SAHM dinner FAIL... almost!

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So we had pulled some chicken out of the freezer for dinner and Corey  had been mentioning all of these different ways we could cook it. I said I would figure something out and he said he trusted me! :) I had planned on roasting it in the oven at a low temperature all day.. but um... totally FORGOT about it EEK!! It's not like I'm one of those "Ohhh honey, you will have a nice hot dinner ready for you as soon as you walk in the door" types. But, since he gets home right at dinner time, it makes sense to have dinner ready.. most nights! :) The day got away from me and I walked into the kitchen after 5 and said "OOOOHHH SH*T!!!" I had done NOTHING for dinner, and the thought hadn't even crossed my mind! So.. I frantically set to work.

My mission: prepare a full meal in less than an hour and have it be convincing enough that Corey would have NO clue that I didn't slave away all day preparing it!

My "on the fly" menu: Baked chicken, skillet potatoes, green peas, and homemade apple cake!

My chances of success: HIGH (because I have super powers, in case you didn't know)

Tactical Maneuver: Called the hubs and told him we needed more bananas. Good stall tactic. ;)

 I began this frantic dash at 5:19pm.
Praise God for the invention of the Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker and thank you Mama for getting it for me for Christmas!  I plopped the chicken quarters in there. (ick... raw chicken is just gross).
Haha... I'd like to thank The Pampered Chef for making this meal possible...I grabbed the Rosemary Herb Seasoning Mix.
and went to town seasoning it all over and under the skin.
All ready to cook in the microwave for 20 minutes.
 Anyone see the problem here?...
It beeped at 5:20... I had set it for 20 seconds, not 20 minutes. Genius, I am!
Ahhhh... that's more like it! :)
On to dessert prep. Easiest and most addictive cake ever.. Apple cake! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and mix the batter.Here's what you need:4 cups (2 boxes- but you won't use all of the 2nd box) of white cake mix1 1/2 cup of applesauceMix together.(Call me lazy, but I just mixed this directly in the 9x13 pan to save a bowl!)
Spread it out as evenly as possible before baking at 350.
I had 4 minutes and 44 seconds left on the chicken when I popped the cake in  to bake for 30 minutes.
 Give the kids some olives to play with/eat to keep them entertained...
I cubed up a large tater and popped it into the microwave for a couple of minutes to soften them up a bit. The microwave had finished cooking my chicken. I had taken it out and let it continue to cook in the baker while I finished the meal. Then I plunked the potatoes into a skillet that had a little EVOO and fresh chopped garlic, I pan fried them and they were SOOO good!
Doesn't that look delish? Wish you could have smelled it! YUM!
I got some peas cooking as well  and added some "I can't believe it's not butter because nothing about it IS butter" (so that Benjamin could eat it). He ended up not eating the peas, actually he spit them out... not that you care, but wanted to share.
It was at about this point in the prep that Corey walked in with these. These bananas are large. I find it funny that he got big bananas because he complained the last time I got big bananas and insisted it was better to get smaller ones. Again, useless information  and you will not get back the time it took for you to learn that tidbit. My apologies.
While the potatoes were still cooking, I made the "icing" for the cake. You need:4 Tablespoons butter1/4c milk1/2 powdered sugar1/2 cup brown sugar
 
 Melt the butter in the saucepan and then add the remaining ingredients. Mix until bubbly then remove from heat. (that little wisk is also Pampered Chef and is an awesome and very handy little toolie to have!)
When your cake is done, remove from oven and poke holes in it with a toothpick. I have found this to be the best way to get the carmely goodness to soak in all over the cake! Mmmm!
 I just dump the caramel on top and spread with my ..... wait for it.... Pampered Chef spatula (I need a kickback from them...)
Dinner is DONE at 6:11pm. Rock on.

