight obsession for all things peanut butter.  Most mornings, in the rush of getting the kids fed, cleaned, and out the door on our way wherever, I don't have time or the desire to make myself a proper breakfast, so I have a cup of coffee and a spoonful of peanut butter.  A spoonful of pb keeps me satisfied far longer than a bagel or a bowl of cereal does...its perfect!

So, you get the point.  I love peanut butter.  The other day while Liam napped, Aidan and I made a Father's Day cake for AJ.  I had a gold butter cake mix and one jar of store bought chocolate frosting.   I wanted to make it a little more interesting though.  I put a half cup of peanut butter and a half cup of confectioners sugar in a bowl and blended it together using my hand mixer.  Then I blended in the jar of chocolate frosting.  It didn't seem right yet, so I added a heaping spoonful of Fluff!  Now, it was good. 

I had baked two round cakes and, once cooled, put my chocolatey peanut butter concoction in between the 2 layers.  The hubs stopped at the store on the way home to pick up more chocolate frosting so I could cover the top and sides of this masterpiece.   Once frosted, I had to add chopped Reese's cups to the top.

This cake was a big hit in my family!   I served it after Fayher's Day brunch and my brothers and even my diabetic father loved it!*  They all said it tasted just like a Funnybone...which apparently they all love and I didn't realize just how much!

*I don't know whether I should be so proud of my finished product that it made a hardcore diabetic crossover to the dark-sugary side, or if I should be ashamed for allowing my dad to fall off the no/low sugar wagon.  I asked him several times if he was sure he really wanted a piece...he even admitted that he'd be hurting later, but he just had to try it!

Crockpot Freak

I'm kind of a crockpot freak.  I LOVE cooking in the crockpot.  I just seems to make life so much easier!  There are a handful of recipes I make on a regular basis and I'm going to share 2 of them with you right now.  If you need something easy, but totally flavorful and delicious, these fit the bill.

Salsa Chicken
I love this recipe because not only is it so tasty, but the ingredients are things I generally have in my fridge and pantry regularly anyhow, so I don't often have to plan for this meal.

Ingredients
1lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 jar salsa (you can choose your desired level of heat)
1 packet taco seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 container sour cream

Directions
Put the salsa, taco seasoning, cream of chicken soup and sour cream all in the crockpot and stir it all together.  Add the chicken and make sure they are completely covered by the mixture.  Cover and cook for 5 hours on low.  Remove the chicken and shred it using 2 forks.  Place shredded chicken back in pot and mix with the sauce.  I generally let it cook another 30 minutes or so just to absorb as much sauce as possible, but your chicken is fully cooked so you can eat it now if you want too! 

I have served this as an appetizer with tostitos, as shown in the photo (from Pinterest), or over white rice, or in flour tortillas as burritos.  This dish is SO versatile!

Pesto Ranch Chicken
It sounds like such a strange combination, but it WORKS!

Ingredients
1 dry packet of Ranch salad dressing mix
1 jar of basil pesto (I prefer the Classico brand over any others I've tried)
1 cup of chicken stock
8 skinless chicken thighs (I have also used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and shredded it at the end - my 3 year old loves it that way the best)

Directions
Add chicken to crockpot.  Cover chicken with the jar of pesto.  Sprinkle the packet of Ranch dressing mix over the pesto covered chicken.  Pour the chicken stock over chicken, cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours (depending how much chicken you use).

I serve this over pasta and LOVE it!  I'll have to remember to take a picture next time I make it.

If you try either of these recipes, let me know how you like them!