Too Cute Not to Toot!!

I love posting "building" projects even though I seldom build :-)  I do love these floating shelves from Desert Domicile and her tutorial is very easy to follow.  I have several places I could see these going :-)

Capturing Joy shares a really cute Halloween idea - I love ideas that incorporate photos. 

This year, I have some wonderful mums on my porch with a fantastic chair thanks to my parents :-)  I love this idea to add to it next year from Two Twenty One.

Yes, I started out this year trying to make a wreath for each month/holiday/season depending on what was going on.  I crashed and burned in March and never got back on the bandwagon!  I love this simple wreath idea from Turtles and Tails.

If  you have followed this blog at all you know I've talked about quiet books before and how I wanted to make them for my boys but have yet to do so.  This idea from Jessie's Girl is great - she uses paper and her cricut instead of felt.

Lots of fun stuff this week :-)  What are YOU making?

The Vacation . . Well The STAYcation! (AKA Homeschool Happenings Week 6

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Homeschool posts for a trip to Papa and Nana's and a "Stay"cation for mom and dad! 

This past week we were on vacation.  Well, we PLANNED to be on vacation but, life happened.  I would say that sometime back in June, we picked this past week for a small vacation and started planning.  This was a getaway week for just my husband and I - the kids were heading to the grandparents.  We didn't go away for our anniversary this year, like we normally do, since we had picked this past week to go on vacation.  I think I planned 5 different trips .. . Cleavland, Toledo, Chicago, The UP of Michigan, A driving tour around the Lakeshore . .. so we have LOTS of trips to take in the future.  HA!

We realized about 4 weeks ago that we couldn't go away so I then planned a two night trip to Muskegon and finally gave in to the thought that we really can't go away.  Don't feel bad - it is just the reality of being responsible :-)  We both looked at things we needed to get done around the house and couldn't justify putting money towards a trip when we really need to put that money towards other things.

Our staycation has still been enjoyable.

Monday - My husband actually is still working a few days this week so he was working.  The boys and I went to the grocery store (which they LOVE!!!) and then, I had so planned to take them to the park but it was cold and windy (the boys even said "BRRRRR, Mom" when we left the store so we just played at home.

Tuesday - The boys and I packed up the truck and headed to Papa and Nana's.  I enjoyed a great visit with my parents before leaving the boys with them and meeting two friends from High School for lunch.  We had a fabulous visit and then I headed home.

Wednesday -Today I truly enjoyed being home alone.  It was quiet.  I went and got my hair cut, treated myself to lunch, and then came home and did nothing for a bit before cleaning the living room :-)

Thursday - More of the same - I enjoyed the quiet of the house and also cleaning.  I cleaned the rest of the house and worked on toy organization!!  (I know - aren't you thrilled!).  Today is also the last day of work for my husband so we got to stay up late and watch football tonight - a rare thing since he normally has to get up at 3:00 in the morning!!  We grilled burgers and I made an awesome dessert - Caramal Apple Crisp YUM!.

Friday - This is where our REAL Staycation begins since Darryl now has the next three days off.  Originally I was going to go scrapbooking today but it got cancelled which actually worked out better.  We worked at home today - cleaning up the yard, working on the finishing touches in the boys room, and cleaning the truck.

Saturday - THIS is our day.  We knew we wanted to take one day and actually go away for the day. 

 We headed downtown Grand Rapids and had lunch at Peppino's.  It is somewhere we've been wanting to eat.  The food as ok - not great but not terrible either :-)

 Then, we walked downtown and viewed lots of Art.  Right now there is something called Art Prize downtown - there are hundreds of pieces of art on display.  We really just looked at things outside - and enjoyed the beautiful weather :-)

 Once we finished our 2+ mile walk (for real!)  we went to dinner at Red Lobster, ran a few errands (I got my "Target" fix) and stopped at Starbucks. (The Salted Caramel Mocha is to die for!!!)

It was really a fun day. :-)

October Goals

 

Holy Smokes!  It's October!!!  Whoa.  Where did January-September go?  Ok, wait, June, July and most of August crawled by due to the heat melting the hands on the clock but shoot, where did September go?? 

