Our Teachers are SOUPER!

I just joined the PTA.  Figured it would be a good way to get involved in my childrens school.  And last week I was VERY involved.  As in I ended up being in charge of a teacher appreciation dinner last minute.  Delegating is not one of my stregnths so I did it all (minus providing 1 package of napkins... somebody donated those).  If you find yourself in the same boat, you may find this post very helpful:)

THEME & DECOR:  OUR TEACHERS ARE SOUPER! 

• theme taped to wall above main table  (scroll to bottom for banner letters)
• cute signs placed on talbes 
• printables to introduce the food 

MENU:  The dinner was for the teachers and staff during partent/teacher conferences, and needed to be ready at all times during a 4 hour stretch- depending on when each teacher had a break in their schedule.  Thank goodness for friends... I had one crockpot & 4 soups.  Love that so many were so willing to part with their beloved crockpots for a day or two.

     SOUPS- seriously, you cannot go wrong with The Pioneer Woman or Our Best Bites.  Everything I've tried from either of them as been amazing.  So I knew I could trust these recipes without testing them beforehand.  The other two recipes are favorites.  Women tend to love the Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup and the Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower is a childhood favorite (infact, my soon-to-be 6 year old wants it for each meal on her birthday coming up in a few weeks). 

• Chicken Soup from The Pioneer Woman  
• Minestrone Soup from Our Best Bites 
• Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup  
• Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Cauliflower Soup
• 2lb head cauliflower and/or broccoli, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 6 chicken boullion cubes
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 1 t worchestershire sauce
• 2 c cream
• 3 T cornstarch with 3 T water
• 8 oz grated med. or sharp cheddar

Cook cauliflower/ broccoli, green onions, boullion and water 15 minutes, until tender. Add worchestershire & cream and bring to a boil. Slowly add cornstarch and water combo. Boil about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Can garnish with green onions and cheese.

     BREAD BOWLS-  because nothing says 'soup' like a bread bowl.  I had originally planned on purchasing these from Panera, but my favorite local bakery made them for me for about half the price.  They don't make them on a daily basis (at least at my bakery), so special ordering is a must!

     SALAD-  Decided to go with a basic salad... premade iceburg blend (so cheap!), then added in some fancier greens to dress it up a bit.  Tomatoes, shredded cheese & croutons on top.  A few dressing options.

     PUMPKIN PIE-  Costco seriously has amazing pumpkin pie in the fall.  It is huge, only $5.99 & amazing.  That with a can of whipped topping made for the perfect dessert for a chilly autumn night.

     BROWNIES-  Can't go wrong with such a yummy basic as a backup for the crazy people who don't like pumpkin pie.

     MINTS-  With a cute note saying 'YOU WERE MINT TO TEACH'  attached to the basket.  Which was red.  And oh, so cute!

     DRINKS-  Kept cold in a cooler full of ice just below the dessert table.

• water bottles.  On the table above were individual packets of Crystal Light for those who prefer a little more than water flavor.
• IZZE Sparkling Juice... you seriously can't go wrong with it.  Seriously.

BUDGET:  The budget was $250.  For 50 people.  Each soup recipe was doubled.  Way too much salad.  50 bread bowls.  Mints to feed an army (thanks, Costco).  3 pumpkin pies.  3 boxes of brownies.  68 water bottles.  24 Izze's.  Individual packets of Crystal Light.  Plus Costco sized plates, bowls, spoons, forks, knives.  Spent a total of $275.  Not worried because come February, I'll be doing all of this again & I still have plenty of papergoods, mints, napkins, water bottles & Crystal Light. 

FEEDBACK:  Everybody loved it.  Recipes were requested, I was told I was hired, was a superstar, etc.  Everybody truley felt appreciated.  I guess the pressure is really on for February!  How can I top such super soups?

Easy and Inexpensive DIY Bookshelves

For the longest time I’ve wanted some wall bookshelves in both the playroom and my kids bedroom. I kept thinking I’d do the rain gutter ones that are all over the blogosphere right now, but for some reason they kind of intimidated me (I’m not comfortable with that section of my home improvement store). I finally decided to make my own out of wood.

I got the plans from Ana White (if you don’t know about her site yet, check it out – she’s awesome!). She did 8 foot long ledges. Mine are each a little less than 2 feet each. The beauty of this project is you can customize them however you want. They can be as long as you’d like and as deep as you’d like (up to at least 9 inches). Mine are just under 5 inches deep. I just measured the spaces I wanted to put them and decided how big I wanted them.

