Mondays Menu....Twice-Baked Potatoe Casserole

I stole this recipe from another blogger and just loved the sound of it! It looked sooo delish. I tried it, the family liked it...I didn't love it, but maybe i should make it one more time. I did forget to add the green onion at the end...so that sucked! This was a really easy recipe, little time consuming because I had to bake the potatoes first and cook bacon...all this stuff takes time. Kailey and I watched Paranormal Activity 3 while I made this and waited for it to finish. It wasn't too bad of a recipe I suppose, I think that I should have left it in the oven a little longer. I'll try again...


Ingredients
•1-1/2 pounds red potatoes (about 6 medium), baked
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon pepper
•1 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
•3 cups (24 ounces) sour cream
•2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
•2 cups (8 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
•2 green onions, sliced



Directions
•Cut baked potatoes into 1-in. cubes. Place half in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the salt, pepper and bacon. Top with half of the sour cream and cheeses. Repeat layers.
• Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until cheeses are melted. Sprinkle with onions.

Frustrations ahead...

Ok, today I was looking through some of my fellow bloggers and decided to get caught up on whats going on in thier lives. There is this one blogger who I normally absolutely LOVE to follow and read her daily posts. Typically I admire and agree with her opinions and thoughts about every day life. Today however I was struck by post and kinda taken back by what I was reading.
Botton line...her blog expressed her desire to keep her house clean...I mean excessively clean!! Her theory was "Cleanliness is godliness"...she went on and on about how god expects women to keep a home clean. She had a TON of quotes and versus from the bible stating that children are to be raised in a clean home and that every working husband has the right to return home from work to a clean house and a home cooked meal!! In one quote she states "The crumbs multiply. And then I have mini-anxiety attacks"...holy shit girlfriend, if that stresses you out..then give it a few years 'cause life's gonna kick your ass!!!
I WAS SHOCKED to be reading this crap! I was insulted...as a stay at home mom for 17 years..I was appalled to be reading this.
She states that there is something soothing about walking into a clean home, a clean closet which is organized, a clean pantry that you can see the floor and a little boys room with toys all in their places. OH BOY!! I do agree that those moments are nice, but my god they didn't happen often in my home!!
I think I was even more appalled by the comments that were left by other/fellow bloggers/mothers! You know, after being home for 17 years i have had my ups and downs with my feelings regarding this matter. I do agree that if your significant other is the full time worker outside of the home...then I do agree that whoever is home should carry a bit more of the weight inside the home. Mostly with meals..I have always been responsible for meals in our home and I have taken that seriously, but my husband has lifted his weight around the kitchen and at times has cooked us up some amazing dinners. As far as our house being cleaned...we certainly winged it and to be quite honest...Hubby has probably been slightly better than I at times. I have had different house cleaning trails, such as my parents cleaning it, Paul and I doing it together or just myself having cleaned it while maybe the kids were napping when they were young! I do have to admit though...when my kids were little...there was absolutely NO time to clean the house, it was strickly a non-issue in our home. My husband often walked into complete chaos, and just accepted as long as the kids were having fun playing, swimming, outside or creating something in the kitchen...he didn't care. It was alot less important for him to come running in after a full days work to a crazy scary witching hour. Yes the dreaded "Witching Hour" any good mom will remember that hour of the day. If my little blogs friends with the perfect house and dinner menu's haven't figured out this time of the day...then just wait friends, its coming!!


My witching our was from about 3:30-5:30pm, kids are up from nap demanding a snack..mom is crazy in the kitchen trying to coordinate a warm healthy meal, kids are bored, cranky and hungry and wants all YOU attention. Try to sit them down in front of the TV, but fighting starts, kids crying and dinner burning. DAD's hate walking into that...I learned that fairly quickly. So kitchen in disarray, kids demanding my attention and wanting cuddles, drinks and snacks...my outlook was alway's "F***K it! Order out!!
I certainly would NEVER make my children suffer because their father wanted a hot meal or mom needed to clean house before daddy got home! My house was a hot mess..filled with paper scraps, glue globs on countertops, wet bathing suits all over the floors, tape stuck to doorways, ceral bowls out all day long, sandwhich crumbs fed to our beloved Harley and chocolate pudding still smeared all over the baby's highchair...this is what MY hubby came home to most nights. Guess what?? I didn't ever feel like god was disappointed in me...i actually believe he'd be proud of me!! Proud for taking care and nurturing my children and honestly myself. I worked hard over the years to not get worked up over the state of my house.
One mom even posted a comment to this mother saying something along the lines that its "bullshit" when mom's claim they don't have time to clean their house because they are too busy playing with their kids"...how sad is that! She truly believed its more important to have a clean house then to play with your kids. Her words were "there is a time and place to play with your kids"...OMG, it really does infuriate me! I think it goes back to the days when I didn't even have time to pee. Those days when Braden's care was a full time job during the day, we honestly couldn't leave his side...the housework came last. After Braden's needs came, myself and finally my husbands. Then Kailey came into the picture and things got even better in the Martz household...actually Nana and Papa came into the picture too alot more during that time. Moral of the story with this blog is basically to say in my opinion having a clean house has nothing to do with God! I really do hope that the new and up and coming mommies learn to spend time with their children, nutrition is important and if you're a stay at home mom or dad then yes..please be aware that nutritional meals are best. I actually use to include my kids with this process. I was told that if you let the children prepare the vegetables being made in your dinner plan they are more opt to eat them. It worked when they were young...didn't take Braden long to let that go and just eventually start to refuse veggies all the time. I had to get creative and shred the veggies inorder to add it to sauce's used in pasta or casserole's.
Anyway's if you are a young mom or dad who is reading this...it is WAY more important to have happy, thriving and creative kids. SPending time with them is most important. A clean house is wonderful...I agree, but its the house that has a time and place to be cleaned...not the chidren!!