Gift of Kindness

For my birthday last weekend, Ryan kindly gifted me with a print that I had emailed to him like.  

I often find myself telling my kiddos to simply "be kind" to each other, so when I saw this print I knew I wanted to frame it in our home as a gentle reminder for all of us.

I was very excited to see this in the mail!  (Pretty pattern tape, too!)

Love this!

After a quick trip to Michaels (can you say frame sale no less?!?!?!) and it's ready to hang! 

The etsy seller was also kind enough (no pun intended!) to include this free 5x7 print for me.  

Thank you Katie Daisy and Ryan!

Find this print (and other lovelies) here.

    

My Cindy Lou Who

(And, yes, that sandbox is worth the mess to me ~ even when someone tries to eat the sand.)

Homemade Disinfecting Wipes

I pinned this idea for homemade disinfecting/clorox wipes a few weeks ago and recently made some of my own.  

I made 14 wipes so I used smaller quantities of the suggested ingredients:

1/2 cup of water

1/8 cup rubbing alcohol

1 T. Dawn dish soap (*author says to only use Dawn)

Mix everything together in a container that has a lid.  (I washed out an old baby wipes container and used it.)  Then add the wipes, put the lid on, and flip the container over so the liquid can be absorbed into the rags.  I had 14 cotton rags (old white undershirts) that absorbed this amount of the liquid mixture perfectly, not too wet, but just  moist enough.

I like using these to wipe down my bathroom sinks and toilets in-between regular cleaning.  (And they are great for wiping off, around, behind, below and underneath the toilet that is used by a little boy!)  

Liking here.    
betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com
http://todayscreativeblog.net/

"Happy" Tax Day!

Here's a reason to be happy about today...freebies!

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Most of these deals are running across the great USA, but you can google 2012 tax day freebies + your city to see if there are other deals where you live:

1. Arbys is serving free curly fries all day (need coupon).  
2. Marble Slab Creamery and Maggie Moos are giving out free scoops of ice cream from 4 - 7 PM.
3. You can get a free Shanghai Angus Steak at Panda Express today (need coupon).
4. Two free Cinnabon Bites are available at Cinnabon today from 6 - 8 PM.
5. PF Changs is offering 15% off of your bill (excludes alcohol and happy hour).
6. Drinks are half-price all day at Sonic Drive-Thrus.
7. Hydromassage is offering free massages.  (Need coupon, then call and make your reservation.) 

Thirty-One

I celebrated my 31st birthday this weekend.  And my younger sister confirmed what I had been thinking all day:

Other siblings weren't too sure about my date of birth:

The original plan was to take the family to the baseball game for my birthday, but we opted not to go with the 100% chance of rain all day.  (And rain it did...pretty much all weekend.)

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I did get to go shopping instead...without children!

Dinner at Chick-Fil-A was a big hit.  

(My kids licked their plates clean...unlike some other fast food chains we visit every once in a great while.)

Although older, I am not the wiser as we let the older two kids outside (after the 24+ hours of rain) and they came in caked in mud.  

Thankfully they had their trusty rain boots on and all came clean.  

Hope you had a great weekend!

Chicken Penne

This is one of our favorite dinner recipes.  (I snagged it from my sister-in-law who had borrowed it from someone else.)  Now that we are enjoying grilling temperatures, this will be enjoyed a lot over the spring and summer months.

Chicken Penne

Marinade chicken breasts (1/2 per person) for at least 3 hours in this mixture (then save the marinade):

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

4 cloves minced garlic

3 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons grey poupon

4 tablespoons sugar

Grill chicken and cube.

Toss grilled chicken with 1 pound of cooked penne pasta.

Boil marinade to thicken for 1 minute, then mix in with penne.  

Add 2 tablespoons poppy seeds (optional) and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese to pasta and serve.    

Linking here.
http://todayscreativeblog.net/
betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

Seedling Success

We planted some seeds indoors a few weeks ago and tried something different this year...

We started our seeds in cardboard egg cartons and it worked great.

First I cut the top apart from the bottom.  

Then stuck a piece of saran wrap in-between the top and bottom pieces.  

