Little Home

Homemade BabyLegs

2010-01-06T16:11:00.007-06:00

I love babylegs (leg warmers), especially now that my daughter is working on using the potty by herself. Much easier than tights! We have a cute printed pair, but I wanted some more that she could wear with her patterned dresses.

When I found socks for $1 at Target, I decided to make some, and bought 2 pairs of solid gray women's ankle socks. (That was all that was left that would go with the dresses I had in mind.) Now, if I'd used knee socks, this would have been much easier - just cut off the foot, hem that end, and you're done. But I decided to make do with the ankle socks.

There are some crooked seams and unfinished edges, but I think it will be fine because they won't really show too much when she wears them with dresses and her suede boots.

A semi fun project on a snowy day inside.

As usual, I didn't follow a pattern. Here's a brief rundown of what I did if you are interested. Took 2 socks. Turned them inside out - maybe not necessary. Cut off the toes. Cut a triangle out of each heel so that the cuff (at the top of each sock) was partially loose and could be reattached in a straight line. Did that to each sock. Then sewed the open toe end of one sock to the open toe end of the other sock to form a long tube. There's one leg warmer. Repeat with 2 more socks for the second leg warmer. Use 4 socks total. Not glamorous, but does the job.

Milton's Multi-Grain Crackers

2010-01-04T13:43:00.004-06:00

Here they are.

I think they are like $7-$8 at Costco. There are 4 big trays inside.

Not too bad, in my opinion, as far as crackers go. Here's the company that bakes them.

They are substantial crackers.

We need snacks, and I'm just not making everything from scratch! :)

Instead of Resolutions...

2010-01-04T11:13:00.003-06:00

Consider making a Stop Doing List.

While I love to-do lists to help keep me focused, the idea of a stop-doing list feels refreshing.

The above link is to an article by Jim Collins. I think it can be taken a number of ways, but here is how I summarize it: It is about your time. Evaluating, streamlining, disciplining. Investing what you have on what is important to you.

It is good food for thought.

Menu Plan 1/4/10

2010-01-04T09:54:00.006-06:00

Welcome 2010.

Here's what we have planned for the week after a Costco trip to restock.

Breakfasts:

Organic Raisin Bran

Waffles with Syrup

Bananas

Orange Juice

Lunches:
PB&Honey Sandwiches*

Yogurt or Cheese

Clementines

Dinners:

Monday - Leftovers, Cherry Crisp

Tuesday - Stromboli (with nitrate free sausage), Salad

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Shepherd's Pie, Salad, Cornbread

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Chicken with Sauteed Mushrooms and Cheese, Green Beans

Sunday - Quesadillas with the leftovers, Salad

Snacks: Crackers** and Cheese

* We've started using a new kind of bread. My husband was really unhappy with the whole-wheat bread I was buying from Costco, and my daughter wasn't eating it very well anymore, either. It was just too heavy for them. So, I started buying their white-wheat bread, instead. It is not as filling nor healthy, but at least it contains some whole grains (65%) and no high fructose corn syrup. And, hey, it is cheaper! (Under $3 for 2 loaves.)

**I will soon share about my current favorite crackers in the world. They are from Costco, and they are the most delicious and healthiest I have found.

Happy cooking! Have a great week!

Menu Plan 12/28/09

2009-12-28T14:44:00.003-06:00

Breakfasts:

Granola with Milk

English Muffins and Eggs

Orange Juice

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Chips & Salsa

Pears, Clementines

Dinners:

Monday - Leftover Soup

Tuesday - Crescent Turkey, Salad

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Spaghetti, Salad

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Dinner with Family

Sunday - Lazy Chile Rellenos??

Wishing You

2009-12-24T15:14:00.000-06:00

....and yours a very

Menu Plan 12/21/09

2009-12-20T12:29:00.006-06:00

Breakfasts:

Granola with Milk

Bananas

Bacon, Eggs, Toast (Christmas morning)

Lunches:

PB&J Sanwiches, Tortellini Soup, Homemade Macaroni & Cheese

Pears, Clementines

Dessert

Dinners:
Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Dinner with Family

Wednesday - Crockpot Baked Potato Soup (new recipe!)

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Homemade Pizza, Salad

Saturday - Chicken Chimichangas, Salad

Sunday - Vegetable Beef Soup, Cheese Toast

Dessert:

Cherry Cheesecake Pie (for Christmas)

What should I make to eat for dessert earlier in the week week?

Projects in the works:

Any guesses what they are and who they are for?

Crescent Chicken

2009-12-18T15:29:00.003-06:00

I know they are processed and probably not good for you, but there is just nothing else like a crescent roll from a tube :) There are no imitations that turn out the same way!

We tried this Crescent Chicken casserole recipe recently. Yum.

