Delightful Quote of the Day

Quote #1:

One of the funniest and grossed moments of my life happened just now... My 2 year old Jonah just snuck up behind me while I was laying on the couch and put a banana peel right on my FACE while screaming "Rrraaaaaarr, its an octopus!"

Quote #2:


Jonah starts kissing me with big, opened mouth slobbery kisses. He keeps kissing me and kissing me until I can't stop laughing. He then abruptly stops, looks at me and says, "You're not a frog." This is a reference to his favorite movie "The Princess and Frog" or what he likes to call "Tiana." I do LOVE those slobbery kisses! 

It's Getting Spooky Around Here...

 Happy Halloween! This is one of my most favorite times of the year. I just love all things spooky, then add in carnivals and pumpkin carving and pumpkin breads and cakes...it is just too fun. In previous years, my Halloween decorations definitely didn't reflect my love of this holiday. They were cheap, mismatched, and just plain boring. This year, I found all the Halloween stuff I wanted for the house and the yard and the bill added up to around...gulp...$400! Now that is scary! So, I set out to see if I could do a lot of it on the cheap. And I think I did pretty good!

 The mantle consists of these less expensive items:
2 black vases- Ikea for $2 each
Candlesticks- Savers for $2 each
Vases, spider web, frame, black cheese cloth and rave- Dollar Tree for $1 each
Moss- WalMart for $3
Pumpkins- grocery store for less than $5
Bunting banner- Pottery Barn for $25

The only craft/DIY is the date sign. I found an outdated piece of art with an oval frame from Savers (a thrift store) and painted the whole thing with chalkboard spray paint, and then wrote the date with a chalk pen.

Here are some other fun finds around our house this Halloween:

Two adorable plates from Target for $1.79 each that I attached to the wall with Command Strips.

A ghost pillow from Target for $10 with four ghosts- one for each member of the family!

And the outside of the house is all spooked out too! Take a peek...

Delightful Quote of the Day

Quote #1

I am sweeping the floor. Annalise walks around scanning the different dust piles. She picks up a piece of cereal out of the dust pile! Mortified I yell:

Me:        "Don't eat that! That's trash!"
Annalise:  Puts the cereal in her mouth..."Mmmm, I like to eat trash..." rubs her tummy "trash is gooooood."

Quote #2

Annalise:  "Mommy, you are such a good Mommy. You talk to me about my problems and my feelings."

Awww, love to hear stuff like that!

Jonah's Bug Birthday!

My little Jonah has turned 2! We celebrated by throwing a bug birthday party. When springtime made it's appearance earlier this year, I noticed Jonah loved watching the ants and other creep crawly things scurry across the ground outside, and it got me thinking he would love a bug themed birthday! Here is how it turned out:

The dessert table

Cupcakes popping out of little terracotta pots painted in the
party colors with craft paint 

Dirt Cake made with rice krispies treats formed into a mound, frosted with chocolate frosting
and covered in Oreo crumbs

After a bit to eat, we started the activities! First worm wrangling. The kids all donned their worm wrangling hats and searched for worms in a box of dirt:

Then the kids went on a bug hunt for plastic bugs hid around the yard. They were each equipped with a bug kit for the task:

Next came presents and cake:

We ended the night with a release of about 500 ladybugs! They crawled all over us and most of us absolutely loved it (with the exception of Jonah who liked to look more than touch!)

And of course, every party needs a hiccup right? Well after all the guest left, my kids found the bubble machine I had bought for the party. I totally forgot about it. Dang! It was SO fun, too bad we couldn't have shared it with the other kids!

Umm, Annalise- I think that's for snowflakes, not bubbles!

We had a great time celebrating my Little Guy's big day and loved all the people we got to share it with (who aren't pictured here because who likes their picture posted on the internet without their permission).

Happy Birthday Jonah! We love you!

