I {Heart} Teaching my Kiddo's!

Yes, I stole that header idea from another blog but it fits for this time of year, doesn't it? 

Just wanted to share some last minute ideas for Valentines day to do with the kiddo's - lots of great Valentine's to make!

If you are looking for some last minute Valentines, you can print them free from here:
The Company Store.  There are two different designs to print and color!  We did this as one of our activities this week.

Check out Moo Moo's and Tutu's for a bunch of printable Valentine's for your kids to take to school!!!  (Return those unopened boxes to the store and use these instead !) 

Next, Delia Creates shares another super cute, super easy idea for Valentines too (and these are a little more "boy"!)

This idea is on my plans for next year from MyKidsMake.com.  They are just too adorable for words!

Or maybe these . .wow, what a great idea from Sugar Swings.  She created these lego guys from ice molds (using melted candy, not ice) and shows some really cute Valentine card ideas!

Also, check out this idea from a friend of mine over at Busy Blessings.  Tammy is a mom of 8 boys and a great example.  I enjoy reading her blog and gleaning ideas from her to use with just my 2 :-)  I love this idea she does with her boys for Valentine's.

You still have a few more days to get your Valentine's made so lets have some fun!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

Once again I'm linking up with Jamie over at This Kind Of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday!!

This week I'm Loving:
1. This book:

I read the first chapter for my book club this week and all I can say is wow!  Can't wait to read the next chapter.

2. Heluva Good French Onion Dip - and yes, it really is that Good!

3.  My New Home Management Notebook!  It is really working for me and I just love having things neat and organized!

4. Making chocolate dipped Marshmallows with these fun people!

Don't you just love the chocolate spread across his face??? 

5. I also love that I won this great give-away over at Comfy in the Kitchen.  I "never" win - so it was thrilling to see my name listed and now I can't wait to get the book :-)

6. I also LOVE my adorable little family!!!

So that is what I'm loving this week :-)  Remember to always look for those "gifts" - those special things in each day to be thankful for . . . . every moment is a gift!

Week 2 Challenge - "The Launch Pad" - Update

After posting about this challenge on Sunday, my mind started to work and work and work on ideas for how to create my launch pad.  I laid awake Sunday night as the ideas really started to roll.  See I have this area next to the counter and between the door that is where I believe I have some very usable space that is right now "trashed" ;-) 

Yep, it has housed the trash can since we first moved into this house 7 1/2 years ago.  Now, it also holds that cart, my creative way to have a place to store mittens and  .. . the cat while she is sleeping.  I like the idea and it really was a test to see if that area was "usable" and it is.  As I laid in bed, I thought about what storage unit I could put there . .. and I thought of this:

That is my husband's current end table (which brings up another issue - we have NEVER had matching end tables and by "matching" I mean that matches our bedroom or each other!) This particular stand we got as a wedding gift and it has been used in every room from the kitchen to the bathroom to our bedroom (obviously)  It came with some wire baskets but I have put them to use elsewhere.  I loved this idea for my launch pad because it is tall but still slightly shorter than the counter top so it won't "become" extra counter space.  Also, it has that nice flat surface which is the right size to put a few basics but not too large to carry too much stuff.  With three cubbies (which I will find the perfect baskets for) it is the perfect space for mittens and gloves, cloth shopping bags and whatever else I can think of :-)  So I took this table and turned it from the bedside table to this:

I pulled the green baskets out of Josh's room and found the basket downstairs.  I still have a little work to do on it - I want to mod-podge some pretty paper on the top.  I got that idea from Organizing Made Fun - see her cool dresser-turned-launch pad - - -

Don't you just love the look of that music on top???

Shoes.  Gotta love 'em; gotta wear 'em.  We get a pile of 'em.  So I saw this really cute idea out in blog land:

I really love this idea but I haven't figured out quite yet how to corral our shoes.  There is not enough space next to the stand/launch pad to put this (which is why the trash can still sits there . . .) So for now the shoes are staying put - on our entry rug.
The other area of my entry way is where to put coats.  There is no coat closet in this house.  We actually added a closet rod to a closet in the bathroom for a place to hang our "extra" coats but none of us walk to the bathroom to hang up a coat when we get home - they just get thrown over the banister.  So, I saw this great idea for a peg board (sorry no picture :-( ) that is exactly what I had in mind but, as a "test", I've hung up some command hooks right here in our stair well.  This is better anyway because I will be painting soon and don't need to fill in MORE holes!.

