Destructo-boy Strikes Again

What is it with this kid and bathrooms?

This string of toilet paper was still attached to the roll in the bathroom, which is around the corner and down the hall a bit.  I'm so glad Costco sells their toilet paper in a nice, loooooooong roll.

Creamy {Crock Pot} Broccoli and Chicken Noodle Soup

I modified a soup recipe tonight that was a huge, HUGE hit with my family.  Mike raved with every bite, the kids asked for more, I was even pretty impressed with myself.  And now I'll to write down what I did before I forget!

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts* (I use frozen chicken)
2 cups chicken broth*
1 cup onion, finely chopped**
1 cup celery, finely chopped**
1 cup carrot, finely chopped**
1 cup pre-sliced mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk (skim is fine)
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup half and half
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4-6 oz. angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti, broken into 2-3 inch pieces

Directions:

- IN THE MORNING - place chicken breasts and chicken broth in the crock pot.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the chicken shreds easily with two forks.  Shred the chicken in the crock pot and leave it on low while you do the following...

- 2-3 hours before you want to eat, coat a pan with cooking spray and put on medium-high heat.  Add onion, celery, carrot, mushroom and garlic to the pan.  Saute 5 minutes or until liquid evaporates, stirring occasionally. 

- Reduce heat to medium and add the butter to the pan, stirring until the butter melts. 

- Sprinkle vegetable mixture with flour and cook 2 minutes. 

- Gradually add the milk and cook 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly, stirring consistently.

- To the crock pot, add the broccoli, half and half, salt, pepper and the vegetable mixture.  Cook on low for 2 hours, until the broccoli is tender.

- 15 minutes before you're ready to serve the soup, add the pasta to the crock pot and cook on high until it's softened, about 12-15 minutes.

- Top each serving with shredded cheddar cheese.

* for a vegetarian soup, eliminate the chicken and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth
** "finely chopped" is about 1/4 inch pieces

(Next time, I'm going to try dumping everything in the crock pot in the morning, shredding the chicken at the end.  I would need to figure out how to incorporate the flour without resulting in clumps, and I'd need to add the broccoli later in the day, but if anyone tries this method, let me know how it turns out!)

Q&A Wednesday - Scrapbook questions answered

(I received the following questions about my recent post, Scrapbook Layouts Galore.  I figured I'd answer them all at once.)

Leanne Friesen commented, "I LOVE these pages. my style is exactly the same, and seeing as I am 2 years behind, you have greatly inspired me to get back at it! I'd love to see more! So are you saying that your kids get 4-6 layouts a year put in their scrapbook and the rest of the pages go in the family book? I just had a fourth baby, and I have been thinking of ways to simplify my system."

Actually, the only books my kids have are their baby books, which span my pregnancy through their first birthday.  Most of my scrapbooks are family scrapbooks, but I do have a couple of "Friends and Family" books (for memories outside of our immediate family) and my horribly neglected "All About Me" scrapbook.  Oh, and my Picture of the Day scrapbooks, one for 2009 and one for 2010.  They're so thick that I'm considering doing the digital version from now on, just for space-saving sake. 

Basically, all of the seasonal layouts for the kids are mixed right along with birthday celebrations and Christmas pages, all in chronological order.  And, of course, they're labeled. Because I'm Type A like that.

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Erin said, "These layouts rock!! Do you use a sketch book? I love your style."

Why yes, Erin, my layouts DO rock. ;)  I'm kidding.  But yes, I use the Becky Higgins Sketches book as my default go-to.  Sometimes I follow the sketch exactly and other times I change it up to fit my needs better.  It all depends on how creative I'm feeling at the time.

I also created a notebook with references to layouts I like in past Creating Keepsakes (CK) magazines.  Granted, I haven't updated the notebook since 2009, but it's still very helpful.  And because I have my past issues of CK in magazine holders in my craft room, they're easy to find.

