So busy....

So this is the cupboard under my sink. Doesn't look so scary...does it?

I have a confession.....IT'S A MESS!!!

 Not so much dirty...more along the lines of severely challenged in the organizational department.

I have really been wanting/needing a bag storage thingee from IKEA. So when in Minneapolis for the weekend I went to IKEA...and guess what I did? You know I bought one!!!

Still not gorgeous, but organized!

On the left, we have my bag storage thingee.

On the right, there in the box, is all my dishwasher stuff and garbage bags.

My vinegar for mopping floors and my "crinkley" bags for toys are in the back.

My tub is in the bathroom...it looks great.

On to my next HUGE project....cabinets, painting, lighting, and I have a special plan for the mirror!!

Before pics:

 My "before" cabinets aren't terrible but I have a vision...and the "Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations." Seriously, typing that gives me chills!! Can't wait to use it!!

 The mirror is huge and since my bathroom is so small I'm going to keep the huge mirror up. I have a plan to make it look better and I'm hoping to get that done next week.

 I hit Lowe's hard  tonight!

Light fixture (need globes yet): $40

Paint and pan: $20

Knobs and Hinges: $30

The awesome totes: $8 each!!

Also, thanks to the nice man at Lowe's, I found out I really don't need to replace the vent with the light.

Instead, he recommended trying to spray paint it. Savings: $100...Wowsers!!

 Two of my 4 totes will be used for organizational puposes. The other 2 will be in a new project I want to attempt soon. I am planning to make myself a bench for my living room. I found the red fabric for 75 cents at a thrift store! It's a table cloth but I think it'll make a great cover for the cushion!

I made Ian a little knit hat today. It's pretty plain but it fits him and keeps his little ears from the wind.

He looks even more like Daddy in black!! Scary!

Lime Herb Chicken

 Ian's "first" trip outside. He's usually under a blanket!

It was actually fairly nice. We look cold but his carrier was up in this picture.

It was really fun to listen to him giggle about Harley (the dog to the right) running around.

He was getting kind of hysterical!! It was really sweet!

Ok...so this is Week 11 of my recipes. I forgot that last week I made one of my favorites (a cross between Salisbury steak and strogonoff) with a few variations. I will try to put that up later this week...so yummy! Anyway, tonight I made Lime Herb Chicken. It was fairly easy and really tasty! Plus, we made it on the grill so that got us all out of the house. Fresh air does the body good!!



Lime Herb Chicken

Ingredients

1 cup lime juice

2/3 cup Italian salad dressing

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 broiler/fryer chicken (3-4 pounds), cut up

 This was the whole chicken. I have never actually cut up a whole chicken to cook, just to make into soup or eat off, so it really didn't matter what it looked like. So I tried my best and I thought the pieces turned out well. I was grossed out though when I got to the guts! I think I would buy the stuff that's already cut into pieces next time.

 How did I do?? The thighs are a little small but overall it went good.

 In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. Pour I cup of marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; add the chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; marinate for 15 minutes. Set aside remaining marinade for basting.

 Drain and discard marinade from chicken. Grill chicken, covered, over medium heat for 40-45 minutes or until juices run clear, basting occasionally with 1/2 cup reserved marinade.

 Brush remaining marinade over chicken just before serving. Doesn't it look just delish? It was very good...a little limey, if I would have had time to make the rice I was going to, it would have been perfect! Unfortunately, there was a cranky kiddo when it came time to make rice and carrots. Carrots were good with it though! It didn't take the full 40 minutes to cook, only about 25.

My beautiful lime/lemon juicer...that I bought for $2. I was really excited about my bargain...until I finally used it tonight. Two halves of lime into making dinner and the handle cracked right off!! So I had to juice all my limes with a fork...sad! I guess sometimes a bargain isn't really all that great of a deal :o(

Oh No!! We got the gunk!

 

Baby and Proud Papa!!

