Too Cute Not to Toot!

I have to tell you - I have been busy making some projects from past "Too Cute" posts that I'll be sharing soon.  PLUS I have even made one of my OWN ideas!!  Seriously!  Can you believe it?  I'm also getting ready to start searching for some new ideas to work on next month too!

Lets start with this great printable from A Step in the Journey.  I really love the quote and will be printing my own this week.  I'm thinking that I will frame it and hang it above my desk as a daily reminder.  I'll show you once it is hanging up :-)

This next idea I am posting for one person who reads this blog - she got a Kindle Fire this year and mentioned that she hasn't been able to find a good case - well neither could Color Me Glamorous so she MADE one and shared her full tutorial.  Check it out!

I Heart Crafty Things shares an adorable tutorial for making these monster Valentine's Boxes.  In future years, as the boys get older, I plan on have each of us make boxes and then put notes in them through the weeks before the big Heart Day.  A Friend of mine does this with her 8 (yes 8) boys and I just think it is awesome! These boxes are just too great not to make :-)

Thought I would share this adorable idea for a little hot chocolate party.  It is such a simple idea from Dukes and Duchesses.  I think this would be fun to do with the boys after an afternoon of playing in the snow :-)

This is an idea I saw on Pinterest originally but the link sends you to a shop to buy the kit - I didn't want to buy the kit.  Then I found this idea over at And I Thought I loved you Then  with instructions on how to make the Snowball Kit!

So, this really isn't an "idea" but it is a concept and, since it is the plan to finally purchase "My" camera after tax time, I wanted to save this post from Its Overflowing - it's a blogger camera course.  It is the second post - so you can, I'm sure, find the first post and there will also be more.  I'm kinda excited to use it as a base to help me out (Plus I have a friend who has promised to teach me all she knows HA!)

Sassy Sites has done it again.  This time she is sharing a ton of links for ideas to make Valentine's for kids.  I love it for future years - it would be fun to make some of them and put them in those Monster Boxes and mentioned above.!

That's all for this week :-)  People have been kinda quiet this week in bloggy land - I think everyone is still recovering from Christmas :-)

Pinterest Challenge - Success and Not So Much Success

Lets start with the success.  This was a simple idea that came at just the right time.  Last week I posted about the Memory Shortage I had on my hard drive.  I remembered pinning this idea from Real Simple not long ago so I pulled it up and did a little research on this great way to store photo discs.

This just clicked in my brain and was such an easy concept.  Unlike most people (or so it seems) I do not catorgerize my photos by event but rather in chronological order so the color coding of the jewel cases was not something I needed to do but otherwise I loved this idea.  Here is what my simplified version looks like.

Very simply, I burn each year on to a disc (or multiple discs depending on the number of photos) and just put an small index card on the front of the first disc.  I did buy colored cases only because they were cheaper and look more fun in the box!  The box is just a Rubbermaid shoe box which fits the discs perfectly.  I also, as you can read, have "tabs" for the professional picture discs we have had done and I save the copies of the photo pages I create as well. 

Now for the not so much success stories.  Surprisingly, they were both food items.

First up, this recipe for 3 Cheese Chicken Alfredo Bake was one of the very first "pins" and was so excited to make it - it just looked so incredibly yummy! 

I finally got around to making this last week for dinner.  Even while I was making it, it looked good but I kinda wondered what rocatta cheese would do to the texture.  I should of thought a little longer about that concept.  Really, I should have . . oy!

So, do you want to know what the best thing on the plate was?  Nope, not the pasta - it was the garlic bread.  The pasta dish was nasty nasty!  Two reasons.  1)The texture was just not good.  It was kinda chunky and not creamy - that rocatta cheese really messed with the alfredo sauce.  2)The taste - it had none.  It was very bland and non-interesting to eat.  To make it worse, it is actually an expensive dish to put together between the two containers of alfredo (at about $4.00 a container - YIKES!) and all of the cheese . . .not a good one to flop on at all!  So, I would not recommend making this dish personally but, if you want to try it for yourself click on the link I gave above and you will find the recipe there :-)

Now, for the second flop.  Amazingly, it is chocolate and peanut butter - how can you go wrong with that one?  These are called Better Than Crack Brownies which sounds like they should basically make you stand on a mountain peak and sing to the heavens after every bite, right?

So, I whipped a batch of these up with some left over Peanut Butter Cups from Christmas and this is what mine looked like:

I don't think the name suits them and that could be part of the problem - I expected way too much.  They are more like a brownie with some fudge on top.  It's one of those recipes that is just ok - not anything to make again but they weren't awful.  I will say that I used Cocoa Pebbles in the fudgy part instead of Rice Krispies and that probably impacted the texture but not the taste.  You can try them yourself, if you like, by clicking the link above :-) 

A Wedding

I don't know about all of you, but I love Weddings :-)  Especially those of people I know well!  On Saturday, January 14th, Darryl's Niece, Rachel, got married and we were honored to be part of it!  We were very excited about this wedding since Rob and Rachel have been together for 7 years and we figured that this day would come long before now!  Darryl and I were responsible for the music - we knew months in advance but, as is normal, we waited until 2 weeks before the wedding to practice . .. we should have practiced sooner LOL  No, it went really well but we could have used a few more songs for the prelude and postlude.  I also sang "When I Say I do" by Matthew West



The wedding itself was beautiful - it was held in a church that was just "grand" in appearance making for some beautiful photos. I will apologize now for my photos - my camera is on its last leg so it tends to be a little blurry sometimes plus I was not using the flash so any small movement caused a blur. 

