Slowcooker Pierogies and Kielbasa Casserole

Thank goodness for my slowcooker. Seriously. That kitchen gadget saves my butt on  weekly basis and makes my crazy nights way better..... I have a three year old so my nights are just crazy by default, but the slowcooker makes it that much easier. My tricky nights are always when we have swim class. I have become very efficient getting us in and out, but it never fails that Kellen is becoming and angry hungry monster before we leave the parking lot and we needed dinner, like, yesterday.  I occasionally will make a stop at the golden arches for special dinner treat, but normally like to have something waiting at home. 

I came across this recipe and knew it was a perfect swim night meal for the family. It is a little bit of a shorter cook time in the crockpot world, but I can make it on a day I am on leave and it was a perfect thing to thrown in during the afternoon and it was ready to eat when we walked in the door. Ron will throw in a steamer bag of green beans and we called it a day! The recipe is really simple and only had a few ingredients, but is very tasty. It is a pretty rich meal and I really enjoyed have a green veggie on the side. Kellen loved the sausage and green beans, but he is still not crazy about pierogies.....probably the mashed potato filling since he can be hit or miss on that. However, Ron and I really liked it and it made tasty leftovers for work the following day.

The weather in my area has gotten hot! I am usually not a hot weather person (except for swimming!), but it has been so nice getting to play outside with Kellen everyday. We started our summer garden and have been enjoying watching our plants grown. We planted a few herbs on the deck, as well as ground cherries, baby tomatoes and celery. In our larger garden in the yard we have zucchini, cucumbers, onions, radishes, carrots, and Kellen's requested pumpkin. He is so excited to grow his own jack-o-lantern and I hope it grows well for us!  I am also really enjoying my FMLA day once a week to spend with my littlest boy. It is so nice to break up the week and have the additional time to bond with him and enjoy Kellen at the same time.  This past week I took the boys to see Thomas the Train at the Railroad Museum!  I will be sad when the FMLA hours are over in mid-September! I would love to work 4 days a week, but not sure that is in the cards at my job right now.... maybe someday!

This week I am at a conference for work and have had to pump milk for the baby on the fly! I am lucky to have my own office at work and was in my car yesterday- thank goodness for air conditioning! The place where the training is held can accommodate space for pumping, but it is a bit far from the room and it is faster for me to run to the car to make the most of my time before I need to get back for the presentations- life of a working mom! It really is not that bad, but it certainly makes me miss my baby when I am away!