Will You Be Watching?

I have to admit that I am a little bit obsessed with the Royal Wedding taking place tomorrow. My husband just rolls his eyes at me when I say that I am going to get up at 3 in the morning to watch, but I just can not help myself.

Maybe it's my love for all things English (my Great Grandmother Elsie Attwood came to America from England to be a governess in 1906). Maybe it's my love for fairy tales and princess. Maybe it's my love for hats and formal wear. I am not sure exactly what it is, just know that at 3 am tomorrow morning, I will be sitting on my couch with a hot cup of tea (with my tea cup made in England of course) watching the ceremony.

Will you be watching?

Meal Plan Monday: April 25, 2011

Wow, it has done nothing but rain lately. Taking a look at this weeks forcast doesn't show any improvement either. While I am dying to get my hands in the garden and start my spring planting, I long to have my kids playing outside more. It has been a long winter and the kids need to be outside as much as possible.

Here is this weeks menu. Most of this menu is gluten-free as I am trying to stay away from gluten as much as possible these days.

Have a joyous week friends.

Monday: Bourbon Chicken

Tuesday: Ham and Bean Soup

Wednesday: Pork Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes and Salad

Thursday: Baked Potato Bar with a Spring Salad any my favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette

Friday: Chicken Lime Taco's

Saturday: Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

Sunday: Oven Roasted Beef, Corn on the Cob and Roasted Tomatoes

Oops ...I forgot to post this last week!

Toddler Tuesday: Shaving Cream Painting

I have been wanting to try this project out for years but never had the right materials on hand. So with Easter upon us, I ran out and purchased the supplies to make Easter Egg cards for family.

The project is simple, but very messy. We first started by spraying a cookie sheet with sensitive shaving lotion. Next we dropped globs of acrylic paint onto the shaving lotion.

I then had the little ones mix it up using their hands.
Notice Double D used more then just his hands. He also mixed the paint with his face and hair and what ever body part was available.

Then we dipped card stock that I had cut in egg shapes into the shaving cream and paint mix. After that was complete, I used a squeegee and scraped off all the shaving cream and paint mix to reveal a beautiful mix of colors and textures.

Here are all the egg cards hanging in a row to dry. I think they turned out rather nice. It was a fun project, but VERY messy. As soon as we were finished I stripped down Double D and stuck him in our dump sink to be hosed down.

I hope everyone enjoys these cards as much as we enjoyed making them.

Meal Plan Monday

Well, here it is Tuesday again, and I am just blogging about my Monday meal plan. It seems like my Monday's are always so busy. I usually clean house during the day on Monday and finish up the laundry. Then the afternoon is spent meal planning, couponing and preparing my grocery list for my trip to the grocery stores on Monday evening after the kids go to bed. So blogging is usually the last thing on my mind.

This week we have a lot of things planned this week. Shaving cream finger painting with the kids, coloring Easter eggs, trips to the park, preparing for Easter during this Holy Week and celebrating my 37th birthday which includes a date night with My Sweetie.

Here is the menu for this week:

Monday: Brenner (Breakfast for dinner) waffles and turkey bacon

Tuesday: Cobb Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing

Wednesday: Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and then going to Busch Stadium to watch a Cardinals game

Thursday: Bowtie Lasagna

Friday: Brats and sauerkraut

Saturday: Bourbon Chicken

Easter Sunday: Meal Plan to come



As we prepare for Holy Week, I would like to leave you with this prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
in this sacred and solemn week
when we see again
the depth and mystery of your redeeming love,
help us to follow where you go,
to stop where you stumble,
to listen when you cry,
to hurt as you suffer,
to bow our heads in sorrow as you die,
so that, when you are raised to life again,
we may share in your endless joy. Amen

What the Lady Loves Wednesday

After a long and freezing winter, warmer weather is starting to make an appearance here in the St. Louis area. Along with warmer weather comes the thoughts of summer clothes and sandals. Oh how this girl loves her sandals.

