I've Been Lying to Myself

I've been lying to myself and I didn't even realize it until I got off the phone today and started crying. I know that my tears are partly from being overstressed and tired from our move and partly to do with the conversation. I had no idea how hard moving across the country far away from my support system would be. And I'll be really honest, I really miss my mommy. Are you supposed to miss your mommy when you're a mommy?

Back to the tears

Two weeks ago Mark failed his hearing test at school. For whatever reason his previous hearing and vision screens were not sent over with the three inch folder that is his file from Nevada. And even after getting the results, the school district wants him formally tested again since he failed the test here in NC.

I said it was no big deal, this is just the government and they are not exactly know for their efficiency.

I said it was no big deal, he's passed before.

I said it was no big deal that his teacher mentioned that he doesn't respond to his name being called in the classroom. (I'm sure one of the causes for concern after he failed his hearing test)

I lied and said it was no big deal.

Clearly I lied since scheduling his hearing evaluation made me cry. I'm pretty confident that he'll pass his third hearing evaluation in three years of life. Yes you read that right, this will be his third one! But I didn't realize that I'm a little worried and stressed about having to go through this again until today.

July 10th needs to get here fast, the waiting is the hardest part.

Things That Cheer Me Up

I'm crabby today so I thought I would share some of the things that cheer me up. Warning, this is not a sweet list. These are some of the things that will make me laugh at you, not with you. This is a steer into the skid kind of day. Why fight the crabbiness when you can embrace it? When I see these things, my day gets better!

True Story

Matching Clothes - I'm not going to lie one of the greatest moments in my life was when I saw a mother and daughter wearing matching outfits and hair bows! Unfortunately for me, I was drinking at the time and a little Diet Dr. Pepper came out my nose. Do not dress like your 4 year old daughter unless you want people to try to take inconspicuous pictures with their iPhone! I failed to get the picture which may go down as one of my biggest blogger failures!

And if your clothes match your husband's clothes you might be a NASCAR fan. And you might go to my old church. And I may have made bets with my husband on a regular basis over which NASCAR shirt the two of you were wearing on Sunday. Maybe.

But seriously, thanks for the years of entertainment!

Falling - Call me immature but if you fall down or run into something I will laugh at you! Depending on how well I know you I am also pointing. Today Molly was teasing her twin and she ran right into the wall. I'm such a bad mom I laughed at her. Oh who am I kidding? I'm laughing at the memory of it.

People Rocking Out in Their Car - I love seeing someone rocking out in their car. Have you seen the Volkswagen commercial with the guy drumming and going to town in his car? I love it! If I saw that in real life it would make my day.

Douche Bag Hair - This one is aimed mostly at the boys out there. If you are 45 years old and you have a faux hawk, I am laughing at you. Openly and I don't feel bad for laughing at you. You're 45, the faux hawk doesn't make you look any younger, just like you're the heir of the Massingale fortune.

And along those lines

Men in Super tight V-neck t-shirts - If you also have douche bag hair, I totally laughed aloud!

Kids Who Dress Themselves - Mostly my daughter Isabella who is "Punky Brewster" at heart. I love her weird outfits and I take pictures of them! One day this kid will be embarrassed my what I wear and I'll have these picture to keep me happy. I laugh at her outfits almost everyday. I'm pretty sure I'm nailing this parenting thing by allowing her to dress herself while taking pictures of her fashion statements.

Some Randomness - This video has cracked me up for weeks now! I'm totally biased and that's OK.



And yes, I'm laughing at him! In case you were wondering that was his second plate of zucchini pasta that he can't seem to eat fast enough. You can hear my girls praying over their bread since it was in the oven when we prayed over our food, therefore it was not blessed. You cannot make this stuff up!

What makes you laugh at someone?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Confessions on Family Activites in the Triangle

I confess....

I am very excited that the $1 summer movies are back! I love taking the kids to the movies, but to take my family of 5 to a movie costs a fortune! It's $50 just to get in the door. Pass! We went to our first movie this week and with popcorn and drinks it was $11. That is much better!

Everyone is looking - win!

I confess....

The kids saw the poster for The Smurfs and went crazy. The ticket takers told them that The Smurfs were playing next week. Thanks dude, I've seen that movie a million times, I was hoping to skip it. They're already begging me to take them to see it.