Lets recap September: 
1. The big room switch - Guess what? It is DONE!!  I've already posted about the classroom and the master.  The post about the boys room will be coming out next week!!

2. House Projects - My goal was to mark 4 things off the list - well, we finished the master and the boys room so that marked off more than 4 items :-)

3. Scrapbooking - I have not updated my project list or done anything else except get all photos ordered through August.

4. Homeschool - we did ok in September.  I'm still working on a perfect system but we are slowly getting there.

5. Potty Training - uugg.  that's all

6. Celebrations - I've written in the things we want to do as a family and am working on making sure I/we get to the parents a little more.  I was just there last Tuesday and had a great visit.

7. Landscaping - I took photos of the outside :-)

Moving on to October

1. Celebrations - this has moved to the top because we are coming into some busy months for birthdays and Christmas.  So, this month I will focus on making sure that Josh's birthday is great, make plans for Christmas, and make plans for Nate's birthday.  I also need to get our outfits picked out for our Christmas card photo/Christmas outfits.  Of course, there is also Halloween :-)

2.  Potty Training - Here we go again - we will survive this and we will succeed!

3. Homeschool - The goal this month is to get into a routine with Homeschool and accomplish our goals each week.

4. House Projects - the goal is to accomplish 2 items on the list this month.

5. Scrapbooking - Again this month I want to update my list, work up a budget plan to get pages printed and the goal is to get all of May and June scrapbooked this month.

6.  Landscaping - This is research month.  Research various plants and flowers and trying to narrow down what I'd like to plant.

I will be honest, I've kind of lost my focus on my "Celebrate" goal this year.  I am thinking of a new theme word next year and what I would like to accomplish.  I feel like I've kind of floundered this year and didn't really plan well.  Oh well - we all have an "off" year :-)


Linking up over at :

Weekly Menu

Well, last weeks plan was a flop HA!  Well laid plans and all that stuff! First up, I had put sloppy joes in the crock pot on Tuesday so dinner would be ready when I got home after being gone all day.  Well, it was done all right - so done it was burned.  YUCK.  Then, I was thinking my husband was going to practice on Wednesday but he wasn't . .I didn't plan anything.  I had planned a sweet and sour chicken recipe and was reminded that he doesn't like sweet and sour stuff . . .. so we ended up having burgers :-)  THEN, I was going to go scrapbooking on Friday but that was cancelled . . .I had nothing planned for Friday :-)  Oh well!!

Lets try this again!  My husband and I are trying to eat a little healthier . . or something.   So, I'm going to work on switching the way we eat and focus more on Weight Watcher style meals 4 days a week.  The other three days will be other favorite recipes that I will be working on to make lighter as much as I can.  We'll see how this goes!

Monday - Baked Chicken Parmesan, Spaghetti, Salad and French Bread.  Now, I have a Chicken Parmesan recipe that we really love.  I'm anxious to see how this one, a WW version, compares.

Tuesday - Three Cheese Tortellini and Mushroom Soup with Homemade Bread.  This is another WW recipe.  I'm not really a huge fan of Mushrooms but I've been reading how they are a super food so I'm going to try and eat some :-) 

Wednesday - Asian Glazed Drumsticks, Baked Brown Rice and Steamed Broccoli.  I have other Chinese style recipes that we love but they are really high in sugar.  Again, I'm excited to see how this compares.

Thursday - Crockpot Stuffed Peppers, Smashed Potatoes, Green Beans.  This is a family favaorite recipe :-)

Friday - Beef Drip Sandwiches, Sweet Potatoes (in the crock pot) and a salad.  This is a family favorite and, instead of paring this with something higher in fat like french fries or potato salad, I decided to try and keep the sides a little healthier so we can really enjoy this wonderful French Dip like sandwich.

Saturday - Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin, Mac and Cheese, a canned veggie and French Bread.   Another favorite - this is SOOOO good!

Sunday - Roast, Carrots, and Beefy Noodles.  For dinner tonight we'll have either Leftovers or get a pizza.

Enjoy !

