On Veterans and Their Mothers

Before I had my little boy, a friend told me she watches every war movie differently now that she has sons. Every soldier is someone's little boy.  This must read tear-jerker from Sarah echoes that thought.

This Week

The results of my grocery shopping today:

Aldi $24

not the mixer :)

Deals: tomatoes, bell peppers, onions

Hy-Vee $34

Deals: bell peppers, lettuce, strawberries, grapes

Some non-paleo splurges for the weekend (eating with friends) include the chips, string cheese, and frozen rolls.  I even bought deli roast beef, which is something I rarely do because it is so expensive (and processed).  I mean seriously, at $6 a pound, I might as well buy steak.  But if I am going to buy deli meat (for convenience sake), we like roast beef :)  The cake mixes were on sale and I can use them when I make treats for church or something.

Other stuff I like:

I want to try this salad dressing.

I like Megan's tip for using a cake pan when traveling with little children.

This rhubarb oatmeal pie looks not-too-complicated for me.

I am going to read this book soon.

Have a good weekend!

Summer Has Arrived

I am:

-feeling introspective

-wishing I have heavier weights to do the crossfit workouts

-wanting to get in the habit of a decent bedtime for myself

-glad I get to snuggle my kids each night

-enjoying some reading

I have figured out why non-fiction books are good for me.  I can find stopping points.  With good fiction, I tend to read 24/7 until I finish the story and that is not a healthy balance.

We have not pushed the Disney princess stuff at all with our 3 year old; she just gravitates towards it.  She wants a Belle cake for her birthday... so I am planning something like this.  I welcome tips from anyone who has done this.  What kind of frosting did you use?  I am wanting to use a butter based frosting (non-Crisco) but don't know if it will get too runny.

Have a good holiday weekend!

Who wants to come clean my house?

It is not cluttered; it just feels grimy.  Let's face it, it is grimy.  Sticky handprints on the walls, scuffed baseboards, and the windows, oh the windows.  So many wet noses and tongues have been pressed against them.  Human and canine, alike.  And dustiness.  I could go on and on.  Tomorrow my mission is to clean. I will not get it all done.  The flat paint on the walls is not washable, so the handprints (yes, literally, handprints) will remain until I come up with the time to repaint them, if I am allowed by my husband - because I am a messy painter, just like I am a messy cook.  But.  The point is this: I will remember the time when I would have traded anything for some sticky handprints on my walls.  So tomorrow (and everyday) I will rejoice that I have messes to clean and lots of little clothes to fold.  Because I know someone, actually several out there that would give everything for this.

Menu Plan 5/9/11

Two books that were on hold at the library for me came available the time last week:
1. Grace Based Parenting
2. Light's Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival
So I am going to try to get through both, one at a time, in the next two weeks, because I've really been looking forward to reading them both!

I listed some of my baby stuff on craigslist... Sniff.  I've loved all our baby stuff.  I had so much fun spending hours researching to find the good deals on what I wanted without costing a fortune.  A lot of it was given to me as gifts or hand-me-downs.  Some of it I am passing on to others... but most of my friends are past the first baby stage, so they don't need much besides clothes.  So, I'm going to try to sell some of it, too.  I want to get my infant cloth diaper stuff to someone who really wants it and will appreciate it.  (We're still using the toddler stuff.)

I went to Costco and Aldi last week, but no pictures.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

Here's the plan for the week, short and sweet:


Breakfasts:

Quick Banana Pancakes

Fried Eggs & Fruit

Strawberry/Banana/Orange Coconut Milk Smoothies

Milk

Lunches:

Leftovers

Paleo Chicken Salads

Salmon Burgers (loosely based on this salmon melts recipe)
Carrot Sticks

Dinners:

Monday - Hamburgers, Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday - Tuna Salad Stuffed Peppers, Tomatoes

Wednesday - Red Wine Meaty Tomato Sauce & Spaghetti Squash, Green Beans

Thursday - Leftovers

Weekend - TBD (after an end-of-the-week shopping trip) -or- eating with family

5 Minute Easter Basket

Used some leftovers supplies...

 ...to create an new basket when I suddenly realized that her old basket was too small to use for the Easter Egg hunt I had promised we would go to in 45 minutes...

This'll do!

This Week

I got my hair cut today... it was overdue!  I should change my profile picture... because I have been growing it out for a year and so it looks much different now, even with the recent trim.

