mid-week meal share: carrot noodle soup

So, if you're anything like us you're familiar with barely finding time to get a proper breakfast/lunch/dinner on the table for the family.  I thought a nice thing to add to the blog is an easy recipe to throw together any day of the week (hopefully one that is cost effective and leans toward nutritional).

One of our favorite go-to meals is 'carrot noodle soup'.  Noodles made out of carrots?!  YES!  Just whip out that veggetti and turn carrots into healthy spaghetti!  

If you're thinking, "what the hell is this lady's problem?", I'll get you back on track, I'm kidding! I can't imagine being on a level of healthiness as to turn vegetables into 'noodles' or that the creators of this product even have the nerve to still call it spaghetti. Though for less than $10 I could see using it to have thin style veggies added to a pasta salad or salad.. with ya know.. lettuce? Anyhow, back to carrot noodle soup! There are just a few simple ingredients:

*there is a soup mix with a regular amount of noodles but..

These three items would cost you $5 or less and the most work you'll have to perform to pull this recipe off is measuring 3-6 cups of water and cutting the already sliced carrots into smaller pieces that make it easy for everyone (ages 9 months - 99!) to eat. And obviously carrots and potatoes are found whole and unprocessed in the produce section of your local supermarket, but our goal here is eaasssyyyy.

1. Boil 3 or 6 cups of water (dependent on how many boxes of soup mix you wish to use) 

2. Add sliced carrots and diced potatoes (I use whole cans of each when making a 6 cup batch) prior to boiling along with the golden flavor nugget found in the soup mix

3. Cook for 5 minutes, or until noodles are tender!

Voila! That's dinner in approximately 15 minutes! I am by no means passing this off as a prize ribbon winning recipe, but hey! It's edible, easy, quick and cheap; and clean-up should be a breeze with only one pot and serving spoon used for the cooking portion.

Cheers to full tummies!

Leia

*if you are anti-carb or have some sort of allergy to pasta and you attempt to make carrot noodles, you must let me know how they turn out!

dead

Timeline of events:

1. Get home from work  ~12:30am (6.5 hours of sleep available).

2. Change clothes, (skip shower, you won't see anyone you particularly care about tomorrow anyhow), straighten up, and settle into bed (6 hours of sleep available).

3. Indulge in Candy Crush, catch up on Instagram, maybe post a Facebook status,

 while you lie in wait for Piper to inevitably wake up as soon as you take your glasses 

off (~5.5 hours of sleep available).

 4. Turn on the TV timer while drifting off to sleep while an episode How I Met Your Mother that Brendon left on plays softly (5 hours of hopeful sleep available).

And boom goes the dynamite! KIDS. They can so easily whisk those peaceful hours away from you.

September 28, 2015: Selfie from my 8:00am anatomy lab. No joke.

You might be thinking that this is a normal night; and technically yes it is as far as the amount/quality of sleep I get.  But I am particularly upset about last night.  Piper believe it or not had a spectacular night.  Not only did she not require us all night, she slept all night with not so much as a whimper!  It was one for the record books.  It was one for the record books for Kennedy, too.  She didn't wake us up once. Not twice. But three times over the course of two hours. The first two times we calmly settled her back into her bed tried to figure out what was going on. The last part is sometimes difficult because she can't/doesn't always describe why she is feeling upset and I hate asking questions that are specific because I don't want my questions to inception her. "Oh yes mom I AM scared because my closet door was left open!"  The third time she was complaining of hunger and being "so so awake". I told her she could play her Leap Frog if she was awake but that we weren't going to have food until the sun was out and sent her on her way. Surprisingly she went on her way sans Leap Frog and was back to bed. 

August 2, 2015: Her room has not looked this put together since, and
 not pictured is the tidal wave of clutter piled on her bed/behind me.
Twin Bed - w/ added bookshelves, Gold Pouf, Book/Photo Ledge

 Only recently has she been waking in the night, and I sometimes wonder if her troubled sleep over the past few weeks is a result of delayed 'home-sickness', or if this is just par for the course with her current age. Late June/early July we were in the middle of transitioning to our new house where I thought we would see a negative effect on Ken's sleep because she had only called one place home.  She completely surprised me!  She loved her new room immediately! Maybe it was because she was back to having her own room, or maybe because I worked my butt off to give her an amazing new setup helped her settle in. Regardless, I am absolutely stressed adding this into the mix of Piper's complete lack of understanding of night time. Hoping things are resolved sooner than later.

