Holiday Dress

I bought Katie's dress tonight. I went to Kohl's and looked at a ton of dresses (50% off sale + extra 15% off coupon, couldn't resist a trip) but none of them looked as good as they did online. Until I found this one. I know you're not a fan of velour, but this is so soft and the whole outfit seems dressy, but comfortable and I'm thinking my little toddler(!) will have a much better time in a dress that she can play on the floor in, rather than one that I'm constantly worried she'll ruin. And if she ruins this, oh well. It cost me about $10. She already has both black & white tights so all we need are some black mary janes in her current size. And maybe some silver hair barrettes. :) Are you going with the dresses you got the girls last year?

31 Books

Okay, so I'm going to do it. I've set a goal to read 31 books by my 31st birthday. I was going to wait until November 1st to start, but I've already started TTW (I'm loving it!) and I know that will take me well past November 1st to finish. My 31st birthday is in just over ten months, so about 3 books a month. Should be totally doable, but I've been reading in the evenings and I just can't stay awake! Sad, I know. Anyhow, care to join me? I don't think asking you to read 31 books by your birthday is quite fair, since it is a few months before mine, but you could read them by my birthday too! :)

A Few More Pictures

Here are more of the ones that my mom didn't like, but I thought were pretty good. Have you heard anything from your photographer yet?

In no particular order...

Too Soon?

To be thinking about holiday outfits? We already covered picture outfits, right? I don't plan to do a holiday family picture, so there won't be any of that hassle. I realized tonight that I need 2 holiday outfits for Katie, so price must be minimal. I'll check OUAC and other places, but I really like this and it is only $12! I think it might be just right for Christmas Eve church services and not be super fussy like last year's dress. Of course, last year she wasn't mobile, so we could get away with a fussier outfit.


Then I'm thinking she's going to need something for Christmas day at my parents' house. We're pretty casual for that, usually jeans & sweaters, so maybe the same for Katie? Probably the most versatile option. Although, I've seen a ton of sweater dresses I'd love to pick up for her. Hmmm...any ideas?

Fireplaces

There's something about a fireplace that just makes the whole room seem cozier, doesn't it? We of course, do no have one in our house, and I've seen the faux fireplace and they kind of make me cringe. But then I saw this and I thought of you. For some reason, this project just yelled "Norgaard Family" to me. I hope I'm not totally off base. Maybe if we ever really made the basement into the family room then I could incorporate into my house as well.

Picture Outfits

Well, we are almost there with our picture outfits. I got a sweater last night (not exactly what I had in mind, but I like it) and Doug got a button down shirt. He wanted a polo, but it was a little tight in the chest and I knew he'd hate seeing that in all the pictures. He really just wanted it because it was $6 cheaper. Silly I know. So he's done, but I still need jeans *cringe* and Katie needs some kind of shoes and maybe tights. Not sure what we'll do about her bare legs! What do you think? I also will probably need shoes. Shh...don't tell Doug! Anyway, here's a look at what we're wearing. I hope it doesn't seem too matchy-matchy! Once you put the pink under Katie's jumper she's really pink! So, I hope that will be enough to break up Doug & I being so brown.

Here's my sweater...I really wanted something more open cardigan like, but I couldn't find anything that wasn't clingy to go underneath it. Made me too self conscious.

Shoes for Katie possibly?

Katie's jumper.


Doug's shirt, actually a 2-for-1, came with an undershirt!

Containment

I don't know if you feel this way at your house, but we are in serious need of some better toy storage. I have the cube thing with the fabric drawers, but since it lives in Katie's closet, it hasn't really been very useful. I also have a basket of toys in the living room and another basket for stuffed animals (and the toys she's outgrown) in her bedroom. Now that she knows how to get into said areas, all the toys are everywhere! So, I told my mom that Katie needed a toy box for her room for Christmas. These are the two I'm considering.

The pink one is the more expensive of the two, but it has the shelf (although, she has the cube storage for her books) and also will take up less space. This one has a storage capacity of 5.5 cubic feet.


The blue & green one is about $20 cheaper, no shelf, but definitely more gender neutral. This one has storage capacity of 6 cubic feet.

I just don't know what to pick. I also would love to have a pretty wooden toy chest in her pretty little room, but I know that that is truly not a practical choice right now. I don't want to worry about pinched fingers and lids closing and all of those crazy things. Katie needs to have easy, worry-free access to her toys. And frankly, the plastic doesn't bug me that much. Hmm...which would you pick?