Food Friday - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars
adapted from Brandy's Baking

Yes, you read that right.  Chocolate Chips.  Cookie Dough. Cheesecake.  All in a fantastically good bar like cookie.  Cheesecake at its finest (and easiest!)  This is one of those "get up in the middle of the night and eat cheesecake" kind of desserts.  Yum! I actually made mine in a 9x9 pan instead of an 8x8 pan and they worked out fine.

ngredients (9-12 servings)
Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough:

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup flour
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

Cheesecake Filling:

• 10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper or foil allowing a little overhang and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove pan to a cooling rack. Leave your oven on while you prepare the dough.

3. While the crust is cooling, prepare the chocolate chip cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth and thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour on low speed, and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the chocolate chips. Set aside. (*Note: This mixture is going to be dry...that’s okay. It’s rather like a crumble topping. You’re going to crumble it on top of the cheesecake layer.)

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with an electric mixer cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the egg and vanilla on low speed just until incorporated. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared crust. Use your hands to form "clumps" of the cookie dough, smoosh it together and flatten it out.  Distribute the cookie dough onto the top of the cheesecake batter in teaspoon-sized clumps. Be sure to use all of the dough.

5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the top feels dry and firm (the cookie dough) and the entire pan looks set if given a gentle shake. Move bars to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Chill in refrigerator overnight or for at least a couple hours.

6. Lift the bars out by the overhang and cut into squares for serving.

Home Organization Challenge 101

This weeks Challenge space was the home office.  Now, I don't have a "home office" but more of a home . . desk . .in the corner of the living room . . where everyone can see it, kind of space.  It is a true bear to keep clean and organized because everything gets dropped on my desk.  Not to mention that my husband uses it and my kids have gotten naughty and get in the drawers when I'm not looking. (I used to have them all taped shut but it about drove me insane so we are working on them learning to respect other peoples stuff!!)

A little history.  I love my roll top desk.  I challenged my dad when I was in high school that I would save up half the money for a roll top desk kit that we could built together if he would pay the other half.  Of course, he said SURE!!!  Well, I was only half way there in my saving up of money when I saw what looked like a nice roll top desk on sale at a local furniture store so my dad agreed to split the cost and buy it.  He went to get it, discovered it was kinda junky, and then MORE than split the cost and bought me this desk.  Wow, I just realized it is an antique - this desk is 25 years old!!)  It has moved many places and let me tell you, that thing is a bear to move!  Three moves ago, my dad finally took the thing apart to move it, which helps, the downside is that it never quite goes together the same so now it is impossible to move without taking it apart.  (For the record, I have taken it apart, moved it, and put it back together by myself HA!)  So, even though, really, it isn't the most practical space anymore, there is no way I'm getting rid of it.  Instead I try to be as creative as I can with the space to keep it uncluttered and useful.

Here are a few photos that I took at the beginning of this week - this is probably one of the worst days for my desk HA!  I had it all cleaned and organized but being sick last week kinda put everything on hold.

Now, it is all cleaned up again and ready to be used.  This is more what it looks like all of the time.  I'm getting to the point that I may start pulling the cover down to keep little hands out of my stuff . .. but then I might actually have to lock it and that just becomes not fun! 

Now, if you go back to the source and see HER office . .. well, you will be as amazed as I was . . .wow.  I think her office is bigger than my house HA!

Growth Chart

Over a year ago, I posted a link to a great post over at Family EverAfter in a Too Cute To Toot for this:

Yes, a growth chart :-)  It was something that I had been wanting to make for my boys so guess what, I did!  Now, here's the deal.  I made this LAST summer.  Yes, as in August of 2011.  We hung it up sometime in like January of 2012, and I finally did the last pieces in, yes, September of 2012. Here is my version:

Now, way back when I started this project, I did take photos but I can't find them now.  The process was simple.  We happened to have this board left over from a roofing project a few years ago.  I sanded it down and then painted it with left over paint from the bathroom.  Then, I used a sewing measuring tape and modge podged it onto the front, using a staple gun to secure it tightly around the back of the chart.  Then I cut out the boys names and modge podged those on as well.  This is were my perfectionism got in the way - I wanted to make these cute little signs that showed the date, their age, and their height.  Well, after about 9 months of not getting it down, I just wrote the info on the chart with a sharpie.  So much easier and so much more real life!!!  For the record, the boys have even tried to measure themselves so there are extra lines drawn by them - it adds character and I love it!