Happenings In this House!

So, this week started out with sickness and that, again was our theme.  Last Sunday, Nate was still fighting a temp of about 102 but did enjoy a little time outside.  By Monday, both boys had horrible coughs and nasty noses.  So, we've used a lot of tissues this week but they both seem to (maybe) be on the upswing.  Otherwise, I think we'll be heading to the doctor on Monday!! Geez! LOL 

 Josh got this Thomas the Train bubble maker in his Easter Basket.  When he blows on it, the whistle blows and makes bubbles.  He loves it.

 Nate - just not feeling good :-(

 The boys had fun playing with Josh's softball set.  Grandma Lebeck got him this for Christmas, I think (or his birthday).  The thing is awesome!  Right now, he just likes to put the balls in and wait for them to shoot up.  Eventually we will use it as a tee so he can learn how to swing a bat.  Little league is just a few years away ;-)  (As is pee wee football . . .bowling . . .hehehehe)

 Josh was obeying.  We told him to come into the dining room and shut the gate so he crawled through the gate, one cheek at a time LOL

 Nate was introduced to his booster seat this week.  We thought he would like sitting at the table since the high chair seems to cause him conflicts some days but, he is not 100% sold on it yet.  He will eat breakfast in it and endures lunch but by dinner, he walks to his high chair and says "up, up" 

 This week, Josh tried to make China his best friend.  One afternoon, Josh sat down in front of China and tried desperately to get her to sing EIEIO with him.  After all, he even showed her the cow and showed her how to say "MOOOO" but she just would not cooperate, not even with his begging "MOO, woof woof, MOOO".  China tried to retreat to the couch but Josh noticed that her nose was running (hahaha) so he took a cloth and kept trying to wipe her nose (I wonder why he would do that? Maybe because he has to wipe his every 2 minutes!)  Later, he lifted up China's lip to look at her teeth and said "ick, woof woof, ick" . . .I decided not to tell him she needs her teeth brushed.  :-/ 

Finally, as with all things we get out that used to be his, Josh had to sit in the booster.  He hasn't used it in well over  a year.  He sat there for well over an hour just chattering away.  (And yes, PJ tops are theme around here - he is willing to put pants on but just loves his PJ tops. )

So, that was our week - I hope you have a wonderful week!!

Creative Memories Spotlight - Punch Happy!

It's Saturday!  The perfect day for doing all kinds of fun things - including crafts!!!  There are some great new things that have come out this month from Creative Memories and the very first spotlight are these awesome punches!

The Blossom Place 'n Punch

And The Postage Stamp Place 'n Punch


I've always liked the punches that Creative Memories has sold but sometimes, I would get a little frustrated because I was restricted to just punching the edge of page - I couldn't punch anywhere I wanted.  Well, that is no more!  These new punches have a removable base which means you can position it anywhere on the page, place the punch on top of it and punch away.  This now gives the you the option of not only making a creative layout with the paper itself, you also have the punch shape to use as well.  Two items for the "price" of one!  The punches create a 1.5 inch punched shape so they are bigger than they appear in the photos.  The punches retail for $24.00 each. 

What is your favorite craft? Scrapbooking? Making Cards? Making crafts with your kids?  The punches would be perfect for any of those items!  They aren't limited to just scrapbooking.

There is a special going on right now as well!  Check this savings out:


You can get both punches plus a 20 pack of cardstock (in summer colors, no less!) for $48.00.  There are 4 sheets of each color shown.  So, yes, you are getting all of that paper for free!!!  This special will go until June 30th or while supplies last.  For all of you that love making cards - this is the deal for you! 

There are many more punches available through Creative Memories including this neat puzzle punch


And the scallop circle maker.


Be sure to check out my WEBSITE to shop for the above items or to get anything you need for your crafty self!  (And please, share my website with other crafters you know - I appreciate the business!)

Lemon Chicken

Yummy!  We love this chicken recipe!!  This is an old recipe of mine that goes back to high school.  I had dinner at a friends house and her mom made this recipe.  I loved it, wrote it down and have been making it ever sense.  I'm going to give you the "true" recipe and than give you my "cheater" tips too. 