Here is the nice open wall . ..

Now I added a couple of command hooks.

I LOVE these hooks that I saw over at A Bowl Full of Lemons, though.  If I can find hooks like this I may not build the peg board since it would be easier to just hang hooks!

I'm also thinking that this is the perfect place to add this:

The top step is very wide so there is plenty of room to stand without worrying about falling plus, I think it would be super cute as part of our "entry". 

So that is the basics - both some things I've done and some things I'm thinking about.  Before I conquer any more of this project though, I HAVE to get our bathroom done.  Maybe I need THAT to be a challenge ;-)

Too Cute Not To "Toot"

Lets just jump into the ideas!! First up is a super cute idea from Craftomanic for adorable homemade Valentine's.  How much cuter are these than the little store bought items you can get?

And, here's another idea from 24-7-365 for Valentine's as well.

OR, if you really want to go the extra mile, check out these creative Valentine's from FamilyFun.com

Over at Oopsey-daisy is a great tutorial for Rose Felt Trees.  These would also be a great idea for a bridal shower centerpiece or even at a wedding.  They are super adorable!

Ok . .my ideas are short today.  If you follow blogs that have "Linky Parties" you probably saw that they have had to pay for that service that used to be free so a lot of the places I find cute ideas either didn't have parties this week or they are much smaller.  I didn't have as much time as I do sometimes to search individual blogs so . . .hopefully these ideas help a little!  (And hopefully I'll be back next week with tons of ideas now that I'm a little more prepared for the search!)

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

Peacefulness



As I work on trying to simplify my life, one thought keeps coming to mind.  Peacefulness.  Once I have simplified the areas that cause me stress, that sense of peace will fill in those corners.  I decided to type in the word "Peacefulness" into Google Images to see what popped up and this is what I found:

 This is peaceful - can you imagine waking up to that every morning?  Or relaxing in the evening and watching the sunset on the calm water?  It makes me feel peace just looking at the picture.

 And, of course, this picture (which I've used in other posts).  My dream would be to live on the beach like this and just be able to have windows open and sit on a porch listening to the water.  I can almost smell that salty air.

Or this . .. how nice would it be to relax on a summer evening with your feet hanging in the off the pier into the water? 

Do you sense a theme?

I sense peace no where better than when I'm relaxing by the water.  (no, we did not move by the water - how I wish!)

What these pictures do give me is that concept of how I hope to wake up feeling every day once I accomplish my list of simplifying tasks.  As I thought about this concept I had several areas that just kept popping up over and over; the more I thought . . dwelled . . obsessed over them, I realized that those were the areas that I needed to conquer this year in order to be able to look back at the end of the year and say, "Yes, I did simplify my life this year." 

So, what did I do?

I made a list.  You are shocked, aren't you? haha  Acutally, I put my computer away, pulled out my spiral notebook that my husband gave me in my stocking (because he knows me well and knows I LOVE paper), and started making a list of the areas that need to be made more simple.  While brainstorming this list, I kept the areas pretty general because I wanted no more than 12 areas to work on - that one a month idea so that there weren't too many ideas!  Also while brainstorming this list, I jotted down the first things that came to mind within those categories because, obviously, they wouldn't have been in my mind to begin with if I didn't have something that needed to be simplified, right? (I did not make comprehensive lists for all items yet)  I'm sure you are wondering if I came up with 12 areas and . .not yet.  Really.  I was kinda surprised myself.  But remember, these were really general so a lot of things sometimes fit into one area. 

What's on my list?

Are you ready?  I'm not going to tell you.  Really?  Seriously.  Nope, not going to do it.  At first I was, but I don't want to write out this whole long list; instead I picked the top two things that I'm focusing on first (partly because they are already in progress and because they were staring me in the face the most) and will share those items.  Once those are tackled, I will let you know what I'm working on next. 

So, the first general item was (drumroll please):

Grocery Shopping

The specific things I wanted to accomplish to simplify this area were:

1. Join AngelSavings.com and give it a trial run - Joined and so far, loving this!

2. Go through all of my recipes and make a master list of our go to favorites that we love I have my list and it is really helping planning meals!

3. Make a monthly meal plan - all it entails is 5 meals of the 7 each week from our list of favorites - not a complete menu but a guide to help with stockpiling groceries done for Feb.

4. Design a weekly menu sheet that fits our needs done and I love it!

5. Stick to the grocery budget by using the above tools

6. Type up all recipes that need to be filed and clean out my recipe books Instead, I created a new binder, which is much less stressful to use!!!

