walk with us

A couple of layouts

It's easier for me when I have a theme to scrapbook. I did "our summer" last weekend, and this past weekend I was lost. Just looking for an idea. Then I remembered that we are getting our family photos taken this weekend (just a quick Christmas Card photo shoot) and that gave me the idea to scrap our family photos. So here's a little trip in the way-back machine, starting with 1997. Brady was 18 months, Dan had color in his hair, and Kiah was in my tummy. This was my favorite maternity shirt ever.

I'm a little bare on the old family photos thing until 2007. I know we had them taken at my sister's wedding, and with my family when Brady was 3, but I don't have any of just our nuclear family. So that brings us to 2005. Had these taken by the same photographer who did our engagement and wedding pictures.

Next up is 2008. We had these taken while on vacation in Springfield, MO, and I still love them. Probably always will. I have 5 of them hanging on the walls of our living room, and it makes me oh-so-happy to look up and see them.

I'm lazy, and didn't feel like scrapping Sunday evening, so here's a layout I did in the past using our photos from 2008. (P.S. do you know I have approximately 1700 layouts on my EHD in saved for web format? They go clear back to when I started digi-scrapping.)

I'm excited for our portrait session. I love the colors I have picked out for our outfits, and I think this such a huge time in the history of our family that it's important to me to document us. I'll share as soon as I can!

Recipe: Turtle Cake

I'm not a good club member. For years, I signed up for PTO and my only contribution to the organization was running a carnival game for 30 minutes once a year.

This year, my kids are in upper elementary, middle and high school and PTO is less of a big deal. This means I feel less guilty.

Last week, Ches brought home a note that said, "Hey, we know you're busy. Here's what we need, where can you help?" There were many different volunteer opportunities, but one caught my eye.

Provide a meal for Parent-Teacher Conference night.

I didn't have to provide the whole thing. In fact, when I got the list, what they really wanted was for people to bring toppings for a potato bar, or salad ingredients for Italian night.

Where is the fun in that?

As a teacher myself, I really appreciate the PTO dinners that are provided when we work an extra 3.5 hours for 2 days in a row. I wanted to show my appreciation.

So I said, "Hey, I'll bring dessert." Of course, I wasn't about to make any plain ole' cake mix cake with a tub of frosting.

Nope. Not happening.

Instead, I made this:

Chocolate Turtle Cake

adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor

Ingredients:

1 package caramels

1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk

1 pkg German chocolate cake mix (with pudding in the mix)

1 1/4 cups water

3/4 cup butter

2 large eggs

1 bag chocolate chips

2 cups chopped pecans

1. Preheat your oven. It was flipping hot here Sunday, and I hated this step. Ended up jacking the a/c down to compensate.

2. Unwrap all the caramels and add to a saucepan with the evaporated milk. Heat on low until the caramel is melted. Put a lid on the pan and set aside.

Here's Ches unwrapping the caramels:

2. Put the cake mix, water, eggs and butter in your mixing bowl. Just like a regular cake mix, beat on low 1 minute, scrape, beat on medium 2 minutes.

3. Put half the cake batter in a greased 9x13 pan. (I used a foil pan since I was giving this away.... and there's a part of me that really wanted to keep it.) Bake at 350 for about 13 minutes (till the edges are puffy). We're not done yet!

4. Remove the cake from the oven, but don't turn the oven off. Pour the caramel sauce over the half-baked cake.

Yum! Next sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips, and 1 cup of chopped pecans.

As my friend Tim would say, "YEEEEHAAAAW!"

Cover all that up with the rest of the batter, so the recepient of this cake will never know the beauty that lurks within.

Put it back in the oven and bake for 35 minutes-ish.

When the cake comes out, set it on a cooling rack. Then let's finish with a bang.

Take the rest of those chocolate chips and melt them in a glass bowl in the microwave. I did 1 minute at 50 percent power, stirred, then 15 seconds on high. You know your microwave, though.

Spread the melted chocolate chips on top of the still-warm cake, then sprinkle it with the rest of the pecans.

Then decide that none of those teachers is really going to appreciate your cake anyway, run to the store and get a $1 cake mix and make that, keeping the turtle cake for yourself.

Just joking. I had Chesney take the cake to school.

Or did I?

To print this recipe as a .pdf file, click here: Download Turtlecake

Making a tutu....

I got a splinter in my drawers a few weeks ago and decided I needed to make a tutu for Chesney. I would have made one for Mykiah, but she thinks they're silly. I would have made one for myself, but I'm not sure when or where I'd wear it. (Although now that I think about it, Ernie Biggs might be a good venue for the adult tutu.)

