Happy Friday!!

How to stay organized..

Can you tell me how?  I just can't seem to do it!  My house will be clean and organized one day and completely trashed the next. 
Here are my issues:

• My daughter has too many clothes making laundry and putting away clothes ridiculous
• Every little thing in my house doesn't have a place (the new magazines that came in the mail, the phone chargers, ipod chargers etc)  They are just on the counters.
• I don't like organizing
• I cook a lot and the dishwasher is usually full and then has to be emptied to fill again.  It's a never-ending cycle.

I just need a few tips.  Anyone?  Thanks

Recipe Wednesday

Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetables with Dumplings- Bisquick recipe

2 1/2 to 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs


1 pound small red potatoes (about 2 1/2 inches in diameter)

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped ( 3/4 cup)

2 cups baby-cut carrots

5 1/4 cups chicken broth (from two 32-ounce cartons)

2 cups Original Bisquick® mix

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

1.Place chicken, potatoes, onion and carrots in 6-quart slow cooker. Add broth.

2.Cover and cook on low heat setting 9 to 10 hours.

3.Increase heat setting to high. Stir together Bisquick mix, water and parsley in medium bowl. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto hot chicken mixture. Cover and cook 45 to 50 minutes or until dumplings are dry in center.

I love chicken and dumplings- this recipe is pretty tasty!

Disgusting, ugly, gross dinner

That is what I made for dinner- disgusting, ugly, gross pasta with meat sauce.
The fit went on for an hour- and it ended with her apologizing to me.  I love that girl!  But WOW! she is feisty

Manic Monday

Oh I love that Bangles song "It's just another Manic Monday oh oh I wish it was Sunday oh oh cuz that's my fun day..."
Anyways,  Shutterfly has great websites for sports teams, classrooms etc. that are free.  I even received 30 free 4x6 prints just for setting one up.  I'm using one for my preschool class and I had one for Irelyn's soccer team.  They are so easy to use and put all of the information you need in one place.  Check it out!

Money for Goals

While running down the soccer field with my team, the girls were having fun laughing, kicking, and then scoring!  Our team scored!  On the way back to our side of the field, the girl that scored shouted over to her Mom "You owe me a dollar!"  I looked at her and I said "Your Mom pays you to score?"  And she said "Yep." 
As a coach, it is my "volunteer responsibility" to make sure the kids know skills, how to dribble, throw ins, goal kicks, and sportsmanship.  Sadly, I cannot teach them sportsmanship when the majority of parents think that soccer is an individual sport and think that their kid is the "best in the world" if they score a goal.  On our second day of practice I said to the girls after our scrimmage "That was great that _______ scored.  Did she do that on her own or did you do it as a team."  And a few of the girls answered "On her own"  Now they are 6 and don't really know any better but soccer does not happen with one player.  Of course you can have one really good player on a team, or even two or three. The point is that as parents we need to encourage the players as a team and teach our children to compete against the other team not their own team.  It's not all about the goals... soccer is about teamwork, skills,  building character, defending, supporting, and having fun!

Yay Electric Eels!

Irelyn had a great time playing on the Electric Eels this year.  And I had fun coaching...it started out a little rough but it's all for the kids right?  As long as they are having fun then that is all that matters.

10 things I'm loving in November

10 things I'm loving in November

1. 90210
2. Holiday cups at Starbucks
3. Soup!
4. Modern Family
5. Coach's Oats
6. The fact that I wear a staff shirt to work makes getting ready in the AM soooo easy
7. my clean house
8. the anticipation of the Holidays
9. volunteering in Irelyn's class
10. my new philosophy and bare minerals from QVC

Celebrity Birthdays- November 11

Wow there are quite a few celebs that have a birthday today.
Happy Birthday to:
Kurt Vonnegut
Barbara Boxer
Demi Moore
Calista Flockhart- gf of Harrison Ford :)
Leonardo Di Caprio

I wonder how famous people celebrate?

Recipe Wednesday

Pork Tenderloin in Apple Strudel- Trader Joe's recipe

Season 1 pork tenderloin with salt,pepper and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon
Sear tenderloin in olive oil
Thaw 1 apple strudel (Trader Joe's)
Open strudel and spread apples around
Add tenderloin and reseal around
Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes

Enjoy with potatoes, veggies or a nice salad.

Cousins

                                  Lauren(6.5) and Irelyn(6)

MONDAY

Happy Monday!  I'm trying to get excited about Monday but I can't.  Did you ever have one of those days where nothing went right, but in a funny way?  That has been my day.  At least I can laugh about it, right?  All I can say is I am happy I put something in the crockpot before I left for work today. 

My parents and 5 grandchildren

Thanks to Becca Hayes for taking this picture

SCIENCE

Steve Spangler Science Experiment

Fill a plate with milk, put several drops of different color food coloring in the middle, put dish soap on a Q-tip and place it right in the center, hold it down and watch the colors spray.  This was such a cool experiment to do.  Irelyn could do the whole thing herself and was so interested in what was going to happen.  After this, she wondered what would happen if she used water instead of milk.  We tried it and although it wasn't as interesting, she was being creative and using her mind.  Have fun if you try it.

NAEYC conference

I spent the past 2 days at the NAEYC conference in Anaheim, CA with all of my wonderful co-workers.  We laughed, went out to dinner, enjoyed wine, laughed some more...oh, and we learned too! 
We heard some wonderful speakers, received free supplies and went shopping in the huge Galleria. 
My favorite speaker was Steve Spangler.  He was full of energy, excitement and had some fun ideas!   I bought his book and will be putting it to good use this week.  I even came home with 2 experiments for Irelyn to try.  Although it was for work, I thought of it as a vacation.  No dishes, nice hotel, all of my meals handled, no cleaning...I can't wait to go again :)

New computer

I have a new laptop!  My "other laptop" was a college graduation present and has been useless for years.  I am sooooo happy about his computer- it is awesome!  My new favorite is...
Windows Live Photo Gallery. 
The face recognition is so useful!  I already feel more organized :) 

Recipe Wednesday

Rustic Chicken Pasta

Debone and chop one market roasted chicken
1 bag baby spinach
1 lb. cooked penne pasta
1/4 c. roasted pine nuts

Dressing: mix and toss w/ above ingredients
1 c. olive oil
1/3 - 1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/3 c. dijon mustard
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tp. pepper

Serve immediately after tossing salad. 

This is so delicious for a light lunch with friends served with some wine or champagne.  Enjoy!

Teavana

Teavana is a wonderful tea store located in The Shops at Mission Viejo.  You can buy loose tea there or have a hot or iced made for you to enjoy.  You can smell/sample all of the teas and they will also help you choose a flavor based on your preferences.   
Here are some of my favorite teas-

• Youthberry
• Wild Orange Blossom
• Snow Geisha

Go check it out!

NaBloPoMo

It is National Blog Posting Month again!  I'm going to try to do it again this year.  Posting every day for a month...
Here we go! :)