I went to Home Depot for the wood because I don’t have a power saw and they’ll cut it for me. I went, picked out the lumber I wanted, figured out how I’d like it cut and they did it for me. (It’s supposed to be 2 free cuts then something like 20 cents each cut after that, but I’ve never been charged before.) I then brought the cut pieces home and put them together! They were really easy. I spray painted them with paint I had around, though next time I’ll use regular paint and a brush because it took a million coats to cover some of the knots in the wood, even with spray paint primer.

I hung them up and admired my work. And then decided I wanted to play with my Silhouette…

So I added this cute quote with vinyl and I love how it turned out!


I love their little reading corner now! (This is in their playroom – the books were on a toy shelf across the room before.)


One of the best things is my kids don’t mind cleaning up the books with these shelves. I guess it’s easier for them. Or they’re just liking the “newness” of these shelves. Either way, I’m a fan.

This is a little reading section in their bedroom. I haven’t added any vinyl and don’t know that I will because there’s an alphabet wall above the shelf (I’ll share that someday) and it’s already a bit busy.

The shelves seriously took hardly any time at all to build. And they didn’t cost much either. I meant to keep better track of how much they were, but I have a bad memory (I’m almost 8 months pregnant, plus have 2 little kids at home, so it’s understandable, right?). I think they cost around $10 for all 3 of them, not including paint, screws, or vinyl (all of which I already had).

So there you have it! Super cute, easy, customizable book shelves (or any other kind of shelf) for cheap!

Free Printable 4th of July Subway Art

I had so much fun making the baptism subway art, I decided to work on a 4th of July one (even though I know there are tons out there on the web already). Here's what I came up with:

And if you like it you can print it for free! (If you try this, please let me know whether or not it works... I am new to this sharing documents thing)

Free Printable 4th of July Subway Art

It's an 8x10. If you want a 5x7 just change the setting on your printer (I change it to print two pages to a page).

Enjoy!

Free Printable Baptism Subway Art

My niece is getting baptized tomorrow (Kim's daughter) and I told her I wanted to be in charge of some baptism subway art for it (I have a slight obsession with cute subway art). I had something pinned from months ago that I was planning to use, but when I went back to print it today it was no longer free. So... I made one myself. It's not perfect, but I think it turned out cute. I was also able to customize it with her name, the date, and in the colors they're decorating the little party after, so it ended up being a better thing to make my own.

 I had so much fun with it that I decided to make a generic one that could be used for any girls baptism (meaning I took out the name and date)

I've never done a Google Doc link to a pdf before, so I really hope this works.

Free Printable Subway Art for Girl Baptism

Enjoy!

My Mom- and Why I Want to be Just Like Her

In honor of Mother’s Day, I wanted to write a little something about what I’ve learned from my mom.

I could go on and on about my mom and her amazing qualities (as I’m sure most of you could about your own moms), but instead I want to share 3 stories that I feel shows the kind of mother she is and the kind of mother I want to be.

1. I loved climbing trees as a kid, and luckily my backyard had three huge ones that were perfect for climbing. One day I was hanging out on a branch reading. The window to the kitchen was open and I called to my mom to bring me some tortilla chips to eat while I was up there. She brought me a sandwich baggie full of chips, which I hung from a little twig right within perfect reaching distance. And then when I’d finished that bag I called to her and she refilled it again. And again. And again. I don’t know how many times she ended up refilling that thing, just that it was quite a few times, yet my mom never seemed annoyed by it. Although I was young then (probably around 9) I knew my mom was willing to do that for me because she loved me.

2.  I’ve had a lot of weird health problems for as long as I can remember. My mom took me to doctor after doctor trying to figure it out. Each one would send me to a different specialist, but they could never fully figure it out. In fact, one doctor was convinced it must have been in my head, yet my mom always believed me. She has always been my biggest advocate.

At the time I didn’t realize what an emotional and physical drain that must have been on her. Taking me to appointment after appointment, trying to convince doctors that although all my tests showed that I should be feeling great, I wasn’t, and comforting me when I wasn’t feeling well. It had to be exhausting, but she kept at it.

3. When I was a teenager I had a midnight curfew on the weekends. I was quite social and was out with friends almost every Friday and Saturday and I’d stay out with them all the way up till 12:00 even if we really weren’t doing anything. I knew that every night when I got home at least one of my parents would be up waiting for me. Usually my mom.

I didn’t understand why she was always so tired and upset if I was late. It was only 12. I could have kept going till at least 1:00!

