a bird and a bean

pumpkin pie french toast

2012-10-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

This post brought to you by Nature's Pride Bread. All opinions are 100% mine.

We spent the weekend at the cabin. It was a perfect fall trip. It was brisk, the leaves were all changing, it was gorgeous. I really like making easy but hearty breakfasts when we go there. This recipe was perfect because I whipped it all up the night before and stuck it in the fridge. Then I just popped it in the oven for 45 minutes when I woke up. It made the place smell heavenly, like Thanksgiving. And it was delicious.

Who wouldn't like pumpkin pie for breakfast?

Pumpkin Pie French Toast

Ingredients

8 slices of bread, cubed

4 eggs

1 cup almond milk or milk

1 cup cream or half and half

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

dash of nutmeg

dash of cinnamon

2 Tbsp sugar

maple syrup for serving

cinnamon whipped cream for serving

for the whipped cream

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

With a mixer, beat cream with other ingredients. Whip until soft peaks form. (or just add some cinnamon and vanilla to Cool Whip) :)

Place the cubes of bread to a greased 9x13 glass pan. Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, maple syrup, pumpkin and spices. Pour mixture over the cubes of bread. Cover and refrigorate for 45 minutes or overnight. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve with maple syrup and whipped cream. Amazing!

I used Nature's Pride Bread Nutty Oat bread for this recipe. Any of their breads would work great. I would have used the 100% Whole Wheat loaf, but my store was all out. I think their Country White or Buttermilk bread would be amazing in this recipe, too. I really like to buy Nature's Pride. It's important to me to try and limit the high fructose corn syrup and artificial preservatives that my family eat. I know Nature's Pride Bread doesn't use those or any artificial flavors or colors. I like that it's natural. And it just tastes great. I can make a mean p.b. and j. with it too!

You can like Nature’s Pride on Facebook and enter to win the Bread for No bread contest. You could win FREE bread for a month! They pick a new winner every Monday. Check it out.

If you have a favorite fall bread recipe, please share! I love fall and I LOVE bread. :)

tuesday tip - diy yoga mat car seat protector

2012-10-01T20:54:00.001-04:00

Today I'm bringing you a fantastic tip to help keep your leather car seats looking like new.

It's a genius tip involving nothing more than a yoga mat, scissors and electrical tape!

See this......This is my leather car seat.

Poor dented seat.

Because I've had this giant monstrosity sitting on it for the last 5 years and two kids.

Now see this.....This is my neighbor's pristine leather car seat.

And this is her genius car seat protector.

She scored this yoga mat for a couple of bucks on sale.

Then she cut it to the size and shape of her car seat.

And she tripled it up (for added padding) and taped it all together.

It's easy to remove and it's easy to clean! And it's cute!

And you don't actually need to triple it up.

(My neighbor just needed one and didn't want to waste the rest of the mat.)

You can make three matching car seat protectors out of one yoga mat!

(then you wouldn't even need electrical tape.)

You can make it cover the back of the seat too if you wanted to.

Look at that seat.... all nice and padded.

You can buy fancy shmancy car seat protectors, but they are usually about 25+ bucks!

You can make this for so much cheaper.

Possibly even free if you have a yoga mat sitting around all sad and un-used.

(hehe. like me!!)

re-purposed canvas

2012-09-30T15:23:00.003-04:00

I found this fantastically strange canvas painting of chairs at Goodwill for 4 bucks! Yee-haw.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with this!

Follow these steps, and re-purpose your very own.

It was fun and easy and I just love the way it turned out!

Step 1. Find an old canvas painting that you don't care about.

Step 2. Pick your favorite saying.

Step 3. Print out your saying in large letters in a font you like

(or a few different fonts if you want to mix it up.)

Step 4. Print it out again because your 3 year old found it and decided it was a coloring book.

Nice work.

Step 5. Get out your Silhouette and some sticky vinyl and cut out your letters.

Curse that there is yet another project that you wish you had a cutting machine for and feel sorry for yourself. (maybe that's what I did)

And then get over it and lay out a sheet of wax paper and put strips of painters tape on it.

Sticky contact paper would work well too, but I didn't have any.

Step 6. Lay your printed letters on top of your real or homemade contact paper and carefully cut them out with scissors, old school style.

Step 7. Peel the wax paper from the tape. This took some patience and time, but it all came off. (Contact paper would probably be less time consuming here.)

Step 8. Place your tape letters onto the canvas and press well. Especially the edges.

Step 9. Mix up some acrylic paint and paint all over the whole canvas. You can make it solid, or streaky. I left mine a little streaky. Dab carefully around the letters to prevent too much bleeding.

Step 10. Peel off the tape while the paint is still a wee bit wet.

Step 11. Clean up the parts where the paint might have bled under the tape.

Mine did bleed under the edges of the tape a little. I think it's because my canvas was pretty shiny so the tape didn't stick super well. If it was a matte canvas, the letters would stick better.

But, also, since mine was shiny, it was really easy to use a wet Q-tip to clean up the edges of each letter.

So, no problem.

Step 12. Enjoy your new art.

I just love it.

I would love to see yours if you decide to give it a go.

guest post - crock pot beef burritos

2012-09-28T07:13:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone.

I'm feeling adventurous today!

I'm over at Adventure Mom sharing a SIMPLE and DELICIOUS, family-pleasing recipe for beef burritos, IN THE CROCK POT!

Come on over and check it out.

Look at that.....you know you want to make it!!

Cheesy goodness.

Crock Pot Beef Burritos

Stay a while and get some great ideas for the next adventure for your family.

