Mothership Confessional

I love to cook! And for the holidays I usually like to go with familiar, traditionally served dishes from my childhood. And sometimes I like to throw in something totally different! This year we decided not to travel for the holidays. Instead, we are breaking bread with a few friends here! One meal is the traditional Christmas ham, and the other is a Mexican feast! So today was MAJOR food prep day. Little baby had a great  day, allowing me to get busy in the kitchen! She even took a 2 hour nap  ( not normal for my child!) so I could get a much needed rest on the couch!  Here are all the recipes I used this year! Some are from my recipe book, and some are links to my Pinterest page where the recipes can be found. White Chicken Enchiladas (a childhood favorite) 1 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped green pepper 2 TBSP vegetable oil 2 cups cooked chopped chicken 1 1/2 cup shredded Colby-Jack Cheese 4 oz can chopped green chiles 1 can cream of...

This recipe was a childhood favorite. Once I was old enough to start cooking on my own, I couldn't believe how easy  this recipe was! Normally when you see ketchup, mustard, and relish, you probably think of: summer get-togethers.  potlucks.  barbecues.  ball parks.  picnics.  Here's a yummy dinner idea that only uses these condiments you already have in your fridge! Simple Sloppy Joes Makes about 6 sandwiches 1 pound ground beef or turkey (we prefer it with turkey) 3/4 cup ketchup 1/4 cup relish 1 TBSP mustard Brown the meat in a frying pan. Drain excess fat. Add condiments, stir, and simmer for 20 minutes.  ***** That's literally the easiest recipe ever.  If you like your sloppy joes extra sloppy, you may want to add more ketchup.  My husband and I love to eat our sloppy joes with pickles on top, steamed broccoli seasoned with Lowry's seasoning salt, and curly/crinkle/s...

We've all been invited to baby showers. Most mothers-to-be have created a registry (or two) for their little one, which usually makes shopping for a gift quick and simple. But sometimes it's just more fun to bring your own item! Or almost all the items on the registry have been purchased, or you see something irresistible on the fly during errands. Here are some ideas to help you pick awesome  gifts that every couple with a baby on the way can appreciate! Diapers . This may seem like a pretty boring gift, but they are a necessity, not to mention ex-pen-sive , so every pack is appreciated!! Little babies poop and pee all day long, so baby can easily run though 10-12 of these in one day. It is such a relief for parents to have a stash of these in the closet and be able to avoid the hassle of running to the store for more during the crazy first few weeks (months, really!) of adjusting to this new life. A perk of giving diapers at baby showers is that there is a good chance tha...

I have found that as a new mommy, I am very interested in what other babies do all day, more specifically, what their routine is like. Every baby is so different, as is each household they live in. Since this is my first child, all I know is what Ava does. I have to say, I felt very out of place as an Army wife when we arrived at our first duty station. We only knew one other person here, and so I had zero friends. As female adults, it can be difficult to make new friends. And what does every Army wife sit around and talk about? Kids. Dogs. Deployments. At the time, I had none  of those. (well, I had experienced a deployment, but we weren't married yet and it was a Reservist Deployment, so it was "not on the same playing field".) My husband was encouraging me to branch out and meet people, and I had to try to explain to him that I had nothing to talk about, since all the conversations inevitably end up about kids. And all I could do was listen and smile politely. ...