Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza

-WARNING-
Reading this following post may make you experience perking taste buds, uncontrollable salivating, lust, hunger pains, and deep yearning. Please take this into consideration before continuing.

I was introduced to something wonderful this week. Something that I was doubtful at trying, but my sister was so excited to have me try it, that I figured I should give it a shot. She made up Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza... and it was fAb-U-lOUs! And besides just tasting good, it is a snap to make. All you need is...

1 pizza crust (either home made or Pillsbury crust - I think Pillsbury is greeeeat)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 cup Caesar dressing
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 garlic clove
1 package cream cheese
12 ounces of chicken
4 cups Romaine lettuce
1/2 cup bell pepper

1. Cook the pizza dough
2. Cut chicken into small bites, then cook.
3. In a large bowl combined 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese, dressing, lemon pepper, and garlic. Mix well. Then take 1/2 of this sauce and mix it with the cream cheese in another bowl. Add chicken and set aside.
4. Chop lettuce and bell pepper. Coat these veggies with the remaining part of the sauce.
5. Take cooked pizza crust and spread the cream cheese/chicken mixture over it evenly. Then place the lettuce mixture over cream cheese and bread. Cut and serve.

Hope you all give it a try, because it is just great. I think we are even going to make it again this week.

Night of Narnia and Darth Vadar

Here it is, 1:00 A.M and my hubby and I just came walking in the door. Party animals; I know! We just came back from seeing "Prince Caspian"... and it was good. When it started off... you kind of get thinking, "Is this going to be as good as Narnia?", but it is. It is different and MUCH darker than the first.... but still really good. I would consider maybe leaving some younger children behind... most of the movie is fighting and murder. I.. um.. may have gotten a tad... a bit... teary eyed during it too. What can I say.... I am a total cry baby :) But be prepared, this movie is LONG, almost 3 hours and worth the time. So, instead of me posting some wonderful tid-bit of information, I am going to leave you all with a nice hardy chuckle because I am tired and my poor husband is falling asleep on the couch while he waits for me to finish... so for his sake, I need to be brief... enjoy :)

Family Moments - T.T.

I grew up in a big family.... 8 to be specific. With 8 people in a family there was a lot of shouting, hot water stealing, fighting over shot-gun, and figuring out phone usage. Not that we fought a lot, but it was survival of the fittest and believe me... we use to have 9 in our family :) So in this eat or be eaten family (I mean that in the most loving way) we didn't always cross paths. With kids ranging from 18-5 years in age, we didn't all have the same interest and so many of us were gone with softball, piano practise, church activities, jobs, and dates.

My parents wanted to make sure that we all didn't loose touch with our family and the importance of it. They made sure that one night a week was set aside for the family, always the same night so we could never forget. That one night was spent playing games, watching movies, teaching us about our heritage, or teaching us important lessons. And those nights are some of the best memories I have of my family.

These days all of our lives are filled with soooo much that it is easy to forget family... to get wrapped up in work, school, friends.... all nice and important things, but family is something that should never be pushed aside or placed second. So that is why I have created Family Moment Monday were people can come and post ideas they have to help spend good quality time as a family; good suggestions for movies, game, activities, and even lessons/skills that as parents we can teach our children.

So for this Thursday Thirteen I am posting 13 Reasons Why We Should Participate in Family Moment Monday - FMM


- A great way to find activities and ideas that you can do as a family

- Helps you to take time out of your schedule to look at your family and think about what they need in a less material way and a more physiological/emotional way.

- This will help your kids see and understand the important you place on family.

- Cheaper to do Family Moment Monday than sending them to therapy :)

- Can help other parents out by sharing how you taught your kids about safety, fiances, dating... or any other lessons that are important to share with your children. By posting how you did it in a successful way, other parents can see how they can do it.

- These activities will help your children feel close to you and their other siblings. It will make it easier for them to come to family members if they ever need help or answers.

- Because if your kids don't like family time, you can then use it as a form of punishment.