She's tons of fun, that Nedra, she'd love to have you!

frozen banana bites

2012-09-17T07:29:00.001-04:00

These little frozen banana bites are quick and easy to make, and healthy and fun to eat.

My kind of snack.

We've eaten them for dessert, snack and even for breakfast.

The kids love helping me make them too.

They taste like a frozen ice-cream treat!

What I used:

2 bananas

peanut butter

Nutella (I used Trader Joe's answer to Nutella = Choco Almond Spread! YUM)

You could use only peanut butter, or you could even use only Nutella!

(Each banana makes about 6 bites.)

What I did:

Thinly slice the banana.

Spread a small amount of peanut butter on one side.

Spread a small amount of chocolate on the other side.

Put them together like a sandwich.

Freeze on a plate.

Transfer to a baggie after they are frozen!

Eat them up!

smells like fall

2012-09-17T04:00:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Glade Fall Collection for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I adore fall. I adore the scents of fall. I am pretty much in love with the months September to December! A good cinnamon-y or pumpkin-y candle always brings me straight to the holidays. I just can't resist.

I don't actually use a lot of candles around here. I'm not a big fan of the heavy fake-ness of most of them and I find they can sometimes be overwhelming. And if I do burn candles, I usually like to use soy or beeswax-based ones and not paraffin wax-based ones, since I try to stay away from byproducts of the petroleum industry. Buuuut, I'm a sucker for a good fall scent. And I do like candles in the fall. Crisp morning, candle on, new magazine, cup of coffee.....yum! (This self indulgent bliss lasted about 6.2 minutes, it was a good 6.2 minutes, though!)

I was lucky enough to get sent a new Glade® Autumn Harvest candle to try out.

They have a new Glade Fall Collection.

There are a five cool and different scents in the collection. Blackberry Jam, Apple Cinnamon, Maple Pumpkin, Autumn Harvest, and Rosemary Sage. I think I would love the Rosemary Sage one too.

I found the Autumn Harvest scent to be just right. It's smooth and not overpowering. Light, but still noticeable. The packaging says it smells "smoky, woodsy and mellow." They nailed it. It really does smell woodsy. I love it!

If you want to run out and check them out for yourself, there's a great coupon at Walmart for $1.50 off two Glade® Fall Collection Products.

If you try the rosemary sage scent let me know how it is.....I LOVE ROSEMARY!!

road trip necklaces

2012-09-15T14:58:00.000-04:00

We went to the cabin for a visit with the family over Labor Day. We just love it there so much!

What's not to love? Mule rides, swimming in the lake, hiking, camp fires, throwing rocks, catching bugs and lizards, walks in the woods, square dancing.

We had such an amazing time, but it turns quickly bitter sweet when it comes to an end and we have to clean the house and pack up the cars. As soon as the adults start vacuuming and packing the cars, the kids seem to be right underfoot since they know it means we're leaving soon.

So, this time, I came prepared. With some good old fashioned sugary cereal and yarn! This little plan kept the kids occupied for a good hour, while we got busy cleaning.

Because ya'll know you can't clean a house quickly and properly with the littles in the house!

Unless you're super mom....in which case, please give me some tips! I can only keep one room clean at a time around here.

So, the plan.

Make cereal necklaces that they can snack on in the car on the way home.

This would be great for any road trip.

Usually I find I'm super prepared with activities and things to keep the kids busy in a car for hours and hours on the way to a vacation or trip but then I have nothing for the way home.

Enter this little project.

They can make them while you're packing, and then it's a snack on the way home.

What you need:

Yarn

scotch tape

cereal with holes

individual baggies

What you do:

I put the cereal in individual baggies so there were no "discussions" about who had more.

Wrap the scotch tape around the end of the yarn. It makes it stiff like a needle, so it's easier for little hands to thread through the cereal.

They took this job really seriously. I was surprised just how into it they were. Funny kids.

Some of the cereal never makes it onto the yarn!

So sad to leave. Necklaces are fun, but leaving is still hard!

Note: Next time I'll use half Fruit Loops for the novelty and color, and half regular old Cheerios. The sugary Loops and movement of the car made my kids bellies hurt an hour into the trip home! Nice. Luckily no one got 'sick'.

So, we saved the rest of their necklaces and hung them in the trees for the birds when we got home.

And they loved that just as much as eating it themselves.

thank you

2012-09-15T08:28:00.002-04:00

Abby's benefit was a roaring success.

The five "Date with Josh Hutcherson" auctions made over $12,000!

The winners were from all over the country AND Canada!

They all flew here and had dinner with Josh!

And while he was here for the dates, he took some time to visit Abby in the hospital!

My sister and I just "happened" to be there, too! :)

He was so nice! Just like you would think he would be.

Very cool and down to earth.

His mom and brother came to visit, too.

They were all great people!

Fun times.

(Yeah, I'm star struck! SHUT UP!)

He and Abby chatted for a long time.

Goofy face picture with my aunt, uncle and cousins.

(Not everyone got the memo!)

Here's a picture of the benefit at Turfway.

PACKED!

Over 1200 people came and we raised almost $60,000!

(including the dates with Josh)

(my Dad in a sombrero auctioning off some vacations!)

Thanks everyone.

You can still keep up with Abby's progress at

MarchforMarsh.

She is going home as soon as her home is ready for her.

I'll leave you with a letter from my aunt and uncle.

Thanks again!

Love you all.

On August 18, our friends, family and the community came together at Turfway Park in Florence to support our precious daughter, Abby Marsh, who was severely injured in a motor vehicle accident in May.

