The Simpson Adventure

french toast hearts

2012-02-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!
I think this day is right up there with Christmas. This
Morning I made French toast cut out in the shape
of hearts. I let the kids sprinkle
pink or red sprinkles on top and add thick syrup.
I loaded their lunch boxes for pre-school with heart shaped strawberry
sandwiches. I cut out piece of cheese in the shapes of hearts.
I then baked some pre-cut valentine cookies and added them as a treat.
Man, I love valentine's day.

love letters

2012-02-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

Found this adorable way to keep the nuggets Valentine's all together on Tuesday. I suggested it to the other mommy that was teaching pre-school last week and we made it work so they have these way cute suitcases to collect their valentine's. I wish everyday was Valentine's Day.

candy house

2012-02-06T15:08:00.000-08:00

My mom got the kids a kit to make them a gingerbread house and decorate it. This Christmas was so busy. It just flew by and I dislike that. I don't want every holiday to be so busy that we miss it and it has no meaning. A few days before Christmas we went up to Vegas for a football game while the nuggets stayed at grandma's. We enjoyed the game and being with the hubsters family, but we really missed our kids. Especially since it was right before Christmas and we just felt like we missed out on things we could be doing with them to celebrate the season.

mambo Italiano

2012-02-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

Made spaghetti the other night and made WAY too much. I often do that. Decided to make it into another dish and it turned out tasty if I say so myself. HERE is how to do it.

the plate ran away with the candlestick

2012-02-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

I love this idea. So much in fact that I ran out to my favorite thrift store and got both the plate and candlestick for under $2. I glued the candlestick to the plate and put it next to my sick to keep all those strange things together and out of the way. Bless you Pinterest.

mixed reviews

2012-02-01T06:53:00.000-08:00

I made this on Sunday for breakfast. Used a day old loaf discounted from the store. Bubbie LOVED it and ate 3/4 of it. Monkey thought it was fine. The Hubster said it was good, but had a strange after taste and I really didn't like it at all. So, there you have it. Here's how to make it. I know others love it. HERE

pumpkins for sale

2012-01-31T07:03:00.000-08:00

We're great at picture taking. Oh well. Found pictures on my mom's old camera she gave me with pictures from when we went down to Apple Annie's and picked us some great pumpkins.

well that was easy

2012-01-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

Monkey begged to make cookies tonight. Two things I can't say no to when my kids ask are
1. will you read me a book? and
2. can we cook something?
Another great find on Pinterest and what was even better is that they were so easy.
1/2 c. softened butter
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
NUTELLA

Blend the butter together with the sugars, add egg and vanilla. Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together and add to creamed mixture. It's going to be rough and flaky. Mix into ball and put in freezer for 20 minutes. Roll out into little balls and flatten into disks. Try to make 'em the same size. Bake in 350 degrees for 15 min. Once cooled go to town with the Nutella.
Yum.

make me some art

2012-01-24T07:02:00.000-08:00

I made this last night. I picked up 3 different colors from Wally World for $.97 each pack of colors and made the flowers. I did this for Bubbie's birthday in the summer too. It's so easy to make a quick decoration. I have 2 decorations for Valentine's Day so when I saw this idea on Pinterest I had to do it. I also like that I can just pitch it too and not store it.

The Pintrest effect

2011-12-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

Pintrest. Some call it 'Crack for crafters.' I call it my new bestie. I love it. But, I don't want to only pin pictures, I want to use these ideas for my home. This idea was the very first thing I saw and "pinned" to my boards. I got the jug for free and the lights half off after Christmas a few days ago. Next I'm going to try out Martha Stewart's best homemade bathtub cleaner that was pinned on someone's board.

it is what it is

2011-12-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

My SIL said it best on her blog. "Please inspire me to blog again." Or something to that effect. That's how I've felt lately so I just don't. I've got tons of pictures to post and I don't like to post without pinning pictures.

Having a family pass to the zoo is the best idea ever. We'll go through there real quick, take our time, do sections, it's just the greatest for kids. Especially with our weather we're having. Well, for us, it's cold now, but it's still nice to go and have a picnic afterwards.

I'm glad they get excited about these. I used to like them when I was younger and we had one as a class pet. Totally didn't mind when it peed on me. Now, I'll just watch my kids pet them.

Jump around

2011-10-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

Our little buddy next door had his birthday party at Pump It Up. An indoor inflatable jumping thingy. So much fun and a great idea. Wear the kids right out!

Treats

2011-10-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Treats for my 3 kids. We rarely go to the mall anymore. Not sure why, just don't so when we went we stopped for an ice cream treat. Took this with my cell phone. Story of my life and I'm sure you're sick of hearing me talk about how I keep losing my camera. I did it again. Do you know where I put it?

let there be light

2011-10-03T16:53:00.001-07:00

Oy! So, We're back from house sitting. We were gone for a month and I was taking care of an elderly man while the people were on vacation. For a fee we were to move into the house, take care of the father and have a "mini vacation." It was not a mini vacation. It was hell. He was WAY harder than they let on and for your dinner's sake I won't go into details of what we had to do to care for him. Double Oy. He was a full-time job in it's self and then I had to care for my kids and a 2 mo. old that I also care for. Would I do it again? For more money, yes.

I'm back to the comfort of my home. Being gone has made me love my small house even more and love being in it. I did realize that there's just not enough light in my house. The way the windows are positioned I just don't get that bright light in. So, I have to do it my self.

I got this lamp at DI for $1.80. I painted it with some left over paint I had in the garage and found this lampshade at Cost plus. It was $14, but I had a 25% off coupon that I used for it so it was around $10.

I love the turquoise a lot and love the soft light it gives at night and that it brightens up the high vaulted ceiling that the lamps down below just can't reach.

