Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Toddler Tuesday

A couple weeks ago, Brother and Lil' Miss and I had a great play-date that included a bounce session at our local Pump it Up, McDonald's lunch date AND a new haircut for Brother Goose.

Look at all that hair!  Boy, did he need a haircut!

A few years ago when he got his very first hair cut, Daddy Goose tried to convince me that he should have a mo-hawk as his first do.  I wasn't ready for my then one year old to be strutting around with such a crazy hair cut.  Almost four years later, the boy STILL wanted to get a mo-hawk   Between me becoming a much more laid back momma and him actually being able to verbalize his wants...I gave in!



You know what?  It isn't half bad!  The gal did an awesome job of making the hair long enough to look like a mo-hawk, but short enough to look like a "normal" hair cut when we don't spike it up.  She gave him a little more than a "fo-hawk."  The best part is - Brother Goose is happy!  There is nothing like that goofy smile on the face of my sweet boy!

Have you let your goslings have a crazy hair cut?

Always ~ Momma Goose


Monday, January 28, 2013

Mellow Monday & Menu Plan

Happy Monday my friends!



What were you up to this weekend?  We got to spend time with my family, Daddy Goose's family AND even had a little time for just the four of us for pancake breakfast on Sunday morning!

This week I'm thinking all comfort - comfortable clothes, comfortable shoes and comfortable food!  (Look at my menu plan below to see what comfort foods we'll be eating this week.) Not much says comfort like Beef Stew.  Especially on a cold winter's day.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Image & Recipe from: Taste of Home


Ingredients:


1-1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch slices
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon browning sauce


Instructions:

Layer the potatoes, carrots, onion and celery in a 5-qt. slow cooker. Place flour in a large resealable plastic bag. Add stew meat; seal and toss to coat evenly. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil in batches. Place over vegetables.

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, broth, mustard, salt, pepper, thyme and browning sauce. Pour over beef. Cover and cook on high for 1-1/2 hours. Reduce heat to low; cook 7-8 hours longer or until the meat and vegetables are tender.



Monday: Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Tuesday:  Spaghetti (made with ground turkey), green salad and garlic bread
Wednesday:  Chicken Enchiladas with Southwest Chopped Salad
Thursday:  Leftovers
Friday:  Calazone from Winco with green salad
Saturday:  Hoping for a Anniversary Date Night - dinner out! ;)
Sunday: Super Bowl Football Foods! (TBA)

This week I'll be drinking Pinapple/Orange and Mango infused waters.  Do you have any tastey fruit infused water flavors for me to try?

Do you meal plan?  I do because it saves me time, money, and answers the never ending "What's for dinner?" question.  After you've checked out my menu plan and then see others at Orgjunkie.com.

Always ~ Momma Goose

Friday, January 25, 2013

The Nail Files



It's that time again...I got my nails done and I'm linking up with Vicki & Tara! 
Woo-hoo!  Lovin' my nail gal, Shelbe! 

It's a little early copper Valentine's Day love...




If you love painted nails and other girly things, go check out these gals!

Always ~ Momma Goose


P.S.  If you're not interested in reading about my nails...sorry!  But...c'mon...it's a little fun, right? :)

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Oh How Pinteresting...



Have you heard?  I'm ADDICTED to Pinterest!  I started a few months back, but didn't really get into it until a few weeks ago and since then...I've been crazy all over it!

Here are a few of my favorite pins from lately:

California Sandwich
Source: Ezrapoundcake.com via Skinny Ms. Eats on Pinterest

Canvas Silhouettes
Source:  Christina Williams via Skinny Ms. Eats on Pinterest

Steps to an Organized Car

Source: Shafer Family Blog via Charlene Yu on Pinterest
Fruit Water

Source: The Yummy Life  via Laurie Hartson Madson on Pinterest

What amazing things have you found on Pinterest lately?  Check out and follow my boards here.  Comment with your Pinterest link so I can follow you!

Always ~ Momma Goose

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

These Geese had bugs

Well, technically WE didn't have bugs...our house did! :(  Termites to be exact.  Thankfully, we have AWESOME landlords and they took care of it right away by having the house tented.



It was quite the experience.  We had to double bag, in these special bags, all of our food, move Lil' Miss's mattress out, find a place for our kitty to stay, transport our fish, move out our plants and, oh yeah...live somewhere else for three days.  Now, when I say all of our food, I mean everything in the pantry, the refrigerator, the freezer, the spices, as well as all oils and other sauces.  Basically, the goal was to bag anything and everything that you ingest.  Food, medicines, mouth wash, toothpaste, etc.

As with most things we do, we waited 'til 10:30 the night before to get busy.  But...it was a fun "date" with Daddy Goose.  We chatted, joked at the "insanity" of  it all and bagged and bagged and bagged.  Finally, two hours later we were done.

