Rylan's In A Book!

I had seen these personalized books on Shutterfly's website, but was skeptical that it would be done well.  Then I saw one a friend had for her daughter and it was so awesome.  I was going to get them for my kids for Christmas, but around that time the Dora and Diego ones weren't available anymore.  I had given up, figuring they didn't have a license to print them anymore.  But lo and behold, they're back!  

Rylan loves his new book and although they are a little pricey, you can usually get free shipping over $30 and there are always deals/coupons around if you sign up for email updates.  

But even full price, this book is worth it.  I think it has around 40 pages, the pictures are great, the story is cute and kids think it's the neatest thing to see themselves in a book!

 Mackenzie is getting the Dora one for her birthday!

Shoes!

One of my favorite brands of kids shoes is Pediped.  A friend introduced me to them when Rylan was a baby and I'm addicted.  Their shoes are super cute, comfortable, flexible, and many styles are machine washable (LOVE).  They now have three different lines available; Originals for infants and those learning to walk (0-24 months), Grip 'n' Go for toddlers getting more stable on their feet (sizes 4-7) and Flex for big kids (sizes 5 kids - 2 youth).  Visit the website for more info on each line and see all the darling styles they have.  www.pediped.com

One of the best parts is that Pediped shoes have the Seal of Acceptance from the American Podiatric Medical Association, so not only are they adorable, they also promote quality foot health.  There are so many kids shoes out there that have no support or aren't flexible and I'm just not willing sacrifice that with my kids' feet.  As a woman, I know what it's like to go for style instead of comfort and while I can handle it for a night out, I won't do that to my kiddos every single day.

There aren't any local stores that sell Pedipeds, so I usually buy them right from the Pediped website: www.pediped.com.  But recently, I found another site that sells them that had free shipping and free returns.  I hope I don't have to return for different sizes, but just in case, it's nice when it's free.  (The Pediped website usually has free shipping when you order a certain $ amount.)  Also, this new site still had styles that the Pediped site was sold out of.

The site I recently bought them from is a store called Itsy Bitsy Baby Store.  Because I'm a new customer there, they sent me a direct link to share with friends for a discount!  If you use this link: http://itsybitsybabystore.refr.cc/V84BVT8 
to shop at their site, you get 10% off!  So if you want to try some Pedipeds, go for it!  And with free shipping and returns, you can hardly go wrong!  Leave a comment or email me if you have any questions.  Obviously, I give 2 thumbs up for these shoes and I can't imagine you wouldn't like them.

Also, I just saw on the Pediped website that they have a great sale going on for a few of their styles right now.  I just ordered a pair for Rylan that was 65% off!  Here's a link to the sale page:
http://www.pediped.com/flash2012.aspx

Happy Shopping!

Gettin' Crafty

I'm not really a crafty or creative person.  I fake it by getting ideas online, but I rarely think of things on my own.  I'm learning though and I'm enjoying it.  I've never been big on home decor or design and I struggle with that.  (My sister got those genes.)  So decorating our house has been a little frustrating for me.  When I do something, I doubt myself, wondering if it's lame or not.  I suppose I shouldn't care if other people think it's lame though, as long as I like it.

Anyhow, I love looking for ideas on Pinterest!   One thing I recently saw is this.  Chalkboards on the inside of pantry doors for weekly menus and grocery lists!

http://www.lovelyish.com/761691332/14-more-simple-organization-ideas/

I love this idea but our pantry is like a closet, so it has a regular wood door on it.  We aren't going to ruin our beautiful wood by painting it with chalkboard paint.  So I had an idea to get some cool old frames from a thrift store or garage sale and use those for chalkboards on the wall inside our pantry!  WooHoo!  I  (kinda) came up with a crafty idea!  

So off I went to the thrift store.  They didn't have anything that was big enough, but I couldn't pass up this little gem for $1.50.

Boring?  Yes.  But I saw potential!  It's hard to see but the frame is pretty cool with detailing all the way around.  As a whole, it's so plain and bland, but I was imagining something amazing.  Right away, I envisioned it turquoise (told you I'm into it lately), but didn't know what was going to go in it.  I started thinking and decided a nice quote would look good in there.   Something inspirational to hang in my bedroom or bathroom.  Where else do I go looking for that but Pinterest!  I knew someone who had a board of quotes and I found the perfect one.  I printed it off on cardstock, found some green and blue paint in the garage to mix, and got to work.  I wasn't planning on using the mat, but it looked good with my quote so I left it in.  My end product turned out even better than I expected!

