So Sorry, Sandra Lee

First I'll admit I'm not the best cook but I love to do it. I love being in the kitchen, love meal planning, love the whole deal. I was a big Rachael Ray fan for a while and used a lot of her recipes. Maybe not Eggplant Stew with Honey and Golden Raisin Polenta--can anyone's stomach get excited about that? But I love watching cooking shows and since we don't have cable I get to watch Rachael.

Here's a link to my favorite recipe of hers: Cold Chicken Satay Noodles, some yummy Asian-style noodles. I've made it enough that it's now on the list of "banned dinners" at our house. The next time Birch is gone for the evening I'll make it again.

But since Haley was born I haven't had the time to cook like before. Rachael's recipes are good, but let's be honest: a 30-minute meal for her is 45 minutes for the rest of us and up to an hour if you've got kids running around. So I decided to switch teams. Semi-Homemade by Sandra Lee sounded like a great option! Someone on the Food Network publishes recipes that use ready-made ingredients? I'm sold!

But...so far I've been disappointed. I tried three of Sandra Lee's recipes and NONE of them turned out. Then I checked out another cookbook of hers from the library, thinking maybe her newer recipes would be better. But it was the SAME recipes, just a different cover with new pictures inside.

So sorry, Sandra Lee. I won't be following you like I did Rachael. But you did give me some ideas about products to try and what I can buy ready-made at the store rather than making it myself.

Tortellini: Love it!
Frozen meatballs: Good
Refrigerated pie crust: Not the best, but a huge time-saver.

Do you have any favorite ready-made products at the grocery store? Or any you've tried that just didn't cut it?

Mud Day!

When I was a teenager my favorite church activity was the annual Tug-of-War Mud Fight. If you're going to get dirty, you'd better go all out! It's been a while since my last mud party and I was SO excited for Tucson's Mud Day to come.

The best part was that this year was Birch and I got to go through the adult obstacle course. Thanks to our friends who took shifts watching kids and holding babies so we could go through. Because everyone was busy juggling kids there aren't any pictures but it was SO worth the long wait in line. Kids can't have all the fun, right?

Trevor doesn't love mud as much as we do. He's trying hard to keep those legs up and dry.

He finally got dirty but was happy to stay on the side, not in the middle of that nasty mud puddle!

Cooling off with some free Eegee's while dad waits in line.

I think Trevor spent more time in the bucket washing off than in the mud.

Happy dirty family!

If You're In Tucson, Don't Miss This!

This Saturday is the big Mud Puddle Party at Reid Park! It's FREE and all you have to do is wear closed-toe shoes and sign a permission form for everyone who wants to get dirty. Last year we brought Trevor and he loved it, even at 15 months. We said that this year we would get muddy ourselves...we'll see!

Saturday, August 1

8:00am-12:00noon

Reid Park (22nd/Country Club)

Here's a link to the permission slip for adults and kids. It also explains what the obstacle courses are like and other activities:

Mud Puddle Party Permission Slip

Mud Puddle Party 2008:

Gettin' messy in the toddler area: kiddie pools filled with mud and toys.



Over with some bigger kids at the mud tables. (Sorry about your behind lady!)

Rinsing off under the hose from the fire truck.

Surrender

Haley will be two months old next week and I've finally accepted the fact that I can't get everything done that I'd like to. Rather than try to multi-task and get little projects done while I take care of my kids, I've tried to forget about those things for now. And I am SO much happier! I felt like I was doing everything halfway and feeling overwhelmed in the meantime.

Now all I try to accomplish each day is dinner, a few chores and usually leaving the house for a little while. Besides that, we just play. I've also enlisted Trevor's help with the work around the house. He likes to do something new and it gets some work done while the kids are awake, rather than always working during their nap.

I wish I could better accept Haley's fussy stomach. I haven't eaten chocolate, broccoli or milk in about a month and it's killing me! Maybe that's not a very long list but I'm used to a glass of milk with every meal and a sweet taste of chocolate to finish it off. And what do people eat for a midnight snack besides cereal? This isn't a good time to be an emotional eater.

I am glad that running is getting better. I don't feel so awkward and I can run without stopping to walk any more. The last few Saturdays I've run with Trevor to a park in our neighborhood with soccer fields. We run up and down the field touching the goalposts. (His idea, not mine but I love how it uses up lots of energy!)

Here's a few shots of the family:

Haley started smiling last week--that goofy, sweet newborn smile. Love it!


Trevor and I march this car to the end of the street almost every night to get the mail. Right now he likes to load the front with rocks as we go. Haley is usually asleep in the Snugli.

He also stopped stuttering. It only lasted about a month and was probably from the stressful situation with a new baby.

Dancing in the rain after a week of potty training.