Share and Remember: January 2010

Sunday, January 31

Today at 3:00 pm was Brett's first piano recital. 16 students played (one sang & played guitar) this afternoon besides two more sessions at 1 & 2 pm. Brett takes lessons at Robyn's house but she also teaches at the music store so that is where the recital was held. Afterwards there was cookies & punch. Brett had his song, Dyno, My Pet Dinosaur, memorized & he played it twice. I think it ended up being 2 1/2 times since he started over. He wasn't nervous & didn't get upset about going up in front of everyone but I think it hit when he got up there! He did a great job & we are proud of him. What a small world - some of our friends take lessons through Robyn too - & referred us to her- so of course they were there plus 3 other moms I know through child care.

Brett was tired & not feeling very good so he was anxious to get home. He's sleeping on the couch now with Stormy.

Thursday, January 28

Love Quote

Here's another one that will be good to put out for Valentine's day. I read this quote somewhere - it seems like someone had it on their Facebook status - but I don't recall who and couldn't find the orginal source for it. I made this with Yours Truly BADGE album from ShabbyShoppe.com. My frame holds a wallet sized photo, about 3.25" x 2.25".

Wednesday, January 27

So Yummy

This is what we had for dinner tonight & it was so good we're looking forward to having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! I found the roll recipe somewhere online (on one of the many, many blogs I follow but now I can't recall which one!). I make my meatballs with Progresso Italian bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt & pepper - nothing unusual - & add BBQ sauce.

French Bread
1 c plus 2 Tbsp. water
2 tsp butter, softened
3 1/4 c flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg yeast (or 2 3/4 tsps)

Put all ingredients in the order listed into KitchenAid bowl, and using the dough hook, mix on low for about 5 minutes. Then remove the dough from the bowl, shape into a loaf or rolls (5-6) and place into a greased pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. Then bake at 350 degrees for 45 -60 for loaf/20-30 minutes for rolls.

Tuesday, January 26

Kindness & Truth

I loved this thought that was recently shared & decided to "scrapbook it" & put it in a frame. I left the image full size (although it is only 3" x 3.25") so you can right click it to save & print if you want. I made it for a frame I already had. The elements used are from Shabby Shoppe.com The Clementine Collection.

Please disregard any dust you see in this picture.

Monday, January 25

Kalahari Weekend

I took just a few pictures on Saturday at the Kalahari & most of them aren't very good since I had to use the "sport" setting in order to get any pictures at all. Enough to make a page to remember. Brett had a great time! (I hope so for that price...)

Caramel-Banana Muffins

I'm picking up ingredients tonight to make these. They're on the cover of Midwest Living Jan/Feb 2010

Cool: 5 minutes

Bake: 18 minutes
Prep: 25 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 3-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 medium banana, peeled and mashed (1/2 cup)
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. caramel-flavored ice cream topping
1 medium banana, peeled and thinly sliced (optional)
1 Tbsp. butter, melted
Caramel-flavored ice cream topping (optional)

Directions
1. Line twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups or 6 jumbo (3-1/4-inch) muffin cups with paper bake cups. In a small bowl, mix pecans, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, softened butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until well combined. Add egg and beat well. Beat in the mashed banana and vanilla until combined.

3. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the banana mixture, beating on low speed until just combined.

4. Stir 1/4 cup of the pecan mixture. Spoon half the batter into prepared muffin cups (1 rounded tablespoon for each 2 1/2-inch muffin cup or 2 rounded tablespoons for each jumbo muffin cup). Drizzle 1/2 teaspoon caramel topping over batter in each cup. Top with remaining batter. If you like, top each muffin with 2 thin slices additional banana. Drizzle each with a little melted butter and sprinkle with remaining pecan mixture.

5. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from pan. Serve warm drizzled with more caramel topping, if you like. Makes 12 standard or 6 jumbo muffins.

Thrift Finds

I was excited to find this picture frame for $3 that holds 6 x 6 scrapbook pages so well! I can print them on my printer & change them with the seasons.

A new (still had a "made in Romania" sticker on it) trifle bowl. $5 Mine had a chip in it so I was looking for one. Obviously it can be used for more than just trifles.

This tray with coffee tiles in the bottom. $3.00 I'm going to redo it somehow since it's not my colors or decor, but for now it found a place here. This corner needed a change (and a good dusting!) The table was a Goodwill find too and it's soon going to be repainted. I have lots of little projects going!

The welcome sign is going but I haven't found anything I want to put there yet. I guess it works for now.

I also found a new headboard ($12) for the bed downstairs but I want to paint it & much done to be done before I take pictures down there.

Friday, January 22

Today's Excitement

We made an igloo out of the washing machine box fom Grma R and a smaller tunnel box. Hours of fun!

♥ my new bulletin board

I found at Hobby Lobby. It was 1/2 price but it was overpriced to begin with.

