Welcome back!

Hello blog, it's been a YEAR!

Geez. My kids are now 3.5 and 21 months, and that's why I haven't posted much, no crafting time :) But now they are getting older and more independent so I'm working on my organizing skills so I can actually have time to crochet. I tend to do a little bit of everything at a time (a little cleaning, a little craft project with the boys etc) and never get to finish of all it....so it feels like a live in disarray. But my husband said he will help out with the housework more, so maybe I can squeeze in some more crafting time, yay! I've got quite a few pattern ideas floating around my head I want to finish, and I've got a billion crochet requests from Ethan.... "Mama will you crochet me a microphone? a light saber? cat? beanie?" etc lol.

I also have been writing, I've completed a picture book written in verse called Laila the Mermaid, and I've sent it out to a few agents, and I've got back 4 rejections so far, but at least I heard something, right? I also have a rough outline of a young adult mermaidish novel.

I DID finally get to update the shop with something! A newborn size bubblegum pink and aqua beanie with a lighsaber applique. I love the colors :)

I've been mainly posting on my fitness blog at:

Getting Fit with Tiff

Recipe Recap

I never have time to just sit and blog. I wish I did, but any moment where I'm not occupied by caring for kids...I either make a mad dash to the shower or do fun stuff like dishes or laundry!

But right now both boys are playing on the floor. Together. I love it. Zach is old enough to crawl around and play with Ethan and it has been so nice! So maybe I can start blogging again.

Here are some dishes I've made recently:

Grilled Honey Lime Chicken: So good! Even Craig loved it...and that's not normally flavors he'd like together. Ethan of course liked it because he likes chicken...and loves fruit.

Garlic Noodles: BEST EVER. I've made these twice this month alone...so good. I usually make them as a side along with a meat....but last night I just ate them for dinner and nothing else. Shhhhh. I omit the green onions (I dont like them) and add in Sriracha hot sauce.

Slow Cooker Creamy Meatballs: I love MommyHatesCooking.com. She has amazing recipes and they are super easy, so I thought we'd love these. Maybe I did something wrong, but they were awful because since they cooked in the slow cooker, there was no where for the fat to drain out into, so they tastes SUPER greasy. We threw them out.

Tilapia with Roasted Corn: YUM. Or YUMO because it's Rachael Ray? I'll stick with yum :P But hey, I learned something...I dont know how to use my broiler! In my old electric ovens I just turned it on and put the rack in the top slot. This gas stove has like a door and all this crazy stuff. So I just baked it in the oven and it was still super good.

Zach is crying, I new this wouldn't last long!

WORST TANTRUM EVER

Ethan had the most awfully epic meltdown/tantrum of his life. It was horrible. We went to the mall today to just walk around and play in the mall play area, and everything was going just fine. We were there about an hour when I saw that the boys were looking tired so we started to head home for a nap. Ethan was actually walking with me pushing the stroller (since the stupid seat belt lock broke on it), and Zach was in the baby carrier.

We get almost to the door, and Ethan RUNS into Sleep Train, which was the last store next to the exit. He starts trying to get away from me, then he just flings himself on the ground. I cant get him up at all. He wouldn't move. Finally I was able to pick him up (while still carrying Zach) and he just goes limp and starts SCREAMING. I have no idea why he's acting this way except maybe for being overtired. So I'm carrying him, Zach and pushing the stroller while Ethan is trying to scratch me up and screaming at the same time. I have no idea how to handle this situation, all I was thinking was GET TO THE CAR. Maybe I should of just stopped at a bench until he calmed? I was just worried he'd bolt into the street.

We finally get to the car, and it manages to get WORSE. I kinda drop him into the backseat of the car so I can go seat belt Zach. Ethan then climbs into the front seat and RUNS out the car door (it was opened because I unlocked it) and just drops to the ground in the middle of the road/parking lot. I still have Zach in the carrier so I'm semi dragging Ethan just to get him out of the road! This whole time there is major screaming going on. I was so worried someone would call security or something. So I get him in the car and shut all the doors, and finally get Zach in his carseat. Then it literally took 5-10 minutes to chase Ethan around in the car to get him in his carseat. Even when he was in his carseat it took several tries to actually buckle it because he'd go limp/squirm. FINALLY we were able to get on the road to head home, and he manages to get his arms out of the carseat straps and starts trying to get out. ARG. So I have to pull over and fix his carseat, all the while he's still screaming.

