Finger Paint Pinterest Review

Today is Kindergarten Day!
I don't have any kindergarteners (even my beautiful niece is too old now) but I have two children who enjoy trying new things.
So what could be better than both something off of my Pinterest to-do list and something I can use to put the house into a warm weather mood?
Finger paint!!
But not just any finger paint. Oh, no.
How about make-it-yourself-safe-to-eat-just-in-case-your-almost-15-month-old-tries-to-eat-it-finger-paint?
I didn't come up with this myself. I have no idea what goes into making.paint. It's from Easie Peasie.
The recipe is super simple.

3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups of water

Combine all ingredients in a snall sauce pan and heat until thickened, seperate into little containers, let cool, and add food grade dye to color.

This needs constant stirring while heating. It will clump like a mofo without it. And if it looks like it's never going to solidify, keep stirring.
You'll see one little clump and then another... Keep stirring. And then BAM! Suddenly it's thick. Just like that.
It'll take about five minutes to cool.
From start to seperate containers, it took me ten minutes at the most, but I wasn't timing it.
I don't have the dye in the little dropper bottles, but I have some Wilton frosting dye. You know, the stuff that's thick as cement and the tiny half ounce jars could probably dye enough frosting for twenty cakes.
Twenty really big cakes.
The stuff that dyes everything it touches.
No, I wouldn't advise using this dye. Not unless you want purple kids for a few days.
And definitely don't use this dye unless you're used to working with it and well accustomed to it's potency.
The paint consistency is close to that of pudding and surprisingly smooth. It smears easily and dries looking like water colors. Not the best for brushes, too thick. Rinsing it would be more hassle than anything.
And thank goodness it's safe to eat. The first thing Boy Bee did was taste it.
It takes a while to dry, but the colors stay nice and bright.
And it's fun! I even got in on the painting action.
It also lasts past painting time, and I would save what was left for a later date, but my kiddos got it so mixed that I would rather just make a different batch next time.
I would definitely use this pin again.

Happy Sunday and Kindergarten Day, everyone! Go smear some paint around.

Italian style tomato soup with Tortellini

I'm a giant fan of anything that doesn't take a whole lot of effort or time to put together.
I'm also a giant fan of cheap.
I have a gift for seeing something and knowing - after minor thought - how to replicate it with minimal effort and financial output.

So today's recipe is another Pinterest find. I'll be totally honest; I never even looked at the recipe. I just knew how I wanted it to taste and how to make it happen in 4 ingredients.
Like I said, it's a gift.

Italian Style Tomato Soup with Tortellini
1 giant can Campbell's condensed tomato soup made according to can directions with half water and half milk
1 normal size jar of your favorite tomato based pasta sauce
1 bag frozen tortellini (I used a smallish bag but would add more next time - who doesn't need more tortellini?!)

Mix soup and sauce first, heat it near to fully heated and then add the tortellini. Cook soup until thoroughly heater and tortellini is tender.
Serve with garlic bread. Mmm.

Truly By Julie also made me these beautiful paper cherry blossoms and posted this fantastic tutorial. You really should give these a go. They look great in any setting.

Happy Saturday, ladies and gents.
(It's also Volunteer Recognition Day and Look Alike day (It's also 4/20, but let's not get into that). Personally, I think I look like Adele. What about you?)

Zesty Tomato Veggie Stew

I have another recipe for you! This one's a classic in our house.
It's one of Hubby's all time favorites.
It's great on cold nights and warm afternoons.
Ironically, it was fantastic with yesterday's beer bread though I hadn't planned them together at all.
It's stew!
We usually call it Beef Veggie Stew.
But we've eaten it with Italian Sausage and chicken and ground turkey and venison and... You get the idea.

Lasts really well in leftovers.
Fantastic with crackers.
Good with cheese and sour cream.
It is easily one of the most versatile soup recipes in my repitoire.

Zesty Tomato Veggie Stew
1 lb of any meat
2 (15oz) cans stewed diced Italian       Style Tomatoes
1 (16oz) can tomato sauce
3-4 cups frozen mixed veggies
3 (15oz) cans of water
1 package taco seasoning
A few shakes tobasco sauce

Cook meat in large stock pot. After cooked, add everything else. Let simmer for 30 minutes approximately, stirring occiasionally.
Serve however you like.

Enjoy!
Happy Thursday!
(It's also International Juggler's day, National High Five Day and
Newspaper Columnists Day!)

