Super Easy Simple Split Chicken Breast... by Hailey

I don't even remember where I found this one, but it's been one of my favorite last-minute go-to recipes for a few years now. It's actually really budget friendly as well. Watch your circulars. Most stores will do a major sale on bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. I think the lowest I ever found was $.77/lb. Pair it with a veggie and some bread, and you're good to go.

Anyways, it takes about 5 minutes to prepare, and it smells divine while cooking.
You don't have to eat the skin to get the flavor either. It just helps keep the chicken from drying out (like chicken breasts tend to do sometimes...).

Simple Split Chicken Breasts
(Printable Recipe)

(pretend you didn't notice this is a Christmas plate)

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs split chicken breasts (bone-in)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp kosher salt (this is important, don't sub for regular table salt)
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

(To minimize the risk of transferring bacteria, I go ahead and pour olive oil in a small bowl, then mix the seasonings in a small bowl. Also, go ahead and get your roasting pan...with rack inserted...out next to the sink.)

Wash the chicken and pat dry with a paper towel. Use your hands to coat the skin lightly with olive oil. Season (on both sides) with the kosher salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Roast on a rack or tin broiler for 1 hour. Let sit 10 minutes and serve.

sensory bullshit.....by Jess

My two year old is almost completely nonverbal. She has a couple of signs that she knows, but tends to use interchangably. And she can say mama and dada, and DAAAA for her older sister.

But mostly? She doesn't talk. She also doesn't walk. She's had a very long and rough road, and her story is one that can't quite smush into a single blog post.  Mostly, though, she has sensory issues.

FUCK SENSORY ISSUES.

You guys. Sensory issues are total shit. I hate them. I freaking hate them. If you've never been around a kid with them, you can't even begin to understand what it's like. Livie can be an absolute doll. She can be sweet and loving and charming as hell.

Once in awhile, though? She gets in a sensory funk. I don't know how else to describe it. Maybe she gets over stimulated. Maybe it's new sensory input that's occurring because she has new-ish leg braces. Maybe it's her age. Maybe she's getting teeth. Maybe she wanted Rice Chex instead of Cheerios but she can't talk so she couldn't tell me and it just pissed her off and she lost it.

Today she lost it. Completely, totally, utterly lost her shit.

From about 9:30am, until she napped at 12, she screamed. Rolling around on the floor, flailing her body. Arching her back, and kicking the floor, and just being SO VERY ANGRY. Except NOT angry. Just incapable of coping with anything. Nothing made her happy. Nothing made it better.

A month ago, I'd have put her in the tub. Water made her better last month. This month, though, water makes her mad. I don't know if it's the sound, the sensation. The echo in the bathroom, or the way the water makes the light reflect on the wall. But this month, she hates baths.

She's two, and we've been dealing with sensory issues since the beginning. In many ways, they're getting better. She eats now, really well, and she sits up now, which was a HUGE thing this winter. We can hold her, and hug her, and kiss her, and it's okay. Six months ago it wasn't okay.

But, other things aren't okay now. Other things, new things, send her into sensory overload.

The problem is that I have no idea what those things are. I have no idea what I can do to help her cope with them, and I don't have a clue what will work.

What worked last month doesn't work this one. Things I've tried in the past that didn't work, now might.

Parenting a child with developmental delays and sensory issues is extremely difficult, in a way that's VERY different from the parenting of a typical child. I have three other children, all of whom are quite typical. Completely 'normal', as it were. The struggles I have with them are more routine. Hard, yes. But routine. With my other children, there's a rhythm to parenting that I can figure out.

I may not know everything, but with my other children, I don't feel like I'm trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle that's missing half the pieces. With Liv, I often wonder where the fuck all my damned pieces are.

With Liv, I often feel very, VERY inadequate at parenting. Like there's something I need to be doing for her that I'm not. As if there's a mystery I haven't yet solved. Pieces of that damned puzzle, missing.

She's awesome. She's quirky and funny and sweet and snuggly, and I honestly adore her with every part of my soul. Don't mistake my lack for hers.

She's not lacking anything.

Me, though? MAN. Some days I feel like there's a big black hole of shitty parenting that I can't stop falling into.

night terrors

Night terrors are a bitch.

I never really understood the severity and reality of these things. Just like most things to a new mom, I figured it can't be that bad. Or seriously dudes, that shit isn't real.

Well my friends. That shit is as real as my saggy mom boobs.

Smith is nearly two years old. I still don't know how we managed to get here already, but somehow his birthday is creepin up as fast as a pair of one size too small thongs.

Every so often, we wake up to blood curdling screams. Not just whimpers that turn into full blown cries when they aren't being tended to within a hot minute. I'm talking zero to sixty in ear piercing wails, loud enough to wake the neighbors and deafen the dog.

