TV Dinner

Ems here--

Let's not dwell on how infrequently I post.

Moving on, hubs and the big boys traveled out of town for a weekend soccer tournament, leaving me home with the 5 little ones. Because the big guys get to have fun in a hotel with a pool and their friends and Dadddy, I try to plan a few special things for we happy few on the Homefront.

This time around we planned a play date with friends. We made pudding pops. We  went to the dollar store. We ate Wendy's and actually got the kids' meals and the junky plastic toys. Yay.

But probably our most fun activity was our TV dinner. We are typically a "sit at the table" family, pretty much 7 days a week. Having a meal in the living room with the tv on was a radical idea! I chose the show (Pioneer Woman--I'm not sitting through another Sofia the First episode) and the meal and the kids were thrilled!

Quite brilliantly (patting myself on the back) I designed a one bowl meal to keep cleanup simple.

Tortellini and Veggies 

3 packs of tortellini (mushroom and cheese)

Mushrooms

Peas 

Butter 

Onion 

Garlic

Salt

While the tortellini cooked, I sautéed sliced mushrooms, chopped onion and garlic, and frozen peas in a pan with butter and olive oil. I tossed in the drained and cooked tortellini, sprinkled with salt, and Voila! A one dish meal that everyone enjoyed.

Here a few random pics since I've been AWOL:

We have a trampoline! Kids are in heaven. It does have a net, never fear! We just hadn't installed it yet in this picture.

Josephine made her First Holy Communion! She was (and is) so beautifully excited.

Gemma is a sweetheart! We shall keep her.

Rule #32848: A change in routine is a special treat sometimes! Just like this random post from me, am I right?;)