I went to bed Sunday night with an itchy eye...I woke up not able to open it! I had to have a friend go get the pinkeye drops for me because I didn't dare drive a car! Then last night my other eye started itching....this morning I woke up to a crazy eye on that side. Will it end?

**Please excuse my hair!**

I altered this shirt last week. My parents gave James and I this shirt when we got married...with a request for at least one grandbaby to fill it! It has been filled. Anyway, it was only a short sleeved t-shirt so I made some sleeves from an old black t-shirt I found in our closet and sewed them on! Turned out cute...I think anyway!

Grandma thinks I look like the Gerber baby...do you?

Ian has been having gunky eyes for the last week...but never got pinkeye. So I finally brought him to the doctor to see if he had a sinus infection or something. They checked his lungs and he had something there. So they did blood work to see if he had RSV. While they were checking that they had me give him a nebulizer treatment. The mask they gave me for him was so cute and I told the nurse, "Oh! It's so cute. I need a picture for my blog!!" Then she showed me how to hold him, turned on the machine and walked out of the room...leaving me there with a screaming baby who was doing everything in his power to get away from his cute dino mask! This continued for about 10 minutes, in which time I did not even entertain the idea of taking a picture of him in his mask!! The test came back negative for RSV so, in an effort to avoid any unnecessary antibiotics and neb. treatments, they ran it again for some other things including croup and another virus that acts like RSV.

Turns out, I made the right decision! Those tests also came back negative! So, what's wrong with my baby?? He has bronchialitis, which I understand is like bronchitis but in the bronchial tube. For right now we are watching him closely, he has a cool mist humidifier in his room and hopefully we can avoid the neb. treatments. He actually slept good last night with the humidifier! I'm hoping we can keep that up!

**Sorry about the messy table. This picture of Ian is too cute to pass up though!**

James and I are going on a mini vacation this weekend to Minneapolis. Ian is staying behind with the Grandparents. Hoping all will go well with him this weekend!

So, needless to say we don't have a new recipe this week. Sorry! I'll get back to it next week!

Weeks 8 and 9...baby legwarmers...and a cute baby!

 "Are you my mother?" Ian's Christmas gift from Uncle Peppers

 Just being stinkin' cute!

 LOVE YOU!!

By the way...It has been crazy around here the last couple weeks! It may not have actually been busy but running on the little sleep my delightful little boy thinks I need....I'm running on empty. Anyway, I have been keeping up on my cooking just didn't have time to post it! This week (last night actually) Ian rolled all over the floor! He could only go one way until he got stuck and we had to turn him to go the other way! Such a cutie! On to the recipes!! I made Gorgonzola Chicken Penne last week...well kinda. I asked my Gma what kind of cheese Gorgonzola was, and then decided that much of such a strong cheese would be too much for me. So I substituted Parmesan. SO...here we have Parmesan Chicken Penne! This is from...where else...the Taste of Home cookbook I got for Christmas!

 Ingredients
1 pkg (16 oz) penne pasta
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups (8oz) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (I used Parmesan)
6-8 fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced (I used ground sage)
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan and minced fresh parsley

Instructions
Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken in oil on all sides. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan.

Add cream and broth; cook until the sauce is slightly thickened and chicken is no longer pink. Stir in the cheese, sage, salt and pepper; cook just until cheese is melted.

Drain the pasta; toss with sauce. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and parsley.

This is SO GOOD!! I messed up the chicken so it was a little dry...I'll make it right next time!

This weeks recipe is one that I have had for 5 years!! Can you believe it?!? I think I have had this at my mom's house but I have never made it or helped to make it. So this one is Garlic Salmon Linguine.

Ingredients

1 pkg (16 oz) linguine

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup olive oil

1 can salmon, drained, boned, skinned

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

Prepare linguine according to package.

In large skillet saute garlic in oil. Stir in broth, parsley, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir in salmon. Cook until heated through. Add salmon mixture to linguine (drained) and toss to coat.