I also want to share a picture of my almost 3 year old wearing her baby doll in a wrap (wrap meaning my favorite scarf) earlier today. She kept calling the baby doll her backpack.<3

Quick Beer Bread

As in "a beer bread that is also a quick bread."
You read right, folks.
A quickbreadbeerbread.
Growing up, beer bread meant that Mom was pulling out her bread machine and then meant a loaf that may or may not both rise fully and be finished in time for dinner.
As a married woman without a bread machine it meant kneading, rising, long cook times and too much hastle with a baby on your hip.
But fear not, fair friends!
I have come to bestow the blessing of a 50 minute quick bread upon you.
Yes, 50 minutes. And 45 of that is baking. That's only an episode and a half of Yo Gabba Gabba while the bread is in the oven.
Yes, I measure time in Yo Gabba Gabba.
But that's not important.

Quick Beer Bread

3 cups flour
3 3/4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
12 oz beer (any will work)
Combine all ingredients.
Bake in greased loaf pan at 350°F for 45 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean.
Remember, because this is a quick bread, that the more you mix it, the tougher and chewier it will be. Always mix quick breads as little as possible.

The verdict?
I made mine with a standard Bud Light. It was pretty tasty. And holy god, my house smells amazing.
Next time I may try a New Belgium 1554 - what they call an Enlightened Dark Ale. That should give some pretty noticeable flavor. I may even make a loaf with a Fat Tire (New Belgium's Amber Ale and Hubby's favorite).
I may even add a little garlic or onion powder next time.
But probably not. This bread stands on its own.
Now go forth! Make this bread and eat it with stew! Or straight out of the oven with butter... Like me...
Happy Wednesday!
(It's also National Pet Owner's Independence Day (???), National Cheeseball Day and Blah, Blah, Blah Day. I promise I'm not making the last one up.)

Frame Project, Nana's skirt and Tandem Showering

If you ever get bored while having multiple children in between the ages of 1 and 4 (yeah, right) try taking a shower while both of them want to shower with you.
And then try obliging.
That's a fun adventure.
I should warn you in advance, however, that very little actual cleaning tiny wiggly humans will commence.
But that's okay because the next best thing to clean babies is warm babies bundeled in towels and fresh out of the bath.
My Girl Bee then surprised me by wanting to pick her own clothes. Alright, kid, go for it. Shockingly, she picked matching clothes.
The darling striped skirt her Great Nana knitted for her (she also knitted a matching sweater) and a tee. The socks also matched but are, somehow, too big. So of course we had to take pictures.
And of course she insisted on picking her own poses.
Boy Bee also tried get in on the picture action, but he was still post-bath and buck naked.
On a side note, I'm really glad I decided to wait on painting the table. A storm rolled through yeaterday and dumped probably a foot total of fresh powder on Small Town America.
I also found a new project. I have a few large-ish frames I plan on refurbishing (the color scheme and general concept of the enclosed art and the frame itself have become outdated, I think). I haven't yet decided how, but once I do, I'll let you know.
Happy Tuesday!
(It's also National Stress Awareness Day, National Librarian Day and National Eggs Benedict Day... Mmm.)

Condolences, A Skirt Experiment, Mid-April Craft Examination

It turns out that I may have a dissapointing month as far as metting my craft goals go.
I've decided to hold off painting the table until next month - I have yet to make a final decision on a paint color and the weather in April is still a little unpredictable. That, and I realized that my table is pretty stuck in the kitchen so it will become an enormous project to corner and pen my Baby Bees. I may wait until the end of May so I have another pair of hands (my bestie is coming up from Texas!) to do crazy painting things with.
However...
I still aim at getting those paint swatches. And I still aim at finishing Boy Bee's blanket.

I did attempt a project today.
I would like to crochet a quick little ruffly skirt to stitch onto some of Girl Bee's t-shirts.
I absolutely love the one pattern that Earning-My-Cape posted! I'll do mine in lime green.
I have some tiny (size 11 an 12) crochet needles that are small enough to slip through t-shirt fabric, but when pulling the yarn back through, they would only grab one or two strings of the entire 4-piece strand and then leave a gaping hole when being pulled back through.
I think I'll crochet the skirt free of the shirt and stitch it on after it's  finished.
Or I'll play with some of the white tulle my mother-in-law passed my way recently and see about making a skirt with that.

Today is Titanic Rememberance Day. This is the day it sank 101 years ago.
Today, the Boston Marathon was bombed. No amount of light hearted banter will erase the terror of the people present and of those watching from their homes.
I feel like our world is falling apart and there are a lot of contributing factors.
Our hearts and thoughts go out to those affected by this senseless tragedy. I hope that, in time, you can find peace.

Happy Scrabble Day! I made you a list!