I confess....

We are enjoying all the family activities that are available in our area. Last weekend we took the kids to see a Charlie Brown show at the mall. The kids are crazy for Charlie Brown and they loved it!

I confess....

Mark was too scared to sit with the girls and I so he hung back with Daddy in the chairs. Everything was going great until the mascot from UNC came out. The girls ran for Daddy!

I confess....

Once the mascot left the girls came back to sit with me. At the end of the show, I saw the mascot come back out to take a bow. Watching Belly take off once she saw the mascot come out again was hilarious! What a little chicken.

I confess....

The fireflies are starting to come out. I didn't grow up with fireflies so they are fun and exciting for me. For my kids, it was love at first sight! They aren't brave enough to catch them yet. 

I confess....
Last night a crazy storm blew in. The kids were scared when the pine cones and branches started raining down on us. We were lucky and there was no damage to our house or cars. Thankfully I thought to move the car to the street where there is less tree coverage. This morning there was a big branch right where my car is normally parked. Good call moving the car Allison!

I confess...
Tomorrow night we are getting our first date night out since we moved. I am beyond excited! I never realized how much I relied on my support system to get a break before we moved. And just how often I did actually get a break.

What are you confessing this week?

Making the Bed-It's the Small Things that Help a Marriage

I think making the bed everyday is one of the silliest ways to spend my time. I know so many people out there who think that making the bed is important and that it needs to be done daily. I think it's down right stupid. I mean why would I make a bed just to get back into it while my kids nap or at night? And even though I think it's a waste of time, I make my bed a few times a week.

Why?

That's an easy one, my husband likes the bed made. He likes the bed made so much that he will make the bed at 7:30 at night if I don't make it. Now I think he needs to be tested since that behavior is flat out obsessive, but then again I had a clear insight into his OCD before we were married.

Now before anyone jumps on me in the comment section about why he expects me to make the bed every morning instead of making it himself. (And if you see one you know that person didn't read the whole article.) I'm still in bed when he leaves for work in the morning which makes it impossible for him to make the bed. He does make the bed on the weekends in case anyone was wondering.

So a few times a week I suck it up and make the bed. And I know that when he sees that the bed is made that I did it just for him. It's such a small gesture and it really doesn't take that much time out of my day. I think my making the bed is one of the many small things I do that make our marriage strong. And when Brett does something similar for me, it's better than getting roses.

What small act of service do you do for your spouse?

How did I Ever Survive my Childhood?

There are times in my life that I just think "man, I just don't get enough credit for not beating my children."

Yesterday when my kids were napping a peculiar thing happened. Somehow toothpaste managed to magically get all over my bathroom. I mean it's down right amazing how this happened. All while my kids were sound asleep in their beds.

 

Well if you look a little closer at my little Molly, you'll see some blue toothpaste all over her face. She told me that she was trying to brush her teeth. Hmmm, with my toothbrush and everything.

I let my little mischief maker clean up the mess. Not before I took pictures of course and I took many deep breaths! I wanted to scream and shout but I kept my cool. I'm very proud of myself for keeping my cool. It's that book I'm reading Scream Free Parenting that is really helping me keep my cool these days. I am not being paid in any way for this endorsement. I paid for the book and it's really helping me so I thought I would give it a plug.

But seriously, I have many pictures of my kids misbehaving, Molly has more than her fair share. And whenever I look at them I wonder - how on earth did I ever survive my childhood? I pulled stunts like this all the time! Just ask my mom about the time I painted my room, or dyed myself green, or insert a few hundred other example that she likes to whip out whenever Molly does something like this.

Yeah, the apple didn't fall very far from the mommy tree. It isn't enough that she looks almost identical to me at that age, does she really have to act just like me too? Daddy was a good kid, start acting like him!

Feeling a little defeated and annoyed!

Confessions on Tropical Storm Andrea

I confess....There were very different reactions upon hearing that a tropical storm was heading our way.

My husband thought it would be a cool to get so much rain. I knew that it would mean 2-3 days stuck inside with the kids. Not cool!

I confess....As I turned on the computer the storm officially hit. It rained most the night and morning but nothing too hard until now. In less than 30 minutes my yard is flooded.