- We all know it is important to set time aside as a married couple, go out on dates, and have alone time. So why wouldn't it also be important to set aside time for the family to reconnect.

- You never know... it could look good on your kids college applications. :)

- Setting this time aside will show your children that you want to spend time with them and that they are important to you.

- Because it is never to late OR to early to start spending time as a family.

So, if you want to participate then join in every Monday and link up. Just post your ideas on your blog and then come over and post your link here. Please just remember to have a link in your post to Motherhood For Dummies so others can join and know where to go. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Mod Mum Baby Sling Review

WFMW

A few weeks ago I was approached by Mod Mum and asked if I wanted to review a baby sling that they sell and well.... I was ..... EXCITED! My very first review... wow.... I felt so honored.... I mean... you like me.... you really like me :) So as you can tell I have been looking forward to trying out the baby sling. So, patiently I have been looking and waiting for the mailman to drop off a package for me. I have to admit that I was cruelly teased the whole time because my sister just happened to order a bunch of clothes around the same time and every time one of her boxes came, I got all excited and was ready to tear it open..... and then I see it..... "Melanie Nichols". Ouch! So, I push aside the box and would wait some more.
.
So now the baby sling is here and I have to say that I was very surprised. I have seen many moms with slings, wraps, straps and what ever you could think of and I have to admit that... I never liked them. I always thought they were a bit hippie-ish and frumpy. But this one... this one is different.

First of all, it is one nice smooth piece of fabric... no wrapping, tying, or hot gluing to keep it in place. You simply slip it over your head onto your shoulders and done. The sling is also made of a lighter more breathable fabric. I have seen some that slings that have so much padding and layers that they can get a little toasty for me and for my Lucy. I was very glad that there wasn't a heat problem with Mod Mum.

The slings are great for several different ways of carrying your child. You can either cradle carry (which is good from newborn - 9 months), front carry (which is 2-8 months), and hip carry (for 6 months and up for 35 lbs). I love this because it gives moms the chance to let their babies grow with the sling. Certain position are better at certain ages. Lucy seemed to prefer the front carry; she could see out, be close to me, and still be snug. But in a few months she will be better suited for the hip carry.

These slings are a little more expensive then some I have seen, but I think they are worth the extra money. Especially since I usually get a sore back from some of the baby carriers out there, but this one didn't seem to bother me. They do range in pricing from $48 to $64, depending on what patterned fabric you want. But my favorite thing about all their slings, besides having CUTE patterns, no wrapping needed , good for all sizes and ages.... was that Lucy loved it. She babbled and cooed and played with the fabric the whole time. She was pretty comfortable in all the positions and loved having a view with the front and hip carry.

These really are some of the best baby slings I have seen and I have even fought buying one for a while now. I just never tried one that I liked completely with how it felt or it didn't look cute or I could tell in a few months she wasn't going to like laying in that position. But this one passed with flying colors. So, if you are looking for a sling, a good baby shower present, or something to just help you keep your baby from crying while you are trying to cook dinner.... try Mod Mums slings.
.
You can check out there sizing, styles, and instructions on how to wear them properly on their website also. And remember when ordering a size take everything into consideration... waist, shoulders, and your babies size. I ordered a Large and it seems a little loose in my shoulders, but also I have super small shoulders... so look at everything. The website provides a good table to show their suggestions.

Pointy Kitty

I have been trying to learn how to sew, especially fun projects for my daughter or cute presents for baby showers. I have already sewn some adorable baby shoes for Lucy, which... if I do say so myself... turned out REALLY cute... well.... I was happy with them. But ever since becoming a mother I have picked up sewing because I really appreciated how great my mom is at it. She was always able to make me skirts, dresses, costumes... anything and everything. And since I am 5'10.... I was truly thankful that my mom could make a skirt that wouldn't make me look like Xena Warrior Princess had just beaten up Shirley Temple and taken her skirt. So, I have started to learn with smaller projects, like starting off with baby items. But, I have found another cute project from Wee Wonderful; a cute kitty.

