The Hunger Games

Wow!  I honestly expected to be posting more often than this.  Haha.  Oh well.  :-D 

So, I've managed to find some time for reading lately.  One of the book trilogies I've read this year is the popular Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  It was quite the story and one I would recommend.  However, it should be noted that it's pretty intense and makes you think, it's violent and kind of detailed.  It's  not a book for everyone--it can be pretty brutal.    I would definitely rate it PG-13. 

For the Love of Autumn

Autumn is my favorite season.  I love the clean, crispness to the air.  I love the bright reds, oranges and yellows of the leaves and the way the crunch under my feet.  It's during this season I love living near mountains the most.  They look so enchanting dressed in their new colors.  It's almost like magic.  

Plus, it's starting to get cool, not cold, but cool--making it a time to get cozy in long-sleeved shirts, sweaters or hoodies.  I love curling up on the couch and snuggling under a blanket with my little ones or my White Knight to watch a movie or read a good book (it's the perfect time for reading--something about this season just encourages the imagination to soar).  And let's not forget enjoying fragrant soups, homemade bread and hot apple cider--MmmMmm.

Oh! how I love autumn!

Grilled Poultry--From the Freezer?

Are you sad to see the beginning of the end of summer? I am, but then I'm not. I love autumn, but I am sad that summer grilling season is coming to a close. So, I've thought of a way to keep that 'summer grill' flavor to last just a little bit longer (it also helps out when dinner sneaks up on you--belatedly reminding you that there's still chicken to cut up and cook).

I talked my husband in to helping me, it wasn't hard, and had him grill several extra chicken breasts the last time we had grilled chicken. Then I cut up, separated, packaged and froze it. Now I when we're having chicken I can just pull it out of the freezer and viola--dinner is made that much simpler (not to mention the yummy grilled flavor that accompanies the meal).

This would also work for other ways of cooking chicken too--just cook some extra chicken one night and prepare it for the freezer. I will admit there's a bit of prep work, but it sure makes up for it on the nights that you don't have to worry with getting all chicken-y (which is a big help especially if you have little ones that like to get into everything while you're busy).

Happy Cooking!

Short Attention Span? Try Toy Rotation

Does it ever seem like there are days where your kids don't want to play with any of their toys or are constantly getting in to mischief because they're 'bored' and it doesn't seem like you can get anything done? I know mine do. Once my kids have played with the same toy for several days in a row they become bored with it and it no longer holds their attention.

So, I came up with a solution...

We've gotten a lot of hand-me-down toys from one of my brothers, and there are times when it seems like we just have too many toys. When my little Ladybug was still a baby I started rotating her toys. And I've continued the practice (she's now 3).

I divide her toys up into two-three piles, but put out just one pile at a time. Then every 2-4 weeks I rotate the toys. She gets so excited when I bring out the new toys that she hasn't played with for a while--it's like Christmas (without the extra expense). The 'new' toys also hold her attention span a little longer so I'm able to get more things done around the house a little easier.

I've started doing it with my little Moonpie as well and I feel so productive today. The only thing I have to watch out for now is Ladybug taking over all the 'new' toys. ;-)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Wow! I really did think I'd write more in this blog. My only excuse is that we've been thoroughly enjoying our summer.

I thought I'd do a series of posts about some of the books I've been reading lately.

I read all of the the Percy Jackson and the Olympian series. They were pretty good. They were geared towards a younger reader, but I found them enjoyable. I was a little disappointed in the first book, The Lightening Thief. I may have just started reading it with too high of expectations; however, I also found that the series progressively got better with each book.

They're a quick read and I think I learned more about Greek Mythology than I could recall before reading the series. It made things easier to remember.

If you're looking for a quick read, I'd recommend it.

No-Bake Cookies

I have always loved No-Bake Cookies. There's just something about them that make my mouth water. So, I thought I'd post my favorite No-Bake Cookie recipe:

No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp Cocoa
1/2 c Milk
2 c Sugar1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 c Crunchy Peanut Butter
2 c Oatmeal

Directions:

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in cocoa, milk, and sugar. Stir to melt ingredients together. Bring to a boil that spans the whole surface of the mixture (rather than just the edges). Remove from heat. **allowing the mixure to boil for even a few minutes will completely dry out the cookies and leave you with nothing more than chocolatey granola. Believe me. It's happened to me before*** Stir in vanilla, salt, peanut butter, and oatmeal until well mixed. Stir until mixture has thickened a bit. Scoop heaping spoonfuls onto wax paper and allow to cool.

Makes about 2 dozen.



**This recipe was found and quoted from: http://mymuffinthursdays.blogspot.com/2008/05/no-bake-cookies.html

For the Love of Books

I've been MIA a bit lately, but I have a good reason. We moved just a week or so into May, my hubby has started Summer Semester, and my little Moonpie has been ill. However, I do have some fun things to blog about.