Let set, covered, for 10 minutes. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

I really liked this. James isn't a huge fan of salmon so he isn't over the moon about it. I think next time I make it I will try adding half chicken broth and half whipping cream. Maybe try with different kind of meat sometime...for James...just 'cause I love him!

These are some little baby legwarmers I made. I used a tutorial at Samster Mommy's blog to make them. LOVE THEM!! Can't wait to make more! Do we think Ian needs some little Spider man legwarmers??

Baby Hats Everywhere!!

The other baby hats I made for the preemie baby girl.

 I think James thinks "Enough....you need to stop!" I'm kind of addicted!

 This blue one has a flower on it that I also made. It didn't really show up well in the picture though.

 I love this fabric! It looks kind of old ladyish but for a baby!

I also thought a bow would be vintage, cutesy looking!

 Fabric flower and the hat matches...same color green. Didn't show up very well in pictures.

I love this one!! Just because it has a great big knot on it!

I'm so inspired and am hoping to make a few more projects...as soon as I have time! Today Ian was crabby again so he took a nap on me as I worked on computer. I don't know if it's his formula (I just started switching him to half formula/half breast milk) or if he has teeth coming. It might just be that he has days that he's extremely clingy? I don't know. I'm just glad that he doesn't get this way at night when it's time for bed. He might fight the sleep at first but after I have him asleep, he sleeps fine in his crib.

Baby Hats & Hot Cocoa

 Finished little hats! I only got 2 done but so far they turned out really cute!

The flower unattaches and they can switch them out.

Hopefully they will fit when she gets off some of her monitors and stuff.

 We made Mint Hot Cocoa as requested by my brother in law Jason who is Afganistan. I sent them some around Thanksgiving and it was gone in 3 days! They requested we make the same stuff just WAY more!

This is Jenny (his wife).

 Amy (Jason's sister) and two of her kids (Morgan and Chris).

Jenny again and Helen (Jason's mom/my mother in law).

We had alot of fun and made about 100 little single serving pouches. We also made little packets of marshmallows and Andes mint chips to mix in them...so good!

Week 7-Yummy Chicken and Crafties!!

This weeks recipe is called Crispy Onion Chicken and I found it in a Taste of Home (of course!) Ultimate Chicken Cookbook magazine (May 2008). Anyway, it is a really easy recipe and super delish! After last weeks flops I needed something to kick me back into gear and want to cook again. So what would be better than chicken covered in crunchy onions? Apparently not much! We both loved it and James got seconds...poor guy was about starving after the yucks I served him last week! I'm hoping this heats up well and doesn't get soggy. I made a little extra so I could bring some to our friends who just had their baby. The husband really hates cafeteria food, eating out, pretty much anything that's not homemade....picky! Since their daughter was born 12 weeks early and will be in intensive care for about up to her due date, I figured I better bring him some food so he doesn't have to try to stomach the cafeteria food :o( Baby Girl is doing really well and has very proud parents! Congrats Nic and Shirley!

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can (6 oz) cheddar or original french-fried onions, crushed

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (I think you could use 6 without using extra ingredients)

Instructions

In a shallow bowl, combine the butter, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, garlic salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, add 1/2 cup french-fried onions. Dip chicken in the butter mixture and then coat with onions.

Place in a greased 9-inch square baking dish. Top with remaining onions; drizzle with any remaining butter mixture. Bake, uncovered at 350* for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

SO YUMMY AND CRUNCHY!!

Since my friend had a little girl, who is much to small to wear the customary tutu I was going to make, I wanted to make her something. So looking on some blogs yesterday I found some very cute stuff. We couldn't find her tiny hats to wear ('cause the hospital ones aren't cute enough for her to wear 3 months!) so I'm gonna make some today...with the help of my Grandma! I'm hoping they turn out...the idea sounds easy and its not a hard pattern or anything but I've never tried sewing knit before...we'll see. I also was inspired to make some headbands for the other babies in my life. I'm going to put pins on the backs of these so they can be switched out from headband, to hats, to clothes, etc. I know they look alike but for $6 for all my flowers I wanted to experiment...gotta love the dollar stores!

 SO YUMMY AND PRETTY!!



I want one for myself!

 I tried to "try one on Ian"...James caught me and said "NO WOMAN! NO flowers on the baby!"

 He looked so cute though! The big reddish flowers are about as big as Ian's head!

This ones my favorite!

I found the tutorial on how to make these at

http://samstermommy.blogspot.com/2009/04/big-bloom-baby-headband.html

I also incorporated elements of another tutorial with the tulle stuff...that can be found here http://samstermommy.blogspot.com/2009/11/no-sew-fabric-scrap-flower.html

These were really fun and easy to make. I am now addicted to making little baby stuff...for girls! If anyone knows of any cute stuff to make for boys let me know...Ian needs stuff too!!

Week 6...

My boys snore on the couch together....frequently!

I don't know which one is more handsome!!

 GO PACKERS!!

Superbowl Sunday.

(I couldn't get this picture to turn for the life of me! And now I somehow lost it on my camera..sad face!)

 My recipes this week left much to be desired!!!

This is homemade mac and cheese I made. Apparently, when you are trying new recipes...don't modify them! I was trying to use up some leftover Velveeta so I just used a "tad" extra....horrible! It was pretty much inedible! The next day I had it for leftovers...even worse! I also made some cinnamon rolls this week. FLOP!! I think the recipe is a good one, I just totally screwed it up! I was trying to make a half batch and halved some stuff and used the full amount of others. The rolls were just barely edible...very floury. I will try them again after I pick up yeast. On the bright side, I made my very first pot of homemade Chickie Noodle Soup this week...DELISH! I used a rotisserie chicken I got at Sam's and cut it up and stuck it in freezer (for soup). After the week I had with cooking I'm glad something as easy as soup worked out for me!

 Ian eating BABY cereal!

We had Ian's 4 month check up and shots this week. My boy is gettin' big! 16 pounds! He did great with his shots and developmentally is right on track (maybe even a little ahead...mommy says). He also got some Zantac to start taking for acid reflux, seems to be helping. My mom thinks he has withdrawal from when he was getting all the Zantac I was taking for heartburn when I was preggo!



 Faith, Ava, Ian

I babysat for a friend of mine while she went to an interview. It was just fun to watch the girls play with Ian.

 Ian in his jumper with his favorite toy!!

 James' sisters kids and Ian with their Valentines from Grandma.

There were cupcakes under all that frosting! Typical boys...more interested in the food than taking a nice picture!

 Ian's valentine from my mom.

He took this picture between temper tantrums...gonna be a long day!

I think he's trying to get to the chocolate covered animal crackers inside!!

Week 5-Chris' Bay Area Burger

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com. I love looking on that site if nothing in my cookbooks "speaks to me." I decided to try a new recipe on the fly that night. We bought a bunch of buns that we needed to use up. James wanted tavern (sloppy joes) and I was really in the mood for a burger. I got on allrecipes while pumping to look for a new hamburger recipe. I found this one and decided it was something we might like...and I had all the ingredients!

James (my handsome hubs) "cooking" the burgers.

I had to snap this one quick while he had the spatula in his hand!

MMM....can you smell them?

They smelled amazing...and were very juicy!!

 Ingredients

1 lb ground beef

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2-1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/2 tsp dried basil leaves

Instructions

Mix together. Make into patties. Grill or fry...EAT!!!

I served with grated provolone and regular hamburger buns. Someone left on a comment on the website that this would be good served with mozzarella and foccacia bread. I think they would be good that way too...with a little preparation!!

OK...I know you can't tell by what I've written already...WE LOVED THESE! James (with a big smile) said "Mmmm...you can DEFINITELY make this again!" I loved them! They were so good I didn't even use any condiments! Easy, delicious....definitely going to be made again.

This is Ian trying to roll over.....

 still trying.....

almost.... 

Nope...not happening today :o(