My Prego Italian Creation...

There are numerous not-fun side effects during pregnancy but one of my favorites is cravings.  I am free to try and make all the crazy combo yummies that I would be too calorie conscious or timid to try.  Pregnancy opens the senses to a creativity that only hormones can muster, an urge to try new, strange fusions of flavor.  Oh, happy eating.

I was recently asked to make a main dish for a holiday potluck and I was feeling pasta.  I ventured to the market and started collecting a cart full of ingredients that all just sounded good.  A little bit of sundried tomatoes (I can eat those things like candy), spinach, glorious garlic, italian dressing, chicken, garlic, fettuccine, alfredo sauce and did I mention garlic?  I went home and immediately started creating this masterpiece that I am bestowing the honorable title of Hit the Spot Fettuccine.

Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 bottle of Italian salad dressing
3 TBSP olive oil
1 package of sun dried tomatoes
1 bag of baby spinach
6 TBSP of minced garlic (roasted garlic cloves would be incredible but I was too lazy)
1 package of fettuccine
2 jars of Classico Alfredo Sauce

Step 1:  Marinate the chicken breast overnight in the italian dressing and 2 tbsp of garlic
Step 2:  Cook fettuccine according to the instructions.
Step 3:  In an electric skillet or large skillet over a medium flame, heat 2 tbsp of oil.  Saute chicken until no longer pink.  Set aside.
Step 4:  In same skillet, add remaining oil.  Saute sun dried tomatoes, spinach, and remaining garlic until spinach is soft.  Add the chicken back in.

Step 5:  Add alfredo sauce to the saute mixture.  Let simmer for ten minutes.
Step 6: Combine everything for one wonderful concoction.

I don't know the sentiments of everyone else but this nutrient devouring fatty thought it was fantastic.

Big Letter L...and It's Not for Loser...

One of my latest creations for the home was inspired from a post on pinterest.  I have always loved the simple, classy, and modern look of monogrammed letters.  This was a unique twist.  They had wrapped a cardboard letter in a fun color yarn and it looked adorable.  I have been debating what to put as my focal point in my living room above my couch.  I love collaged pictures but I needed some color.  I thought, "I have a college degree with an emphasis is art... I can tackle yarn."

So, I ventured down to JoAnnes (JoAnne and I are getting really tight), and discovered this wonderful oversized letter.  Fantastic two feet of blank crafting canvas.

I found some vibrant green yarn that matched an accent color in some pillows I made and thought it would look really nice against the neutral paint color in that room.   Let the wrapping begin.

Armed with a glue gun, my yarn, gigantor letter and some quiet time while the girls were napping I began my endeavor.  The hardest part was figuring out a way to make it look cohesive, intentional and neatly done.  It took some creative thinking but I figured out a way to loop the corners and angles of the letter so that I wouldn't have to cut my yarn.  I used the glue gun only on the corners where I changed wrapping directions.

Two hours later, I had my wall decor.  I have to say it was strangely calming.  I am really happy with how it turned out.  Now if the man and I could just agree on the frame color for the surrounding collage.  What color would you choose?

The Baby's Big Number One...

So, my little adorable Marcella turned one today.  I love both my children immensely, but for some reason I was a little more emotional with my little tiny hiney's big event today.  I can't blame it on hormones because I was exactly this far along with Marcella when Adelyn was at this age.  Maybe, because it seemed to go by sooooo much faster.  It really does feel like just last week I was as big as a house, feeling sorry for myself because I was going to miss out on all the fun Christmas activities and holding her perfect newborn head in my arms.  Really I think the only reason I didn't lose it completely is because I always have another on the way.  Will I ever not be prego? :)

However, I always thouroughly enjoy throwing them a bash.  I know, I know... It's more for me than them.  But so what!  I birthed them.  Let's celebrate!  For Marcella Jane's big day I decided to do a snowflake theme.  I saved a ton by making custom photo invites on my computer and printing them at Costco as 5x7's.  Soooo much cheaper.

I made her a banner out of different shades of blue paper, glitter, snowflakes I punched out using snowflake holepunches, and silver wrapping ribbon.  Adelyn was estatic when it went up.