The second general item was:

My Working Desk

The specific things I wanted to accomplish to simplify this area were:

1. Completely re-organize my files so that they include files that are relivant to us today and to incorporate my monthly teaching units into the upstairs file cabinet.

2. Set up a desk top file that will house all of the day to day things that usually land on my desk.

3. Clean out my desk top/cubbies so that it is visually neat.

4. "Decorate" my bulletin board so that it is more visiually appealing

5. Modify/rework my daily/weekly routines so that they are easier to accomplish within the timeframes I have set

6. Design the "perfect" (haha) to do list

7. Keep up with my month to month goal list to accomplish those things which are most important I feel like I have a handle on this and am making good progress.  I don't accomplish all the tasks but I am able to cross at least half off each month.

Now you can see why I didn't want any more than 12 general areas because there are alot of sub-items in each category.  I've already marked what I've completed and will (try) to come back to this post and update the items; than when I link back to this post in future updates, you'll be able to see what was done (yep, I think you are THAT interested LOL) 

So, with all of that said - lets go SIMPLIFY!!! 

Week 2 Challenge - "The Launch Pad"

Time for the 2nd challenge from over at A Bowl Full of Lemons which is to create a launch pad. 

I'm thankful for this challenge because this is an area I've really struggled with in our house due to the fact that our main entrance is our kitchen.  There is no place for coats, shoes, purses, hats, etc.  We are constantly battling things just being thrown in this area.  Not only is it our entrance - it is totally in view of everyone that pulls up to our house and it often does not give a good impression. 

So, I have a few ideas I've been working/thinking about and I'm pretty sure I won't get them all done this week so instead my goal is going to be to come up with my plan for what I'm going to do; show you pictures of the things I'm going to implement and than, once I finish painting our kitchen, I'll show you the final product a little later this year.  For this project, I've had to think outside the box and have scoured websites, blogs, and magazines to find ways to practically have an entryway when you don't have one!! 

So, check back later this week for pictures of what I am able to do and the ideas I have to do soon!

I'm linking up over at:

Lemon Chicken Pasta Toss

This is one of our favorite pasta dishes!  It is super easy to make and tastes so good!

First, cook your chicken (about 2 cups) you can also use the precooked chicken or even one of those roasted chickens from the grocery store.  I cooked mine in some olive oil with seasoning salt. 

 The recipe calls for Radiatore Pasta which are these small spirals - but, of course, you could use any pasta.  Cook the pasta - maybe about 2 minutes less than normal.

 Cut up the carrot, onion and garlic; cook for about 5 minutes in a pan sprayed with butter spray (or in the pan you cooked the chicken in)

 Cut up the broccoli and the red pepper and place in a microwave safe dish; add salt and cook for about 2 minutes.

 (This is my favorite Alfredo Sauce to use for this recipe - the texture and flavor is fantastic)

 Add everything to the pan with the carrots and onions, stir in the water and Alfredo Sauce.

Once done, sprinkle with some cheese! YUMMY!!

Lemon Chicken Pasta Toss

8 ounces uncooked radiatore pasta

1 medium onion, chopped                     ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 small carrot, peeled                                    Snipped fresh parsley

3 garlic cloves, pressed                     coarsely ground black pepper

1 small red bell pepper

2 cups small broccoli florets

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups diced, cooked chicken breast

1 cup prepared Alfredo sauce

½ cup hot water

1 lemon, cut in half crosswise

Cook pasta 2 minutes less then package directions; drain.  Meanwhile, chop onion and slice carrot.  Lightly spray a large skillet with oil.  Cook and stir onion, carrot and garlic over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until carrots are crisp-tender.  Meanwhile, slice bell pepper into strips; cut strips in half.  Combine bell pepper, broccoli and salt in a microwavable bowl, covered, on high for 1-2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp tender.  Add pasta, steamed vegetables, chicken, Alfredo sauce and water to skillet.  Squeeze lemon halves over pasta; cook and stir until heated through.  Grate Parmesan cheese over pasta; sprinkle with parsley and black pepper, if desired.

Enjoy this recipe - it really is good.

(One note - more veggies, pasta , etc doesn't make the recipe better - if you increase the amount of "Stuff" you use - add another tub of Alfredo sauce; you need enough sauce to add the flavor!) 

I'm linking up with Janelle at Comfy in the Kitchen