We are loving these oven potatoes.  Sometimes I cook them longer than called for, though.  The leftovers (if there are any!) are excellent warmed up in the skillet with eggs the next day for breakfast.  They get a little crispy that way :)

This idea for a fair way of trading babysitting is brilliant!  Why haven't I thought of this before?  Except sometimes once the kids are in bed, it is easier and just as nice to stay home and relax together... but of course it would be good and fun to be scheduled to "go out" together, too...

I want to try these Sundried Tomato and Sausage Egg Cupcakes.  A protein-rich, grain-free breakfast that can be premade for "grab 'n' go"!

This unmessy sandpaper craft looks cool.

OK, gotta go!

Crafty Christmas Project #2: Fabric Covered Bulletin Board

Or Art Board or Cork Board.  Whatever you want to call it.

I am all about gifts being practical for kids.  At least some of the gifts.

We don't have much wall space at all in our kitchen.  We don't have an office.  We don't have a mudroom.  We don't have very much wallspace in the hallways, either.  So, the little wallspace we have, I don't want crammed full.  Having some clear space on a wall is calming to me.  And the fridge can only handle so much, too (I only allow the sides to have things on them.)

So.  My daughter needs some place to display her artwork.  Because I think that having a place to show it off gives kids some incentive to do quality work (that is the 1st grade teacher in me coming out I guess.)

So.  I made this Christmas present to go on my daughter's wall in her bedroom.  It was easy.

(Oops!  I just realized it is upside-down in the picture.  Sorry!)

1. Iron and starch the fabric.
2. Use a combination of duck tape and hot glue to attach it to the back side of the corkboard.

It's the same method I used to make this easy and cheap wall art for my little boy's nursery.

I will have to take another picture once it is hanging in place on the wall and put to proper use.  I hope she likes it!

Crafty Christmas Project #1: Beaded Jewelry

I like to handmake a few Christmas gifts for my kids, while they are young enough not to care :)  But unlike the Halloween ballet slippers, I am only attempting these projects right now if they are fairly quick, cute, and useful.

Showcasing Crafty Christmas Project #1: beaded neclace and bracelet for my daughter.

Ha.  You can hardly call this crafty.  Even 3 year olds string beads!  Although I'd like to think I am advanced because this requires a little bit more of the fine motor skills since the string and holes are on the small side...  Right?

I got these colored wooden beads for $2 when they were 50% off at Hobby Lobby.  I probably have about 1/3 of the bag leftover still.  I already had stretchy jewelry elastic that I used for the string.  You could use regular string or lanyard cord if you don't care if it is stretchy or not.

So, the whole project cost me about $1.50 out of pocket, and I made the necklace and bracelet while watching a quarter of a football game this afternoon.

What do you think?  They look like cute stocking stuffers to me!  I hope my little girl likes them!

Christmas Cookies Book & Recipe

My 3 year old and I enjoy this book very much.

There is a recipe at the end.

It looked easy.  So, I was impulsive, and we gave it a try over the weekend.  It was easy.  The cookies were simple, no fancy tastes, but good!

I wanted to try a glaze recipe that I had received a few years ago.

Lemon Sugar Cookie Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1 T. warm water (more if needed)

Mix together and spread over cookies while warm.

I let me daughter choose the colors: we had blue cookies with pink sprinkles.

I liked the glaze and would make it again for myself.  It was a bit tart, which I enjoy.  My daughter is eating the cookies without complaining.  But, my husband turned his nose up at it, because if it were up to him, a thick layer of cream cheese frosting would be the only frosting allowed in the universe.  (With this glaze, be ready for a non-traditional taste is all I'm saying.)

Enjoy!

Handmade Dolls

I LOVE these dolls from Warm Sugar.  I happened upon them by a link from another blog this evening.  I have never seen one in person, but still, they are adorable!  I love that they are handmade, using many re-puposed and vintage materials.  I was into dolls as a child and am hoping my daughter is, too.  So far, she seems to be.  At 3 years old, I think she might be a little young for these - I'd hate for something to happen to one.  But maybe someday I will be able to get her her own!

Quality Toys for Preschoolers

I appreciated and enjoyed Sarah's round-up of toys her family likes... especially since she has 5 children and knows what will stand the test of time across the age ranges.

I have shared about a few particular toy items before:

Green Toys Tea Party Set

Radio Flyer Tiny Trike

Here are a few more thoughts on quality toys...

Last year for Christmas we got our daughter (then 2 years old, now 3) this Schwinn Roadster.  It did not disappoint!  It was a little big and heavy for her at first, but now she has learned to pedal and can manage it just fine.  It looks so fun and fast (and very shiny and retro, too) - I wish they made them in my size :)  I am hoping for several more years of use out of it for her, and our little boy, too.

This year, I would like to get them a good snow sled or saucer, so I have been scouting things out in this area...

