i hope i give them something good.

Posted on March 6, 2012 by mommyinthemidwest

I’m linking up with Mama G over at Growing Up Geeky for this week’s Toddle Along Tuesday.

The topic is traits that you hope you pass along to your child (or hope that they don’t inherit from you).

It’s so tempting to spill out a big list of things I don’t like about myself, things I think I do wrong, or inadequacies I see in myself. When I was throwing ideas around for this post in my mind, those were the things that I thought of first.

With that being said, I hope my boys don’t inherit my self-doubt. I hope they aren’t too critical of themselves.

I hope my boys inherit my laid-back personailty. Since having kids, I have become a much more anxious person. But in general, I don’t worry too much about things I can’t control. Marrying into a family of worry warts, I realize what a blessing that is.

I hope they inherit my dream and mission of tolerance and acceptance. Gay couples, multiracial families, people with developmental disabilities…I don’t want my kids to stare or have a single negative thought about people that so often get stereotyped and discriminated against.

I used to worry before I had kids that they wouldn’t be cute, because honestly? R and I are both pretty much chin-less. I thought maybe their lips would just be somewhere in the middle of their necks. So I hope as they get older, they each grow a better chin than I did. I love that Dexter inherited my blue eyes and that Theo inherited his dad’s brown eyes. I hope they inherit their dad’s athleticism and willingness to try new sports, games, activities, etc., regardless of whether it makes them look like a fool. I’m not too good at that.

I hope they inherit both me and their daddy’s common sense. We are both down to earth, logical people. Despite our little Dexter suprise, we’re planners. We like to know what’s going to happen. I hope they are able to be responsible, but adventurous and spontaneous at the same time somehow. Is that possible?

What do you hope your kids inherit from you?

~C~

comfort food: 1984 style

Posted on March 5, 2012 by mommyinthemidwest

I’m always looking for recipes that make my life easier and make dinner taste better. I hate that so many of our dinners come from boxes and I don’t have control over the ingredients in what my kids are eating. Time is such an issue for us on the weeknights that I end up throwing something together last second. I need to take the time to plan ahead and shop accordingly.

Anyway, I’ve always been an “I only like my mom’s (and mother-in-law’s) meatloaf” kind of girl. I don’t order it in restaurants because it always sounds funky in the description. I’ve been buying the Stouffer’s frozen one for a couple of years, but it’s not my mama’s meatloaf. I tried making a meatloaf a few weeks ago…blech.

Somehow I came across the recipe I’m about to share with you a while ago and have been meaning to try it. It won a contest, so it has to be decent, right? And it’s a crock pot meal – which means it saves you time and effort. Right?

Is it just me, or does “crock pot meatloaf” give off a 1984 vibe? Yeah, thought so too.

I used 12 ounces of ground pork sausage and 1 pound of 85% lean ground beef.

Then you’ll need 2 beaten eggs, 3/4 cup milk (I used 1%), 2/3 cup bread crumbs (I used plain), 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of ground sage, and 2 tablespoons of grated onion (I left this out, as I hate them with a passion).

Combine everything above in a bowl.

I like to mix it up the old fashioned way. Sometimes hands work better than spoons. P.S. Don’t forget to take off your rings, if you wear them. Otherwise…ewwww.

Toss that big ol’ loaf in your crock pot, throw the lid on, and set that sucker on low heat.

It probably helps if your crock pot actually IS from 1984, like the one pictured here.

Go live your life for 5 or 6 hours. It helps to pass the time if you can find a couple of mess making, yet adorable, little boys to trash your entire home in the time it took you to get that loaf in the pot.

I let mine cook for 5 1/2 hours before starting the sauce. It’s just 1/4 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of dry mustard, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Mix it up and spread over the meatloaf. Turn the slow cooker up to high and set the timer for 15 minutes.

Here’s how I served it up:

Y’all. It may not be the prettiest (it’s always hard to get that first piece of meatloaf out of the middle, huh?) but it was deeee-lishus. My hunt for the perfect meatloaf ends here. It was very moist and full of flavor. The meat itself was tender and savory while the sauce was sweet and had a little kick. Not spicy, but packed with flavor. I loved it – and so did everyone else at the table, as evidenced by their requests for seconds.

I’ll be making it again. And again. YUM-O. Here’s the link to the recipe I followed (but my pictures are better).

Let me know if you try it and what you thought!

happy eating,

~C~

proud mother of an oompa loompa.

Posted on March 1, 2012 by mommyinthemidwest

I noticed it in pictures starting a month or so ago. It varies in severity from day to day.

my nose matches my fire chief hat.

There have been times I have tried to wipe it off after we finish eating.

my nose is even orange when i push my train.

A friend told me that the same thing happened to her nephew because he ate a lot of carrots.

my nose is orange morning, noon, and night.

Huh? I finally googled it. It’s a real thing. Foods rich in beta-Carotene include sweet potatoes, carrots, mangoes, canteloupes, and carrots. Notice a theme?

{source}

I looked at the variety of baby food meals (meat and veggie combos) that we have for Dexter and noticed that they are pretty much all some hue of orange. I looked on a few mommy forums and saw that tons of moms with 8-10 month old babies were experiencing the same thing. Some were worried – some stopped feeding their kid orange foods altogether. What the what!?