Inspired by...

Cute craft displays at the local toy store.

The return of embroidery.

Scrapbook with lots of bits.

The clean look of Russell & Hazel. I bought my planner from here, and the shop has the prettiest displays.  It makes me feel organized just by looking at it!

Bored with Cooking

I usually love to cook.  However, the 3 meals a day and 2 snacks that I have to produce on a daily basis are wearing me down.  I feel like we keep eating the same meals over and over and over...

It might be time to watch some Food Network, which I haven't tuned into in awhile.  Though yesterday I was watching Diners, Drive Thrus, and Heart Attacks and need healthier inspiration than that.  (Though it all looked scrumptious!!)

Any ideas?  In order to give back for any recipe ideas that you give me, here are a few of our staples (that we are completely bored of.)

Crock Pot:
Chicken w/ Bones in, 1 cup BBQ.  Remove bones and skin, Shred and use for quesadillas.
Pulled Pork: Cook over night with cider vinegar.  Pour off all liquid.  SHred and remove any fat or weird bits and cover in BBQ.
Pot Roast: Chuck Roast, Veg, 2 packets of Onion Soup Mix and a little water.  (This works quicker in the table top roaster.)
Roast Chicken: (I put it in the Tabletop roaster or in oven) Veg, salt and pepper, garlic, lemon in cavity

Chili: (kids won't eat it)-2 cans Ranch Style Beans, Ground Beef, 2 Cans diced tomatoes --we grind them up, cumin, chili powder, garlic, or even the Mcormick Chili Seasoning if you prefer.
Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup:  Yes, we have this for dinner
Breakfast for Dinner: Ditto on above.
Homemade Pizza: dough is ridiculously easy, or buy it premade at Trader Joes for like a buck.
Chicken, Pan Cooked:  We have some version of this weekly.  Usually with pasta and broccoli. I'm sure if you have little kids this is on your menu SOMEWHERE.  We try to jazz up the adult version by making a sauce or putting in a tortilla.
Tacos:  With ground chicken. YUM.
Pork Tenderloin: preseasoned, throw in oven and follow directions on package (350F for about 30 min).  No one really loves this, so I have to make really good side dishes.  Corn on the cob is a favorite.
Pasta Night: Pasta+Sauce+Trader Joes Meatballs.  I get hugs for this.

Not a great list, but that is all I can think of at the moment. :)

Around the Home

I made this for a friend who moved into a new house. 

 I had to hide the felt sunshine from the kids, who wanted to play with it. 

Soleil loves to plant things.  

Unfortunately for these garlic and onion plants, she also likes to un-plant things. 

 

 I need this!  It looks really inspiring, with checklists and daily tasks. 

Family Visit!

I'm so happy that this will be leaving my garage.

My brother, Mike, bought this huge panda suit while he was on tour (he sells merchandise for a signed band) and when they came to Minneapolis, he convinced me to take it with me, until he could come to get it. He and my mom came for a visit this week.

Here is my mom at Tate's Grandparents' Day

 And my brother, Mike, in Soleil's spin chair.  He got a stomach cramp cramming himself in there, but it was pretty funny.

Mike watched Soleil while I took my mom to Tate's school.  He is an AMAZING babysitter.  Actually, both of my 20-something brothers are great babysitters!  They will make great husbands some day for this reason.  It was nice to be able to get out and feel very calm about who was watching the babe.

Toddler Fun or What to do with all those Plastic Animals

A tray of dry used coffee grounds (for a project I was going to do), and a small box of all the plastic animals that we have accrued in the past 6.5 years,  and a muffin tin.  This, surprisingly, is fun.  

Then, when you want just one more cup of coffee/moment of quiet, give the toddler a warm, soapy bowl of water on a towel and have them wash off the animals.  This, is even more fun.
The only mishap is when my babe took a spoonful of coffee and tried to eat it when I first put it in front of her.  Yep--I'm the parent of the year!

Random Spring 2012

Baking with helpers.

 I wish I could get away with wearing this.

 I found these kits at Home Goods.  There were several different crafts and they were all adorable!

I want to make some of these.

 Trying out car seats at Target.  She didn't want to get out. 

We love Cupcake Shops!

....Especially when they have ice cream as well, since that is the only treat that Tate really likes.

I love the beautiful shelving and lighting of this place, which was in Delray Beach, FL while we were on vacation.  (It is called Cupcake Couture)

The guy in the background looking at his iPhone bought his 5 year old 6 full sized cupcakes and let him eat as much as he wanted!  

The kid was really cute and ended up talking with Tate, wanting to play with him.

They were showing Charlie and The Chocolate Factory on one of these oven/tvs.  LOVE THEM!

Tate and Paul as we get ready to leave. 

Chaise Wars

THIS

vs. THIS

One I wanted, the other I bought.  Take home message, don't settle!  

I hate the one I bought, every time I sit on it.  

