MIA…

Posted by Nat on Nov 30, 2011 | 2 comments

Things have been quiet here for a bit.  I’m totally behind.  Here’s why:

– Closet organization:  this has been taken to the next level. We jumped into redoing our master walk-in closet in addition to the front hall closet.  It’s awesome and it’s awful all at the same time because now I have to reorganize everything (awesome and awful), throw things away (awesome), and reassess how our house functions (Awful?  No.  Awesome because it will work a lot better for us).  Everything is getting shifted.  As I said to Michael, “It has to get worse before it can get better.”

– I have no desire to cook.  Not sure why.

–  Emily, my sweet baby girl, is throwing me for a loop with her feeding.  She went from sleeping through the night from 11:00 to 6:00 to waking up twice.  Not cool for mommy.

I’m taking this week to organize and hope to be back up next week.  With pictures.  And words.  And love.  And more.

Mwah.

Real Simple Easy Dinners: Week 4

Posted by Nat on Nov 22, 2011 | Comments Off on Real Simple Easy Dinners: Week 4

Finally!  We finished!  If you’re new to this series, start here, then go here, here, and here.

I was horrible about taking pictures this week, AND we skipped a meal.  Just didn’t make it because it didn’t sound good to me (red peppers are not my thing).  BUT, to make up for it, I did make another RS meal from the magazine, and will share about that later- it was a HUGE success and part of a new thing I’ll be trying for our family.

We didn’t make the meals in order, but I’m labeling the way they appear in the magazine in case you’re following along.

Monday :  Pan-Roasted Cod and Fennel with Spinach Couscous

(No picture- sorry!) This one was really, really yummy.  I’m not a white fish person (right, Mom?).  BUT- this was good.  I wasn’t sure about the fennel- I tend to shy away from anything that reminds me of black licorice.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  What I was most pleased with was the couscous- I usually HATE couscous, but Michael bought some Israeli couscous from Trader Joe’s, and it turns out that I don’t hate couscous, I just hate the way it’s usually prepared.  This way, with spinach, was really good, and I’d totally make it again.

Tuesday:  Chipotle Beef and Beer Chili

Let’s get one thing straight:  I’m snooty about my chili.  I did not think I could possibly like a chili that you whip up in an hour.  I was set in my ways- this chili would not be good, and I even told Michael that I was prepared for it to taste like crap.  And guess what?  I was wrong.  It was awesome.  Michael loved it, too.  I didn’t do the chipotles because neither of us “need” them in our chili- we are savory chili people.  And the corn muffins….oh, who doesn’t love a good corn muffin.  I think the next time I make it I will used crushed tomatoes instead of whole peeled tomatoes, but otherwise it will stay as is.  YUM.

Wednesday:  Lime and Soy-Glazed Chicken with Cabbage Slaw

(no picture- again!)  Fail.  This one was not great.  Maybe it’s because we have an old, OLD oven and it just didn’t do well, but it didn’t taste the way I was hoping it would.  It also ruined a baking dish because the glaze scorched itself on, and no amount of elbow grease was going to get it out.  Oh well.  I think of all the recipes in all the weeks, this might be the least favorite for us.  They can’t all be amazing, eh?

Thursday:  Salami & Brussel Sprouts Pizza

This was awesome.  We actually made it for lunch over the weekend, and it was neat to have a fresh pizza for lunch on a chilly day.   I think the key thing I learned from this recipe:  leave your pizza dough out until it’s room temp!  I’ve tried soooo many pizza doughs, and have never liked the way they turn out- but I’ve also never let them come to room temp before, and this pizza dough (Trader Joe’s) was amazing.

Friday:  Skillet-Poached Eggs with Braised Peppers and Onions

Skipped it.  I hate peppers.  I’ve tried, really, I have.  And I still hate them.  Michael even looked at this one in the magazine and said, “Honey, there’s no way you’d want to eat that.”  And so, we’re done!

Coming up after Thanksgiving:  a RS Easy Dinners Roundup, and lots of other fun posts!  I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends.  I get to make mashed potatoes and corn muffins- woo hoo!

