100,000 views and a BIG change

I had no idea that the blog would explode like it has over the last month. Between Pinterest and searches online for recipes, our little blog has exploded into something I could never have dreamed of. Today, as I sat down to write this post, I found that we had hit 100,000 views.

What an amazing anniversary to have hit, as I announce our new blog...

http://thisworkmanlife.com

Yep guys, we are now a DOT COM. Head on over, subscribe via bloglovin so you don't miss out on any of the fun and recipes we've got in store (and trust me, I have more than a few waiting to be posted!), and join us as we start a whole new blogging adventure!

Carrie's Baby Shower

The lack of posting over here has not been for nothing. We've been busy! One of the reasons for our slower posting schedule is we were getting ready for Carrie's baby shower!

My sister in law, Amanda made these adorable centerpieces. Love how she incorporated a thank you in them too! So darling!

But this diaper carriage blew us all away - how darling is this?! Amanda included everything Carrie loves in it, frogs, purple, pink and all things adorable. 

I did the clothesline to this lovely set up. Isn't everything all put together just lovely? I thought it turned out really, really cute. 

Here are the favors that I made and put together. We didn't want to do just one of anything, so we did a little of everything, Lipsticks, lip gloss, nail polish, and hand sanitizers! 

My mother in law ordered the cake, isn't it cute?
Not just that, but it was TASTY. 

Us Workman's cannot have a normal party without a chicken salad sandwich.
Also, chips are a must. 

When it came to clothes and presents, this little girl will have plenty to wear!

And everything she got was simply adorable.

Shameless Carrie, her mom gave her her blessing gown and her old blankie...well whats left of it.

It was a beautiful baby shower and a fun night. It was so great being able to see family and friends and give Carrie and baby Dezarae the love they deserve as they start this new adventure in their lives. We love you Aunt Carebear! 

Easy Chicken Pot Pies

I hate to admit that I tried a recipe seen on Facebook. We all know what that means...that it was kidnapped from a blogger somewhere. I did try this recipe out, and we love it, so if anyone knows the original author, could you please message me? I want to link to them and thank them for the recipe. 

We put this dinner together after a long day at work, which makes the task of cooking dinner that much more daunting. I was surprised to see how easy it was to make! (And inexpensive!)

What you'll need:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 canister of Pillsbury Grands rolls
1 can Libbys mixed veggies
1/2 cup cheese (top top it all off with)
1 chicken breast, cooked and chopped

How to do it:

1. Open up your Grands container and roll each roll out flat. Place each one into the slot of a greased muffin tin, pressing it flat and creating as much of a cave as possible inside of it.
2. Cook your chicken breast, and chop it into cubes. Place into a bowl, and mix with veggies and cream of chicken soup, stir well.

3. Add mixture into each dough cave, and top with cheese.
4. Bake according to directions on the Grands container, and wait a few moments after removing from oven to remove from tin (doing so while its hot will result in a MESS).

Serve and enjoy!

According to the world... (I'm a terrible mom)

According to the world, I am my worst nightmare.
The thing is, the world doesn't see what is going on, and the end result and the judgement, is unbelievable.
According to the world, I am a terrible mom.

__ __ __

According to the lady at Dollar Tree, I'm raising a brat.

She said this because when she entered the store my son was starting to get fussy. She had absolutely zero idea that he and I had been to five different stores, over the course of three hours, with little to no break and a snack he refused to eat still in the car. After much begging and trying to be a good mommy, I finally gave in and offered him a board book in exchange for him behaving himself.

She saw this and felt the need to inform me that I am raising a brat while we waited in line to check out.

What she didn't see, or hear, for that matter, was my son telling me "thank you", very excitedly as I handed it to him. She didn't see him tell everyone in the store how happy he was to have a new book. She didn't hear him thank the lady at the check-out when she handed the book back to him after scanning it. She didn't see any of the manners, or the sweet moment when we were leaving, and I told him I was frustrated with him being grumpy, how he threw his arms around my neck and told me "sorry, mommy."

Instead, she saw me raising a brat.
___ ___ ___

According to a friend on facebook, I'm a bad parent.

This was said because she witnessed a mom hand over her phone to her kids and let them watch videos on it during a meal at a restaurant. The kids were perfectly quiet and didn't disturb a soul, and even ate all their food when it came. I defended that action, because honestly, at one point or another, you do it to survive wherever you are.

We've done it at Wal-Mart, when the lines are long, I have coupons and ad-matches, and when the scanners are broken. Mommy and daddy, exhausted, tired, and trying not to lose it, hand over their phone and set it up so he can watch songs from Frozen. I've done it when I've had to take him with me to the doctors office. The doctor is an hour behind, Little dude is past naptime, and you're nerves are shot as you finally give in an set it up to Baby Einstein.

But instead of appreciating the silence, instead of being thankful the child in front of you isn't having a complete meltdown, instead of understanding; we're bad parents.

They don't even see the fact that it's on an educational video.
___ ___ ___

According to family, I'm too hard on my son.

Little Dude is an incredible boy. He loves to help and has the biggest heart. He WANTS to help, and if I don't give him ways to help, he "helps" in his own ways that are disastrous. They see me forcing my toddler to work, when in reality, he wants to be busy and productive.

They see me giving him rags with dish soap on them, and see him taking to the walls and to the kitchen, wiping everything down for me. They see him helping me make dinner, see him trying to help me vacuum, see him helping me get the mail, see him trying to help me sweep the floors. They see a toddler being turned into Cinderella.