We had a taco bar for lunch.  I made a bucket of spanish rice, a troph of seasoned ground beef and another of a chicken fajita-like mixture.  I had hard and soft tacos available and a assembly line of toppings to go with it.  My dad made a chorizo cheese dip and I ate my weight in all of the above.  I also made a hot chocolate bar!  I heated up hot chocolate in a crock pot.  I had candymelt coated marshmallows on straws, those incredible pirouette rolled vanilla wafers and whipped cream.

I also drank my fill of this monstrosity.  Downstairs in the kids crazy zone, I had the desserts set up on the lip of our built in.  I made a red velvet snowflake cake with cream cheese icing, lemon/yellow cake pops, and had cute dark chocolate stars for munching on.

We got the little ones stuffed holiday animals for favors and I had her baby book for friends and family to sign and her first year calendar with pictures to look at near the presents table. 

My little one loved her little individul cake and threw quite the "big kid" tanrum when we wouldn't let her eat the whole huge thing.

 It was a really enjoyable day with a lot of good friends and family around!  My girls were so hyped up from all the organized chaos downstairs with friends that I wasn't sure if I would ever get them down.  Now to start thinking about baby number 3's...

I'm Back Baby...

Whoa.  Whoa.  I cannot even begin to express the exhaustion that has ensued from the craziness of the past several weeks.  In the last month, I have closed on and moved into our new home, finished my first sick trimester of pregnancy number three, and have been preparing for little Marcella Jane's first birthday party all during the crazy frantic holiday season.  To top it off we have gotten the flu twice and I have been cut off from the rest of the cyberworld because of a month long battle with our internet carrier.  But I finally feel like we are settling in and that I can take a breath just long enough to start organizing all the things I would love to create for my new home.

I have been known to be several things: One: cheap or I guess frugal might sound nicer.  Two: stubborn.  And Three: creative.  Since moving into an older home where priorities like "fixing the gas line" and "Resealing toilets so they don't leak everywhere" have taken precedent over the important things like wall decor and curtain choices.  So, with finances limited and a blank pallet with endless possibilities I have begun the crafting marathon.   I am going to blog you out with all the happenings around here!

First project was curtains.  I searched for two weeks for curtain panels for my front window and just never liked anything enough to blow that kind of money on.  I had no idea curtains were so expensive!  So, I decided to make my own.  I know, crazy over-achiever right?  Nope.  I found a really simple tutorial on how to make basic grommet style curtains with very minimal sewing.  Since, I don't sew.  I waited in the craziness that was JoAnne's Fabric the day after Thanksgiving to nab 50% off on my fabric.  They also had a very, you can't mess this up, easy grommet kit that I got for an additional 20% off.  Also my new second home Lowe's, has clearance sections and I nabbed my designer pole for 80%!  Steals!

Now the fun part, sewing.  My sister knows the ins and outs of a sewing machine so I had her set it all up for me.  I can sew a straight line if everything is working the way it should.  I laid my fabric out and measured and cut it into the panel sizes I needed.

 Now, I learned later that grommets take up a lot of your measurement when you hang them.  Therefore, you really need almost double your fabric from what you would measure just straight across!  Also, I had to take in account my hem line.  I decided to do a roll hem, because that's all I knew and it's easy.  I literally just folded my edge a half inch, then folded it again a half inch and pinned.  I did this around the entire perimeter of my fabric.

 Then to the machine to sew straight lines all the way around.  Once both panels were hemmed, I used the very basic instructions to guide me through the grommet process. It took me a while to figure out the primary math on how far apart I wanted them but once that frustration was out of the way, easy street.  Pretty much trace the template where you want them, cut out your circle, and snap them together.

Voila!  Curtains.

It was really hard to get a good picture because there is always a lot of light streaming threw these windows!

I love them.  They match perfectly to the rest of my decor (can't wait to share those later!) and they literally cost me a third of what store bought panels would have run me.

Small Little Baby Shower...