Now that I’m a mom myself, I get it. It’s not easy to stay awake till midnight anymore. And by the time my kids are teenagers I’m sure it’ll be even harder. Yet my mom did it every night. She never went to bed before all her children were safely home (unless my dad was able to stay awake that night). Plus, once we got home she’d stay up and talk with us as we told her all about our night. So even though we’d get home at midnight, we usually didn’t head to bed till after 12:30.

And my mom definitely woke up earlier than I did the next day. And she didn’t get the afternoon naps I often took after school. How she did it, I still don’t know. I guess I better figure it out because I’m going to do that with my kids. It will show them how much I care, just as I knew my mom did.

I’m so grateful for my mom. She’s taught me many things, but these three examples are standing out most to me right now. I think mostly, they show that she gave of herself.

I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her. I only have 2 kids, yet I’m not as good at giving them myself as she was with her 7. I’m hoping that writing this down will help me remember how important it is. I always knew how much she loved me because she showed me.

Photo from here

Parenting: Easter egg hunt and dealing with disappointments

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about parenting in this day and age. It’s different for my kids than it was when I was their age. I’m not going to go completely into that now because there’s too much to say about it. I’m just going to focus on one aspect.

Many kids these days aren’t allowed to feel disappointment. Their parents try to protect their emotions at all costs. And I get why: it’s hard to see your child hurt. But…

We have to remember that it’s good for them too. In this day and age where “everyone is a winner” we, as parents, need to remember that it’s our job to also teach them that it’s okay to lose. It’s okay to have disappointments. Life goes on.

My kids are only 2 and 4, so I haven’t had a lot of experience with this yet, but I’ve been thinking a lot about it since going to a city Easter egg hunt with them.

I was visiting my parents and my mom was so sweet to walk down to the park with me and the kids to go to the Easter egg hunt (and to do most of the kid carrying since I was pregnant and exhausted). They had the park sectioned off into areas by age, so that it would be more fair, so my mom took Logan to the 0-3 year olds area and I took Kaylee to the 4-6 year old area.
Kaylee was so excited!
She kept asking me to take pictures of her posing with her basket while we waited.
When the siren went off, it was a mad house! It wasn’t a hard egg hunt. There were tons of eggs just thrown onto the grass. The kids just needed to hurry to pick them up. Most of the parents watched from the side-lines (as we were asked to do) as the kids went to grab the eggs.

Kaylee wanted to watch the fireman turn on the siren, so she was 2 seconds behind everyone. She hustled to the grass to find eggs. I saw her bend down to pick one up. Then I lost sight of her. It was like she was just enveloped by kids and parents (the ones who couldn’t bear to let their older children go alone because then they wouldn’t get many eggs). I scanned the crowd, looking for my daughter. I figured she’d gone down the little hill, so I kept looking down there. I couldn’t find her. The eggs were all found in less than a minute and I looked everywhere for Kaylee. Finally I found her with another sweet mom (her child looked like she was Kaylee’s age). She was crying because she couldn’t find me.

And because she’d only gotten one egg.

My heart broke for her. She was so sad!

I had so many emotions at that moment. Sorrow for my daughters tears. Annoyance at the older kids with their baskets full and overflowing (especially towards the ones whose parents helped them). Guilt for not making sure my child got more eggs.

But then I realized something. This was a life lesson for her. Sometimes we get disappointed. Life doesn’t seem fair. But we find that life does go on and that it’s still good.

It ended up being a life lesson for me too. In those few moments I realized that as much as I want to shield my children from every sorrow and every disappointment they might come across, that would be unfair to them. How could they function in this world if they don’t know how to deal with disappointment? I was glad I hadn’t gone out there (like a bunch of the other parents) and made sure my child’s basket was full. I was sad for Kaylee, but I was also grateful that she was going to be able to learn to deal with disappointment.

By learning how to handle the little disappointments early in life (only finding one Easter egg, not getting the last cookie, not getting a high grade on a test even after studying), it helps them learn strategies for coping with the bigger disappointments that are bound to come later on.  

I tried to get Kaylee excited about the egg she did have. I took a picture of her holding up the egg.Looking at this photo breaks my heart. She was trying to put on a happy, brave face even though she was sad (she’s such a sweet girl).

We talked about how it was sad that she didn’t get a lot of eggs like a lot of the others, but that it was exciting that she got one! It was hard for her, but she did well with it.

When we met up with Logan and my mom, Logan actually shared some of his candy with her. It was sweet. (Little things like that will help him learn empathy, right? )
Interesting how that one experience has had such an impact on me. I already believed in the whole letting kids experience disappointment thing, but that was the first time I was truly put to the test with it. It was a good lesson for me. One I hope I can always remember (because seriously… it can be an easy one to forget when your child is in tears).