The outpouring of love we experienced that night was completely overwhelming. Words cannot describe how much your support means to Abby and to our whole family during this dark time. We know we will not have to face this journey by ourselves and that is priceless! Over 1200 people attended the fundraiser and we know time didn't allow us to thank you all personally that night so on Abby's behalf, we would like now to publicly thank everyone who came and all the volunteers who worked to make the evening a success, it was flawlessly executed.

The money raised will aid in the expenses of a wheelchair accessible van, the remodeling of our house, outpatient rehab, and medical bills. You all helped to lift at least one burden from us, and for that we are so grateful.

We are so grateful for all your prayers as well. Abby said it best when channel 19 interviewed her, "We can't do this without God."

We are most of all, thankful that we don't have to this without Him. Every day is a walk of trust in God who has been faithful and gracious.

We have woven one of Abby's favorite Bible verses into our hearts.
- Joshua. 1:9 "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for the Lord your God goes with you wherever you go."

We love you all so much. What an awesome community we live in!

Thank you and God bless you!

The Marsh family

josh hutcherson dinner auctions

2012-08-07T08:48:00.000-04:00

The auctions are set up and are booming on ebay!

Josh Hutcherson is auctioning off 5 separate dinners with himself.

Each winner gets to bring a friend! All for my sweet cousin and family!
It's heartwarming that some celebrities out there that use fame to help their hometown communities.

You can check them out with the link below.

5 Eba y auctions for dinner with Josh Hutcherson

The Facebook Event Page is fun too! Please join us below.

The Dinner with Josh Facebook Event Page.

There've been a bunch of articles written about the dinner with Josh in newspapers and celebrity websites and fan websites. It's been fun to check them out. Here are a few. What a nice guy!

The Community Recorder

My Hunger Games.com

Crushable.com

Ohnotheydidn't.com

The Hunger Games Network

Hunger Games Fandom

HG Girl on Fire

And don't forget that you can still buy tickets for the actual Marsh Madness benefit.
There are amazing auctions and great food and drinks. And bands!
And it's my birthday! August 18th!
The dinner with Josh Hutcherson is one of the auction items. It just so happens because of his schedule it will happen before the actual benefit. :)

You can purchase your Marsh Madness tickets online or at the door, but if you could, please buy your tickets early so we know how many people to plan for. That would be awesome!

You can use these links to buy your tickets today!

COUPLE TICKET

INDIVIDUAL TICKET

UNDER 21 TICKET

If you would like to help by donating items or services, please contact me.

If you would like to help by donating money you can use this link to donate via credit card / pay pal to the "Friends of Abby Marsh". All donations will go towards Abby's trust fund.

Check out the Marsh Madness Event Page on Facebook, for updates and info.

You can keep up with Abby and her progress and other benefits on the blog her brother writes.

March for Marsh

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

marsh madness

2012-08-04T16:12:00.001-04:00

We've been really busy working on this ENORMOUS benefit for my sweet 17 year old cousin, Abby Marsh, and my aunt and uncle.

And let me tell you........Marsh Madness is going to ROCK!!

Wanna know how great it's going to be?

Josh Hutcherson is even talking about it! :)

He donated a date with himself and 5 lucky auction winners and a friend!

I mean - seriously - how cool is that?!?!

(You know I love me some Peeta! )

(I'll update with the links to the ebay auctions for the date with Josh when they start tomorrow night!)

I've mentioned it a little before. My cousin, Abby, was in a car accident on May 22. She sustained a broken neck (c4-c7). She's been at Children's hospital for 11 weeks now. She currently has no control of any part of her body from the chest down.

Abby's mom is my mom's little sister, so we are really close! Abby's the sweetest kid you will ever meet. She has always had fantastic attitude and sense of humor that just draws people to her. She loves little kids (and mine LOVE her) and soccer and photography and Jesus!

Sweet little Abby has had many hurdles in the last 11 weeks.

To begin with she had a 12 hour surgery that included bone fusions of C4, C5 and C6, titanium rods and plates and cadaver bones!

She's had a tracheostomy and is currently on a ventilator to help her breathe.

She had a life threatening lung infection.

This week she had another surgery to insert G-J tubes (feeding and drainage tubes) into her stomach, so the tubes from her nose can be taken out and will now lead out of her abdomen instead.

She also was diagnosed with Superior Meseteric Artery syndrome (SMA). SMA causes gastrointestinal obstruction and is often associated with sudden weight loss. (Christopher Reeve had it, too.) This has been a massive bump in the road. They have to drain liquid from Abby's stomach around the clock from a tube in her nose or she gets severely nauseous.

(in the picture of Abby and her brother in the top right....he's reading MockingJay to her where she left off before the accident. That seems extra cool now that Josh Hutcherson is involved!)

But, through all of this God has shown that he's faithful. The kindness of strangers has been astounding. A tragic thing like this really shows what people are made of. Abby continues to have a great attitude. And we are all continuing to trust God during this very difficult time.

She got to meet and chat with Nick Lachey and the other member of 98 Degrees! (Nick and Drew Lachey are local boys from right here in Cincinnati! They are active in local charities and often come to Children's hospital for visits with the kids! How nice it that?! Seriously!)

A sweet lady named Lisa from Etsy donated her time and made a fabulous new gown just for Abby! (The hospital gowns are just not cute enough to be wearing for 3 months!) Here's a link to her shop, ModMum, if you are ever in need of a cute maternity gown!

There have been some great benefits around town this summer.

Putt-Putting, Moshing, Car Washing, Coney eating.

But, this Marsh Madness is going to be HUGE!

All you can Eat & Drink, Bands, Dancing, Prizes, Mystery Envelopes, Amazing Auction Items! What's not to love?