Party Supply Sources:

Party Decoration Printables- totfulmemories at Etsy

Terracotta pots- Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004L0DU7U/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00

Vases and cake stands- spray painted glass items I had on hand from Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree

Live worms and ladybugs- bought from local plant nursery

Plastic bugs- Dollar Tree

Hats- Dollar Tree

Bug Kits- Dollar Tree

Bubble Machine- Wal-Mart

Cupcakes and Sugar Cookies- baked with love by Me!

New Mom Gift After New Baby

I have been searching for a fun, thoughtful, reasonably priced gift I could bring to New Mom's in my neighborhood or circle of friends after they have a baby. It feels like Moms get so many new things for the baby, but hardly anything just for them.

I came up with this gift bag in the theme of a prescription (the way the pharmacy always gives you your meds in a white bag with instructions stapled to the front). The paper stapled to the bag is in the form of a prescription pad. The bag includes- a bag of microwave popcorn, a bar of really good chocolate, bath salts, suckers and a onesie for the baby.

I blurred out the personal info on the bag, but here is a close up with the personal info taken out:

The great thing is you can make up a bunch of bags at once with all the elements except the "Rx pad" info. Then there is no stress trying to find a gift for a New Mom you care about when the time comes. A meal or freezer meal makes a great addition too!

Delightful Quote of the Day

While driving in the car in total silence...

Annalise:     "Mommy, I want to be a giant."
Me:            "You do? Why's that?"
Annalise     "Because giants have magic beans and grow big bean-stocks and live in the clouds."

At first, I was totally amused, but on second thought, that actually does sound kinda nice :)

Cupcakes for Kaleb

About a month ago I heard the story about a 9 year old boy in our community who was fighting a long battle with cancer. He is so brave and his story moved me so much that I wanted to be a part of of a fundraiser held for him last weekend. So I did what I do best, made cupcakes!

About a year and a half ago I started a small catering company doing cupcakes and cookies for events. I loved it and business was rolling in, but my kids were very small (18 months and newborn) and they would cry when I would bring out the mixer because they knew Mommy would be occupied for awhile. I knew I couldn't be the best Mom I could be while doing this so I made the painful decision to quit.

When I heard about Kaleb, I wanted to do something and since everyone loves cupcakes, I made some and brought them to the fundraiser. His favorite colors are navy, white and orange. I had so much fun making these for Kaleb and think he is an amazing kid!

Delightful Quote of the Day

Today was shopping day! The kids and I went to Target to get some new spring/summer clothes and, boy, did they have some cute stuff! I walked around and said, "Look, Annalise, isn't this adorable?" She totally took that and ran with it grabbing clothes and saying, "Look Mom, adorable!" She said this over and over, and pretty soon little Jonah started grabbing dresses and skirts saying "dorabul" which means "adorable" in 20 month old speak. The kicker was when Annalise put a very girly little knit cardigan on Jonah and then said, "Oh, this won't work, it's too small."  But Jonah was having too much fun with it and wouldn't take it off and insisted on carrying it around the store. A couple of ladies standing near just bust up laughing at their little interaction.

Lesson Learned...

20 month old boys should not be given access to watercolors!

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork

This is a recipe I pinned on Pinterest- tried- and loved! I have made it twice and my hubby just raves! I used a 2 lb. pork loin and am excited to try a pork tenderloin next. Now, I am not a lover of balsamic vinegar, but the taste of this glaze with the balsamic isn't too strong and definitely delicious! 

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork 
Pinned from http://www.candcmarriagefactory.com/

Ingredients:

1 (2 pound) boneless pork tenderloin (or regular pork loin)

1 teaspoon ground sage (I did't have this at home, and it tasted great anyway without it)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Directions:

Combine sage, salt, pepper and garlic. Rub over roast. Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan. Heat and stir until mixture thickens (it will have a look to it like molasses). Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking. Strain the liquid from the crockpot and serve over pork- so good! 

My Perfect Lasagna Recipe

...8 years in the making

I have been having this on again and off again relationship with lasagna for 8 years- about 1 out of every 5 times I made it it was heavenly, the rest were too dry, too saucy, too mushy, too ugly (you know what I mean by ugly lasagna? Very unappetizing) So I have been perfecting this recipe, writing down the things I did different when it actually came out right and I am ready to share it!