We filled each egg compartment with soil and planted our seeds.  

(Is Ellen telling me she doesn't believe I have a green thumb and we should call the whole thing quits?)

There were no issues with water spilling out or getting the windowsill wet when we (I) watered.  

Growing...

We are ready to plant our seedlings in containers for our deck (out of the reach of the neighborhood rabbits!) after the chance for frost this week passes.  When we do plant them, I plan on cutting each egg compartment off the main carton and putting the entire thing in the soil.  The roots are already poking through!      

Hopefully we will have full and colorful flowers on our deck this summer!

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Linking here.

http://todayscreativeblog.net/

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Labor of Love

Happy Wednesday!

Several weeks ago I shared the story of how our sweet Ellen entered the world over at The Grant Life's weekly Wednesday Labor and Delivery series.  Kelley has created a whole "Mommy Panel" and someone shares a story every week.  You can read my story below if you haven't already and then head over to The Grant Life for today's featured mommy!

I was due on Friday, September 3, 2010 with our third baby.  I had my usual normal/uneventful pregnancy, and we had found out she was going to be a girl at my 20 week ultrasound.

I had my 40 week appointment on September 2.  My OB was going to be out of town for business over Labor Day weekend and I was a little anxious hoping that he would be there for the delivery.  He assured me that nothing was really happening and I would most likely see him on my Tuesday, September 7 appointment.

We went about our normal weekend activities.  On Sunday, September 5 I woke up and noticed I was contracting here and there and didn't really think anything of it.  My husband did ask me that morning (like he had for the previous 2 weeks) if I thought "today was the day."  I told him I had some contractions, but not to get too excited.

We went to Sunday Mass at 10:15 AM and I noticed that I was still having irregular contractions.  After Mass I told Ryan the contractions hadn't really stopped and suggested we take the kids on a walk after lunch to see if they continued.  (When I had Jude, we got to the hospital and they made us walk and it was another 15 hours before he arrived.)  It was around 12:30 or so that we went walking.  I was timing my contractions on Ryan's iphone.  Once I timed them I realized they were actually about 3 - 5 minutes apart.

We walked home and I called my OB's exchange.  His partner was already at the hospital and would be waiting for us.  We live about 35 miles from the hospital I deliver at, so we said we would be there in about an hour.  I folded a load of laundry, finished getting my bag ready, started getting overnight bags together for the kids to go to my in-laws, and called my mom to let her know what was going on.  It was now around 2:30 PM and my contractions were picking up speed.  Ryan put everything in the car and I ran waddled upstairs to get one last thing.  By the time I got to my room I was doubled over in pain from the contractions.  Then again at the top of the stairs.  I thought Ryan was going to have to come and carry me out of the house.

Somehow I made it downstairs and into the car.  All I remember about the car ride to my in-laws and then to the hospital is the pain.  We practically threw the kids at Ryan's parents and were going about 85 - 90 mph to the hospital.  I was yelling and moaning and shaking (and burping) the whole ride.  The entire trip usually would have taken 45+ minutes.  We made it in 30 minutes.

Ryan drove up to the ER, hopped out of the car, and grabbed a wheelchair for me.  (He later told me he ran the chair - with me in it - over his little toe and it hurt...but he didn't dare say anything in the moment!)  The first nurse that saw us took one look at me, calmly handed her clipboard to the person standing closest to her, and said, "I'll take you up to labor and delivery."  She took me upstairs and the whole time I just kept thinking how relieved I was that we were at the hospital.  She took me to a room and the L&D nurses wanted me to get into a hospital gown.  I told them I really needed to use the bathroom.  I tried to go, but started contracting and ended up on the bathroom floor in pain.  I came out of the bathroom and they helped me into a gown and checked me.

I was at 9 cm.

I cried.

My water had not broken, but was bulging.  I didn't realize it at the time, but the nurse asked the doctor if she should go ahead and break my water.  He said not to.

