Harvest Meals

So I'm not sure what's more work, being a single mom when Nick is harvesting at the ranch, or cooking for 5 guys each night when they are harvesting here.  It's obviously lonely without him here and we miss him, but I think it's harder to keep up with the cooking.  I meant to take more picture of us out at the field serving the guys, but it was usually so rushed that I forgot.   But I did take a few of the last meal we served.  Tator Tot hot dish!

In the oven - just waiting for it to be done.  Everything else was loaded in the car already, including kids.  I needed it to stay as hot as possible as we were traveling a few miles and would be serving in shifts.

My transport get-up - waiting on the floor.  I realize this is a stretch, but I imagine this is slightly what an organ transplant is like. (I said slightly, don't jump down my throat)

It's done!  It goes in the bag,

foil on,

zipped up,

wrapped up and ready to go!

I usually just open up the back of my vehicle and serve everyone from there, but it was so cold this particular night so I climbed in the back and filled plates and the guys took turns sitting in the car with us to eat.  The hot dish stayed warm the whole time!  I tried to take a picture, but it's hard to tell.  That's my leg in center bottom - I filled plates and passed them forward.

The kids loved having picnics in the car.  Mackenzie got to sit on the floor in her booster to make more room for guys.  I guess I shouldn't always say 'guys' - Grandma was often driving the combine so we got to feed her too!

(and another because I cut Rylan's head off in the first one, but she's not smiling here)

And my sad sad kitchen after cooking for 4 days and not doing any dishes.  It was bad folks, real bad.  By the time we got home from our field picnic each night, it was time for the kids to go to bed, so I had enough energy to put leftovers in the fridge and that was it.

Play Doh

My end of the year resolution - blog more than the past two months.  Wow, it's just been super busy, but I will take more time to blog about our crazy (but quite normal) life.  One day Mackenzie and I were playing with playdoh so I snapped some pics.

Her delicate little hands

Sweet face and hair getting so long!

Oh yes, we took out everything!  We had a lot of fun!

Boots and Swiper for the Dora set

Rylan's Timeline

This past week I went to Rylan's classroom to participate in a project for American Education Week.  We worked on a timeline for his life and here are the pictures I brought.  We had so much fun working on it together and it's even more fun to see all the 2nd graders' timelines hanging in the hallway.

Brand new!

3 months

6 months

1 year 

2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

7 years

7.5 years

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I found this recipe on Pinterest, but it was to make baked doughnuts.   You can find it here.  I don't have a doughnut pan though so I just made a few changes and made mini muffins - they were delicious!

Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

• 1 cup mashed ripe banana (roughly 2 small bananas)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vanilla greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (melted)
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Mix together the banana, sugar, and greek yogurt.  Mix until incorporated.

3. Add melted butter, eggs and vanilla and mix.

4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the batter and mix until just incorporated.  Do not over mix!

5. Fold in the chocolate chips.

6. Grease your mini muffin pan or use muffin papers - fill each well 3/4 full with batter.

7. Bake 12-15 minutes.

8. Remove from pan and eat as quickly as possible!

Watch the muffins at the end and test with a toothpick often.  I was thinking the tops would darken a bit, but they never did and I think they were a little overdone.  They were delicious while warm and gooey, but seemed to dry out quickly.  They weren't nearly as good the next day.  I maybe would add more banana or yogurt next time and take them out as soon as a toothpick is clean.  These would be perfect to bake up right before a brunch so they all get eaten while warm.  

My Favorite Things

I remember doing a favorite things list a couple years ago when we had the sickness from hell in our house.  All kinds of different stuff went through all of us and it was miserable for weeks.  Seriously, I never want to feel like that again!  And when I think about it now, I'm immediately so thankful that I'm not working anymore.  If that ever happens again, not having to find and plan for a sub for so many days takes 95% of the stress away.  But I remember as I was staying home once again to take care of sick kids I was trying to come up with a blog post and I posted about my favorite things in October of 2010.

Well, I've been taking care of a sick little girl the last few days and I was trying to think of a blog post idea.  Pictures of the sick girl?  No.  A list of all the movies we've watched?  No. The interesting meals I've been making since I'm the only one eating?  No. (Nick and Rylan are deer hunting)  Well, what else do I do when I'm stuck at home?  (not that it's a bad thing, I love not having to go anywhere!)  I do all my favorite things - wear slippers, drink coffee, wash my face, use lotion, shop for Christmas, drink water, eat frozen lemonade, save money, and make muffins!   So while all the things on the previous list are still favorites, here are the newest favs!

