Big Belly

>> Sunday, June 19, 2011

So, I'm 8 months pregnant now and my belly is quite large. The other day, Tyler came up to me with a ball under his shirt and told me that he had a "baby sister in his belly."

Then, the next day he asked me if he could have some candy and I told him no because "you'll get fat." I then had to explain to him what fat meant because he didn't know what that means. I told him it meant he would have a big belly. His response? "A big belly like Mommy? I don't want to be fat."

I discovered Pinterest.com a couple of months ago, and I really love it! Basically, it is a visual pinboard. You create "boards" of your choosing and then clip images onto those boards. The images come from pinterest.com (things other users have imported) or from any website or blog you are looking at. You install a little "pin this" button in your toolbar, and you can clip any picture to your pinterest boards. My boards are food/recipes, style, home decor, inspirational quotes, gym and fitness motivation, entertaining, organization, things I'd like to make, clothes I love, and gift ideas. I've "pinned" everything from hair styles I like to outfits to funny sayings to diy projects. And I have gotten several great recipes from the site as well. When you click on a photo, it will take you to that original blog or website, which is a great way to discover new blogs and websites. Some people say it is a huge timesuck, and I can see that it could be. I pretty much check the pinterest site itself once every 2-3 days. It's great for so many purposes and if you are really visual like me you'll love it. Below are some miscellaneous things I've pinned. And a quick tip, I was unable to install the Pin It button in internet explorer, so I used firefox as my browser instead and have had no problems with it.

Valentine's Idea:

Organization Center:

How to make a flower pin tutorial:

Cute outfit idea:

Cupcake Cones:

Healthy Eating Idea:

Beautiful Bedroom:

Peanut Butter Cup Trifle:

If you want to try pinterest, you have to ask for an invitation (you should see the button on the website) and it will take at least a couple of days. I think I also have invitations I can give away if anyone wants one.

Father's Day Card

>> Saturday, June 18, 2011

Looking for a cute Father's Day card this year? I found a free download on a blog and thought I would share. This is what the "fathers" in my life are getting this year :)

You can download the printable version on Paper & Pigtails blog here: http://paperandpigtailsparty.com/2011/06/fathers-day-card-game/

3 Year Old Logic

Tyler loves to play games. He's competitive and very good at sports. In order to keep him engaged in the car, we usually play some word or visual games. Ryan likes to join in as well, but at this point he just copies his brother :)

One of Tyler's favorite things to do in the car is for us to play "Mommy & Daddy". Here's how it went the other day:

Me: "Tyler, do you love Mommy or Daddy?"

Tyler: "Mommy"

Me: "Awe, thanks Tyler!"

Tyler: "No, I love Daddy!"

Me: "No way!"

Tyler: "Yes, Daddy!!"

Me: "But Mommy Loves you, too!"

Tyler: "But Daddy loves me SO much!"

Me: "Yes, but Mommy also loves you SO much!"

Tyler: "No, I love Daddy. Ryan loves you. Baby sister loves Abby (our puppy)"

Apparently everyone can only love one person in this world. Oh, and since my husband always refers to Ryan (my 2 year old) as "mommy's boy", Tyler thinks that I must love him more. Geesh, this can only go down hill from here!

But then it continued:

Tyler: "When I was little, like bro-bro (aka, my 2 year old), I loved Mommy. But now, I'm a big boy and I love daddy."

So, apparently, babies love their mommies but big boys love their daddies. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he loves his daddy and knows that his daddy loves him, but how about showing some love for the momma who gave birth to him?! As my grandmother always used to say, "I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it!" :)

Peach-Glazed Meatballs

>> Friday, June 17, 2011

Another recipe from Taste of Home Almost Homemade. Excuse the kiddie plate!

Peach-Glazed Meatballs

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 cup dry bread crumbs

1/2 onion, diced

1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules

1 and 1/2 pounds ground beef (I always use at least ground chuck or ground round)

1 jar (16 oz) peach preserves

1 bottle (12 oz) chili sauce

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

In a large bowl, combine the eggs, bread crumbs, bouillon and onion. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls. In a large skillet, cook in batches until no longer pink. Drain and return to skillet.

In a small saucepan, combine the preserves, chili sauce, and soup mix. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Pour over meatballs. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 min or until heated through.

Easy, No-Rise Cinnamon Rolls

>> Thursday, June 16, 2011

I follow a lot of different blogs. Some are cake decorating ones, some are blogs that feature coupons and good deals, some are about household projects and organizing, some are written by personal friends with updates about their family and some are cooking and menu planning.

Several years ago, I saw a recipe on one such blog and tried it. I fell in love. Not only is it easy, but it's somewhat healthy (at least compared to most other recipes). It's No Rise Cinnamon Rolls, which I found on the blog, http://thehappyhousewife.com. Yum-o!