First, I had my mom stitch me an elastic waistband to fit Chesney. This is super-duper easy, but I just can't get in a sewing mood. Just measure a piece of elastic to fit the wearer's waist. Sew it together a couple of times.

Next, I ordered 75 yards of tulle. That's not a typo seventy-five yards. And I used every inch. I ordered it here in 25 yard rolls. The rolls are 6" width which is just about perfect. 

Here I'm going to get all super-scientific on you. I rolled out a length of tulle equivalent to the short end of my kitchen island. I don't know how long it is. Maybe 2.5 feet? Whatever... it worked out perfectly because what was left on the roll at the end was exactly one length of the island. 

That's what it all looked like, ready to go.

Finally, I plopped on my little chair with all my supplies. I took a piece of tulle and folded it in half. Put the loop end of the tulle on one side of the elastic, and pull the ends through. You can get some photos of this process at Girly Things Bows. Except, you know, they use a lot less tulle than I did.

I remember when my sister was getting married and my mom was making my girls' flower girl dresses. She put on a couple of layers of tulle for the skirt and said, "the instructions say it needs more tulle than that, but I think that looks nice just like that." In my head I'm thinking, "you can never have too much tulle!"

So I spent a good 30 minutes tying tulle. It wasn't the most fun I've had in my life, but the result certainly is. These photos are just from a quick "try it on" photo session. Expect to see this tutu A LOT more.

30.Day.Shred

I think I heard about this exercise DVD over at Sweet Shoppe.

I picked it up on a whim. I had preordered the Pioneer Woman's new cookbook over at Amazon, and I needed a little something to put me over the $25 minimum to get free shipping. I didn't realize that they'd go ahead and ship my DVD now. I was kind of hoping they'd wait and ship them both at the same time... the end of October.

However, this DVD arrived last Friday, and last week I was way too exhausted to even think about starting an exercise program. I think I had a bit of a virus. I was just out of it.

So Monday I came home from work on my lunch hour and while I was in the kitchen, I saw the DVD on our island. Hmmm. Maybe I should try this tonight.

Yeah, and maybe I should just stick a hot poker in my eye.

This woman, Jillian Michaels, well, she's pretty much the devil incarnate. I thought Turbo Jam was intense, but it was a cakewalk compared to Jillian's workout.

There are 3 levels in the workout, and within each level there are 3 circuits. Each circuit is 3 minutes strength, 2 minutes cardio and 1 minute abs. Add in a warm-up and stretching at the end, and it comes in at about 25 minutes.

I swear it is the best 25 minute workout ever.

I also swear that if you are like me, and haven't seriously and routinely worked out for a few years, you will be unable to walk the morning after your first workout.

I have muscles that ache that I didn't even know I had. Using the restroom became a painful prospect because sitting down on a toilet is the exact same motion as a squat. I started planning my evening so that I when I did stand up, I could do 2-3 things during that one trip.

I hurt. The kind of hurt where I found myself involuntarily groaning when I had to make a movement that my body didn't like.

I really like the circuit format, but I laugh at myself because I can't remember a time when working out that I've thought, "Oh good, ab work." I do with Jillian.

I'm a lot scared of Jillian. On the third night after doing the workout, I was reading online reviews of this DVD. A lot of people do it once and are in so much pain that they give up.

Me? I'm afraid if I give up, Jillian is going to jump through that TV and kick my butt. "You feel that knot in your stomach? That's fear leaving your body." Nope, I'm pretty sure that's my lunch, ready to come back up. "I know you want to turn off this DVD, but push through it. You don't get change for free."

Me = Scared.

So I've now done the shred for 4 days. I no longer hurt so bad that I can't turn over in bed without wincing. The movements are coming easier. My goal isn't so much to lose weight as it is to be able to get into my pants without having to suck it in to fasten them. I have gained 40 pounds in the last 2 1/2 years. I'm not going to beat myself up over that because I had some really rough times in there, and I coped. However, I can't even put on my fat clothes easily and that's just not OK.

So I'll keep on shredding. I honestly can't ever see myself on level 3, but who knows? I'd just like to get through level 1 without being soaked in sweat with a face that is fire engine red.

If you'd like to join me on my shredding journey, you can pick up this DVD almost anywhere (and it's ON DEMAND in a lot of markets). It usually runs under $10.

Best. Ten. Bucks. Ever.

invaded by aliens

This is 9 years ago.