Dear Martha,

I think your craft stuff is really neat and really pretty. I would love to use some of it. Unfortunately, it is too expensive for my meager craft budget. Do you think you could have a better sale than 20% off? Or at least not be on sale and not exclude it from my 50% off coupon? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Thanks for listening!
Crafty in MO

Cooking for the Future

You inspired me. :)

The goal for this week is to do as much cooking and prep as possible today so that the meals are mostly done before I get home from work. I'm thinking this could cover two weeks (I'm planning for leftovers). I've discovered that my biggest catalyst to eating out is being hungry when I get home and not wanting to take the time to cook.

I'm not assigning days to these, I'm just going with the flow and I'll warm up whatever sounds good that day. (Bolded items are being frozen for later use, non-bolded are getting cooked fresh.)

Chicken Pot Pie Penne
Sweet Potato/Black Bean Burritos
Lemon Butter Tilapia and Zuccinni Cornbread Casserole
Terriyaki Turkey Stir Fry w/Brown Rice
Fish Tacos with Peach Salsa & Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce
Skyline Chili 5 way
Baked Potatoes w/Salsa, cheese & Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce
Crunchy Garlic Tilapia
Moosewood Moroccan Stew
Turkey Stroganoff
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Toddler Pizza Croissants

and I'm going to bake a loaf of homemade bread in my bread maker...it's been a while.

Yum-Yum!

Doug made chili last night and tonight we're having chili dogs with the leftovers. Mmmm... I'm so proud of my husband for not eating all the chili last night. Normally, chili doesn't last this long at our house. As an added bonus, Katie loved it too! And the best part, no cooking for 2 days and I think I may achieve my goal of not going out to eat this weekend (unless you count the pumpkin shake and cheese curds from Culver's that Doug & I shared last night!) :)

WANTS!!!

I saw this the other night on an ad and just can't get it out of my head! They have a bunch, but this one seems like it could be fairly versatile. I have a 50% coupon for Michael's that doesn't exclude the Martha products (which probably means they will be on sale for something dumb like 30% off) that starts Sunday, so hopefully by Sunday I'll have it! :)

Hair Raves (A Shampoo Update)

Picked up Aussie for the first time in a LONG time at the store the other day. I feel like I've tried everything else and nothing makes my hair look the way I wish it did.

But guess what? I loved it! I got the awesome volume kind, and it really is awesome, at least for my hair.

I picked this up, too. Between the two of them was a HUGE difference in my hair. It's not frizzy for the first time in a long time. I'm so pleased!

Of course, new shampoo always makes my hair feel better, so the proof will come in a week if I'm still happy. I'll keep you updated.

It's Potty Time!

Well, not really. At least not at our house. I was reading an article yesterday on it though and wow this is an intense method! I can see it's merits and can see why it would work, but I don't know that I could commit to that. And I think it would be even harder to get a daycare or babysitter to be okay with letting your kid run around with no diaper or underwear for 3 months. Even if they are still technically wearing pants. And according to this article, you can start at 15 months...15 months! Although, my mom swears I was potty trained by the time Brandon was born and we are only 17 months apart. In my mind, there is no way that Katie will be ready to start potty training in 2 months. No way, at all. I've been taking her into the bathroom with me when I go lately and she doesn't even seem to notice. The only thing she is even remotely interested in when we go in there is the toilet flushing. Now that's a frightening thought!

Menu Planning

This post brought to you by the trip to the grocery store I'm making tonight. :) This is what I'm planning to make over the course of the next 2 weeks. My goal is to actually make all these meals, when in reality I may make 2-3. Sad, because then I have all this food still that goes bad and we spend even more money going out to eat. What a waste!

Crockpot Cabbage Rolls with boiled potatoes & roasted carrots
This is one of Doug's favorite meals.

3 Packet Pot Roast with mashed potatoes & a green veggie
I've never tried this recipe, and I'm really sick of Coke roast.

Salsa Chicken with rice
I still haven't made it, and I still have all the stuff!

Spaghetti with meat sauce (and maybe garlic cheddar biscuits!)

Broccoli & Cheese Soup & sandwiches
I might add potatoes...I bought a 5 lb. bag at the store last time and I need to use them up!

