A glimpse into my life, motherhood and simply being full time working young woman whom is just trying to find her way in this world. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way right?! Day in and out we wake up follow the same routine; whether its work or school or both. Prepare our kids for the day, come home to clean cook dinner and prepare our families for the next day. Exhausting!!! Some days it just feels as if it’s not enough time to tackle every task while still being a GOOD mother, spending time with your kids, doing activities with them so you are not just a stern mom, but a fun mom. Oh and if you have a partner make sure they are not neglected as well as your appearance. No woman wants to look in the mirror at her mom jeans and mom hair do. I know if I could snap my fingers or twitch my nose like Bewitched I would get a lot more things done and look amazing while I’m doing it. So since we don’t have magic to make it all better I’m hoping with my blogs I can uplift women like myself struggling in this world with the day to day tasks of being a full time working woman/mother. Now how do you suppose I do this? If I’m complaining about it not being enough time how will I find time to do this? Well I will find the time, I will make the time, and I will use this time to share what I do. My recipes/ quick affordable cooking tips, my affordable fashion tips, how I’m trying to start my career, and the things I have learned thus far with being a parent of a toddler. I’m just here to learn to make life simple and beautiful and if you want the same we can learn together…
Being a parent and having a full time job is definitely exhausting and the routine can be quite boring, in my opinion. There are plenty of days where I just don’t have the energy to even think; which is why I’m making this post, because I know I’m not alone. With that being said I have learned that I really have to make time for me. Whether it’s just sleeping in, catching a movie, a night out with friends, or date night with my beau. That time is necessary!
I use to struggle with worrying about my finances versus worrying about time for me, then I had to think what can I spare this week to buy me a new outfit and go have a good time. For awhile I couldn’t spare anything and I prayed for better days but now I can do a little more for myself I make sure to buy myself a nice outfit that I know is completely my style and I make sure to enjoy wherever the night takes me. Shoot I deserve it and so do you! …
So I follow this instagram page/site that sells clothing I haven’t actually bought from it yet but I have my eye on a few items. The site is http://www.chiccoutureonline.com there is plenty different styles. If you want to get dressed and dolled up while still looking classy, or if you want to go sexy MILF style take a look. The prices range from not expensive to expensive but there is a wide variety, they also offer plus size clothing so they market to all figures. They also have been making a bit of a buzz from other blog sites I have notice so Kudos to them!
Now this look I chose is nice because it’s gearing up for the cool nights, it’s elegant, sexy, and sophisticated. And the nude color is an earth tone color that can really make its way around through all seasons in my opinion depending on what you pair it with. 
As you can see I took a screenshot from my phone while I was surfing the site. But what I do is; I make lists of different styles or different outfits I would like to buy and when I take that one day to do something for myself I start with a new outfit purchase and I go back to all my screenshots and see which one I want first! So if you have some free time take a look I guarantee you’ll find something you like.
But even if getting dressed up is not what you seek then do something that you want to do without having to be a mom for a few hours. Make that promise to yourself!..
Cabbage smashabbage, a lot of people seem to not like cabbage. Me I love cabbage and I love to spice it up. So the great thing about this meal is that it’s inexpensive, tasty, fulfilling and it’s kind of healthy depending on what you use. More importantly it doesn’t take too long to make so whatever you have to do around our outside of the home you can still get done.
Most of the time I make my cabbage with andouille sausage because I like it spicy and I add shrimp, but on this occasion I made it with smoked turkey sausage, shrimp and onion and added Cajun seasoning to still get some spice. The reason I used turkey sausage this time because I’m currently fasting and trying to do away with eating pork and beef; so get back with me on that progress.
Now I know most people eat cabbage as a side dish so you’re more then welcome to use the same idea and make it as a side but with me, my cabbage was the entrée and I made a box of Jiffy cornbread so you get a sweet/salty-spicy mixture. Also after you’re done you don’t end up with that heavy full feeling that makes you want to go to sleep, just more of a satisfied feeling which is how we should eat anyway. So if this sparks your interest then this meal is for you!
What you’ll need
A head of cabbage
Turkey smoked sausage(or whatever meat you choose)
Shrimp
Sweet onion
Olive oil
Cajun seasoning, garlic salt, onion powder
Jiffy cornbread mix
Directions:
1. Thaw shrimp, and clean sausage
2. Pull tails off shrimp, then cut sausage
3. Cut and clean cabbage and strain, and cut and rinse onion
4. In a pot start add 2 drops of olive oil and add sausage
5. Once sausage starts to brown (slightly) then add shrimp and seasoning both the shrimp and sausage (can use your own seasoning) 
6. Once shrimp is almost done and sausage is browning then add cabbage and seasoning the cabbage, then cover with a lid
7. As cabbage cooks down stir cabbage and add more seasoning if desired)
8. Keep stirring every 8 minutes until it cooks all the way and reaches desired texture
*you won’t have to add water, cabbage will make its own water*
P.S during this process make sure you’ve got your cornbread ready and in the oven (if you choose to make cornbread with it *Just follow directions on the box if you’re unaware how to make it* 🙂
Now I know every one in the world can make Rice Crispy treats so I’m definitely not trying to give a recipe per se; I’m just sharing the experience I had with my kid as we made these together. Y’all remember watching the commercials of all the different types of families and how happy and excited they were as they made rice crispy treats or even when they ate a bowl of cereal?! So yea, our experience wasn’t as picture perfect but my son had a good time he really thought he was cooking.
