happy bday cohen!

oh little man.

i can hardly believe it.

today you are the big 4.

your favorite number.

happy birthday cohen!

 

 we love you a ton.

times a million.

rice pilaf.

rice pilaf. mmmmmm.

this is one of my all-time favorite recipes.

it's orginally my grandma's.

passed down to my parents.

now to me.

i'd request it every time we went to see my grandparents.

or somehow it just managed to be on their table.

and now i just make it myself. a lot.

i've tweaked the recipe just a bit.

so it's now double the rice.

(leftovers are oh so good)

less butter and more mushrooms.

but still as delicious as i remember grandma making.

(i am only sharing this recipe because i do not see a 'jen's diner' in my future :)

jen's grandma's rice pilaf (one of my favorite foods ever...)

http://www.itsmejen.blogspot.com/

1/4 cup butter

2 cans beef consume

1 cup rice

2 - 4 oz. cans of mushrooms, drained

combine all of these in an oven proof baking dish.

bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

enjoy :)

lori, come on down!!

my uncle emailed a few weeks ago about a special custom cookie order.

you see, his wife (my aunt lori), was taped as a contestant on The Price Is Right!

and it's airing tomorrow!!! tuesday, april 19th.

 so he ordered cookies to surprise her with.

to take to school and share with her students.

isn't he the sweetest?

(and she was sooooo excited to see these cookies)

(and that made me smile ;)

i can honestly say that i have never been so excited
to watch some mid day TV as i am right now :)

 congrats aunt lori!!

can't wait to see you in all your glory ;)

(now... go check and see when the show is on so you can watch too!!)

pre-soccer

i'm not feeling the love for my blog these days.

but i am feeling the love for these kids.

(sporting their hand picked get-ups.)

and the little man's soccer shoes... at least 2 sizes too big.

and the little lady's personality... at least 2 sizes too big.

and our house... which is almost always this messy.

and our days... which are almost always full.

these kids make everything worth it.
i love them so so much.
(and their daddy too :)

(here they are waiting to leave for soccer practice.)

cheap labor

5 tubes of extra frosting.

5 sugar cookies a little too crisp to sell.

a 7 year old.

and a 3 year old.

(while mommy is making dinner.)

the cookie on the right...

"rainbow with polka dots"

by lillian

the cookie on the left...

"boogers"

by cohen

 not sure if these will end up at SDB

(only because i'm not sure i could ever recreate their beauty)

but at least i know where to get some cheap help ;)

fb rejects and kid convo combo

coulda been on facebook...

-Finding a forgotten pair of jeans in your closet that actually fit = awesome.

-Ask permission.

-Who took away my natural light? Give it back. Please.

-Don’t expect what you aren’t willing to give.


and kid convos in the same post...

Mom. Pretty much you’re not gonna win.
Cohen while playing Candy Land against Mommy.
February 15, 2011


Me: You’re still sleepy, girl.
Lilly: No. My eyes can’t open.
To Lilly when she is up way before she needs to be.
February 16, 2011


Mom. This isn’t gonna be appropriate… what I’m going to say.
This looks like a little pink poopy.
Lilly, picking up and showing me a dried glob of pink frosting off the counter.
February 24, 2011


Mom look. He looks like coach Obama.
Lilly, in response to what Cohen picked out to wear… an OSU shirt.
(clearly sports and politics are big in our house.)
March 25, 2011

7

my best girl in all the world...

 happy birthday sweet Lillian :)

we love you.

a billion times over.

chalk wall

i've been politely reminded that i need to put official chalk wall pics up.

dave sanding the wall... and taping after that.

cohen priming the wall (with leftover primer from his room.)

more priming...

and lilly too!

the priming is done!

(actually kind of a fun color by itself...)

next... the chalk board paint.

dave did 2 layers.

we've been enjoying the wall.

valentine's day cards.

welcoming friends.

practing spelling words.

tracing.

doodling.

just having fun.

here is one of my favorites :)

a group effort.

(i think i like santa on the rainbow the best ;)

peacocks

i was commissioned by a great friend's step-mom to make four dozen 

special order white peacock sugar cookies for a bridal shower.

here is what i came up with :)

 the white peacock and i are best friends now :)

(we were up till the wee hours together.)

thank you lesley, for passing on my name and supporting me in so many ways.

and thank you deb, for your order and your glowing words!!

Sweet Day is doing very well.

and i am so excited about that.

 (and p.s.  if you arent already, be sure to like the SDB FB page for updates!)

hello market

so spring break 2011 has begun.

we dont go anywhere fancy for spring break.

but we do try to make it special...

and do things we dont normally do :)

like go to the farmer's market and spend lots of money.

on delicious stuff like this focaccia bread.

 and a half gallon of pure maple syrup.

(this should last through the summer)

the little man would eat daddy's homemade pancakes constantly.

(for breakfast. lunch. and dinner. snacks too.)

if we let him.

we also got a huge asiago breadstick (which we ate immeadiately)

and some bacon & cheese brats, which we will enjoy this week :)

can't wait for our garden and the outdoor markets!

soooo missing our fresh tasty food.

not superwoman.

yikes.

these blog posts have been few and far between.

ive been cookie-ing.

and embroidering.

and parenting.
and cooking.

and reading.

and praying.
and hearing.

and this one little word has been popping up all around me.

simplify.
(ok. i hear ya.)

and i am trying to obey.
not sure what that looks like for this little blog.
but i do know what that looks like in my 'real' life.

it means i can't do it all. i shouldn't do it all. and it's ok if i don't :)

and believe me... i don't do it all.

it may seem like it here on the blog.

but this is just a teeny portion of my life.

i'm not superwoman.

i just play one on the blog.

deal blogs

here are few blogs i follow with lots of deals. and coupons.

so many deals and coupons that they flood my google reader.

(lots of coupons for lots of junk that we just dont eat... or just dont need)

i am almost tempted to take them off my blog reading list

because of all the coupons i won't use.

(and a lot of them are redundant...)

but then i might miss that one deal that i want.

like return labels shipped for $3.95.

or 2 pairs of boots for $16.00 shipped.

or a cute pink land's end rain jacket for $14.93 shipped. 

(i think it was originally $50ish)

or free redbox codes. yay!

so for now. they will stay on my blogroll.

http://hip2save.com/

http://www.couponingfor4.net/

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

http://mojosavings.com/

have fun couponing :)
(and let me know if you every score anything great from one of them!!)

gnomeo

thanks to a very generous Christmas gift...

we enjoyed lunch at the movies on a rainy saturday.

and we rocked out the 3D glasses.

yes. we. did.

foodie blogs i love.

ok. to some fun stuff today.
going to start sharing some of the blogs i follow.
i follow a lot. too many actually.
and i am in process of weaning some out.

but today. a few foodie blogs i love.

What's Cookin, Chicago?

Diane's Dishes

Sisters' Stuff

(this one has more than food ;)

The Pioneer Woman

ok. let those ones sink in.

i will be sharing more :)