I asked if I could get an epidural.  I was told that I might not be able to.  I cried again.  The anesthesiologist came in and said she would go ahead and do a spinal block since I had epidurals with my previous deliveries.  There were about 9 people holding me down while she worked because I was shaking so badly.  The anesthesiologist didn't get the epidural in the first time and the doctor calmly suggested to "try one more time."  She got it and the relief was within seconds.  I was so thankful to be able to catch my breath.  Everything had happened so quickly.  It was 3:30 PM when we checked into the hospital and I had the epidural at 3:45.

Within 20 minutes I had my water break and then another 20 minutes later it was time to push.  A few pushes later, Ellen Anastasia entered the world at 4:48 PM on Sunday, September 5 weighing a whooping 9 lb., 11 oz.!  (I am still forever grateful that I was able to get that epidural.)

Feeling much better with some pain meds and ice chips.

She's here!  75 minutes after hospital check-in.

And she's HUGE!  My biggest by far!

Ellen with mommy.  A full head of hair like her older siblings.  

We are still so grateful that my water didn't break in the car and that Ellen wasn't born in the car!  

And I'm still holding onto my bragging rights for delivering a 9lb., 11 oz. baby!

Today!

                    

Happy Easter!

We had a very Happy Easter yesterday!

Clare is always impressed how the Easter Bunny nibbles on the carrots we leave him/her/it.  

(Sidenote: How are you supposed to explain a large rabbit to children??)  

All Ellen wanted was to mush and chew on wrapped candy.  By the end of the day she had succeeded in successfully breaking open the wrapper.  

 

  

         

Someone was very pleased that Finn McMissle and Holly Shiftwell joined our family this weekend!

Easter Breakfast:

Breakfast pizza

Sausage links

Resurrection rolls

Strawberries

After Mass and naps we were off to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner and an egg hunt!  

Then everyone's sugar high wore off and we all slept happily every after!

Happy Easter!

ALLELUIA!  HE IS RISEN!

(Bunny picture c/o Ryan.  He's obviously not the artist in the family.)

Easter Break

Today at noon is the official start of Clare's Easter break.  (I'm looking forward to not setting my alarm for a whole week...although Ellen might need a memo that it's spring break!)

So what to do with a week off of school?  Well, Clare recently asked me when we were going to start spring cleaning.  (A girl after my own heart!)  I also introduced her to magic erasers the other day and she was im-pressed.

We will also be getting out Easter decorations on Saturday.  And that includes my favorite/Ryan's least favorite of all of our holiday decor, the Easter egg tree I made in 3rd grade...

      
...I call it "vintage"...he calls it fug-ly.

Who's side are you on???  :)

Pasta Alla Caprese

I found this recipe on Andrea's blog awhile ago and my family loves it.  And *bonus* because it is meatless, so we have enjoyed it on Fridays this Lent.

Ingredients:

1 pound of pasta (original recipe calls for fusilli, but Andrea used rotini 

and I used macaroni the other night)

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves minced garlic

3 cups cherry tomatoes 

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn (I also omitted these the other night...

my 2012 basil plant is starting to come up!)

8 ounces mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain pasta and reserve 1/2 of the cooking liquid.  Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper.  Smash the tomatoes with a fork as they cook.  Cook until tomatoes make a chunky sauce, about 4 minutes.  Add the tomato sauce to the pasta.  Sire in basil and mozzarella.  Add the reserved pasta water slowly until the pasta is moist.  Enjoy!

We have even enjoyed the leftovers chilled and served as a cold pasta salad.    

  

Easter Sweets

I thought I would share some of our favorite festive sweets from Easters past today.

Here are some of the different bunny treats I have made in recent years...

And we are definitely making these Resurrection Rolls again this year...they were yummy for breakfast Easter morning, and a great way to teach the resurrection story!

Are you baking anything special for Sunday?

Lenten & Easter Reflections...by Jude

I thought I would share some of my 3 year-old son's thoughts with you for Holy Week:

"So when you catch a fish it turns into a big chicken nugget to eat?"
"I don't like jellybeans because they are made from jellyfish."

"Mom, if you do that I will let you put 100 beans in the jar!"

Hope you have gotten a little more out of Lent this year...  


Have a good week!

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