Mmmm Mmmm Monday (A day late-sorry!): Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is a super easy recipe that is really yummy! There's not really a set amount of ingredients-it all depends on how many you're feeding. You can use any type of cheese you like...I lean towards provolone. But American cheese works too!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken breasts
Ham Slices
Cheese slices
Olive oil, or butter
Bread crumbs

Pound and flatten chicken breasts. Place a ham slice and a cheese slice on top. Roll up. Roll in olive oil and crumbs and base for 35 minutes at 350*.

You know you need adult conversation when...

you are making lunch for your daughter and to get her to want to eat you sing make up this silly song on the spot!

(sung to the nursery rhyme tune "Where is Thumbkin")
Quesadillas! Quesadillas!
Here we come! Here we come!
We are going to eat you. We are going to eat you.
Yum! Yum! Yum!
Yum! Yum! Yum!

I apologize for my silliness. That's what happens when you're the daughter of a Pre-K teacher and you spend every waking minute with your toddler.

Send in the clowns!

Over the weekend we went to the circus, thanks to an email we recieved with vouchers for free admission for military members and their families. So we packed up the kids and headed to the Big Top for some free family fun!

Eight Years!

On this day, 8 years ago, the hubby & I said our vows. I had just turned 19 and he wouldn't be 19 for another month and a half. Not many people thought we'd make it this far. But we have weathered ups & downs, kids, moves, deployments, surgeries, and stress. It wasn't always easy, and I know it won't be a bed of roses every day from here on out, but it will always be worth it.

Then:

Now:

Return of the Squirrels

Remember my trouble with squirrels? Well, the squirrels never really left, but they apparently took a small hiatus from torturing our family.


I heard a noise outside the slider a few minutes ago and couldn't figure out what it was. Then I saw this:

The blasted squirrels are back to causing havoc! This particular one was tearing apart the bags of sticks that the boys had collected for our weekend fires in the firepit. The boys WILL NOT be happy to see that the sticks they worked so hard to collect from the yard have been strewn about.

UPDATE: Hubby came home from work and caught them at it again, and chased it up the side of the fence and into the beams of our porch roof. He poked a hockey stick inside to try to get the squirrel out, and the squirrel made noise in protest. Hubby turned at looked at me with a look of shock on his face and said "Did you hear that? The flipping squirrel LAUGHED at me!" I started snickering, becuase it did sound like laughter coming from within the beams of the roof. Hubby, on the other hand, failed to see the humor.

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Crockpot Chili

It's been a little cold here the last few days so I decided to make some chili for dinner that warmed us all up. It's a really easy recipe, which is essential in a houseful of children. Enjoy!

Crockpot Chili
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. beef stew chunks
1 can red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can tomato soup
1/4 cup water
1 small onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp black pepper

Brown ground beef; drain. Combine all ingredients in crockpot and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Top with shredded cheese if desired.

St. Patty's Day Fun

My sister Meg is in town for a few days, and while the boys were in school and the hubby was at work yesterday, we decided that we were going to have a Girl's Day with Sophia and head to the outlet mall. Which, by the way, is only about 5 minutes from my house. SCORE!

We celebrated St. Patty's day by spending some green! (See? We even helped the economy while we were having fun!)

Oh how I love these faces!

Signs you are getting old.

Having turned 27 a couple weeks ago, I know that I'm on the downward slide that leads me to 30. *GASP!* It's a fact that is not sitting well with me, in case you can't tell.

On the way to the boys' hockey practice last night, I realized that I am indeed getting old. And here's why.

You know you're getting old when:
* The pounding bass from the car behind you actually hurts your ears and threatens to give you a headache.
* The volume on the TV is at 25 (out of 100) and you yell at the kids/hubby to turn it down.
* Your baby sister is of legal drinking age.
* Kids you once babysat when they were little are now announcing engagements.
*You sit down to watch an hour long show at 9pm only to find that you have fallen asleep half way through and don't know how it ended.
* You choose the 'sensible' sneakers for a day out shopping rather than the cute new shoes that are begging to be worn.
* The airman checking ID's at the gate looks so young that he could be your child instead of your husband's fellow warrior.

Time to brag!

