What I have in my kitchen, soup.

It was lunchtime. We were hungry. I thought, "oh crap...what am I going to feed us?!" It's right before payday, we didn't do much grocery shopping last payday and now we have random stuff left in the kitchen.... It's cold outside, I MADE SOUP!

I had some:
Celery
Broccoli
Carrots
Potatoes (canned)
Green beans (canned)
Cheddar cheese (slices)
Fire roasted tomatoes (canned)
Salt/pepper
Garlic (powder)
Cream of chicken (1 can)
Chicken broth (can)
Water (add as desired)

Ok... So thinking a bit, I poured the chicken broth into a pot, chopped up the celery and carrots. (they need to cook a bit longer to soften up).....
I brought them to a boil, then added the potatoes, the green beans, the tomatoes, the cream of chicken, added some salt and pepper and garlic, let it all cook up for a bit, added the broccoli... then ripped up my cheese slices and melted them into the soup.
Added some soup to the bowls, and melted a bit more cheese, I was REALLY hesitant to eat this but OH HOLY CRAP.... it is AMAZING!!
Even my son is scarfing it down!! MY VERY PICKY SON!! YAY!
I'm on my second bowl now.
Yum yum!!

I am exhausted.

I'm not sure what's come over me, but I am simply exhausted. I got plenty of sleep, woke up and made breakfast, downed some coffee and still just have no desire to do much of ANYTHING. I'm going to blame the weather. According to my phone app, it is currently 31 degrees outside. (Earlier it said 29, so YAY!?) High of 45, low of 19. Winter is coming to Alaska.
Honestly, I'm pretty excited for the snow. (not the NEGATIVE weather, just the snow). Last year we didn't do much outside, mostly because I wasn't used to it and because my daughter was still too young to enjoy it. My son LOVED it! He begged daily to go play in it. But this year, we're GOING to play outside. It's a must! I was constantly told last winter to get out of the house, go for a walk, go play in the snow, go explore, just GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!
If you stay cooped up in doors during this winter, you're more than likely to get what's known as "Cabin fever". NOT A GOOD THING!! I experienced it last winter-my husband and I were at each other's throats, I cried like daily, I HATED Alaska, my kids were getting stir crazy, it was seriously a horrible experience. This year we are determined to make the most of it. The Santa house, Birchhill, the ice museum and whatever else I can find for us to get into!
Oh and I'd like to make a snowman! (or twenty) I want it to be better than this one.
This was made back in 2007, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Do you see his legs?!?! or her?! I'm not sure. Not the point though-Pretty awesome snowman huh?!


So since it's getting colder, I need to get off my bum and go through the kids' clothes!! I know we need a snowsuit for my daughter. My son's coat from last year still fits, YAY! I got some boots and pants off of Ebay for a total of $10. WHOO HOO!! And I traded my son's old snowboots for a pair for my little girl. Pretty good right?! I thought so! Just need a snowsuit. I also need to get em some leggings and warmer pj's. Maybe some slippers as well. Last year I got some slippers from Old Navy for $4 each! They LOVED em and wore em all the time! And after several wears and washes, both pairs are still in amazing shape. Definitely worth the $8!
GLOVES! HATS! Kids need those too!
Now I'm making myself a shopping list. Haha!!

In other news, have you ever seen Team Umizoomi? They are currently talking about ice cream pizzas. It sounds pretty disguisting, but the show has my kids VERY entertained. (Oh, and the ice cream pizza is a cookie topped with ice cream and then candies, so not that gross.) But this show is a big math show. It's pretty cute really. Found on nick jr in case you're wondering.

I also need to invest in more magic erasers. *sigh* I HATE CRAYONS!!! Ok, so not really... I just hate that my dearest daughter likes to color on walls and on my son's train table and yea. Grrr.

Ugh Ugh Ugh Ugh!!!!!!

NO MORE MELMO!

Today on facebook a friend of mine posted a bunch of different deals and links and savings, (I love her for that!) and in the process of browsing through em, I found THIS.
I seriously spent a good 20 minutes browsing the site, completely oblivious to the disaster my kids were making. DVDs EVERYWHERE! *sigh*

Chance to win $2,000 gift card can be found HERE.


Ugh, so this morning I spend a good chunk of the morning vacuuming and moving furniture to vacuum and yea.... it was clean again, YAY right?! Welp, that's what I thought until I went to make dinner.... and came back in to find this.....



Talk about frustrating.... *sigh*
They are currently in the process of cleaning up the disaster or no more "melmo"

Yup.... they managed to pick up some their dinner dishes and a handful of cheetos before they ran off to play.
Mommy's turn.
Adios bloggers.

Kitchen fears and a free sample.

While cooking dinner last night, I began to wonder if I was the only one..... WAIT.
Peeling potatoes last night, I began to wonder if I was the only one afraid to slice my hand/finger open. I use a knife. "Why?", you may ask.... I am afraid of peelers. I'm afraid that I will somehow manage to peel some chunks of skin off. Haha.
*phew* now that I've shared that.... can I also just add that cheese graters pretty much scare me too?! I just KNOW that one of these days I am going to lose the tips of my fingers and all the cheese that I've just grated.
Am I the only one with these crazy fears?!
My husband will not stick his hand ANYWHERE near the disposal. I'm not sure how, but we always end up with a piece of plastic in there and I'm always the one that reaches in to get it.... NO FEAR! But hand me a peeler and my mind goes insane!! Ha.
Do you have any irrational kitchen fears?!

