Menu Monday - Baked Ziti

I don't have a picture of this recipe. I forgot to take one before we ate from it. I have LOTS of leftovers sitting in the fridge, but those don't look as pretty as the finished product. I got this recipe from this friend.

Baked Ziti

16 oz. pkg. ziti pasta

1 lb. sausage (could substitute beef)

1 onion, chopped

2 -28 oz. jars spaghettis sauce

1 1/2 cups sour cream

6 oz. sliced provolone cheese

6 oz. sliced mozzarella

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 tbs dried oregano

Cook pasta as directed on box. In a skillet, brown beef or sausage. Add onions and saute until tender. Drain fat & add spaghetti sauce. Simmer for 15 minutes. Lightly grease a 9 X 13 pan. Place half of the pasta in the pan, top with a layer of cheese. Spread on a layer of half the spaghetti sauce and all of the sour cream. Layer remaining pasta, cheese, and sauce. Mix parmesan cheese and herbs together and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until cheese and sauce are bubbly.

Who ate it and liked it: This was a HUGE hit with everyone in the family. Bebo loves Basagna (lasagna) so I told him this was "basagna" with pig meat and tube noodles. I should have made it in two 8 X 8 pans and froze one of them. We had a TON of left overs, which we ate a different night, but it would have been nice to have the freezer meal too.

The Help

We've hired some new help to feed the baby. Problem is he doesn't like to wear pants and we are not always sure where his hands have been.

Mom Tip - Stone Rewards

I was over at a friends house awhile back who has four small children and saw that she was doing a little reward system with her kids with stones. I thought the idea was wonderful. The child earns stones for good behavior and then can use the accumulated stones to "purchase" an item. I started out thinking that I was going to have a whole bunch of different dollar store prizes with different stone values on them. I was hoping that not only would this teach the boys good behavior, but it would also teach them how money works in a sense and that you can choose a smaller prize, but then your stones will be less too. Friday night we sat down with the boys and told them the rules:

#1. You should not ask for a stone

#2 Mom and Dad are the only ones that can give stones

#3 If you are misbehaving, stones can be taken out of your jar

I bought a couple larger prizes one being Finn Mcmissle from Cars 2. They have wanted this little car for their collection for awhile. As we started the whole process Fisherman and I began to realize that they may be a bit young yet to understand the value and choosing prizes with different values. So I think we are going to have our boys work at one prize at a time and as they get older they can choose from different valued prizes.

Monk is 5 1/2 and he caught on brilliantly. He now is brushing his teeth, putting his clothes in the hamper, and picking up toys with out being asked and we have only been doing the stone rewards a couple of days.

Bebo is 3 1/2 and he needs some help. He does not realize the things that you need to do to earn stones, but needs to be reminded. He also doesn't understand that you need a lot of stones to get the car and asks after every stone if he can have his car now, but I can tell that it is getting better for him and he is starting to understand more as the days go by.

Overall I see many positives to this and especially love the results from Monk. They both have become more helpful around the house and have been playing well together.

A Uni-tooth with a side of an Extra Chin

This little buggy has not been himself lately. His big brother Bebo even suggested we get a new "bavy" that doesn't cry, but in his defense he has quite a few teeth that are coming down into the gums all at the same time. He has had this little pearly white for a little while now and I just love calling him uni-tooth. That nick name will be short lived as the second bottom tooth is making it's way through too. Love this little boy so much even when he is crabby.

Menu Monday - Chicken n' Biscuits

I am always looking for new recipes at our house. Eating the same thing all the time gets boring so I thought I would start a menu Monday type thing and share a recipe that our family has really enjoyed. This recipe I got from this blog. She always has some yummy things on her blog.

Chicken N' Biscuits

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can cream of celery soup

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp pepper

1-16 oz. bag of frozen california blend - cooked

2 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 pkg. refrigerated biscuits (10 ct.)

Mix soups, milk, pepper, veggies, and chicken in 3 qt. shallow backing dish. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Cut each biscuit into quarters and top dish with cut biscuits. Bake 15 more minutes or until biscuits are golden.