We probably make these about once a month (maybe a little more when I'm pregnant :) and the boys love to help me prepare them...and most of all, eat them! We made them this morning, and I documented what we did and the boys helping me.

Below is my (slightly) modified version of what she has on her website.

Easy, No-Rise Cinnamon Rolls

Dough

· 2 cups whole wheat flour (I buy mine bulk from an Amish store, but you can find it in the flour section of your local grocery store)

· 3 teaspoons baking powder

· 1/2 teaspoon salt

· 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

· 1/2 stick butter, melted

· 3/4 cup milk

To make the dough mix together the dry ingredients. Add melted butter and milk. Stir to combine. Dough should be a little sticky, but able to roll out. Put on a floured surface and roll out.

Filling

· Butter (I use the tub butter because it is perfect spreading consistency)

· Brown Sugar

· Cinnamon

Spread filling on the on the rolled out dough. Butter first, then sugar, then cinnamon. Use as much or as little as you want.

Roll up and slice into rolls. I cut the roll in half, and then keep "halving" each section until I have around 12-16 rolls. Place evenly in a 9x13 baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

Icing

· 3 Tablespoons butter (softened)

· 3 cups powdered sugar

· 3 Tablespoons cream cheese (softened)

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

· Milk

Mix together butter and cream cheese. Then add powdered sugar and vanilla. Add milk until you get a consistency that can be drizzled on the cinnamon rolls. When the rolls are finished, you can either drizzle icing on all of them, or drizzle as you serve them (this is what we do!). This makes a lot of icing; unless you use TONS, you will have enough for at least 2 batches of rolls. Extra icing will keep in the fridge for at least a month.

Getting ready to start!

Dough Ingredients

Dough dry ingredients

Mommy's helper

Notice Ryan is not helping to roll...he is trying to eat as much dough as possible.

Filling Ingredients (except I use tub butter because I always forget to set the butter out to soften)

Butter spread on rolled out dough

Brown Sugar and Cinnamon added to dough and butter

Rolling up into cinnamon rolls

Cinnamon rolls are cut and ready to put into the pan

Mom, can't we eat them now?!

Icing Ingredients - I use PURE Mexican Vanilla...this is one thing I don't skimp on!

Waiting patiently...only 15 minutes but it seems like FOREVER to a 2 year old!

Yum! Who needs a plate?

I can't wait for another photo, MOM!

YUM!

Mom, don't make me wait to start eating!

Good Reads, Part I

>> Wednesday, June 15, 2011

I'm an avid reader, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite fiction books. You can see full reviews on Amazon, and that's not really my strength anyway so I won't bore you with lots of words! I am not a big fan of fluffy, beach type novels. If I spend time reading a book, I really want it to make me feel something, even if it's sadness. (I know how weird I am, my kids tell me every day.) So while none of these books are necessarily hard to read, they're not light little summer books either.

The Red Tent

I really love this book. Probably my all-time favorite fiction book. I think it's just a great story about relationships between women.

The Book Thief
I've heard people describe this book as life-changing. It's really good.

Time Traveler's Wife
I hate science fiction, and although this is not science fiction time travel is obviously central to the story line. I thought it was hard to really follow all the time travel at first, and most of the people who don't like this book cite that as the reason. I thought it was a little graphic for my taste in parts, but overall I liked this book and I loved the movie.

Water for Elephants
Really easy to read. Loved this one. Have yet to see the movie. I love Reese, but I'm not that excited about Robert Twilight-whats-his-name playing the main character.

Cutting for Stone

The central character in this book is a surgeon and there is alot of talk about surgeries. Of course, I loved that and I loved the characters also.

A Thousand Splendid Suns
Same author as The Kite Runner, also a great book. One of my friends says this book made her realize how lucky we are, as women, to live in the United States.

Sarah's Key
I thought this one was really moving. Not a happy little story though.

The Art of Racing in the Rain
A must for any dog lover! Really sweet story. (of course, the ending is sad but sad-happy if that makes any sense)

The Hunger Games
I downloaded this one to Kindle because I'd heard alot about it and it was on sale for $5. Had I known what it was about I probably wouldn't have read it. Once I figured it out I was already hooked though, and had to see what happened. (Basically, in a futuristic setting children are drawn in a lottery-like system and they fight against one another in a huge arena for sport until only one survivor is left). I hate science fiction, and I really hated the idea of this book but I couldn't put it down. I read the whole trilogy in less than 2 weeks.

And now I think I will make an appointment for some therapy because sadness seems to be a recurring theme in my list of favorite books, and I'm not sure what that says about me -- an otherwise very happy person.

If you have any book recommendations I'd love to hear them.