.

It is a fun stuffed kitty with a different shape and a unique form. The tutorial posted is not hard to follow, but it is a little intimidating when you look at it. So just don't worry and give it a try. I really liked making this kitty because it gave me a chance to try some different sewing techniques. Especially since this project allows you to use the sewing machine and hand stitching (for attaching the head and for attaching the stripes). Also as a note... make sure you really stuff it well or it will get a little floppy. So here you go, the tutorial for "Pointy Kitty".

http://weewonderfuls.typepad.com/wee_wonderfuls/store/pointykitty.html

Children's Fort

Family Moment Monday

As a kid, who didn't love building forts? My siblings and I would always make forts on Sunday after church and play in them all day. Grab all the chairs we could get a hold of, collect the blankets through out the house, and pile all the pillows we could. And soon we would have ourselves a really sweet fort.

.

What was really great was when our dad would play with us, he could always help us build a great fort. His always seemed to be able to stay up, the blankets would hold their place, and chairs would never seem to fall down.

.

So, for this Family Moment Monday what might be a fun activity for the family is to make a giant fort in the family room. Make some treats, get a game, find a good movie, and spend your evening in the fort. Take every blanket that you can find, pin them up, duct tape them in you have too, but turn a room.... into a fort. Let the whole family get under it, cuddle and lay around with pillows and watch a movie or play a family game. The kids will love it and it will make you feel like a kid again.

Da German Pancakes

I love getting up in the morning and having a good breakfast. And I don't mean no stickin' cereal or bagel and smear, but a really yummy serious breakfast. Waffles, crepes, pig in a blanket, or a really good omelet. Ohhh the possibilities. But sometimes... as good as those all are... some of those yummy breakfastes weight me down in the morning and are too heavy for me. Which is why we have breakfast for dinner a lot.... Brinner as we so fondly call it.

.

But even with all those good breakfast meals out there... there is one delicious, tasty, light breakfast I can always turn too.... German Pancakes or as some of you call them Dutch Babies. They are such an easy fix in the morning, so delicious, and filling yet light. So if your mouths are starting to water right about now then here is what you need to know...
.

6 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS butter or margarine, melted

1. Place the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a bowl and mix very well until smooth. Take melted butter and pour into a 13x9 pan ungreased pan. Add the batter.

2. Put the pan in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 mins.

3. Dust pancake with confectioners sugar and serve immediately. Best served with either syrup, lemon juice, or pie filling.

These are really easy, tasty, and not bad for you. Even if you ate a half a pan by you self you would only be about 3 egss, 1/2 cup milk, and some butter. Not too shabby... and that is for half a pan :)

p.s. Last time I made these I thought they could have use a little bit more salt.

100th Post... Okay It Might Be A Little Late

A while ago I posted about my 100th post was about to come up and instead of posting a 100 things about me, I was going to post 10 things and answer some questions. Well, my 100th post might have been a couple... or few... handful... a week or so... ago. So here are some interesting and not so interesting things about Motherhood For Dummies.

1. I was born and raised in Alaska, in the same house... man... even in the same bedroom my whole entire life. I don't cope with change very well and now you can understand why.
.

2. I am the youngest of 6 crazy kids and now that I am a mom.... I have a whole new respect for my mom and what she has done... especially since we are all still alive and breathing.

3. I play 3 instruments; piano, guitar, and cello. I am best at piano then guitar and last cello. I still need to fully learn and master the cello, which is an instrument that I think is just beautiful. I have a talent for learning instruments fairly easily and my goal is to learn as many as I can.

.

4. I have lived in London.... and LOVED it!
.

5. I have married a man that grew up in throughout South America: Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile. So he speaks English, Spanish, and Portuguese..... and yet I took Spanish 101 three times throughout High School. Languages are NOT my forte.

6. I have been a cheerleader for Purdue and UCLA college basketball

.