Christmas Decor

2009-12-17T13:31:00.000-06:00

Are you the vintage type...
The glittery glam type...
The woodsy wonderland type...
A modern minimalist...
The sentimental-hodgepodge-collected-over-the-years type...

What kind of holiday decor to you have up at your home?

Do you go all out, or have just a few select items displayed?

One room, or every room and surface?

Or absolutely none at all?

I try to vary it up a little each year, while still reusing our decorations. I don't go buy new stuff each year, and I don't put it all out each year. Not that we have a ton. I think it all fits in two boxes. We don't have a bunch of knicknacks or signs, that's not our style.

I like to keep things cohesive throughout the house. I tried to make a rule for myself this Christmas that the materials I could use were white candles, glass or white ceramic, pinecones, and red berries. That's the "theme" I set for myself. So pretty much all Christmas decor arrangements, aside from the tree, incude only those items. They were things I all ready had. Pretty ordinary, and not screaming "posh" or "country" in my mind. Items that tie in with the overall decor of our home.

Nothing overwhelming is how we like it. Clutter stresses me out. I guess my husband's neat habits have rubbed off on me.

I like to spread the Christmas spirit to the bedrooms. We put our stockings in the bedrooms this year since we can't hang them from the fireplace mantle (it is too low - I'm afraid a child might pull them down and get hurt). And of course there are a few kid-friendly items around for for my daughter, like a stuffed snowman and her wooden Advent calendar.

Announcement: Emily's Christmas shopping was finished as of last weekend! Woohoo! Good thing, too, because this was a busy week!

Costco

2009-12-07T21:00:00.006-06:00

About $80 worth + tax. You maybe can't tell from the picture, but these are large containers.

We had store coupons for the chips, fruit snacks, peanut butter, and spaghetti sauce. That saved us about $10. I am not a huge fan of standard Skippy so it might get donated. The fish is new to us... I am just giving it a try because a friend recommended it.

I am liking the baby and Up & Up coupons that Target has been mailing out recently. I just got a booklet that has a $2 off Pampers Target store coupon. If I can use this with another manufacturer's coupon for $1.50, that means I can get Pampers for $5.49 this week at Target since they are on sale for $8.99. Hmm, we might be stopping for a package!

I am really not a couponer, but it seems that I've had diaper coupons lately that people have given me or I've gotten in the mail. They've really come in helpful in order to stock up on some disposables for when we are out of the house. Maybe once my oldest is potty trained, I will go back to using cloth when we are out and about, but for now, toting around cloth diapers for two kids when we go out is just a bit much.

December!

2009-12-04T13:06:00.009-06:00

My apologies for the unplanned hiatus. If anyone even noticed. :) It has been a busy few weeks here and computer time has been at the bottom my list... I have a feeling it might remain like that over the next month or so. So please be patient if new postings are fewer than normal for the time being. Thanks. I hope you are enjoying this special season, too.

Here are our main dish dinner choices from the past week and for the next couple:
Baked Ziti
Beef Chimichangas
Pizza (with PW's pizza dough)
Lazy Chile Rellenos
Chicken Tamale Casserole (this is a new one for us!)
Pot Roast Italiano (new, too)
Shepherd’s Pie
Liza’s Chicken (made with turkey, to deliver)
Fish and cornbread
Turkey pot pie
BBQ Meatballs

Sides: peas, green beans, salad greens

Here are the grocery trips of late:
(So much for the pictures.)

Aldi – $35
Miscellaneous staple items
(Chocolate chips are currently $1.29, butter is $1.39!)

Whole Foods – $35
10 lb. Pears
5 lbs. Ground Beef
Badger balm
Italian dressing mix (I’m in a lazy mood, not up for making my own.)
Shampoo

Price Chopper – $10
7 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts

HyVee – $21
Black Friday deal w/ coupons:
5 packages Huggies diapers, some for gifts

Still need to head to Costco soon, too!

Today and tomorrow:
Roasting a turkey from my mother-in-law, catching up on laundry, and making lots of this.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Target Trip

2009-11-25T15:40:00.004-06:00

I used coupons for all the products except for the ricotta cheese, which I picked up because I forgot to get it at Hy-Vee last week. I went with the intent to get some diapers before the coupon runs out - the polka-dots on the Target brand 'sposies are so cute - but the size I was looking for was sold out. I got wipes instead. Total: $8.29 + tax

Pie Crust

2009-11-22T22:21:00.003-06:00

I have made a good pie crust before. Every good pie crust I have made uses shortening.

Here are some pie crust recipes from around the blogosphere that don't require shortening. I would like to try making some of them...

Easy Pie Crust

Simple Pie Crust

What about using coconut oil in place of shortening in a classic recipe?

I tried an all butter recipe in the past and was not impressed.

I have heard good things about cream cheese crusts. Cream cheese makes anything good, right?

Thoughts?