Everything I do is based on the number of pictures I want to include in the layout, so I always flip through the Sketches book or my own notebook before creating a layout.  For my notebook, I organized it by number of pictures with reference to the issue of CK and the page number.  I also have lists of special occasion layouts that I like (summer, birthday, holidays, etc.) to get inspiration from.

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Dawn asked,
"1. Do you print your photos at home or a store? Do you usually use 4x6?
2. Are the basketballs stickers or did you make them? If so how, I really like them.
3. How long did it take you to make all of these {layouts}?"

1. I used to print all of my pictures at home, but I read a few years ago that the ink on photos printed at home might not stand the test of time.  I don't want my pictures fading in 25 years, so I started ordering prints.  I have a folder called, "Waiting to be Printed" where I copy pictures once I know I'm using them in a layout.  From there, I usually wait for Walgreens, Snapfish or Shutterfly to run a free prints special or free shipping promotion to get the pictures cheap.  My pictures are all picked out, all I need to do is upload them to the site and place my order.

I almost always print in 4x6 and crop smaller, because that's the size that photo sites run specials.  There are some layouts that I use 5x7 or 8x10 pictures (sometimes cropped), but I print those at Costco because their enlargement price is cheapest.  Plus, I can pick them up when I'm shopping and avoid shipping costs.

2. The basketball on Ryan's layout is orange paper that I drew lines on (with a Sharpie) and roughed up with dark brown Distress Ink  I like the way it turned out, but honestly, I had to add it to cover up the fact that the white strip of paper (where I printed the journaling) was a few centimeters too short for the page.  It looked silly, so I had to cover it up.  It was a happy accident.  :)

3. Tough question to answer.  I'd guess maybe 30-45 minutes per layout - ?  I work in phases.  Generally, I'll sit down in front of my computer with my notebook and decide which pictures I want to use on my layouts.  I sketch the way the pages will look and copy the pictures into the "Waiting to be Printed" folder on my computer.  It took me about 4 hours to plan the 120 pictures I printed with Snapfish's recent "100 free prints" promotion. (I think it's going on through the end of the month with code OCT10PRNT)  Once the pictures arrived, I'd say I spent about 15-20 minutes choosing the papers, cropping the pictures and adhering them all together.  Maybe another 5 -10minutes per page typing, printing and cropping the title/journaling, so I'd guess approximately 30 minutes per layout, not counting the planning or ordering the pictures.

My 15 Minutes of Fame...Again...

How I got on t.v. twice in my lifetime is beyond me, let alone twice in the same year!  The reporter who interviewed us in February about bullying called this morning to ask me a few questions today.  I rarely turn down an opportunity to give my opinion.  :)

Meal Plan 10/25/10

I'm trying some new recipes this week.  Crossing my fingers! 

I already put Thursday and Sunday's meats in the marinade and back into the freezer.  Hopefully I'll remember to pull them out a couple of days ahead of time so cooking is easy those nights!

Monday - Ranchero Mexi-Chicken Crostada
Tuesday - Rice, Bean and Cheese Casserole
Wednesday - Broccoli and Chicken Noodle Soup (add carrots)
Thursday - Maple Grilled Salmon with mashed potatoes
Friday - Shepherd's Pie
Saturday - {Meredith's wedding}
Sunday - Orange Teriyaki Chicken with vegetables and brown rice

Jason is ONE

Happy


Birthday


Jason!

"Ooooh, that cake was gooooood!"

Apparently, when Kaylin and Ryan have asked when Jason will walk and talk, I have said, "When he's one."   Both had the idea that these things occurred specifically ON his first birthday.

Kaylin told me last night that this morning, she planned to go into Jason's room and say, "Good morning, Jason!" and he would reply, "Hi, Kaylin!"  You know...because he can talk.  Now that he's one.

Then while we were eating breakfast, Ryan was talking to Jason and said, "After breakfast, Daddy's going to teach you how to walk!"  Like it's a skill that he can learn in one morning.  Cracked me up!