While typing this up, I keep getting SOOOOOOO distracted by commercials. Ha. Some are just DUMB. This morning I saw a tampon commercial for these. (Also, click for a free sample.)
While browsing for that link, a cute baby climbed in my lap taking over one of my hands, OH NO!! So, blog ends here for today.

Short, sweet and too the point. (a quick ramble)

Need recipe Ideas?!
Go HERE

So today I'm attempting to CLEAN. Ugh. I seriously HATE cleaning. And i've yet to completely unpack. (You should see our bedroom, it's pretty frightening-Clothes EVERYWHERE!).
Also, it is nearly impossible to clean and really do anything while trying to clean up the messes of two toddlers. *phew* They're nutso lately. Little miss is currently going through all the "books" (DVDs) and pulling them out while my son says "NO!!! BAD!" and puts them back!! It's pretty entertaining. Haha.
I need to go sweep and mop. I just vacuumed so YAY ME! I don't know why, but I really dread when it comes time to sweep!! It's not like it's hard, so who knows what my deal is.
What do you dread most when it comes time to clean?

And if I haven't already told you about Swapstyle, you should really go check IT out. My friend, Jenn introduced me to it and I'm addicted!! You swap clothes (and other what nots) with people all over everywhere and you just pay for shipping!! YAY! I've already swapped with three people and am sending out my packages on Saturday! Exciting stuff happening in the Mack house! YAY

also if you tweet.... feel free to follow me.

Hope everyone is having a great morning, evening, night. (Pick whichever is best for where you are)
The End.

Zesty shrimp pasta.

My husband loves shrimp! Me on the other hand, not a big sea food fan. (gag, barf, puke, run away, hold your nose, scream, refuse to touch/prepare/cook/eat it)
Well, Sunday night I made this recipe for Zesty Shrimp Pasta while browsing online for some shrimp recipes for my hubby cuz I love him oh so much. (and he thawed it out in the fridge over night so i'd be forced to cook it or trash it. I'm not going to waste a whole bag of shrimp!)
Anyway, I should have taken pics but it was AMAZING!! ( I picked the shrimp out of mine). We had some friends over to experience it and they said it was DELICIOUS!
I paired it with some rolls and salad.
Oh, so if you choose to try this recipe (which you SHOULD!!), i'd suggest that you chop the onions and peppers. I just cut em into strips without thinking (and the recipe isn't specific) and everyone had to cut em up with forks or shove em in their mouths. (Still delicious, but smaller pieces is recommended).

It was so good that I felt the need to share.

Again, recipe CAN BE FOUND HERE!!

I've been meaning to....

stop in and update you all. Hello my followers, how are you?! Good?! I hope so!!
Like my title says, i've been meaning to blog for a few days now (ok, a few few days) .... my current motivations

A giveaway for a gorgeous necklace!
I'm so excited for Jenn over at A Cup of Jenn! This is her second giveaway and I know she is super excited about it!! Oh and CONGRATS on your 100th post!!

**Side note: GUYS GO HERE!! I am seriously in love with her stuff. I really also want THIS ((can someone tell my hubs please?!?))
Oh and THIS
Ok, THIS ONE might be the winner!! (I really need to quite, but this is some seriously GORGEOUS stuff))

Ok, so my other "motivation" for blogging today: Hubs isn't coming home til late. :/
I made my first pot roast today, it is DELICIOUS!! And he's missing it. I knew he'd be home late but come to find out, it's like midnight late and not like 6-7pm late. *sigh*
I'm sure it'll still be delicious when he gets to finally taste it.

In other news, birthday parties are STRESSFUL!! And exhausting!! But well worth it!! Look how handsome my baby is!! And so happy!!




Here is a photo of me and my princess (she was miserable!! Fever, slept all day... poor thing)



And one more of my handsome man trying SO hard to gather up all the balloons.




Oh ummmm.... hmmmm. Quick update in the Mack house:
*We are all moved in (on base, FINALLY....HOORAY!)
*I am DYING to get a good desk and shelf so I can get back to crafting.
*I made my kids homemade play dough today-I should have read more carefully MADE FOR A CLASSROOM-haha!! I have enough play dough to last us.... well probably a few days with my kids, but still.

There was something else I was going to post about, but I've completely forgotten.... so until next time.
<3





Oh!! I remembered!! If you're looking for some new recipes, check out THIS BLOG!

My baby turns three.

If you wish to skip this post, I understand. It is simply full of recent photos of my little toddler (quickly leaving the "toddler" stage) He's such a big boy!! Yesterday was his 3rd birthday (party Saturday, i'll post some pictures for you)
Where in the world does time go?! It seriously seems like I JUST HAD HIM!! I know everyone says that, but my goodness it is SO true! So yea, here are some pictures of my "big boy" in all his cuteness. Enjoy :)