A great night out for a great cause!

Please come out!

Or let me know if you have any goods or services you would like to donate for auction or Abby.

All proceeds will be donated to the Abby Marsh Trust Fund to help with medical costs and remodeling my Aunt and Uncles home to accommodate Abby's new life.

You can purchase your Marsh Madness tickets online or at the door, but if you could, please buy your tickets early so we know how many people to plan for. That would be awesome!

You can use these links to buy your tickets today!

COUPLE TICKET

INDIVIDUAL TICKET

UNDER 21 TICKET

If you would like to help by donating items or services, please contact me.

If you would like to help by donating money you can use this link to donate via credit card / pay pal to the "Friends of Abby Marsh". All donations will go towards Abby's trust fund.

Check out the Marsh Madness Event Page on Facebook, for updates and info.

You can keep up with Abby and her progress and other benefits on the blog her brother writes.

March for Marsh

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

countdown

2012-08-01T17:52:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Astrobrights Papers by Neenah Paper for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

School starts way too soon. The bird and the bean are both very excited about it! Me, not so much. Lucie starts Kindergarten in a couple of weeks and Sam starts preschool in early September. I will cry both days. They ask me every morning if today is school. So, I decided it was time to make a paper chain countdown! A visual representation of how many days they have left. I cry a little every morning when they pull off a link. :(

We used Astrobrights paper for this project. It's just so bright and colorful. It comes in 23 colors. It was a perfect choice for these paper chains! They were so pretty that we even made an extra chain to hang up in Abby's hospital room!

All you need: paper, scissors and glue!

Step one. Cut strips of paper for the littles. Have the older kids cut their own strips. I made dotted lines to help Lucie cut her strips straight.

Step two. Make a colorful paper chain.

Step three. Display them proudly and pull off a link every morning until school starts! I hate it! :) Summer went so fast!

Astrobrights is having a "Give a Brighter Year" Sweepstakes right now. You can enter until September 10th by liking Astrobrights on facebook. You can win $30,000 worth of school supplies for the elementary school of your choice! How cool is that?

They also have bi-weekly, family friendly "Make Something Astrobright" challenges for chances to win some great prizes. You can check that out on their facebook page too.

AstroBrights papers

towel ponchos

2012-07-20T13:30:00.003-04:00

I saw a picture of the cutest of some towel ponchos recently. The link was broken. :( But I tried to make them anyway!

As soon as I saw the picture - I knew I wanted to try to make towel ponchos for my kids! Whenever we have the chance to go swimming - we do. And I always end up lugging around everyone's towels. We had the kind with hoods, but they always slipped off when the kids were walking or playing. Then the kids would get chilly in the breeze and the bean would complain. And when the towels fall off they get dirty with sand or wet from the pool. More complaining. Yuck.

Now they wear their towels to and fro and they don't fall off! They stay cozy and dry while playing outside the water and on the trip home.

And for some reason they remind me of a baja. Which I was not cool enough to own in the late 80's/early 90's, even though I really wanted one. :) Did any of you have one?

I mean come on - Luke Perry just looks so cool rocking his baja!

Annnnyway. Here's how I made my towel ponchos. I'm sure there's a much better and more professional way, but my way was easy, and since there were no directions I had to wing it.

I've been a 'no sew' crafter for too long!! I can sew on a button and hand-stitch a straight line. I can do a whip stitch and I can knit and crochet. But, I am VERY intimidated by my sewing machine. I decided it was time to take the plunge and just use it. Don't judge. I do realize that when you look closely (or from far away, for that matter) the stitches on these ponchos are ridiculously bad. But, it's OK. They work for the intended use and from really, really far away they're pretty cute. :)

And for all you more experienced sewers out there - you can make these look WAY better than mine.

You should try it.

They were easy (so they would be SUPER EASY for a better sewer than me).

I get compliments EVERYTIME the kids wear them.

People ask where I bought them.

"Etsy?" they say. hehe.

TOWEL PONCHOS

Step one.

Buy cute towels and ribbon.

My towels are from Target 6.99 and the ribbon was from the Hob Lob 2.00 (half off)

Step two.

Fold your towel in half and cut a straight line down the middle

I cut about 6 inches in so the opening would end up being about 12 inches.

(This ended up being a little too big for the bean. So, I sewed his in a little when I was done.)

Hindsight, I would have done this with pinking shears to keep the terry cloth from unraveling. But since I am was a 'no sew' crafter I have no pinking shears (yet). :)

Step three.

Pin your ribbon to the front of the towel. And sew it on.

I didn't sew any ribbon on the back side of the towel since you will never see that part.

(And because I only bought one roll of ribbon and only had enough to do the fronts.)

I cut the ribbon a few inches longer than the hole and crossed it over at the ends.

See - it's not all that straight and it's a little bunchy. :)

But, you can't really tell when they are on the kiddos.

If I can make one - you can make one! Try it out.

cucumber tomato salad

2012-07-18T15:32:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm so sure I haven't posted in weeks and now I'm doing two in one day! Who does that? :)

I also played with my kids at a friends pool for 3 hours today.

Trying to savor it all! I put "savor" on my list! haha

I wanted to quickly share this simple and easy salad with you.

This salad is so crunchy and refreshing. You will love it!

It's really more of a method than a recipe, though.

We've been eating some variation of this everyday around here.

My cucumbers did shockingly well this year!! The last few years we got vine borers and lost them all, so I am really enjoying the cukes this summer. And so are the kids.

We can't eat our cherry tomatoes fast enough, either. They are doing so great. I planted a few kinds and so far we like the orange ones best. I really do make this salad every other night.

