Our Top *5* Make Ahead and Freeze Breakfasts

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I’m not a morning person. I sometimes fear that I will NEVER be a morning person. I’m the kind of mom who will do school drop off in my jammies. I’m not mad about it either. I roll out of bed when I hear the dreaded “Mom, I’m hungry, what do we have for breakfast?”

Well..it used to be dreaded anyway. Getting out all of those dishes while half asleep and then spending the afternoon doing dishes and tidying up. Sometimes burning things because I wasn’t awake enough to function properly. Coffee, anyone?

When you have a baby or toddler and a school aged child you don’t get a lot of sleep. So being able to sleep a little longer, and not having to slave over a stove when you can’t even open your eyes yet, are probably the best things ever. (not really.. but it’s way, way, up there!)

So, I will share with you our top 5 favorites (not in any order) that we like to make ahead and pop in the freezer for those mornings that mom just doesn’t want to – or have time to -cook!

1. Breakfast Burritos 

I like to make mini ones for my kids since they aren’t huge eaters in the morning. I grab mini tortillas at the store (or you could make your own which is great but a little more time consuming) and fill with scrambled eggs. I’ve added in diced potatoes, sausage, and bacon, and once tried sauteed veggies. The veggie ones were great but my kids weren’t fans. They seemed to love the sausage, egg, and cheese burritos the best. I fill them pretty full so when folding i lay them on the side i folded down, wrap them in plastic wrap and throw them in a bag in the freezer. When I reheat, I put a little slice of cheese in the fold to hold it all together! Super fast breakfast to pull out of the freezer and it doesn’t take long to prepare a lot of them either!

I don’t use a recipe for this one, I just eye it. Feel free to share your favorite variation or recipe in the comments below!

breakfast burritos

2. Pancakes

Pancakes freeze GREAT, and they are easy to make. You can mix anything in, and make several batches so you have something different to pick from. Mix up your batter, preheat your griddle to 375, pour and flip. I like to throw mine in a large freezer bag separated by parchment paper so i can take them out individually.

You can find a good recipe here : http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fluffy-pancakes-2/detail.aspx?src=VD_Summary

^alternatively if you’re a ‘Just add water!’ mix user, this is even easier!

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3. Bakery Style Blueberry Muffins

 Blueberry muffins

These are my absolute favorite. Whip up some scrambled eggs and have a delicious muffin for breakfast and it’s fast when you just have to pop one out of the freezer or storage container. I know these muffins freeze well, but they’re so good that we hardly ever actually freeze them. They’re gone that fast! I normally use whole milk, but I’ve used buttermilk (that the recipe calls for), 2%, and skim, and all of them have turned out. The coarse sugar makes them look great too.

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Get the recipe we use here : http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/01/07/sparkling-jumbo-blueberry-muffins-2/

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^we use “Rumford” aluminum-free baking powder!

find it here : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001M10OW?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=B0001M10OW&linkCode=xm2&tag=itswhti-20

4. Belgian Waffles

These are delicious, and not only are they delicious but they sure as heck beat anything you can find coming from the factory produced frozen waffles at Walmart. We haven’t bought frozen waffles in years now and on the one time that it did happen they tasted disgusting. We’ve spoiled ourselves with homemade. <3

These taste great topped with any kind of fruit and cream or butter and syrup.

Get the recipe here : http://www.cookingclassy.com/2015/01/belgian-waffles/

5. Breakfast Sandwiches 

These freeze great too, and are perfect for heating up and eating on the go. Split and toast an english muffin, add your egg, sausage patty, bacon, cheese, whatever you’d like really and wrap it up.

You can find a good recipe here : http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-freezerfriendly-breakfast-sandwiches-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-215888

And this mom makes breakfast sandwiches in bulk! :  http://thefamilyhomestead.com/mcmombreakfastsandwiches.htm

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I also particularly like this variation : http://www.iwashyoudry.com/2013/09/25/huevos-rancheros-breakfast-sandwich/ which is not so freezer friendly, or very good to-go because it’s messy. It is however, very good!