I did leave the tags on it, aren't letting the kids near it, and attempting to sell it on Craigs List.  If it sells, I will immediately go get the slight animal print, over sized, crazy looking chaise that will make ME SMILE EVERY TIME MY BUTT SITS IN IT. :)

(UPDATE:  6 months later, I went and bought the big chaise.  Every person who enters my house sits in it and loves it!  I kept the other chaise as well.  It fits in the kids' reading area...)

Busy Week

A dish I made: Chicken Stir Fry.
Chicken chunks+Veg+ mix of garlic, soy sauce, ginger, cornstarch, chicken broth.

A dish I want to make: Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese (from Noodles).  Noodles+Burger+Bacon+green onions+tomatoes+Cheese. 

 When you need a moment to make either of the above dishes, take out the box of little plastic creatures and the muffin tins and put them on the floor.  The kiddos LOVE to put the animals in different slots.  I don't know really why this is fun, but they love it.

Thrifting/Charity Shopping

My sister used to call me Bernice...

Bernice was a woman who wandered the streets of my small hometown, looking for soda cans to return (you get 10 cents for each one) and dressed like she was homeless.  I don't think she really was, and as kids, there were lots of rumors and stories about her actually being rich.  In any case, my sister used to call me Bernice because I loved to go to resale/thrift/charity shops and look for cool stuff.  

I love how you can find a one-of-a-kind item.  I love how you are saving that thing from the landfill.  I love someone's old crap.  I really do.  One Saturday, I REALLY needed some time to myself, so I wandered from shop to shop and I found some great things! 

I

I bought this for $10 and use it almost daily!

 

Taking a rest in a cute and comfy rocker.

Not my cup of tea, but really good.

And I have been looking for a scalloped cake plate...

The whole outfit was 4 dollars! Can you believe it?

Underestimating: a Parenting Lesson

My sweet boy isn't what you call an adventure seeker.  He has always played it safe, and even at 6, seems like he has just started to have a little independence with new experiences.  He also had NO interest in the Nickelodeon theme park that is at the nearby Mall of America.  (That might be from the traumatizing ride on the log ride with Daddy in the past....)  I love my gentle boy.

 All that been said, I wasn't sure how the latest trip to go skiing/snowboarding was going to end up.  I was surprised--he LOVED it!  Not only did he love it, but he even bragged a little about how I fell more often than he did.  I am so proud of him.  (I also learned a little lesson of my own :))

While Paul gave Tate his first ski lesson, Soleil sat in her sled, watching all the people.  We took a cocoa break and she played in the lodge. (I did get one run in, and wow....since I haven't snowboarded since Tate was born, I practically rolled down the hill.)

It was a great day!

Need a Moment to Yourself?

I love my kiddos.  But some days, I just need to finish my cup of coffee.  In order to attempt this, I set up a little activity when they wake up from nap or return home from school.  Some days, it is simply setting out clean paper and crayons.

I also pre positioned stickers on the edge of the table for Soleil to stick on the paper.  (They were leftovers from an old CBeebies magazine.)

3 bowls-one filled with rocks, one filled with sticks, one empty.  I got the most return on this one!

This was for Tate.  The colorful little bits are PlayMais, and can be found online in the US and at craft shops Europe.  They are made from corn, so safe, and you put a little water on them from the sponge and they stick together.  You can make all sorts of things with them!  This batch has lasted us years.

Mama Craft and Easy Lunch

I am addicted to Pinterest.  Seriously.  If you don't know what it is, it is another way to waste lots of lots of time, like Facebook.  But, like FB, it is fun.  People post pictures of things that are linked to the original source, so that you can make/find/buy/be inspired by whatever it is.  

I found the tutorial for these fabric baskets, and I had to make 3 of them in a weekend.  

Thanks, Leslie! (I don't know her, but the pin of her baskets led down this road.)  The baskets are now used for Little People, marbles, teeny books, whatever kids want to put in them.  

And if you are really lazy, but are starving, take some premade dough (JUS ROLL in the UK, Cresent dough in the US) , wrap it around cheese, ham, and a little mustard and bake.  Yummy!

 I also just started doing this to make life easier...I put all the dishes on the tray to take to the table, and then use the same method of taking to the sink.  Simple, but it saves time.

Home Decor Help!

My house is not yet a home.  We have been here about 8 months, and I still don't feel settled.  Which of these do you like?  Or not at all?

 Any and all advice more than welcome!  Pinterest is wonderful for inspiring, but it doesn't give me feedback.

And a few photos from our long weekend. Here we are at the end of a longgggg dining out experience, mainly because this cute baby goes to bed at 6:30pm and it was 6:45pm when this photo was taken.  She had gone "loco" at this point.

ON our way for a walk.  I really need to clean the lens on my phone.  

 While Sister Bear slept, Tate created.  It was the easiest activity ever--just put marshmallows and pretzels in separate bowls and them create.