And guess what?  I don't even care if you think it's lame, because I LOVE IT!  :)  I put it here so I can see it every morning.

Go me!  I thought of this whole project all by myself!  Now I just need to settle down because I'm ready to paint lots of things turquoise!

Oh, and I'm still looking for the perfect frames to use as chalkboards in my pantry.  Hopefully I'll have those pictures to post within a few weeks!

Freezer Enchiladas

Another recipe!  I made these a couple weeks ago and I had forgotten how easy they are and how nice it is to have a couple meals in the freezer.  

Freezer Enchiladas

1 pound ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 cup water
2 cups cooked rice
1 can refried beans
shredded cheddar cheese
10-12 flour tortillas
1 jar (16 oz) salsa
1 can cream of chicken soup

Cook beef, drain, stir in water and taco seasoning.  Bring to boil, then simmer 5 minutes. Stir in rice.

Spread about 2 tablespoons refried beans, 1/4 cup beef mixture, and cheese on tortilla.  Roll up, seam side down in baking dish.

Combine salsa and soup, pour over top, then sprinkle on more cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Freeze for up to 3 months.  Thaw in fridge overnight, cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, uncovered for another 5-10 minutes.

The picture above is how I prepare them for the freezer; each in wax paper and on a pan.  The next day when they are frozen, I leave them in the wax paper and put them in a Ziploc freezer bag.  When you take them out to thaw, take the wax paper off and put in the dish you will be baking in, or the sauce gets messy.  Super easy and delicious!

Searching For The Deal

I received a lot of good qualities from my mom, like her beauty, her genuine care for others, her desire to please, her urge to feed anyone who comes over, and her love for God.  I also got my shopping skills from her!

I've always loved shopping with my mom and she taught me how to find the good deals; something that is hidden in the back on a clearance rack, using coupons, or at a garage sale.  This time of year, I'm all about the garage sales!  As a kid, I remember going to garage sales with her and loving to find little things in a free box.  As I got older and developed a teenage attitude, I was too cool to go with her, and also too cool to be wearing clothes from garage sales.  But I still secretly longed to go with her and find those great deals.  Going to garage sales is a bit like looking for 4-leaf clovers as a kid.  You can look all day long and not find anything, but when you do, it's all worth it.

I still love to go shopping (mall or garage sales) with my mom just for the social aspect.  We talk and laugh and just have a good time.  But it's so much more fun when we can find all the good deals.  She was staying with us last week and we hit up some of the season's first garage sales in our area.  It was so much fun and I found some good stuff.  I mostly look for kid stuff at garage sales, but sometimes can find things for me as well.  I like my kids to look nice and I'm willing to buy brand new clothes for them in fall and winter, but for summer when they are dirty all the time?  Second-hand is the way to go.  You can find super cute clothes in great shape, but for $0.50, you don't care about them getting dirty!  It's a win-win if you ask me!

Anyhow, so I might start sharing some of my best finds this spring/summer.  Here's my first.  I'm loving turquoise lately and I found this adorable purse.  They claimed it was brand-new, but didn't have tags on it.  It certainly looks brand new and guess how much I paid for it.  $6!!!!
It's super soft leather, very spacious and so dang cute!

Now if only I had inherited my mom's love of cleaning.

Edible Jello Aquariums

I first saw these little gems here:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/desserts/edible-art-00100000064492/index.html?xid=checklistnewsletter-01-23-2012

This is the recipe I followed, but I couldn't find white cranberry juice and white grape juice was too much of a yellow-y color.  My mom suggested we use Sprite with unflavored gelatin and it worked out great.  It didn't taste as sweet as you would expect from jello, but just more of a light refreshing taste.

The recipe also used gum for the weeds, but the only green gum I could find (without going to every store in town) was minty and I didn't want a minty taste in the jello.  I found some green Fruit by the Foot and used that, it worked great.  I was worried that it would dissolve in the jello overnight, but it only got a little soft and actually made it look a little more authentic.

I found a package of Swedish Fish that had all different sea creatures at our grocery store, so that's what I used for the gummies.  Also at our grocery store I discovered Jello has an unflavored gelatin that is meant to be used for soda, it's called Mixchief.