We made it home, and he took a 3 hour nap. That was insane, he's NEVER acted like that. I hope this isn't how the rest of his twos are going to go :O

I cant wait until I have a 2 year old and a 3 year old.

Menu Plan Monday

Ooooooh how I wish my husband had off today! He only gets Sunday's off, so it would of been nice to have a 2 day weekend together :) Yesterday was fun though, we played outside with the boys for a bit, but it was weird weather! Super cloudy and humid so we ended up playing inside most of the time. We also watched a few episodes of Battlestar Galactica....educational shows, ya know lol.

Today we're mailing out a few packages, heading to the grocery store and doing some cleaning. I usually don't clean on the weekends and WOW. It's amazing how much of a mess 2 year olds can make! Zach ended up staying up so late last night! He went to bed around 7ish-7:30 like normal, but then he woke up at 10pm WIDE AWAKE! Arg. So he didn't go back to sleep until about 11, yet still woke up at 7. Both boys are asleep so I should start cleaning, but I'm just sitting here relaxing with a cup of coffee, planning meals and doing some online shopping for Disneyland.

The menu plan for the week is kinda boring, I let Craig pick it out so it's full of "normal" stuff :P

Monday:

 Steak tacos

Tuesday:

Burgers with homemade buns, grilled corn

Wednesday:
Chili, cornbread

Thursday:
Leftovers

Friday:

 I was going to make Pulled Pork, but I think I'll make pulled chicken instead. We have a lot of chicken in the freezer, so that way I wont have to buy any meat!

Saturday:
Leftovers

Sunday:
Spaghetti and meatballs!

For snacks and lunches, I have these going on:
Roasted Chickpeas
Tacos in a sleeping bag
Corndog Muffins
PB&J Muffins
Pigs in a Blanket

Homemade bread with fried eggs

So here is 2 firsts for me, homemade bread, and fried eggs! Is that weird that I've cooked all kinds of food, yet have never fried an egg?! I made some honey wheat sandwich bread from BudgetBytes last night....and I wanted a slice at breakfast. I was just going to make toast but that sounded so boring, and not filling. That's how I came up with my super unique idea of fried eggs on toast LOL. With some salt, pepper and Frank's Red Hot of course :)

 I didn't really punch the dough down enough, so when I sliced it down the middle, it deflated. Oh well, now I know for next time!

The power was out for a few hours today, so we went and had lunch at McDonald's so Ethan could play on the playground, then we went to the mall for an hour and walked around, and Ethan also got to play at the kids play area there. He sure was tired after that! In fact, I need to go wake him since it's waaaay to late to be napping now :)

Mickey Shirts

I made some Mickey felt appliques then glued them on the shirts, then I hand sewed around the edges to keep them secure. Of course I had to start taking Disney pictures then! I'll get a picture of just the shirts once Zach wakes up, he's still wearing his lol.

I'm also trying to figure out a countdown calender for them, something a 2 year old can understand. Hmmmm....*Googles*

Menu Plan for the week:

Monday:

Breakfast:
Fiber chocolate chip waffles, watermelon.

Lunch:

Mini pizza's on a tortilla, topped with pesto, cheese, bell peppers

Dinner:
"Goop" I need to post the recipe, if you even want to call it that lol. Baked beans + corn + ground beef + worcestershire + salt and pepper + Spicy Mustard + BBQ sauce

Tuesday:
Breakfast:
Cheese toast, strawberries

Lunch:

Corn dog muffins, edamame

Dinner:
Leftovers 

Wednesday:
Breakfast:
Apple pancakes, mixed berries

Lunch:

PB&J, broccoli, yogurt

Dinner:
Lemon pepper chicken, rice pilaf, steamed veggies 

Thursday:
Breakfast:
Fiber chocolate chip waffles, watermelon. 

Lunch:

Tacos in sleeping bag, green beans

Dinner:
Turkey Cheddar Burgers with homemade buns 

Friday:
Breakfast:
 Apple pancakes, yogurt

Lunch:
Cucumber sandwich, strawberries
Dinner: 



Spaghetti with chicken and sun dried tomato pesto

Saturday:
Breakfast:
Fiber chocolate chip waffles, watermelon. (Ethan's favorite breakfast lol)
Lunch:
Whole wheat spaghetti 'os , edamame
Dinner:
Chili and cornbread, or egg salad with homemade honey wheat bread 

Sunday:
Breakfast:
Eggs, biscuits 
Lunch:
Grilled cheese, soup

Dinner: 
Leftovers