After wearing socks and boots for the last few months, it's time to break out those piggers and get them buffed and polished and ready to wear sandals (I always have my toes painted but in the winter, I usually wear a dark color nail polish). For me, heading out to the salon every couple of weeks to get a pedicure is kind of out of the question, so I found a great little tool to do my own french tip pedicure. I love the lighter colors which are perfect for spring and summer.

Sally Hansen makes a French Manicure White Tip Pen that makes doing your own mani or pedi quick and simple. Just use the pen and paint on a white tip on your toes or fingernails and then top with a light pink coat of nail polish. Easy peasy!



Now everyone can have that fresh out of the salon look, right from home.

Toddler Tuesday: Homemade Finger Paints

What is there to do on a rainy day with two toddlers? Whip up some homemade finger paints of course!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. liquid detergent
Food coloring or powdered tempera paint

1 Combine flour, water and detergent in a mixing bowl.

2 Stir until the mixture reaches a paste-like consistency.

3 Divide the mixture into several bowls and add different colors of food coloring or powdered tempura paint to each bowl. Alternatively, blend the color into the paste as you paint with it.

4 Experiment with different types of paper.








Because of the detergent that is incorporated in the mix, it makes for an easy clean up.

Meal Plan Monday

Good Morning! Even though it's Tuesday, I still want to post my meal plan for this week. If for nothing else, to retain the new recipe I am using.

My hubby and I are quite taken with the chef Nigella Lawson and have incorporated one of her *recipes in this weeks menu. So far, every recipe of Nigella's that I have prepared has been amazing!

Monday: Roast Chicken and Pasta Con Broccoli

Tuesday: Cream of Chicken Soup (using leftover chicken)

Wednesday: Grilled Hamburgers and grilled asparagus

Thursday: Roasted Scallops with lemon and thyme

Friday: *Crunchy Pork Chops with Garlicky Spinach and Tomato Salad

Saturday: Black Bean Soup

Toddler Tuesday

What do you do with a toddler who refuses to keep her diaper on during nap time and bed time?

I have been going out of my mind trying to come up with a solution on how to keep Sissyboo from taking off her diaper during bedtime. I would put her to bed like normal only to go check on her later and find her asleep with no clothes on and no diaper.

After having to change the sheets multiple times during the day and night, I had to come up with a way that would keep Sissyboo from undressing and getting the diaper off.

After reading several solutions online including one that used duct tape, I came up with the following:

Cutting the feet off of footie pajamas and then turning them around so the zipper is in the back.

We have been free of night times messes now for several weeks!

Extreme Couponing

I have been looking forward to this day for sometime now. Tonight is the premier of TLC's Extreme Couponing Show. In my house, we love our coupons and any type of show that teaches us how to save more money is a show for us.

I started using coupons last year, but really started getting serious about it this past Fall when I started stocking up for baby number 3. While most extreme couponers have large stockpiles, I have limited mine to things that I know my family will use which is mainly cleaning supplies, laundry products, baby products and cereal.

Here is a recent picture of my stockpile:

If you are new to the whole couponing craze, check out the show tonight. You will be amazed at how collecting coupons will save you money.

Celebrating April Fool's Day with a Blackerry Fool Dessert

The fool is an old fashioned British dessert which dates back to the 16th Century. The term "fool" is believed to derive from the French word "fouler", to mash.

Fools can be made with different types of fruit however berries are preferred and are super simple to assemble.

Ingredients:
2 cups blackberries (8 ounces total), plus more for garnish
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In a blender, combine berries, sugar, and lemon juice; blend until smooth. Pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing with a rubber spatula to push through. Discard seeds; transfer 1/2 cup berry puree to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate; reserve for topping.

2. In a large bowl, combine cream and vanilla; whip until stiff peaks form. Gently fold remaining berry puree into cream. Spoon mixture into custard cups. Cover loosely and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to overnight). To serve, drizzle blackberry fools with reserved berry puree, and garnish with blackberries.