I should probably disclose that there were city helpers who peeked into the kids baskets as we were leaving the park and they put more candy in if they felt they didn’t get much, so Kaylee did get some more candy. Don’t think I’m a hypocrite for saying this, but I thought that was nice. I still think Kaylee learned a lesson (she did have to deal with the disappointment for awhile and she hopefully learned that getting a ton of eggs isn’t important). Plus, I learned a lesson.

Simple Chair Update

 I LOVE chairs. My husband and I can't get enough of them so it is surprising that for the longest time we had to pull out our food storage buckets as seats whenever more than one couple came over for dinner. One of our latest chair finds was inspired by a Chinese table we inherited from my husbands parents. It was lonely so we found it a friend...

The splat (middle back) of the chair somewhat reminds me of the Chippendale chairs that were inspired by Chinese design so we thought it would fit right in.



Chair from thrift store- $5.00
Polyfill- $2.00
Black spray paint- $2.00
Small can of black paint (already owned)
Fabric- $3.00
Staple Gun (already owned)

 Ryan (hubby) and I found this awesome fabric at a local JoAnn's. We thought it was perfect.

The chair had some sort of finish to which our spray paint wouldn't adhere so after a couple layers of spraying, we touched it up with a can of black paint we had laying around.

Some Polyfill and staples later this was our final product.

Laundry Cart

Hello all. I am Kim, the oldest (and shortest) of this beautiful bunch. I'm happily married, usually happily raising 3 girls & a boy and unhappily cleaning my own house and taking care of my own yard.

Almost a year ago my family returned to the USA from a 6 year expat assignment in Chile. It was awesome & hard at the same time. Little did I know that it would be so hard to return to 'normal' life. 6 years of having a fulltime maid and a weekly gardener pretty much ruined me... most days I find myself waiting for my magic cleaning fairy to appear. She never does. Many of my posts will be focused on relearning cleaning & organization skills, as well as emergency preparedness (yes... we have experienced more than our fair share of earthquakes).

My laundry room is decent in size, but majorly lacking in functionality. And I hate folding clothes. I used to fold everything right out of the dryer and put the clothing into individual baskets for each of the kids (sound familiar mom?). The problem was that by the time the clothes were unloaded into drawers, they usually weren't folded anymore. Plus, who can find a shirt if it's at the bottom of a messy drawer? Not my kids.

Investing in a laundry cart with a hanging bar above it has solved both my poorly-planned laundry room problems, as well as the lost, wrinkled clothing issues. First of all, it has wheels. There is not a really great space for it in the laundry room, so it lives in my closet- except on laundry day (it helps that my closet has a connecting door the the laundry room). Now as soon as the dryer goes off, everything (minus jeans, socks, pj's, yard work clothes- those still go into the individual laundry baskets) gets hung up. The hanging bar is separated by cute labels for each family member plus a section for clothes in need of ironing. When laundry is done, the kids happily (I can wish, right?) hang up their clothes in their closet & put away the items in their baskets. And I don't have to fold nearly the amount of clothes that I did before:)

Front of label is cute paper that reminds me of the family member.

Back of label is the persons name.

DIY Stenciled Entryway Bench

I guess since this is my first post I better introduce myself. My name is Bethany. I'm a stay-at-home-mom to 2 cute kids (a girl who is 4 and a boy who is 2 1/2) and a 3rd due in Sept. My husband is awesome. He's a writer and a comedian (I'm not just saying that because I think he's funny... he does improv and sketch comedy). 

We bought our first house December 2010 and I'm having a fun time being able to decorate it how I want to.  My favorite paint colors for the walls are blue and grey. I love accents of yellow, white, blue, and sometimes orange or pink. 

I also have a gluten free blog, Gluten Free in Utah, that I try to keep up with. So between gluten free recipes, decorating/crafting, and "mom stuff" (I can be very opinionated and love pondering on different topics) that's probably what you'll see most of from me. 

Oh, and I am the 3rd sister of this crazy bunch :). 

Anyway, onto the fun stuff:

__________________________________________________________________________

 DIY Stenciled Bench

My husband has an old roommate who is really awesome (actually he's got a few of them... we still get together with them and their equally awesome wives multiple times a year). This particular roommate is really good with building and was wanting a new project, so he offered to make me the entryway bench I'd been wanting. 

He had me send him plans and he built it! And I love it! He and his wife ended up making it a housewarming gift for us :).