I would show you a picture of the cake.... but well I would be embarrassed at how much of it is left after two days...
Mission Outcome: SUCCESS! Although, I am going to be honest, I think I sort of shot myself in the foot with this. He had NO clue that I did this mad dash, but I fessed up. Bad move, Tracy... because he quickly said that I can't ever have the "We should go out to eat since we don't have time to make dinner" excuse. *rolls eyes* He then commented on how quiet I was when he first got home.. I was FOCUSED! Had to keep my eye on the prize! LOL!

My new-to-me embroidery machine!!

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I shouldn't do some things. Things like window shopping, going to the dog shelter to just "look", going to the fabric store to "kill time", and looking at Craigslist just to "see what they have".... I have ended up with deals I couldn't pass up, one or three dogs, a crap TON of fabric I never intended to purchase, and a brand spakin' new (to me) kick ass embroidery machine! Okay, it's kick-a'ness is yet to be determined but it certainly has the potential!! I just need to find the time to figure it all out! 
I got a hell of a deal. I had to do some MAJOR negotiating and mayhaps shed a few tears to convince my husband of how great of a deal this was and how this little investment would pay off great dividends. It will, it will!! Part of the "deal" I made was that I would finally let go of (i.e. sell) the bins and bins and bins of clothing that I have stored out in the garage in sizes I have not seen in um.. years. I blame him though- I've been kicking out children like it's my job and well, I didn't get myself pregnant. I fully plan on getting down to the size of the clothing in there and yes I could still wear most of it if I did, but it will take time. Corey said that if and when I do, I can get new clothes. I am typing this up here so that it is written and he can not deny having said it. I only type the truth! :) My goal is to get through the clothes sometime in the Fall, when it isn't 110 degrees. For real today it was 111, and this was our 52nd day over 100 this summer. Awesome. Or not. When I get to them though, there's several hundreds of dollars to be made! Seriously. I have over 120 skirts alone!
On to my new machine! I need to name her. I am open to suggestion. I got a Singer Quantim XL-6000The sweet lady I got it from gave me a ton of extras. I got one roll of stabilizer, a whole RACK of high quality thread, an older laptop (that was used mostly for the embroidery CD's and downloaded designs), and several CD of embroidery designs. I will probably end up selling most of the CD's though since they aren't things I would use (and will help me pay it off!...oh wait, who am I kidding. I could use that money to get new designs!). Her first car ride with me.
Her new home. She fits in well. 
 You can see the thread and laptop there (you can also see how I hung my iron and ironing board with the wall hooks I got 2 for $1!).
Ohh la! la!
I love all of the yummy colors!! 
My first attempt at embroidering a name!  
Success!
A few things I've done so far! Baby steps. Right now I'm just doing names and I've only used the fonts that come on the machine. I don't know how to get fonts and designs from the computer to the machine yet!

Lowe's Build and Grow

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I signed Brooke up for one of Lowe's Build and Grow workshops and we had SO much fun! I believe she is a little on the young side according to their recommendations (4 or 5 minimum age), but they didn't card her and she did GREAT! I was impressed with her hammering skills! I did help her quite a bit, but she did a lot on her own and she was SO SO proud of herself! You can't beat that! She is so looking forward to going again and I can't wait for her to go back! Home Depot does something similar, but we haven't gone yet. If it's anything like the Lowe's workshop, you should definitely check it out! 

You sign up online and then go check in where they have you sign a waiver and give you a pre-packaged item to build. Then you go to your "seat" (upside down bucket) and "table" (2"x10"'s on top of upside down buckets) where they have a little hammer for you to use.
The packages come with easy to follow pictorial directions.

Howdy Folks, I'm Big Tex!