Today we had an Elmo birthday party with family and a couple of neighbor friends. 

It was very low key and perfect; lunch, a few gifts and homemade chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting.   I was going to attempt to make each cupcake look like a little Elmo face, but I changed my mind at the last minute and just rolled the frosted tops in red sprinkles.  The paper wrappers were Elmo, but you couldn't even see them because the cake was so dark. (note to self: don't spend extra money on cute cupcake wrappers)

Jason had to be hosed off after devouring his cupcake.  At least his nostrils weren't plugged up like for Kaylin's first birthday!


"I'm so excited to be ONE!"

Destructo-boy

I've mentioned before that I don't do much baby-proofing in my house.  Instead, I teach my kids what is a "no" and what is a "yes" when they begin crawling.  Kids need boundaries, I want them to know limits when away from home, blah, blah, blah.

Well, Jason doesn't seem to care that the bathroom trash can is a "no."  It's the bathroom off the kitchen, nearest the laundry room, so it is the dumping ground for all sorts of odds and ends. 

This is the second time this week he's tipped over the trash, scattering wrappers, dryer lint, flour and dried cookie dough bits all over the place. (I use that trash to wipe the flour off the counters after baking sugar cookies.  At least, I did until today.)

I'll learn...someday.

Scrapbook Layouts Galore

(Update: I think I fixed it so you can click on the pictures to see them closer.  Sorry about that!)

Last week, I mentioned that I've been catching up on scrapbooking morning, noon and night.  I also promised to share some of the layouts I've completed, so here you go! 

A few notes about my scrapbooking style:

- You'll notice that I cram a lot of pictures onto my layouts.  I'm not a "one picture per page" kinda gal.

- Those of you who click on the pictures below will notice a sticky note or two where I have to add text or another picture.  Pay no attention to the stickies...

- For Jason's baby book, I basically include my favorite pictures of him each month and write about the accomplishments and highlights I want to remember.  It's (usually) easy to keep up with and it forces me to be picky about which of the 1000s of pictures and memories make it into his baby book.

- For our family (and for the big kids), I summarize their activities in a seasonal layout four times a year.  I sometimes add other pages if something fun should be remembered (birthdays, sports, certain events) but again, it keeps me from getting further and further behind if I avoid preserving every little moment of their lives.

- I blog about most of the things I scrapbook.  Partially to share the fun with all of you, but also to remind myself which pictures to print later.  Plus, I can steal a lot of the journaling from the posts.

- These pages are pretty slim on the embellishments, but my layouts are generally focused mostly on pictures and text.  I had so much catching up to do that I basically wanted to slap the pictures down on paper, add a title and maybe some journaling and be done with it.  If I feel like it later, I might go through some of my extra fun stuff and add items to certain pages.  But I don't think many of them need it.

- When I get behind with my scrapbooks, I always start with current pictures and work backward.  If you start where you left off (ahem...your wedding...) you'll NEVER feel caught up.  Print current pictures for the last month or two and work backward.  It's probably psychological, but it helps keep your momentum going!

- Looking through these pictures, I don't LOVE each and every page I did, but it's good enough. I doubt anyone will appreciate the time and energy I put into these scrapbooks (other than me) so there's no reason to get all worked up about making a page perfect!

- If you're wondering about my process and how I keep organized, I wrote a post about that: here. 

So whatdoyou say, was that fun?  Would you like to see more scrapbook pages in the future or did everyone skip over this post?  Anyone...?  Hello???

Family Day Challenge

I've been getting a lot of questions about our "Family Day" since posting about it last week.  I'm getting the feeling everyone thinks I'm nuts, but it's not that hard.  Really, it's not.  If I can commit to having a weekly Family Day, so can you.

We started honoring Sunday as our Family Day about a year and a half ago.  I think it started as a month-long challenge to see if we could avoid making plans on Sundays and just hang out at home all day without getting bored.  Since then, it's become our favorite day of the week. 