Operation Organization: Front Hall Closet, part 1

Posted by Nat on Nov 17, 2011 | 1 comment

*Note:  I’ve decided to make this a series since I have lots of organizing to do.  I’m a bit type A in this area, so I will hopefully have some good stuff to share with you as I strive towards knowing where all of my crap is .

A long time ago I posted about our hallway closet.  I love that closet.  The rest of our closets, however, have been on the back burner.  Back at the beginning of this year my husband and I bought Elfa shelving from The Container Store during their huge Elfa sale.  If you live near a Container Store you should check out that sale- it’s rad.  The shelving we bought, however, has been sitting, waiting to be installed.  Now that things have calmed down on the baby front we are ready to dive back into some house projects, and this is one of them.  We also did not paint this closet upon move-in at this house, mainly because we had nearly 2,000 square feet of house to paint, and this closet was low on the totem pole of paint.

It’s in a tricky spot, right by our front door, and it doesn’t have a light inside it, so these shots will not be the best photos.

I emptied it out, and here’s what it looks like empty.

I can’t believe I’m showing you this, but here’s a corner up close, so you can see all the cobwebs, dust and faded paint.

When I demoed (sp?) the existing shelving it was really more difficult than I thought it would be.  I had to pry the shelf supports off and they had the longest nails I’ve ever seen.  And the dividing board that separated the hanging garments from the rest- it was like moving a mountain.  Okay, not a mountain.  But it was hard. What I was left with was lots of holes in the drywall.  Lots.  That top “oops” and left-pointing arrow are pointing to a hole I didn’t get on my camera, but my husband had to patch it by sawing out some of the existing dry wall and replacing it with new stuff.  Neat.  Oops.

And here’s where we are today:  ready for installation.  I’m waiting for Emily to go to sleep so I can put in the shelving.

The only challenge we have once finished is what to do with this crack in the flooring and baseboard where the previous closet set up was.  I’m thinking a rug?  Not sure…  This flooring will get replaced eventually, so we’re not patching it up.

Wordless Wednesday #5

Posted by Nat on Nov 16, 2011 | Comments Off on Wordless Wednesday #5

I know I’m not supposed to say anything, but how did she get so big?  This is a minutes-old shot of Emily.  She’s huge now!

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Joy! A Glitter-Filled Tutorial

Posted by Nat on Nov 15, 2011 | 1 comment

I am so excited about these things!!!!!!

I keep walking by them, sitting on my cluttered table in my guest/craft room and I stop just to look at them sparkle.  I plan on using them for at least two things.   One is obviously decor for the holidays.  The other you’ll have to wait and see.

I never got excited about glitter until I had kids, but seeing things the way they see them- now I like the glitter and such of the holidays.   Now let’s get one thing straight:  Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday.  We do not play Christmas music or decorate for Christmas until the weekend after Thanksgiving.  But given what I’m going to use these for, I had to get crackin’.

So, here’s what you need to create your own glitter letters:

• patience
• time
• glitter in desired colors (you’ll see what I used below)
• letters (I got mine at Joann’s, though I don’t really like them pre-glitter- next time I will get some cuter ones like these)
• glue (I used Elmers)
• paint for covering letters before glittering
• paintbrushes- having a few sizes helps
• small paper plates- cheap & thin ones that bend easily
• rulers and other things for tracing patterns
• newspaper for protecting your surface from glitter

Paint your letters.  I painted all but a very small area first; let dry; finish; let dry.  I did two coats, and I used acrylic mainly because I had some.

Once your paint is dry, you can pencil your design on the front.  I knew I wanted each letter to be different.  What’s lovely is that you don’t need to worry if you mess up- the glitter will cover it all- hooray!  So, for example, when I did the “J,” I just used a ruler and traced it at an angle.

The “O” I freehanded, and I just labeled it with which color I wanted the dot to be, R’s for reds, G’s for greens.  I used two different spools of thread to trace the circles.

Now comes the fun part- the glitter!  I decided, since I needed glitter anyway, to try Martha Stewart’s glitter line.  It does not disappoint- it is so fine (as in tiny) and the colors are just beautiful.  These are the three colors I used (white gold, peridot & garnet):

I wasn’t sure if I’d want to buy the entire set that they sell with a bazillion colors.  I’m glad I got the bigger jars, but will be tempted now to get the whole set and glitter my entire house.

For the “J” I painted the glue on with a paint brush and did only one color at a time.  So I did silver first since it was going to be every other stripe.  I’d paint a stripe with glue, sprinkle on the glitter, and then tilt & tap to get the excess off.  At first I used a spoon until I got used to it, but found that after a while the spoon was just an extra step.

See that pile o’ glitter on my newspaper?  If you keep reading you’ll see how I get it back in the bottle and make very little mess (I think).

For the “O” I just used the tip of my glue bottle.  First I outlined the circle, then I filled it in.  I did find that if I was super careful with how smooth the glue was, the glitter adhered better.  Circles like the one on the right did not turn out looking as nice and I had to fill them in.

For the “Y” I did the red center first, then the colors on either side (sorry- for some reason “Y” didn’t get a lot of photo time and is sniveling in the corner.)

I think the most important thing about this is patience- waiting for the glue to dry.  I used a rather thick coat of glue, and didn’t want it to run and mess up my design.  So, for example, for the “J”, I did all of the silver stripes one day, and then the next I did the red and green.  The hardest letter by far, was the “O.”  Filling in all that silver around the dots took a lot of time, and it’s still not “perfect” but it’s cute.

So here’s how to get all that excess glitter back in the bottle/jar.  You’ll see below that after I did some green glitter I had a TON on the newspaper.  And on the right, you’ll see that my green glitter jar is nearly half empty.  This is where those cheap & flimsy paper plates come in.

Take your newspaper and angle it so that the glitter all slides to the center creases in the middle of the paper.  You’ll have to do this a few times from all sides of the paper.  Then carefully lift your paper with it folded in half, and tilt it.  Carefully dump all the glitter onto a paper plate (mine are about 6 inches across).

Now that your glitter is on the plate, it’s much easier to control.

Fold your plate in half, and then carefully aim it into the glitter jar- whoosh!  It all goes in, and if you’re lucky, it doesn’t spill!  Added bonus, you’ll hardly use any glitter- you’ll have a ton left.  None of my jars are even remotely used up, even after making these pretty thangs!

And one final look.  Please do tell, by the way- do you like glitter?  Hate it?  Like to have glittered things but don’t know about DIY?  I wasn’t sure about this and am so glad I did it!

What is it with Mondays?

Posted by Nat on Nov 14, 2011 | Comments Off on What is it with Mondays?

Our weekends have been hectic- that’s what it is.  I have lots of things in my mind and on my post calendar, but here’s a rundown of our weekend, just to give you an idea:

–  Flat screen TV delivered late last week- hooray!  We are going to be part of the 21st century of TV viewing technology!

–  I prepped the hall closet so we could install new Elfa shelving.  The only problem:  I put enough holes in the wall to require a huge drywall patch.  Enter: my amazing husband.  Whoops.  Guess what he did all weekend?

–  I cleaned the fridge from all of our left overs.  There were a lot.  I didn’t want stinky meat in the trash attracting raccoons and coyotes (for reals), so I put them down the drain.  And clogged it.  Enter again:  my amazing husband.  Double whoops.

–  We opened the box to start working on the TV (did you know that plasmas have to be “primed” for 100 HOURS?!).  The screen was cracked.  We were less than pleased.  Thank goodness Amazon has good customer service.

–  I upgraded my iPhoto and now it’s not working the way it used to, which meant that I had to waste time I would have spent prepping a lovely post for you all and try to figure out what’s up- which I am still doing. Argh.

So, until tomorrow, I guess.  I did just find out that my husband has a work dinner tonight, so guess what I’ll be doing?  Blogging, Pinning and perhaps enjoying a glass of wine or a beer, depending on how things go before then. 🙂

A tout a l’heure!  (That’s French for “see you soon!” but without the appropriate accents)

The Messiest Moments…

Posted by Nat on Nov 10, 2011 | Comments Off on The Messiest Moments…

…are the ones that make you laugh hardest after they happen. Am I right, or am I right?

Having a baby brings messes.  There’s just no way around it.  There are many evenings that I marvel at our play room after it’s been cleaned up, and 10 minutes after the kids are awake the following morning, all of our cleaning up is for naught- it’s a mess again.  But that just means they are playing and happy.  And the laundry…oh, the laundry.  There are few moments when I can say “I’m caught up on the laundry.”  As a family of five AND a newborn in the mix, there’s always something to wash.