Pizza with Jiffy Crust
We used 2 boxes and it made a really nice crust and for toppings we had beef & black olives and it was so good! Also, Doug doctored up the sauce a bit, on thing he did that was interesting was to add a little milk to it. The sauce ended up being really creamy and kind of took on a lasgna flavor. I'm sure it had something to do with all the fat in the whole milk!

Halloween Costumes

If Katie didn't already have her Halloween costume for the year (she's going to be a penguin), we would so totally go as Little Red Riding Hood, Grandma, & The Big Bad Wolf. Oh well, next year!

What are you guys going to do this year?

Lame

While I was organizing things before I took it down to my craft room, I came across alot of old pictures and stuff. Some of it I'd been looking for for a long time! And some things I forgot I even had. Including cards & pictures from old boyfriends. Yeah. Mostly stuff from R. As I was going through the the pictures, I was easily able to toss some of them. Bad angles, light, closed eyes, etc. But there were a few that didn't mean much to me, but I thought he might like, so I considered sending them along. Then I found these cards. These completely lame cards that made me think, "why, oh why was I so stupid?" Cards about being "best friends," because you know we weren't "together" but we were so they couldn't be love cards. I'm rolling my eyes at my naive self just thinking about it. So in one card he wrote about the gift he gave me for my birthday, I think. Yeah, he gave me back a DVD I gave to him. Because it meant so much to the two of us. HA! Lame, lame, lame! I'm sure at the time I thought it was so sweet and so full of sentiment. Seriously though, if I came across that DVD in my collection today (well, yesterday because I *do* remember it now), I would have never even thought of him. Isn't that funny?

Oddly enough, my sister seems to be going through a similar situation with this guy she's been seeing. Although at an accelerated rate. She's only been seeing him since March, I think it took R and I the better part of 2 years to get to that point. I want to pull out these old cards for her and tell her to not waste her time, but I know it's futile. She's going to do what she wants to do when she wants to do it. And yeah, she might be heartbroken for awhile, but eventually it all goes away and you forget how you acquired stupid things like meaningful DVDs in the first place.

Craft Room

Doug has cleaned it out and moved a table and small desk in there for my cricut. I'd like some shelving, but I'm not sure it will fit. In my head, it was going to painted and I'd get a cute rug and all that good stuff, but in reality if I waited to get all of that stuff, I'd never have a craft area. Besides, it'll work just fine for now.

I'll post some pictures later when I get it a little better organized.

Waiting

I'm waiting for Katie to wake up from her nap, so we can go to Michael's. I was making Hannah's tutu last night and I ran out of tulle. So I have to go back out there this morning and Katie is miraculously taking a long nap. We're going on 1 and 1/2 hours now. Which is good. Hopefully she won't be cranky when I take her. The party is at 2 though, so I'm going to have to get going soon so I can get back in time, because I also need to make her a card. We also got her this, which had I not already had the tutu in the works, I would have just stopped at that. So I feel kind of bad, because it seems like alot of stuff. Even though the EBO was marked down to $13. I hope Angela doesn't mind that we got her that. It says 8 & up, but I was pretty sure I had one when I was about Hannah's age and I know she likes cooking. Or at least she liked the evening she came over and made cupcakes with me. My original plan was to get her some dress up stuff, but Doug wouldn't let me buy her any nail polish and then we saw the EBO and so that was that.

I have a ton of laundry to catch up on and even though I cleaned the house just a week ago, you'd never know it today. That will probably be tomorrow's project. Can't wait!

Bedding...Shame on Me!

I'm such an addict. Since you linked to that skirt at Landsend yesterday, I've been surfing around. Haven't been to that site in such a long time. I'd forgotten how much I like it.

Then, I found this:

Isn't it pretty, and PERFECT for fall? On clearance + Labor Day weekend sale it is only $36.00 for the king size. But there is no way I can justify buying it. I mean, I only got my new quilt a month ago! It's a duvet cover, too, and I don't have a king size quilt, so I'd have to buy one of those. Also, they don't have the shams anymore (which is fine, because I never end up using them anyhow).

I need to talk myself out of this. I need clothes WAY more than I need another blanket.

ETA: I want those stripy sheets, too.

