Taco Taco Taco!!!

Who doesn't love a good taco? They are warm, a little spicy, comforting, and delicious! I could literally eat them everyday. I don't claim to be a professional chef. The Food Network is going to be knocking on my door offering me a show. But I like to think of myself as a damn good cook. It's not always healthy. I try to keep things pretty simple and I obsess over pinterest recipes. My husband and friends and my Little lady all seem enjoy what the things I make and that's all I could ask for.

I grew up with my dad and my brother for the most part. My dad gets pretty much all the credit for my cooking skills. One of my favorite things he would make us is TACOS! They aren't complicated but they are incredibly yummy. You can also adjust the recipe to make it healthier or spicier depending on your tastes. 

The hubby and The Little Lady worked up an appetite!

Ingredients:

• El Paso Dinner Kit (I prefer the stand and stuff ones because they are easier to stuff)
• 1 1/2 lbs Ground beef (or turkey)
• 2 medium sized Jalapenos (any hot pepper that you like will work)
• 1 medium sized onion
• shredded cheese
• tomatoes 
• lettuce
• sour cream
• Taco seasoning
• butter and a bit of olive oil

Okay its Taco night!

the first thing you need to do is gather the most important part of cooking 

Got that?! alright next you need to chop your peppers and onions

leave one end on the onion and then slice vertically off of that before you chop. By leaving that end on it will help hold the onion together to get a more even chop/dice

Okay now that they are all chopped up time to heat up butter and a bit of olive oil in a pan.

once its gotten hot add your peppers and onions. heat them up for a bit until the onions begin to soften. after a minute I like to add a bit of the taco seasoning. 

Next you'll add the meat. Mix it with the peppers and onions and let that start to brown up real nice. Once its browned add the rest of your seasoning ( the dinner kits come with a pack of seasoning). If you are using more then a pound and a half though I would get a second packet or invest in the big container of it. You could even make your own!

Get it all mixed together all cozy-like. Then turn down the temperature to about medium-low/medium and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Really it could go longer if you want it to. that'll just let the flavor build up even more. Just remember to give it a stir every so often to make sure it doesn't stick. Also if the temp it too high it could burn off all the liquid so turn it down and just add a little more water if this happens. Itll be okay!

While everything is simmering and getting delicious you can get your toppings ready. Chop some tomatoes, cut up some lettuce, shred some cheese. I opted for lazy this time with some pre cut/ shredded stuff. Also get your shells ready to go in the oven to heat up. 

When all that is done check your meat. Its probably done by now depending on how fast to chop. 

it should look something like this when its all ready!

Now you just have to build your tacos and enjoy!!!

YUMMMMMMMMM!!! Like I said i could eat these everyday! They don't look too complicated right?! perfect for a busy week night!

Enjoy y'all!

Sleep..Beautiful magical sleep

Little Lady is almost 11 months old and guess what?! Just in this past week has she started putting herself to sleep in her crib, and that is totally OKAY!! every single baby is different. some sleep like they fall into a coma (ahem BB1) and some wake up if you think too loudly. I have been asked many times about Little Lady's sleep schedule so I thought I would take some time today to give a bit of an idea of what I have done to establish a sleep schedule throughout her 1st year so far. 

So you are fresh out of the hospital when this perfect squishy little creature and you think to your self, What do i do now?! Well what I did was SNUGGLE!!! As much as I possibly could. Your little angel is still getting used to the world around them. For the past 9 months your baby has been warm and safe in your womb so spending a lot of time cuddled up close to is will help baby transition to the new world. i found swaddles to be a God send. I used the cheater kind. They are kind of a sack at bottom for their feet and have two pieces that come across the baby with Velcro to wrap them up real tight and snug. When the little bug is still so new all they really are going to be doing is sleeping eating and pooping. I'm on the fence with the "never wake a sleeping baby" theory. But with my Little Lady I went with a more structured schedule. iI fed her every 2 hours and let her sleep when ever she needed it. 

