The Fast Lane

I wish I could say my lack of blogging is due to us living life in the fast lane, but really it is more like a scenic road trip right now. We are just enjoying down time and little events here and there. Besides the occassional trip to a home basketball game, we have been out only for work, daycare, tumbling and dance class. Teagan attending a cheer camp and got to perform at halftime of a girls basketball game. She spent every waking hour until then practicing her jumps and toothless smiles.

She had a blast and did a great job. The girls are always so excited and fun to watch.

I wouldn't leave out Mr. Tate. He has been busy with stuff in general. He enjoys playing his hand-me-down Leapster, watching movies, harassing his sister, and building stuff.

He is also learning to take some great pictures. Here is one of Teagan and I.

Teagan has been rocking her Spelling this year and didn't miss a word until November and that was just a little switch of 2 letters. Anyway - her teacher has been adding extra words just to test them. She does really well, but happened to miss the word "shut". I would argue that her word is also a real word, but not one she was going for :) At least she is using past tense!

Lastly, I need some thoughts from you followers out there. As I have mentioned, we are preparing for a trip to Disney World in March. And while I am super pumped, I also have to think about things like keeping the kids in eyesight and teaching them what to do if we were to get seperated. A co-worker spotted this and gave it to us to use (if we so choose). I have extreme mixed feelings. I have seen kids with these on and thought seriously? You are putting your kid on a leash, but I also imagine the absolute terror I would feel if anything would happen to him. Where is the line? What do you guys think?

It also didn't help that when I put it on he said, "Look, Mom! I am like a puppy!" Whats a mom to do?

Recipe Review

All of you know that I try to plan our meals a couple of weeks in advance or even up to a month. This schedule is always flexible, but at least I know I have the ingredients and could make it another night. Here are some of my favorites from the past 2 weeks.













I have posted about this bubble pizza before, but it is always a hit and easy to make. It comes from Meal Planning Mommies and is a great (a cheap) substitution for ordering out on a Friday night.
http://mealplanningmommies.blogspot.com/2009/01/tuesday-night-bubble-pizza.html

I make this Mediterranena chicken every once in awhile, but everyone likes it when I do. It is simple and has very few ingredients. I skip the lemon zest and it is just fine.
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/mediterranean-style:-chicken-112187.aspx I make extra of this so I have some to use later in the week for other meals. Like this recipe

I made this chicken chimichanga recipe for the first time this week and it turned out really well. Its not Carlos, but about as close as you can get and a lot less expensive. You bake it instead of frying it, so it is a bit healthier. I used the extra chicken from earlier in the week and it made it pretty simple to prepare. Brad's only request was that I pick up Carlos salsa (and maybe con-queso) to put on it. That I can do.
http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/chicken-and-cheese-crescent-chimichangas/387b7ada-7567-4828-94fd-7a3732510b2e/
Anyway - those are some that we enjoy and aren't super time consuming. I also plan one night a week that involves the crockpot. Usually tumbling/volleyball night since we run a lot that night. I make my list for the week every Sunday and get supplies on my way home Monday night. If anyone is interested I can let you know what our menu looked like this month just to get some ideas. The biggest hurdle I struggled with was coming up with recipes, but over time I have stockpiled quite a few and would love to share some if interested. Have a great week!

Getting rid of some guilt

Do you ever read articles in parenting magazines and think, "Really? Do other parents really think that way because there is no way I would have enough patience, time, help, etc....to do that." Or "Are they serious about letting their child do that?" Well, obviously I have these thoughts frequently when reading aricles and posts from parents out there and to be honest sometimes they make me feel about 2 feet tall in terms of parenting. It is a fine line between being a great parent and being a happy, content person. Sometimes the 2 just don't work together and then there are days where life is good.

Anyway, I found an article today about reasons we should NOT feel guilty. And I LOVED it and wanted to share it with you!!! Seriously - laughed out loud, want to have lunch with the woman and probably a couple drinks - Loved it! http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-life/own-your-life/article.aspx?cp-documentid=26729187&gt1=32088

I think I relate to just about every single one and they are true and real thoughts that I think real parents have. If you need a little boost as a mom/parent this article will help justify why we do need a night out or spend a little extra on something for ourselves. We have earned it people! That being said I am off to snuggle in my game-playing kiddos and pray that tonight they both just stay there so momma can have a little quiet time for herself - guilt free of course!

What I Resolve (and not the carpet cleaner!)

This cartoon is so me! I couldn't help but share it!

So I have been thinking about my resolutions for this year and realized that maybe I shouldn't have to think about resolutions. Shouldn't they just come to me? So, here they are. Nothing wordy or earth shattering. Just simple resolutions/goals that I want to keep for myself that I believe will lead me to a little more happiness and a little more health.
#1 - Do something with laundry everyday. Whether it is take it down to the laundryroom, sort it, fold a load, wash a load - something. I am always amazed at how fast it multiplies and how crappy it makes me feel!