Lemon Chicken

2 large lemons
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1-3 tablespoons oil
1 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon paprika
3 tablespoons brown sugar
8-9 chicken breasts

Grate and reserve peel from one of the lemons, then cut lemon in half and squeeze juice over chicken, thoroughly coating each piece.  Combine flour, salt and paprika in small bag.  Place chicken, a few pieces at a time, in bag and shake to coat completely.  Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat.  Add chicken and brown well on all sides.  Transfer chicken to 9 x 13 pan and sprinkle with reserved lemon peel and brown sugar.  Cut 2^nd lemon into thin slices and arrange over chicken then pour broth over chicken.  Cover.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serves 4-6 people

So - my "cheater" things:  I don't use lemons.  Instead, I dip the chicken breasts in lemon juice, then dip them in the flour mixture.  When I put them in the 9x13 pan, I don't use lemons :-)  Instead I just pour about 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice over the brown sugar on each chicken breast.  I tend to forget to buy lemons plus, sometimes the rind gets a little sour so I like it better without that baked into it.  

Enjoy :-)  

Mommy School - Our First Week with a New Schedule

Last week I posted about your new schedule and ideas for Mommy School.  I had one little hiccup to start with and that is the printer.  My printer, despite being a color printer, gets an attitude when asked to print more than one or two pages in color - the pages start to get a really odd discoloration and all kinds of streaks.  I had uploaded them to a zip drive to print at an office store but never made it into town to do so.  I printed the best I could and just did a few at a time :-)

I picked my ideas from over at 1+1+1=1 and started right out with the letter

 This little game was one of Josh's favorite.  I printed two copies of the fruit shapes; one I cut apart and than taped to a piece of white card stock before laminating to make a game board.  The second sheet I laminated, than cut apart for the pieces.  I also put circles of Velcro on the pieces/board so that Josh could stick the pieces on easily.  We played a few different ways - first, I just handed him one piece at a time and he matched them; next, I held up two different pieces and would state the shapes, then ask him to pick a specific shape; finally, I just gave him all the pieces and he played for a good 20 minutes. 

 He's so cute!  He really enjoyed matching the pictures.

 One of the things I mentioned in my first post was focused playtime - here is an example.  We pulled out all of the puzzles; Josh and Nate sat together and worked on putting them together for a long span of time one day.  Nate is getting very good at being able to match the pieces too.  One day, we also practiced cleaning up - we used the dreaded Legos - Josh had already dumped them out once so, we cleaned up; then I let him dump them out again and we sang our clean up song.  We are really working on getting the boys to start cleaning up toys when they are done playing - it is not an easy skill to learn ;-)

 Here we are working on our verse that goes with the letter A.  I didn't get a picture of it but we used little snack puffs on each of the words; than as he would eat a puff, I would try to get him to say the word.  On another day, I used legos and would ask him to pick up the "blue" lego - that way we worked with color and on the words as well.

Another page we did was a coloring page.  I laminated it so we could re-use it but, washable markers don't work well on it.  I may need to get some dry erase markers for him to use on these pages.  I made up all kinds of tunes for "A is for Apple"

So, yes, we had some fun this week. I also enjoyed some play time with the munchkin as well as some book time with Nate.  I really am enjoying this relaxed, yet set schedule and find it easier to get things done.  One other thing I learned - I need to order our library books two weeks in advance, not just one week.  I'm planning on finally getting are "a" books today so we can get busy on reading more books!

The weather didn't cooperate a whole lot so we haven't been outside; Wednesday was really nice but both boys have a pretty nasty cold so I didn't want to take them out in the cool air.  Maybe next week! 

Don't forget to play with your kids today!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving . . . all of my reality shows.  I will admit, when reality TV hit the airwaves like 10 years ago, (or whenever) I wasn't sold on it and even kinda mocked it.  BUT, now, well, I love them :-)  They will come to an end soon - I can catch up on all the "fake" TV this summer in re-runs!

I'm loving . . . walking on the treadmill.  Ok, that is actually a lie but I thought if I typed it, I might actually believe it LOL 

I'm loving . . . the pork won ton tacos from Applebees.  We got them on a whim several weeks ago and now, I kinda crave them!

I'm loving  . . . that neither of my boys are puking this week.  Coughing, yes, puking no.  I'll take coughing any day :-)

I'm loving . . . that my brother, Kel, is back in the states - home from the mission field on furlough.  I'm also so happy that Deb, Micah and Marisa are here too.  Can't wait to see them all in just a few more days!!