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We’ve tested all of these recipes, and my little ones approve!! My daughter (5) even enjoyed helping out. She says she is the very best at whisking eggs.

You’re just a stay at home mom?

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“Yes, I’m JUST a stay at home mom.”

What DO I do all day? I must have a spotless house, and dinner made every night, right? Kids who are always happy because I’m never stressed (what is there to stress about, I just stay home all day, right?), and I always have time to play. My kids always follow the rules, pay attention, and they always pick up their million and ten toys that they’ve been “blessed” with. They go to bed at the same time every night and we get up and put on clean ironed clothes and style our hair. We’re always having people over for play dates, and tea time.

…..

HAAAAAA. Just kidding.

What is being a stay at home mom like? I’ve been asked this SO many times. I’ve dealt with the stereotypes. Complete strangers have asked me questions I couldn’t have ever imagined being asked while I was a full time working mom.

  • “Don’t you feel guilty relying on someone else to take care of you?”

No. I take care of things all day long, and my job is very hard too. Who would take care of my children if I did not? A daycare provider? They get PAID for the same job I’m doing, except I’m managing more. Ask me again how guilty I feel for working my butt off all day and night.

  • “What do your kids do all day? Don’t you think they need more social interaction?”

Now, at first, this bothered me. My kids weren’t exactly social butterflies. In fact, it had a lot to do with their ages. Two year olds don’t know how to share, nor do they want to. Four year olds don’t *NEED* children their own age to play with non-stop day in and day out. It stopped bothering me one day when I realized my children were watching me. They watched me fold the laundry, and do the dishes. They knew how to fill the kitchen scrubby with soap. My four year old (at the time) knew how to mix cake mix, sort clothes, and make toast. What do my kids do all day, you ask? They learn. They are learning to be independent when they grow up, and it is so much more important than having a play date four times a week.

  • “How can you stand not going to work? Don’t you feel lazy?”

To answer that, no. I don’t feel lazy. At all. Ever. Why? Because I’m chasing after children and cleaning up messes and teaching, and driving myself crazy almost nonstop. There’s nothing “lazy” about it, as much as you’d like to argue that. How can I stand not going to work? Some days I wish I were at work, but I know that for now, this is best. This is how it works for now, and when I graduate, and go back to work, that is what will be best.

  • “Do you think you’re too good for daycare or something?”

Nope. I’m not too good for a lot of things. I prefer not spending all of the money on childcare while I’m getting a degree though. It works out this way, and I’m not knocking daycare at all. If it works for you, that’s great, if not, I hope you’ve found something that does.

I’ve also gotten…

  • “Back when my kids were little, I managed the house and kept my kids home. I always had dinner ready, and always looked nice, and made sure my kids looked nice every day. I even had more children than you do! They never threw fits because I raised them right. Why do you have such a hard time doing the same thing?”

Well, I’m not super mom. Although I do pretend sometimes. This came from someone who was much older and was expected to do these things for her husband, which is nice, but not exactly realistic for everyone. I’m thinking maybe some things were forgotten along the way too. ;)

Some people try to make stay at home moms feel guilty if they’re tired, or having a bad day, because other moms (or dads, or grandmas or whoever) would give ANYTHING to be able to stay home with their children all day. Watching their favorite shows and baking cupcakes. They would do all the crafts and activities and have so much fun! Except..they probably wouldn’t.

When we moved in to our home I thought it would be great being a stay at home mom of two. Every time I was comfortable with our routine I would add something in that made me slightly uncomfortable, to try and measure up to other stay at home moms. They were doing crafts with their kids, their kid was home-schooled and knew how to write their own name already! This persons kids were learning four languages?! I felt like I wasn’t doing everything right.and it BOTHERED me. A lot.