Did I mention it feels good to be back?

birthday pancakes

2011-08-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

I made the s'more's pancakes for my birthday breakfast. They were really good. They tasted like chocolate and marshmallow cream. I like recipes that turn out good and this one is worthy of being written down in my recipe book for future special breakfasts.

Laundry Room

2011-08-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

BEFORE

It's funny how for a woman's birthday they want practical things like a vacuum or a blender that typically impact the whole family and men want a hat or tools. I don't think I can get much more into this house so I didn't want anything to add to the crampness. What I wanted was my laundry room to be re-done. It's falling apart with all of my junk and it makes doing laundry a little less exciting. Not that doing laundry is exciting.

DURING
Once everything was cleared out it looked pretty big. Dirty, but big.

AFTER

This is the completed closet. Thanks to my mom for practical gift of paint shelves, lights and labor. I love it and love how organized it is and it looks so calming and bigger than when it was empty. Weird.

reading rainbow friends

2011-08-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

We go to the children's museum often. And what do my kids want to do while there?
Read books.

flip to the flop

2011-07-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

I love wearing flip flops. I wear them all the time. I wear them out and about and even in the snow. Cold feet do not bother me. I even worn them when I got married. I don't like things covering my feet. They (my feet) say they can't breathe. When I saw these do-it-yourself sandals I kinda got excited. The dollar store sells flip flops and I've got lots of scrap material that I can do this in a cinch. One thing however, I've got cracks deeper than the Grand Canyon in my heels and need to set a goal to take better care of my feet if they're gonna look like these beauties.

Here's the Tut on how to make 'em if you want to try it out too!
HERE

one of those days.

2011-07-27T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is how I feel today. Do you ever have one of those days where you just know it's gonna suck? I wake-up and I just feel it. I know that things are going to go south. Maybe because I foresee it going that way that I make it be that way, but still.
It's one of those days where you only see the bad things happen and can't focus on the good. My daughter decided to get the bread out of the fridge and dumped out all 12 eggs my mom had just given me. Leaving me with no eggs now. Bubs is still tired when he wakes up and is crying at the drop of a pin. We go to the community center and crime has hit there yet again. Every week it's something. Either some thugs, that have no respect for property, set the playground on fire. Next week, every wall was hit with graphic images and gang tagging. The following week we are held in lock down for 2 hours while they search the area for 3 armed gunmen that have fled into the desert behind the pool and this morning a young swim instructor was opening up the pool area and found to ski masked men wandering around. Luckily, she wasn't hurt and got their car plate number. But, see, these are days that I just want to get away from areas like this. I don't want to be near it or see it. And then the other part of me is saying "That doesn't make the problem go away." And that's where my soapbox comes sliding in and I just want to judge and ask why these parents weren't teaching their kids to be respectful and give them activities in their lives that are constructive. "oh, so you like to spray graffiti? Why don't we enroll you in free art class." "You enjoy running from the police? Here's a great cross country team you'd like." I just get frustrated with the world around me and it's just one of those days. Tomorrow I will be back to worrying about my own family and making sure I bring 'em up to be respectful, have pride, care about others and just be kind.

creative light

2011-07-26T09:52:00.000-07:00

Funny how you'll be thinking of something and all the sudden something shows up and gives you a cool idea. Lately, I've been watching a lot of HGTV. I've been wanting to do things to my house, but not pay through the nose. One thing in my house is that it has bad lighting. The windows are in terrible places and it doesn't help that I like warm cozy colors in my decor. One thing I was wanting to change up is the fixture in my kitchen. It's just a plain hanging pendant that gets lost. I want to try this string idea and play it out. I will go for a darker color string, but what a cheap idea to try and if it doesn't look good I won't have regrets.
Here's how to make it HERE

hard at work

2011-07-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

The nugget hard at work.
Working day and night to get the situation under control.
Bike broke down on the freeway and had to call in for a tow.
Good thing there were mechanics on hand.
This is going to be pricey.

Hot S'mo's

2011-07-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

RECIPE

When I saw this it reminded me how much I love s'mores at summertime. I think it's the only time we have them. We had them for a treat on July 4th. The power was out so I had to cook dinner on the grill. I made chicken burgers and watermelon. The kids had never had s'mores so it turned into this whole deal. "Why are we burning the marshmallows?" "It's too sticky" "The chocolate is melting." It's suppose to people! They're suppose to be gooey! I'm going to make these for breakfast before summer is over. I've got marshmallow cream still left over from toppings for hot coco. Click on the recipe to find out how to make the pancakes and the sauce.

It's like riding a bike

2011-07-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

Our power always goes out during Monsoon season. On the 4th it was out for 4 hours and it was cooler outside than inside after the rain. We went outside and found a frog and played in the puddles. Both kids found their bikes and started riding. Monkey is tying to learn how to ride her bike without training wheels. Here's the hubster and monkey practicing.

craft itch

2011-07-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

I got the itch to re-do something last night. Monkey had this table in her room for her lamp and radio. It used to be mine, I've had it forever. It was forest green for my green and Burgundy phase. My mom painted it pink to match her room. It looked kinda blah has it started to fade and become lost as I spice up her room once in a while.

I thought about painting it a different color, but I saw that had some cool scrapbooking paper and Mod Podge. While the nuggets napped I worked on the nightstand.

It came out a little bumpy, but you can only tell when you're super close. The design on it hides all of my mistakes. I'd go nuts if I tried to make it perfect. So it is what it is.

my froggy can swim

2011-07-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

Bubs can swim now. He's a fish and I'm so proud of him and so is he. He loves to jump off the edge and swim to the wall which is a good thing just in case he accidentally falls in he knows to go right for the wall. Good job bubs.