There are some very strict rules when it comes to making this a perfect lasagna so read carefully:

Side-note: I have NO loyalty to these brands or affiliation with them. They are just what I have used and what works for me.

Lasagna (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook)
Sized to to fit a 2 qt. square casserole dish

Ingredients:

6 "no boil" lasagna noodles

I would never tell you to buy premade tubs of frosting or cake mix, but trust me, don't be ashamed to buy the "no boil" lasgna noodles. Not only do they taste the same (I think better) but it is so much easier to spread the ricotta on them than trying to layer things on top of slippery noodles. 

1 26.5 oz. can of pasta sauce

I use Hunts Traditional Style Pasta Sauce because it is a thinner style of sauce with no chucks of tomato or veggies. I found a thicker sauce makes it dryer.

15 oz. container of ricotta cheese



I just use the Great Values brand from Wal-Mart in the "part skim" variety


3-4 cups of finely shredded mozzarella cheese

 If it is shredded too large, it will get clumpy.


1/4 cup parmesan cheese

I like the real shredded cheese you have to find in the refrigerated section as opposed to the powder variety.

1 egg


Palm size square of ground beef


Get the fat content you like for everyday cooking, but if you really want to make this lasagna at it's best for a special occasion, get the 80% beef to fat ratio because the meat will remain soft and juicy.\


Sprinkling of onion and garlic powder

Directions:


Place your ground beef in skillet and start chopping it apart with a sturdy spatula. Try to get the pieces as small as possible. While it is still cooking and is spread apart, sprinkle with onion and garlic powder. (You can cook the meat with large pieces of onion and garlic if you have it, but take all the pieces out after it is cooked, it is just for flavor). Cook until no longer pink.

Place cooked ground beef in a POT (yes, you will have to dirty something else but cooking the sauce in the pan makes it taste different-use a deep pot instead). Pour the sauce into the pot, stir the meat and sauce together and heat until just hot, don't over cook.

In a bowl, crack and beat the egg. Mix with ricotta and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Pour 1/4 cup of meat sauce into the bottom of 2 qt. casserole dish. Layer two noodles on top of sauce- side by side. Take 1/3 of ricotta mixture and smooth on top of noodles with the back of a large spoon. Pour a scant 1 cup of meat sauce on the ricotta cheese mixture. Pour a scant 1 cup mozzarella cheese onto meat sauce.
Repeat 2 more times:
-noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, mozzarella, noodles, ricotta, meat sauce, mozzarella- STOP! You are done layering, yay!

Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
Take off foil and bake another 15 minutes.
Then to get a nice brown, bubbly look to the top I suggest broiling for another 2 or 3 minutes.

Then most important of all- LET IT SIT!

Unless you want to make mush of this deliciousness, you need to let it sit for 15 minutes. Cut pieces with a sharp culinary knife and dish out with a small, study spatula. This way your lasagna with look as good as it tastes!

Enjoy!

Uh Oh...I think my new house is haunted!

Easter Mantle Decor

Easter is fast approaching so last night I hauled out the Easter Decor bin and decorated! Here are the pictures of the mantle- Happy Easter!

Although I love pretty flower and cute bunnies (and chocolate), I am espeically grateful for the reason

I celebrate Easter, which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here is my current favorite picture:

The Truth About Toddlers

Shortly I will start posting pictures of my new house I have spent months decorating and making into our home. Of course these pictures will show perfectly clean and organized rooms, but let's be honest, that is not always the reality around here. Today, I wanted to do what most of the other Mommy home decor blogs don't dare- show you scenes from uglier days... like today.

I got up this morning and cleaned the house like I do most mornings, and it was darn near perfect. But you take ONE phone call and all heck breaks loose. Here are some crime scene photos from the occurrence this morning:


Filler from their St. Patrick's Day baskets with candy wrappers strewn all over the floor...