We decided to add “Oops All Berries” to ours but of course you can add anything, from fruity pebbles to chocolate and peanut butter; and I think that can make the experience better for you and your little ones. Not only that but you can get cookie cutters and make shapes and characters, all the kids can show their personalities.
So if you’re looking for a simple, sweet treat; and some bonding time with your little ones, make your own rice crispy “commercial” just be safe and careful! *Happy Sunday*
Who doesn’t love pizza? Well I know its people out there and that’s ok! But I love pizza; you can’t go wrong with cheese, dough and pepperoni. So a few nights ago I decided to make calzones and have my son join in on the fun. To my surprise it’s not easy to make a calzone in the sense I could not get the dough to stay close once it was folded, so it turned into a giant pizza pocket. Still good and it gave me time to bond with my son, he had fun cooking. The purpose of this meal was to kill two birds with one stone, bonding with my son and making dinner. This toddler stage has shown me that they constantly want to feel in control, they want to make their own decisions; which can sometimes cause a power struggle and a whirlwind of frustrations. Even making this dinner got a bit frustrating when my son couldn’t get a much topping as he wanted but we got through it and ever since then he wants to help “cook.” I cherish that because cooking is one way I connected with my mother, father, and grandmother, as a child I was always in the kitchen with them learning, watching and of course eating; even when I didn’t want to. Those are the memories that stuck with me, and these are the memories that I want to stick with my son, on top of the fact that I want him to grow up as a man that can make his own meals. A man that can cook for his wife/family and maybe even cook for me;) but in the meantime just having fun in the kitchen and letting him be independent.
So take some time with your kid(s) and make a pizza, mini pizzas, calzone, or pizza pocket, whatever gives you all some time to bond. It also gives them the opportunity to decide what topping they want and feeling some sort of accomplishment when they see they can make their own food; for once they will have full control. Now it definitely gets messy (and I can’t stand a messy kitchen) but I put that aside and just let him have fun.
For my pizza pocket I used:
Pillsbury pizza crust
Italian shredded cheese
Mild cheddar shredded cheese
Pepperoni
Banana peppers
Ham
Store bought pizza sauce
Italian seasoning 
We added all the topping on one side and then folded the crust over, use a fork to close the edges, brushed a beaten egg over the top and eggs and sprinkled the top with melted butter and Italian seasoning. Bake on 375 until golden brown and enjoy!
This item for dinner has to be as simple as it comes; and the reason is, is because its baked chicken, it doesn’t involve much work just some great seasoning and time. Now I know it’s the summer and the last thing anyone want, is the oven on to make their home even hotter, but once you make some Italian Baked Chicken wings I promise it won’t matter what time of the year it is. All you need is some chicken wings or wing dings, Italian dressing; hot sauce (if desired) seasoned salt, garlic powder and pepper super SIMPLE right?
Steps:
Clean chicken wings, and then place in a large mixing bowl
Season chicken wings (can also use whatever seasoning you desire)
Sprinkle wings with hot sauce, then cover wings with Italian dressing and use your hands to mix them around
*if you use actual wings remember to fold the flapper wing back
Put wings in baking pan with 1 inch of water, cover and place in oven on 375 degrees
Let wings cook for 1 hour then flip wings on other side
After 45 mins add more Italian dressing on wings, make sure water is cooking down
Let wings cook for about 10-15 more mins then broil wings for no more than 5 mins to make skin crisp ** but watch it because they will burn**
And you’re done…. Add your sides and you have dinner
So as you can see it’s been awhile since I have made a post, sometimes life comes at you fast. I’ll keep telling you I/this are a work in progress and I’ll get better with it. This past week and a half has been very chaotic but through that time I still had to be a mom. As you other mothers know, no matter what is going on that is a job that is never done, its 24/7 rain, sleet, snow, sick, broke, tired, doesn’t matter because that job doesn’t stop. We always have to make time for our children no matter what is going on because they deserve it, they deserve a happy parent that cares what is going on in their life and give them the attention they need.
I’m a part of a program called Help Me Grow where a counselor comes to my home biweekly and we talk about the development of my child, how he’s growing, what new things he’s learned, what family plans I have for him, his socioeconomic skills, his communication, what values I want to instill in him and the list goes on. Never knew about this program until it was offered to me when I had my son during my stay at the hospital. At first I didn’t want to do it, I didn’t want to be bothered but my counselor has been with us since my son was 2 months old, he’s now 2 and she’s been a tremendous help. She’s not here to teach me how to be a parent; but just to offer different suggestions about how to learn about our children and grow great families.
