to-do

tonight's after dinner to do list.
mommy vs. lilly

mommy
-take lilly to soccer
-jog
-give the kids a shower
-tuck them into bed
-unload dishwasher
-reload dishwasher
-wash clothes
-dry clothes
-fold clothes
-work on gobs of embroidery orders
-pack up a finished order, weigh, total and email customer
-check emails

lilly
-soccer practice
-play on the swingset
-jump on the (neighbor's) trampoline
-ride a motorcycle

-take a shower

-bedime

nice.

$1.00 fun

a friend introduced me to a 'new-to-me' website just yesterday.
and already im loving it :)

look what i got for $1.00
50 of these...

super cute.
family cards :)
(of course way cuter without everything blurred)
there were a ton of fun ones to choose from, these worked for me.
i didnt stress over it.
i filled in all the info i wanted... not necessarily what the form wanted.  (yes, i could probably make them...  but it would cost way more than a dollar of my time!)
plus, i love getting things in the mail :)

just today i wrote out all my numbers for a mom.
now ill just be able to hand these out when needed!
if i dont feel too cheesy using them.
we shall see :)

here is the info on how to get 50 for just $1.00
just wanted to share, as i can think of a few of you reading who just might enjoy having their own ;)
not sure how long it lasts, so move fast!

enjoy ;)
and make sure you send me one if you get some made up!

happy bday lilly

how did this little baby...

turn into this little lady...

i just blinked...

and now look at her!

happy 6th birthday miss lillian :)

we love you!!

cbj time

did you see us on TV?
you probably could have if you were looking ;)

cohen scored us some awesome seats to a CBJ game...

purely with his cuteness. **

we were close.

very close.

these were my favorite seats that we have sat in yet!

(not sure they make them any closer ;)

snow on the boards from the players' hockey stops.

wet puck marks when the puck hit the glass.

we could even smell the players.

(which isn't a nice smell... but it does demonstrate just how close we were.)

smiles and cheering and clapping and dancing through the whole game :)

and we can't miss a picture with Stinger!

(Daddy skates with him in men's league)

Special thanks to Terri and Mr. Crane for such a generous gift of such amazing seats!

We had a wonderful time :)

**we went to visit dave at work over spring break, for lunch.  on the way down the 'loooong' hall... there is this one office with all this CBJ professionally framed photos/tickets/sticks/you name it... it's like a little shrine. (especially to the little man). he always loves to stop and peer through the glass in the door. this time, a very sweet lady (Terri) noticed him admiring all the things and asked if he wanted to go in to see all the things on the wall. of course we all did :) we got to talking, turns out their company is part owner of the team! Then she says "hey! what are you doing saturday night?!?" :)

burps.

i finally get to share these!

burps :)

handmade from my snuggle flannel collection.

i made these for my cousin who is expecting twin boys!

i made some for a friend too, but i just now realized i never took pics... boo. (one was even with owl fabric!)

super cute and easy to make!

(i hope they work nice too, you'll have to let me know lindsey and julie!  and julie, if you like yours, i would love to make you some girly ones :)

lilly took this pic of me and said... "you look terrible mommy."

thanks sweetie. you're nice.

im pretty sure this what i normally look like.

tired. and terrible. ha.

and the most recent of daddy's creation :)

the plans are about ready to go and get approved.

hope they do!

enjoy your weekend :)

a letter to my range.

Dearest range,

I love you, I really do.
You are a big part of my life. I enjoy all the great things you do for me, and you know how much I love to use you. And when I say 'use you', I mean only in the nicest of ways.

But why?
Why do you have to go and start acting up today?
We have freezer meals and desserts to make.
Birthday cupcakes and a birthday cheesecake.
And don’t forget about the pizza making birthday party this weekend.
We kind of need you for that.
I really don't know if I can function without you.

You are just a baby.
Not even one year old.
Your cousin at the old house was very healthy and never gave us any issues.

Sure, I set up an appointment for you.
But it’s an all day appointment.
As in your doctor could be here anytime.
8-5.
Don’t you know how inconvenient that is for me on my spring break?

Oh range, you really don’t know what you do to me.
But I do hope you are feeling better soon.
(Like tomorrow.)

Much love,
jen

p.s. thank you for just baking some dessert crusts without any problems.  maybe you are on the mend?

Never.

Hey now.

I never said that I would never join facebook, I just said… “ I keep in touch with just who I want to via this blog :) No need to add to my already time consuming blogging.”
;)
Never is a strong word.
Use it sparingly.
I did say that I would never own a mini-van.
And I do say that my kids never sleep in.

(So I guess there are exceptions to every rule.)
(though they've only slept in 1 day in their whole entire lives.)
(well, what i would call sleeping in...)
(and at least it's a cool mini-van)
(since when did those 2 words go together?)
(2005)

and some off topic pics ;)

spring break 2010

our Spring Break...

so far:

dinner at Chick-fil-a

buying a swing set

daddy rolling out the lawn

working the Girl Scout cookie booth

daddy working on putting the swingset together

meeting with friends for lunch

LBE order pick up

new checks in the mail!

pay some bills

hearing that friends had their little baby girl :)

taking a meal to a friend who just had surgery
going to daddy's hockey game
sleeping in (cohen till 8, lilly till 9!!!!!!!!!!)
shopping at build a bear with lilly's bday gift certificates

shopping at toys r us with lilly's bday gift certificates

to the bank

still to come:

make a separate trip (alone) to toys r us

make a bday cheesecake

make cinnamon rolls

make bday cupcakes

wrap bday presents

work on embroidery orders

work on gifts for a new baby girl :)

maybe go to another hockey game?