Target slippers

I bought a similar pair (camo and covered in sequins - so awesome) for the hunting ranch.  I bought them to stay there but I loved them so much I had to get another pair for at home.  I always have slippers on - not so much because my feet are cold, but walking around on hard tile floors all day hurts my legs and feet.  So I need a little support.  I've tried just wearing (specific indoor) shoes and while that's probably the best for my feet, I just didn't like having shoes on all the time.  These are amazing!  They have more support than my old slippers, they are super soft and super warm, but aren't they just the cutest?!  I know - it's weird to love slippers so much, but I do! 

Coffee

Enough said.

Rodan+Fields

Just over a year ago, 2 dear friends became consultants for this skin care company and invited me to their launch party.  I went to support them, but wasn't sure if I would purchase anything or not.  After hearing amazing stories about their family members, I figured I would give it a try.  I hadn't been thrilled with what I was using on my face at that time, so I switched over and have been using this Redefine line of products ever since.  I can honestly say that this stuff has changed my skin.  I used to always have at least one blemish on my face at any given time, with the blemishes getting worse when I menstruated.  Those blemishes have basically been extinct since I started using this.  That was the biggest relief for me, but I've also noticed that my overall skin tone has gotten more even and I just have a much fresher look.  I used to need make-up every day to feel beautiful and I was starting to think that I definitely looked different with and without make-up.  Now, I regularly go without make-up and I still feel confident about how I look.  I'm often a skeptic about new products, but I can say this stuff is the real deal!

Honest Company

Another company I was first skeptical about.  I started reading Jessica Alba's book, The Honest Life, about her journey to find safe and non-toxic products to use for her children and in their home.  It really made me realize how many products I had been using that had questionable ingredients.  So I ordered the sample kit to try some things out and I've loving everything so far.  The thing I most love though is the face and body lotion.  Mackenzie has seasonal eczema on her hands and now that the weather is getting cold, it has reared it's ugly head.  The backs of her hands get dry, red, itchy, and sore.  I have tried so many different lotions but they all make her cry because they burn - even ones that are marketed for sensitive skin.  I recently got a prescription from our Dr. for a steroid cream to treat it, but knowing how potent it is I was nervous about using it on her.  This Honest lotion was my last-ditch effort before just going with the steroid cream.  The first night putting it on Mackenzie was nervous and so was I - but surprisingly, it didn't hurt her at all!  We have been using it every night for the last week and her hands are clear!  I can't tell you how excited it is to find something for her hands that works!  I love it on my hands as well so this will become another staple in our house!  If you decide you might want to try Honest Company products (my sister swears by their diapers!) send me a message.  There's a referral program that if you sign up through an email I send you - I'll get a $20 credit.  I would really appreciate that, so let me know if you want to sign up, I'll send you an invite! :)

Online Christmas Shopping!

I don't know what kind of picture to add to this, but I've done so much Christmas shopping online the last few days and it feels so good!  Mackenzie and I had to get a few things at Target today and I remembered why I avoid shopping anywhere on the weekends!  I much prefer our Target outings at our normal time - weekdays at 8:00AM!  But I've found so many awesome deals online - all with free shipping and extra coupons - that it makes it that much more fun!  Now I can't wait for the packages to start arriving!  Hopefully they all come in plain boxes so I don't have to tackle the UPS guy before he brings something to the door!

Lemon water

I used to drink a can of Coke almost every afternoon.  I decided I need to stop doing that so I've been drinking more water.  But sometimes water is just so boring - so I add a little fresh squeezed lemon juice for such a refreshing drink!

Frozen Lemonade Cups

Hmm, maybe I'm on a lemon kick.  I recently found these tasty little desserts at Sam's Club and they are delicious.  Frozen lemonade in plain and strawberry.  I love these as an after dinner snack!

Target Cartwheel App

My new favorite app!  You browse through for extra deals that are available (most are a % off the price), add them to your cart, then have the cashier scan your phone at the checkout and all discounts are applied.  Seriously, saving money does not get any easier!  Sometimes I just browse to see what's available and I buy those things and other times, I'll make my grocery list and then look to see if any of those are on sale.  I've only used it a handful of times and I've already saved over $20 on stuff.  Most grocery items are 5-10% off, but other big items like home decor, furniture and toys are regularly 15-20%, sometimes 30% off.  Those are good savings!  And there's no cutting or remembering to bring coupons with!  It's awesome!

These amazing banana chocolate chip mini muffins

I saw these on Pinterest the other day and they are amazing!  Actually it was a baked donut recipe but I don't have a donut pan so I used my mini muffin pan.  The crazy lady in my head told me to rush out and buy a donut pan, but I'm glad I didn't - these turned out perfectly and they're easier to eat as bite-sized little muffins.  I will share the recipe on a later blog post, so watch for it!  