I had this wonderful privilege and I wasn’t the right person for the job. I felt worn down, nursing a toddler all day (and night) long, and helping my preschool aged (but not in preschool because of health reasons) child try to learn everything she would in preschool plus give her mommy time and sibling time and try to keep the house clean and everything. It just never felt like enough.

Things piled up quickly, and the more Pinterest activities we tried, the messier the house got. Then my toddler started walking, jumping, climbing, running, and flushing things down the toilet every time I turned around. I can not tell you how many times I have shoved my arm down the toilet searching for a toothbrush that needed to be thrown away and replaced again. I can’t even tell you how many times my toddler figured out how to take his diaper off and pee on things, color on walls, smear food in places I forgot we even had, and somehow manage to spill the spill proof sippy cups…everywhere.

My life was so far from perfect and I felt so lost. This couldn’t be what all the hype is about right? HOW do all those moms have their all SH*T together? I’ve asked them, and have gotten responses I wasn’t expecting. A lot of moms felt the same way. They were also afraid to have company over because the “just a stay at home mom” was falling behind with ten loads of laundry, a sink full of dishes, and crayon marks all over the wall. Her kid was wearing underwear on his head, or was in a weird “phase” where he wouldn’t talk to anyone, or only wanted to do one thing over and over and over. Being a stay at home mom is EXHAUSTING, and it’s okay to fall behind.

It’s not okay for everyone to put up this front that being a stay at home mom is so perfect and wonderful and clean. It IS wonderful…most of the time. I love that I am the one who wakes up with my children in the morning, and the one who puts them to sleep at night. I give them their baths, feed them every meal, and help them learn. But it’s not all good, and most of us pretend like it is for the fear of hearing “You’re taking that for granted, I’d give anything to be in your position!” and maybe they would, but it doesn’t make you any less of a mom or a good person, for doing the hardest job in the world and feeling a little tired of it sometimes.

What is being a stay at home mom like?

It’s not really something you can explain. It is the best yet most stressful thing I’ve ever done. It’s like waking up in the morning and having feet stomping your face and yelling “BEKFAST PEAS!” in your ear with chubby grinny little faces waiting for you. It’s like being so exhausted you burn the pancakes sometimes but your kids still love you and forgive you. It’s like not being able to survive the day without coffee.

It’s like knocking out a million things before lunch time, but still having ten million more to go. It’s like a tornado running through your house at all times and you just have to try and keep up without complaining too much. It’s like having glitter on the floor still from valentines day in March. It’s like doing everything for someone and having them say “Well I don’t like you today.” and still loving them.

It’s like realizing your significant other will be off work soon and you have to make it look like you and the kids have at least put on clean clothes for the day. It’s like missing going out with your friends sometimes because your family comes first. It’s like not having dinner made every single night because let’s face it-you’re tired and life happens. It’s like not being able to wait until your kids go to sleep at night because they threw 20 tantrums during the day, but once they’re in bed you can’t stop staring at them..because they’re just so perfect.

It’s like falling asleep in a race car bed on accident and waking up the next morning with a kink in your neck from hanging half way off. It’s like realizing the quote “it takes a village” is truer than you could have ever imagined. It’s like someone took your heart and stuffed it so full that you couldn’t even manage and love just spilled out everywhere.

So when you come over, and there are peas on the floor, kids screeching over me, and sweaters strung down the hall, and you notice it needs mopping, painting, scrubbing, dusting, picking up, and much much more, please don’t judge me. My home is lived in, and constantly being cared for, because I’m just a stay at home mom, and most days, I really truly, love it.

50 Shades of No Thank You!!! *SPOILER ALERT*

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When ’50 Shades of Grey’ was released, I read every. single. book. Front to back. I didn’t put them down for anything. I loved the trilogy, and was so excited when I heard they were making a movie out of it! My wonderful boyfriend, knowing how much I loved the books, decided to buy two tickets to the movie for us on valentines day. I’m not very good at waiting, so I started browsing online for reviews. I had only hoped it was HALF as good as the books.