Who ate it and liked it: Fisherman and I thought it was really good and different than a lot of casseroles because it had cream of celery instead of cream of mushroom. Monk man ate it right up (he eats pretty much anything) and Bebo (who is our pickiest eater) ate it as well because of the bread on top and the dinosaur trees (broccoli) in it too.

Vroom Vroom Cruisin' the Dunes

One evening we went on a dune ride while on vacation.
The boys loved going down the little hills.

They also enjoyed running up and down the dunes.

The bug got to ride without his car seat, which is right up his alley.

We were on the ride with only one other couple because it was sprinkling right before we left. The boys loved this.

The Joker

As I have mentioned the Buggy had a case of thrush. Both of us were on medication for it, it went away, and then came back so the doctor wanted us to try gentian violet. I cried about it when I first found out, I will be honest. Last night was my last application and I had a party,
It is the most aweful stuff. It stains EVERYTHING!!! My sink is stained, Bug's mouth, his shirts, his crib sheet, the toys he puts in his mouth, his hands,, anything this stuff touches it makes a mess of. I sure hope it works.

I got so many stares and a couple comments. I am so ready to see him in some normal clothes again. Now we just wait until it wears off

Vacation Snap Shots

This is the view of the lake from the back of the cottage
The Bug and Monk man being goofy

Bug loved swinging in this swing

Bebo and his manly frog tattoo

The boys getting ready to go on the paddle boat for the first time with Fisherman

And a sweet sweet Bug-a-Boo

Fishing Boys

If you ask Monk or Bebo what their favorite part of vacation was they would both answer without skipping a beat that it was fishing.
The boys and fisherman spent a lot of time on the dock catching little blue gill, sun fish, and even a few big bass.

The fishing here was perfect for two little boys without a lot of patience because you could catch a fish pretty much every cast.

Even though it is a bit trying on your patience to fish with a 5 and 3 year old, I think that Fisherman had some fun out there too.

This summer is the first summer that Monk could do most everything on his own. He could cast, set the hook, and reel it in. He can put his own worm on too, but can't get them on as good as Fisherman can.

All Boys

I just ran across this blog of a mother with SEVEN boys. She is pregnant with her 8th child and gets asked a lot, "what if it's another boy?" I just really enjoyed what she wrote and have felt some of the same feelings that she mentions. A lot of people don't realize the difference in dynamics of a family of all boys and can be quick to judge. Boys can be a rowdy bunch. I am realizing this already and mine are still young.
http://themarathonmom.com/what-if-its-another-boy.htm

Seven Months Old - Bug

To the 7 month old Buggy that didn't want to take any good pictures and now has a purple mouth so we can't take anymore. You are the sweetest little baby and i can't get enough of you. However, this past month has been a whirlwind of being gone and a nasty case of thrush that we can't get rid of. This is why you have a purple mouth. We are giving gentian violet a try to beat it once and for all.
You are sitting well on your own, rolling all over the place, and getting up on all fours getting ready to crawl. You are trying all sorts of foods and love them all. In the last couple nights you have been sleeping for about 11 hours straight. I LOVE this!

You love to play with toys, well mainly put them in your mouth and you also love to roll all over the floor. You are a happy little guy most of the time. You are eating 2-3 baby food meals a day and have milk about 7-8 times a day. You have a love affair with cheerios and puffs, but can'y eat them yourself yet.

Bug, I love you so much. I love your chunky little thighs and love to kiss your soft baby cheeks. I love the little things you do with your mouth and how you love to be close to me. You are the sweetest of babies and I will love you always and forever, Mama.

Swimming Boys

The boys had TONS of fun in the water while we were at the cottage and the WHOLE family had fun with the squirt guns they got from their uncle and new aunt :)

The Bug had some time to enjoy the water in between napping as well.

Monk has been big into this snorkel lately. His big cousin has one and so he thinks he is the coolest with it on.

The cottage also had this really nice slide for the boys to go down. They had a lot of fun on this.

We had a couple of overcast and rainy days, but other than that the weather was GREAT!