Just had to share...

I don't know who came up with this one (I stole it from a friend's FB status update), but I thought I'd share it here. Gave me a little laugh, hope it does the same for you!

P.S. I really am getting the itch to write again, so don't quote me, but I may just be posting a few times this week ;)

"A real man is a woman's best friend. He will never let her down. He will comfort her after a bad day. He will inspire her to do things she never thought she could do. He will enable her to express her deepest emotions. He will enable her to be confident, sexy, seductive and invincible ...No, wait. Sorry. I'm thinking of wine. It's wine that does all that. Never mind."

Time Flies...

yeah so...I haven't blogged in forever, as you can see. Our family has gone through some heavy transition times, new endeavors and of course just the normal family business around these parts.

So, I figured I would write a short entry about what's been going on with us, and then try and get back on schedule with blogging, since things seems to have settled now that we're in the new year.

I now officially have two middle-schoolers, one of which is about to be a bonafide teenager in a couple of weeks! That has been interesting, but nothing like what I dreaded it might be! My boys are even more fun now; we have similar senses of humor and have a great time together. We have even all started writing music together, which has been tons of fun.

The twins are great; my daughter just recently got her first pair of glasses that she pretty much wears all the time now. She's so cute! I thought it would be a pain, but so far so good. Now, maybe ask in a few months and we will see if that holds true. :) Her twin brother is having a great year at school; last year was tough for him and somehow this year he seems to have adjusted a little better. He's always challenging me and keeping me on my toes, but man do we love hard ;)

And the babe - he's now a full-blown toddler, learning new words every day, making his older siblings crack up or saw "eew" whenever he gets the chance, and just my buddy.

So, as is the case with motherhood, we are always adjusting and moving forward onto the next phase each of them goes through.

Anyway, I have a few ideas for entries, so I am going to try and do some updates soon. Thanks for still reading!

Give thanks for your healthy little ones by helping the ones who aren't...

I love that line (or something close to that) that comes form the St. Jude's Children's Hospital commercials.
I know I've been remiss in updating my blog - I've been in the midst of getting my small business up and running, learning from and working for my amazing friend and boss at Landau Design as well as contributing from time to time to their spectacular blog. I knew I'd get back to you guys, but I think my brain has been on computer overload!

This story compelled me to write, though. A woman who I met at the wonderful Co-op preschool my twins went to when he daughter attended as well has been through a very difficult and heart-wrenching journey. Her daughter, Claire, recently celebrated her 13th birthday in the hospital, fighting her Cystic Fibrosis. Claire, as you can see if you follow her Facebook Fan Page, Claire is a spirited and talented girl, beautiful and full of love for her little sister and her mom and dad.
I hope you'll take a moment to check out her site, and consider making a donation to help this family stay afloat during this difficult time. We all need help sometimes and in some capacity, and I hope others would do the same for each of us.
Hold your loved ones tight tonight!

Is It Ok To Cheat? Errr...I mean, Tweet?

Ok so this contest I'm taking part in...I gotta talk about it again. I promise I will get back into my "normal" blog routine, but I have to vent a little here.
So to win this particular contest from www.Karikuy.org, one of the easiest ways to get points is to "Tweet" random facts about Peru, followed by two particular hashtags (#Karikuy & #travel) and the link to their contest (http://ow.ly/YOgN). Cool. Well, I've done a boatload of those, though I was doing it sort of sporadically and apologetically so as not to completely overwhelm my followers (though to some I'm sure it was too much). I gained a #1 position in the rankings of this contest, which was cool and encouraging - especially considering that I'd entered the contest by accident when I was writing for another blog!
Well, today I'm not number one, which is ok. Except...what bothers me about the person in the number one position is that it's abundantly clear that they created this particular Twitter account - today - solely for the purpose of Twittering entries in this contest. My guess is that they have a "real" Twitter account but chose not to use it to Tweet so they didn't risk losing any followers (since in 1/2 a day they posted 242 Tweets).
I mean, the whole point of entries gaining you points in these contests is to help the company giving away the prize by essentially marketing for them! You post their link and info they want out there, and they hope that generates buzz for them from your followers. Cool and smart, right? Well if this person created their Twitter account only for this contest, they had no followers to begin with! Certainly they've gained a few in the days since signing up, but to me it totally defeats the marketing purpose. It's not against the rules, certainly, but my guess is that next year when this contest is run, the people at Karikuy.org will have to think about how to avoid those kinds of entries.
I guess it's a learning and growing community over at Twitter, and certainly I'm learning a lot for the contests I run. Though I'm pretty certain I won't be giving away any big trips to Machu Picchu anytime soon!
Anyway, good luck to all (!), and to all good luck. Or whatever.