So I'll be totally honest.
I love me some scrabble but I haven't played in probably going on six years or so and I don't even own a copy of the game.
I don't even play some ultra-modern version like Words With Friends. Though I may start soon. Who wants to play with me? You'll probably win - having kids converted all my brain cells into fat cells and my body then promptly stored them in unattractive ways.
Damn. I just called myself dumb and fat without even trying. That has got to beat a self-deprecating record somewhere.
But that's not important.
It's Scrabble Day!
What better way to celebrate than by linking you to a free scrabble letters printable and then showing you what you can do with them?

Okay, so this one you could do with real scabble pieces or printed pieces of paper so you wouldn't have to deal with a deep shadow box. I've never been a fan of how sahdow boxes sit on walls.
One Creative Housewife did hers with the word "Family" and then all of their names.
I've also seen it done with the words "I love you", "love you", "love you forever", "love you always", "love" and innumerous other cliche "love" phrases.
Personally, I would do it with the first thing I ever said to my husband in person (we met online): "I don't see any donuts."
Long story.

I love the idea of doing something bigger, though. I mean taking- up-most-of-the-wall-big. In a kid's room how freaking adorable would it be to Scrabble two kid's names together (for a shared room) or thier real name and nickname or first and middle name?

I also love the idea of pillows. I couldn't find an original link (so I posted the Pinteret picture below), but seriously... You could do these yourself. It's a solid colored fabric or burlap and some black paint (acrylic would even work) plus some stencil work. They're so easy! You could do the Family's last name for a patio set or kid's names in bright colors for bedrooms and playrooms... Anything, really.

There's even this adorable scrabble banner for sale on Etsy. Of course, we all know that it's for sale on Etsy, there's a way to make it yourself. I just don't know where to start with this one.

I even see Scrabble themed weddings on Pinterest. I mean, I don't like Scrabble that much...but it's cute in theory.

So Scrabble it up.
I'm going to go download Words With Friends.
Happy Saturday!!

(not so helpful) nausea tips

After two pregnancies, I thought I had encountered some of the worst things to throw up. And while my morning sickness wasn't as bad as a lot of women's, it wad still a solid 80 weeks (total and yes, to the day) of hell.
I'll spare you the details.
Just know that we have what appears to be a quick moving tummy bug in the house and so far, there is no end in sight.
With pregnancy, there are several things to can do to alleviate nausea. Preggo Pops, C-bands, snacking, laying down, ginger tea or gum... My secret was eating whenever I started feeling sick and a cup of coffee every morning once I hit my 3rd tri.
None of those tricks work with full on stomach bugs.
Other things that don't help include ( but are not limited to):
- toddlers
- toddlers throwing up
- toddlers pooping
- smelling the toilet
- cooking with onions
- The Hobbit
- texting
- eating
- drinking
- sitting
- laying
- standing
- walking
- baths
- sleeping
- Advil
- checking the mail
- Pink Floyd's "Stairway to Heaven"
- fuzzy bathrobes
- thinking
- and, apparently, blogging

Ugh... Excuse me while I try to sleep and then wind up in the bathroom. Again.
Oh, and Happy Barbershop Quartet Day! I leave you with the Peep I plopped in my coffee yesterday just to see how quickly it was stripped of it's gritty blue skin. Pretty fast, by the way.

Meet the offspring

Up until now, I've avoided naming my kiddos and posting a picture of them. Part of this was for privacy's sake, the other part was to avoid fully revealing who I was until I was ready to fully and shamelessly network through my facebook.
Well, guess what?
I'm shameless!
Get ready for me to post links to all of me questionably written and lackluster adventures on facebook!
You're welcome!
I suppose I could post more about the kids and less about how I can't wait to paint some furniture.
(And seriously, I am so freaking excited! I can't decide on terquoise or orange for the new TV hutch that I don't even have yet.)
(Did I mention that I'm painting furniture?!)
(Aaah!!)
So I guess I should introduce the kiddos.
One picture below is Aeris, my almost-3-year-old. Lately, she's been into picking her nose and Bubble Guppies. Her favorite color is pink today. Oh, yeah, she's all girl. She's one of the brightest kids I've ever met (no bias intended). She loves helping and she's very good at it. She still prefers sleeping with mommy.
One picture below is Brett, my just-turned-1-year-old. He loves to dance, will eat anything he can get his hands on. And yes, he's all boy. Dirt, cars, funny fart faces. But he's mommy's boy and loves mommy's attention.
If I had to guess right now, Aeris would grow up to help people( be it through nursing, law enforcement or charity work) and Brett would be working with technology (namely where he needs to fit into small spaces or climb to high heights).
One picture below is my munchkins (still in jammies) being forced to share a chair so mommy can get a picture of them together.