Being an Air Force wife, I tend to check out shows/movies/books that pertain to the military way of life- especially that of the military family. One of my favorite movies is "We Were Soldiers" because of how it shows the perspectives of the family members left behind. I also love the Lifetime show, "Army Wives".
Anyway, this post is about me bragging so here it comes. Army Wives often films at the base where we're stationed!! Cool right?? I almost always know the day that they're shooting becuase I see tents set up in the BX and Commissary parking lots right at the front of the base. I always find a reason to wander around on those days, hoping to see a celebrity (so far, I've only ever seen crew members though). They also cast military members and families from our base in the roles of extras, so I'm hoping that one of these times we'll get lucky and see ourselves on tv!


Of course the hubby is dying to see Catherine Bell, who plays the role of Denise on the show. He's been in love with her since her days as Mac from "JAG". Who do I want to run into? That'd be Roxy's hot hubby, Trevor, thank you very much!

With warm weather comes...

I love to have my windows open when the weather's nice. We've had three days in a row now of gorgeous, open-window worthy temperatures.

We live in military housing, which means we have TINY backyards and the houses behind ours are all within spitting distance of my backdoor. So on lovely days like today, one of our neighbors puts their birdcage out on their back porch. No big deal right? WRONG! Their bird whistles all day long, and only knows the opening bars to ONE SONG- the one that's played in the credits of The Andy Griffith Show where Andy & Opie are walking hand-in-hand with their fishing poles.

Yeeeeeeahhhh...that's what I've been hearing all day.

I wonder if the hubby still has any earplugs lying around the house from his AMMO days??

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Pepper Beef Goulash

When I made this the other night, I varied just a bit from the recipe. I'll write down the recipe as it is on the card, and then I"ll add what I did differenty. That way, you can try it both ways and see which you like best!

Pepper Beef Goulash
1/2 cup water
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 tbsp cider vinegar*
1 envelope sloppy joe seasoning
2 to 2 and 1/4 lbs beef stew meat (3/4" cubes)
1 celery rib, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1 medium green pepper, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
Hot cooked rice

In a 3 quart slow clooker, combine the water, tomatoe paste, vinegar and sloppy joe seasoning. Stir in the beef, celery and green pepper. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or until meat is tender.** Serve over rice.

Makes 4-5 servings.

*- I used Balsamic vinegar becuase that's all I had in the house. Hubby said it gave a really good flavor.
**- I checked my crockpot after an hour on high and the meat was almost completely cooked through already. I turned down the cooker to low, and checked again after a couple more hours. for the last hour of cooking, I turned it to warm, so as to not overcook the meat. I don't like meat that's tough to chew, and I was really worried that if I kept it on high the entire time, the meat would've been impossible to tear apart.

Rubix Cubes and Flourescent Tube Socks.

After reading this post by CakeWrecks, I decided to Google all the old tv shows I used to love as a child of the 80's. Here's my list. What are some of your faves?


Alf. This alien was so funny!
Fraggle Rock. Loved those things! And the Doozers...adorable!!
My Little Ponies. There's a funny story about me as a 5 year old in '87 and My Little Ponies. My mom was expecting my baby sister, but back in the day we didn't know if she was having a boy or a girl. My mom told me that if the baby was a girl, her name would be Megan. I got all excited, and told her that I really liked that name because the girl on My Little Ponies was named Megan. I then proceeded to tell my mom that if the baby was a boy, she needed to name him Sundance, because that was the name of Megan's horse on the show. Well, 22 years later and I still get picked on for this. Fortunately, a girl was born, and yes, her name is Megan.
Punky Brewster. Who didn't love her rad clothes?!
Rainbow Brite. I totally had the Rainbow Brite doll with the iridescent dress, and even the pretty white pony!!
Small Wonder. Ok seriously...what kid in the 80's (or today for that matter) didn't want a sibling that they could turn off?!
Snorks. In my opinion, WAY cooler than the smurfs. Way.
Square One. One word: Mathman.
Today's Special. In hindsight, it's totally creepy. But back then I loved the living mannequin and talking mouse!
Wuzzles. Technicolor animal hybrids...awe-SOME!!
Zoobilee Zoo. Lots of adults in leotards and tights acting like jungle animals. Fun for everyone!