Funny enough, after all that prep work, we read that there is no need to wash your sheets, dishes or wipe down any surfaces once the fumigation is complete.  Soooo....you have to double bag all of your food and medicines, but the surfaces you eat off of and sleep on are perfectly fine?  OOOOkay!?

At the end of the week, we had a fun adventure packing our life up, staying at Grammie & Grandpy Goose's house, watching the pest control company tent our house and coming back home!

Always ~ Momma Goose

Monday, January 21, 2013

Mellow Monday & Menu Plan



We are enjoying the beautiful sunny day here in Central California.  This is myyyy kind of weather, high 50s during the day and cold enough (low 40s) at night for a cozy fire and fluffy blanket.

My goslings have worn me out this morning with wrestling, swinging, a long game of 'I spy with my little eye' out on the front patio while eating our morning snack as well as an hour of laundry "sorting" with Lil' Miss.

I have a little bit of sad news today...no slow cooker recipe to share. (Boo!  Hiss! I know.)  To make it up to you, I thought I'd share my mid-morning snack recipe. (Yay!  Hooray! I hope.)

I found the link on Pinterest for the recipe and lemme tell 'ya...wow, you're gonna love it!


Courtesy of: FitSugar.com
Ingredients:

1 5 to 6 ounce container of Greek yogurt (I used plain, but will probably use vanilla or honey in the future)
2 tbsp. of peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1/2 tbsp. of honey
1/8 t. of cinnamon

Instructions:

Mix everything together.  Serve with apples and/or bananas.  I thought it was a tad bit tart due to the plain Greek yogurt, so I added a cap-ful of vanilla extract.   It made all the difference, but I will definitely use the flavored yogurt next time.

Here's what else we're eating this week:


Monday: Subway - Playdate night with one of my BFFs and her mini-me
Tuesday: Garlic Lemon Chicken with green beans & red potatoes
Wednesday:  Slow Cooker Chicken & Stuffing (Yup again, we love this one!) with green salad & fruit
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Calazone with green salad
Saturday: Birthday dinner for my sister!  Yay!
Sunday: Your On Your Own - whatever we can find in the house.

This week I'm drinking Apple & Cinnamon and Strawberry & Orange infused waters.  What refreshing flavors have you found?  Plus...try your water hot!  It brings out the flavors even more and is perfect for an evening treat.

Do you meal plan?  I do because it saves me time, money, and answers the never ending "What's for dinner?" question.  After you've checked out my menu plan and then see others at Orgjunkie.com.

Happy Monday!

Always ~ Momma Goose

Friday, January 11, 2013

Nutella Cookies & Brother Goose

This is why you didn't hear from me yesterday...


We were busy, baking cookies, making Daddy Goose's favorite no-bake cheese cake and I was happy just spending quality time with my favorite little boy.

Hope you're having a happy Friday!

P.S.  Here's the recipe for our Nutella Cookies.  Super easy and yummy!

Ingredients:

1 cup of Nutella
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg

Instructions:


Preheat oven to 350 F.
Blend all ingredients together well. Form into 1″ balls. Place on a cookie sheet. Press down firmly with the bottom of a glass. Bake 7-8 minutes or until set. Cool.

Always ~ Momma Goose

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Fruit Infused Water

I am THE BIGGEST fan of diet Coke.  I could drink it all day long. (After my daily cup of coffee, of course.)  But...as we all know, it isn't exactly healthy for your to drink three diet Cokes a day.  I've often tried to drink water in place of soda, but I've often given-in to my diet Coke addiction due to water's lack of taste and the boredom of the beverage.

That was until I was inspired by Pinterest because I came across this post,

Fruit Infused Water - source.
What a concept, huh?  Put ANY fruit and/or herbs into your water and instantly turn plain, hum-drum water into a yummy, fruity, good for your concoction!  Like you, I've often place a lemon or orange slice in my water to "spice" it up a notch, but never thought to put anything else in it.  The possibilities are endless!  After seeing the original post, I found this one:

Fruit & herbs frozen into ice cubes - source.

and this one:

Add a lil' fizz from club soda!  Love it! Source.

and now this one using coconut water as the base!

Coconut Infused Water - Source.
I made my first batch yesterday.  They do have fancy fruit infuser pitchers and personal water bottles, but with it being my first attempt, I used my Pampered Chef mixing pitcher.

Doesn't that look delicious!
It was sooo yummy!  I drank 4 quarts!  YES - 4 QUARTS of water!  All in one day! I gave some to Lil' Miss Goose and she loved it too.

My "recipe" is below, but you can literally put any fruit (and herbs) into water and that IS fruit infused water!

Do you have any fruit infused "recipes" for me to try?  Pass them along!

Try it!  I know you'll love it, too!