Out of nowhere, Smith wakes up screaming. Sometimes he's standing in his crib. Other times, he's rolling around in circles on his bed. But every time it takes minutes to wake him from his terror. He's uncontrollably screaming. Nothing we do helps until he snaps himself out of the dream state. Its so frightening.

I had read (and I typically choose not to read mommy books or advice websites because it's just too much negative overload) that night terrors begin around 2 years old and there's really not much you can do about them other than to hold them until they 'wake up' from it.

But my god its heart-wrenching. 

Has anyone else gone through this? Any secret tips for this inexperienced mama?

Thanks dolls!

Kristen - First Name Smith

Homemade Bar Soap...by Sarah

Making homemade bar soap is a great project to do with older kids! It can be used as a gift or just to keep in your own house.


Homemade Bar Soap



There are endless ways to customize this with different colors, scents, and shapes. My gang had a ton of fun shopping for and making our soap and we'll definitely be doing it again soon.

Supplies: (We bought most of ours at Michaels)



-Melt and pour soap base. They sell white and clear but clear is the one you need if you want to add color.

-Bread pan. This is where you can get creative! We used a bread pan to mold our soap but you can really use any type of small pan or mold including candy molds and Jello molds. Silicon or plastic would make the soap easier to remove.

-Rubbing alcohol in a small spray bottle.

-Food coloring (we used Duff). You can buy "official" soap coloring drops, but after doing some research we decided to just use food coloring and it worked fine.

-Essential oil scent of choice (Optional)

Directions for 2 layered soap:

1. Cut up half of the clear melt and pour soap into small pieces and place into a microwave safe dish.


2. Cover the dish with plastic wrap then heat in microwave in 30 second intervals (stirring in between) until completely melted.

3. When completely melted, add color and scent (8-10 drops). Stir. (We left our first layer clear and only added scent)

4. Poor soap into the bottom of bread pan.

5. Let the soap firm for a couple of minutes then spritz the top with the alcohol. This will remove any foam/bubbles.

6. Let the first layer set until it's slightly firm. (about 10 min.) You want it firm enough to hold the next layer but not too firm to adhere together.

While you wait it would be a good time to start melting layer 2.


Repeat steps for layer 2:



7. Let the soap harden for 8 hrs.

8. Use a Sharpe knife to loosen the edges and tip out of the pan.

9. Cut soap into bars. I used a ridged cheese slicer to get the cool design on ours



And that's it! Let me know if you have any other questions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Face it. Kids are dirty. Make some homemade bar soap with them so they think it's cool to wash :)

Summer Veggie Sandwich... by Hailey

This sandwich is perfect for those hot days when you don't want anything real heavy. Plus, it's a great low calorie, vegetarian option. If you just couldn't live without some kind of meat in it, I would suggest just a couple of strips of bacon. But honestly, it's so filling as is, you won't miss the meat.

Summer Veggie Sandwich

 (by me)

(Printable Recipe) 

(Yes, that's a Christmas plate.)

Ingredients

• 3 slices of whole wheat bread, toasted
• 1 ripe tomato, sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 2 tsp creamy poppyseed dressing (more or less to taste)
• 2 slices mozzarella cheese

Directions
On two slices of toasted bread, spread desired amount of poppyseed dressing. Layer the cheese, tomato, cucumber, and avocado on one slice of bread. Top with another slice of bread. Repeat layers.

Swim little fishie swim. By Corey

Oh hey! Look who the cat dragged in for some posting.  Yours truly.

As you may or may not know and most definitely don't care about, I used to work in television news as a reporter.  Hung out at murder scenes, knocked on the doors of recently widowed soldiers wives, scared people to death over a few inches of snow.  You get the idea.

A story I had to tell one too many times involves kids and water.  Drowning.  It scares the hell out of me.  I realize pools aren't open yet in most parts of the country but for those of us who live on the surface of the sun, they are open and summer is here.  Thought I'd share a few thoughts/ ideas/ info on swim lessons because I really believe teaching your kids to swim and making them comfortable in the water are life saving skills.

We have all been there.  Or at least I have.  I turned to talk to my three year old for .7 seconds and my 18 month old is face down.  Obviously .7 seconds in the water isn't going to hurt her, in fact it's good for her to get her face wet.  My point is, it literally takes a second.  Maybe two for a kid to be in a precarious situation in a pool.