A Post About Shampoo

Remember when debating the pros & cons of shampoo was one of our more important conversations? :) Well, even though we have much more important things in our lives right now, shampoo has been on my mind lately. Or rather, the search for the right kind. And I think I may have found it. I had been using Garnier products, mostly because they smell good. And then one time, I made the mistake of picking up a bottle of the generic Garnier...not good. That made my hair greasy & dry at the same time. The actual Garnier worked well enough, but after my experience with the generic, I was ready to try something new. So my mom convinced me to try the Suave Professionals color stuff, after hearing on Rachael Ray that celebrities were using it. It was okay. It kind of had a harsh, almost chemical odor though. And after time, my hair really seemed to be drying out. So back to the Garnier, I went. Except all I had at home was the generic and I had forgotten my previous experience. After a week of really bad hair, I decided it was time for a cut and some new shampoo & conditioner. So this time I tried TRESemme for colored hair. Oh my goodness, what a difference! I could tell almost as soon as I was rinsing it, this was working so much better and I knew for sure when I combed it out. Doug even likes it better on his hair! :)

Here's a tip I picked up from the back of my mousse bottle. Instead of applying the mousse to your hair with your fingers, you dip your comb into it and comb it through the hair starting at the roots going all the way to the ends. I even do the underside. SO MUCH MORE VOLUME! Seriously and my hair feels thicker, and the product seems to make my hair smoother when I blow it dry and makes my hair dry faster (probably the alcohol.) Anyhow, maybe you already knew that tip, but I thought I'd pass it along, just in case.

So that's my post for the day. I'll be working this afternoon and tutu making tonight (Hannah's b-day is tomorrow.) Hope you're feeling a little better today.

Outfit Options

So I was thinking for Hazel, maybe a denim dress? Not a jumper, but an actual dress. Something like this, although it's out of stock and possibly not baby sized, but you get the idea. Maybe they have it in the store? It's such a dark wash, that it is almost navy and you could easily pair a yellow cardigan with it. I also saw a super cute denim dress at TJ Maxx awhile back. I almost bought it for Katie, but put it back at the last second.

Or what about this corduroy skirt for Hazel? It would look adorable with a sweater, tights & boots!

Katie's Outfit

Here is the jumper Katie is wearing for our pictures with this top underneath. We are also doing jeans and I also desperately need a new pair. I've never had Gap jeans. I generally buy Levi's, but they aren't looking so hot on my post-baby body. So I think it might be time to try something new. I need a brown sweater or top. Maybe paired with some pink. I'm not too concerned with that. I think Katie will be in enough pink for all of us! But if I find something that works, then I'm okay with that too.

Picture Outfits

We're getting our pics taken at the beginning of October by the same photog that did the girls' pics last year (jenrohphotography.com).

This time we are going to have the pics taken at a barn in the country. Since it's fall, I was thinking of shooting for jeans for J&I, and skirts/dresses with cute tights for the girls.

I'm thinking yellow and navy for colors...Hazel in mainly Navy, Evie in mainly yellow. I'd like to keep them both pretty trendy/funky with lots of layering. A big flowered bow for Evie and a cute hat for Hazel.

For us, nice jeans in a darkish wash (I need new jeans in the worst way. I'm considering splurging on a pair of GAP jeans if I can afford it by then. I'd LOVE to have a pair of Seven jeans, but that is not happening until I'm at goal weight so I can actually enjoy them).

I'm thinking this sweater for me, with a bright yellow cami under it. My only issue with the sweater is that it doesn't come in petite, so the sleeves might be too long.

For Hazel, I like this dress, but I think it's too formal for what I was thinking. I might be able to dress it down with a mustard yellow cardi and some funky tights and brown leather boots, though.

For Evie, I love this dress in yellow, with a navy long sleeve tee shirt under it, and navy stripped or poka dotted leggings.

But, of course, I'd need cheaper options of these looks. :) Care to assist in the hunt?

Recovery Post 1

I hope you're getting some rest after your surgery. Josh did his husband-ly duties and texted me. I forwarded the text to Angela & Desire. Glad to hear you made it out of surgery and it went well though. I've been thinking about you all morning.

I have this brilliant plan to post something here (and maybe on my other blog) everyday so you'll have something to look forward to while you're recovering, and not get totally bored with the internet. :) Here's my first link.

I totally know this girl from my message board.

Also, I looked at that little room again today and have decided it might be just perfect for my crafting needs. I'll post pictures once the battery on my camera charges.

100 Books

I was going to type that whole list out, but I just remembered that I have the file on my computer at work. So I'll just email it to you and you can print it out if you'd like! Too much typing.

Shopping Fail!