Always ~ Momma Goose

Strawberry-Orange Infused Water

1 Orange, sliced and halved
8-10 frozen strawberries
Water - (I started out with 2 quarts of water, but was able to refill it once.)

Let sit for about an hour so the fruit can infuse.  Drink up!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Mellow Monday & Menu Plan



Cheers to our first Mellow Monday of 2013!

We're off to a great start today - gym, lunch date with the kids and naps!  Now, to see what the rest of the day holds.  I'm hoping for a little more fun with a block building session and then a yummy dinner to warm us up.

Speaking of that warm dinner...tonight's recipe is one I pinned on Pinterest last week and it was such a hit, Daddy Goose asked me to make it again tonight.  (If you're interested, check out my Pinterest boards and follow along here!)

Chicken & Stuffing in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts
1 box of stuffing mix
1 can of cream of chicken soup (or other cream soup)
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of water

Instructions:

Generously spray slow cooker with non-stick spray.  Place chicken breasts in slow cooker and cover with box of stuffing. In a separate bowl, combine cream soup and sour cream, add in 1/2 cup of water.  Pour mixture over chicken and stuffing.  Cook on high 4 hours.  Fluff with fork and serve.

Here's what else we're eating this week:






Monday:  Chicken & Stuffing in the Slow Cooker with a chopped salad and fruit
Tuesday:  Oven Baked Tacos beans and tossed salad (with "zesty" ranch dressing)
Wednesday:  Easy Mac & Cheese with vegetables and fruit salad
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday:  Calazone with salad (with homemade dressing)
Saturday:  Family date night - dinner out!
Sunday:  Football food - play offs edition - Meatball Sub bake with ceasar salad

You might notice that I've changed our leftovers night to Thursday.  Our Wednesday is really busy, so I used to plan that night as an easy meal, but I always grocery shop on Fridays so its just easier to get rid of all of our leftovers on Thursday so I have a clearer picture of the refrigerator and our food needs.  Do you have a leftover night?

Do you meal plan?  I do because it saves me time, money, and answers the "What's for dinner?" question.  After you've checked out my menu plan and then see others at Orgjunkie.com.

Always ~ Momma Goose



Saturday, January 5, 2013

I love, love, LOVE this blog linkup!



First of all, I LOVE having painted nails and toes!  I have been getting my nails and toes done for many, many years.  I enjoy the "girl" time at the nail shop and the girly-ness of painted nails and toes.

Secondly,  I LOVE Vicki and Tara's blogs, My Vickilicious Life and Fabulous but evil.  They are super fun reads!  Plus, who doesn't LOVE a girl who LOVES manicures, cheeseburgers, diet soda...I mean, the list could go on and on! :)

Lastly and most "awesome-ly," I LOVE that these two things I LOVE are linked each week with The Nail Files!!  So, of course you know I wanna play with the gals on Vicki and Tara's blogs!


This week, its chilly and almost blue outside which inspired me (and my manicurist, Shelbe, made happen) to go with blue on my nails. The blue is actually colored acrylic and the glitter is...well, I dunno other than awesome! :)

MyCollage_1.png
Voila...a Bling'd Blue Winter!
 If you LOVE nail polish and other fun girly things, go check out these gals!

Always ~ Momma Goose





Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year 2013


Well, here it is a "year" since my last post! (Har-har-har!) I cannot believe time has passed so quickly.  The entire month of December is now a blur.  A fun and exciting blur!  Daddy Goose survived another peak-season at UPS, I survived another peak-season as a UPS wife, our goslings had a great Christmas, we got to see my entire family and we just wrapped up a weekend in the snow with my in-laws.  Yup, I'd say it was a pretty successful holiday season.

With all of the "hoopla" (as Daddy Goose would say) of the holiday, I have missed my nightly "de-briefing" or blogging session.  I haven't had the time, the energy and frankly the words to write over the past few weeks.  It was an unexpected, but needed blogging hiatus.

This time of year brings me feelings of new beginnings, fresh starts and clean slates. I’m fairly certain others feel it too and that’s why millions use this time of year to quit doing something, start doing something to be a better ** you fill in the blank.  As the new year crept up on me, I began thinking of what I'd like to resolve to do differently in 2013.  Which is a little funny because I’ve taken on the attitude that if you're going to make a change...why wait?  Do it now!

The one resolution I kept coming up with was to get back to blogging.  However, I decided it was one resolution I WAS going to wait to fulfill until January 1st.  I just needed a little more time.  For what, I don’t know.

And now…here I am, 10:45 p.m., Wednesday night, pajamas on, hot tea handy, computer problems and all…blogging and happy!

What about you, are you making New Year’s Resolutions?  What about those ½ Year Resolutions we made?  Are you keeping up with them?

Always ~ Momma Goose