I came across many posts about domestic abuse, violence, etc. Which, of course made me go back and think about the books and wonder how the movie would display it all. I chalked it all up to people who couldn’t handle BDSM (and of course I was wrong).

I thought the actors were okay, but not great choices for Christian and Ana. I had imagined Christian as being taller, darker hair, and more buff, handsome, and more powerful. I had imagined Ana as, well..younger. Not that Dakota Johnson is OLD, but.. it just didn’t fit.

When we got into the theater and the movie began there was a lot of laughter. I expected couples all over each other, or at the very least,  awkward silences as people watched someone being spanked and tied up on a big screen. It wasn’t the case. The movie did not feel serious in so many parts. It felt like a joke.

Many people may criticize Dakota Johnsons body, or her age, or how the character she played was victimized and what-not in their reviews. All I, personally, could focus on, was how she had the deer-in-headlights look SO often. She was constantly pausing and creating silence between scenes. Like the director didn’t know what else to add and they were waiting around hoping something would just happen.

It felt very clumsy and not at all like I was expecting or hoping for. At the end, it ended with another elevator scene, just like in the beginning, which felt very played out. I also hadn’t realized there would be three, yes three!! movies. One for each book.

Needless to say, we payed to watch ‘Ana’ ride in an elevator, get spanked, cry, look confused, ride in a helicopter, and stare at the screen for over two hours. I would say that it’s an alright movie, and I’d probably watch it again, but wait for this one to come out as a rental dvd that you can return when you’re done and disappointed.

Have you seen 50 shades on the big screen? Let me know below, and vote in the poll on how you felt about it!

You can also check out the trilogy, here! If you don’t have amazon prime, you only need to add $7.01 worth of merchandise to your cart to get the books for less than 10 dollars a piece with free shipping!

  • i do not own or claim to own the header image of the fifty shades of grey movie.

Welcome to the Start of ‘It’s Whine Time’!

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It’s LAUNCH DAY! Welcome!

Kick off your shoes, and pants if they aren’t your thing (they aren’t mine either), and stay awhile! 

My name is Carly. I live in the mid-west and have two beautiful high energy children. I’m a stay at home mom and a college student studying in the criminal justice field.

I’m real, I’m clumsy, I’m messy, and I don’t have it all together. We don’t wear white clothes or go out to fancy restaurants. The bottom of the minivan I drive is probably covered in crumbs, dirt, and crayon wrappers. I’m not the mom with the white couch whose kids sit quietly in their new un-scuffed shoes while i visit with company.

Whether you’re the mom who fed her kids kale chips and quinoa today, or the mom who did mcdonalds drive through again for lunch, I hope you are able to find something you can relate to here. I’m starting ‘It’s Whine Time’ because I feel very strongly about motherhood, and the many aspects of parenting that a lot of us seem to overlook as we navigate our busy lives. I tend to stray from a lot of modern parenting, to a more natural approach, although I try to find a definite balance.

I’ll be sharing many things that hopefully you find interesting, informative, humorous, or that you can use in your life too. As much as I hope you like my blog though, I am my own person, and I do have my own feelings, thoughts, and opinions on things. I hope not to offend as I do plan on sharing some controversial issues in my topics as well.

I’ll be writing about, but not limiting myself to: reviews, parenting, my children and our own life experiences, DIY projects, cooking, baking, and activities with kids. I will eventually be expanding, so be on the lookout for updates on the Facebook page, Twitter, and YouTube channel! I’ll be posting a new blog post every Tuesday and Saturday. Which means our next blog post will be up tomorrow, 2/24. Enjoy!

While I’m getting started please enjoy some fantastic blogs that have really inspired me in the past!

What’s New? A Review?

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I’ll be sharing posts, pictures, and video of reviews that I (and sometimes my kids, depending on the product) complete! I’ll be reviewing everything from movies and books, to toys and cookware. Stay tuned for more on this topic, I put up new posts every Tuesday and Saturday!