Who knew Nebulizers could be adorable?

Recently our pediatrician made the judgement call to give our toddler a nebulizer. While our son has been exposed to nebulizers before, he has always made it loud and clear that he does not like them. Even before he ever had to use a nebulizer for himself, he would cry with empathy as one of his "daycare" friends had to use his before nap time... As one would imagine, he certainly had a tough go of it when he was the actual victim of the machine... Rather than renting his equipment, I called a friend of mine who happens to be in the business... She recommended this with highest compliments:

The DobbyNeb by Medline (I originally thought she misunderstood me and gave me the name of a pet care option).

Upon searching, I found a variety of prices... the lowest being around $65. I figure if we're going to have this fixture in our home for years to come... and our toddler is going to be a child for several years, might as well make a pet out of it... plus it comes with high consumer reports. So I'm going to order one or two (an extra for his daytime caregiver) and will give the full report after using it for a while.

My "planned meal" for tomorrow is likely tacos... I'm not going to patronize anybody choosing to read this by copying and pasting the instructions from the back of the seasoning packet... But if you want to enjoy Aunt Nelle's Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Salad (with a twist), enjoy the following easy instructions:

Place desired amount of chicken in the Crock Pot (I typically use about 1.5lb because that's the smaller end of what the Tyson's packages have at the store... We're only feeding 2 adults and a toddler here). For every 2lb of chicken, use one packet taco seasoning. You may either add 1/2 cup of water per 2lb or 1/2 jar of salsa per 2lb. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and give to your happy self feeding toddler (if applicable)... and enjoy the rest in your salad... I use shredded lettuce, chicken, sour cream, taco sauce, and cheese... and I top it off with Dorito's spicy nacho flavored crunched up chips... DELICIOUS and soooo easy...

While I don't have a beautiful picture of my taco salad, I do have a picture of the new shelf we hung for our cook books and meal planner... brought to you by a Pinterest idea.

Enjoy!!

Now off to give my cook book shelf a rest and settle in with a toasted bagel with peanut butter... :) It's the small things in life...

Dinner and Organization...

As I'm sure many can relate, the toughest battle about realizing your dream while having a family and running a household all at once is finding time to make dinner without making reservations.  While I'm not the best cook in the world, there's nothing better than having a home made dinner planned before getting home from work.  If you have met me, you know I operate off of "to-do" lists and so I have found a way to incorporate my love for day planners and to-do lists into my meal planning... 

I use a planner very similar to this (though there are features in my planner that I don't yet need as my toddler is not yet in soccer, baseball, music, or any other activities besides playing with his cousins at his Aunt and Grandma's houses)...  But this helps me to cut out the monotony conversations like "What do you want for dinner?..."I don't know... what do YOU want??"... "I dunno... tacos?"... "We already had those this week..."... 

But given the busy lifestyle that my husband and I both lead (both of us work full time and are in school full time), I do admit I am a bit addicted to slow cooker meals... so "What's for dinner??" tomorrow night... Ham... in the slow cooker... 

Mine won't look THIS pretty I'm sure... but you can't go wrong with a ham... or a slow cooker... 

Crockpot Ham with Pineapple and a Mustard Glaze
1 cup of water and optional: sage or bay leaves
1 1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp dry mustard or 2 Tbsp of dijon mustard
2 Tbsp cider or white vinegar or lemon juice
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 can pineapple rings
whole cloves
toothpicks

Score the top of the ham with a sharp knife in a diamond pattern. Attach the pineapple rings with whole cloves or place cloves in cente of diamond and attached pineapple rings with toothpicks (not too far in!). If your slow cooker has a roasting rack, use it. If not, line crock pot with aluminum foil. Place ham on rack. Combine brown sugar, mustard and lemon juice; spoon over ham. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes. Turn slow cooker to low and bake for 6 1/2 more hours. Test with meat thermometer after 5 1/2 hours. Once ham reaches 125-130 degrees, remove.

Remove ham (use gloves or potholders) to a platter. Combine orange juice and cornstarch to form smooth paste. Taste your ham drippings – if very very salty, discard. If pan drippings taste delicious to you – pour into roasting pan (conventional oven) or keep in the crockpot. If using, stir orange mixture into drippings, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Place ham onto roasting rack (or in crockpot or on roasting pan….) Spoon glaze over ham.

Place ham into preheated 350 degree oven. Or, turn crockpot onto high. Bake for an additional 35-45 minutes or until shiny and brown. Present and slice at table while studded (fun!) but be sure it rests for 15 minutes before slicing.