What they don't see is the toddler at my feet in the kitchen, hugging my legs and screaming "Mommy! I help!" and this act continuing until I put his apron on and set up his stool. What they don't see is the toddler shoving me out of the way whenever the vacuum turns on so he can be the one to do it. What they don't see is the kid who actually will clean up his toys when asked, and who will sing and dance while we work.

Instead, they see me being "too hard" on my son.
___ ___ ___

According to the mommy blogger community, I don't do enough for my toddler. I'm holding him back.

I don't post every activity on Instagram. I don't post everything we do on the blog. I don't "Dear Diary" our lives like some mommy bloggers tend to do. That in turn is being seen as laziness as a mother, and apparently I do not do enough to keep his brain going and growing.

They don't see the daily coloring time we do. They don't see all the books we read. They don't see the trips to the park, or the dancing we do. They don't see how I set up a workout routine at home that my son and I can both do, to encourage hand-eye coordination. They don't see the snuggles, and the educational videos about animals. They don't see the hours spent on the floor playing with trucks, or the Pinterest board full of ideas that we are always working on.

I'm not like them. I don't tell everyone everything.

So instead, they see a complacent mom who doesn't do anything for her kid.
___ ___ ___

It's amazing, how hard we all fight for us to quit being so nasty to each other, yet this is just a 36 hour period in my life. There are so many other moments that I could describe in my day that makes me want to lose my mind at other people, other women, and other mommies, that are so out of line.

• Like the bitch who laid on her horn while my son and I were crossing the street. In a crosswalk. And we had the right of way. She yelled at me because I was letting him walk and it "took too damn long." 
• Or the rude lady at the store who got upset because my son was mimicking mommy and was looking through the clothing rack. No clothing was damaged, he was barely touching it, yet she was nasty with us.
• Like the jerks who openly comment on us allowing our son to sing when we are out in public. It's twinkle, twinkle Little Star, you d-bag, get over it. 
• Or the numerous amount of people who give us dirty looks when my son happily smiles at them and says "Hey! How are you?" He's being polite, yet they can not help encourage the good behaviors or manners. 

According to the world, I can do everything right, and it is still absolutely wrong. I can pay all the attention in the world to my son, I can work hard to make sure he knows how to act in public, I can be the best mom I can possibly be, and I will still be a terrible mom. 

I guess I'll have to deal with that title, it could certainly be worse. 

Broccoli Chicken Bake

This is a really easy recipe that I just threw together one evening. I had called Bubba and asked him what he wanted for dinner. His response was, "a delicious, pasta...something."
Challenge accepted.

Both of my boys ate seconds and thirds of this dish. It freezes really well and can be converted into lots of other dishes if you simply switch out the broccoli. 

What you'll need:
2 chicken breasts
1 packet of Italian Seasoning
1 bag frozen broccoli
1 box noodles
1 can cream of chicken soup

1-2 cups of cheese

How to do it:

1. Start off your dish by getting the noodles started (boil them in water) and placing the chicken on the stovetop to cook. Cover both chicken breasts in about 1/2 a packet of seasoning. Set the other half aside.
2. In a large baking dish, prep it with non-stick spray. Add the can of cream of chicken soup, and the other half of the seasoning. Set aside.
3. Once the noodles are boiled, begin to cook the broccoli on the stovetop. Add the noodles to the baking dish and stir it in with the sauce. Once the broccoli is finished cooking, add it as well.
5. The chicken breasts should finish last, and once finished cooking, cut into small cubes of chicken. After adding that last ingredient to the baking dish, top with 1-2 cups of cheese and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!

Homemade Funnel Cake

This recipe was one seen on Pinterest, one of the ones that has the recipe in the comments.
Thats how you know its an easy recipe, which really means its one I can safely attempt.

What You'll Need:
2 cups pancake mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
Oil for frying

Topping suggestions:
Powdered Sugar
Chocolate Syrup/ Strawberry Syrup
Fresh Fruit

How to Make it:
1. In a bowl, mix all your ingredients with a whisk. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, add about one inch of oil and set to medium heat.
3. Using an empty container (ketchup bottle for example) or an icing container (I used one from a $5 Betty Crocker Icing Set and it worked PERFECT), put batter into the container. Top with an easy squeeze tip.
4. Once the oil is heated and your container is full, begin to squirt it into the pan, creating a zig-zag pattern. You'll want it touching as much as possible, or else it will fall apart when you flip it.
5. Cook for about 60-90 seconds (or until golden brown) and then flip and cook again. Remove from oil and set onto a plate lined with paper towels or napkins.
6. Add your toppings, and serve while warm.

Enjoy!

Reeses Pieces Peanut Butter Brownies

My husband has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone that I know. And when it strikes...theres no going back.

The other day he informed me that he had a sweet tooth. I wanted to surprise him, so I took to the kitchen in the hopes of fulfilling the craving.
According to him, these bad boys really did the trick.

What you'll need: 

1 box Brownie Mix (yeah, we keep it classy here) & all it entails (eggs, oil, water)

1 box Reese Pieces

2-3 heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter

How to make it:

1. Make brownie mix as instructed on the box. Add 1/2 box of Reeses Pieces.

2. Prepare baking dish by spraying with cooking spray, and preheat the oven.

3. Add 1/2 the brownie batter to the baking dish.
4. Add your heaping spoonfuls of peanut butter into the brownie mix, then using a spatula, spread it over the brownie mix. (If you're having trouble getting it to spread, place the baking dish on top of the oven as its heating up. The heat from the oven will warm it and help it spread).
5. Add the other half of the brownie mix to the top, spread it so that it is even and then top with more Reeses Pieces.

Serve and enjoy!