Crockpot Chicken Fiesta!

Tonight I felt a bit like Old Mother Hubbard when I went to my cupboard!  There wasn't a whole lot in there at all so I dug the crockpot out and cooked up a masterpiece. (Well actually, I would do it a bit differently next time!  Sounds good though, huh?)

If I had my camera, I would have taken a picture...  But I will add one next time I make it.  I will definitely make it again because My Husband loved it.  Cole not so much.  He is getting a bit fussy with his food!

To make my Chicken Fiesta Masterpiece I chucked in:

4 Chicken Thighs
1 Can of Corn
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Can of Pinto Beans
1 Can of Tomato Sauce
1 Can of Tomato Paste
1 Packet of Taco Seasoning
1 Packet of Fajita Seasoning
1 Chopped Onion
1 Cup of Rice (This is the bit I would change...  Next time I would most definitely do the rice separately, it was far too mushy!)
1 Cup Water

Mix it all together and cook on high for about 5 hours and VOILA!  Delicious!  I absolutely love my Crockpot and I have no idea why I don't use it more often!!

What are some of your favorite Crockpot recipes?

~ Tasha

To IUD or not to IUD...

Bit of a personal topic today... But, this morning I found out that I can no longer have my Depo Provera shot.  I'm upset because I love it, it does not however, love me back.  I am now in a dilemma.  I can't take anything with estrogen in it, because it raises my blood pressure really high.  My doctor put me on progesterone only pills before I left England and they were fine for a few months, but my blood pressure rose again. I stopped taking birth control for quite some time, mainly because I couldn't afford it and then got pregnant with Cole.  They gave me the Depo shot at the hospital after I gave birth and I had 2 doses but then stopped because it was getting pricey. When we moved, I realized that I could go to the Health Department (I had no idea...) so in July I started it back up again, only to go today and find that my blood pressure is ridiculously high again.  So apparently it's hormones in general that do not agree with me. I have also not been feeling all that great for the past 6 months or so, and I put it down to everything that has been happening over the past couple of years. Turns out, that this could also be the Depo.  One of the main side effects is depression.  Again with the ugh'.

I have an appointment on January 24th to see the doctor about a copper IUD (Paragard).  I really need some advice here!  I have been researching it and have seen very good reviews and some very, very bad ones!  I know people are different and things affect people in different ways, I just wanted to hear from a few people who have one or have had one so that I know a little more of what to expect.  I'm a bit nervous!

~ Tasha

Salt Dough Results

The picture really speaks for itself.

Don't think THAT will be hanging on the tree next year...

So, yes.  The salt dough crafting session failed. Miserably. The above is what I made.  Cole smooshed his creation into the floor and all over the couch and my Husband started making things that I will not mention.  I gave up.

On a different note, I promise that my picture quality will get better some day soon...  I need to buy a new camera charger.  I wish I knew where the old one was.  I hate moving!

Homemade Craft Clay (Salt dough)

I was watching Sprout earlier with Cole and something on The Noodles and Doodles (whatever it's called) Bus show jolted my memory of something my Nan used to do!  (I have also seen it on Pinterest several thousand times over the past few months) Anyway, I got out all my ingredients and went to town creating something fun for Cole and I to do tomorrow!

You will need:

4 cups of flour
1 cup salt
2 cups water (may need more)
Food coloring

Add the 4 cups of flour and salt to a large bowl, pour in the water and stir.  When all the water is absorbed, start kneading!  If it's still too crumbly, add a little more water.  You don't want the dough to be too dry, nor do you want it to be wet and sticky...

I separated mine into 5 balls, poured some food coloring on each ball, one at a time and kneaded the dough until it was the desired color adding more food coloring if needed.

I do advise using gloves to do this part though...  I didn't think about that with all my enthusiasm and now look like this and probably will for quite some time:

After scrubbing.

After the balls of dough were the right colors, I put them into individual zip lock bags so that the dough doesn't dry out.

All ready for tomorrow!

I'll be back to post some of Cole's creations!  I'm excited, I love playing with Play-doh!

~Tasha

Parenting update

As I said before, Cole is now 2 and as ornery as ever!  He has been one of the things that has kept me sane over the past year! Well, almost...  His terrible two's 'could' actually be the end of me, haha.  

He is just about to join a pre kindergarten program called Head Start.  At the moment, we have weekly visits at home from a teacher while he is on the waiting list.  He starts in February and will be going to school (I can see it from my living room window) Monday through Friday, 8.30am - 2pm.  It seems like an awfully long time each day!  But they will have breakfast and lunch, play time and nap time.  It will be so good for him to be around other kids though!  I will miss him, it'll be weird not having him here all the time!  I'm sure I'll get used to it quite quick though ;)  He has turned into Stewie from Family guy with the whole 'Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mom, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mama, Mom, Mama, Mama, Mommy, Mom' thing and why is it that boys have to bang things on things?  He seriously does, bang EVERYTHING on EVERYTHING! And, I have given up on cleaning his room too!  He has this couch in his room with all these stuffed animals on (I have no idea where half of them came from, I swear he visits Toys 'r' Us whilst we are sleeping) anyway, literally 5 seconds after arranging them all neatly back on there again, I walk into this:

Excuse the bad quality, I can't find my camera charger anywhere...

I love my little man.  We have fun.

Gomez for Halloween.  I have NO idea what that is on his sleeve....

Telling Santa that he wants beach front property in Florida

~Tasha

Tasha went AWOL...

Hi guys,

I have been AWOL for quite some time now as my life took quite an unexpected turn. Way back in March, I blogged about how we had to move in with my parents for a while whilst we got back on our feet.  My parents lived in the middle of nowhere, and to be honest it probably wasn't the best decision in the world to go there.  I appreciate everything my family did to help us but because we didn't have transportation at that point, finding a job for my husband was pretty near impossible.  Anyway, to cut a really long story short, we bit the bullet and moved to a different town.  We were lucky enough to find out about this amazing non-profit organization called HSP (Human Services Programs) and if it wasn't for them we would STILL be extremely stuck. They offered us somewhere to live for 4 months whilst my husband searched for stable employment.  They put us in touch with local resources that we would never had known existed.  They basically saved our butts.

Thanks to them, and the sheer determination of my husband, he now has a very good job (actually 2 jobs), we have found an AWESOME place to live, we have ALL our stuff back with us in one place and my baby boy (who is now 2!!!) is happy!  I can also go back to work in May which I am so excited about!

This past year has been the most stressful, horrible, HORRIBLE year ever and I never, ever want to go through any of that ever again, nor would I wish it upon anyone else.

2013 is going to be our year.  I can feel it.

So, there you go.  That's where I have been and I am now going to try and get this blogging show back on the road!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that 2013 is kind to each and every one of you!

~Tasha

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Good luck, these candles are awesome!

~Tasha