6 year dr. appointment for the little lady

other dr. appointments (one for me, one for dave)

LBE giveaway drawing (Friday!)

bike/jog daily

read verses daily

groceries

bank

and that's off the top of my head

a nap sounds good.

moving up in the tech world

im getting pretty wild here.

not only does LBE have a twitter account...

but now, LBE has a facebook page...

and to celebrate my coming out of  the 20th century...

LBE is having a giveaway :)

check out the LBE blog for details.

Spring Break does crazy things to me.

crafty boy

so you think i'm crafty?

check out what my sweetie boy is crafting ;)

thank you tax return.

reubens

yesterday's dinner.

reubens.

i posted this recipe once before.

(no step by step pictures back then.)

i couldn't find it though.

so...

i added a search button (on the right) to find it ;)

it was in 2008.

Reubens.

http://itsmejen.blogspot.com/2010/03/blog-post.html

we got this recipe from a lady i used to teach with.
(teachers always have GREAT recipes!)
this one is a little different than your 'normal' reuben.

it uses coleslaw (yumm) instead of sauerkraut (yucky).

so the layers are like this.

-rye bread (buttered on one side)
-corned beef
-swiss cheese
-coleslaw
-thousand island dressing
-rye bread (buttered on one side)

grill on the stove just like grilled cheese :)
delicious...

spring ahead

the thing i like about the spring time change?
that it's still light at 7:00.
and today it was warm enough to jog outside ;)
(now i wont have to read the LOST subtitles while im on the bike in the 'home gym' at 8:00 like i have been the last few weeks.)

i put dave in charge of some blog pictures while i was out.
here's what we get...

i think someone likes being outside.
make that 2 someones.
or 3.
better make that 4.

i updated my blogging system.

so i have to get used to my new tool bar.

its all a bit too fancy for me.

tomorrow is st. patty's day.

hello reuben ;)

Potato Soup with Rivals

POTATO SOUP WITH RIVELS
Karen R’s grandma’s recipe

Diced potatoes (1 lg. per person) we add a couple more than that.
1/2-1 c. chopped celery (optional)
1 sm. onion, chopped

Directions:
Cook the potatoes, celery and onion in enough water to cover. When soft, do not drain. Add milk to make adequate broth. Bring just to a boil and add rivels.

Directions for Rivels:
Rivels: Mix 1 egg per 1 cup flour with a teaspoon of salt, with fingers until mixture is crumbly (about the size of marbles or a little smaller). Drop into above soup, stirring often. Simmer about 15 minutes or until cooked through, may cook longer if they are larger we did a little bit smaller. If you have a large pan of soup, you may want to double rivels recipe. Garnish each bowl with fresh chopped parsley. My grandma was a big parsley fan. We have done without parsley too.

We also add toasted 1 inch bread cubes to the soup too. But could be left out if you don't like them.
Directions for 1-inch bread cubes:
Melt 1 stick oleo/butter like parkay in a black iron skillet.
Add 4-5 pieces of bread that has been cut into 1 inch pieces.
Brown pieces until brown to your liking.
Stir browned pieces in just before serving.

Jen's modifications:

I threw 3 chicken bouillon cubes in with the water, potatoes and celery for just a bit more flavor. I added extra milk to the soup to thin it out the night we had it for dinner. I had made it in the morning, so it had thickened up quite a bit. The next day I had it for lunch, and the leftovers were thick and delicious!

friday night and onesies

ah. its friday night.
we had pizza for dinner. yum.
dave took the christmas lights down. now that the snow has melted.
went to bed bath and beyond.
stopped at the pet store.
did a quick embroidery project.

we really know how to have a good time.
im so awesome, im blogging on a friday night.
(actually, ive been blogging every other day for while now, so i dont want to break my streak.... and it just happens to be friday night)

next topic.

here are the onesie cookies. again ;)
step by step.
i am in love with them.

1.outline (let sit at least 45 minutes)

2. flood the cookies. (let sit a good 3 hours. even longer is better if you are patient.) (i found a bottle for flooding... yay!! much easier than last time.)3. decorate4. take pictures.
my aunt asked if id bring sugar cookies for Easter.
they just may be onesie Easter cookies ;)
for real.

enjoy your weekend!

the day my kitchen...

the day my kitchen looked like this...
february 16. (must have been another snow day.)
oh. there's more.i normally make a new meal on valentine's day.
the 14th was on a sunday this year.
this year valentine weekend was spent doing some important things. (being with a dear friend in the hospital and visiting with a guest at our house.)
so the 'tradition' of a new meal was put off until it could be had.
which happened to be two days later, on the 16th.

we started off with a recipe from my new cookbook :)
(thanks mom and dad!)

chicken spaghetti. yummmm.
and another recipe from the same cookbook :)
and then we served our 'traditional' red velvet cake.
(it was out of the box this year, only because i had already bought the box... but next year it will be from scratch as there is a recipe for it in my new cookbook :)
dave and i still have not had our official valentine's date night of a movie and a meal other than fast food :) we will get to it. its nice to spread out the love...