I finally made it to Gymboree today to exchange Katie's pants. I was so disappointed. I did end up getting her the leggings that went with the top (which she wore with her birthday pictures), but I had the hardest time finding anything else for her. It was so expensive! Even their sale stuff. And there were no outfits! I was dying in there. I kept thinking okay, well I'll get her a sweater, but those cost $35! Seriously, I don't even pay that for my sweaters. And then I thought about getting her a dress for next spring/summer, but $20 on clearance and maybe it won't fit? I don't think so. I'm too much of a bargain shopper for that store for sure. Maybe in a few years when there's the possibility that the clothes will fit longer than a few months and she won't ruin them before she grows out of them. But not now.

Here's the other top I ended up getting her. I can't believe I spent $17 on a t-shirt for her and a seasonal one at that!

Outfit

Here are the pants that Katie got for her birthday. Cute, but like I said they just didn't work with the top very well. I'm thinking the matching leggings will be a better choice. And don't you love these shoes? Although, I know she's already got several pairs of shoes for fall, so I better not. :)

Kitchen Dreams

If you asked me last week, I would have told you that I dreamed of a kitchen that was beautiful. Ask me today and I'll tell you I dream of a kitchen that's not torn to pieces and has at least one inch of clear space on the countertop. What, you mean it's not normal to have the entire contents of your kitchen cabinets sitting out on your countertop?

*ahem*

To make myself feel better, and to give you a peek at what will *hopefully* look like our kitchen, I bring you INSPIRATION PICS!

We're doing the dark stained countertops, white painted cabinets and white subway tile backsplash. I WISH we could do the apron-front sink, but our sink is in a corner so it won't work. Instead, we're going to do a stainless steel undermount sink (like in the second pic).

So far, costs are as follows:

• $300 Countertops (this includes the stain and sealer. Actual cost of the countertops was only $216 for our whole kitchen!)
• $100 Subway Tile estimated cost
• $60 Paint, Primer, painting supplies
• $60 Undermount stainless sink from Craigslist
  
  Total cost of our Kitchen makeover = $520 and countless hours sanding/priming/painting/staining cutting, measuring etc.

I now understand the term "sweat equity."

Tutu Cute!

I'm finally going to make a tutu for Katie with these instructions. Since we are now having 2 birthday parties (I knew we got so many birthday outfits for a reason), she's wearing a dress to her party here with Doug's family and her birthday onesie and a tutu for the party with my family at my mom & dad's. I think it's going to be adorable!

Another Dress!

I'm obsessed with sundresses this summer. Seriously, can't get enough of them. They look great and are way more comfortable than shorts. I was looking on Kohl's site again tonight (I got the brown one, btw) and found this dress. Exactly like the one I bought, just different color/print. It is soooooo cuuuuute! I want it bad. They even only have it left in my size. Sigh...oh well. I surely don't need it, and I no longer have Kohl's cash to spend (I used that on the other dress.) Just wanted to share. It is a cute dress, right?

Cheap & Easy...

Yeah, not what it sounds like. Since our income is going to be cut in half sooner rather than later, I've got to come up with some cheap & easy (and Katie friendly) dinners for us to make. This recipe for Salsa Chicken looks good and I have just about everything but the salsa and maybe the frozen corn, so it would cost me almost nothing to make next week. My only issue is that it is alot of chicken and can I convince Doug that we can eat the chicken again? Hmm...if we have the chicken as a meal itself one time and then maybe for tacos another time and then I'm thinking we could get one more meal of it. Maybe topping a salad? I don't know if Doug will go for that. Any other suggestions?

7 Weeks from Now!

We'll be loading up the car and getting ready to go to bed. I'll probably be too excited to sleep! Can't wait to see you all!

The decorating bug has bit me...HARD!

I don't know how to make those cool story boards like you do, so bear with me. Lately, Katie has been all about playing with her aquarium toy (pictured below) and she took to swimming, well like a fish! And I just wonder if my little girl is going to grow up to be interested in all things aquatic. We're already joking that she'll be our little marine biologist, one day. :) (She seriously carries these little ocean critters all over the place! I might have to order another one, because I'm afraid we're going to lose the pieces.)



So that has gotten me thinking that maybe she'll want an aquatic themed bedroom when we are ready to make the transition. I'm not a huge fan of lots of characters on the bedding (with the exception of that kitty cat set in my last post), so I'm thinking maybe something like this. The colors seem slightly tropical, without screaming it. Here's the actual link.


Then I think we're going to need some ocean-y themed artwork for the walls. And I found some cute stuff here. I ordered a print for Katie's nursery from there and it is adorable. So I'm sure it won't disappoint.