The kids and Kevin gobble it up.

I think it's because the kids help pick the veggies. Whatever the reason, I'll take it.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

2 or 3 cucumbers sliced.
2 cups of cherry tomatoes sliced in half.
1/4 cup olive oil
3 TBS vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt and pepper

Whisk the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper together and pour over the veggies.
Enjoy.

If I use a sweet vinegar like, from Trader Joe's I skip the sugar. Sometimes I use red wine vinegar and sometimes rice wine vinegar. Also, depending on how big your cucumbers are, you might need more or less of the vinaigrette. And, depending on what kind of cucumbers you have you might need to peel or seed them. Mine are thin skinned like an English cucumber, so I don't peel or seed. And I also add whatever veggie is ripe that day. Banana peppers, bell peppers, hot peppers, basil, dill, chives....

(see - it's a method - a tasty, tasty method)

Try it, let me know if you like it. :)

busy summer and balance

2012-07-18T09:51:00.000-04:00

Long time no see! I miss you guys. I've been so ridiculously busy this summer. I know, I know, that's what everybody says! :) I had such grand plans for the ole' blog this summer. Like blogging everyday! whoops. I have so many great recipes and projects to share with you. They are coming. I promise. I have to figure out a way to balance blogging and family and life.

This summer has been crazy! Seriously. Here's a quick snap shot of our summer.

A bird and a bean summer update.

My brother threw a surprise party for my sister-in-law and she threw a surprise party for him. And my dad threw a surprise party for my mom's retirement. I got all three e-vites on the same day! What fun. I do love parties. And then my brother and my dad asked me to ~~help with~~ take care of their parties. :) So, there was A LOT of lying and planning and banner making. They're all over now and everyone was very surprised. SO. GLAD. THEY. ARE. OVER! Three parties in three weeks. Too much. Fun to plan, but exhausting.

SURPRISE. and SURPRISE. and SURPRISE.

We also had a tragic and devastating thing happen to our family in May. My sweet 17 year old cousin was in a terrible car accident 8 weeks ago and is still in the hospital. She suffered a severe neck injury (C4-C7). She is currently not breathing or eating on her own. She has an amazing attitude and we are believing God for a miracle. My dad just finished plans for the remodel of my aunt and uncle's home to accomodate Abby's new (believing for temporary) life of ventilators and traches and machines and nurses and wheelchairs. So, next is helping out with the remodel. All hands on deck. I will post more about Abby and the big benefit we are helping to plan later. She is an amazing girl and God has His hand on her life!

We are trying to keep life as normal as possible for the bird and the bean.

In between planning surprise parties and big benefits and hospital visits we have swim lessons, VBS, summer art school and play dates.

And garden tending and chicken tending.

And house guests.

And church.

And volunteering.

And keeping the house somewhat clean.

And a dog.

And both kids had birthdays. More parties. :)

And life. Because it goes on.

We try to go to all the little benefits that the local places have for Abby.

I think Lucie understands the severity of the situation a little more than Sam. He sometimes asks if Abby can come over to play. :( When we're at the hospital they just want to hold her hand and lay in her bed and cuddle with her. It's pretty sweet.

Every one of Lucie's prayers in the last two months just slays me. She prays so sincerely and intensely for Abby's bones and lungs and nerves, because that's what she hears us talk and pray about daily.

Every picture drawn in this house all summer is either of Abby or for Abby. :)

And I'm trying so hard to cherish every moment. It's summer after all. And in a few weeks Lucie will be going to Kindergarten and Sam will be off to Preschool. It goes so fast. I tend to get overwhelmed and busy and I hate it. I want to savor and soak in every minute. What can you do? It's life. Life gets busy. I need to find the balance. How do you find it? Any hints would be appreciated.

AAAAND. We are going on a family vacation next week. I could not be more excited. Holland, Michigan here we come. LOVE!

But, by this time last year I had already packed and planned special road trip bags and different activities for each day, a signature drink and special fancy vacation food. I had pinned a whole board of fun ideas and projects. I had a notebook full of lists. And they were all fun.

This year. Nothing. Just nothing.

I haven't really even thought about vacation very much until this morning.

Priorities change.

It's probably for the better. We couldn't even move an inch on the way to vacation last year.

The car was full and packed TIGHT! Kevin called me a car hoarder. :)

I better get busy and do some laundry today, though!

So, these are some of the reasons I have been away. I'm going to do better. I have some great stuff to share with you.

Please come back. :) I love you.

15 fathers day ideas

2012-06-12T07:46:00.001-04:00

Father's day is this weekend?!?! What? How did that happen? Well, if you've procrastinated.....not to worry. Here are some easy, clever and fabulous ideas for ya!!
Some of them we've already done and some of them we are definitely going to do this year!!

1. Free Printable. A cute book from the kiddos.

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

2. Free Printable. Room service door hanger.

Source: 733blog.blogspot.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

3. DIY - Make a card that looks like a shirt and tie.

Source: canadianliving.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

4. Free Printable Subway Art Poster Card. It has all the funny things dads say.

Source: aproffittablelife.blogspot.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

5. DIY - Super cute idea to present a gift certificate of a round of golf!

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

6. Tiny pancakes in a beer mug with syrup!

Source: bedifferentactnormal.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

7. Free Printable, including one that says Grandpa!! Just add Reece's Pieces!

Source: nothingbutcountry.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

8. Free Printable. Bottle Neck Ties!

Source: printable.tipjunkie.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

9. DIY - How to make your own iDAD card!

Source: charlottesfancy.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

10. Free Printable. Help the kids fill in the blanks. They have one that says Grandpa too!

Source: blog.persnicketyprints.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

11. DIY - A week's supply of kid decorated lunch bags.

Source: abirdandabean.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

12. Free retro pop printable for a tin filled with "Dad" related things.

Source: abirdandabean.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

13. Colorful kid painted canvases for the office!

Source: abirdandabean.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

14. DIY - 'We're Nuts about Daddy' frame and a bag of pistachios.

Source: abirdandabean.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

15. Bacon Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

Source: abirdandabean.com via erin @ a bird and a bean on Pinterest

These fun ideas are all on my Father's day board on!