7. While in London, I lived next door to Matthew Mcconaughey. Some roommates and I would actually sit out on our stoop and do homework or read so we could see him come home. Yea... I use to think he was dreeeeamy. He was there apparently filming part of the movie Sahara.

8. I was born on Mother's day... I was the best peasant ever

9. SheDaisy was actually at my wedding reception. My husband lived in Tennessee for a little while and they go to the same church. Curtis's parents are friends with their family, so two of the three sisters were there.

10. I always have an unquenchable hunger for caramel apples, rice crispy squares, and laffy taffy.

Heidi from Viking Conquest asked,

"How warm does it get in Alaska during the summer, how cold does it get during the winter. Differences in lifestyle, have you've noticed a differnce between Alaska and other places in the US. Do you plan on settling in Alaska?"

Alaska actually has really nice weather. The summers are in the 70's-80's and everything is just green and beautiful. We get a nice breeze that keeps it from getting too hot, but wont mess up your hair. Plus with all the daylight my husband and I will play tennis till 11 PM. The winters aren't too bad either.... yea it can get come, but since the wind doesn't go crazy here it doesn't feel that cold. It isn't humid either... so if you take out that wet cold and the bitting wind cold... it actually isn't bad. I really like the winters here, they always have a really good Christmas and cozy feeling.

.

As for the difference in life style... yes... Alaskan are a lot more laid back. They only place I can compair it too is Hawaii. We are basically a cold version of Hawaii. People are really friendly, laid back, we kind of do our own thing up here sometimes.

And yes we plan on staying up here. We both just love it up here and love what Alaska has to offer. Sorry, I know I am going on and on, but I love it up here :)

April from Thoughts In My Tumultuos Brain asked,

"If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring THREE ITEMS (not including hubby and baby) what would they be?? And why??"

I don't know if this counts... but 1. A lifetime subscription to UsWeekly, InTouch, and all the other gossip magazines. I seriously have an addiction to them... I can have a crazy flustering day, but when my honey brings me home a magazine.... ahhhh... kick back on the couch and read my mag, always a good end to a day. 2. iPod... boring I know, but I could have some movies, music and my books on tape. I would go crazy if I didn't have music. I always have it playing throughout the house. 3. A family photo album... I'm sure it would probably make me more sad seeing the photos everyday, but I couldn't go very long without them.

jkribbit asked,

"3 favorite movies, 3 favorite books, 3 favorite CDs/musicians of all time?"

My three favorite movies are, "The Power of One", "Crash", and "50 First Dates".

My three favorite books are, "Harry Potters", "To Kill a Mocking Bird", and "The Alchemist".

My three favorite musicians are, "ABBA", "Jack Johnson", and "Queen".... I have to throw in Aerosmith, The Ataris, and Simon & Garfunkle.

OhMommy from Classy Chaos asked,

"What makes you happy? Use all 5 senses"

Sight - Daffodils... those always make me happy... always.

Taste - Frozen Yogurt, I can always eat frozen yogurt... not a fan of ice cream.

Touch - Um... this might sound weird, but my ears. I have the softest and smoothest ears, with practically no cartilage. I find myself playing and fiddling with my ears a lot.

Smell - Plumerias! If you ever go to Hawaii... when you walk off that plane and take your first step off into the airport that smell that hits you of all the plumerias... oh my gosh. Nothing will ever smell better.

Hear - My Lucy laughing, she doesn't laugh very often, but she does smiles a lot. So every time she laughs it just melts my heart.

Thanks for all the great questions and I will answer more later, but this post has surprising taken a lot of time and if I answer anymore I think I am going to be up tooooooo late :) So.... hurray!!!! A 100 posts! Yea! And hopefully a 100 more to come... at least :)

Don't forget that Monday is coming up, so that means...... Family Moment Monday. Feel free to participate, just blog about something that is great to do as a family. Anything from fun family games, to appropriate movies, to tradition, or even subject to teach and talk to your children about. I will have Mr. Linky up and running again :)

Best Deals At Costco

Costco is great. I don't know about you, but I could wander around and look at what they have for hours. Plus, I can stop by their food mart and eat my weight in their amazing pizza.... um.... hand me another combo slice pleeeease!


