cleaning a sticky pan

Yesterday I made some Rice Krispie treats and I just had to share this tip I discovered all by myself, Martha would be so proud! I love to make these yummy goodies but really hate the sticky mess you have to clean up afterwards. Soooo... I had a flash, why not spray the pan with my butter-flavored cooking spray before melting the marshmallows? Guess what?! It worked! Clean-up was fast and easy. I think this would work with any recipe that requires melting chocolate or caramels, using the butter flavor spray didn't add anything or change the taste. Now go make something for goodness sake! Try it, you'll be impressed, I promise!

Tanner update

Warning... bragging, gushing mom ahead...
Picture taken by Parker- he insists on taking pictures all the time... I like how it looks like Tanner is saying "yo, dude, whatup?!" with his little hand in motion by his head... hee hee hee!

Me and my other little dude have been spending much time together. He went for his 2 month check up yesterday and he weighs...drumroll please.... 14 pounds! Holy cow! I can't believe it. He is "off the charts" for weight and on the high end for height. I guess it's pretty obvious he's thriving. He is such a cutie. He babbles to me and smiles these crooked little half smiles, kind of like Elvis, totally melting me. He poops all the time, as a matter of fact, I am about to run out of diapers today, gotta make a Target run later. He has us all wrapped around his tiny fingers. I just love his chub legs and I am totally looking forward to summer when I can see them peeking out of little shorty outfits. He raises his eyebrows a lot like he is totally trying to tell me something. I LOVE this guy a whole lot.

Thursdays

My Thursday ritual...

Every week, while I watch "The Office," armed with a Diet Dr. Pepper (last week it was a Diet cherry Coke!), and my grocery list, I set about on a journey. I methodically cut out coupons from the newspaper (I actually cut three sets- we get two papers and my mom gives me her set) and those found on the Internet, sort them, and put them in my handy dandy organizer (I've seen way too many "Blues Clues!"). Then, I dig through the Sunday ad circulars and find sales that will match my family's needs and then if I am really lucky I have coupons to match. I recently used my first rain check and got hand soaps for $0.22! Wow! I wish I was like those coupon ladies who get there groceries for mere pennies or even free, that takes a lot of time and planning and trips to multiple stores, right now I just can't do that, maybe someday. Right now I save an average of 20% or so. Last year, I saved about $700 for the whole year. That's a pretty nice savings, about a month's worth of groceries. I've been reading some books and websites/blogs about couponing lately and I am hoping to increase my savings. Couldn't we all use some extra savings right about now?

cookbook purging

It always starts innocently... my organizing/purging/cleaning habit (some might call it obsession!) that is. I have been looking for my manual to our automatic bread machine for a couple weeks because I thought it might have some recipes in it. (Zoe is dying to use it and I cannot find the pre-made mixes anywhere!) So I took all my cookbooks out of the cabinet to see if it was stuck in one of them. This explains the big mess on my counter you see. I did not find the manual (I am guessing it has been trashed since I have searched every logical location) but I thought since they're all on the counter I might as well go through them. I found that I had a lot of cookbooks that I didn't use. This was not new information to me, I knew I had some that needed to go but they're so pretty and I was keeping them for some sentimental value. Well, I forced myself to admit I probably won't use some of these and I am proud to say I whittled my collection down to about 13 or 14 of my favorite cookbooks. I had 21 (I think I counted correctly) that are in my give-away box! Some of these, I had never even used once! What a waste! I hope someone else stumbles across them and puts them to good use. For now, I'll stick with my tried and true favorites adding in new recipes as I discover them from friends, the Internet, or television. Do you have cookbooks you don't use? Come on, you know you do!

baby closet

Just a little baby clothes organization tip:

I made these little labels to hang in Tanner's closet. The picture is hard to see, sorry. They say "3-6 months" etc. I folded them over the closet rail/shelf and taped them in place. Now it is really easy to find and put away his clothes. I didn't spend a lot of time on these since they are very temporary. Once his growth slows down a little, I'll work on a more permanent closet organization using hooks, shelving and baskets and other good stuff. For now, it is all about easy access since he goes through several outfits a day!

another year goes by

It's my birthday today.
I am going to try to squeeze in a scrapbook layout and maybe even watch the tv shows I choose today.
I like to live dangerously don't I?!

a little thing

So I have a lot of pet peeves, I guess I am easily annoyed. One of which is when things in drawers roll around all helter skelter. This is not just a junk drawer, makeup drawer, or scrapbooking drawer thing for me, it applies to all drawers. In fact, I probably find and use little containers inside most of the drawers in my house. Not only am I irritable, I guess I am OCD too! Anyway, I have been trying to keep my refrigerator really tidy lately so things don't get lost and therefore spoiled. I had an "a ha" moment last week when I was trying to find some string cheese for the kids... picture me digging through the depths of turkey and salami while balancing Tanner in one arm...I grabbed an empty cottage cheese container and whodathunkit? String cheeses fit in there perfectly! The container is the perfect size, I can still close the drawer easily. No more runaway cheeses in my lunch meat drawer. Yipee for me! It always amazes me how a little thing like corralling string cheeses makes me feel so darn good, kind of like I conquered a housewife obstacle or something. Does that make me twisted? I think not, I'll take any victory, no matter how small.

my prayers were answered

My aunt stopped by for a visit yesterday and she brought this...

How did she know? (see yesterday's post) The good Lord works in mysterious ways and I am thankful for that and this bottle of wine. I can't wait to pop it open.

I need some wine and lots of it!

My mind this morning: "are you f-ing kidding me?"

