Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Yesterday my sister asked me for an easy crockpot recipe that she could whip up when her in-laws are visiting later in the week.  Now, I had to remind her that my crockpot recipes are certainly not gourmet, but she assured me that she just wanted easy.  I gave her my go-to crockpot recipe that we eat at least once every two weeks.  And it made me realize that I haven't shared it on the blog yet.  It's simple, delicious, and can be mixed up in so many different ways, which makes it one of our family's favorites!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 jar salsa (I use the 16 oz Pace Picante Sauce)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained

Place the chicken in the crockpot.  Pour in the salsa, black beans, and corn.  Cook on low for 8 hours.
Use a fork to shred the chicken.

It's that simple!  Then you have a delicious chicken mixture that can be used for just about anything.  We usually have tacos the first night with soft shells, lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and black olives.  We've also used it on nachos, in quesadillas, and I have a recipe to make it into an enchilada casserole.  All are delicious, and talk about an easy dinner!  It's definitely my go-to crockpot recipe that is always a winner!  Hope you enjoy!

Tired Tuesday

I don't know what it is, but I am tired this morning.  It hit me like a ton of bricks and I've had a heck of a time getting going for the day.  Unfortunately, that means I didn't prepare a blog post, but I can always find a few cute pictures of Drew to share, so here you go........

I'm trying a new crockpot recipe tonight, so if it turns out well, I will share it in the upcoming days.  I always love a good crockpot recipe.  They are my favorite because it's usually minimal effort with a pretty good outcome.  Let's hope this new recipe is the same way!  Hope you all have a great Tuesday!

One More Week

Well, March Madness finally comes to an end tonight as Kentucky and Connecticut play for the championship.  Who would have guessed that a seven seed and an eight seed would be duking it out in the finals?  I guess that's what makes it March Madness!  I'll be cheering for Connecticut tonight.  They beat out my pick to win it all (Michigan State), and I've been impressed every time I've watched them play.  Plus I have this sweet shirt that my mom got me a couple years ago while she was visiting a relative in Connecticut for a wedding, so I'm practically a legitimate fan! ;)  Go Huskies!!

Despite the crazy outcome in the bracket this year, I did pretty well in my pools again.  I ended up winning both Doug's family pool and my family pool, so that's pretty exciting!  I have some money and a nice dinner out waiting for me!

Aside from watching the basketball games on Saturday, we had a very productive and fun weekend.  We ran a bunch of errands on Sunday and cleaned out both of our fridges and freezers, and our pantry.  It feels so good to be organized again and have some room in our fridges, freezers, and pantry.  It was a much needed chore, and I'm glad we got it knocked out this weekend.  Plus, since I had some old marshmallows and Lucky Charms, I whipped up a batch of krispie treats.  Yumm!

Doug also bought a new mount for his GoPro this weekend so that he can use it while stand up paddle boarding in Hawaii next week.  It's a head mount, and looks pretty crazy!  Drew thought it was hilarious, until we put it on his head!!  Hopefully it works well and Doug can get some good footage in the ocean next week.  I'll be happy to watch it, but I'm not sure how excited I am to be the girl with the guy with the crazy head thing on the beach!!  Haha, just kidding honey, it's cute!

Last night we also hooked up our new blue ray player, so we rented White House Down.  It was a pretty good, entertaining movie!  It was nice to get a little relaxation in too after our busy day.

Well, today starts the final full week of tax season.  I couldn't be more happy about that!  I'm so ready for the 15th.  Happy last week of tax season friends!!

High Five for Friday!

Happy Friday friends!  This week went by so quickly.  Tax season has been overly slow this year, and then these last two weeks have just flown by.  Before we know it, it's going to be the 15th and we can all have normal lives again!  I'm so ready for that.

It was a good week for us.  Here are the highlights!

1. We had date night last night at the Bay.  It was good to get out and mix up the weeknight routine a little.  Dinner was good, and we all had an enjoyable time.  They had highchairs that just sat in a normal chair, so Drew go to sit at the table right next to Doug.  He wasn't sure about it at first, but he got used to it.  He was an eating machine too.  I swear the kid will eat anything and everything.  He chowed down on puffs, baby food, carrots, black beans, rice, and a bite of pizza.  He loved it all!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Drew has had a bit of a tough week when it comes to sleeping.  He went to bed later and woke up earlier than usual all week.  I don't love getting up really early in the morning, but seeing his sweet face makes it all worth it.  In addition, there have been some pretty spectacular sunrises for me to watch.  Such a beautiful place we live!
   