Wanna follow me? Come on over!

summer snack solution

2012-06-10T09:09:00.001-04:00

Now that I'm home for the summer, I decided that I could NOT hear the words, "Mom, I'm hungry" or "Mom can we have a snack" one more time!

I needed a plan.

I needed a quick and easy way to get some healthy snacks on the table..... and fast.

(Bonus. If we are out and about or at a park or swimming lessons, I needed something to grab quickly on our way to the car so we don't have meltdowns from low blood sugar while we are out!)

When kids (and even adults) get tired and grouchy it might just be because they're hungry.

Their little bodies and tummies have already used all the fuel from the previous meal.

Growing and playing takes energy. In the summer we're always doing something active.

Swimming, biking, and playing = hard work!

Healthy snacks are so important for kids especially because when they're active they need to refuel their bodies more than just three times a day at meals.

Kids are growing and need more fuel than I do, so I'm not (always) hungry for snacks when they are. Their little tummies need smaller amounts of food, but more often. So, I don't think about it until they are whining and being grumpy. Not a good time to throw together a healthy snack. :)

I grabbed some baskets from the dollar store.

I don't usually let my kids get into the fridge or pantry. But, now I make an exception for these baskets. I have two in the fridge and one in the pantry on a low shelf. If it's snack time and I haven't already made something for them, I allow them to choose one thing from a basket.
It gives them a choice, which they LOVE.

In the pantry basket I have things like pretzels, goldfish, raisins, nuts or granola already portioned out in little baggies.

In the fridge I have things like grapes, kiwi, celery, carrots, cherry tomatoes, yogurt, cheese sticks or apples.

These things are easy to grab.

What do you do for snacks at your house?

cloud dough

2012-06-09T08:03:00.003-04:00

This stuff is GREAT! It's so soft and silky and fluffy. It's fun to touch. And it molds really nicely. And it's cheap. And the kids thought it was cool that I made it in one minute. And it smells like babies. :)

For only a few bucks, the kids have been entertained for hours! What a bargain!

Cloud Dough Recipe
8 parts flour
1 part baby oil

For one batch....
Baby oil from our dollar store equaled one cup. $1
I already had flour. (but if i didn't ...$2)
I bought two big containers at the dollar store to keep it in. $2

Mix it all up with your hands. I was tempted to add less flour, but I'm glad I didn't. That eighth cup really made it extra fluffy and soft.

Take it outside and let the kids have at it. It's pretty messy, so I think outside is the way to go! They've played with it a few times, and at least an hour each time! We just keep it in the sealed container and so far it's still perfect for over a week now.

taco cups

2012-06-06T17:28:00.005-04:00

These are so easy to whip up and the kids think they are just super fun!

Taco cups an easy way to put a quick fun twist on a regular dinner.

What you need:

tortillas (I use Trader Joe's whole wheat tortillas)

taco filling (This time I used ground beef)

cheese

taco fixings (Our choices were spinach, tomatoes, olives, cilantro, sour cream and limes)

What you do:

1. Use a circle (I used a teacup saucer) that seems about twice as big as your muffin tin hole.

2. Cut out as many circles as you need. (They end up being smaller than regular tacos, so make a few more than you do when you make tacos) The kids and I each had two and Kevin had 4!! :)

3. Wrap them in a damp tea towel or paper towel. Throw them in the oven or microwave for a few seconds until they are just warm enough to be pliable.

4. Place the circles in the muffin tin and drizzle with olive oil.

5. Bake for 7-9 minutes at 350 until the cups are crispy.

6. Now at this point you have several options.

ONE. You can use any taco filling you like. (Chicken, ground beef, beans if you are doing a meatless meal, fish sounds good, you could even use fish sticks!) (I love fish tacos!)

TWO. This time I browned a pound of ground beef with some onions and peppers and added some taco seasoning. I added a scoop of this mixture to each cup and sprinkled with cheese. I rebaked it until the cheese was melted.

I let the family choose their own fixings at the table.

THREE. Or you could just serve the cups empty and have everyone add their own fillings and fixings. Like a taco cup bar. You could even send it to school this way. A homemade lunch-able!

shout it out

2012-06-06T15:03:00.001-04:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Triad Retail Media for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Having little kids and a dog means having stains. It's just a fact of life. On clothes, on carpets, on the driveway (colored bubble mishap - don't ask)! :)

I usually use some enzyme stuff from the organic isle. It does a good enough job. But, I recently used the last of the bottle on a dog stain and haven't yet replaced it.

So, imagine my dismay when I walked into the living room today to find this......

Yes, that's a giant marker line. From a NON-WASHABLE MARKER!

I was cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast and the kids were being so good and playing so well together.

I decided to leave them alone for five more minutes and finish the kitchen. Big mistake number one.

In that short time they had found the NON-WASHABLE markers from Lucie's art birthday party this past weekend. I hadn't t put them back in the craft room yet. Big mistake number two.

One of them decided to choose a lovely dark forest green and draw a 20 foot line on the carpet stretching from the front door, all the way through the living room and ending at the dining room table. They even included a nice little dinosaur at the end of the line. Nice touch, kids!