But there is also a down side. As good as Costco is, they don't always have the best deals and I found myself being tricked into thinking, "wow.... 24 cases of eye drops.... I MUST HAVE IT!" So, here is my breakdown of 13 always great deals at Costco.



Ground Beef
Beef is something that can really add up on the pocket book, especially if you like to have leaner healthier beef. But over at Costco you can find a 5 pack pound of beef (5 case of 1lb beef) for only $9. It is even 85-90% lean. So basically, you are paying about $1.65 per pound for fairly lean beef... which I don't know about you, but I like that. I especially love how they are packaged in 1 lb containers, so I don't have to defrost 5 pounds of meat when I really only need 1.


Wipes
Oh Costco, you make buying wipes something enjoyable. A giant box of wipes cost around $15 and comes with about 10 cases of wipes.... in the end, giving you about 700-800 wipes. I love having that many cases around, because I can keep one upstairs, in the kitchen, the car, my diaper bag, and any where else I want.


Photos
If you are looking to get some photos printed then Costco should be your place. They have really good price, but they can print anything and everything you could think of. Want a mouse pad with your kids face on it? DONE! A mug with your sexy hubby? EASY! A calender filled with family pictures and memories? THEY GOT IT! They are also really fast. My family was just there this week and we dropped off our photos and went shopping. By the time we were done they and finished and waiting for us. What can I say... I like it cheap and fast :)..... um.... don't read into that :) But here is a link to the pricing and items they have available.
.

Sodas
Whether you want to buy the name brand or the Kirkland brand, you are bound to have a deal on your hands. You can buy 24 cases of sodas for $10-5 dollars, depending on what brand. They can even have some good deals on the fancy glass bottled soda; if your taste buds are searching for something more refine.


Gift Cards
Most Costco carries some nice gift cards for restaurants, spas, or amusement parks in the area. They usually consist of 2 $50 gift cards, so $100 total, but you only pay $80 for them..... receiving $20s free. Not all of them are that much, they also sometimes have movie tickets. Here in Alaska they will sell two movie passes for $14 when you would normally spend about $18. We tried to always stop buy Costco if we are going to hit the movies just to help save us a couple bucks.


Free Samples
Um.... enough said..... Free Samples :) best deal ever


Diapers
When it comes to baby items, Costco diapers are the best deal you will find. You can get them from any price range of $29 - $40. The pricing depends on what size you are getting and what brand. Costco sells both Huggies and Kirkland and depends on where you live, Huggies might even be cheaper than the Kirkland brand. But, I like both and they both do a GREAT job. With our little Lucy... she wears size 2 and it takes her months to go through them. Seriously... if you have a baby and don't have a Costco card.... it is worth the $50 a year membership fee just for baby diapers alone.
.
Cleaning Supplies
Whether you are buying disinfectant wipes or 409 you will probably get a deal. You can purchase a 4 gallon bottle of 409 for a steal. Costco does sell several different brands and types of disinfectant wipes and not all of them are deals. The Kirkland brand has the best savings.... you can usually buy 3-4 bottle of giant wipes for $9. Make sure you really look at the pricing and amount of what you are buying when it comes to the cleaning supplies if you want to make sure you getting a good deal.


Cereal
The cereal isn't the best deal ever because Costco might not carry the kind you like. But it you are a fan of Lucky Charms, Trix, and Coco Puffs then yes... you will like it and you will save your self some money.


Formula
The formula at Costco has really saved us when it comes to baby expenses. You can buy a large 2 pack of formula cans for only $19.99. We know people who have dropped $100 or more a month on formula alone. Curtis and I spend about $40 a month feeding our kid a month, max. The Kirkland formula is just as good as the name brand stuff and I have even bought both and compared the ingredients.... they are the EXACT same.