At two weeks (I know it sounds super early but it worked great for us) we switched her feeding schedule up enough to ensure she had her last bottle around 10pm. after that I burped her and kept her upright for a bit (she had relux pretty bad) and then when I laid her down to sleep we let her sleep as long as she wanted. which was usually until about 5. This was not out of laziness because I still had to get up every 2-3 hours to pump because Little Lady didn't latch so I pumped for her. Letting her sleep for longer periods of time though during the night helped establish a good sleep schedule when she got a little bigger because she was already used to sleeping solidly during the night.

Nap Times can be tricky because like I said all babies are different. I found though that with Little Lady sleeping longer in the night she was awake more during the day. I took full advantage of that and you should too! Use those wakeful times to bond with your baby talk to her make faces at her. TUMMY TIME get them used to it early. The more active they are the better they will sleep as well. By now nap times revolved around feedings. I made sure to keep the house brought and light and happy during the day as well to help her establish a difference between day and night. Noise helps too. keep the tv or radio going. Don't be afraid to vacuum your floors or do things that makes noise. I kept up with that schedule for several months. All I varied was the time period between feedings based on how much she ate per feeding. 

 

The next thing that is an issue for sleeping babies is where will they sleep? 

That is entirely personal preference! i judge no others by where they choose for their babies to sleep!

Our little lady slept in her Rock n' Play for a first few months and I personally swear by it! It keeps bay elevated which was ideal for us because she had reflux. Its sooooo portable. I could put it in the living room during the day for naps and next to my bed at night to make it easier to check on her during the night if she woke up or did need a bottle in the middle of the night. Depending how the size of your baby though she will grow out of that magic device pretty quickly. from there I transitioned her from the Rock n' Play to pack n play stages. I wasn't quite ready for her to be in her room all by herself yet because it was across the house and who in their right mind wants to be walking all over the place at 3am. Be warned though. Babies don't always transition well and how you want them to! They can turn into little spawns of hell and make you feel like you are losing your mind and are the worst mom on the planet. THIS IS SO NOT TRUE! I found it make it much smoother when you first start the switch at nap time. That way if it doesn't work right away its not as stressful of a thing as bedtime. 

My sneaky controversial tricks for why Little Lady sleeps so well

1.she sleeps on her tummy!! And guess what shes totally fine! and actually there has been a few times when shes spit up in her sleep that if she were to have been on her back i'm afraid she would have choked.

2. She took like 85% of her naps next to me on the couch. surrounded by activity and noise and light. 

3. she uses a blanket to keep snuggly and warm. 

4. Her always present paci!! I would not survive without that beautiful invention. 

Now that Little Lady has gotten older. She will be 11 months in 10 days! Holy Cow Udders! Her schedule has changed a bit. she takes 1 nice long nap a day. and goes to bed around 8:30-9:00pm each night. That is what works for US. I think its important to base bedtime off of your personal schedules. Of course this is not set in stone. Nothing in baby land should be concrete. Flexibility is the key to life. If you follow my page or my personal Facebook page you'll see that Little Lady has a tendency to pass out where ever she falls sometimes. And that is okay! A cat nap every now and then never hurt anybody. Anyways after a nice hearty lunch its nap time for as long as she needs it to be.Then its back to crazy baby jail time until bed. She gets dinner and a bottle and then bed. 

Now for my happiest of all sleep achievements we have gotten so far...falling asleep unassisted!!!

This is a stressful and difficult process. At least it was for me. Since day one Little lady has fallen asleep in my arms. every nap and every bedtime. It seems crazy bananas now but I truly loved every minute of those sweet sleepy cuddles. I actually felt like I was missing an arm or something on the nights that daddy put her to sleep because I was just so used to it. It took quite a few attempts before i finally succeeded in this milestone. I ended up going with the cry it out method. but be warned: ITS SOOOOO HARD!!! The hubby had to distract himself with music so he couldn't hear her. But I just couldn't go in there. I watched her on the monitor to make sure she was safe, but if I went in there it would have ruined any progress I was making. The first time I tried to do this I failed miserably. My friend was over and it was breaking her heart so i gave in and put her to sleep my old fashioned way. And so it stayed back to the old fashioned way for a few more weeks. Then one night I was tired and she was cranky and clearly tired and being stubborn and I said "that is it! I'm going to be tough" and I out her in her bed and off I went to the other room. It took a good 20-30 minutes before she finally laid herself down and went to sleep. She has had no issue ever since! Magical! you would think shes been doing this forever!