#2 - Continue to meal plan. I can't believe what a difference this made in my daily happiness last year! It took awhile to start up, but now takes very little time in terms of how much it saves me. Here is our plan for the entire month of January. Feels good!

#3 - Exercise (maybe). I really don't like to do it. I try to be motivated, but after about 2 weeks I am done. I need to find something that I really like or make a schedule of different activities to mix it up. If anyone has suggestions I would love to hear them. And yes - If you can make me look like Fergie does I would be even happier :)

#4 - Take some time for me without feeling guilty about it. I think this is part of my problem with exercising. I already spend enough time away from my kids that I hate to take any more away, but every momma needs time and here are a couple of ways I plan to spend mine:

These ladies are addicting. I don't think I would ever want to live in Beverly Hills, but if I could hang out with these women I might survive!

Start reading books again. I was doing pretty well until summer, but slacked off this fall. This series is really popular with my students and some co-workers, so it is my starting point.

#5 - The most important of the all. I resolve to have more patience and learn more everyday from these two:

It is easy to get caught up in all the other "stuff" that I think I need to do, but really all I need to work on is doing my best to raise them and teach them what they need to be their own person. I need to learn all the things they can teach me and learn from all the moments, not just the "good" ones. I hope this new year brings all of you everything you wish and work for! Enjoy the moments!

Recaps

The Weekend:
Well, it started with a broken down furnace on New Years Day. So, we got some family bonding in the living room, which was the warmest and of course had the TV and football! We woke up (warm) on Sunday and decided to make it family day. Teagan actually found out that the Iowa women were playing at home, so that was our destination.








The kids really had a good time and were really good. Tate had his eye on Herky the entire time, but wasn't quite ready to do the face-to-face.








Afterwards Teagan wanted to meet the players and get some autographs. If you have a little girl and have the chance to do it, I highly recommend it. These young women were awesome and talked with almost every kid that came through the line. They commented on Teagan's teeth (or lack thereof), her necklace, and just asked how she was and thanked her for coming. Even though they suffered a tough loss, they were amazing! Here she is with the tallest girl on the team - a goal we think Teagan might reach someday!
Christmas Recap:










Teagan got a new outfit from NYC - a gift from her cool Aunt Jill! Lets just say you'll be seeing this on her often!








This was the picture before I had to yank Tate out of the picture - if any of you have a younger brother you know exactly what this moment was like!








Tate got Tag Jr for Christmas and really likes it. He "reads" the books almost every night and I am hoping to find some more to get him ready for school. I don't think we are quite as on top of things as we were with Teagan.










And Ms. Teagan got her American Girl Doll. I am going to try to keep the obsession with accessories to a minimum - I know, good luck.
And the newest addition to the Schaefer/Van Zee clan:











Baby Lauren! She is a doll and got plenty of love over the holiday. We can't wait to watch her grow and join this crew!

Playing Catch-up!

OK, so I have been really horrible about blogging over the holidays, but a small resolution I made to myself was to get back on track. We had an amazing holiday and enjoyed spending time together and with family and friends. The kids got everything on their list, I did some elfing for family members (sidenote - if I could be a personal shopper and make a living doing it I totally would) and we spent a majority of our free time planning our BIG gift for the kids.







Thats right! We are headed to Disney World!! I cannot tell you how excited I am and as the time gets closer I think the kids are "getting it" more. We are headed down with my parents, sister, and my brother's family. 11 in all. We decided to rent a house off property and Brad and I spent many a night researching and getting completely obsessed with all the details. After that was decided we pow-wowed with my family and decided to make it offical. We told the kids on Christmas Eve at my parents by giving them little gifts related to the trip. They all got a calendar to count down the days until with leave.
Now that we have the major details down for the trip I have been spending time on my newest toy:






Yep - I finally got one!! Thanks honey!! I have spent many an hour looking for downloads to help on our trip (and doing some other stuff)!
The kiddos and I did get some things accomplished this week. Most importantly we put away Christmas decorations. They weren't exactly super helpful, but they sure were cute!








I did take a minute to take pics of one of my Christmas crafts. I made an organizer for my sister-in-law. Its not that I think she needs one, I just always wanted to make one and she was my target.
I started with a floating frame I found at JoAnn's at a 60% off sale. I took the glass apart and drew/traces in a blank calendar with black sharpie.








Put the sharpie side "inside" so that it couldn't be wiped off.

I gave her dry erase markers so she can label the month, activities, and other notes on the glass, which is easily wiped off whenever needed.

I finished by putting all 4 of their names in a corner with letter stickers from Dollar Tree. All in all it totalled about $11 and I love the way it turned out. Super simple and easy to personalize. And what mom doesn't love a new way to keep on top of stuff?
Alright - 2011 is really here and it looks to be full of fun, new beginnings (hugs to my expectant girlfriends) and changes. As long as we take it all in stride and keep it in perspective it will all be good!! Happy New Year to all of you and may you have time to enjoy the moments!