If you REALLY knew me...

You would know that I put Heinz Ketchup on almost anything. Some things that gross the hubs out? Potato chips, mac n cheese, and green beans to name a few. I don't put it on pizza though- that's just weird.

You would know I love all things Wizard of Oz. I even have collectibles in my classroom and a special mug that I drink my caffeine from that says 'Dont make me get the flying monkeys" Yeah, I'm five. Its cool.

You would know that I would have 10 kids if I could a) afford to give them the life I think they deserve b) didn't have to get pregnant 11 times because, well, that sucked and c) if I had a live in maid/nanny so I could get stuff done.

You would know that due to my first job as a general slave in the K Cafe at Kmart I can not STAND to see a sink full of dirty dishes or crumbs on a table.

You would know that I started playing the violin in 3rd grade, and stopped on the last day of my senior year. I played every day for 10 years, and haven't played for nearly 10- but I can still name pieces and pick the violin out of almost any song. 

You would know that I have a deep seeded hatred for the dentist. I need bribed with presents to go, and I'm an adult. The only dentist I like is my friend Christine- because shes only in dental school and not completely evil yet.

You would know that every day when I walk into work, or wake up in the summer, I have to have a can of Coca Cola. I can feel the caffeine suck into my cheeks, and it makes me happy.

You would know that I over-think and over-worry about everything. I can drive myself crazy worrying, so I'm sure the teenage years are just going to be WONDERFUL over here. I may need to be sedated when Grayson learns to drive.

You would know that my husband was the very first person I met at college- in fact I almost ran him over. We started talking and clicked- we were instant best friends and close for about 1 1/2 years before we started dating. Meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me, even if he drives me bonkers sometimes.

...so what would I know if I really knew YOU?

Wordless Wednesday

One happy kid.

Whats for Dinner Tonight? Crock Pot Mexican Chicken

This is one of my all time go-to meals, its seriously that good and completely customizable. It tastes exactly like chicken you get at good Mexican restaurants, and since its done in the crock pot it makes your whole house smell yummy too!

I found the original recipe over at Dinner With the Bickfords - but I have modified it to suit the picky, picky hubs.

Ingredients:

1 pound chicken breast

2 Tbsp of taco seasoning

1 clove garlic

1 jar Salsa (I use either Mild or Medium, whatever I have on hand)

1 small can corn

White or Brown Rice

Shredded cheddar cheese

(You can also add onions, red or green peppers, jalapenos, beans- whatever you would like)

First- line the crock pot with a Slow Cooker Liner. Seriously, the best thing ever because there is virtually no clean up after dinner. They always have coupons for them online, and I get a pack of 3 for around $2. Well worth me not having to scrub the crock pot out.

Next, cut the chicken into bite sized chunks. To make quick work of this, I just hold the breast up and use a pair of kitchen scissors to snip pieces off. It goes much quicker than if I were to use a knife, and since I'm usually throwing this in the crock pot at 5 am its much safer for the digits.

To the chicken add the jar of salsa, can of corn, and taco seasoning. Using a grater (or you can mince it if you prefer) grate in the garlic so you don't have big garlic chunks. Stir to combine.

Set the crock pot on high for 4 hours or low for 6 and you're all set.

Once you come home, stir up the chicken- it should be fall apart tender.  Make your rice, we use minute rice cause we're lazy like that. Plate up a scoop of rice and top with the chicken mix, then add some shredded cheddar cheese to the top. There you have it, instant happy tummy.

Enjoy!

Monday Randoms

Hello, Lovelies!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend- the weather was pretty great here. Meaning I could brush my teeth without breaking a sweat, and when I went outside my hair didn't go to instant q-tip because of the humidity. Love it!

This weekend I finally decided to jump full fledged into social media and joined Twitter. I'm learning how to use it, and so far its pretty fun! So do me a big favor and click the little Follow Me on Twitter button to the right here, so I'm not that girl who follows 1000 people but no one follows me.  You can find me @InThisCrzyLife and I promise I'll love you forever and ever.

So this weekend the hubs worked literally all weekend. He hasn't seen Grayson awake since Friday afternoon- its been crazy hard on both of them.  I spent hours hearing the little guy go "Dada? Dada? Dada, Momma, Dada? DAAAADDDDDAAA!!"  I took a video and sent it to hubs, who then came home at 10 PM and stood at Graysons crib for like 20 minutes secretly hoping he would wake up so they could play or snuggle.  I could just melt when I see those two together- but I told him that if he woke that baby I would rip his face off. Momma was tiiirred.

I tried to take the pictures for Grayson's birthday invitation this weekend as well- epic.fail. Taking pictures of this kid is seriously a two person job, otherwise you get this.

Uh, its my party and Ill pout if I want to? 

Im still taking questions either in the comments or by email for my Ask Me Anything Post- Ive gotten quite a few good ones and I promise Ill answer them all :)

Happy Monday!