P.S. Confession: When I made pies for the bake auction this past weekend, I bought my pie crusts because I didn't want to buy shortening since I never use it for anything else. And I was afraid to experiment (make pie crust without it) at other people's expense.

Menu Plan 11/23/09

2009-11-22T15:11:00.005-06:00

Notes regarding last week's menu: We made some Apple Crisp and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (LOVE these) instead of the Blackberry Cobbler. We also didn't get to the Shepherd's Pie; we had pizza instead. So you might see that menu again soon, too.

Breakfasts:

Granola or Cheerios with Milk

Blueberry Muffins

Clementines

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Yogurt

Apples

Dinners:

Monday - Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti (cream soup recipe found here), Salad Greens

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - PW's Cowboy Calzones (from the new cookbook), Green Beans

Thursday - Leftovers (We are having Thanksgiving dinner over the weekend.)

Friday - Dinner with family

Saturday - Dinner with family

Sunday - Leftovers

Dessert:

Blackberry Cobbler with Vanillla Ice Cream

P.S. Since cream cheese is sometimes on sale this time of year, you might want to consider making this Apple Dip; it is superb! If needed, you can keep it super simple and simply mix cream cheese and brown sugar by themselves and it is still good with a nice tart, green apple.

This post is part of Menu Plan Monday.

FuzziBunz!

2009-11-19T16:52:00.003-06:00

Look what came in the mail today!

These are for my son for nighttime. He has been wearing a disposable at night until now because the prefolds that he wears during the day do not hold out all night.

Groceries This Week

2009-11-19T15:37:00.009-06:00

I am a nerd.

I think I am going to document my grocery purchases over the next month or so. Not because I have extra time floating around, because I don't. Just for my own fun because I want to. That's why it is nerdy. I am trying to plan ahead even more so that I can go to the store less frequently during this busy season.

Here's where I went this week: Costco, spent $77.43 plus tax.

Special treats: Stacy's chips and Starbucks frappucinos. I want to save the bottles to use them like this.

Used Costco coupons for the chips, Starbucks, and Folgers (for hubs).

Another day: Hy-Vee, spent $63.47 plus tax.

I could have spent less if I had divided this trip up between Hy-Vee and Aldi, but the savings wasn't worth the extra stop this time. I am trying some new recipes in the next few weeks, so the canned goods are for those. I don't usually buy individually packaged stuff, but the raisins and natural applesauce were inexpensive and are easy for packing my daughter's lunch. Plus she likes the small containers and so eats them well.

Deals of note: the take and bake pizzas were bogo, the bread, eggs, and flour were all 99 cents with store coupons from the ad, and the chocolate chips and butter were on sale with the ad coupons, too. The store brand diapers were $5.88 a package and we will use them during some upcoming travels.

I am totally bummed that Costco is not carrying the organic sugar that I like. I am still loving and nearly exclusively using coconut oil, but am not sure if it will work properly in one of the recipes I will be making. So since I need to bake for a bake sale this weekend, I got some more regular sugar and oil at Hy-Vee.

It was a big grocery shopping week for me. I am thankful for these provisions.

Stay tuned to see what appears on the menu plans over the next few weeks from this loot...

Creamy Crockpot Corn

2009-11-16T22:11:00.001-06:00

This is a great side dish for a holiday meal doesn't take up room on the stove or in the oven.

8 oz. package cream cheese, cut up
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. water
2 T. sugar
2 to 3 lbs. frozen corn

Cook in crock pot on low 4-5 hours, stirring several times.

(I like to melt the butter and cream cheese beforehand and get everything mixed up really well from the start. It will still need stirring as it cooks, though.)

Menu Plan 11/16/09

2009-11-15T12:40:00.000-06:00

We rearranged a few suppers this past week. We had an extra night of odds and ends and some quick quesadillas another night, so we didn't get to the soup. It is on the menu again for this week.

Breakfasts:

Cheerios or Granola with Milk

Bananas

Muffins

Smoothies

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Carrots and Dip

Fruit

Dinners:

Monday - Vegetable Beef Soup & Golden Sweet Cornbread

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Italian Cream Cheese Chicken Dish

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - Shepherd's Pie

Saturday - Sausage/Egg/Peppers/Cheese Breakfast Burritos

Sunday - Leftovers

On the side:

Organic Salad Greens

Dessert:

Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Make:

Apple Pies for bake sale

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

Hooded Baby Bath Towel

2009-11-14T10:04:00.006-06:00

I did it!

This was my inspiration, but for the directions, I actually just winged it.

I used a wash cloth instead of 1/2 a hand towel for the hood.

After examining a hooded towel that someone made for my daughter, I just copied how it was sewn it together.

I loved adding the fleece embellishments. So easy to work with - no fraying!