One of the things she does is offer me activities to do with my son based off the stage of life he is in that is fun for him but in some way teaching him. We do a lot of these activities so he’s not bored and just getting into stuff and driving me crazy because we all know that this happens OFTEN! So I want to share this simple activity with you all.
It’s called Run the Bases, all you do is grab some pillows off the couch or some from the bed; if you want you can even make your own bases with construction paper. Move your tables and couches out the way to make some space. Spread the pillows (or whatever items you choose) around the area and demonstrate to your child what to do by running to each base and counting each base. This gives them a chance to run and count. Then allow your kid to do it too, they can chase you or do it on their own, but they will enjoy laughing, playing and running with you. This can also turn into a pillow fight or when you’re all good and tired yall can fall out and lay in the floor on the pillows. Now after about 20-30 minutes they may be worn out and ready to chill out for a little bit while you can continue your mother duties or just relax and maybe watch a movie.
Happy Saturday!
Hey guys I have another crockpot recipe to share. Now to me the crockpot may be one of the best inventions since sliced bread. I never knew I would enjoy cooking with it as much as I do; so if you dine with swine then this one is for you…(that rhymed, cute!)
So here is what you’ll need …
A pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon of garlic salt (if you desire)
1 bottle of Sweet Baby Rays Hickory Smoke and Brown Sugar BBQ sauce or your preferred BBQ sauce
1 teaspoon of dry mustard or a squirt of yellow mustard if you don’t have dry mustard
3/4 cup of brown sugar
…look you don’t need many ingredients for this one! Here’s what I did with my pulled pork. Sprayed crockpot lightly with cooking spray… Then rubbed garlic powder, garlic salt and dry mustard on the tenderloin, and placed in crockpot.
Add brown sugar and barbecue sauce, I cooked on low for 8 hours because I was in and out my home running errands but if you’re home you can cook on high for 4-6 hours and stir once every hour.
Once done take a fork to pull apart, add desired sides and enjoy!! Easy Schmezy!
P.S. The great thing about this recipe is you can eat off of it for another day or two! So you’ll have more time to do other things besides being stuck in the kitchen cooking! 😉
Its Sunday people, did you get your church on this am? I know I did and it was amazing that Pastor Moore is a wonderful vessel Lord!! But after church how do you normally spend your Sunday? For me it’s cleaning, cooking, and getting ready for the week. Now that I work two jobs I seem to have more cleaning on Sundays then I would like but once I get my music going it’s a breeze. I am a person who has to have everything in a specific place and everything needs to be spic and span but lately I have been neglecting some cleaning to try to give more attention to my son. Sometimes I get so caught up in what I need to do that I forget he needs stimulation, so even if it’s just for 15 minutes, maybe you can take a break and sit down and draw/paint a picture with your little one(s), read a few books, or maybe sit in the floor with them and play with their toys with them. When you do this try to provide them with your undivided attention; meaning put that phone down and give social media a break just to give them that time they need with you and when they are over it they will move on to the next thing and you can get back to your housework. I also find myself turning on music and just dancing in the floor with my son for a few minutes not only does it give me some sort of physical activity but he enjoys it, to him its play, its fun and it’s with me.
Now when it comes to dinner, of course Sunday dinner has to be LIT. Food from the soul is always the best food, may not be the healthiest per se but we all can agree ending a refreshed Sunday with some hearty food is sometimes what the doctor ordered. I came across a recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it to what I had in my kitchen for my family. Crockpot Beef and Broccoli; something I could make in my crockpot so I wasn’t over the stove all day, I could get my house work done and give my son the attention he needed as well. So if you eat red meat, you like broccoli, AND don’t want to spend your day in the kitchen this recipe is for you.
What you’ll need:
2 Angus cut USDA Steaks sliced into square chunks
1 cup of beef broth
½ cup of soy sauce
½ cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
All of the cooled sauce from the crockpot after its cooked
Fresh OR frozen Broccoli florets (as many as you would like)
Hot cooked rice (white, brown or fried)
*For mine I used frozen broccoli, white and fried rice)*
Directions:
1. Season cut up beef lightly with garlic salt (but lightly because remember you have soy sauce in this recipe) and place in crockpot.
2. In a bowl, whisk together broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic. Pour over the beef and you can cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours.
3. Once meat is done get a big bowl, place a strainer over top of the bowl and pour beef and sauce in, set meat aside.
4. Stir cornstarch in sauce until smooth or thickened (may take 3 tablespoons), then add meat and sauce back to crockpot.
5. Add broccoli to crockpot and cook 30-45 minutes depending on how crunchy or soft you want your broccoli. (I did 30 mins, I like crunch) Be sure to stir.
6. Make your pot of rice. For fried rice use cooked white rice, add to separate skillet with butter, egg, 3 tablespoons of sauce from crockpot and whatever veggies you would like, stir all together in the skillet until brown and egg looks fried
7. Then add all to plate and enjoy!
Happy Sunday!!
simplelife953 