The Adventures of a Working Mom

December 31, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

December 29, 2008

When Your Child Has To Get A Shat...

No, that's not a typo. The nurse spelled out S-H-A-T-S when discussing if DD was up to date on all her shots. I thought the shats is what happened to you when you drank the water in Mexico. Well I didn't think DD needed any shots but I guess I forgot about one of the HEP vaccines that she needed. I felt bad because I felt like I lied to DD that the Dr. was just going to check how big she was getting (by the way she's 39 inches and 34 pounds at 3 years old). Your child getting shots as an older kid is much harder I discovered today. When they're an infant you know the shot hurts and you have to handle them crying. But when your 3 year old gets a shot, you suddenly hear crying, along with "that hurts me!". Totally didn't see that one coming. DD was a champ and was all better after a sucker and watching the train in the lobby.

Here is a dirty secret of mine though, I recall when DD was a baby that after the shots was a great time because she would actually take longer than a 30 minute nap. I know, I know, I'm horrible, but it was a mini vacation for me during the time of getting up 15 times a night.

Guess a train and a sucker will cure a case of the shats every time, DH needs to keep that in mind next time he's in the Philippines.

December 28, 2008

Menu Plan Monday--New Year's Tradition

I can't believe it's almost 2009. Where have the years gone? I hope each of you have a wonderful beginning to the New Year.

Monday--Ham Bone Soup.

Tuesday--Pork Chops, rice, peas.

Wednesday--Fondu.

Thursday--Black Eye Peas, Collards, Corn Bread.

Friday--Lasagna.

Saturday--Take out.

Sunday--Breakfast for dinner.

I thought I would also share why Southerners eat the chosen foods on New Years day. Black Eye Peas are meant to signify luck, Collards are meant to signify wealth/money, and Corn Bread is meant to signify good fortune. Granted these foods are always delicious, but it helps to have another reason to eat them :)

Visit more Menu Plans at Organizing Junkie.

December 27, 2008

Home Improvements Should Come with a Marriage Counselor

Why is it that any form of home improvement activity is a way to insight an argument in a couple? From painting a bedroom to adding onto a house, some marital conflict seems to follow. For example, tonight my DH and I were painting our DD's bedroom. From the onset of this simple task, I felt myself getting annoyed at his presence even when taping off the baseboards lol. Home Depot and Lowe's should have a marriage counselor for contract waiting at the checkout line when you leave with your various materials. The counselor could serve as a mediator or a voice of reason when you're thinking about shoving the paint brush where the sun doesn't shine or using the blue painters tape in ways it was not meant to be used. Nonetheless it amazes me how emotions run high as soon as the couple has the receipt in hand from your local home improvment store.

My DH and I managed to not paint each other and are not drawing up divorce papers so I guess this round of home improvement has come and gone successfully. Just keep this in mind the next time you think "Hey honey, wanna make a run to Home Depot?"

December 23, 2008

Tell Me Something Good Tuesday

My DH got home yesterday. I'm so happy he's home for Christmas!

Now tell me something good and please sign Mr. Linky :)

December 22, 2008

Menu Plan Monday--Christmas Edition

Monday--Ribeyes, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, broccoli (DH is coming home today and requested this meal)

Tuesday--forage for something in the freezer.

Wednesday--Christmas Eve dinner: venison tenderloin, spaetzle, German potato salad, gravy with chanterelle mushrooms.

Thursday--Christmas dinner: goose, boiled potatoes, red cabbage, gravy.

Friday--Maybe date night, I have 2 free movie tickets that need to get used up and a gift card to Outback.

Saturday--Pizza, UFC fight night.

Sunday--leftovers.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with their families!

December 20, 2008

A German Christmas

Frohe Weihnachten!

Germany is rich in tradition and culture when it comes to Christmas. I come from a German family and when my parents moved to the U.S. when I was younger, thankfully they continued to keep the German culture alive in our house.

St. Nikolaus Day

One such tradition is St. Nikolaus Day. This is celebrated on December 6^th. On this day children place their boots outside their home and hope that St. Nikolaus will fill them with apples, oranges/tangerines, lebkuchen, cookies, or fruit bread. Traditionally these items were reserved for special occasions and children did not get such sweets on a regular basis. If the children had been good and polite during the year, they received treats; if they were not good, they had a switch placed in their boot.

