Easy Peasy Spaghetti

Once again, I have an easy dinner without many ingredients. I believe in a, "no hassle" approach to dinner, as I see myself as an uncomplicated guy.

And.

This spaghetti, takes only 15-20mins from start to plate.

I am in no way endorsing any products, nor receiving monetary gain(although, I would not be opposed to doing so).

Ingredients.

Bring water to a boil. Also, add some EVOO and sea salt to it. You don't have to add much of either.

Brown hamburger while water boils. Always cook meat thoroughly!

Add tomato sauce. I use a can and a half, but it all depends on how you like your meat to sauce ratio. Play with it and comment letting others know what you have done differently.

Once water comes to a boil, add noodles. I use thin spaghetti and serving size is posted below. Follow directions for cooking time if you wish. I like mine "al dente", but more than likely you will have to add 2-3mins like I do.

I have and always will rinse my noodles! They used to have this step on boxes years ago, but have since discontinued that practice. Just rinse enough to hit all noodles..... you don't need to drown them because you have already done this in previous steps.

Finished product.

Add parmesan if you like.

Ingredients:
3/4lbs hamburger
1 1/2-2 cans(medium) tomato sauce
1 package zesty spaghetti seasoning
1 tsp evoo
2 pinches sea salt
1/2 lb thin spaghetti noodles
Servings:
4-6 people
Cook time:
15-20 minutes


Additional ideas. I add dill weed to the top of my spaghetti. Some use parmesan and snub there nose at me(I am okay with that). If you use parmesan, please do me a favor and get some good stuff. One, could also use chunky tomato sauce if they wish(I am a picky eater). 


Enjoy and feel free to leave comments. 

Published

A week ago, a blogger my wife and I(secretly) follow had requested people for a special project she was undertaking. The blogger, bethanne or how I more commonly know her, Heir to Blair. The subject, simply  send in pictures of an ordinary room you are proud of. A room, that did not cost much to decorate and was more ordinary than, lets say, JLo's blinged out baby room. Beth, wanted to show "real" children inspired rooms. Not the kind that involve hiring decorators at $1k an hour. Not the kind of room that got whipped together in a week, so that it may grace the cover of a magazine. No, she wanted the average room. The kind of room an average parent was proud of.

After careful inspection of what Beth was looking for, I jumped on the opportunity to show our beautifully inspired children's bedroom. A bedroom, I hand painted myself and was boyish, but still a little more grownup. The boys bedroom, alien inspired, came from the fact that we had space themed bedding for both Derek and Parker. I expanded on that idea, by bringing in UFO's...... cause what boy doesn't like aliens? I wanted to save money, by painting all aspects of the room myself. I was against stickers and wall decals. Grabbing the paint brush, I went head first into a room that would take several days to finish. I painted in a style, that was purposefully, a little less than professional, as I wanted it took look like a child may have helped paint. I added rockets, stars, the moon, and of course, UFO's.

Here is the direct link to my mention on Beth's blog.

Before

After

After(cleaning up the mess)

I would like to thank Beth, for giving me the opportunity to be on her blog. I love both of her blogs(mentioned above) and would ask that you visit them too. One, encompasses more of everything in life, while the other, revolves around the subject of children specifically.

Upon Further Inspection

I have definitely had my fair share of children's bathroom behavior, or lack there of lately.

Today is no exception!

Both children slept in today(sleeping in is 8:30), which has been a rare feat, since we have all been sick the past week. I checked on both earlier, as I had heard Parker talking to himself, but he must have talked himself back to sleep. Neither was awake, so I thought to myself, AWESOME. As with Rumpelstiltskin, on Once Upon A Time however, a good thing is often followed up by a bad and more substantial negative reaction. This was the case. 

Upon entering Derek and Parker's  room, I was blown back into the hallway by the pungent odor of poop. As if, I had stepped into a brick wall. My head began to ache and I felt nauseous to my stomach. I was familiar with this odor, as I had smelt this radioactive smell a few times before. Immediately, I went to get Derek, as he looked up at me with a sorta grin/sad face. Then, I saw it. His pants were brown front to back, his sheets wet, and the smell was retched. I carefully clasped my hands around his body the best I could, without getting it all over and without hurting the poor little guy. Laying him down on the changing table, I could see there would be no easy way around getting his clothes off without getting it all over his legs. As, I peeled his wet and tight pajama pants off, it unfortunately transferred onto not only his legs, but also my hands(SHIT yuck). At this point, all hope was soon lost, a fading memory travelling into the abyss of fog. 

Bath-time, would become the only possible solution for this icky mess.  

Derek treasures baths and playing in the water. 

Wait. No. 

He LOVES baths and playing in the water. He is our little fish. Our Michael Phelps.

