Burritos and Babies and Blocks

I long to be the housewife/stay-at-home-mom who has the house spotless and the oven dinging as soon as the dear husband walks in from a long day of work...



however...

I'm not there yet...

and it's okay!  I kept three children alive all day today, did some laundry, held a screaming baby for almost an hour (which can easily feel like 3), everyone got naps, had some constructive learning time with the boys, and then I got around to dinner!

Here's what we had:

Beefy Bean Burritos
(adapted from Deep South Dish)

2 Tbsp oil
1/2 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic (pressed or chopped- I love to use my handy dandy garlic press)
1 lb ground beef

Saute your garlic and onion in oil for a few minute, then add ground beef.  Brown and drain.  Then add the following spices (or use a packet of taco seasoning) and a can of rotel tomatoes.

salt/pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder (more or less to taste)
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp oregano

This combination of spices made it just right for the boys and Jared- I like things a little spicier, so if I had made this just for me I would have added a little more of everything!

Let this all simmer for about 5-7 minutes.

Heat 10 soft taco shells in microwave (so they don't tear when you roll them up).  Spread a spoonful of beans (I used black- recipe called for refried), sprinkle with cheese, add meat mixture, and roll up!  (I learned tonight that I'm a terrible roller-upper-of-the-burritos!)  Arrange in a baking dish (spray with cooking spray first), cover tightly with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes on 325. (I did 20 on 350 because it was getting late!)

We had apples with this- chopped and cooked in the skillet with a little butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon- yum!!

I have found lots of things recently on pinterest (duh) that I've wanted to do with the boys on Tuesdays and Thursdays while we're at home.  I have found lots of free units, but today I needed something I didn't have to print out and prepare, plus with Molly Claire not being on such a great schedule right now, I knew I wouldn't have the time to sit with Owen to really help him. Something we did today was patterns with blocks.  This entertained them longer than .2 seconds- so I consider it a success!  Owen didn't so much follow the patterns as build- but it kept them entertained while I cleaned up dishes.  I found it quicker to use Publisher to make the patterns rather than draw and color- although that would have been good to have Miles help me with coloring and picking the patterns to draw.

(Open document, draw table 1x6, fill in each square a different color, print, cut into individual little sheets, model how to build blocks with pattern, let them go)

Miles even found that he could make a really tall tower by building the patterns on top of each other!  Also, instead of just giving them the whole big bucket of blocks, I gave them each a smaller container with their own blocks- Miles had longer ones, Owen had shorter ones just to differentiate.