Baby Toys

I like baby toys. After sorting I still have all of these not including soft or board books. Some were Brett's & some were from garage sales, etc.

Thurs/Fri

I'm rearranging the spare room. So far I cleaned out the extra stuff (that was stored but I don't want in there anymore), removed some wire shelving in the closet and put the changing table in there. Then rearranged the furniture. Next: a decorating plan.
I can't help it, I want nice closets that you open and they're neat, organized & "pretty". It shouldn't be impossible to accomplish with our hall closet that just holds sheet sets, tableclothes, extra pillows, beach towels, laptop bags and some extra bags/purses. I've been going through everything.
Someone stopped in front of our house yesterday with unmarked van (tan) and took a picture of our house - with a cell phone I think. Then turned around in the neighbor's driveway & left. That kinda freaks me out. He looked "normal" and the vehicle was nice enough, but what's that all about? Drive by for someone checking out my day care? Taking to a picture to give me an estimate on something? (we get lots of door to door advertising) or did he just like the color of my front door?
I've had two quieter days in a row with kids out sick. It's kinda nice. Today is full house. I would not want to do 8 kids all day/everyday especially if that number includes an infant & one with special needs. Thankfully two are school age & helpful.
My son just called q-tips "ear pickers"! LOL He made a "leaning tower of Pisa" with them.
We're going to WI Dells tonight. I think to the Kalahari. We're not usually "wait & see" kind of people but we didn't make plans very far ahead this time.
How is it our silverware set is down to 3 forks? The only place they go is with Damon's lunch in his reuseable lunch bag & I know he's consistently responsible about bringing them home. Spoons have gone through the garbage disposal but I don't recall that happening to forks. I've been wanting a new set for a long time anyway. Maybe I'll get a nicer set & use my current "company" set for everyday.

Wednesday, January 20

Just today

I threw away my dried wedding bouquet. Believe me, I should have never saved it this long. Even when it first dried it didn't look good enough to save but I couldn't just throw it out. We were in IN the Sunday after our wedding & I left it in the car during mtg. It was July 30th & hot! The lilies turned brown and the rest of it wilted on the table at the place we stayed in the Poconos. After being stored on top of the closet shelf all these years, it definitely wasn't worth saving! I kept the sheer/gold wired ribbon & washed the dust out. It sure was beautiful though!

Picture I found today

Brett's first Thanksgiving at Grandma & Grandpa Ransom's. He was 2 months old. Grandma took this picture & I scanned it. I think of so many things when I look it: how Brett is the center of our world, what an adorable baby he was, how thankful we are for family that loves him like we do, how dark & long my hair was, how much thinner I was then compared to now, and how full and fun life was then. I love this picture!

Monday, January 18

Sick Kitty

Stormy's got a little cold. He's been here for 2 hours now. Drippy nose (if I don't wipe him up every once in a while it runs down his front-ack!) and little moans when we pick him up. He shakes a little while he's just sitting there breathing. My first clue was that he didn't wake me up this morning. Does kitty need some chicken soup? Last time he was better in less than 24 hrs.

Sunday, January 17

Worth the $$

Both of them. Love my Bissell Little Green Machine & my FLOR carpet tiles/rug. It's definitely handy having a spot cleaner with day care although we do really well with light colored carpet. It helps me not freak out over messes. I normally have it cleaned just once/year but we are very careful. Saturday I cleaned some spots and decided to clean the FLOR rug. It gets heavy use daily with families coming & going. It's been perfect though & I've actually never cleaned it before other than vacuuming (wow, that sounds bad seeing I got it in June 2008!) but it looks great. Of course it looks a lot better now that I've cleaned it, but it hides the dirt very well. I've been so happy with it; the way it looks and how it's held up (Moss Botanicals pattern/medium traffic). It wasn't cheap but it fits the spot well & it always looks nice, needs minimal care. It's a good sized area to clean with a spot cleaner though! Between that & all the spots I found, I should have called ChemDry!

Of Course

That blanket was left right there just for you.

Frost

Today we woke up to beautiful frost that is lasting throughout the afternoon. I tried to get pictures of Brett but he said it was too bright.

Saturday, January 16

Playing

It is so rare for Brett to actually get out something and play. I wish he would do it more but I guess he's growing up and/or just that there's no one to play with. He usually plays when the day care kids are here but after they leave, he's done. He will read books, play with Stormy, play DS games or just be with us. He has a room full of nice toys, even some from his birthday he's hardly touched. We tell him to go pick something out of his room to play with and he will but he rarely does it on his own. I enjoyed seeing him get out this Play Mobil set last night while I was making dinner.

Snow Chicken

That's what these two are enjoying - "snow chicken". The little girl found the chunk of icy snow. She called out to B and said "I found some snow chicken!" Then they went to the deck, sat at the picnic table and proceeded to share their "snow chicken". Seriously, one took a bite and then passed it to the other to take a bite and back & forth. Never seen anything like it before. So funny!

