Week Three - Breakfast

My husband has been complaining to me that we don't have enough quick easy breakfast meals in the house on workdays.  He made a pretty good point, this past week we were running late to work and school.  So I had seen a friend from work eating what she called her "overnight oats".  I thought it sounded good, simple, and quick.

Later that night, I went shopping in my cabinets to see what all I could pull together without needed to actually head to the grocery store.  Because lets face it.  Who really likes shopping at the grocery store?  I personally go late in the evenings, so that I can get in and get out quickly. However, this isn't always easy when you have a sick husband and probably leaving kids alone with him would probably get us on the news.  Headline would read "Two kids wondering the streets at night, while sick parent sleeps", or "Mother leaves kids alone with a delirious man".  Yep, that would be my life.  And sorry, but there is NO WAY in HELL I'm taking my kids to the grocery store in the evenings.  They are tired from school, they are trying to fight with each other, and they are bored.  Nope this mom likes her partial sanity, thank you. 

So to get back on topic, overnight oats SAVED our mornings.  You thought I was going to say "marriage", huh???  :-)  Marriage is fine, mornings SUCK!

I made three different kinds from what I could find in the house, because well... I had the stuff and I mine as well go all out. 

Overnight Oats Recipes

Chocolate Cherry Oats
1/2 cup steal oats
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup soy milk (I would have used almond milk, but my husband recently found out that he can't have nuts)
1 tsp flax seed (ground)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp chocolate chips
2 Tbsp dried cherries

Mix the yogurt, milk, flax seed,vanilla, and steal oats together.  Stir in the chocolate chips and cherries.  Put in fridge overnight (in a mason jar) and eat the next morning.  These can last up to 3-4 days (depending on the ingredients).

Banana Chocolate Chip Oats
1/2 cup steal oats
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup soy milk (I would have used almond milk, but my husband recently found out that he can't have nuts)
1 tsp flax seed (ground)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp chocolate chips
1 banana

Mix the yogurt, milk, flax seed,vanilla, and steal oats together.  Mash up banana first, and then stir in the chocolate chips and banana.  Put in fridge overnight (in a mason jar) and eat the next morning.  These can last up to 3-4 days (depending on the ingredients).  

Cinnamon and Brown Sugar Oats
1/2 cup steal oats
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup soy milk (I would have used almond milk, but my husband recently found out that he can't have nuts)
1 tsp flax seed (ground)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cinnamon

Mix together all ingredients.  Put in fridge overnight (in a mason jar) and eat the next morning.  These can last up to 3-4 days (depending on the ingredients). 

 Next time, I'm going to use smaller mason jars, because each one of these made enough for two meals.

Week Two - Dessert

This week I decided to make something delicious for the family to enjoy.  We made Strawberries Cheesecake.  It was probably the most simple thing I have made which is saying something, because I usually only make easy things (HA!! if anything at all) Working full time and going to school full time can take a toll on the amount of time any parent has to devote to their families.  The challenge in doing this kind of stuff is why I wanted to push myself this year.  So far, I have had some pretty satisfied kiddos, and I think my hubby liked them too....

My daughter wanted to help me make the Strawberries Cheesecake.  I have a wonderful strawberry stem remover (because its sharp, she didn't get to use), that makes preparing strawberries quick and easy.  One lesson I learned while preparing strawberries is to make sure that they are firm.  I had not purchased strawberries in a couple of months due to them being out of season and usually they are a bit more pricey.  Well I gave in to the price and purchased some out of season.  My lesson for you all is, out of season strawberries are NOT firm.  Preparing them is like playing with jell-o.  Almost all of them mushed up in my hands... GROSS.  So out of my two pounds of strawberries, I only had a pound that survive the stem being removed.

To make these fabulous little treats, all you need is the following:

Strawberries Cheesecake
2 pounds of strawberries (washed and stems removed)
8 oz of plain cream cheese (I used whipped)
1/4 C of powered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla
2 graham cracker cookies

In a bowl mix together the cream cheese, powered sugar, and vanilla.  In a ziplock bag, put the graham crackers in, close bag and roll glass over until cookies crumble.  Take the strawberries and fill the tops with the cream cheese mixture.  Sprinkle the graham crackers over the top of the strawberries.

EAT and REPEAT........ YUM!
 

 After making these, I have found that I need to get crafty again and make something that will hold these babies upright without them falling over. I was getting the filling all over me because the little buggers kept knocking themselves over. 

Week One - Craft

Coming up with a craft project is harder than it looks.  I had a thought that trying to replicate one, would at least help me get my feet wet in the crafting world.  

I have been a full time professional since I was 18 years old (going to school full time, and raising two high spirited kids, along with a husband I couldn't live without), this will be my first time at the age of 32 as a housewife.  My husband and I have been married for 10 years (11 years this April), and together for almost 20 years.  We have a son that is 7 years old and a daughter that is 5 years old.  I always wanted to be a stay at home mom, but couldn't make it financially work for our family.  Now I have no choice with my current employer letting my entire department go at the end of January, I'm jumping in and going to give this a try.  For once I will be able get my own homework done before my kids come home from school (no more 2:00 am study nights).  I will be able to volunteer in my kids classrooms, and focus more on their homework after they get out of school.  No more rushing to get their homework done so that I can get dinner going, kids fed and in bed on time, so I can start my own homework.  Oh to go to be with my husband at a normal time of night would be LOVELY. 

So, I decided to try creating more in my new found free time and trying my best at being a "Homemade" mom.  I hope to look back on this and laugh, but right now I'm scared to death that I'm going to super glue myself to something and have to wait until my husband gets home to rescue me.  This should be interesting....

For week one, the very first thing I learned on this very simple craft is "glue gun" will be my friend and life saver.  My next big purchase will hopefully allow me to have much easier crafting success the rest of the year. Not only does tape not stick to the things you want it to stick to (including itself), it collects all the friggin' dog hair that I thought was vacuumed up.  My allergy doc would be very disappointed in my house keeping right now.

I decided to go with a simple fun craft that will help the whole family remember all the good times we will have in 2014, called "Best of...2014".  This year will come with many challenges that we will have to overcome so at the end of 2014, we can at least look back and say, "yep we survived it and had a few laughs in the process." 

Pretty much all this project/craft requires is a mason jar, some card stock (I used a recycled Christmas card), and some fun permanent markers colors.  Oh, and glue gun.  If you don't have one, some wrapping tape would work (I used tape, but will not use tape again in the future - only my kids seem to be good with tape).

Here is what my "Best of... 2014" jar looks like. 

This is where I got the original idea from: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/b1/30/1b/b1301b6db02137a7b1087d22b6493e04.jpg