I didn't know if this was any different than the plain unflavored gelatin, but it was more expensive, so I went with the other stuff.

Here is another version that specifically used the Mixchief Jello brand gelatin.
http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/2011/08/mini-jello-fish-bowls/
I found this one before the party, but I hadn't paid much attention to the actual recipe, just the part about transferring the set jello to another jar to keep the candy rocks from getting mushy.  Looking at her pictures though, you can see all the little bubbles in the jello from the soda, so this mix must be a little different.  I would do this next time.

Anyhow, here is the recipe that I used.

Edible Jello Aquariums
4 cups Sprite
3 (.25 oz) packets unflavored gelatin
1 drop blue food coloring
Fruit By the Foot Flavor Kickers Sweet-N-Sour
Swedish Fish Aqua Life gummy candy

1. Place 1 cup of the Sprite in a bowl.  Sprinkle with gelatin and let sit for 2 minutes.  Bring the remaining 3 cups of Sprite to a boil.  (in microwave or stove top)

2. Pour hot Sprite over the gelatin mixture and stir until the gelatin is dissolved.  Add the food coloring and let cool to room temperature.

3. Cut the Fruit by the Foot into strips resembling weeds.  Press them inside 6 to 8 oz. glasses.  Dividing evenly, gently pour the gelatin mixture into each cup, leaving tops of weeds exposed.  Refrigerate until firm, 2 to 3 hours.

4. Up to 1 hour before serving, use a paring knife to make vertical cuts in the gelatin and insert the gummies.  You can put them in earlier, they actually don't dissolve much, but the color bleeds into the jello.

Bowling With Friends

We did the first "friend" birthday party this year for Rylan.  We have always just done family stuff, but after being invited to a few birthday parties for his friends from school, he really wanted to have his own party for his friends.  So I whipped up an invitation and we planned a party!

We kept it small, 6 kids total and they had a blast!

A Little Fishy

We had a fish party for Rylan's birthday!

Bluey was our centerpiece.

Individual edible aquariums for everyone (I'll post the recipe sometime)

Blue velvet fish cupcakes (with droopy Starburst tails)

And a few plain ones with just icing and crumbled cupcake on top

So much food coloring, but it was worth it.  Check out that awesome color!  I posted the recipe here.

It was so fun to design everything myself this year.  I love how all the labels and the banner turned out!

We couldn't have a fish party without serving Goldfish crackers!  Who knew there were so many varieties to choose from?  We had regular cheese, chocolate graham, and vanilla cupcake to choose from.

I found all these colored bowls and trays at the dollars store!

The PB&J were fish shaped, but only Rylan wanted one, so I just made one for him.  I was tempted to make a bunch just for the picture, but the sensible part of my brain won that battle.

My lovies!

6 candles!

Rylan with Great Grandma Mac

Katie and Brian

Grandma and Grandpa from the farm

Tom and Patti

Grandma and Grandpa from across the street

Birthday Boy!

This is what Rylan woke up to on his birthday.  He was so excited about the balloons that he didn't even notice the present. 

6 years old!!!!!

When he lifted the box up of his present, he still didn't see the fish bowl until we moved the balloons out of the way.  He was so excited!

Rylan did a little thinking, but then settled on "Bluey" for our new fish's name.

Birthday Boy!

Rylan turned 6 last weekend and we celebrated for 3 days!  I had a little teary moment the night before his birthday when I was re-reading his birth story, remembering all the emotions that accompany the birth of your child.  Part of me wishes he was still that tiny baby, part of me wishes he would stop growing right now (okay, that part is pretty big), but I can't help but be excited for him as he grows up because I'm so proud of him!  I love him more than he will ever know!

We started the weekend off with dinner out at a restaurant.  He wanted to go somewhere where they would sing to him or make him feel special.  We chose Texas Roadhouse because they have good food, it's not a big deal if kids make a mess, and Rylan would get to sit on a saddle while they announced his birthday to everyone for a big "Yee-Haw!"  He was so excited to go and told our waiter right away that it was his birthday.  He decided he better wear a cowboy hat to dinner if he was going to sit on a saddle and he was the most handsome cowboy in there! (not that I'm biased or anything) :)

More about the birthday weekend to come!