Wednesday, January 13

It's true

He's spoiled. Totally spoiled! I try not to spoil kids but pets, that's OK isn't it? Stormy was following me around after lunch (probably smelled the pizza I made for the kids) crying so I offered him some kitty treats. Nope. Didn't want those. So kitty needs a treat. He loves shrimp! One little cold shrimp broken up into pieces satisfied him. Hmmm, maybe this is why I'm his favorite?!

3 Roses

I love my

KitchenAid Shredding & Slicing cones. So far I've used them for shredding cheese, potatoes, both hashbrowns and sliced for scalloped potatoes and even for shredding my laundry soap. They're very easy to use and handy to have!

Tuesday, January 12

Tuesday's Mixed Messages

I thought this was so cute this morning. I think Stormy gets too tired to get away & just gives in! This little girl is here for 2 hours in the morning some days & she plays with him the whole time she's here.
I lost 2.5 lbs in the last week using Caloriecount.com. I like that site. If I exercise it will go quicker but working on one thing at a time.
On Thursday morning I have an interview for another 3 year old. It's not ideal - variable schedule & sometimes very PT, with child care assistance. It sounds like it could work out & it's fine either way with me if it does or doesn't. One of my FT time kids will be leaving possibly in Feb. so it would fill the gap somewhat.
The baby pulled himself up next to the furniture to stand this morning!
It's the start of tax time for me. I have piles of receipts to go through again & hours of time to put in. The paperwork came from the accountant with a letter saying to just mail it back & questions will be answered through email or on the phone to reduce the risk of illness. Paranoid of H1N1 I guess but that's fine with me. We've been through this several years now & they know what they're doing.
Looking forward to my massage next Monday night. It's been a while since I've been able to go in.
The sunshine today is beautiful! That along with 3 pretty roses on my table is brightening the day after a dark one yesterday. So glad for those who listen & care.
I see next week already Brett has a 1/2 day Thursday & Friday off. Maybe we'll stay over somewhere for a hotel/swim time that weekend.
I kinda want to go skiing sometime. Kinda - because it's cold but it would be fun for a little while and I'd like Brett to try BUT I don't want any of us to get hurt! Damon & I haven't gone since the weekend he proposed, nearly 16 years ago in February!

Monday, January 11

Toffee Crunch

That's the color of the paint by Behr. We like it! (I know I already posted pictures on FB but these are taken in the daylight.) Damon's so great about painting. I suggested it midweek & he did it on Saturday. He seems to even enjoy it.

Up next: the bathroom. It's going to be a very light pale blue called Offshore Mist. Now it's a sueded gold color, which I really like, but it's no longer available and we don't have touch up paint. Home Depot was unable to match it. It's been 7 or 8 years so time for a change anyway. We have no timeline for the project though so it might be a while. I need to look for fabric for the shower curtain when I have some free time. I love fabric & figure there's no point in trying to find a pre-made one because there's not usually any I like!

Now if I could just figure out what to do in the spare room that I've put off for way too long...

2010 Calendar

I made this for myself & thought I could share it this way with anyone who wants to print it. Print on 8.5 x 11 & cut in half. You can trim off the watermark on the bottom & however much you want on top. Of course none of the images are mine. They are from various scrapbook sets.

2010 Calendar

Friday, January 8

Brett just asked me

Mom, do you know what comprehension means?
What about accuracy?
Fluency?
I bet you know about expanded vocabulary too.

And yes, he gave me a good description of each one.

Thursday, January 7

I agree with this

Wisconsin’s Quality Rating and Improvement System is Closer than Ever
from WECA Advocates in Action

The quality of care children receive has a huge and proven impact on their development and school-readiness. The early education profession & field is NOT all about fraud, nor is it about “babysitting” kids for money. Early education professionals are in fact key to effective, high quality programs for Wisconsin’s young children.

I am ready for this:

A Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) is poised to become a reality in Wisconsin- and it will be going to legislature for approval soon. WECA believes Wisconsin’s QRIS will: improve the overall quality for children in child care, provide a tool for parents to identify and select quality child care, create incentives to improve services to low-income children, link quality to Wisconsin Shares payments, and provide a mechanism to further prevent fraud in the Wisconsin Shares program.

If you are an early childhood educator, your program will be assessed on quality indicators in four key areas: 1) educational qualifications of teaching and administrative staff, 2) the learning environment and curriculum, 3) professional practices, and 4) the health and well-being of all the children you serve.

Rearranged

It hit me just yesterday morning - I had to rearrange the LR. There's not many options with day care in the LR but it felt good to change things up. I believe a big part of good design is working with what you have & making what you have work! Good thing since that's what I have to do. I enjoy accessorizing & "shopping" the rest of my rooms & stash to change things up.