This year my aunt asked me to organize a little baby shower for my cousin's wife who is due in February. They live in Texas so we don't get to see them very often. She felt that Thanksgiving, when the whole family would already be together and my cousin would be in town, would be the perfect time and venue. There were some challenges though. She requested games (but not too gamey), something crafty (but not too crafty) and small (but not too small) since they were flying back and wouldn't be able to take much. Hmmm... games but no games, crafts but no crafts and small but not small. Ummm... no problem? So, I brainstormed, researched, and reached deep down for some creative juices and this is what I came up with.

For the not crafty, which I had a hard time relating to, I did two things. Which I think they were positively accepted!

First, we did a family tree. I had seen some ideas for this on pinterest but only for weddings. So I decided to tweak it a little. I sketched a bare tree using pen and ink and in my most nervous cursive, wrote "Our Family" underneath it. I sketched a little nest in the tree and used a blue sharpie to make an egg. I wanted them to add more "eggs" as their family grew. I framed it and had it sitting on the table when everyone came in. I had two shades of green ink pads and everyone placed their fingerprint on a branch (the leaves) and I wrote their initials underneath. I had the mommy and daddy do theirs near the nest in yellow and I made them the birdies. Not too crafty right?  All it required was a finger.  I thought it turned out very cute and I am excited to do it for myself :)

The other "crafty" thing we did was I set out colored index cards and fine point sharpies.  Everyone was asked to share their best motherly advice.  I then glued them on corresponding cards, hole punched and attached them all together on a utility ring.  Crafty?  For me.  No one else :)

Lastly, the game I chose was one my inlaws organized for me for one of my showers and I loved it.  I got my list from http://baby-shower.yeahbaby.com/game.php?page=candy-bar-baby-shower-game.  I made a poster board with post it notes.  On the note I wrote a phrase like "Hospital Bill"  and underneath I wrote the corresponding candy.  In this case "100 Grand".  When someone correctly guessed they got that candy.  I removed the post it note so we could remember which ones we had done.  A game, yes.  But it didn't require anyone to do anything silly and you won candy.  CANDY. 

Overall, I was excited with my little shower ideas and I think the surprise was a blessing to my cousin and his wife!

There Was Not a Pot of Gold at the End of Adelyn's Crayon Rainbow...

So, Adelyn is imaginative, a little off the wall and creative. She is one of those kids that on a daily basis begs the question, "What in the world? Where did that come from?" Therefore, I wasn't too surprised when I glanced over at breakfast to see her working very intently on something under the table. She had been talking to me about whatever she was doing for about ten minutes, no breathing in between words, but when you have a kid that talks as much as Adelyn it's only natural to tune out all but the dangerous signal words. I walked over to discover her storing all her crayons in the legs of her footy pajamas. She had pushed them all down into the feet area. "Adelyn, what are you doing?" "Mom, I'm storing them like a squirrel. Now I can take them everywhere with me." Oh, yeah. Duh, how did I not think of that? With a little power struggle, I convinced her that squirrels store their nuts in trees. One location, like her crayon box. She began to pull them out reluctantly. After much morning playtime and wild crazy running, it was time to change out of the jammies and start the day. I threw them down in the hamper and that was that. Or so I thought...

Two days later when I went to place her adorable feetsies in her freshly washed jammie jams, I couldn't. That's because they were hard as a rock and sealed shut with redness. Crayon redness. "oooohhh, Mom they're pretty." No, Adelyn. No they are not. I asked her about removing the crayons from her footies and she responded, "But Mom, I needed one for on the go." AAHHHH! I put her down for nigh night and rushed to my dryer to explore the damage. My worst nightmare. Red crayon melted throughout the dryer drum. By the grace of God only a few items were destroyed in the load but what now? So, I did some research.

Come to find out WD-40 will remove crayon. Now, since my dryer is electric I was ok with this suggestion. If it were gas I think I would have found another route. Since, WD-40 is a flammable substance! I ran the dryer on its hottest setting for ten minutes. I then sprayed WD-40 onto a rag and gently scrubbed the drum so I wouldn't scratch the enamel. I used a toothbrush to clean out the crevices. I then took a damp cloth and wiped out the WD-40. I placed a few damp rags in the dryer and ran in for a cycle to make sure there wasn't an residual wax. Awesome it worked. My back up plan was to use toothpaste (yes, someone swore by this method) but fortunately I was able to eliminate it the first try.