I wonder which one of them is guilty? Hum. I think I found the culprit! Marker on the nose never lies. Aww, he seems so remorseful.

After I did some literal shouting (don't judge), I calmed down and began to frantically rummage through the cabinets to figure out what I have that will get this stain out. And I came across this bottle of Shout® that I was saving it to try out on some laundry stains. But, this was a stain emergency! Shout® has enzymes to break up and remove tough stains. Well, this is a tough stain. We shall see.

Shout® Trigger

I used the handy trigger and sprayed it right on the hideous green line .....and I scrubbed! Guess what?! It came right out. It was like a stain miracle! The marker is actually still on my hands and on the bean's face.......but it's not on the carpet anymore!! Shout® saved me so much time! I was skeptical, but it saved my carpet! I wouldn't have even thought to try it on this if I hadn't been out of my other stuff. It's not just for laundry! But, imagine what it will do on my laundry stains if it took marker out of my carpet? Amazing. I'm sold! :)

You can get it at Walmart.

rosemary sea salt

2012-05-19T07:49:00.001-04:00

I made this Rosemary Sea Salt with rosemary from my garden as Christmas gifts this year.

I saved a jar for myself and loved it so much, it's already gone.

So, I made some more!

I put it on everything.

Popcorn, chicken, veggies! Whatever. Any recipe that calls for salt. I use this.

I love the rosemary flavor. LOVE IT!

I keep mine in a pretty little Fiestaware jar right on the counter.

What you need:

1. Coarse Sea Salt

2. Fresh or dried rosemary

(I used dried the first time and fresh this time. They both work perfectly. The fresh rosemary makes the salt green because of the oils.) It's awesome!

3. A food processor

I didn't measure, I just used a handful of rosemary. It's more of a method. :) Use as much as you like. Maybe some people don't like rosemary as much as I do.

What you do:

Put the rosemary and salt the the food processor and pulse until it's as blended as you like.

I left some rosemary specks and I left the salt a little coarse. Cuz that's how I like it.

Put it in jars or baggies to give as gifts. Or keep for yourself!

Enjoy!

honey citrus coconut granola

2012-05-17T08:24:00.001-04:00

I've been craving some good ole' granola lately.

I found this recipe for Coconut Ginger Granola at Jens Favorite Cookies. It sounded delicious.

Of course, I didn't have exactly everything I needed to make it, so I improvised. ;)

Here's what I made....

Honey Citrus Coconut Granola

What you need

3 cups oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup flaxseed
1 cup dried cranberries (mine were orange flavored, but regular would be fine too)
1 cup coconut
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup coconut oil

What you do

In a small saucepan over medium heat, mix together honey and coconut oil, heating just until smooth and melted. Remove from heat.
In separate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.
Pour honey mixture over the oat mixture and stir to coat.
Pour onto baking sheet, and smooth it into one even layer. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until toasted to a dark brown, stirring every 10 minutes.
Allow to cool completely before eating. Or not! ;)

It is really, really good. There are lots of different flavors going on.

It's chewy and crunchy. Nutty and citrusy. Tart and slightly sweet.

I like the addition of the zest with the cranberries. Plus it has coconut AND coconut oil in it!

We've been enjoying this everyday in some form.

The bird loves it with almond milk as breakfast.

The bean loves the big chunks plain as a snack.

I love it with Greek yogurt anytime!!

It's great!

I even gave some to my mom in a nice jar as part of her Mother's Day present.

Who doesn't love some homemade granola?!?

colorful quinoa, rice, veggie bowl

2012-05-15T20:15:00.002-04:00

I made this amazing veggie bowl last night!

AMAZING!

Seriously.

Kevin ~~doesn't like~~ hates brown rice (& quinoa) and he cleaned his plate!!

The kids did too. They said it was "The best rice mom ever made!" And wanted seconds.

Sweet.

It was our whole meal.

Meatless Monday. Delicious.

I've seen a couple of delicious looking quinoa recipes recently and didn't have all the ingredients for either of them, so I kind of combined them.

Here are the inspirational recipes.....

The first was this "Quinoa and Brown Rice Bowl with Vegetables and Tahini" in the March edition of Food and Wine Magazine.

The second one was this "Quinoa and Black Bean Salad" from New Nostalgia,

And here's what I ended up with....

Red Quinoa, Brown Rice, Black Bean and Veggie Bowl

1 cup of long grain brown rice

1 cup of red quinoa

2 cups of veggie broth

2 tablespoons coconut oil (or other oil)

1 small onion, finely diced

1 red bell pepper, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 bag of frozen corn

1 (15 oz) can of rinsed and drained black beans

3 carrots, shredded or chopped

1/2 cup of cilantro

juice of two limes

In a medium saucepan, cover the brown rice with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is just tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and return to to pan, keep covered.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the quinoa with 2 cups of veggie stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until the quinoa is tender and stock has been absorbed, 20 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add onion and pepper and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Mix in garlic and heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the carrots last. I did that because I wanted them to still be crunchy. Add them earlier if you want them cooked.

Season with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Add the cooked rice and quinoa to the pan with the onion mixture. Add the frozen corn and drained black beans. Stir until combined and heated through.

Top with cilantro and lime juice.

Stir and serve.

It can be eaten hot, cold or room temperature.

It was soooo good.

I ate it for lunch today and I can't wait to eat it again tomorrow.

It's kind of Mexican tasting with the lime, cilantro and cumin.

A little spicy kick from the cayenne, but sweet from the corn.

Crunchy from the carrots. Chewy from the rice.