*edited to add*  Ha, I guess it is a recurring thing - I just found another one of my posts that was about favorite things - it was in 2011 when Rylan was home sick one day!  Yep, those are all still favorites too!  Well, except for the slippers, these new ones trump all the others I've ever had!

*and another favorite post - this time no one was sick though and it was less than a year ago, Jan. 2013.  See it here!

Also, Mackenzie was feeling much better today, so I'm thrilled about that!  I hope I don't have to do anymore favorite things posts again for a long time!  :)

Ariel Costume Tutorial

I'll start with the tutu skirt.

1. Cut your piece of elastic - accounting for the sewed overlap.  I ended up having the length of the sewed loop being 1 1/2 inches smaller than Mackenzie's waist size.

2. Sew the ends together - however you want.  I thought it looked pretty with a nice 'X' through the middle, so I did an 'X' - no clue if that's helpful or not.

3. Start cutting tulle pieces.  I just bought a whole bolt of it since I was making 2 skirts and I really had no idea how much I would need.  I discovered later that you can buy tulle in 6" wide spools.  That would have saved some time, but I assume they would be much more expensive.  Anyhow, here's what I did.  You need a whole bunch of strips that are 6" wide.  The width of the tulle on the bolt ended up being the perfect length for the skirts I made, so it was nice I just had to cut strips and didn't have to shorten the ends up.  What you see pulled out on the floor there is still doubled up, so I cut through 2 layers at once - big time saver!

4. It worked perfectly to line up the tulle with the lines on my tile floor.  I pulled it over to the left until it was even with the tape measure and then cut along the grout line.  

5. I ended up using 54 strips of tulle for each skirt, so keep cutting!

6. Now to assemble the skirt.  Grab a strip of tulle in the center like this.

7. Put the loop under the elastic.

8. Fold the loop over the front of the elastic.

9. Pull the ends through the loop.

10. Pull tight so it looks like this. 

11. Continue tying strips on, bunching them close enough to cover the elastic.  If you want a really full skirt, bunch them as close as possible and you'll fit more.  I didn't do that because with a skirt this length, it was plenty full for little girls.

12. To tie the diamond pattern on the outside, it worked best for me wear the skirt on my thigh so I could use both hands.  I suppose this is why people have a body form, but I don't, so thankfully Mackenzie's little waist size still fits on my leg.  

13. Pick two strips as far apart or as close together as you want and tie them in a double knot a couple inches down.

14. This part seems pretty self-explanatory, but I'll continue.  Keep tying until you've gone all the way around.

15. Of the pieces that have already been tied, take 1 each of neighboring knots and tie those together.

16. Continue tying until you get to the end of the tulle strip.  If left just like this, the diamond pattern wants to ride up .  So I took one last strip of tulle, threaded it through the bottom diamond, pulled it as tight as I wanted, then just tied the ends in a bow.  

17.  For an active little girl, the diamond pattern still rides up a little, but it's easy to just yank it down again.  I think it's so cute because it flares out like a mermaid tail at the bottom!  I sort of want to make a big one for me!

Now on to the top.  I found these pink velvety leotards at Once Upon A Child (a second-hand children's shop) and they worked perfectly.  There was no way I was just going to put a bikini/shell top on my daughter with nothing underneath.  Not only because it would be completely inappropriate, but because it's cold here for Halloween and kids need something warm.  I contemplated making cloaks to wear also, but thankfully I didn't need to.  :)

1. Measure a strip of fabric that is your desired width (top to bottom) and hem the top and bottom edges.

2. Starting with just one side, lay the fabric on the leo right when you want it to be and cut along the shape of the leo's side seams - leaving an extra 1/4" for hemming.

3. I tucked the edge under and sewed it on the leo all in once step, but you could first hem it and then sew it on.  I didn't wrap it around the back at all, just stopped at the side seam.

 4. Cut a little strip of the purple fabric and tie it around the strip in the middle of the chest.  I did this before sewing the other edge because you have to have enough give or it will look stretched out when you put it on.

5. Shape each 'cup' to desired size/shape and pin fabric to the leo.  Sew the other side on, and then all the top and bottom edges.  I first tried to leave it with just the sides sewn, but when she put it on, it stretched out and looked like weird triangles instead of rounded shapes, so I had to sew the whole thing on.  I love how it turned out!

Ta-da!  All done!

I tried making a wig out of a crocheted headband and red yarn, but Mackenzie told me it looked ridiculous (well her actually word was 'a-dic-a-lous') so we scrapped that idea.  Still a perfectly cute little mermaid!