So, I'll start with books. I'm not sure how many out there are readers, but I love books. I like how they feel when I hold them. I love the weight of them in my hand. I love the stories and places they take me to. I love the smell of them (as long as they're not library books). I love they way they look on bookshelves or if they have a great cover. I love everything about books--I'm a bit of a bibliophile.

And I have a special love/hate relationship with books that pull me deeply into their story, the sort of books that are so good I have a hard time putting them down. You might be wondering, why I say I have a love/hate relationship with these books. Well, I love these books for obvious reasons. I love a book that can draw me into the story no matter how many times I put it down. When I'm doing something else and see it out of the corner of my eye and I automatically want to flip to where I was and continue reading it again. During any free moment I have (waiting between batches of cookies) I'm back in the book seeing what's going to happen next. And when the story finally comes to an end I feel both satisfied and yet sad that it's finished.

However, I hate these books because when I get drawn into books like this I tend to slack on other things like housework or often dinner will be a little late (because I had to read 'just one more chapter'). And I hate feeling like I didn't do anything during the day. And sometimes while I'm reading the book I think--"I really should be doing something else," which takes away some of the enjoyment. Thus, my love/hate relationship.

That said I will be sharing books I read: books I love, books I didn't, and everything in between.

The Motherhood Epiphany

For a while, the fact that I was a wife and mother seemed so surreal to me. (Is that weird, or what? Am I the only one out there who felt that way?)

It wasn’t until I had been married for a little over three and a half years, had a two year old, was five months pregnant with baby number two (with a miscarriage in between), and moved three times (two of the timed to a different state)--that I happily thought, while changing the sheets on our bed and Ladybug was running around in the other room, “Yeah, this is who I am. I’m a wife and a mother—how cool is that?!”

Don’t get me wrong--I was excited to get married and have a place of my own, but after the fact I felt like I was playing house. And was thrilled to have a baby, but it still seemed like—I don’t know—it didn’t feel like it was really me. I think it all might have had something to do with the fact that I quit working to be a stay-at-home-mom, which I totally love, but there was a bit of an adjustment time to get used to only having a child as company most of the day.

So, when I had my little epiphany I was in heaven. All the pieces clicked and I felt whole. I knew who I was and what I was doing. I’m so thankful for moments like that; they let me know I’m on the right track.

Dinner Prep.

The other day I was making Chicken Stir Fry for dinner and knew I needed to have it ready to eat by the time my husband came home from work since he had somewhere to be later on that evening. While stir fry isn't a particularly difficult meal, it can be hard to cut up veggies and chicken while you have a three year old getting into things and a 7 month old crying for some attention.

So, I had a thought--I could cut up the veggies/chicken and get the rice/water measured out, while Ladybug was enjoying her afternoon snack and Moonpie was napping. (While, I'm sure this isn't a new idea for many of you, and it wasn't totally for me either--I've made treats, crafts, etc. during this time--but I hadn't thought of preparing for dinner.)

It was a success! Although, I had a few more dishes to wash, my hands were chicken free when Moonpie needed attention and while Ladybug wanted help picking up her toys. Then when it time to make dinner all I had to do was turn on some burners and drop the food into the pan and dinner was ready to go. Easy Peasy!

Towels

Here's a domestic hint.

I've been told, "For more absorbent towels do not use fabric softener when washing."

Quick Recipes

Being a mother of two and a wife to a working/schooling husband I'm a big fan of quick recipes. Something that is yummy, yet doesn't take a lot of work. Friday night I was wanting a quick treat, so I made FudgeMallow candy. It's a recipe my mom got years ago from the back of either the marshmallow or chocolate chip bag. It's quick, it's easy and I think it's yummy. For all those interested here it is:

Fudgemallow Candy

1- 12 oz. pkg of Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips (I used milk, either works fine)
1 cup Chunky style Peanut Butter (Natural style is just what I had on hand)
1 Bag of Mini Marshmallows



Melt chocolate chips with peanut butter in the microwave, stirring after the first minute and then every 20 seconds after that, until smooth. Fold in marshmallows. Pour into greased 8x8 square pan, chill until firm. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Kid Sense

Is it just me or do kids have extra senses? It seems like every time I'm up late, for whatever reason, one or both of my kids wake up in the middle of the night or very early the next morning. Then, I'm left feeling like 'zombie mom' the next day, totally regretting the extra time I spent up the night before--and they don't even seem the worse for wear.

My Newest Adventure

Welcome to my new blog! To tell you a little bit about myself--I am a mother of two (a 3 year old daughter(Ladybug) and a 6 month old son (Moonpie)) and a wife to a wonderful, hard-working husband (White Knight) , who works full-time at a library and is a grad student. I enjoy doing many things--playing with my kids, reading, writing, making crafts, baking and going on dates with my husband--to name a few.

I wanted a blog where I could just post whatever I feel like--especially random thoughts, the absurd things I might do, or to talk about books/movies I've read/seen, etc. I wanted a place to express myself and detail my many adventures--so, this is it. Hopefully, the things I share won't be overly boring and tedious, and maybe some might even be helpful or entertaining. Either way--welcome to my life as The Domestic Adventurer.