Pizza
Hands down Costco is the best pizza for its price... heck, for me.... it is the best pizza period. I love love LOVE their combo pizza and could eat it all the time. But besides being sacred... it has an amazing price. You get their huge pizza for only $9.99. I don't know about you, but I can't even remember a time when I could buy a large combo pizza for that much. What I like also is that we can call ahead and order place an order with Costco. The last time we bought pizza the one pizza costs us $18..... so yea... I think we are going with Costco more often.

Digital Key Chain

WFMW

It was my birthday last week and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law sent me a present and ... well.... it was pretty cool! I didn't even know that these exist, but they have digital picture frames for your key chain... crazy... I KNOW!

They are pretty light weight, so they don't hold your keys down, but big enough so you can actually see your photos. You can even pause a photo and place it on a holder they give you, so then you can have a mini frame on your desk if you like.

I just love it, cause now I can carry pictures around of my Lucy, hubby, and family :) P.S. Mine is the pink one

Children's Piggy Bank - Minus The Pig

A lot of you have seen a bit of my ideas for what you can do with all your old formula cans and/or coffee cans; and here is another thing that I made with a can that I thought turned out really cute, if I do say so myself :)

My little niece had a birthday last week and she has really been into the Angelina Ballerina mouse stories. So, I decided that I would make her a little ballerina bank. It was really simple, all I used was...



Formula Can
Scrapbooking Paper (2 different patterns)
Acrylic Paint
Ribbon
Alphabet Stamps
Ballerina Stickers



First, I removed the label from the formula to measure so I could measure what size I should cut from my scrapbooking paper to place as my back ground. I would then hot glue the paper on however I liked it. Once I got the papers glued on I then took the ribbon and glue it along the edge where the two papers met.


At this point I would start to paint the beginning layer of the lid. Don't make the first layer too thick or else it will take a long time to dry. Also make sure you let the layer dry completely or else the next layer you paint will peel up the layer before.


After painting the lid and set it aside to dry, I then placed my pretty ballerina stickers on the can where ever I thought best. I did save a couple stickers for the lid, to place when it finished drying.


I then took my alphabet stamps and stamped my niece's name and the word "bank". Once stamped, I cut out each letter individually and glued them on at different heights and angles. Now the can is done, but continue putting a few more coats of paint on the lid... but again, remember not to paint the next layer till COMPLETELY dried... it will peel on the layer before and you wont be able to smooth it out.


Your little girls will love them!

Sky High Fun

Family Moment Monday

These days I find it hard to find a good family friendly movie. Movies most of the time are not super appropriate for children ooooor the movie is so mind-numbingly boring that you are tempted to jam a pen in your eye to get out of watching it. So, when I stumble across one that is family friendly and we like.... we go crazy. One of our favorite family movies is "Sky High" is cute coming of age story in the world of superheroes. Will Stronghold, the main character, is the son of the two most famous superheroes ever. He and his friends are starting superhero school and not only have to deal with learning their powers and place in the world, like being a superhero or side kick, but bullying and handling their powers.

It is surprisingly a very cute movie, entertaining for all, and actually pretty funny... we definitely got a few good chuckles out of it. With characters names like Warren Peace, gym class consisting of saving the citizens, and having the kids be trained in being super heros or side kicks there are bound to get some nice giggles. Well, we liked it enough that we don't even have kids old enough to enjoy it and we still watch it. So, just remember if you are needing a cute movie for the kids, but want to keep your sanity try popping in "Sky High".

And here we are with Mr. Linky! I have finally figured it out and have it posted, well.. duh... I guess you don't need to be told that... you all can see it! :) But if you are wanting to participate in Family Moment Monday (family activties, lessons you want your children to learn, or activities your family does to bond) then go ahead and post with Mr. Linky. If you are wanting to participate next week then plan ahead... or if you would like me to remind you then email me and I will remind you on Sunday about Family Moment Monday!