What have we been doing?

We have been struggling with the 'sickies' around here. I got a horrible sinus infection and then Caroline got this freak virus that had her temperature still rising at 104.1! CRAZY! So for a week, we did nothing but stay in the bed. Once we were all better, life become hectic.

I substitute taught at her preschool for the last 5 days which wore me slap out! I'm not used to chasing 8 2-year olds at the same time! LOL! But, it was fun and Caroline went to school each day which was an adjustment for her in the mornings. She had a great time!

I've been playing lots of tennis as I have made it to the City Finals for one of my singles leagues. Yay! I had the battle of the century last night and now I am hobbling around (yes, thank you wonderful ankle!). But, I am also gearing up for another match this afternoon. CRAZY!

Caroline has rediscovered her love for strawberries this week. Strawberries were on sale for $1.00/lb at Target, so we made several trips to buy her berries. All in all, I bought 14 lbs and I think she could eat them all! I am freezing about half of them so we can make strawberry smoothies and shakes for a bit. It's a GREAT price to stock up, but the sale ends today. Who knows? I may even go back today to get some more (there is a limit). :) She even wanted to take a bag of berries to her friends at school for snack. Of course, we packed them up and she loved sharing with her friends.

Caroline has been LOVING the paints that I bought her. She paints at least twice a day and plays with her new playdough and the tools. She is so creative and can spend hours at the table! I was never really excited about my glass kitchen table until I discovered how easy it was to wipe away the paint! Now, I am loving it!

Here are some pictures of her painting a handprint shamrock. Sorry that the pictures are out of order, but I am having difficulty with downloading my pics. But, you get the point!

Showing off her finished masterpiece!
Placing glue on her handprint to form a shamrock

Painting her handprints green! She LOVES painting!

California Pizza Kitchen Mac & Cheese Recipe

One of our favorite restaurants is California Pizza Kitchen. Caroline is in LOVE with their mac & cheese, so I decided to find a recipe that is similar. I made this recipe last night and I must say, it was almost dead on! We all loved it and it was super easy to make (which is essential around here!).

CPK Mac and Cheese Recipe:

16 oz Rotini Pasta (I used whole wheat)
8 oz Velveeta Cheese
1 1/4 C Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

Cook pasta in boiling water for 10-12 minutes until al dente. Meanwhile, cut velveeta cheese into cubes and add it to the cream and butter in a large sauce pan. Cook on low heat, stirring often. Drain pasta and add to cheese mixture, stirring gently to evenly coat.

General Tso's Chicken Recipe

I want to introduce you to one of my new favorite recipe blogs Kara's Kitchen Creations. I have tried several of her recipes and they are so easy and super yummy!

On Friday afternoon, I decided to give the General Tso's Chicken Recipe a try. It was very flavorful and Caroline LOVED it! Here's the recipe:

1 lb boneless chicken breast (I used tenderloins)
1/3 C flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp oil
1/4 C sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp water
1/4 C soysauce
1/4 C vinegar
1/4 C pineapple juice
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (I used ground ginger)
Red Pepper Flakes (optional to taste)
4 green onions sliced (I omitted these, I let mine ruin)

Cut chicken in 1 inch pieces. Mix together flour and cayenne pepper. Dredge chicken in flour mixture and cook in small amount of oil.
In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Slowly whisk in liquids, ginger, and garlic. Cook and stir over medium heat til thick and bubbly. Add red pepper flakes and green onions. Pour over chicken to coat. Serve with fluffy rice.

As I said, this recipe was yummy! I didn't have time to go to the grocery for fresh ginger and I omitted the green onions and the red pepper flakes (didn't have them). I opted for more cayenne pepper. Also, I would reduce the vinegar by just a bit. It seemed a little too strong, but my taste buds are messed up with a sinus infection right now. So, who knows! :)

My Little Wildcat

Caroline looks like she is 'up to something' in this picture...
Yep, definitely scheming about something!
Big, cheesy grin for you!

My second favorite picture

My favorite picture!

I bought this dress for Caroline in the fall at a Boutique Overstock Sale in Buckhead. Since we live in Georgia, it's hard to find anything that isn't UGA or GTech, so when I stumbled on this dress, I scooped it up! It got pushed to the back of her closet since it's a shortsleeved dress, but I really wanted her to wear it (UK WAS on a winning streak). So, we paired it with a white turtleneck and wore it to school. She's such a girly girl...she wouldn't even paint at school that day because she was wearing her 'smocked dress'! That's my girl!

The Knox Life is coming to an end...

My life of living in the land of Knox is coming to an end very soon. They expire on March 9th, so I headed to Publix to use some. I still have 13 left, and they will be gone probably tomorrow. The unfortunate thing is that this week's sale at Publix is a bummer.

Transaction Details:
12- Knox $1.39 ea (12- $4.00 MQ)= Free+++
1- Publix Bread $1.25 ($2.00 MQ wyb Kraft singles)= Free+
4- Kraft Shredded Cheese $1.66 ea (2- $2/2 MQ and 1-$1.00 Target Q)
1- Kraft Singles $2.00 ea (1- $1.00 Target Q)
1- Quilted Northern $5.99 (1- $1.00 MQ)
2- Pillsbury Savorings $1.90 ea (1- $1.00/2 MQ)
1- Tyson Entree $4.00 (1- $1.00 MQ and $2.00 PQ)
1- Hawaiian Bread 4 pack $.99 (Free wyb Tyson Entree MQ)
1- Purpose Facial Cleanser $5.59 (1- $2.00 MQ)
1- Publix Bacon $3.00
1- Dasani Water $4.99
1- Milk $2.28
1- Half and Half $1.75
1- Heavy Whipping Cream $2.45
1- Vinegar $.85
1- Duke's Light Mayo $1.78
1- Strawberry $1.66
1- Capers $1.49
1- Bell Pepper $2.63
Plum Tomato $1.33

Total: $93.14
Total OOP: $4.72

Craft Day at Lakeshore

Bouncing on a "Bouncy Ball"...she's getting one for her birthday!

She had so much fun with this ball!

This past weekend, Caroline and I went to one of my favorite stores-Lakeshore! I wanted to grab some dot paint dabbers (think Bingo markers) and washable stamp pads for our craft basket. We arrived to find they were celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday with lots of craft activities for the kids. We made a Dr. Seuss hat, Horton Hears a Who ears, Red Fish Blue Fish fish tanks, and a rainbow bookmark. Caroline LOVED Lakeshore and I look forward to taking her back soon.

I'm a Real Mommy now!

On Thursday, I decided that since my housekeeper (Have you seen her? Her name is Bethany....) was MIA, I needed to pick up her slack! I cleaned ALL DAY long. My floors are now so clean that we might just eat off of them!

Anyway, Thursday night when I put Caroline in the bathtub, I decided to go ahead and clean my bathroom. After cleaning the counters, I climbed up and began cleaning the dust off the lights. Caroline was watching all this in amazement and announced, "Mommy, you're turning into a real mommy now!"

Seriously? Where does she get this???