Perfect.

tuesday tip - diy non-slip rug

2012-05-15T07:51:00.001-04:00

This weeks Tuesday Tip is how to make ANY rug non-slip. I saw this clever idea on Pinterest. Unfortunately I can't link back to the original because the pin was marked as spam. But, the picture showed me what to do. I just had to try it out.

I have a rug in the kitchen that is very slippery and I'm always afraid someone is going to fall and break their neck as they run by.

Plus is always looks like this. Never straight! It annoys me. :)

I've tried the carpet tape.

But, I like to take my rugs and give them a shake outside. Carpet tape is more permanent. If I take the rug off too many times to shake it out, the tape eventually just sticks to my floor and not the rug. And now I have nasty tape stuck to my tile. Gross.

I've tried the non-slip pad things (that look like cabinet liners)

But they get bunched up under the rug and I felt like I was constantly straightening the whole situation.

Yay! This really works. Genius!

The caulk lines make it non-slip, but you can still pick it up and shake it out.

1. Get some silicone caulk and a caulk gun.

I went outside because caulk is stinky.

It smells like weird vinegar to me for some reason.

2. Make lines of caulk down the length of the rug.

I think I should have cut the hole bigger because it was HARD to squeeze.

(Maybe I'm just a weakling. )

3. Wait for it to dry. I left it alone overnight.

4. Above is a dried bit that didn't stick. I got lazy with the caulk. Those parts pull right off.

Make sure you press the gun into the rug a little bit as you are making the bead of caulk.

5. Above is a good line. It's all dried and you can see the difference. It's more "in" the rug not just laying on top.

6. And...IT WORKS!!!! It really works.

I'm going to make all my bathroom rugs non-slip next.

Next time I will try to make the lines more even.

I left a few big blobs and I can feel them when I walk on the rug. But I don't really mind.

At lease no one is falling.

simple applesauce in a crockpot

2012-05-13T14:14:00.000-04:00

I picked this bad boy up at a yard sale for 50 cents over the weekend! SCORE!

I knew applesauce was going to be in our near future!

It cores. It peels. It slices. It's vintage and fun! :)

And the kids thought it was super cool to make apple springs.

They also thought it was hilarious to eat long peel strings!

So did the chickens.

Win. Win.

And now we have delicious homemade applesauce in the fridge.

Win. Win. Win.

This applesauce could not be easier.
I used this recipe from New Nostalgia.

Crockpot Applesauce

{recipe from Katy @ The Cutting Back Kitchen}

(via Amy @ New Nostalgia)

Ingredients

3 pound bag of apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)(or in chunks, see above)

2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (or other sweetener)

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ cup water

Instructions

Place your apple slices in the bottom of a Crockpot. (If you don’t have a Crockpot, you can make it on the stove.) Top with brown sugar and cinnamon. Add the water. (I always just make sure to add enough water to cover the bottom of the Crockpot.) Cook the applesauce on low for 4-6 hours or until apples are tender. Once the apples are tender, mash them with a potato masher for a chunkier consistency. For a smoother consistency, mix in blender.

This is more an idea, than an exact recipe you need to stick to. I try to keep mine pretty low in sugar, but if you like yours sweeter add some more. Sometimes I add a handful of frozen berries to add some color and lend a slightly different flavor. Get creative!

Freezing Instructions

Package in quart sized freezer bags or jars. Thaw and enjoy!

DIY worm farm

2012-05-09T17:43:00.002-04:00

My kids (probably all kids) LOVE worms. Every time we do any kind of yardwork, the kids find every worm available and play with them for hours. They name them. And of course they want to keep them all as pets. House pets. I'm tired of having cups and pails and buckets filled with just enough dirt to keep a worm alive for one day (and of course a handful sticks and grass as obvious worm food) strewn about. I'm tired of finding dead worms in said pails and buckets the next morning. I'm tired of all the tears when I say "no more worms in the house." I'm tired of explaining how important worms are for plants and telling the kids to put the worms in our garden to help our veggies grow. Because it doesn't matter how good they are for our garden, they really still just want to keep them. Geez.

So, yay for our new worm farm!!! Problem solved.

(OK - it wasn't really a real problem....but this way it's just more fun)

I found a few different types of DIY worm farms and I did a variation of these two.

Hillbilly Jillies has a nice tutorial as does A Mom with a Lesson Plan. (and she has a lesson plan too!)

DIY WORM FARM

what you need:

two plastic bottles (two sizes)

dirt

sand

leaves or hay

worms

mesh / plastic wrap / fabric scrap

rubber band

dark paper for sleeve

what you do:

1. Wash and dry your bottles. Cut the lids off.

2. Put the small bottle inside the large bottle. I did mine with the small one upside down because it fit nicely that way. This gives your wormies less places to hide and makes it easier to watch them in their new home.

3. Alternate layers of soil, sand and leaves between the two bottles.

4. Dig for worms.

5. Add worms to bottle.

6. Put a little mesh or plastic (with holes poked for ventilation) on the top to keep the little guys in.

7. Make a sleeve with the dark paper to get your squirmy friends moving. They like it dark.

8. Feed your worms by adding a few vegetable table scraps to the top every week or so.

9. Keep your new farm in a cool place and check it every day to see if it needs a little water. They like it moist, but not wet. Add a little wet newspaper to the top to help keep the moisture level just right.

You'll soon notice the worms making trails and nests all around the bottle. And soon there will be even more worms!! ;) boom.chicka.boom.boom. Is it inappropriate to make that sound for worm reproduction? Hum. Probably. :) Have fun making your own worm farm!

Ours are named Tulip, Nora, Cora, and Ham. Nice.