Ok, now to backtrack a little bit.  When my daughter was 18 months, I asked co-workers for recommendation on toys for Christmas that would stand the test of time.  One suggestion that we listened to was a play shopping cart.  I had originally wanted a classic metal or wooden version, but in the end, I am glad we have a plastic Little Tikes one because it has run into the walls many times!  My kids both seem to love push toys, so a shopping cart is a good gender neutral one.

A no-brainer item that both my children like is play food!  The younger one just likes to take the pieces in and out of bins, while my older one likes to take my order and make me lunch with them.  We have a couple differenct sets that people have gotten for us - my favorites are the wooden ones with non-toxic paint.  My 3 year old loves the slice-able kind, but we have to watch the little pieces with my 1 year old, so this is a special toy we get out for when she wants to play with it at the kitchen table.

As far as books, we love the P.K. Hallinan books as well as I am a Bunny (a family favorite).

What recommendations do you have?

If you write a related post, be sure to link up over at the end of Sarah's original post... it will be up and running for awhile.

Re-purposed Starbucks Bottle

About a year ago, I bought a pack of Starbucks frappucinos as a treat from Costco.  I removed the labels and saved the bottles. (I wish I had saved the lids, too!)  I have used the bottles for plant starters, flower vases, and now for drinking glasses for my 3 year old.  They are the perfect size for her little hands to fit around and can be used with or without a straw.  I sometimes even screw a baby food jar lid on (from the smallest size baby food jar) when she is finished and save the rest of her drink in the fridge.  We served lemonade in them with straws for the kid cousins at my son's birthday party. To wash, I run them through the dishwasher with nearly everything else.  Cheap and cute!

Super Savings

I think I scored some good deals at a consignment sale last week. That was the first time I’ve bought anything at one. I had the kids with me – so the little one went in my mei tai carrier (in front) and the bigger one went in the stroller. We went late in the day when it wasn’t crowded, so it wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be. I had an awesome gift certificate from a blog giveaway to spend. I was looking for winter boots for the kids but didn’t find any. I did find them 3 winter coats (two in different sizes for my daughter and one for my son), snow pants for my daughter, and a cute purple Addidas track suit for my daughter. The total was $24.99 and I had a $25 gift certificate!

Projects

...for my children's bedrooms...

#1 Flag Banner – Check.

Cheap, under $4, total. Clearance scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby cut and sewn to bias tape from Wal-Mart.

#2 Mirror – Help Wanted!

If you have an opinion, please weigh in on what I should do with the $3 rummage sale mirror in my daughter’s room. Here are some pictures of her room.  It is pretty small; I think 10x10 or so.

The room is somewhat cramped right now because the play kitchen and white table (not pictured) are in there. They might go back to the living room or to the basement at some point. The mirror is just hanging in that spot because there was already a nail there, but it can be moved. Should I paint it? Right now the gold does not match any other hardware in the room. And if so, what color?

#3 Chandelier - Help Wanted!

I am thinking of painting and putting the $3 chandelier up in place of the pendant light that is currently hanging from the ceiling in there. Yes or no?  Color?

#4 Painted Letters (to spell my son’s name for his bedroom wall) – My daughter's are pale pink and white, his will be red and white.  My goal is to do this by his birthday, which is coming up soon in August...

Let me know if you have any more fun, easy projects I should try!

Safe Sippy for Older Toddlers

I was looking for a new cup for my girl. I love her Klean Kanteen sippy, but she no longer needs to drink out of a baby sippy spout. She can handle a regular cup. But I want something spill proof since she walks around with her drinks a lot and also has them in the car.

I could get a sport cap for her Klean Kanteen to replace the Avent sippy spout that it currently has, or get her a kid's Sigg, but those aren't spill proof, and I can just imagine her playing with the spout and the water or milk going everywhere. We will soon use the Klean Kanteen for her baby brother, anyways.

Reading Z Recs reviews on cups for toddler to pre-k led me to check out the Playtex Coolster Tumbler.

Plastic? Yes. BPA-free? Yes. Spillproof? Yes, if you use the valve (optional). Looks more grown-up? Yes. Inexpensive? Yes. At just $4 a pop and easily available at Target or Babies R Us, I don't have to feel a great loss if we lose it or leave it somewhere.

Why did I want to ditch the sippy spout? I don't know if this is true, but I have heard that a more natural drinking motion is better for speech muscle development. I am no specialist, but I would think that it has got to be better for teeth, too.

Plus, using the "sparkly purple big-girl cup" was good motivation for her learning to go #2 in the potty! :)