I'm loving . . .  that spring is actually attempting to arrive.  Won't be long and the sun might actually shine for more than one afternoon. ha!

So, what are you loving today? 

Parade of Homes Tour

I hadn't originally planned on posting about this but, I think that some of you may enjoy getting a glimpse into some homes for ideas!  I must admit that when I clicked on a few, I was impressed by them but they reminded me of a showroom or a catalog so I didn't go back but, today I clicked on a few out of curiosity and came across some that fit "me" (one even  has a kitchen that is the same colors mine will be and one has the same stove as I do!).  When I saw that, I realized that I just needed to see some that were more my style. 

So, if you like to look inside other people's windows at night when you are out driving (you know you do it too - hope that the curtains are open so you can get a quick glance!!) than this little parade is for you!!

If you click here at A Bowl Full of Lemons, it should take you to the first post.  At the end of each post, there should be a "door" that takes you to the next tour.  I think you should be able to keep clicking all the way through to the last post of the day.  This is going on all week! 

Hope you enjoy the tour!

Too Cute Not To Toot!

So, here's my little confession.  I had picked out 4 crafts to make before Easter for some cute Easter decor.  I bought the stuff and never made a single one!  Really!  I packed the stuff away in my Easter box for now and will get those items made before next year.  I think if I lived closer to a Hobby Lobby, I might actually get more little crafts made but I find that I make a long list of things I want to get, buy it all and than just don't know where to start!! Confession is good for the soul, right? Well, so are crafts so check out what I found this time around!

From a guest post over at Not Just a Housewife, check out this easy tutorial for making hooded towels. 

My oldest loves Trains - so when I saw this idea, I had to save it because it will make a fantastic Birthday Gift (and it gives me plenty of time to make it!)  Check out this idea for making a traveling train play mat from A Mom Not a Professional, Not a Perfectionist.

She also gives instructions on how to make Cascarones - which is an Easter Tradition in Mexico.  I've heard about doing this with the eggs and think it sounds fun.  I'm putting it here so I don't forget about it next year!

Another idea from that same site above is a Chore Chart.  We haven't gotten as far as a chore chart in our house yet but that day is coming so I'm watching for ideas that might work for our family.  I like this idea - plus she also gives some ideas surrounding the whole concept in this post as well.

Last week I shared one May Day idea from Nothing but Country and here is another great idea.  Yes, I realize May Day is already past but this idea would also be cute at a birthday party or even a shower. 

Oopsey-Daisey did a guest post over at Brown Paper Packages and showed how she organized her sons books.  This is one of the things on one of my Simplify Lists that I ended up just saying that I wasn't going to do because I didn't have a good solution.  I think I just came up with one!

Also over at Brown Paper Packages is a great Mother's Day Idea.  It is a stepping stool - but use footprints to make it special.  This would also make an adorable Christmas gift for Grandparents to have in their home - and the kids could use it when they come over :-)

This is the first year that I really struggled trying to find my boys outfits for something - in this case it was Easter.  There were literally 3 things to chose from; two were long sleeves and with summer coming, I didn't want long sleeves!  Luckily the 3rd outfit was something adorable and actually fit what I had in mind but, I'm already thinking ahead and love this tutorial from I Candy Handmade for making ties.  We have at least one wedding in 2012 that my boys will need ties for so I better get practicing :-) 

I Candy Homemade guest posted over at I am Momma Hear Me Roar and shared another quiet book idea.  I've shared fabric quiet idea books in the past but this one uses dry erase crayons and markers along with printables and sheet protectors.  I love the idea and you could morph it to fit your own style - whether it be something for church so you use handouts that fit your church or something fun to take in the car or to have at the doctor's office, hair salon or where ever!

Another idea from over at I am Momma Hear Me Roar is a photo scavenger hunt.  For kids who are starting to be interested in using the camera - this would be a neat teaching idea plus, it would just be fun! 

I'm always looking for great gift ideas for grandparents for Christmas and this is another one from Oopsey-Daisy that fits the bill.  Something so simple yet so classy!

As is the norm, there are a ton of great ideas out there.  This time, I figured if someone had one good idea, they might have two (and I was right!)  I came across several new crafty blogs this week and really liked what I saw (obviously!)  I hope you did too!