I've always been a pocket checker when doing laundry, but now with a toddler, I know that I must be a footie and hoodie checker as well!

Journaling...

I have always had a desire to write but haven't always known the best medium in which to or realistic habitual way to keep it up. Jason has encouraged me for a long time to journal and I've always used the excuse of not being able to be consistent enough, so what's the point. However, recently my wonderful grandma brought some of her journals with her to a family function and a new spark and motivation was ignited in me. I thought it was so neat that she could look up our birthdays twenty years ago and have a brief synopsis of what was going on in our family's life. I felt what a great gift that would make for my kids and my grandkids one day. So, for Valentine's Day this year Jason gifted me with two archival leather journals, one for each of my girls. I didn't know what shape they would take. I thought maybe writing a brief line or two about just the events of the day, but anyone who knows me or has read this blog... knows I'm wordy. Mine evolved into letters. Not necessarily long but a descriptive personal letter to my girls detailing their day, developments, attitude and just plain silliness that is a blessing of this age. I don't put the pressure on myself to feel obligated to write everyday. I think that's why it works. When a note worthy event happens and I have a moment to breathe I share it with my girls, one day I believe they will enjoy it :)

Personal Pizzas...

I stumbled across a variation of this recipe on www.eatbetteramerica.com and it has quickly become a go to favorite at our house. 1. because it's cheap 2. because it's fast and easy 3. because it can be a much healthier version then the real deal!

K, here is what you need for your basic cheese pizza...

Flat Out Flatbread Healthy Grain (I find it at Shop & Save and usually if you can find it there you can find it anywhere!).  Each package will make 7 pizzas.  You could also use pita bread.
Pizza sauce
Reduced fat Mozzeralla cheese
Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees.  On an aluminum covered baking sheet place flat bread, coat with about 2 heaping spoonfuls of pizza sauce and two handfuls of shredded cheese.  Top with Parmesan.  Bake 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Now as far as toppings, the skies the limit and that's why these are so versatile and fun.  One of my favorites is pesto chicken.  I use a pound of cut up boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 in. chunks.  I saute it in a frying pan with a tbsp of olive oil and a liberal amount of minced garlic.  Once cooked through, I add regular refrigerated basil pesto and simmer for a few minutes.  I add it to my pizza before adding the cheese. Yum!  Jason has made his pizza using BBQ chicken, grilled onions and replaced the pizza sauce with BBQ sauce.  The girls always request the basics; peperoni, bacon bits, mushrooms and/or black olives.  Jason has requested that next time we make hot wing chicken pizza!

I make simple cheese pizza for the girls when I'm out of lunch ideas.  I made the mistake today thinking that Adelyn and Marcella could actually split one!  Best part is absolutely no clean up if you use aluminum foil!

The Girl's Surprise Halloween Breakfast...

Adelyn has been talking about Halloween non-stop, and I do mean non-stop, for about a month now.  Last night before bed, she could hardly control her wiggly squirmy body in anticipation for the big event the next day.  And it occurred to me, there is no way this little monster is going to make it till dark.  She needs a festive distraction earlier in the day to 1.) keep her mind busy and off of the evening and 2.) keep her from asking me about a bagillion times, "Is it time yet?".  So, once I put her down I took a last minute trip to Target to grab some CHEAP decorations.  Bad thing is they were already clearing out Halloween stuff and setting up for Christmas (don't even get me started on this pet peeve of mine).  Good thing is everything was clearance!  I got a table cloth, cob webs, plates, napkins and glow necklaces all for $5!  Awesome.  When I got home I started decorating for the girl's Surprise Halloween Breakfast.  I cut out bats and a black silhouette cat out of construction paper and hung them around the table.  I made spiders out of some black craft pom poms and pipe cleaners I had laying around.  I set out the plates and napkins for the special breakfast I had made them.  I used my pumpkin cupcake mold to make jack-o-lantern blueberry muffins.  Threw some mini pumpkins I had laying around on the table for a center piece and voila, Surprise Halloween Breakfast Party ready in 20 minutes for under $10.