Here's what we try to do:

...avoid making plans or agreeing to outside commitments

...avoid the t.v. and computer (though lately the Cardinals game is usually on for a few hours, which is fine because Ryan and Kaylin end up watching it with Mike, instead of Mike zoning out while I care for the kids)

...find a few things that we can do throughout the day as a family (ex: go to the park, wander around Costco eating the samples, have a picnic, go swimming)

...find a few things that we can do a couple at a time (ex: Mike and Ryan taking a bike ride, Kaylin and me baking together, Mike taking the big kids to Home Depot)

...pull out forgotten toys and games (ex: Slip 'n' Slide, tea party sets, puppets)

...make unplanned trips to the store for ice cream or decide to go out to dinner on a whim (very unlike us...we're planners)

...immediately stop productive activities to polish Kaylin's toe nails and play Wii boxing with Ryan
 

...stifle our Type-A personalities and let the little things go

...have fun and laugh with each other...a lot


Here's what we don't do:

WE DON'T...have rules or guidelines about the day (our house rules still apply)

WE DON'T...have expectations of any kind, other than relaxing and enjoying the day together

WE DON'T...plan a bunch of things to do all day (ex: 10:15 paint, 11:05 go on a walk, 11:38 sing Kum-By-Ya)

WE DON'T...spend every minute of every hour together as a family


Most of the people I've spoken to about this have given me a dozen reasons why it won't work for them. 

"There's only so much I can do with the kids before going stir-crazy."

"My husband will never go for it."

"I just have too much to do."

"I won't be able to stay off the computer for the whole day."

"Sunday is sacred NFL time for my husband...he watches games all day and I'd be alone with the kids."

"We have too much going on in our schedule to stop everything for a whole day."


So I decided to pose a challenge to you. 

Pick a day on the calendar and decide to try your own version of Family Day.  If your husband is too into football to engage with the family on a Sunday, choose a Saturday.  Or if your kids aren't in school yet and your husband gets days off during the week, pick a Tuesday or Friday.  It really doesn't matter when it is.

Don't make any plans that day.  Nothing.  That doesn't mean you can't leave the house, just don't agree to be anywhere at any certain time...even if it's to meet other family members.  Make this day about just your little family unit: you, your husband and your kids.  And your dogs if you want.  But that's IT.

Vow to be media-free all day.  The t.v. and computer can allow people to get in a self-focused zone, but remember that your cell phone can be just as big of a distraction. Anything that takes your attention away from your family, specifically your kids, should not be allowed on Family Day. Video games might also be a no-no for most people, but we play the Wii as a family, so we do allow limited (about an hour of) video game time. (plus, in our family, no one gets angry or irritable if they don't win, so it's positive time together)

Sundays work best for us because we can go to church on Saturday night, but also because Mike's really, really, really kind of into college football, which is an all-day Saturday affair. 

Also, we purposely set aside time on Saturday to clean the house and run errands so that most everything is done on Sunday. (this summer, I posted about our Family Chores power-hour each weekend)  We don't have looming projects hanging over our heads by Sunday...we're able to truly relax.

The other question I've gotten a lot is: What do you DO all day??? 

Our typical Sunday looks like this:

- Either Mike or I sleep in...we take turns.  The other gets the baby up and fed at 7am.  The big kids get up and play in their PJs.

- If I get up first, I usually make something fun for breakfast like Waffles, Crepes, Apple Fritters or Cinnamon Rolls. A while back, we went through a "let's go get donuts" phase, but that's over for now.  If Mike gets up first, he usually makes pancakes or eggs.

- Mike and the kids make coffee, then Mike goes outside to sit on the back patio and drink his little cup coffee.  If it's nice out, the kids will play outside while I clean up the kitchen.  Otherwise, they stay inside and play.  But this is a huge relaxation thing for Mike.  Sometimes that transitions into yard work, sometimes not.

- While Mike's outside, I'm usually cleaning up breakfast, folding laundry or doing something else productive.  Because I can't relax until the kitchen is clean and a few things are off my to-do list.  That's just me.