The Week's Wrap Up

2009-11-13T20:44:00.005-06:00

We made some pumpkin waffles this week. A fun change, but I wasn't too impressed. I still much prefer what I refer to as the homemade Eggos recipe. All other recipes I tried are just too soggy for my taste.

We had a butternut squash given to use that I didn't want to waste. I roasted and pureed it and froze it in cubes. I might try using some of them in place of oil in certain recipes, or break out some recipes from my Deceptively Delicious cookbook. Let me know if there are any recipes in there that you recommend that call for the squash, I've never had any squash puree on hand before.

Also, to simplify, I used my own favorite chocolate cake recipe for the chocolate beet cake. I just replaced the oil with beet puree. The puree was in the freezer from the summertime.

I went to W**M*** this morning. It wasn't even crowded at all (2 days before payday for many families, a good time to go, I think). I hope I don't need to go there again for a long time. I will leave it at that.

I turned in some Swagbucks for $10 in Amazon giftcards. Not much, but every little bit helps the Christmas budget. Earning points for my normal web browsing that can be redeemed for giftcards? Gotta love Swagbucks! (If you want to sign up, I'd really appreciate it if you click through the previous link or through one of the banners elsewhere on my blog. You'll start of with 3 free swagbucks. Full disclosure: I get extra points for refering friends. But you will to!)

Tonight I am working on a project that I am excited about. I hope to share it tomorrow or the next day... So now I really better get crackin' on it!

Have a great weekend!

Feelin Crafty

2009-11-09T16:04:00.003-06:00

Here are a few things I've bookmarked and would like to make someday, somewhere, somehow...

Easy Hooded Bath Towel (I think I've mentioned this one before!)

Monogrammed Burlap Pillow (I love the texture that burlap adds.)

Pillowcase Dress (I've never sewn with elastic; it intimidates me, but I need to try it.)

And, I love these children's wall decals and am trying to think of a way to copy them for my daughter's room... any ideas? I don't really want to paint on the wall because that somewhat limits furniture arrangements. Perhaps I could incorporate them into the wall art project that I have yet to do?

I'll let you know if/when I get around to any of these items! :)

Green Toys

2009-11-08T20:35:00.009-06:00

Another toy that I think is worth the money is this environmentally friendly tea party set. Our daughter got if for her 2 year old birthday. She loves the colors and that it is just her size. I like that it is made from recycled materials and is safe for her to put in her mouth (and even eat off of!)

We also have the sand play set. It is very durable.

Check out even more American-made, eco-friendly toys from Green Toys!

Thanks for introducing me to this fabulous company, Ideal Bite.

Ideal Bite offers bite-size ideas for light green living, delivered in a short, sassy, free email each weekday. Tips cover everything from biodynamic wine to organic cosmetics to seasonal recipes from local chefs. Sign up now!

Menu Plan 11/9/09

2009-11-08T13:24:00.004-06:00

Whew! Last week was a busy (but good) week with work and company at our house. Still trying to squeeze in some holiday shopping here and there, and stay on top of things at home, too, like the cleaning and cooking. Need to do a good cleaning early this week before (hopefully) putting up the decorations. I've been feeling crafty but haven't had any time for that lately. Not to mention I hope to get back on the running schedule. I've really fallen off in the past two weeks. Oh yes, and SLEEP. I need my sleep. Sheesh.

OK. Enough ranting. There's really nothing to complain about here. On to the menu.

A couple extra things we made last week were BBQ Meatballs and some Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake for church. This week we will make some Creamy Crockpot Corn for a luncheon.

Breakfasts:

Organic Raisin Bran or Cheerios with Milk

Bananas

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Yogurt

Carrots

Pears

Dinners:

Monday - Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Peas

Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday - Crustless Spinach Quiche, Toast

Thursday - Italian Roast Wraps, Green Beans

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Vegetable Beef Soup and Golden Sweet Cornbread

Sunday - Leftovers

Dessert:

Chocolate Beet Cake with Frosting

This post is linked to Menu Plan Monday.

Soda Pop is Not So Sweet to Me

2009-11-02T15:54:00.004-06:00

A reminder to myself on why I don't (and don't want to) drink a lot of Coke!

...Never mind all the candy I consumed this past weekend. Bleh!

Menu Plan 11/2/09

2009-11-01T13:29:00.002-06:00

Breakfasts:

Organic Raisin Bran with Milk

Bananas

Orange Juice

Lunches:

PB&J Sandwiches

Yogurt

Apples

Dessert

Dinners:

Monday - Quesadillas, Salad Greens

Tuesday - Taco Soup and Tortilla Chips

Wednesday - Leftovers

Thursday - Biscuits and Sausage Gravy (nitrate/nitrite free)

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - BBQ Chicken Stromboli (dough)

Sunday - Leftovers

Dessert/Snacks:

Halloween Candy

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins