Its Hot and I'm getting there!

Guess what?


It was 80. In Michigan. In March. I had no time for computers - there were walks to take, swings to push, games to play, and rays to soak up.


I got a sunburn. I loved every painful minute of it.


I also found myself down a full pants size as part of "Operation Fit in My Pants"! Good news! I'm sure the extra outdoor time was a part of it and I'm thankful for it.


What else am I thankful for? The MyFitnessPal.com app I've got on my phone! This thing is full of diet plans, recipes, and nutritional information for thousands of foods! With one search I can find what I want, put in my serving size, and keep track of myself. And if I'm feeling far too lazy to type, the app has a barcode scanner as well. This thing gives me no room for my usual excuses for diets failing.


I love that I can put in my information and have it help me determine the right caloric intake for my body based on my goal, current weight and activity levels. It's working.


I have tried endless amounts of diets over the years and failed. I've got Atkins, SouthBeach, Yoga Booty Ballet, and a million other fads all over this house - but so far, MyFitnessPal is the only thing thats worked.


So I'm down a pant size. And I'd like to go down 1 more. Maybe 2 ;) Nothing drastic. And I'm making long term changes to how I eat and my habits, so once I'm there - I am not leaving skinny minny land for dumpy mom land ever again!


Looking for a similar goal? Go get this app! Get off your couch! And change your life!

Working momma rocking dinner :)

I work. A lot. I mostly manage to skip lunch hours and bring work home to do after the kids are in bed so I can spend time with them and not just be a myth in their childhoods (I'm tired, but I'll sleep when my nest is empty!). Most of the time, I think I balance it well. Sometimes I feel guilty but I think the guilt means I'm doing things right - it'd be a real problem if I didn't care, right?

But, no matter what. Seven days a week my family sits down at the table, at the same time, and we eat. And laugh, and talk, and sometimes argue (you DO have to eat the vegetables and keep your elbows off table!) but we have some good times.

I'm blessed - really blessed - that my husband is willing and able to step up and make the meals so we can do this a bit more efficiently during the week. Weekends are usually Momma's domain. Sometimes though, I throw them for a loop and make dinner when I get home from work. Leaving me pressed for time. And this recipe? We love it. And its easy. And a little outside of the box which makes me feel happy!

Goldfish chicken!

Honestly, no clue where I got this. I've been cooking it for about 6 years and never got a complaint! And when MY six year old will eat an entire meal without a whine? "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!"

Try it - you'll like it (kid cooks can help a bit too):

What you need:

2 cups goldfish crackers (we like flavor blast cheddar but we've played with them all and love them. The flavor blast ones were best)

1 1/2 cups ranch dressing

1 lb chicken tenders

Prepped baking dish (greased) - 9x13 should do it

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Smash those little fishes into itty bitty little bits and crumbs (kid chefs do good work!), then pour into a bowl

2. In separate bowl, pour ranch

3. dredge chickn through ranch

4. roll in the goldfish to coat

5. place in baking dish

Bake them for 20-30 minutes and SERVE!

(I forgot to take a picture. We were hungry! Just imagine them cooked and yummy and my kids smiling as they eat it!)

I know what we're going to do today...

Make a Perry the Platypus cake! Easy right!?

Actually. It is.

I almost fell over when my son declared he wanted a Perry the Platypus birthday cake. I'm sure you're all familiar with him (especially if you have a 6 year old) but in case you're not, here he is in all of his glory:

Yeah. No small task. I searched Pinterest, baking blogs, Disney blogs, and anywhere else I could think of and I found the GREATEST Perry tutorial ever. So easy, I could do.

Here is the link to the blog I worked from: http://dabbled.org/2010/06/perry-the-platypus-cake-tutorial-the-prep-work.html

This site was a life saver. I've never worked with fondant before really so it was good. There were a TON of great tips too - not just for this cake. Really, if you want to fondant - check her out!!!

I made a few changes from her post because I didn't have time to make fondant and I couldn't find the tootsie rolls she mentions. I also took her advice and made more of a grassy like base, instead of her cute jelly bean one.