What do you think? Any other ideas? I am imagining a light aqua blue for the walls and I'd love to get the matching accessories to the bedding, although I think I'll skip the flower pillows. Unless she wants to keep her garden-y theme. My other big question, is this going to look good on her dark bedroom set? And will this theme carry her through until she is maybe 8-10? I don't want it to look too sophisticated, but I also don't want it to look too baby-ish.

Bedding...I know, I'm Obsessed!

So my MIL bought a bedroom set for Katie's big girl room. It's not exactly what I had in mind. My plan was white furniture with sweet pastel bedding. This is a dark finish with a slightly masculine/modern feel. I actually really would like it for Doug & I if it came in queen size! So, I started looking for bedroom sets and decided to pretty much go the opposite of what I originally intended. Granted this may all change because by the time Katie's ready for it (I'm thinking around 3), she may have opinions of her own. I found this set that I just think is too cute! I might have to stalk it until it goes on clearance.

Yay!

Katie's Easter Picture

So I wasn't super impressed with these pictures, but this one turned out alright. I'm not sure if it is the hair bow or the orangey brown box in the background, but most of the pictures made her look like a pumpkin (or a spray tan gone wrong.) This was the least orangey of them all.

Feelin' Crafy

I've been following alot of DIY blogs lately. While that sounds like a worthwhile use of the little bit of spare time I have (better than FARKLE, right?) it's had a very bad influence on me. I now have no fewer than a million and one projects I want to work on. This is a problem because I suffer from a severe lack of free time. By the time the girls are in bed and the dishes are done, I typically have less than a half-hour of time to myself before we go to bed.

*Sigh*

I figure since I can't actually do anything major (at least not right now) I should at least document the good ideas I've found so I don't forget.

I want to build this bookshelf
I want to build this bed
I want to make this pillow
I want to make this rug (Only in bright colors for the girls' room)
I want to refinish my dining room table. (Not linky because the design is in my head)
And of course...the kitchen.

One day at a time, right?

Happy Snappy

I'm having such a good time taking pictures here lately. But what's not to love when you have such gorgeous subjects to photograph?

A few favorites:

Framed!

I'm pretty impressed with myself. I managed to get Katie's 6 month pictures in the frame (well at least a few of them) less than a week after picking them up. It isn't hung yet, but it will be soon. It's my last detail to her newly decluttered room. Anyhow, I'm very happy with how it turned out. It certainly wasn't the custom pink matting/framing I envisioned (that was going to be way out of my price range, even with a coupon.) But for $14.99, I couldn't ask for more.

What's For Dinner?

Nothing new on the menu this week, but we did actually decide what to make so we knew what to buy groceries for last night. It still didn't seem to save us any money. :( Without further ado...here's what for dinner.

• Cranberry Roast (I threw a bag of prewashed baby carrots in with it this morning, so we'll see)
• Pasta w/Meat Sauce (I think Doug picked up shells)
• Chicken & Dumplings
• Chicken Stuffing Casserole
• Chili
• Hot Ham & Cheese on Croissants

Now, looking over my menu, is it any wonder that I'm not losing my baby weight. Hmmm...guess I better start exercising.

Cuteness!

Grandma Laurie got Katie some new stuff for the holidays.

For Valentine's Day I must say, this is a miracle worker. Katie goes right to sleep when I lay her down at night with this in her crib. Doesn't work so well for naps though. Running the vacuum works better then. :)

For St. Patrick's Day hat and shirt

For Easter

Big Day!

Let's just remember this for the year, we're not turning 30, we're celebrating the 17th birthday that we've known each other. We're not even adults! :) Hope you are having a great day!

Hubby Rocks!

This is what Josh got me for my birthday. That boy knows me well! Just had to share because I love it so much!