Jason really wanted to see Adelyn's reaction and was bummed he was going to miss it because he had to leave for work.  So, since Marcella was already up and raring to go we decided to wake Adelyn up a little early too so Daddy could enjoy as well.  Words can not describe how excited Adelyn was.  It was one of those moments I will have in my memory forever.  For a split second as she was taking it all in, she was actually speechless.  And for those of you that know Adelyn, this I don't think has ever happened.  Then she made up for lost time telling us about everything she was seeing.  Giddy, just giddy.  Loved it.  Can't wait to do it again next year!

Neat Spin on the Jack-o-Lanturn...

I did this coloring activity a couple years ago at a kids program we ran for the church we attended.  I came across it recently and am excited to complete it with my kids.  We love Halloween in this house but I acknowledge the importance of discussing with my kids smart decisions when choosing costumes and activities.  I have always enjoyed more of the autumn side of the day rather than the guts and gore.  I really liked the Christian spin on a popular past time.  I printed the poem on the back of the coloring sheet and we read and discussed it together.  Hope you enjoy.

Coloring Sheet

Candy Apples

Ok... here's my disclaimer on these.  They are ugly but they are delicious.  Every dessert I make seems to have that disclaimer.  I feel like I have to be present when serving anything I make to convince people to see through the sloppiness of it.  However, these were incredible, simple, cheap and delicious.

I splurged on honey crisp apples, because I have tried several different types of apples when making these and honey crisp is in a class all their own.  I just bought a bag of Bach carmel chews.  This bag came with the Popsicle sticks.  I melted it according to the directions on the package.  I took several different kinds of chocolate candies from the Halloween candy I bought.  I hammered Twix, Snickers, Peanut M&Ms, KitKat and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups on individual plates.  I could have done this with a food processor to get a more refined coating and it probably would have looked better, but... I'm lazy.  If I was making it for people other than my family I would have put a little more time into their appearance :) After rolling the apple in the melted carmel, I rolled it in the crushed candy.  I decided to not go all the way up to the stick with the carmel coating because I was adding such rich chocolate candy I thought it might be too much, if there is such a thing.  Fantastic.  Best ones I ever made.  It was so filling I'm seriously considering skipping the conventional dinner tomorrow and settling for one of these bad boys :)

Unplugged...

I have been doing a little soul searching lately...  I have been feeling overwhelmed, stressed, tired and just plain burnt out.  However, if you asked me about what though, I don't think I could tell you.  Maybe I would have said, life.  Being a wife, a mother, a maid, a nurse, a teacher, a daycare center, a spiritual leader, a vet, a made to order cook, a financial adviser and real estate agent can be exhausting on just four hours of sleep.  But I really don't think that's what it is.  I think those are the easy answers.  The real reason is one I have felt on my heart for a while but have been too intimidated about the response and scrutiny of friends and family that read this blog to post the real reason.  I have misplaced my priorities. Let's be honest, beliefs and religion are not always a safe zone topic.  But I am investing my time and energy into fleshy, worldly pastimes and concerns instead of focusing on what should be the precedence of my day; the Lord. 

I have come to a very simple Biblical conclusion that I have been clouding with justification from a individualistic propelling society; not what am I doing for me, but what am I doing for God.  I realized that everything that I do should be glorifying God and if it's not then it's a waste of time.  And WOW, I am doing a lot that does not, including this blog.  I am trying to run my life on my steam, not His.  No wonder I keep coming up short.  I know this is hard for some of you to believe, but I'm not wonder woman :)  I like to think I can do it all, be level headed and run my day to day life in a compartmentalized fashion.  Kid stuff here, house stuff here, friends here, church family here and so on and so forth.  What would it look like if I included Him in all these areas, including this blog.  Yeah, I might ruffle some feathers, make some feel uncomfortable but I truly believe if I start living my life this way I will be blessed.