Christmas Eve

The German Christmas is celebrated on Christmas Eve. Parents decorate the Christmas tree and place the presents underneath without the children around. The Christmas tree also serves as a present since no one has seen it until the Christkindl brings the presents. The Christkindl means “Christ Child.” In Germany the Christkindl is the bringer of gifts for children. A young girl with a golden crown and wings usually portrays the Christkindl. On Christmas Eve, traditional food is goose, fish, or deer. In my family, we always have deer on Christmas Eve and have goose on Christmas Day.

Christmas Day

December 25 is known as the “1^st Christmas Day”. On this day, families visit the other set of grandparents (usually the father’s parents). There is no traditional food eaten on this day, it is more like a traditional Sunday dinner in the U.S.

December 26 is known as the “2^nd Christmas Day”. On this day, families visit relatives who live out of town. Again, the traditional food is more of a Sunday dinner.

Germany has many rich traditions during the Christmas season, from celebrations to foods. I am fortunate to have been raised in these deep cultural traditions during my childhood and now have the opportunity to pass these traditions to my daughter while also teaching my husband about my cultural traditions.

December 18, 2008

Recipe Roundup: Easy Recipes

Old-World Manicotti

12 large manicotti shells

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 (26 oz) jar of spaghetti sauce

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350'. Spray 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water. Let pasta dry on paper towels.

For filling, stir together 3 cups of mozzarella with the ricotta. Using a teaspoon, carefully stuff pasta shells with prepared cheese mixture.

Spoon 2 cups of spaghetti sauce into prepared baking dish. Arrange shells over sauce. Pour remaining sauce over top of pasta. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Bake manicotti for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake for 10 minutes longer.

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Pork Chop Casserole

4-6 pork chops

vegetable oil

seasoning salt

1 can cream of celery soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon pepper

24 oz. bag of frozen hash browns (thawed)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 8 oz. cans of french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350'. Brown pork chops and sprinkle with seasoning salt, set aside. Combine soup, milk, sour cream, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of seasoning salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in hash browns, 1/2 cup cheese, and 1/2 cup french fried onions. Spoon mixture into 13x9 baking dish. Arrange pork chops over mixture. Bake covered at 350' for 40 minutes to 1 hour. Top with remaining cheese and french fried onions. Bake for an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

December 17, 2008

Wordless Wednesday

December 16, 2008

Tell Me Something Good Tuesday

I thought I would start a new meme where we share something good that has happened to us during the past week.

My good thing is that I'm done Christmas shopping!

When you've answered your good thing, please sign Mr. Linky.

December 15, 2008

Menu Plan Monday

I'm sure many of you notice I don't post a lot of recipes for my menu planning. The reason is many of them I have made so many times I don't measure the ingredients, so it's difficult to explain to others how to make it. This week I will post some recipes I do have the exact measurements for that my family loves.

Monday--Spaghetti.

Tuesday--Dinner out.

Wednesday--Stuffed chicken breasts, rice, broccoli.

Thursday--Crock pot roast, with veggies and mashed potatoes.

Friday--Pizza.

Saturday--Grilled cheese and tomato soup.

Sunday--Chicken Parmesan with angel hair pasta.

December 12, 2008

The Unmentioned Circle of Hell

Dante did an exceptional job when he wrote the Divine Comedy and described the 9 circles of hell, but he forgot one. It's called "the three year old". This circle is characterized by a 3-4 foot person parading around throwing temper tantrums if one of the dogs looks at her funny and has fallen completely helpless when it comes to finding sippy cups.

Someone please tell me that this whole "I'm three now, so I think I'm an adult" thing is only a phase and it will dissipate soon. Please. It's ok, lie to me, make me feel better. If this lasts until she's 4, this will be a long and heavily medicated year for me (just kidding about the heavily medicated, ok maybe only half kidding).

Seriously though, it's like my nice, well mostly nice, previous 2 year old became possessed by the 3 year old demon. Everyday is a power struggle, or a full fledged war over the most minuscule things imaginable. "Lay down"; "No, I can't". What?! You can't lay down? Ok, ok, I naively thought this was a one night thing. Yeah we're going on about a week now. The "I can't" thing doesn't stop there, but the other stuff I kind of see coming. "I can't pick up my toys, etc".

Rationally, I understand this is just where she is developmentally and I know it's hard on her without DH being around. But still, I get sucked into the power struggle and before I know it I can't remember how I got in it and I am completely clueless on how to get out.

Welcome to the 10th circle of hell.