...and carpet where I am going to have to pick it all out piece by piece by hand

All the books and some toys thrown into the crib:

A hamper of dirty clothes emptied out into the toy box (and I mean dirty-clothes of a toddler boy, yuck!)

And WORST of all- the clothes I folded just THIS MORNING strewn all over Annalise's room in addition to the bedding being pulled off and a lamp knocked over. Looks like the aftermath of a robbery!

They achieved all this in a matter of minutes- it's like they are chaos creating professionals!

Of course I told Annalise she needed to help clean this up, but she's claiming she can't. Apparently she is suffering from a "hurt finger".

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I always felt so "Irish" on St, Patrick's Day because my middle name is a tribute to my Irish heritage. Growing up I was told stories of my great-great grandma Rachel Ellis O'Neil who came over here from Ireland and settled in Midway, Utah. I was named after her and her daughter (who was my great grandma Rachel Violet) and loved hearing stories about the amazing women they are. It was a sad day that I realized that I am really only 1/16 Irish, but I claim it proudly because it is from this amazing Irish woman that a long line of women in my family has come.

My favorite memories of St. Patrick's Day came from Kindergarten and First Grade. In Kindergarten, Mrs. Petersen taught us this song that I still remember to this day and taught to my kids this year:

Today is the day of the wearing of the green
Today is the day when the little people are seen
Today is St. Patrick's Day so if you're Irish me Lad
Join the celebration, there's a lot of fun to be had!

 Then on St. Patrick's Day in first grade, I walked into the classroom to see little black footprints all over the walls and ceiling and learned a leprechaun had snuck into our room looking for gold. This felt like the most exciting day of my life! My Mom heard about this and started doing this as a tradition in our family, and it was always so magical! So of course, I had to continue it.

But first, we had to lure a leprechaun in so me and the kids made a leprechaun trap.

We covered the box with paper that we decorated with "rainbow" colored glitter glue and put stickers on the back. Then on the front we advertised we had "free gold" and put stairs to the top where we had a false floor.  The floor was paper and we made a cut in the paper so when the little leprechaun came to snatch the gold he would fall through.

We also made a rainbow to get his attention- this was definitely the BEST part for the kids. I knew my kiddos were too young to draw a rainbow, so I had the idea they could glue little fuzzy balls in a rainbow shape. First, we had a great time sorting the colors.

 Then I used glue to draw a rainbow arch that Annalise would fill with one color of balls, then I would draw a smaller arch of glue under that one and she would fill it with a different color, and so on...She loved it so much she wanted to make rainbows until all the balls were gone.

The finished project was beautiful and almost all the work was done by Annalise by herself- she was thrilled!

The morning of St. Patricks' Day we checked the trap and found this note:

Dear Kids- HA HA
You tried to trick me, but I tricked you
I took your gold and hid your baskets too!

The leprechaun had escaped with our gold! But we were clever and left some baby powder on the top of the trap so if he did get away we could follow his footprints:

"Footprints" are baby powder and created  by using my pointer and middle finger

They led right out the front door! He was long gone...

The kids found their buckets of treats and green pinwheels that a glued a little rainbow button to:

We dressed in our green:

This was the perfect shirt for Annalise because it says "I'm a Wee Bit Irish"
and that's true- she has only one Irish ancestor that I know of- her great, great, great
grandma- but she is very significant because she is my and Annalise's namesake
for our middle names, which is Rachel. Her name was Rachel Ellis O'Neil and
she created a long line of amazing women starting with her daughter and my great-grandma
"Mama Violet" and her daughter, my absoluley incredible, one of a kind Nana,
then my beautiful and wonderful Mom, then me, and then my darling Annalise.

Best picture I could get of Jonah that day. He felt he needed some
more green, so he smeared frosting all over his shirt!

Then we made some Shamrock cookies for good luck:

Yum!

The night ended with the kids taking a bath in some fun, green colored water! 

Even though I am only (but proudly) 1/16 Irish, I definitely have the "Luck o' the Irish" when it comes to my family!