Just typing this, I already feel a weight lifted.  What if my day wasn't about what I could get done but for Who I could glorify with my actions.  What if I started to scrub the toilet to... glorify Him, changed diapers to glorify Him, made dinner that two screaming children didn't appreciate to glorify Him?  What if I actually prayed for strength to mention Him to someone I know could use His strength but would not necessarily welcome the conversation with open arms?  What if I spent the time I use to relax searching facebook and pinterest and rested in His word?  What would it look like if I really celebrated a true Sabbath, unplugged and tuned in to Him?  There is a lot of rest in those questions.

I have found my answer and my solace all in one wonderful bundle.  A trusting, rest and peace in a God that provides all of the above.  Am I intimidated about the world's response to this, what seems like an archaic and no longer a social norm... yes.  But I believe in something bigger than Twitter and Blackberry.  And whatsoever you do, do it heartily unto the Lord and not unto men.  Col. 3:23  My new mantra...

What's Up Doc...

Well, I finally got some pictures of my favorite little bunny and carrot!  We took at little trip down to Stuckmeyer's Pumpkin Patch.  It had just rained a ton and was still drizzling so we weren't really able to get out into the fields like I would have liked; due to me being anal about them destroying their costumes before Halloween.  However, it was fun to see my creations come to life.

About a month ago, I started collecting coupons and ideas for the girls' costumes.  I am proud to say that I ended up only spending $20 to make both!  Adelyn was very excited about being a bunny "princess" (you have to throw princess behind everything to make it worth while) and as you can see from the following pics the Lord even blessed her with some awesome bunny teeth to match :)  Her costume was simple.  I took a grey hoodie and cut two slits at the top.  I slipped a leftover bunny headband she had from Easter through the holes.  Next, I sewed a large white pom pom onto the back for a tail.  I made a tutu out of three different shades of grey tulle knotted around a band of elastic.  Paired it with a discount pair of grey leggings and the grey boots that I had already bought her for the winter.  Voila, bunny princess.  On Halloween, I'll paint whiskers and a cute pink bunny nose but she was being a stinker today and I didn't feel like that battle :)

Now, Marcella's carrot costume wasn't hard, but it posed a set of challenges that required some creative thinking outside the box.  I dyed a white hoodie orange with RIT dye from Michaels.  I already had the orange leggings and socks from another outfit.  I made her an orange tutu out of three shades of orange tulle knotted around elastic.  I wasn't exactly sure how to make her a recognizable carrot and not just an orange monster.  So, I randomly sewed on three shades of green tulle from the top of her hood and hot glued a scrap of white vinyl with "fresh carrots" written on it to secure the bundle of greens.  I'm still not sure if I'm 100% satisfied with how it turned out but it got a lot of "oohs, ahhs and look at that adorable carrot costume" at the pumpkin patch.  So, I guess the picture got across!  She was REALLY grumpy and not very camera friendly but you get the idea...

I think they turned out pretty cute and I'm proud to say that I did them cheaply, uniquely, and warmly :)

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Ok, Ok... I know I'll stop with the pumpkin stuff.  But this is one of my favorite traditions.  I love an evening of homemade chili, hot apple cider, family, friends, pumpkin carving and it's wonderful bi-products; happy faces, stuffed tummies, spooky jack-o-lanturns and glorious salty pumpkin seeds.  This is the recipe I use every year but I occasionally like to change up the seasonings...

After carving out the inside of my pumpkins, this year was an especially good yield, I place the pumpkin seeds in a strainer.  While running water over them, I try to pick out all the "pumpkin guts" that made it in with them.  Once I have them all cleaned out, I coat them with olive oil while still in the colander.  I spread the seeds out flat on a baking sheet and coat with season salt and another seasoning of choice.  You can use the seasonings sparingly or extra salty like I like them :) This year I chose a Pico de gallo hispanic seasoning.  I bake them in the oven for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15, at 350 degrees.

Pure yumminess!  Oh, why can't there be a pumpkin harvest year round? Would love to hear some other pumpkin seed recipes!