 Rachel - she looked beautiful :-)

 Rachel and the Guys

 Rob, the groom, and our nephew Levi (Rachel's brother)

 Darryl with his sister, Kelly

 Rachel and Darryl - yes, she is really that short and yes, he is really that tall :-)

The First Dance :-)

Despite a really bad snow storm with white out driving conditions - it was a great weekend.  Darryl and I, thanks to his hotel points he has earned, were able to stay the weekend so we got some time away which was even better then the wedding - the wedding was just the excuse we needed to do something like that, I guess :-) 

Recovery

I wanted to follow up on Josh's Surgery! On Wednesday, January 18th, Josh was scheduled for surgery to clip his tongue.  My husband and I got up at 5:00 to get ready and then woke Josh up just before 6:00 to get dressed and head out.  On a side note, it isn't very often that we get to peek in on him when he is sleeping and he was so darn cute - then he heard my husband's voice (whom Josh hadn't seen since Wednesday the 11th) and he sat straight up in bed and said "Daddy's Home - Play train circle Daddy?" HA!  Surprisingly, my little non-morning boy was very happy and ready to get dressed and head out.  My mom had graciously stayed the night so she could take care of Nate and the munchkin while we were gone.  We arrived at the hospital right on time and checked in at 7:00.  Then we were called right back to the pre-op room where we waited . .. and waited. . .. and waited. . .and waited.  Seriously.  I have no idea why we had to be there an hour and half early since there wasn't even a nurse in the area until 8:00. 

 Darryl and Josh right after we were brought back to the Pre-Op room.  Josh was more then a little tired after getting up so early and talking the whole way to the hospital.

 This is Josh's bed - he didn't have to get in it until just as they took him away; don't you love the bed hair?? HA!   He didn't even have to change clothes :-)

 I had thought about taking some toys but wasn't sure about hauling stuff in with us.  Some one from Children's Welfare actually brings stuff to each of the kids - stuff to color, a book, and a toy to use while they are there. 

After talking to the doctor, the nurse and the anesthesiologist, they gave Josh some liquid sleep medication and this was taken as he started to get sleepy.  So we then put him in the crib where he just sat and stared at us, looking a little . .. well . .. stoned, for lack of a better word, and they wheeled him away.  He didn't cry, just looked at us like we were insane as we waved at him from across the room HA!

Darryl and I settled in to watch some TV and didn't even have time to find a channel before the doctor was back (actually 20 minutes) to tell us it all went well and he had put in three stitches under his tongue.  He warned us that most kids come out of the sleeping meds (everything was oral - no IV's) disoriented and will cry for 20 minutes to an hour.  We noticed other kids crying as they came out so we were ready.  We thought we would have about an hour wait but 10 minutes later, out came a nurse carrying Josh who was still very out of it (I thought it was neat that the nurses carry the kids out then roll the beds out a few minutes later).

 They got Josh a big cup of Apple Juice and some graham crackers right away.  There is actually a huge slushy machine so he could have had a slushy but he isn't a huge fan and really loves apple juice.  We found it funny that all of the instructions were soft foods only for the first 24 hours and yet they gave him graham crackers??? 

See that cute little face? He is still so out of it he has no idea what way is up!!!  About 20 minutes later we were wheeled out and on our way home.  Everyone raved about how great he was and that he didn't cry and all that stuff.  Well . . . apparently it takes him a lot longer to come out of the drugs then the normal 3 year old.  When we got home, he wanted to get out of the truck and walk himself but we did not realize that he was still 100% loopy.  He couldn't walk a straight line and kept falling in the snow and walking the wrong  direction.  Darryl finally just picked him up and the poor little guy went ballistic - screaming and crying.  Then when he got in he wanted to go downstairs (why? I don't know - my kids don't go downstairs unless they walk down with me to get laundry) so he got upset again.  It took him about an hour to come out of the anesthesia and get back to his normal self.  By early afternoon, he was playing on the floor and he ate a normal dinner.  On Thursday, other then saying once that his tongue hurt and once that he thought he had crackers stuck under his tongue (the stitches) he did fine.  We do notice changes already in his speech - but I have also noticed he hasn't figured out how to use his "new" tongue yet and some words that were clear aren't as clear now.  I'm thinking that as it heals, it will get better. 

All in all, it was a good experience - and I am actually glad that he didn't break down until we got home and no one else had to listen to his screams except for Nana and Darryl and I. 