But all the best stories, it seems, revolve around poop.  Poop puts a whole new spin on every aspect of a story because, well… there’s poop involved.  And it always shows up when you least expect it.

Case in point:  Meet Emily.  I’ve taken to calling her Em. 

 (above photo by my friend, Jenna)

She’s our #3 baby.  The one who completes our family. 

She is delicious.  She smiles, giggles and coos right now more than I remember our other two doing- or perhaps I’m just soaking it up more because I know once she stops I won’t have that in my life in the same way ever again {insert tears here}.

(newborn photo by LifeArt Photography)

She is, essentially a perfect baby.  The first few weeks were rough, but that was more just us getting used to a new baby again, recovering from labor, etc.  She’s so easy.  I can leave her on the floor in her little play bed for long stretches of time.  She grabs her toes, rolls over and is generally cute unless she’s tired or hungry.

(photo by my Dad, with his iPhone)

There’s just one problem.  Emily poops.  Well, every baby poops, so I should preface that with another statement:  Emily doesn’t poop very often, but when she does, it’s explosive.  It’s everywhere.  And it’s always at a really inconvenient time.   Always.

Case in point #1:

My parents were visiting from out of town.  Emily was just about three months old.  We dropped our two older kids, Jack and Anna, off at preschool and headed out to have breakfast at one of our favorite local places, the Hash House A-Go-Go.  Amazing food.  Great location.  Amazing food.  Did I mention the amazing food?  My husband went in late to work so he could come because we’ve only tried going with kids once and it just wasn’t as fun, so he wanted in on the deliciousness.

We got to Hash House and ordered our food.  Emily slept happily in her car seat and slept through the entire meal- it was awesome.  As we were finishing I looked over at her car seat, which was sideways in the booth, so I couldn’t see in.  I saw her little feet kicking, so I leaned over and popped her pacifier back in her mouth.  Seconds later I saw it fly out of her mouth and her feet gyrating and I realized, “Oh dear.  It’s the move.”  That move they do when they are uncomfortable.

I stood up and went over to look at her more closely and then I saw it.  Emily was wiggling and squirming because she was swimming in a sea of her own poop.  It was everywhere.  And if you’re thinking, “Oh, it couldn’t have been that bad,” let me tell you:  I could have ladled the stuff out of the seat.  Ladle.   I looked at my mom and we headed to the bathroom.  We were in there for about 15 minutes.  I had to throw her clothes away, and there was definitely poop in her hair.  Definitely.  Later, when we got home, I had to completely disassemble her car seat so I could sanitize it with wipes and wash all fabric contents.  There was even poop in the car seat base which means…. it LEAKED THROUGH THE SEAT.  It was, in a word, disgusting.  I know, I know- infant breast milk poop is not that bad, but it’s still POOP.

Case in point #2:

We went to the library just a few days ago.  As I put Emily in my Ergo carrier (love the Ergo!) and got ready to buckle her in, I could smell it.  She hadn’t pooped for 3 days.  I knew it was coming.  But at the library?  Really?!   I undid the Ergo, but it was too late.  Stain on the Ergo.  Emily looked at me with those blue eyes as if to say, “I feel sooooo much better.”  Lovely.  I had to change her on the floor of our Odyssey, and I used about half a pack of baby wipes.  I’m sure there is poop on the floor of our van somewhere.  There has to be.  But the real kicker of this particular story?  I forgot about the stain on the Ergo.   So the next day, as I’m in a public place getting ready to strap her in, I see it- that mustardy-yellowy-brownish color.  “What’s that?” I asked myself.  “Oh, right.  It’s a poop stain.”  Lovely.  “Hey everyone, check out my nice Ergo, complete with… poop stain.”

I love you, Emily.  I love you with every ounce of my being.  You are wonderful.  I do not, however, love your poop.

Love,

Mommy

I received information about Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign and am sharing my messy moment for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls. To learn more about the messy moment program, check out www.BleachItAway.com.  Sharing your story on the Clorox fan page gets you entered for the chance to win $25,000 and daily prizes, and you can grab a coupon for Clorox® Regular Bleach.