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 Not me, him ^^. Well, I am big and I am from Texas, but I digress.
He is awesome and we love making our annual trek to the Big D to visit him and all of the fried food fabulousness that abounds in his "home". Pretty much, if you can think it, they can fry it. More on that later. Since before we were married, Corey and I have been going to Dallas to The State Fair. We just love it. We don't go for the stupid games that the inbred carnies try to get you to play by telling you that "every kid wins" or "come on dad, your son would love this (stuffed piece of crap that you would have to haul around for the rest of the day)". We don't go for the rides, although I would move up a few notches on the "cool wife" scale if I could stomach them. We go for the ambiance, the corny dogs, the dog show, the farm animals, the trade shows where they try to sell you things like the Vita Mix (I waaaaaannnnttt one!!) & the rubber brooms (we got one years ago and still use it!). It's just fun. It better be to get us to drive to Dallas. I just don't think too many things are worth the stress of the traffic to get there. Last year we took the train and that was super awesome. This year we didn't bc we had to drop the baby off at my mom's and the train station was out of the way. Next year we will though! We had a great time and can't wait for next year when all three kids get to experience it!
No trip is complete without a picture in front of Big Tex.
That is Corey with the kids... in case you can't see the specks down there in front.
And that is moi.
We headed straight to the dog show. We enjoy it, since we are huge dog people, but I have to say that each year they seem to add more to it, but don't make it any longer. It seems so rushed and isn't as fun as it used to be. Oh, and you can NEVER ever understand the dude who mc's it. Sort of sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher. 


Best Friends (except when he hits her and pulls her hair...)

Frisbee catchin' dogs!
 I love this picture of him!
"Dock" jumping dogs. I had to include this picture even though you can't see the dog. This one was a three legged rescued Pit Bull named Hobbles (I think? His name had something to do with his lack of a limb). It was awesome that he did this and he loved it! He jumped pretty far too, 23' I believe. His competition, a four legged canine, jumped 28'.
This is such a cool exhibit. It's called Little Hands on The Farm.
Who doesn't love a good face cut out?!
They give each kid an apron and a bucket to take with them along the way. First you are given a baggie of dried corn.
Then you "water" the tree and take a peach off of it.
How sweet are they holding hands!   
They got to "milk" a cow.




 Plant some seeds in the dirt using a little shovel.
Harvest some veggies.
Hold hands with daddy while mommy walks behind and thinks "oooh how sweet, I must take a picture b/c that is too cute". *click*
This little tractor is so cool!
 
Feed the chickens.
Then, at the end, they put all of the things they have gathered and harvested into their respective bins at the "market".
They turn in their apron and basket and are "paid" for their work.
From there they get to spend their money in the little store. They are allowed to pick one item. Brooke got trail mix and Benjo got animal crackers.
Corey to the kids on the big Ferris wheel. 
LOL! (she is not about to barf, she was excited!)
So cute.. holding on to her little brother! <3

We had worked up an appetite, so I got this chicken taco thing. It was pretty good, and NOT fried! *gasp!*
Then we went to the bird show. It was awesome and we almost got tweeked in the head by bird feet.
This bird was SO close. I may or may not have screamed.

That is the big ferris wheel the kids and Corey were on. They also had a bird in one of the cars that they had fly out and was part of the bird show.
Fletcher's Corny Dogs = THE State Fair of Texas
They have some big football game here during the fair. It may be the ONLY time I root for the University of Texas.

She was tiiiired..
So we had to pep her up. We headed for the Fried Bubblegum!! Check out some of the other fried things at this years fair.
When I heard "Fried Bubblegum", I rolled my eyes. Really?! How the heck does that work? How can you eat it but not swallow it... Well friends, it's simple. It's not really gum. It's a fried marshmallow dipped in bubblegum flavored stuff. And, it is GOOOOOOD!


When you bit into it, it was soft, melty, sweet, and gooey. Perfect.
We stopped at the petting zoo on our way out! Look at the little baby in the pouch! Awww!



Here is the 2011 butter sculpture. Makes me want to get a big 'ole piece of bread.
Look, a sign for my husband....
We had an amazing time! On the way home I drove past this.. What in the free world?! At least its not a real person on that bucking bull! Only in Texas!