Add swimmer, lifeguard, and swim instructor to my impressive resume I mentioned above.  The idea of being uncomfortable in a pool is foreign to me and it's important to me that my kids feel the same way.  But there is a fine line you have to walk.  I want them to like the water, to know enough to be comfortable in it and have fun, but I also want them to be safe.  I want them to know that if you run on the pool deck you will fall.  That if you fall in accidentally you always take the quickest route to the wall.  That a pool without an adult around is kryptonite.

I have taught dozens of kids to swim.   My own aren't on that list.  My kids listen better to other people, they think Mommy is for playing and I want to keep it that way.  So we do swim lessons.  My 3 1/2 year old can swim.  He can get up for air, jump in, kick, and pull.  Sure, he looks like a hot mess but he can swim.  We are still signed up for lessons starting in a few weeks.  He hasn't mastered some things I think are crucial.  Floating on his back, for instance.

So here's what I know.

ISR.  Infant Swimming Resource.  This program is amazing.  They teach babies, as young as six months old, to flip over in the water to save themselves.  If I had a pool in my backyard (I know, you thought everyone in Florida had a pool...) I would do it in a second.  But I don't.  It's amazing and it's a pretty big financial investment (can't put a price on teaching your kid to save their life) and it's a time commitment.  It's 10 minutes a day, five days a week, for several weeks.  But everyone I know who's done it, swears by it.

Group lessons.  I think as long as your kid is a good listener/ student this is a great option.  Not only do they see other kids doing it, it's a 'school setting' which I don't think you can have enough of when they are little, and they learn to swim.  What's not to like?

Private lessons.  We did these last summer when my son was 2 1/2.  They worked great.  He liked the personal attention and did really well with the teacher (who I also hired as a babysitter... if they like your kid clawing on them in the pool chances are they babysit).  And he's retained most of what he learned which is nice.

Mommy and me.  I did these with my first when he was little(r).  I'm not doing them with my 18 month old because I found that rather than teaching them anything, we sang songs and bounced and got them comfortable in the water.  I can do that without spending 100$.  And since she's not old enough for group lessons and I'm pretty sure she would throw a major hysteric fit if I did private lessons for her without me, I'm going to teach her what she needs this summer.  So, we blow bubbles.  We put our face in the water A LOT (I refuse to have kids who don't get their faces wet... and also kids who hold their nose... not ok with me).  And I'm teaching her to sit on the wall and wait until I count to three.  Sometimes she goes on two.  Sometimes she goes when I'm not looking.  It's a work in progress.

A few more tidbits.  We use floats.  I know some people don't want their kids to be reliant on a float, thereby forcing them to swim.  For us, the float works.  Plus, we wanted them to be able to swim in a lake and no one in their right mind is putting a kid in a lake without a float.  But we don't use swimmies/ water wings.  Whatever you want to call them.  I don't like them.  We use a Puddle Jumper.  You can buy them at most major retailers.  They buckle in the back and keep kids upright in the water, allowing them to learn to kick behind them and not throwing them forward or backwards.

Lifejackets work too, or those suits with the float things built in but I thought they were bulky and the kids fussed with them too much.

So I totally made up for not posting in a while with the longest post ever.  If you hung around until the end, what did you do to teach your kids to swim?  Got any good secrets?

As always, no one pays me for anything.

Zimbabwe Cookies... by Hailey

Over the weekend, we went to our friends' house for a bonfire. Every time we do this, people usually bring typical snacks... marshmallows, candy, chips, etc. My friend however has started a weight loss program and is trying to keep things healthy for herself. So as an alternative option, she had made these cookies.
Y'all already know how I like to hide healthy stuff in otherwise unhealthy treats. So when I heard her mention sweet potatoes, I knew I had to try one. And oh my lordy, those things were good. Especially right out of the oven. Nobody could believe they weren't incredibly fattening and didn't use much sugar.
I loved them.

My kid loved them.

(What? You don't eat your cookies while playing with deflated balloons?)

Heck, even the husbands loved them.

There are a few different variations to these (usually just involving more or less butter and sugar), but this was the recipe my friend used. So yeah. Y'all have to try these. Promise you won't be disappointed.

Zimbabwe Cookies

(This particular recipe found at Sweet Shop)

(Printable Recipe) 

 via

 

Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH
10 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1 cup finely grated raw sweet potato
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

LEMON GLAZE
1 teaspoon butter
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon water

Instructions

Cream together the margarine or butter and sugar in a large bowl. Blend in the lemon zest, nutmeg, honey, and egg.

Fold in the sweet potato. 

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add it to the first mixture and stir until well blended.

Arrange the cookie dough by rounded teaspoonfuls on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes. Makes 60.

To make the lemon glaze, use a wooden spoon to combine all ingredients in a glass or ceramic bowl until smooth.

Add more water by the drop until glaze is easy to spread on the cooled cookies.