Today, you were lucky. Because, as much as he LOVES playing in water, he equally loathes coming out of the water once he is in it.

He looks happier than he actually is. 

So, now that bath-time is over, I start to think.....

Why did this occur? 

Ding, ding, ding. I know what it is. 

And.

It is all mommy's fault! Wink wink. 

We decided, to have our usual staple for dinner last night. Papa Johns! 

Except.....

We ordered something different to go along with our pizza. We ordered the honey chipotle chicken fingers. Oh boy, did those chicken fingers have a kick! We tried the best we could, to wipe off much of the sauce, but the poor chicken was still coated in the gooey stuff. Alas, we probably have the culprit at hand. Spice and a kids stomach, equals bad outcome. 

Parent fail #224098.  

Guys Perspective - Week One

Today, I start my journey into the realm of female bonding......The Mommy Boards!

Every week, I will be digging in and giving my manly view(growl sound) to a random topic posted on one of the many mommy boards around town. I thought it would be unique to give a guys perspective on different topics floating the mommy board waters. This week, I pick an easy subject, I think? Some weeks may not be that easy and may open up a dialogue between you and I, you and a significant other, you and a friend. The point is, just get your mind working and gain perspective from a males viewpoint, as many mommy boards are just that, strictly mommies talking to mommies.

This weeks subject.

Student/teacher relationship.

A mommy recently posted, "Is it weird to have my 8th grade student, who had a baby in September, share her pregnancy symptoms and birth story with me?"

An easy answer would be, duh.....yeah! That is a cop-out though and does not really get into the mind of a male, a husband, a father.

So, lets dive into these murky male waters.

How old are you in 8th grade? 13 or 14 right? Man, I am going to have to reach far back into my mind on this one!

I remember having my first kiss around 5th or 6th grade. To me, that was huge and I felt awkward even at that point in my life. See, when you are that young it isn't love, it is a crush. You know about the feelings of mad, sad, angry and happy, but love, that is something that takes much more time to develop and in my opinion is something you should know before even getting into the act of SEX.

By 8th grade, I was thinking about hanging out with the guys and playing Nintendo, playing in the tree-house, and playing sports. Girls were far from my mind. I loved soccer and by that age, I had started to learn to play golf. Even, once into high school, I can't even think of one girl being pregnant. I know there were parties, people may have gotten to first and second base, but going all the way home......no way!

It has got to be a generation thing for sure, but does that really change the fact that sex is okay in middle school? What are children watching or hearing that is making them think it is okay to have sex that young? I am not that old, we had MTV and cable back then. Programming may be a little different. Back then, it was actually a "music channel" and not Teen Mom, Jersey Shore, or one of the many other programs being ingrained into the innocent minds of our children. Teen Mom makes it seem easy to have a baby.....it is the before and aftermath of the relationship they focus on and not the struggles of carrying a baby and the symptoms one has during those often difficult times. That will get us into family values, which will be mentioned further on.

So, back to the question at hand. Is it weird to have a teacher/student relationship about the birthing story of your babies......yes, but is it okay, no. It is not okay and may even get you into trouble nowadays, but you as a teacher, adult, mother and mentor have a duty and obligation to that child. Teachers get a bum rap, but they deal with many issues in this generation that our generations were not participating in. Teachers often have families of their own, but now, must be mothers to the children they are teaching. Family values have been pushed to the side and we really need to fight as parents, mentors, and teachers to get these values back into our lives. I could not fathom being a parent at 13 or 14, nor do I want my children being parents just as they are starting to know what life is all about. I want my children to figure themselves out before they have to figure out how to feed a baby, change a baby, and be the emotional support of a baby.

Daddy, out.

Simple "No Frills" Chili

Chili.

One of the staples in our household. Simple and fast make this nearly a weekly menu item. This recipe contains only four ingredients but you could make it as complicated as you want. I dislike complicated and when you have children to watch while cooking the easier the better.

And.

It only takes 15-20 minutes from start to finish!

I am in no way endorsing any products shown below and receiving no monetary gain(although if any of the products shown below wish to, I would not be opposed).

Ingredients.

After getting ingredients together, start cooking hamburger.

Always remember to cook your meat thoroughly! I will not take any responsibility for under-cooked meat.

After hamburger is thoroughly cooked, I drain any grease into whatever you can find. I typically use tinfoil.

Never put grease down a drain! It will clog your drain over time.

Add all ingredients to hamburger. A little trick I do...... I add a couple teaspoons of the seasoning straight into the hamburger first and stir in to give the meat a little extra kick. The rest of the seasoning can be added once the wet ingredients have been combined with the hamburger. *If you have kids, please note that you will want to get theirs out before adding the rest of the seasoning. It will be too hot for little ones mouths.