Bye-Bye Baby Clothes

So yesterday, I decided I was tired of looking at the overflowing pile of baby stuff that we didn't use or didn't fit anymore and braved the baby clothes. I filled up 2 decent sized boxes with baby girl stuff NB to 6 months to get rid of and I probably could have done more. I had to save a few things for the possibility that I have another girl one of these days though! So here was my criteria, it had to be multi-season, or pajamas, or so cute I couldn't bear to give it away. :) There were some exceptions, I got rid of a few sleepers that were annoying to deal with. Snaps in the back, who does that? And a few sleeveless things I kept because they were just too sweet. Mostly it ended up being alot of onesies and little pants. That's what Katie has been in day in and day out for these first 6 months. All in all, I probably kept too much. Katie definitely had way too many clothes, and I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing about the next one, even if we don't buy her anything else (like that is possible!). Now, if she's born this time of year, it'll be like starting from square one. Well, okay, she'll have pajamas and white onesies and that's about it. Same goes for if we have a boy. He won't even hardly have pajamas, since just about everything Katie has is very girly. It felt good to organize that and now I'm ready to tackle some more stuff in her room. Time to store the bouncy seat, the swing, the boppy and all that other stuff. Katie needs her room back!

Kitchen Revamp

I finally feel like we're settling in as a family of four. Not to say it's still not challenging - because Oh, Lord, it definitely is - but I'm finally being inspired to do something other than sleep, eat, and diaper babies.

I had a million and one projects I want to complete and it's overwhelming, not to mention expensive. One of the sore spots for me is my kitchen. It's not bad, but our new floors make everything else look a little generic.

Problem is, kitchens are expensive to redo. I was thinking subway tiles for the back splash, new granite countertop, crown molding for over the countertops, maybe a new sink...

Like I said, expensive.

Then I found this post on one of my favorite blogs.

I don't love everything about this kitchen...as in, I'd probably paint the cabinets white instead of black, and I'm not touching my new floors, but I love, love, love this backsplash.



Bead board! It's genius!

Then, I found this post.

Can you believe this countertops are painted?



So inspired!

No Cooking for Me!

My darling hubby is taking me to Chipotle tonight...yum! I really like having the tacos there, so much more manageable than a burrito. :)

I forgot to report back in about the brown sugar chicken, it was so good! 4 large chicken breasts took about 4 1/2 hours on low in my 6 qt. crock pot. Seriously, the chicken stayed moist, even the next day when I had it for dinner.

Taco Dip recipe posted on the crock pot blog today. Looks yummy!

I'm Sure it's not Cracker Barrel

Chicken & Dumplings

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burrito Bake Recipe

2-3 large sweet potatoes
1 small onion, diced (optional)
1 lime (optional)
1 can black beans
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can chopped black olives (optional)
1 jar salsa (16 oz. jar)
1 pkg shreaded Mexican blend cheese
1 pkg burrito seasoning mix
1 Pkg flour tortillas (we use low carb whole wheat ones)

Directions:
Peel and dice the sweet potatoes. Boil until tender. Drain and mash.

While your potatoes are cooking, saute your onions. I use a non-stick pan, so I don't bother adding any cooking oil or anything. If you use a regular pan, you could use vegi-oil or cooking spray.

Once the onions are nice and brown-yummy-goodness, add your black beans (drain and rinse them first), can of green chilies, your mashed sweet potatoes, a cup of water and the burrito seasoning. Stir all together and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Add in the juice from one lime (not necessary, but so tasty!)

In a 9x13 pan (I find glass casserole dishes work best for this) Put down a couple tablespoons of salsa. This will help keep the tortillas from sticking.

Put down one layer each of tortillas, sweet Potato mixture, chopped black olives, salsa, then cheese. Repeat until your ingredients are gone, or until you reach the top of your dish. (Leftovers freeze well, believe it or not, so the extra filling and tortillas can be made into homemade, heathy frozen burritos.)

In the oven it goes! 350 degrees for 20 minutes or so.

I've made this with chicken, too. I just added it to the mix with the sweet potatoes and black beans. This is one of Josh's favorites, and mine, too!

Let me know if you make it and how it turns out.

Snider Menu-2 Weeks

Here's what I got to make at the grocery store for the next 2 weeks. Nothing too exciting on our menu this week, either.

• cheese ravioli w/marinara (meat for Doug) sauce
• french dip sandwiches (had them yesterday for lunch...YUM!)
• taco salad
• chicken enchilada chili
• brown sugar chicken
• chili dogs (possibly for Super Bowl Sunday)
• frozen pizza

Menu for the Week

No new recipes this week, just old favorites

• Stuffed Tomatoes and salad (tonight)
• Homemade Veggie Pizza (Tuesday maybe?)
• Curry Chicken with Brown Rice
• BBQ Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes
• Sweet Potatoes and Black Bean Burrito Bake
• Chicken Noodle Soup

Want!