Weekly Menu - January 21

Can you believe that we are looking at the last week of January?  Wow!  Where did this month go?  As always, when we get to the last week of the month, I like to use up things in the freezer and keep the grocery list as small as possible. End of the month = end of the budget!!!  We have also heard that there are some big route changes coming to my husbands job so I'm not sure what nights he will be home - this might change our menu completely! (I cook SUPER simple when he is gone - my kids could eat Blue Box Mac and Cheese every night!!)

Saturday: No plans for dinner yet - I'm attending a baby shower and then going scrapbooking for awhile.  I'm leaning towards scrapbooking until about 7:30 then I can pick some dinner up for an at home date with my hubby :-) 

Sunday: Winter has finally hit Michigan so I love cooking meals on Sunday that make the whole house smell good AND warm it up!  It is time for a Roast, Carrots, Noodles and Rolls :-)

Monday: Hot Dogs and French Fries (so exciting, isn't it??)

Tuesday: Ham and Potato Soup with Homemade Bread - I have a great ham bone left from a few weeks ago that I'm going to simmer to get lots of ham for the soup :-)  My kids are not huge soup eaters yet so they may end up with hot dogs and bread HA!

Wednesday: Tacos, Rice and Refried Beans (We LOVE tacos!!!!!)

Thursday: Root Beer Pulled Pork, Cole Slaw, and Baked Beans (Check my "Recipe" Tab for all three of these family favorite recipes!!)

Friday:  Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti and Garlic Bread (Another family favorite in my "Recipe" tab)



Food Friday - Lime Sherbet Punch

This recipe is one that we had both on Christmas Day and New Years Eve.  My sister-in-law, Debby, provided punch for Christmas Dinner and I fell in love with it so I made it again for my husband and I on New Years Eve.  The funny thing is that just a few weeks before that, we had come home from a Christmas gathering and I mentioned to my husband how I wished we had something refreshing to drink - something I could mix together and enjoy.  Please let me clarify one thing, we do not drink alcohol at all - I don't cook with it nor do we have it in our home at all.  So by wanting something to mix together - I'm thinking of a "punch" idea.  This fits the bill and I plan on keeping the ingredients on hand to use when I want something other than milk, water, or Crystal Light!

Lime Sherbet Punch
adapted from Debby McMaster (My sister-in-law)

Isn't that a pretty drink?  It reminds me of St Patrick's Day (I'll have to remember that!)  This is so refreshing, easy and, honestly, inexpensive!

1 package of lime Koolaid (with sugar needed to make it)
1 2-liter of 7-up or other lemon-lime soda
1 container of Lime Sherbet

First, make the Kool-aid except only add about 1/2 the normal amount of water, or even a little less.  Then, add the Kool-aid, soda, and sherbet into a large punch bowl and enjoy. 

Instead of making a big punch bowl for just the husband and me, I poured about a 1/2 a glass of Kool-aid, added 1/2 a glass of Sprite and then put in some sherbet.  It was the perfect drink!

What I'm Reading

Currently, I'm reading The Fence My Father Built by Linda Clare.  This is a book that I got for free for my Kindle a few weeks ago (it is now $8.99).  The only reason I downloaded it is because it is free - it is not a topic I would normally chose but, with that said, it is a very well written, interesting book and I'm glad that I picked it up when I did. 

Here is the review from Amazon:
In The Fence My Father Built, when legally separated Muri Pond, a librarian, hauls her kids, teenage Nova and eleven year-old Truman, out to the tiny town of Murkee, Oregon, where her father, Joe Pond lived and died, she’s confronted by a neighbor’s harassment over water rights and Joe’s legacy: a fence made from old oven doors.

The fence and accompanying house trailer horrify rebellious Nova, who runs away to the drug-infested streets of Seattle. Muri searches for her daughter and for something to believe in, all the while trying to save her inheritance from the conniving neighbor who calls her dad Chief Joseph. Along with Joe’s sister, Aunt Lutie, and the Red Rock Tabernacle Ladies, Muri must rediscover the faith her alcoholic dad never abandoned in order to reclaim her own spiritual path.

Right now, I'm about 70% of the way through the book (I have yet to figure out some things on my Kindle like how to tell what page I'm on!)  and I still haven't figured out how it will end . One part of me feels like there is going to be a little surprise about one of the characters but we'll see! 

A couple of other things I'm working on learning about my Kindle:

1) How to manage my books.  I find it overwhelming to look at 4 or 5 pages of books and have no idea what they are about.

2) How to make groups or something to sort books - I'd like to sort them by type (Romance, Drama, Mystery, Humor) so I can pick based on what I feel like. 

3) Cleaning the screen - I'm sure it is easy but, like a computer screen, I want to make sure to do it right (speaking of that, my computer screen is dirty!)

I hope that you are enjoying your Kindle - or at least reading.  By the way, if you are a traditional reader and read, well, books.  Try buying your books at Half.com.  It is a great site and you can often get books for $.75 (depending on popularity and age) and then right around $3.00 shipping.  A great price! 

What are you reading?