I just got over a two week sick stint. Everyone in my house was sick at some point in the last two weeks. As of this past Saturday, we were all feeling better. I cannot tell you how happy I was. I was truly looking forward to going to Ikea and Archivers, Zoe's dance competition, maybe even the hair salon for some highlights... Oh no, Zoe woke up this morning with the stomach flu, AGAIN! I cannot believe I am back on the disinfecting, washing sheets, and chicken noodle soup regiment. This is the fourth time since school has started. ER-Ugh!

love

Happy Valentine's Day!
Love from us.

pondering my future

I have been thinking about the future a lot lately. It all started when I tripped over my husband's size 14 shoes. Those things are weapons of mass destruction, I am not kidding. I nag, I mean gently remind, everyone that shoes (once removed) belong in a certain spot, our laundry room to be specific. Now as you can imagine, not everyone complies with this rule. When I find a random shoe or two, I usually huff and puff and throw them in the laundry room, making sure the culprit knows he/she is wrong. Well, this last incident nearly sent me over the edge, have you ever almost fallen down carrying a newborn just because your husband forgot to park his boats? Don't judge me until it happens to you! Anyway, my tirade went unnoticed because everyone else was asleep, it was 2AM, ah the joys of having a newborn. So my mind began to wander, someday when these two boys grow up, I'll probably have 3 pairs of size 14 shoes to trip over. OMG it's never going to end, is it? I'll be ranting and raving about shoes that have been kicked off for the rest of my life. **sigh** Then I started thinking about all the food these boys will eat when they are teenagers which then made me think of how often I'll have to go to the grocery... **sigh** So instead of focusing on the future, I'm just going to enjoy these little guys while they are little, you have to admit, they are pretty cute!

Parker's Valentines

Parker picked Hot Wheels Valentines to give to his friends at his "school." (He and I go to a Mom and Me class.) I just have to say to the Valentine companies, give the kids some stinkin' envelopes. Who wants a card with no envelope? That is the fun of them when you are a little kid, tearing each one open to see the card inside. Just infuriates me...trying to save a buck... anyway... I bought little envelopes for his cards and he stamped them and put them together.I had these little baggies from another project so we put some kisses in them...We stapled the kisses to the cards and VOILA!I think they are pretty cute. Of course these are pretty simple since the kids are all 2-3 years old. I definitely could see the potential to embellish like crazy. We used a bigger cellophane bag and more kisses to make a gift for his teacher.Her Valentine was made from pink and red scraps found on my desk. Just doin' are part to spread a little love!

Zoe love

This little girl is so sweet, if I do say so myself! It's Valentine time again. No ready-made cards for this girl, oh no, she had to make her own, this is the third year in a row! We made the trip to Michaels last week for supplies and she worked every day until they were done.

She made Valentines for everyone in her class (including her teachers) using glitter, stickers, stamps, and pure creativity. The best part is she personalized each one! She drew things on each card that she thought each child would like. (For one boy, she made a panda because "he loves Kung Fu Panda" according to her, she made music notes for her friend who likes Hannah Montana, Veggie Tales, etc.). She did that 22 times, each one was different! I was so proud of her. Her Valentines are definitely full of love.

No, this is not the toilet... It's the washing machine. Zoe loves to leave notes for me where I will find them later. This one surprised me the other day. Seeing things like this make me think I must be doing something right to have such a thoughtful daughter. I am so lucky.

warning: complaining up ahead

I am officially hitting the winter-blahs wall. This weather (snow and cold), sick kids, lack of sunlight, and bad reality tv is starting to get to me. I mean come on already, who really likes snow? Being cooped up has made it that much easier for the flu to run rampant through my house. I am really looking forward to Valentine's Day next week, not because of the lovey-dovey holiday but because I always feel like spring is right around the corner. The bright side... our weatherman just said it might be in the 50's next week! Woo hoo!

a little bit sleepy today

Couldn't you just kiss these cheeks all day long?!Seriously, what in the world is making this little guy wake up every night from 2-4AM and then stay awake, just staring at me? Oh, he doesn't want to lay in his bed and stare at stuff, he wants me to hold him, hmm, go figure. He is a true night owl. Maybe because it's the only time it is quiet in our house?!?

just a quick trip to Target

Do you go to Target just for "a few things?" I swear, something in that place that forces me to spend about 100 bucks every time I go there, well give or take a few bucks. I went last week with the intention of getting some gifts to give the kids at Zoe's birthday party. I happened to check their sales ad and it said my favorite paper towels were on sale and I knew I had a coupon (bonus!) so of course I had to get some. I also picked up some toilet paper and soda pop. I have found it is easier to get these big packaged items on my Target or Costco runs since my regular grocery cart is filled to the brim with groceries and kids! Anyway, I digressed, I found lots of these "good deals" that day and spent far more than I had intended. The plus side, all of these things are necessities (mostly consumable goods), no scrapbook supplies or clearanced clothes made it into my cart on this day, yeah me! When I got home I had to spend some time putting all this stuff away. My littlest man was sleeping in his car seat carrier. My girlie was at school. My dude was busy doing other things... first he decided to poke holes in the paper towel plastic wrap and unwrap them all.Then he decided they would make good bowling pins. Never mind we have a kid's bowling set and Wii sports...Next he found that they made great building blocks, we've got a whole box of building blocks and new Lincoln logs too but they don't do this... don't you love how he had to get a stool to make it really tall?!Mr. Mischief at his best! Target runs make us all happy!

right now

Important things in my life right now...

Wow, what a difference 3 years makes! Look at the size of a newborn diaper compared to a 3 year old one! And you know the contents are equally different for each!

Yes, I went a little crazy at the grocery. I bought about 880 baby wipes. I literally do not want to have to search for a wipe ever again. I feel like I need to invent some devise that mounts to my arm and automatically dispenses wipes as needed... maybe someday. As you can imagine, I am using lots of these with both boys in diapers. I think I'll use most of these in about a week or so, no joking!