I know, I just got a new bedspread about 6 months ago and I liked it well enough. Mostly I liked the price. But I walked into Penney's the other day and fell in love with this. Yes, it's a comforter and it looks extremely puffy, so not friendly with my washer/dryer at all, but I still want it! Don't make fun of me for picking out something that looks like it should be at a B&B. I promise it's much more stylish in person! :) Can I justify the cost & inconvience? Not right now, but maybe if our tax return is nice enough. :)

Meh

Frozen meat worked just fine. I wasn't impressed with the roast though. I think it was because it was pork. I would have rather had beef. Oh well, Doug really liked it. Tomorrow will be leftovers or something and Friday is grocery day, so I need to start thinking about what I want to make next week.

Last Night & Tonight

So, last night I was all set to make fish tacos, except the cod was still frozen when I got home. For that matter, the chicken I had laid out for the chicken enchilada chili was still frozen, too.

So I improvised and made tacos with the beef I had laid out for the raspberry beef. I'm thinking it will have to be raspberry chicken, now.

I also made this recipe for rice and beans, which ended up being way too much food, but was good and we had plenty left for lunches today.

Tonight:
Broiled Fish with Lemon & Pepper
Roasted Potatoes with Dill Butter
Green Salad

What's for Dinner Tonight?

On the Menu

• Meatloaf
• Baked Sweet Potatoes
• Lima Beans or Spinach
  

This Week in Meals

I typically do Sunday-Friday planning (because we eat out alot on the weekends) but I'm going to try and cover the weekend, too.

Food for this week:

• Fish Soft Tacos
• Chicken Enchilada Chili
• Chicken Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers (going to use regular chicken instead of sausage)
• Raspberry Beef w/Asparagus (Adapted from this recipe)
• Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf
• Chicken Tender Chopped Salad

I'm missing a day, but I'm at a loss...Spaghetti maybe?

This is What's for Dinner

I'll post what I have left planned to cook out of this batch of groceries. Since we're not home together 2/5 nights during the week, we don't cook and rely on whatever we can find/leftovers those nights.

Tangent: I also plan to use my slow cooker more, because I love the convenience of it. My only problem with that is that I have so few things that I can actually fix & forget. I think my crock-pot is too big ( I have a 6 qt. smart pot) for most of my recipes, so I really have to watch to make sure things don't dry out. Chicken and pork are usually the worst.

Anyhow, without further ado:

• Brown Sugar Chicken (I'm using chicken legs, because that is what I have on hand.)
• Super Simple Cranberry Roast (Doug loves roast and I'm always looking for a new way to fix it.)
• Meatloaf (a variation of this recipe, I do a lot of substituting here...)
• I'm also embarrassed to admit that one night we'll probably have frozen popcorn chicken. It's quick & easy.

Here's what we had last week:

• Velvety Vegetable Cheese Soup So easy & yummy...had it with baked potatoes & garlic cheddar biscuits!
• Cabbage Rolls The last batch of this I made, was the best ever. I tweaked this recipe some, and I watched them closely so they wouldn't overcook. If they overcook they are mush and I don't think they are very good. Doug will still eat them though. We had it with boiled potatoes (yes, potatoes again...Doug somehow thinks that because the 10 lb. bag is on sale for $3, it's a great buy...great if you can actually use all the potatoes!) and roasted carrots...YUM!
• Spaghetti with meat sauce...nothing special here, just spaghetti and whatever kind of jarred pasta sauce you like, we add seasoned ground beef to ours.

Challenge:

Here's a recipe that I want to try soon. It's chicken and goes into a 6 qt slow cooker! Plus, it sounds yummy. I love enchiladas, but hate assembling them. I challenge you to try it too and we'll post our results!

Keeping me honest.

And in the kitchen.

We're really trying to eat at home more--we eat out WAY too often! It's embarrasing, actually.

To make this easier on myself, I've chosen only five recipies to cook this week. I'm not going to assign days, just going to commit myself to making these dishes.

• Pork ribs with Balsamic Onion-Fig Relish & Roasted Asparagus -- MADE THIS! **1/2 Stars
• Chicken and Summer Vegetable Tostadas & Black Bean Salad
• Lentil Pecan Burgers -- Made a ton of changes to the recipe, but oh my god, these are flippin' awesome! FIVE STARS!
  
• Chicken Sausage Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Turkey Sausage - Gnocchi Soup -- MADE THIS! **** Stars!!! YUM!
  

I'll report back on how I did, but please keep me honest by asking me how everything was!