My life was diapers, formula, day care, giving kids attention, putting them to bed, praying they took a nap. It consumed me. I can remember thinking... if I can just get through these next few years, it will be smooth sailing.

Actually, the years from 2004-2008 were pretty darn good. My kids were all toilet trained, they slept in their own beds and went to bed without a hassle, my day care payments were almost nonexistent, and no one minded if their clothes were bought off ebay or from Walmart.

Then 2009 hit, and with it.... the teen years.

Funny, but I can remember people tell me, "Oh wait until their teens." I thought, "Not my kids." After all, I'd handled 3 kids 5 and under and done a fairly competent job of it. I know my kids pretty well. I couldn't imagine having trouble with them during the teen years.

I actually got lulled into a couple of years of complacency. Brady was officially a teenager for a few years before it happened.

My children have been invaded by aliens.

That is the only explanation for what has started to come out of their mouths. They are mean, vile creatures and let's add in cruel to boot.

It was so bad that I was actually glad to go back to work in August, just so I could get away from them. I talked to our school psychologist at work (jokingly... I joke my way through this because it's the only way to deal with it). She told me that the brain chemistry in the teen years is different, so it's not completely my children's fault.

As I suspected, it's the aliens. From Vars. Or Menus.

Actually, I kind of like that one. Menus... cuz that's what teenagers are.... mean.

My own children have made me feel like the fat kid in gym that is always picked last. (OK, that really was me, but they don't have to take me back there.) My worries now are not all those baby things, but who they are with, and what they are doing, and driver's licenses, and insurance and name brand clothing.

I really am lucky because I know in my heart that my kids are good kids and that they will make the right choices. I have taught them to be independent thinkers, and to look beyond the face value of things.

I just never thought that would come back to bite me in the butt.

Sunday, I got to spend a good hour holding my new niece, and let me tell you, she is just precious. Chubby and healthy and happy. She chewed on my shirt with her little gummy lips and my heart melted.

Then I looked over at my way-too-cool to hold a baby teens and I tried to remember. When I was having that conversation with the school psych, I asked her, "So do the aliens ever leave and give my kids back?"

[OK, I didn't really ask her that. Or maybe I did.]

She promised me they'll grow out of this stage. Until then, I'll treasure those moments when my kids actually like me, and include me in their lives. Like when Mykiah has me chasing dead people around Ellsworth and Brady gets me chocolate pie from a buffet, then offers me his newly licked clean fork to eat it.

And, help me Lord, the aliens haven't even touched Chesney yet.

So there's my warning for all you mothers out there. The aliens are coming. Just remember that the baby you once cuddled is still in there. Somewhere.

The new season of TV is here!!

I wasn't a huge TV watcher in the past. I was too busy with infants and diapers and bottles and all that stuff (and I've got a whole post coming on that subject, too...). Then Dan started having his evenings off work -- he had always worked in the evenings -- and he watched a ton of TV.

I didn't watch it just to prove that I was more cultured than he was.

Yeah, then he went back to working evenings and I realized that I actually liked all those shows he was watching.

I have been waiting for this week all summer long.

NCIS. CSI. The Big Bang Theory. How I Met Your Mother. The Mentalist. So You Think You Can Dance. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (which hasn't really been off all summer, but it has been several weeks, and boy, I missed it).

That's just the network returning shows. Then there's:

NCIS: LA. Flashforward. Glee.

I try not to start too many new shows. I don't want to get attached and lose them, and frankly with our multiple DVRs, if I decide to start watching a show mid-season, I can catch up.

This summer, I caught up on the first three seasons of Dexter. And the 4th season starts Sunday!

I also have long been favorites of Mythbusters (starts 10/7) and Ghost Hunters (already started the new season). Due to a marathon Labor Day weekend, I have also become a new fan of Destination Truth. The first two this season have totally creeped me out. I like being creeped out, as long as I'm sitting in my own bed when the creep is happening. I'm not a fan of walk-through haunted houses, for example. But I can handle watching those shows, simply because the debunking is so interesting.

Of course, the season opener I anticipate the most is LOST, and that won't be until next year. I may go crazy before then.

What's your favorite show? What new shows are you going to watch? Isn't this time of year so fun?!?

Recipe: Chewy Triple Chippers

Every once in awhile, I get in the mood to try a new cookie recipe. I'm on a constant hunt for the best chocolate chip cookie recipe (although down deep I feel I already have the two best recipes out there). 