But now I'm home from my 4 hours on the school struggle bus and get to enjoy some time at home with the girls before it all starts again tomorrow morning.

Sleep deprived.

Leia

my girls

So I thought I should properly introduce the ones that make me an 'average mom'.

My oldest is Miss Kennedy Grace who turns 4 this October. Important things about Kennedy:

1. Don't make promises you can't keep because she remembers everything.
2. She will remind you of all house rules, but will reason why she had to wear her shoes up to her bedroom.
3. She only occasionally makes statements that include: hell, shit, damn, and the dreaded f-bomb (this is a huge improvement as of one year ago).
4. She is an honest big sister.  She has no qualms admitting that sometimes she wishes there wasn't a baby following behind her stealing toys and pulling her hair but will turn around and ask to snuggle with Piper on the couch.
5. Cats, cats, cats!

September 18, 2015: Kennedy & Duchess. So aristoCATic.

Raising this one has been one of the best experiences of my life.  She started off by being the most stellar baby and has followed the same path, almost to a T, for the past three years and eleven months.  Bad days are rare for her, but when she has them.. sweet jesus. It's as if she had saved up every moment in which she could have acted up for one entire day.  I never know what's going to come out of her mouth at any given moment and most time spent with her is filled with laughter, even more so now that she is going to school three days per week, the stories she tells are absolutely hysterical.  Today she asked me, "Mom, do cats text?" 

Then there is Piper Hazel.  My walking, rummaging, pot-bellied baby toddler.  Piper in a nutshell:

1. Drama. Queen.
2. She wants to be in the middle of everything.
3. Perpetually seems to have an empty stomach.
4. Rarely sleeps through the night (it's been a long year..).
5. First word: 'ki-ki' (kitty). Encouraged by big sis?  Most likely.

September 16, 2015: Clearly enjoying her birthday to the fullest. And if any of you are now
humming 'Seasons of Love' from the musical RENT.. you're welcome.
Glitter Snap Clip, 525,600 Custom Glitter Onesie, Tutu Bloomers

Rather than seeing similarities between Piper and Kennedy, I find that they are very different individuals with their own personalities and agendas in life. Life with Piper has also been filled with great experiences but she has been flipping the scales since before she was born. Piper was born only after I was induced into labor.. NINE days after her due date. What kind of second baby decides to come so late after their due date? Oh yes, the dramatic type.  She has fit every stereotype that is portrayed on television and in movies.  Putting her down? Wrong. Walking out of the room you just put her down in? Just don't. Sleeping through the night?  HA.  Only now that we have passed the one year mark are we seeing a real progress on her sleeping habits.  For this, we are ecstatic; especially since school is back in full swing for the semester. I don't think I really knew what exhausted meant until Piper was born. For all the parents that have had colicky, clingy, and/or unhappy babies my heart goes out to you.

Girls just wanna have fun.

Leia

brand sparklin' new

Lately I feel whenever I stumble across a lifestyle blog that involves mother's and their daily to-do lists and various activities with their one or more children, I find myself looking on with disbelief and disdain for my own life.  Am I doing something wrong?  How come I can't find the time to get my kids out the door in matching outfits with their perfectly matched headbands and clips for breakfast each day and look fabulous while doing it?  Maybe it's because I'm not 5'7" and 105 pounds and I don't have the energy with working full-time and attending school full-time to dress them to the nines (unless I have set aside a day weeks in advance planning their outfits and finding a quaint spot to set my dslr to 'maximum burst shot' get three good pictures) every day.

So maybe this will just be an outlet for myself who just can't with these images and tales of perfection, and to know that I think I'm doing alright while trying to get ahead in life.  Luckily my other half helps me run the show 100% and we are able to make this thing called life keep truckin' on.

Cheers to all the 'average moms' who are lucky to get their kids out of the house and presentable (even it's just through the drive-thru at Tim Horton's) while keeping on top of other important things like work and school.

We've got this.

Leia