These plans from Modern Jane were the ones I showed him. I wanted something functional that we could use for storage. I had plans to paint it white and then make a cushion for the top, but I changed my mind. Here's what I did instead:

 

I couldn't find a fabric I wanted, plus the foam can get kinda pricey. Plus, I knew it was going to get dirty often and I didn't want to have to worry about washing the cushion all the time. So I stenciled it! Now I can just wipe off all of the fingerprints (and footprints from my kids hanging up their jackets on the pegs above it). 

And I LOVE it!!! The stencil is actually one I made. I found a free printable quatrefoil pattern and then made a stencil from a stencil making kit my mom had. It went really quickly to stencil. 

I painted the inside and the sides grey and all of the trim white.

We keep shoes in the right side and seasonal items in the left (hats, gloves, etc.). Since taking this picture I've actually gotten an identical basket for the left side ($7 from Walmart). It fits perfectly. The bag has moved since I got the bigger basket for the left side (it was a bag for my church calling stuff). Now I have a tote bag in it that has sunscreen, snacks, and diapers for when we go on a summer outing.  

It's been the perfect addition both aesthetically and functionally for our entryway! Thanks Mike and Shaina! We love it!

Eggs, Eggs and More Eggs

Its Easter time which equals a fridge full of hard-boiled eggs! After the hunting fun is over, what do you do with your eggs? Here's what my mom made as our traditional food and also some other ideas of how to use those delicious eggs.

Every year, my family went out into the wilderness by my home to an old dam where we flew our new Easter kites and slid down the overflow. My mom would then pull my favorite food from the cooler, egg salad sandwiches. She makes them so amazing and the best part is that the recipe is simple.

Peel and cube about 6 eggs.
Add 2-3 Tbs. Miracle Whip (make it as moist as you like)
Salt and pepper to taste.
Slap on some bread (It always tasted better on white for some reason).

Don't forget the potato chips! Yum!

If you aren't in the mood for sandwiches, here are some other egg ideas.
Deviled Eggs (A recipe from a cooking class I took with some modifications)

3 eggs
1/4 tsp. mustard
1-2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish, drained (optional)
1/4 tsp. vinegar (optional... for a bit more zing)
Paprika (optional)
Ziplock bag

Peel eggs, cut lengthwise and remove yolks. Put the whites in the fridge until the ready to fill. Put the yolks into a zip lock bag. Get all the air out and then seal it and mash the yolks by hand. Open and add other ingredients you want. Again, press the air out and mash/mix by squishing the bag (great job to get the kids involved.) Pull the egg whites out of the fridge. Cut off a corner of the bag and pipe into each white. You can then sprinkle paprika on each for some color (I don't notice a significant change in flavor doing this.)
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Eggs are also great to throw in potato salad or a green leaf salad. And, of course, they are always tasty with salt sprinkled on each bite of a whole egg.

Happy hunting and then happy eating!

Personal Intro- 3 Minute Easter Centerpiece

Hello! Here we go. I guess I will help get the ball rolling and post something. I am Rosa Lee, the worst blogger ever! Oh, and I'm sometimes a little dramatic (can you tell?). But really, I have a hard time doing the same thing over and over (i.e. blogging weekly). Ask my husband, I can't even make a recipe the same way twice. This is a way to prove to myself that I can concentrate and complete an ongoing task.
More about me. I earned a degree in Family Life with a focus on Interior Design within the home but I choose to stay home for the best job ever- Mom. When my munchkin is asleep (rarely), I do historical transcription work. I'm married to an amazing man who can out-design me any day. He is currently earning his Masters of Landscape Architecture degree. When we are not chasing our kiddo, we are usually exploring the outdoors or making something for our home. Because we are on a TIGHT budget, almost everything we make is re-purposed. This blog will highlight some of our favorite projects as well as some other things I like to dabble in such as cooking and genealogy. Also, expect to see other projects I'm not so good at such as sewing and crafts. I WILL conquer them!

Let's get started... Here's a 3-minute Easter centerpiece for my kitchen table.
-Find any vase
-Get some plastic eggs and throw them in the vase
-Find some branches (Pruning season is a great time). These are from a tree in our front yard that blew over. They have buds on them which just add to the Spring feeling. I saw a similar idea online where they cut scrapbook paper into leaves and glued it to the branches. It was cute but way too much work for me and I don't have scrapbook paper. *Key to cheap design= use what you have!
-Find some fabric or a table runner and put the final product on top
Voila! C'est magnifique!... or something.

Intro

We are sisters (by birth or law). We love life. We have different styles. We want to make our homes (& apartment, family, social life, clothing, whatever) better. We have different opinions. We get along (usually). We love each other (always).