Now I just have to dread the day we switch to a toddler bed but that is another issue for another day!

**the key is your sanity is to go with the flow and be very flexible! Not everyday will go according to plan just let it happen**

Do you ever feel like you aren't enough or aren't doing enough?

          Okay so I had originally planned on on this post being about tips and tricks i used to help get Little Lady on the lovely sleep schedule she is on. But this is something that is constantly on my mind so i thought i would throw it out there and see if I am crazy or if anyone else can relate. I promise to return to silly antics and tips and whatnot after this...

         What a silly headline right? I know im doing a good job. my Baby is sweet and funny and independent and so so so smart. but I constantly second guess everything I do. Should I be feeding her more organic foods? Do i read her enough books? Is she watching too much TV regardless to the "educational content"? I want her to have the best of everything and be the best of anything she sets her mind to. but i also am a strong believer in "nonhelicopter parenting" (is that a thing??)

      My insecurities flow into all aspects of my life. i am a stay at home mom so my job is to care for our child feed my family yummy and nutritious meals and keep my house clean. My house is no show room. It is in no  way also a pig pen. But in my head if I'm home it should always be spotless. my room should not look like the laundromat exploded all over my room. (laundry is my ultimate downfall in life im pretty sure). I sometimes feel ashamed when my husband gets home and the house still looks a mess. He has literally said nothing about the house not being clean enough or questioned what i do all day so this is completely all in my head but i don't know how to get it out.

      Im also consumed that I am not enough in general...ugh. I am literally just whining I need to stop now..I apologize. I may decide to take this down.

      Okay here is some positive things Little lady is now obsessed with sticking out her tongue thanks to her uncle Jeremy. My husband loves me and makes me laugh every single day. We are building our chickens a new coop when he gets home from work and I am pretty sure im gunna make tacos for dinner.


There now every have a lovely day and don't let your head get like mine and consume you with useless and irrational self doubt.

Welcome! I have no idea what i'm doing!!

    Hi! My name is Tara and I am the Southern Mama.im a 25 year old mom of 1. I am weird and awkward and increasingly nerdier by the day. I love to cook, read, travel, talk to people, watch football, watch crap tv and and tell rambling stories. I am married to the man of my dreams. He is hilarious and hard working and sexy as all hell! most of all though hes basically my biggest kid and usually needs the most supervision! We have 1 Little Lady who is currently 10 months old. She is a huge ball of personality and fun. most importantly though she is the sweetest, prettiest baby and the light of my life!

     During the week i borrow 2 awesome boys! borrowed boy 1 (BB1) is 2 and way too smart for his own good. borrowed boy 2 (BB2) is 14 and super helpful and sweet. I first looked into watching a couple kids to help supplement my husbands income to make it a little less stressful financially for me to stay home and raise our Little Lady. Little did i know i would be blessed with the 2 best behaved and silly boys you could ask for! Now that I've gotten all the mushy gushyness out there I can let yall know and all 5 of them (hubby and dog included!) oh i forgot!!! we have a 5 year old pit mix named Saint and honestly shes pretty damned saintly! and needy..she is a full on attention whore and i wouldn't have her any other way!...oh dear i'm already babbling..where was I? oh yes all 5 5 of them are super weird and silly and drive me crazy!

      So Ive decided to start a blog to share my daily antics and tales of what goes in in this crazy place! I think ill also use this space to share yummy recipes and books i come across. im a bit of a Pinterest addict and I love to try out recipes and other cool things i find on there and i would be happy to share my epic fails and wins of that ongoing challenge.

    Ok so for now I think that gets me started! i hope everyone comes in to check regularly on the goings on of our silly little family!