The Weekend

Happy Monday! I wasn't too thrilled about waking up this morning, considering it was raining and getting out of the house with 2 toddlers in the rain is not fun. However, by the time we were ready to leave to take Gus to school, the rain had gone away...Thank GOD!!! 

We had a nice relaxing weekend! Friday, Gus had his first field trip! I chaperoned, of course!

 How could I let my two and 1/2 year old go on a field trip on his own. It seemed like it would be a long morning for him! We went down to the children's museum...the highlight of this was getting on a big yellow school bus! He could not stop squirming with excitement when we got on! It was the cutest thing ever! I thought it was much less exciting considering the big yellow school bus had no air conditioning and the 100 degree heat in Miami is pretty much unbearable these days! 

But it was lovely to see him experience his first field trip!

Friday when the hubs got home, I let him take over and was able to get away and get my eyebrows touched up a bit. They were in desperate need of some love. That was my moment of sanity for the weekend. 

We ended up having an unexpected guest with us this weekend...my husband's cousin was passing through Miami so tagged along on our family weekend. 

Saturday we ran some errands and headed towards the beach. It is September but the temps ehre wont be getting much cooler anytime soon, if at all, so might as well make the most of it. WE have come to realize that it's the best family activity. the kids LOVE it. we have a good time and there is very little they can get into that they shouldn't. so its a win win situation. PLUS it wears them out much more than anything else so they normally pass out on the way home, for the night. 

It is September and last week I really didn't touch on it but its my BIRTHDAY month!! I will be a quarter of a century old. I am so excited that I am going to be able to spend it with my whole family this year in Atlanta. We will be roadtriping again with the kiddos. We have some pretty exciting plans! 

I think the most excited thing i'm excited about is possibly some cooler temperatures! Again, this heat is unbearable. We are taking the kids to a REAL pumpkin patch. Here all of the pumpkin patches don't have hayrides, or corn mazes and its much too hot to even be outside. I think they are both going to really enjoy the hayrides!

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun?

Easy Lasagna Bake

Happy Thursday!! We are one day closer to the weekend!! This week has flown by! 

Weekday nights are a bit hectic around here, now that Gus is starting to go to school five days a week. I really love to cook but I normally don't have time to make a fabulously delicious meal with the toddlers running around here before Gus gets home from work. That being said I turn to "easy" and quick meals pretty regularly. I am sharing the recipe to, what has become, my favorite "go to" meal ....

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef

1 box of Mueller's "Oven Ready" Lasagna (Best thing ever invented)

1 Bottle of Barilla Traditional Pasta Sauce

16 oz. of Ricotta Cheese (Half of a tall container)

Extra Italian Blend shredded cheese 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Season ground beef with a little salt and pepper. Cook the ground beef in a medium sized sauce pan over medium-high heat. When cooked, pour the whole bottle of pasta sauce in the pan and bring to simmer--just for a couple minutes. 

Spray your 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Spread a layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan then place 3 pieces of the lasagna on top of it. Spread a layer of ricotta cheese on top of the pasta. Repeat. 

When you have filled your pan all the way to the top sprinkle some shredded cheese and cover with aluminum foil. I always spray the side of the aluminum foil that is going to touch the lasagna with cooking spray, so it doesnt stick. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hr. 

This is the easiest lasagna recipe ever and the kids LOVE it and so does the hubs! So its a win win situation! 

Feel free to email me if you have any questions! 

Thoughts on Parenthood

We had a great long weekend~ It was a little crazy, I will have to admit! We had two 30th birthday parties. One Saturday and one Sunday and pretty much the rest of the weekend was spent at the beach! We hadnt gone down to the beach in awhile so it was really nice! Whenever we are there it feels like we kind of disconnect from our everyday routine! The kiddos had a blast! 

Last week, Gus's preschool had a back to school night for all of parents. It was a night to sort of get familiar with the other parents in your child's class and for the teachers to explain to the parents what her expectations were for the children as well as the parents. They introduced all of the staff etc... and so forth! It was nice because at Open House, when you meet your child's teacher, since the children are there it's sort of hard to really get to talk to the teachers!

All of the teachers had packets for the parents with the class schedule, curriculum topics, classroom rules, basically everything we went over. In between all of those papers, there was a handout with this write up...

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to criticize.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

if a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive.

If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for himself.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with jealousy, he learns what envy is.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with recognition, he learns to set goals.

If a child lives with sharing, he learns about generosity.

If a child lives with sharing, he learns about generosity.

If a child lives with honesty and fairness, he learns what truths and justice are.

If a child lives with friendliness, he learns that the world is a nice place in which we live.

If you live with serenity, your child will lie with piece of mind.

I loved this.

 I really didn't take it literally, but I did get a general message out of it. Children become who they are by example. By what they are around. By what they see. For, the most part. 

Parents are a child's first teachers. I am firm believer of that. And sometimes, we get caught up with everyday life and act on instinct or we have a sudden reaction and we sort of forget that we have little people watching our every move. 

I catch myself doing little things sometimes that I am like whoops, I wasn't supposed to do that. Little things like manners, or speaking in a certain tone of voice. or being lazy and not putting something back where it belongs.  We are all human and make mistakes.

This little write up was a great reminder for me as a mother to treat people, how I want to be treated or how I want my child to treat his peers at school. With respect, with honesty, with love. 

This got to me right at a perfect time, at the beginning of the school year. I am starting off the school year with a clean slate, as a parent. There is always room for improvement, right?!?!