Mommin' It Up!

August 1, 2011

All other duties as assigned

A few weeks ago I began composing a job description for myself in my head. And it both cracked me up and depressed me at the same time. I would suggest that all moms, whether we work at home, stay at home, work outside the home, work part-time, or homeschool, have pretty much the most jacked-up job description on earth. Mainly because of that “other duties” line that falls at the end of most formal job descriptions that always manages to ruin a day once in awhile. When Emily and I were working in non-profit, some of out “other duties” including risking our lives to spray paint arrows all over state routes in southwestern Indiana more than once. Yes, I’d say it’s the “other duties” that really get ya! Here are some of my “other duties as assigned” that fall into my job description as a mom:

Dose Sophie daily with Miralax. Apparently her bowel movements are on me.
Amateur meteorologist: every day I have to forecast the weather for Joshua because he is deathly afraid of storms since the great Hail Deluge of 2011. Every day I have to soothe his anxiety and if there is a storm in the forecast, assure him that we are not gonna die. He never believes me anyways so I really should just make random crap up.
Taxi driver. Self-explanatory.
Butt wiper.
Wii game distributor, Nunchuck disconnector
Speech therapist (who knew?)
Occupational therapist (where’s my advanced degree!???)
Baby-food maker
French braider
Librarian (gotta keep tabs on our extensive book and DVD collection as well as what we borrow from the library.)
Hand-me-down organizer
Choking Hazard Police officer
Fruit Snack Distributor
Cheez-It Gatekeeper

Those are just a few of the “other duties” I tackle on a regular basis. Some I never thought I’d do, some I didn’t even realize were a possibility, and all are a part of my life for at least a season. There’s so much more to being a parent than just popping out a kid, or siring one (for all you Dads). It’s exhausting and exhilarating and depressing and surprising and sometimes, just FUNNY.

So tell me, what “other duties as assigned” are unique to your parenting experience?

July 31, 2011July 30, 2011

Weekly Winners: Party Time!

This week’s Winners were taken at my dear friend Cortney’s (who you may have noticed I mention in, like, every post) son Carter’s 3rd birthday party. It was approximately seventybazillion degrees out, so Cortney bought a kiddie pool, got out the sprinklers, and put on a great party! Here are some of the cuties who came out to celebrate Carter.

My big guy, Joshua

Carter’s big brother Evan was packin’ heat to stay cool!

Bathing beauties, Sophie:

and Celia’s girl, Ana:

The birthday boy looks like he’s up to something:

The kiddos get creative with the sprinkler:

The girls share a laugh (certainly at the boys’ expense!)

We had a great time at the party! Happy Birthday Carter!

To see some more great photos from around the blogosphere, check out the Weekly Winners HQ at I Am Lotus.

July 30, 2011

Recipes to RUN to the kitchen for!

You’re gonna thank me for this post! Seriously, I swear. I made four great recipes this month as part of my duties on the Shared Tastes Panel for ReadySetEat.com. They were all WONDERFUL but there were two in particular that I want you to go make immediately. First, you might want to stop at the store and get some ingredients. And since ReadySetEat.com is aweeesome it will tell you at which of your local stores you can find the ingredients on sale! But anyhoo, here’s what you need to make FIRST:

Gingered Chicken Salad!

This was the easiest meal to make that I’ve reviewed so far, AND it was AM.AZ.ING. Also, it’s served cold so it was perfect for this rather irritating HEAT WAVE we’ve had these past few weeks! Here’s what you do: Mix canned chicken with mayo and LaChoy Orange-Ginger marinade, dump on top of cole slaw mix, snip a few green onions on top. YUM, YUM, YUM! Bobby and I both had seconds and we both gave it a big FIVE STARS! I will definitely make this again SOON. Next time though I think I will crock pot the chicken overnight and shred it because I am cheap and that is what I always do for chicken salad.

The next recipe you will want to put on your menu plan for this week is the Italian Chicken-Zucchini skillet. My CHILDREN ate this. My four- and seven-year-olds, who barely eat enough to stay alive, and then eat mostly peanut butter and fruit, ATE THIS! And they liked it! It is so tasty with chicken, zucchini, peppers, pasta, and yummy seasoned Hunt’s tomatoes. (I adore the Hunt’s with Basil, Garlic, and Oregano!) It cooked up pretty quickly and was easy to clean-up. The leftovers were great the next day too.

italianzucchini — Joshua and Sophie approved!

Finally, I couldn’t resist sharing this one with you also. Turns out I really, really LOVE zucchini! Who knew? This is an awesome meatless dish, the Zucchini, Black Bean and rice skillet. Sometimes I just don’t feel like preparing meat and this will be a great, easy, go-to dish for those nights! Tons of veggies and protein from the black beans, and it was sooooo good!

zucchiniskillet — Just make this! DO IT!

Those were my fave recipes from ReadySetEat.com this month! Log on to save them to your recipe box, find out nutrition information, and see where you can get the ingredients on sale. Then make them and THEN, after you enjoy them immensely, sit down and write me a thank-you note. 🙂 Enjoy!

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I am being compensated for my role on the ReadySetEat Shared Tastes Panel. The reviews and opinions are all mine.