Your done! Serve and enjoy.

Don't forget the tums.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb hamburger.
1 can tomato sauce. You can use diced, but I don't like the texture so I use puree.
1 can pinto beans in chili sauce. The brand I have always used is Bush's mild or medium.
1/2-3/4 packet of hot chili seasoning. You can use mild if you have a weak stomach.
Servings:
4-6 people.
Cook time:
15-20 minutes.

Additional ideas. My wife infuses a handful of Frito's(crunched up) and a couple spoonfuls of sour cream.

Enjoy and feel free to leave comments.

Communist Disney

Don't rip into my flesh yet.

Disney is great when you have little ones around the house. They can stare blankly at the television screen for hours if we let them(and sometimes we do) given different circumstances which, in itself may get a remark about our poor parenting skills.

We all have been sick for a few days now. Derek has croup and daddy has something similar to a head cold. The weather has been crap until today thus, preventing us from going outside til this point. Add to that, the deluge of rain we have been getting. I do not live in Seattle mother nature. Give me a break. I feel like I have been on the set of Grey's Anatomy. So, Derek can't go anywhere, daddy feels like going no where and Disney is a happy place for the kiddos.

Bring in Disney to the rescue!

I can't figure out what it is about Disney. Do they have some brainwashing voodoo ingrained into each show they pop on the screen? Some sort of high pitched squeal that adults cannot hear? A magical coloring artist who plants unseen(to the naked eye) pixels which, manage to warp a child's imagination?

I will go with the color theory. The colors seem so vibrant! Go see for yourself. Turn on some of the old cartoons and then turn on the Disney channel. Doesn't it just do something immediately to your mind, preventing you from turning the channel back to something else? Grabbing control and not letting your fingers move from the remote control. I will continue to write as you now watch Disney. The colors are so crisp and clear, like we are physically there participating in the quest to get gold doubloons and chasing Captain Hook. I can just smell his seaweed perfume permeating my nose. Wait! I am there. Wow Disney, great job. I see now why kids get hooked into this magical realm of color you created.

We do not watch all cartoons on Disney. This is a Mickey Mouse, Jake and The Neverland Pirates and Jungle Junction watching zone only. If I even try to turn on the old cartoons, I get the evil eye and whining can be heard starting from the bowels. They can seriously get sick to their stomachs and the only remedy is Disney at that point. It is crack for children's eyes. I am grateful that many of these shows teach something other than violence. Numbers, shapes and working together are common themes among the three shows mentioned.

And.....

If you thought it just entailed the television programs, think again. This sense of zombie-esk behavior also includes the hundreds of Disney toys. Besides trains, when we walk right into a store we are immediately whisked into Disney toy heaven. Do not pass go, do not land on go, go directly to jail. So, if you thought you were safe, you are not. Don't even take your children to Disney world. They come out different. Think Children of the Corn Disney. They will one day sneak up on you and bring you to their lord, good old Walt himself in the flesh and force you into a life of being suited up in a character outfit.

There is Disney's communist agenda at a glance.

Ditto previous day

When I created this blog I expected to write a lot, but this is a little more than I like. Especially given the circumstances.

My little nine month old decided for the second day in a row to try and pee on/in something other than his diaper.

This time I caught him in the act, as in slow motion I saw the stream headed toward me and my clothes. With a Matrix like move, I rolled in my stomach and backed up at the same time, while the stream of urine slowly started its downward trend right onto the awaiting clean carpet below. Looking back at it, it was absolutely like it was in the movie. It was a slow motion tragedy.

I cannot make this stuff up! It is really absurd that this has never happened before I started this blog.

Kinda makes me wonder. Is he literally pissing on my blog? Is it retaliation?

And.

While we are on the subject of bathroom behavior.....what is up with all the poop lately? Two children in diapers equal a busy day. I mean really, it seems like I am constantly wiping the bottom of a nasty butt. If poop was made of money, I would be rich...... albeit it would be dirty money.

Here's to better days ahead. I hope.

Ready, Aim, Fire!

Tonight is a first for me.

My youngest child, Parker urinated on himself while I nonchalantly changed his diaper.

NO! You don't really understand! He has never done this the whole nine months of his existence. He had done this many times to his mother when he was younger but hadn't done this in any form or fashion for a long time. 

I didn't even catch it in mid-stream. That is the terrible part. 

I caught it when I looked back at him as he wiggled like a worm. To my astonishment he had managed to pee directly into his eye. Urine is sterile right, so no harm? Just wiped it off.

I feel so terrible about it. I mean, who wants warm pee in their eye? Not me!

Needless to say, he is now in a different outfit and I am left to wash everything he had decided he wanted wet. 

I foresee a bath in his future tonight.