Player Updates: Noah & Kindergarten

Well we've made it through 2 whole weeks of school!  Noah has transitioned into Kindergarten so well.  He is loving it.  He's not cried at all and hasn't even fought against going.  He's quick to get ready every morning and get out the door.

He's a very quiet guy at school.  He keeps telling us that he goes all day without talking to anyone.  Of course then he grins like a crazy person & we know he's "stretching" the truth  lying.  He's also made up the story that a kid punched him in the face because he wouldn't play with him.  :)

Anyway, he's really doing great!  I can tell that his confidence has already grown and that he's proud to be a "big kid".  He says his favorite part of the day is snack and lunch!  As he says, "it's because I like to eat!"

Today he came home with a special sticker.  He earned it because he was a "good listener" in his class!  He was so proud!  We were too!  That is until he showed us where he wanted to put his sticker...

Crazy Boy!

We are really proud of this little guy and love him to pieces!!

~Kristee

Eat @HOME : Day #2 Chicken Rollatini

Dinner tonight was Chicken Rollatini with spaghetti and salad!  Let me just say, it was SO good!  You guys have to try this one.  The whole team loved it!

I made a few changes to the recipe nothing huge.

*I used 2 big chicken breasts, cut them in half, and then pounded them out thin.  So I had 4 portions.
*I used just regular bread crumbs that I had on hand.
*I used 2 beaten eggs instead of the egg beaters because it's what I had.  Part of them went into the cheese/spinach mixture and the other part was used to dip the chicken in.
*I opted not to put mozzarella cheese in with the spinach/ricotta mix, because Jeff isn't a fan of cheese.
*I just used a canned sauce to top the chicken and the noodles with.
*I also drizzled a bit of olive oil on top before I put it in the oven.

This is a pretty easy recipe.  It just has a lot of steps for assembly.  One option for those of you who might be hesitant to try it due to time constraints would be to assemble it the night before and then just pop it in the oven for dinner the next day.  I think it would hold up fine.

Don't forget to check out my menu for Eat @HOME August!

After it had baked for 25 minutes before I added the sauce and cheese.

Yummy yummy...with a copycat Olive Garden salad!

Jonah cleaned his plate & he is our SUPER picky eater! 

Enjoy!  Let me know if you try it and how you like it!  For our team, this is definitely a keeper!  We'll be adding this to our rotation!

~Kristee

Game Film: Jonah/Darth Vader

If you are needing a smile today, you should watch this!  This is Jonah singing his tribute to Darth Vader!  He does it all the time.  I was finally able to get it on video!  Pardon the extremely poor video skills,  I was holding Micah at the time! :)

My silly boys and their love for all things Star Wars!  AHH!

~Kristee

Eat @HOME Day #1: Crockpot Lemon Chicken

Well here we are, our first day of my Eat @HOME Challenge!  I left this morning without starting my dinner in my crockpot! :-/  I remembered right before Jonah and I walked into the movies (our last of the Harkins summer movies).  Luckily Jeff is off on Thursdays and was home with Micah.  So I called him to ask if he'd help me out.  Have I mentioned before how much he hates cooking? LOL  But this was an easy one so he was able throw it all in for me! :)  Thanks Babe!

This is what the recipe calls for:

Crockpot Lemon Chicken ~ Put cube of butter in bottom of crock pot. Lay chicken in pot. Sprinkle Italian dressing packet over chicken, drizzle with lemon juice, and pop the lid on. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 6-8 hours.

He did it all! Except the lemon juice (I forgot to tell him that part.) I have to say it was really yummy. The whole house smelled great all afternoon!


Our team, well they loved it and gobbled it right up! (I think it was because Daddy "made" it!) They even named it "Daddy's Famous Chicken"! LOL I even have leftover chicken to throw on a spinach salad for lunch tomorrow! Double duty!


Next time I think I'll add in some cubed potatoes and green beans and cook it all up together. Can't beat a one pot dinner! :)

~Kristee

Tomorrow is the BIG Day! Eat @HOME

Hey friends!

Just a quick reminder about Eat @HOME August!  It begins tomorrow!

I'm planning on making the Crockpot Lemon Chicken, some microwave baked potatoes, and corn on the cob (it's on sale at Albertson's this week 8/$1 in case your wondering!).  The school boys and I have a library/Walmart date after school tomorrow.  So I needed to fix something quick.

What are you making for dinner tomorrow?  Why not pick something from my Eat @HOME August Menu? :)

Happy Cooking!
~Kristee

Happy 1/2 Birthday Micah!

Our Mr. Peanut is 6 months old!  CRA-AZY!  It has literally FLOWN by!

He is full of personality and smiles!  People are amazed at how happy he is!  I always say that to survive in this house, he has no choice! :-)  All joking aside, he really is a happy boy.  Out of all 4 boys, he has probably been the most chatty.  I think that has to do with the fact that there is always somebody in his face! :)

He's a great sleeper, sleeping every night at least 12 hrs. and quite often 14.  He hates tummy time and immediately rolls to his back when I put him on his tummy.  He's loving his cereal.  I really should feed it to him two times a day now, since he gobbles it all up so well.  He's loving his jumperoo and still enjoys his swing.  He loves his brothers and they are really sweet with him!

I don't have his current stats.  He doesn't go to the dr. for another week or two.

He is such a sweet boy and so very content!  :)  Answered prayer, let me tell ya! :)

Good Morning!

Here's his sideways smile like Daddy!

No upper lip, just like the older 3! :)

I am so thankful to God for this little guy!  What a blessing he is! :)

~Kristee

2 Days until Eat @HOME Aug. begins!!

Hi friends!  The countdown is on...2 days until Eat @ HOME August begins!

Our family is committing to eating meals @ HOME or from HOME for the entire month of August!  I know it sounds crazy, right?!  It is, BUT I'm excited to see how much money we can save!  To tell you the truth, I'm kind of excited about the challenge.  I probably won't be so excited on week #2!  :)

So who's in?  Anybody out there brave enough to try the whole month?  If your schedule needs a bit more flexibility, maybe you could do a modified version.

You could commit to:
Bringing your lunch everyday to work.
Eating @ HOME every week night.
Eating @ HOME for the weekend.
Giving up your Starbucks/Quicktrip drink stop.

The point of this isn't necessarily to "go without" but rather to help make us aware of how much money we waste because we don't plan well, or we take the easy way out!  I am SO guilty of that!  When I don't plan what to cook, before I know it the clock says 5:00 and everything we own is frozen.  DUH Kristee! :)  Or even worse, the days I just say, "forget it" and call Jeff and he stops for pizza on his way home. Guilty! :(  Please tell me I'm not alone!  I can't be the only one who sometimes fails at taking care of their family!

In case you missed it, this is my menu for the challenge.  I'll be reviewing several new recipes and sharing how my team liked them!

I hope some of you will join us! :)  If not, I hope that some of you will at least enjoy a couple of new recipes!  Comment below if you are planning on joining us in one way or another.  I'd love to know who I can complain , oops commiserate, with! :)

~Kristee