The recipe I tried last weekend had a few unusual ingredients and I thought it held promise. I would say that if you are looking for a peanut butter chocolate chip cookie, you really couldn't do better than this cookie. They are divine, if you go in knowing you want the taste of peanut butter and chocolate. If you're looking for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, this is up there, but not the best.

So here's the recipe...

Chewy Triple Chippers

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon half and half or cream
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder;set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, peanut butter, white and brown sugars.
3. Mix until creamy and light.
4. (I have always done this by hand) Add vanilla and add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Beat in corn syrup and cream.
6. Add flour mixture in small batches, stirring it into the creamed mixture with a wooden spoon until well combined, but try not to overmix.
7. The mixture will become quite thick, and when you are down to the last cup of flour you may want to use your hands to mix if it is too difficult with the spoon.
8. Fold in semisweet, milk and peanut butter chips with the wooden spoon or by hand.
9. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight preferably, or AT LEAST 4 hours.
10. To bake cookies: Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
11. Line cookie sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.
12. (Do not use dark colored/coated cookie sheets! Silver aluminum ones work best) Using a cookie scoop or medium ice cream scoop, scoop out balls of dough and place on lined cookie sheet.
13. Slightly press down the top of each scoop of dough.
14. These cookies do not spread a lot, so you don't want them to be too tall or too flat before baking.
15. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until cookie is golden brown around the edges and bottom is firm but golden.
16. They will seem to be not quite done in the middle at first, but this is from the corn syrup which will firm up as it cools, leaving a nice soft and chewy center.
17. Let the cookies cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
18. Before baking more batches, make sure cookie sheets have completely cooled before adding new scoops of dough.
19. Enjoy!

To print this recipe as a .pdf file, click here: Download Chewytriplechippers

I think I've mentioned...

how much I love music. It can really turn my mood in a beat. This past week at work, I was uncommonly exhausted the last few days. It was concerning to me, but I'd get in the classroom and we'd turn on the "Let's Get Started" music and my exhaustion would just disappear.

Of course, I'd crash a few minutes later, but for those few moments of singing and dancing, I was OK again.

A song that really touches me is The Climb. What better message is there than the lyrics of that song?

Unfortunately, the song is performed by Miley Cyrus, who I pretty much can't stand. I'm not sure why I dislike her voice so much (and it is primarily the voice I don't like), but I just don't. The pop songs are OK, I just can't stand her voice.

I was pretty thrilled to find this the other day. Kelly Clarkson, who actually can carry a tune, with her backup singers, singing The Climb. It's beautiful. If they'd release it on iTunes, I'd buy it.

Until then, here it is on video. Thanks to Perez Hilton for the link to this.

winner winner chicken dinner

Yesterday I got off work, changed into comfy clothes, put my feet up on the ottoman and pulled up random.org. As you can see, the winner was #6.

Last week I posted a giveaway for Danielle's wonderful fridge flair.

The sixth comment on that post was:

Carrie is a great digi-scrapper and designer who I've been following for 5 years now, so it's very fun to see her win that flair. I know she'll do amazing things with it!

Now I would continue my post with a cute little story, but honestly, it's been a crazy week. Mice, fevers, ugly butts.... I've heard and seen it all. So I think I'll just take a break from blogging, and see you on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Recipe: Kool Aid Play Dough

Ok, you won't want to eat this one, but I thought it was time I shared "our" recipe for play dough.

As an early childhood teacher, I love play dough simply because it's a great manipulative. You can use it to teach fine motor skills, kids love it, and I could sit and snip play dough snakes all day long.

Dan just likes to play with it, so he makes it every few months for him and the kids.

Here's what you need:

 

Dan's Kool Aid Play Dough

1 cup flour

1/2 cup salt

3 tbsp oil

1 package kool aid (unsweetened)

1 cup boiling water

Put dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oil, then boiling water. Dan mixes with a wooden spoon as much as he can, and then he uses his hands to knead it all together. Have some extra flour handy so you can add it if the dough is too sticky. Warning -- the dough will be hot (duh, boiling water) so you might want to have some cold water running nearby to cool your hands.

This play dough is edible, which is nice because it smells really good and kids are tempted. It doesn't taste good, so they won't take more than one bite, but you don't have to worry that they're going to croak if they eat it. Also, when making it for work, I had Dan add 2 packages of the drink mix packet to make the color a bit more vibrant.

We bought all the supplies for 4 batches of playdough for less than $5 (and that included storage bags). We have enough flour left over for another 4 batches, just need more salt and drink mix.

Have fun making this play dough and playing with your kids with it. We do!

To print this recipe as a .pdf file, click here: Download Playdough