Over the years I think I’ve turned into a fairly decent cook. We’ve gone from ramen noodles and hamburger helper to very rarely eating prepared meals like that. We make just about all of our meals from scratch – mashed potatoes from real potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs are a few favorites – and though somedays it is annoying to have to do, most of the time I enjoy it. And of course what also helps is Chris cooking some nights! Most of the time it is his days off and he does all the cooking on those days, which is a much needed and enjoyed break for me.

I have a shelf devoted to cookbooks – $1 Tupperware and Pampered Chef ones, the red checked really popular one, an LA Weightloss one, a couple of crock pot ones, a candy one from the 70s, a fat little farmers cookbook that was a gift to Chris from his Aunt – and what do we use? The farmers one and once in a while the red checked one. That’s it! It is a rare day in this house that we try something really new – I remember trying a Rachel Ray recipe one time and after frantically running around my kitchen (I swear her 30 minute meals are only 30 minutes because she cooks everything on high! Hahaha) we realized that the food just didn’t taste that good! I’m sure other recipes are good, but that meal certainly wasn’t.

Today I threw a roast in the crockpot and later I’ll make mashed potatoes and heat up a can of corn. Hard work right? Well no, but it is slightly boring!

I’ve also been looking for a freezer cooking cookbook – you know, where you make meals for like two weeks at a time and freeze them so they are ready? I know that the farther along I get the more I won’t be interested in cooking and if Chris has to go away for work, I really won’t be interested in cooking! It’s so easy to feed kids – especially mine, they’ll eat whatever you give them. If popping a pan in the oven is all I had to do, that would be ideal.

Anyway, over at AMomsReview.com they are giving away chances to win five free memberships to EMealsForYou.com! You do need to be a mom with a blog and be willing to try the service and then provide honest feedback about how to make it better. I’ve heard of other services but haven’t tried them out for fear of recipes we wouldn’t like! Head on over to enter, you have until August 3.

I missed posting on my birthday! Last Tuesday I turned 29. I had a great day – I did nothing. Okay I did clean and take care of the kids and cook but otherwise, I did nothing. I’ve been reading a lot lately and also watching a lot of movies. I finally joined Netflix and watched Because I Said So (very good, worth renting – Mandy Moore has grown into a fine actress and Diane Keaton is great, as usual) and Little Children (good, worth renting – maybe it was me not paying too close of attention toward the end, but the movie wasn’t the greatest. And the hubs knew I read the book so he kept asking if that’s what happened in the book.). I’ve read a few good books, but I know I’ll get the names wrong if I try to just remember them!

I saw the cutest shirt over at The Super Goods – a maternity shirt that says “Knocked Up”! Hilarious, no? It reminded me of a shirt my best friend wore when she was expecting her second – it said “Coming This Fall” – I don’t know why, but I find those shirts just too adorable. I didn’t wear any shirts with fun sayings on them when I was pregnant before, so maybe this time. Maybe.