Linking Up with The Sunday Social

Happy Sunday Funday, Lovelies!!

Today I decided that I was going to link up with Neely over at A Complete Waste of Makeup for her Sunday Social.  Its a great way to get to know other blogger friends, and to answer some really fun and interesting questions!

So here goes nothing!

1. What is your dream job?

The one I have- I love my job and can't imagine doing anything else. I love life inside my classroom, but I also love the fact that I'm home nights, weekends and summers with my little guy. 

2. If you just won the lottery and didn't need to work for money, what would you do with your time?

Travel. Everywhere.  I have a loooog list of places I would love to go. Then, this girl would move to a house with a driveway where my neighbors are not 4 feet from my house... #citygirlproblems...then renovate it till my heart was content or the hubs threatened to leave me.  I would also probably think about jumping on the baby #2 band wagon a lot sooner- because I wouldn't have to plan to have him or her in the summer.  And since I don't have to worry about daycare, I might even go crazy and have a third kiddo.

3.  When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

In elementary school I wanted to be a teacher and a mommy, but dropped the mommy idea in middle school once I saw the video on where babies come from.  In high school I said I was going to be a doctor then quickly realized I hated blood and needles- so I switched to pharmacy for college.  Turns out I hated that, and ended up a teacher and a mommy. Ha, go figure.

4. What piece of career advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?

Don't ever let them see you sweat- as long as you appear in control and never let them see you shake, you'll be just fine.  Love what you do and never let anyone tell you otherwise, never stop learning and trying new things for your kids.  And sometimes, you just have to stop and laugh.

5. Biggest pet peeves either in life or blogging or at work:

Rude and mean people, people who zoom up behind you and ride on your butt while driving, people who chew with their mouth open, people who copy your blog post word for word and then act like you're crazy for getting mad, entitled people (esp teenagers), and people telling me that I don't work hard or that they could do my job in a heart beat (If you feel this way, please come try...Ill even be nice and point out the challenges for you as I sit in the back and watch you crash and burn.)

6. Biggest Fears:

Something happening to Grayson or the hubs, blood, needles, bugs, snakes, heights, thunderstorms and Im not too thrilled with the dark. Yep- big ole chicken right here.

Linking up with

A Summer Staple- Homemade Pickles

A few years ago my grandma gave me a crap ton of baby cucumbers- her garden was over run and she was giving them away like parting gifts. Not knowing what to do, I did a quick google and got the idea that I was going to make pickles. 

Now, let me preface this by saying I do not like pickles, at all. I don't eat them, and I think they smell weird. The hubs (who at the time was just the boyfriend) liked them and ate them with almost everything, so I figured I would do something nice.  I ended up making 6 jars of pickles, and gave two jars to my stepdad- who ate them in one week. Ever since then Ive been making pickles all summer long.  They're insanely easy, and from what I hear, delish, so enjoy!

1. Slice up a pound of pickling cucumbers and place them into a large bowl. If you have a mandolin this goes a lot quicker and you get the same size chips. As you fill up the bowl, place a few sprigs of fresh dill in between the layers. You can also chop the dill if you prefer, but I just toss it in whole.

2. Into a saucepan on the stove pour about 3 cups of white vinegar into the pan and turn it onto medium heat. Add in 1 1/2 cups of sugar and stir. Crack open 6-8 garlic cloves and add to the pan. Also add a pinch of red pepper flakes, a teaspoon of salt, and 5-6 bay leaves. Continue to stir until all of the sugar is dissolved.

3. While still warm, pour into the bowl of pickle chips and dill leaves.

4. Cover tightly with tin foil and place in fridge, stirring every 1-2 days.

The pickles usually take anywhere from 3-4 weeks to go from tasting like vinegar to actual pickles, but they can be eaten after a few hours.

You can also place the chips and dill into mason jars and fill with the vinegar mix, just make sure the liquid is above the level of the chips and shake every few days to mix up.

Enjoy!

Going out on a limb...ask me anything!

I had some rare free time and saw this while blog stalking one of my faves In The Fun Lane and thought it sounded like fun.  I get questions in my email all the time, but this is obviously much more open.  So do you have a burning question, wonder about something or, if you're like me, just plain want to be nosy? Leave a comment below with your questions and I will answer as many as possible in a blog post. Holly intends on doing a vlog- but the thought of being on camera kind of freaks me out, so Im going at this the old fashioned way.  I like the idea that we can have a bloggy conversation, rather than me yakking at you the whole time. So let me know, anything goes.  I promise Ill answer everything within reason :)

So come on, ask a question, you know you want to!

Oh, and why did I randomly have some free time to blog?

Because today the dog is the babysitter.

We love our Kaos. Although if I would have posted the picture of him grabbing her by the ears and shaking her head vigorously at the sight of Super Why you may choose to not believe me.

Such a good dog- I promised her an extra treat in her food bowl for this one.