How I'd love to win a trip!

I was thinking about how much I need a vacation. It's been awhile. You read about how important it is to take care of yourself as a parent, making time for adult conversation (for sanity), and time with your significant other away from the kids, and sometimes we just need a change of pace to regroup.
Well, in this economy, with a large family such as mine, it's not always clear how something like that can happen. Money that would normaly be set aside for a treat or trip has to be put to better use around the house; there is always someone in need of a new pair of cleats, an appliance that needs repair, or bills to be paid.
Well last week I wrote a blog entry about blog contests and the benefits of running one on your blog. During my search for contests that are currently running, I found this trip they're giving away on www.karikuy.org...to Machu Picchu!
So hey...a girl can dream, right? A trip to one of the most beautiful places in the world, and a free trip to boot!
I guess there are always opportunities out there; sometimes it's about finding them, and sometimes it's about making them!

Seriously The Best Chicken Casserole Of All Time

When my two oldest children were just little things back in the early 2000's, my mom's friend Gretchen gave me this recipe for a chicken casserole that I've been making pretty consistently ever since. I wasn't much for casseroles prior to this; to me they seemed a little old fashioned and matronly (to my 22 year old brain). Well heck, after trying this casserole, I didn't care! Fancy it's not, but even on nights when we have guests for dinner, I know that this meal aims to please, and I'm always asked for the recipe within a week. I've seen variations of this online, but here is the one I've been using for a dacade. (Please note that I double this recipe for my family, #1 because we are a big family, but #2 because everyone wants seconds, and if we're lucky enough to have leftovers, it's great the next day too!)

Chicken Casserole
4 to 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked & diced (I boil them for approx. 20 min., and sometimes I shred them instead of dicing them - it depends on the texture you and your family prefer)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1 roll of Ritz Crackers, crushed
1/4-1/2 cup butter, melted
poppy seeds (optional)

In a large bowl, mix the diced chicken, soup and sour cream until well combined. spread mixture into a 13 x 9 baking dish. Sprinkle the crushed crackers over the top, drizzle melted butter all over. Lightly sprinkle the poppy seed on top. Bake at 350 degree for 30 minutes.

If you like hot sauce, I highly recommend Marie Sharp's Habanero Hot Sauce as a really nice (but spicy) compliment to this dish!

For variation, try replacing the cream of chicken soup with cream of mushroom soup. I've also tried mixing in some steamed broccoli to the casserole, which was yummy, too.

Enjoy!

Help Haiti & Bake Gourmet!

Wondering what you can do to help families in Haiti? Certainly by now, we've all seen the disheartening photos of the destruction and damage from the earthquakes that have rocked Haiti over the past week. It's hard to know exactly what we can do to contribute, and the number of organizations asking for donations can be overwhelming.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, Clemence De Lutz Gossett of Gourmandise Desserts has a very sweet way to help you to contribute to the relief efforts.
Clemence is an exquisite baker whose creations are heavily influenced by her French-American roots and her sweet spirit. Upon hearing about the devastating earthquakes happening in Haiti, Clemence quickly added a Gourmet Cupcake Baking Class to her fantastic lineup of deliciously simple and elegant baking classes, in order to specifically and quickly get help to rebuild the Heartline Orphanage in Haiti.  
A message from Clemence De Lutz Gossett, and Gourmandise Desserts: 


"As relief efforts continue, please consider attending our Cupcake Class Fundraiser to benefit the Heartline organization. $65 for unlimited cupcake baking and a world of good! $800 has been raised thus far with 100% of donations going directly to rebuild a childrens' home."

Gourmet Cupcakes- Haiti Benefit
Date: Tuesday 26, January 2010
Time: 6 to 9pm
Cost: $65
Please visit Clemence's site today to register, and to see a full class description.