   
   
   
3. Drew deserves to be one of my highlights this week.  In all actuality, he is the highlight of all of my days and weeks!  He's so fun and funny and he brightens my day every day.  I love him!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. My sister recommended the Sally Hansen Gem Crush nail polish, and I think I'm in love.  It's sparkly and fun.  I'm wearing the color Razzle Dazzle.
   
5. Tomorrow could very well be the last Saturday that my husband works until next tax season.  I sure hope so!  This has been a long three months and I'm ready to have my husband back and Drew can't wait to spend more time with his dad!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Hope you all had a great week and are enjoying this Friday!  Here's to a fabulous weekend as well!

13 Days!

It's hard to believe that in just 13 short days I will be here:

Oh boy, I can't wait.  Sun, beaches, surf, and shave ice......what could be better than that?  We have some fun things planned and also hope to spend some time just relaxing and playing in the ocean.  I really can't wait.  It will be fun to share about our experience once we get back too.  We went on vacation in November, but Drew came with us, so this will be completely different.  I'm looking forward to it (but also kind of nervous to leave Drew for so long!), especially getting to spend some quality time with my husband.  The countdown is on!!

Midnight Cuddles!

I was blessed with a baby that sleeps!  At exactly 8 weeks, Drew slept through the night for the first time, and after that first night, it was like a switch flipped and he has slept through the night ever since.  I can count on one hand how many times I've had to get up with him in the middle of the night for more than just a second to give him his paci back or change his position.  I'm very lucky, I know!

Before Drew came along, everyone I talked to warned me about the many sleepless nights I was sure to have.  I think it's very common for children to not sleep very well, and it can last for a long time.  In anticipation of this, we bought a rocking chair to put in Drew's nursery and I envisioned spending many nights rocking a sleepless child in it.  Needless to say, the rocking chair didn't get much use and I was blessed enough to not experience much of the sleeplessness and exhaustion that many moms face.

But for some reason, last night was a whole different story.  We fed Drew and put him to bed at his usual time, a little after seven.  He cried and cried when we left the room, so I decided he wasn't quite ready for bed yet and let him hang out with me in the living room for awhile.  About 8:30, I finally put him to bed and he fell asleep quickly.

Then, at 1:30 this morning, he woke up.  I went to his room to give him his paci and readjust his sleeping position, like I usually do, but as soon as I left, he began to cry again.  I went back into his room, and he climbed up his crib and held his hands out for me.  Now if you're a parent, you know this melts your heart and there's no way you can refuse those little arms.  So I did what I haven't done since Drew was just a few weeks old, and that is rock him in the rocking chair.  I can't tell you how sweet and wonderful it felt to hold my almost one year old and rock him to sleep on my chest.  It probably only lasted about 10 minutes before he was sound asleep on me and I transferred him back to his crib, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't contemplate laying back and sleeping like that with him for the rest of the night.  It felt so nice to have him lay on me and want me to be there with him.  It made me miss the days when he did want to sleep on me and have me hold him all night.  He's such a big boy now, and times like last night remind me of our early days together and of when he was just a tiny newborn.  It was so sweet and precious.  Being a mom truly is the best job out there.  Experiencing a love like that is such a blessing!

Spring Cleaning

Well, the weather may not be cooperating, and it may still feel more like winter than spring, but the other day I got the urge to do some spring cleaning in my closet.  Now, if you know me, you know that I'm a bit of a collector (nice way of saying hoarder), and I have a tough time letting go of things.  I'm one of those people that attaches sentimental value to items like clothing.  I will have a T-shirt that I've had for years and just simply can't get rid of it because I have some special memory in it or it represents a certain time in my life.  It's a bit of a problem, I know.  So anyway, when the urge hit me a couple days ago, I just went with it and ended up throwing out quite a bit of stuff.

It felt good to clean out my closet a little and make room for new clothes.  I realized that most of the items that I threw out were YEARS old, like many, many years.  So it probably is time to update a little and find new items to make new memories in.  After all, my life has changed drastically, and I really do feel different now that I'm a mom.  Some of my old clothes probably weren't appropriate for a mom to be wearing, so it's probably a good thing to start fresh.  Now I'll be able to find new clothes for this new chapter in my life!

As you can see from the picture, I got rid of lots of stuff.  And that wasn't all.  We filled two large garbage bags full that we will take to goodwill.  Hopefully someone else can find some use out of my old stuff, and love it just as much as I did!