I confess....I just looked out my back window and noticed that my back fence was blocking the water from draining. So like a good girl I went out there to open the fence.

Just to paint you a little picture.

I confess....I only have kid umbrellas. I haven't bought one for me since I moved here. You didn't need an umbrella in Vegas.

Doesn't this look like it would protect me?

I confess....So there I am outside in the pouring rain with a little Spider man umbrella. I wade through the collected brown water only to remember that I pad lock my gate.

CRAP!

I confess....I had to go back to get my keys and venture out in the rain again. Don't worry, it started raining even harder for my second trip.

I confess....I am wearing capris which are now wet at the bottom.

I confess....I cannot believe that my yard flooded that fast! Lesson learned, I need to open the gate when it rains this hard.

I confess....As the only member of the family who's experienced hurricanes and tropical storms you would think I would be prepared. You would think right?

I confess....I really wish I went to the store this morning to get some food for the weekend. And by food, I do mean beer and wine. Not a drop in the house.

You know that means someone is going to have to venture into the rain.

Yeah babe, it's totally you! This lady is staying inside.

Don't worry, he loves me!

What are you confessing this week?

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers Enchiladas Style Recipe

Stuffed peppers are one of my new favorite foods. I tried stuffed peppers for the first time a few years ago and I've been hooked ever since. Mexican food on the other hand, I'm pretty sure I was hard wired to love in the womb. How could combining the two be anything besides awesome?

This is a recipe that I've tweaked a few times. The first time I used a large can of enchilada sauce and it was too overpowering. The second time I realized that once the enchilada sauce was reduced, the quinoa didn't have enough flavor. For those of you who are intrigued by quinoa but have never tried it, quinoa is similar to rice in that it will absorb the flavors that it's cooked in. Cooked alone, it has almost no flavor. I think this is a great recipe to try quinoa for the first time.

I will say that my kids are hit and miss with this recipe. Mark eats it every time, but my girls love it one week and won't touch it the next. I would love to say that this doesn't annoy me, but then I'd be a huge liar. I can't stand dinner time battles! You ate it last month and asked for thirds, just eat that darn food already!

See? I would be a liar.

Do you ever have one of those days when it's naptime and you know you're not going to have the energy to cook dinner? If you have one of those days at least once a week, you're in good company with me! I have learned to plan at least one meal a week that I can prep at naptime or use my Crock Pot. This is a meal that you can prep ahead. I love that I can assemble it during naptime so all I have to do come dinnertime (aka exhaustion hour) is pop it in the oven.


Stuffed Pepppers Enchilada Style
Serves 4 (or 5 if kids are involved)

4 bell peppers any color
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
10 oz. can of red enchilada sauce
1 cup frozen corn
1 can black beans rinsed and drained
1/4 onion diced
1/2 cup shredded cheese - your preference I use pepper jack or jack
1/3 cup cilantro
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 t cumin
1 t cayenne pepper
juice of 1 lime
2 cloves minced garlic
1 to 2 T taco seasoning

1. Prepare the quinoa according to package directions. Add the taco seasoning when you add the quinoa to the water.
2. Meanwhile, cut the tops of the bell peppers and cut them in half. Clean out the seeds and place in a greased 9X13 pan.

3. Use this time to prepare the remaining ingredients.

• shred the cheese and put away in the fridge. I try to stick to 1/2 cup but I sometimes use 1 cup.
• Rinse and drain the beans
• chop the cilantro
• dice the onion
• mince the garlic
• juice the lime
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees

4. In a large bowl mix together the cooked quinoa, beans, corn, cilantro, lime juice, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion.

5. Spoon quinoa mixture into the peppers.

I only do 3 and a half since my kids will only eat raw peppers. Sigh.

6. Spoon the enchilada sauce over and around the peppers, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. You want a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.
7. Top peppers with cheese and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
Serve and Enjoy!

Don't worry mom, I'm eating dinner.

I'll eat it tonight mommy!

I'll eat three bites and then decide that I'm full. Stinker!

Enjoy the recipe!

You might also like these recipes.

Southwest Stuffed Peppers - Vegetarian One of my most popular recipes!

Rice and Bean Tostadas

Shrimp Verde Enchiladas