Wilton Mashmallow Fondant is great. I know, I know - through my blog surfing I saw a lot of people who swear by making their own. And good for them, I'm sure they're cranking out an awesome recipe that is super yummy - but I am simply a far too busy mommy who wanted to wow her kid at his party.

I saw this stuff at Michael's for about $8 a box, $7.50 at JoAnn's (where I got mine) and then a few days after the party, I saw it at my Meijer grocery store for $6! You can guess where I will go next time.

This fondant was reall easy to wok with, color, and spread onto the cake. For a beginner, it was a lifesaver and really forgiving. So if you are trying this, or anything else, just remember "Wilton Fondant will save my novice butt and make me a superstar!"

Moving on, I baked the cakes like the blog said, the used rice krispie treats to create the shapes for his eyes, legs, beak (is that what it called?), and his tail. Different than the blog but it felt a little more stable and, being a clumsy newbie to this, my best bet.

I did a dry run to make sure the sizes were ok:

And I thought it looked good. I dirty iced it from there, wrapped the body in blue and the legs/beak/tail in an orange-yellow tone.

I decided the eyes would be better made of just fondant, so I rolled up some white for that. I reserved some fondant and colored it black for hair and pupils, and VOILA!

Perry the Platypus!

And he was definitely the star of the show at the party with some fun candles!

So don't be scared! Do some homework, think it out, and amaze them!

Birthdays are consuming my life

As a PSA to those looking to add another baby to the family, look at your calendar first. My children's birthdays are 17 days apart. I should have planned that a bit better. Right now, the minute Christmas is over, I go into birthday mode. And for the months of January and into February I am working on something for someone's birthday every moment of limited free time that I have.

Don't get me wrong, I love love love these kiddos so I'm WILLING to do it! I just wish I had a little space between. I'm a planner, this is why these birthdays consume me.

Moving on....my son turns 6 today (happy birthday big guy!). We needed a school treat yesterday to pass out to all of his classmates. And thanks to me being such a tech savvy mom - I have him hooked on pinterest too :) His pick? These INSANELY cute lego cookies (he loves him some legos!).



Here's the original link: http://cakecentral.com/gallery/2250165/lego-cookies

So, I got to work for my boy! I didn't see a recipe for this but it seemed self explanatory and I am BEYOND happy with the results. I got out my handy Christmas Sugar Cookie and icing recipes and rolled the dough out (they're below if you're interested)

Using a pizza cutter, I just cut the size and shapes of rectangles and square that I wanted.

Baked, iced, and then I fliped M&M's upside down for the bumps. Someone in the original post said they used regular sized M&M's, but in the future if I did this again, I'd use the mini's and make smaller cookies.

The final result for us:




Packaged and ready to go:




The kids loved them, they were NOT hard to make, and I think they look pretty darn cute!!

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Sugar Cookie Recipe (about 24 "normal" cookies, #'s will vary based on your lego sizes/shapes):

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Add baking powder and flour one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Dough will be stiff and should NOT be refrigerated. Roll dough out 1/8 inch thick. Bake cookies on ungreased cookie sheet on middle rack of oven for 8-12 minutes, or until cookies are lightly browned.

Watch them close - 8-9 minutes is usually the best outcome in my oven

Icing Recipe:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring

Combine in bowl, mix to consistency desired, add food coloring and you're ready to go! Icing dries HARD!

Multitasking Mom skills

Today, I accomplished multiple goals by doing on project. That's what I call multitasking :)

I should have cleaned the house, wrote a paper due for school tomorrow, started a stack of work I brought home with me, or done some laundry. But instead, I cleared out the dining room and set up.....MY NEW SEWING MACHINE!

My mom got me one for Christmas after I'd gotten some help from my mother in law on learing to sew and making a doll for my daughter for Christmas - and I mostly fell in love with all the possibilities I could do.

