Things here have been moving along. We got a shock about hubby's schedule yesterday so I am trying to adjust to that. I am seriously a creature of habit and must now what is going on to plan. It is very hard for me to change directions quickly. I will get there, it will just take some time.

I am loving the Motivated Moms system. My house has been clean every day for a week. It is amazing. I have always hated cleaning and keeping up on things. Crossing things off the list is very motivating for me. I love to see all the little boxes filled in.

I am hoping to have some crafty stuff done soon. It is hard to find time to get down there with a newborn and two others that need things. I have so many ideas and projects running around in my head that I really want to get to work on. Hopefully things will settle out with the schedule change and I will be able to get back to doing stuff for me.

Surprisingly, things are going very smoothly being a mom of three. It hasn't been as big of an adjustment as I thought. Colton is a pretty laid back baby. He only really cries when he is hungry and overly tired. The other boys are big helper and love their brother. We haven't had too many issues with jealousy yet. I'm sure they will come though.

I am still trying to find some balance with everything. I think that is going to be my biggest challenge this year. Trying to balance kids, Cody's school, me time, housework, time with the husband, and possibly a sport for Cody in the spring. Right now I am just trying to not let the scales tip so far that I fall over.

My week in pictures

From left to right:

Damage from the ice storm, Cody all bundled up for school, Colton stylin thanks to Aunt Sam, the boys playing games, Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta (YUM), trying to catch Colton smiling, and Cody trying to fly

Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Ignore the horrid picture. I took it after we had already ate. I really need to get some photo editing software to make these look better.


From the Taste of Home Busy Family Cookbook


Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta

Ingredients:


8 oz uncooked penne pasta


1 lb ground beef (or you could use ground turkey)


6 bacon slices


1 can undiluted tomato soup


1 cup shredded cheddar cheese





Directions:


Cook pasta according to directions


While pasta is cooking, cook hamburger in skillet. Cook bacon as you usually would.


Drain both and crumble bacon. Set aside until pasta is done.


Drain pasta and return to pan. Add hamburger, bacon, and tomato soup.


Heat through. If it is a little dry add some spaghetti sauce.


Once heated through, add cheese and cover. Cook until cheese is melted.

Project 365 Week 1

I'm not sure if I mentioned on here before that I am trying to do a picture a day for 2009. I thought it would be a good way to document what happened this year. Here is the first week in pictures.

From left to right:
Colton styling in his hat, Cooper being Cooper, scary dudes, my Dolphin fans, Colton at 1 month, Cody being Cody, and our homemade donuts.

My UFO list

One of my "resolutions" for this year is to get caught up on my unfinished projects. I went through my huge bag where I had them all stored and figured out which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I had moved on from. I am hoping to have the majority of them done by the end of June. There are a few bigger projects that will not get done before then, but at least I will have a start.



The list as of now is:

- green and yellow potholders

- patriotic pot holders

- penguin pot holders

- nautical pot holders

- folded ornaments

- Snoopy baby blanket

- Diagonal Paths quilt (long term)

- Cotton Reels quilt (long term)

- Kaleidoscope quilt (long term)

- big embroidery floss holder

- travel embroidery floss holder

- fall tablerunner

Homemade Donuts

We love donuts in this house, but the only kind we can have is Entenmann's because of Cooper's nut allergy. I have wanted to try and make my own for awhile, but just never found the time. Since Cody had a snow day today I figured it was the perfect time. I found this recipe online at http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Delicious-Homemade-Donuts and it is really yummy. Next I want to try and find a baked donut recipe because the frying is unhealthy and time consuming.

4 1/2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 c sugar
2 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 c milk
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together the dry ingredients.

Beat eggs with sugar until light. Add butter, mil, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough is formed. Do not over mix. If dough is too soft to roll, chill it for an hour.

Roll dough out 3/8 inch thick on a floured surface and cut with donut cutters. Fry in 370 degree oil until golden on both sides, turning once.

Remove from oil, hold over hot oil for a few minutes to drain, and then finish draining on absorbent paper. While still warm shake in sugar, sugar- cinnamon mixture, dip in glaze of choice, or dust with powdered sugar. 3 dozen

I made a powdered sugar glaze with 1/3c boiling water, 1 tsp orange extract and 1 c powdered sugar to dunk them in.

2009

Now that 2009 is here it is time to make some goals for the new year. I am not going to do resolutions because they always get broken. One of the message boards I frequent had a post the other day asking you to list where you want to be on December 31, 2009. I like this idea because you can be more vague that resolutions.

By December 31, 2009 I want to:

- be thinner
- be healthier
- be caught up on my crafting projects
- have spent more quality time with my kids
- explored the area more
- taken more pictures
- have less clutter

I am slowly working on getting more organized too. I worked on cleaning out our filing system yesterday. I also purchased the Motivated Moms planner. I tried something similar a few years ago (the Sidetracked Home Executive System) and I hope that will help me keep up on the cleaning and stuff. I really work much better when I have a list to go by.

I hope that your 2008 ended on a good note and your 2009 is happy, healthy, and prosperous.