Winter Beauty

Yesterday, Chris and I found ourselves with a couple hours to spare
sans kiddos!
And because he knows and love me,
he suggested we spend some time outside so that I could play with my camera.

Babe, thank you.
I love you so much for that.


This next one might be my favorite.
The beauty of all the branches going every which way.
Natural chaos.
Reminds me of my life, most days :)

Oh, and this one.
Chris suggested I take this angle shot of the bench
and I am in LOVE with it.

Even though we only lasted about 45 minutes
in the FREEZING cold...
(eek! I seriously thought my fingers were going to fall off)

It was the most fun I have had in a looooong time!

Taking in the winter beauty.
Spending alone time with my best friend.
It was the perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Chris,
I love you more and more
everyday.

What's in your lunchbox?

I HATE packing our son's lunch for school.
Well, that's not entirely true.
What I hate is deciding what to pack for his lunch....
If you can relate, please raise your hand.
;)

I am a last minute kinda gal and typically pack his lunch in the morning while the kids eat breakfast (confession time: the real reason I do this is because Chris drives him to school in the morning and the fact that I still have to make his lunch forces me out of bed. Otherwise I'd probably just roll over and have our son get his own breakfast while I stayed in bed. HA!)

Chris came up with an awesome idea, to share my school lunch menu with you and hopefully have you share yours with me!
See, over the last couple of weeks I've noticed a few different friends writing about the "school lunch struggle" on facebook and thought, maybe this would be a great way to give each other some new ideas.

So, every Sunday, for the month of February I am going to post what I plan on sending in my son's lunch for the week.
And invite you to write your lunch ideas in the comments.
My hope is for us to give each other some fun new ideas on what to send our kids for lunch.

One day last year, while volunteering in my son's class, I saw one of the kids open up his thermos and pull out chicken nuggets. Chicken Nuggets?? They were kept warm in a thermos with sweet and sour sauce in another container to dip! So easy! Why hadn't I thought of that??

See, what I'm sayin'? Something easy that you may do all the time, just may excite someone else!
:)

Now, for those of you who don't have kids, but make your own lunch and bring it to work please include your menu. You probably have a TON of great ideas!
And you mamas who have sweet munchkins who are still too little for school, feel free to speak up too. I am certain you have some fun creative lunch ideas up your sleeves!

Let's get started...
Warning: My menu is a little boring. Remember, I am also someone looking for new ideas to spice things up...

School Lunch Menu February 8-12

Monday: Spaghetti (when I make spaghetti, I always make extra and freeze it in small kid-sized portions. In the morning I pull one out, heat it up in the microwave and throw it in a thermos. My big boy LOVES it!)

Tuesday: Ham and cheese sandwich (very exciting stuff)

Wednesday: It's pizza day at the school! Lalalala...My favorite day!

Thursday: Leftover Veggie Chili (my son eats a lot of leftovers... again I freeze small portions and pull one out to send in his lunch)

Friday: (On fridays my son gets out at 12:30, so we have lunch at home)
Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches

So, what's in your/ your kid's lunchbox this week?

Valentines Brownie Bites

This morning the girls and I spent some time
together in our kitchen.


They were great little helpers...
especially when it came time to lick the spoon :)

After whipping up a quick batch of brownie bites,
(they were such a hit at Christmas, we just had to try them again!)
we (I) piped on some yummy white icing,

I think they look so pretty just like that but we
decided to add a few sprinkles,

And topped them off with
hearts and kisses!


Easy and Delicious!

Triple Chocolate Sour Cream Brownie Bites- Valentine Style!
(recipe from Short Stop)

One (9x13") box brownie mix, prepared
1 cup sour cream (I used a little less maybe 3/4 cup)
1 cup chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate kisses)
2 tablespoons flour
1 can chocolate frosting

Prepare brownie batter according to package directions. Stir in sour cream.

Pour chocolate chips and flour into a small bowl. Toss chocolate chips and flour. (This will keep the chocolate chips from falling to the bottom.) Add chocolate chips to brownie batter.

Grease mini muffin tins or line with mini-muffin liners.
Fill tins 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely.

Fill frosting bag or sandwich baggie with frosting. Pipe frosting in swirls onto brownies.

Photo Canvas Collages

Ever since getting a digital camera I have been terrible at printing pictures.
And by terrible I mean, I only print them if I get a frame and need a picture to put in it.
And even then, it usually takes me months to get my butt into walmart to get them developed.

My grandma gave us a beautiful picture stand for Christmas a couple of years ago and it took me almost an entire year to fill it with pictures. We lovingly called the people in the frames "our Costco family" and pretended like we knew them. Ya, we're cool like that.

Well, I decided that we really needed to showcase our pictures more and so I decided to make some canvas collages.
(thanks Chelly for the inspiration!)