- Around 10ish, Jason naps and the kids start getting bored, so we usually all play something together.  A board game, the Wii, rolling a ball down the hall to each other...it just sort of naturally happens.  Someone comes up with something and we all join in.  Or some of us play while others watch.

- 11:30ish, Jason gets up and we all eat lunch.

- 12-1ish, we'll usually go somewhere or run errands.  Or swim.  Or play catch in the backyard. Or go to the park.  This week, we went to the Pumpkin Patch.

- From 2-3, the kids usually have a quiet time in their room while Mike watches football and I catch up on stuff: meal planning, cutting coupons, recently scrapbooking, whatever.  Jason's quiet time is always a nap, the big kids tend to fall asleep most days, too.

- 3-5pm - Anything goes.  If it's hot out, we'll swim or do something around the house.  If the weather is nice, we'll usually do something outside.

- 5:00ish - Dinner.  We usually grill on Sundays...Mike offers, I don't argue!  Sometimes we go out to eat, sometimes we do something simple like smoothies and popcorn.

- 6:00ish - Lately, we've been doing movie night.  Last night, I was crazy and decided we all needed to bake pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies.  It made quite the mess and hyped everyone up right before bed, but the kids enjoyed it.

- 7:00 - Bedtime, as usual.

Family Day usually feels very long, but isn't that how it should be on the weekend?  Most of us are busy, busy, busy all week and Family Day is the perfect excuse to stop and rejuvenate ourselves before we turn around and do it all again on Monday.

Even God took a day of rest...don't you think He might have been setting a precedent??

I know some people who honor the Sabbath so strictly that they'll prepare meals ahead of time in disposable containers so no one has to cook or clean.  You decide what works best for you.  But seriously, talk to your spouse and kids about giving this a try.  Pick a date, block it off on the calendar and vow to relax and enjoy your family.  I promise (I wish I could give you a money-back guarantee) ... you will not regret it. 

Meal Plan 10/18/10

Monday - Tator Tot Casserole with salad
Tuesday - Stir Fry with brown rice
Wednesday - Crock Pot Minestrone Soup plus squash (*double to freeze*)
Thursday - Ravioli in a Balsalmic Brown Butter Sauce
Friday - Veggie Packed Pasta with Whole Wheat Bread
Saturday - Leftovers
Sunday - Chicken Pot Pie with Homemade Pie Crust

Winner Announcement - Twinpop Designs

The winner of the Twinpop Designs Letter contest is...#17 Natalia.  Congratulations!  I've already sent you an email and Dana will be in contact with you to design your letter.

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

When You're Inspired, GO WITH IT!

Last month, I was inspired to organize.  I'm so glad I went with the flow, and some good friends benefited from the inspiration as well!  This month, I've been itching to take pictures and get caught up with scrapbooking.  I'm so terribly behind.  Not one single picture from 2010 had been scrapbooked until this month and my oldest unfinished layout was from Spring, 2008.  Ugh.

What you might not realize is that this time last year, I had exactly six unfinished layouts and was otherwise completely caught up to date.  Then I had baby #3...

So for some reason, I've been incredibly inspired to scrapbook lately.  Maybe because two weeks ago there were only two page layouts completed for Jason's baby book and he will turn a year old next weekend.  Regardless of what motivated me, every spare minute of every day has been consumed with creating.  Each naptime, when the kids are in bed at night, while Mike watches college football...constantly.

I'll share some of my pages soon.  Maybe this weekend.

I also did another early photo shoot this week...Jason in his "1" onesie.  I bought it a while back, it's 9-12 months in size. 

And I just moved Jason up to 12-18 months. 

I think it might still fit him next Saturday, but the way this boy eats, there are no guarantees that his belly can be crammed into this outfit tomorrow, let alone next Saturday.

So we did an early photo shoot.  Again.


No one needs to know that I cheat and take pictures early!  It will be our little secret...