As an avid pinner, I've been stockpiling things to make to improve our homes and lives (that's what all my pins WILL do, right?) but hadn't really gotten the guts/time to get something started.

Until my sweet little boy who is turning 6 in a couple of weeks turned to me and said he sure would like a blanket sewed to match a handmade pillow his grandma made him last Christmas. And his final request? Sure would be cool if I could do it.

Grandma and I hit up the fabric store Saturday - and they were sold out of the EXACT fabric to match the pillow. We found the same family though. And thanks to a great pinterest link (Click here for the patten)- I was on my way.

It's basic and simple. It took about an afternoon to do. But more importantly - it was my first solo project. And it was for my little boy. And that moved it to the top of the list, here's the final result and I'm VERY happy with it!

Striped side:

Even got some fancy stitching on there!

The flip side is frogs and snails - perfect for my boy!

The goals achieved? I sewed something. I made something from Pinterest. And most of all? I made my son's day - before furthering my career or education, I'm still a momma loving to go the extra mile to make the memories we're both going to cherish :)

Look WHOOOO's one...

My sweet girl is turning one. And I'm developing an owl obsession. What a great time to combine the two right?

Lets start by saying, I handmade her invites. I'd post one, but I don't want you all showing up. Or stalking me. Or egging the house/ding dong ditching me in protest of my weak blog skills.

Lucky for you, I used the same template for some decorations, so envision these owls with a square on their belly with the party info:

From there, I made her Happy Birthday Banner and first year time line:

A Banner with her name:

Some sweet little owls:

Grandma made her a special dress for the event too!

A little smash cake and my greatest cake to date! I'm no Cake Boss or anything here, but not too bad for a suburban mom!

And with that, we had a super party with all our family, lots of super fun presents, and a great time. Its bittersweet when your baby turns - especially when she's your last baby. But with every day her personality comes out more and I get more excited for all the fun I know we're going to have and smile at the memories we already made. Happy Birthday to my sweet Lizabeth Alma!

WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE! (but we didn't...)

Well the sick baby led to a sick mommy. And a sick daddy. The only “perk” to the situation is that my son was with his father for the weekend and able to just stay there an extra day to avoid the situation.

I saw a link about how “fun” it is to look through decorating books, read, watch tv, take warm baths, and try to relax on a sick day. You know, “make the best of it”. If I hadn’t been completely exhausted from suffering from a horrible case of Montezuma’s revenge while taking care of a baby in similar form – I’d have doubled over in laughter.

Read a book? Take a long bath? I was just glad my husband was rinsing out the bathroom trash can after he had to commandeer it MacGyver style in a moment of panic at 3 am!

The truth is, for any parent that gets sick when their child is sick, there is no relaxing or bathing. Well, maybe for the child. She was getting 2 or 3 baths a day thanks to her situation and I finally realized Monday, I hadn’t seen the shower since Thursday. I’d been consumed by poo and puke.

I read books I suppose. We read “Where’s My Puppy” until I puked. Literally. Then we spent the rest of the morning rotating “Brown Bear Brown Bear, What Do You See?” and “Hug”.

Think about decorating the house? I did lay on the couch with the sick baby passed out across my chest noticing that my dining room paint color was matching her diapers. I did decide if I lived through the illness that I’d like that changed. Only because I never want to see that color again. Not because I spent the morning comparing paint chips and valences on Martha Stewart’s website.

And watching TV? Do you know what is worse than having to endure hours upon hours of Elmo and his grating voice singing his stupid songs while you’ve got one foot in the grave and the other helping you care for a sick kid? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I might have healed FASTER if we didn’t have to watch that.

So whoever wrote the article claiming you CAN possibly enjoy a sick day is way off base. I’m guessing this is a person who has no children, lives alone, manages to only work 40 hours a week, and has time for actual hobbies that could actually benefit from a few hours of down time when available. I suppose that a Mandy Moore character is most likely the author – although it’s possible that it was a Jennifer Aniston one. Whatever the case, it wasn’t a real person in the real world with real problems who has ever been real sick.

Really.