Wanna see how?
Alrighty.

Step one: Print your pictures.
Now, I know I am always a step behind in the technology dept. but did you know that you can actually email your pictures in to walmart and pick them up less than an hour later. This is very exciting news, people! (maybe now I'll print more pictures...)

Step two: Paint your canvas. I decided to paint mine this brown/taupish color. I wanted something neutral that would work anywhere in the house. (I just used Folk Art acrylic paint #472 Mushroom), but you can go crazy with whatever paint color you want.
Oh, and I only painted the sides. The rest will be covered up with pictures.



Step three: Lay your pictures out on your canvas and play around with them until you like how it looks. I decided to do three canvas because I am crazy and couldn't decided which pictures to use and which ones not to. It's like trying to decide which kid you love best. It just can't be done.
So, I made two black and white canvas and one color one... and I love them all the same :D

Step four: cut those babies up so that you have lots of fun different shapes and sizes.

Step five: (muy importante!!) take a picture of your pictures, so that you can reference it when it's time to glue!


Step six: Mod Podge baby!

Cover your canvas and the back of each picture in mod podge.
Once all your pictures are on, apply a coat of mod podge over the entire thing.
Let it dry and add another coat.

Step Seven: Enjoy! Super easy right? My kids have had so much fun looking at them, and our baby girl especially loves pointing to the different pictures and telling me who she sees. "Papa" "Daddy" "Mommy".... so cute!

Oh, one last thing, find a wall and hang these babies up.

I found the perfect place for the color one to live... but with the black and white ones I have yet to find just the right spot...


That's right Chris, a fun night of holding these babies up while I decide where they look good awaits you!
Aren't you excited?!
This makes you want to come home right now doesn't it?!
:)

Happy canvas collage making everyone!

This post is linked to:
A Soft Place to Land "Do it Yourself Day"
Today's Creative Blog "Get your craft on"

Shower Love

Confession:
I adore pregnant bellies.
It's true.
I think they are the ultimate in beauty.

My wonderful friend is just a few weeks from her due date and
just being around her makes me want to have another one.
Ahhhhhh!
:)

This past weekend we celebrated with a baby shower for her.
And like with any gathering of women, there was lots of talk.
Labors were compared.
Newborn sleep patterns discussed.
Lots of advice.
Fun Stories.

And there was some spoiling.
Cute baby clothes.
Toys.
Diapers.
Blankets.
All things baby.

We played fun games.
Ate delicious food.
And enjoyed a little cake.

Oh, Beautiful Karine!

I can't wait to meet little Baby Baker... how about this week?!
Pretty please, I need to hold a newborn again!
:)

Veggie Chili and Yummy {egg-free} Cornbread

This chili is sooooo good.
To get my husband to enjoy a meal that doesn't have meat in it is a real challenge, and this one did just that :)
And a big bonus- even after eating leftovers the next day I was still able to freeze two full family meals. Love that.

Now, for the record I was afraid of the corn bread.
For some reason making cornbread has always intimidated me. (I even had to ask a lady at the grocery store where to find the cornmeal. Ha!)
I have no idea what my problem was. It wasn't even that hard, but boy do I feel accomplished now!
:)
Jenni you are so awesome, thanks again for the wonderful recipes!

I had to improvise just a little because, sadly, I don't own a dutch oven. Tear.
Instead I used my slow cooker and thankfully it still turned out great!

Vegetarian Chili
(slightly adapted from Swimming in Sugar and Spice)

1 chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp cooking oil
2 14.5-oz cans diced tomatoes
1 12-oz bottle of beer ( I used beef broth, because that's all I had in the pantry)
1 cup water
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
8 oz pizza sauce
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sea salt mix (just a blend of various spices that I use in everything. It's totally optional, but adds yummy flavor)
3 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups whole kernel corn (fresh or frozen)
1 cup chopped zucchini
2 cup carrots
Shredded Mexi-blend cheese for topping (optional)

In a large skillet cook green pepper, onion and garlic in hot oil over medium heat until tender, stirring occasionally.
Place in the bottom of slow cooker.
Stir in undrained tomatoes, broth, water, tomato sauce, pizza sauce, chili powder, oregano, cumin, black pepper, salt, sea salt mix, beans, corn, carrot, and zucchini.

Cook on low for about 6-7 hours.
If desired, top each serving with cheese.


Egg-free Cornbread
(from Swimming in Sugar and Spice)

1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 Tbsp vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 9-inch square baking dish and set aside.
Combine milk and vinegar, and let stand.
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add the milk mixture and the oil to the dry ingredients and stir until just blended.
Pour batter into baking dish and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Potty Training {Round 3}

Taking a deep breath...

and hoping
that this time around we get it!