Snot, Fabric, Weather! Oh, my!

Both kids woke up stuffy and runny today. For me, that means a day of chasing toddlers with tissues and trying to keep a mental tab of all the things they rub their faces on so I can wash them when they fall asleep tonight.
I'm feeling kind of stuffy myself.
So we ran a nice warm bath and closed the door. Then I filled the sink with too-hot-to-touch-water and added some Eucalyptus essential oil. Yes, I'm one of those.
Let's just say that it smells like Hobby Lobby Gone Wrong in that bathroom.
Hopefully, the kids feel a little bit less snotty.
On a lighter note, today's the day!
My trash gotten gains of fabric are ready to be folded, photographed, sorted an stashed.
Yay!
I would have done this yesterday, but I was busy cleaning from the day before our five day trip.
I also (theoretically) could have done this the night we returned, but we arrived home in a nasty thunderstorm (at night, too) that went straight to Tornado Warning. We were a little busy waiting for sirens to sound so we knew to book it to the crawlspace.
Fortuneately, the sirens never sounded and the rain turned into snow.
Then we had a blizzard.
Yes, we went from 70°F to Tornado Warning to Blizzard in a 24 hour span.
If it explains anything, we live in Northeastern Colorado, on the plains.
But I digress.
Here's what I found! Great, right?!

Happy Wednesday (or Snot Day, if you're unfortunate enough to be us. )
For the record, it's also National Siblings Day! Maybe I'll text mine later. :P

White Chicken Chili

Tonight we're having white chicken chili.
And yum.
Not Rachel Ray "yumm-o" (and god, I hope she gets paid to be annoying because if I ever have the misfortune of meeting the woman in real life, I can't be blamed for how hard I slap her) but a serious "Wow, I can get into trouble if left alone with a pot of this" delicious.
It's my version of a Pinterest recipe, surprise surprise.

1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3-4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into bite size pieces
4 cups chicken broth
2.5 cups water
1 cup sour cream
3 (15oz) cans Great Nothern Beans
1 (4oz) can chopped green chilies
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 Tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano

There are two available cooking methods:
1. Dump everything in a crockpot an let sit on high for 4-6 hours, stirring every now and then.
-or-
2. Get the broth, water, beans, chilies, spices and sour cream going in a big(ish) pot. In a separate pan, saute the onion and then add the chicken breast. Cook thouroughly and then add to the pot.
Let it sit to your heart's content to meld the flavors.

If you want it thicker, you can either go the route of corn starch (according to the box directions) or instant mashed potato flakes.
I used the potato flakes tonight because I was starving and I had some Baby Bees nipping at my heels.
Girl Bee was also busy smashing goldfish crackers into my table cloth (see picture below).

You can also add extra spice. Red pepper flake would work, or a couple shakes of tobasco sauce.

Top with cheese or chips. Or more tabasco sauce.
Serve with buttered french bread or tortillas or corn bread.
It's amazing with anything, really.

And you know what would be really nice with this tonight? An early bedtime for the Baby Bees, and glass of white wine for Mommy Bee.

Or a thick slice of raspberry cheesecake.
Mmm. Cheesecake.

I hoard other people's trash! :D

I'm horrible at life because I can never throw anything away. I can't even let other people do it.
For example, today when I was throwing out the trash, someone set out a box of things that they wanted to throw away.
Things that could be turned into something else.
And that's even worse than normal things to throw away.
In truth, this was a box of fabric. Really nice fabric.
A really nice, obscene amount of matching floaral and country and solid print fabrics.
Like, has to be at least 25 yards obscene.
So I took it. And I'm not ashamed. And I'm washing it.
And even though I don't have a sewing machine (that works) and I don't know how to sew, I'm going to use it.
This also won't be the first time that I've ever pulled "trash" out of the trash for my own sake.
Oh, no.
In the bathroom, hanging up on the wall, is an enormous old picture frame but I removed from the trash can.
I painted it blue, I hung it with strings and hooks, and now it holds all of my jewelry. Well, actually, I didn't paint that. My sister did while I was unpacking my new house, but you get the point.
So what will this fabric wind up being? New pillows? New dresses?
Only time will tell.
Though I do feel inclined to mention that this brings my total fabric hoard to close to 80 yards.
No shit.

Post Easter

Easter has now come and gone, as has March.
I'm not shamed to admit that I didn't do any Easter crafts this year.
Considering that most of the Easter crafts I could find involve religious symbols, and we are not religious, at all, it didn't make much sense to do Easter crafts.
The Easter eggs that I was going to use to make a garland to hang in the window wound up being filled with candy and then hidden in the yard. It also turns out that I wound up putting more eggs in baskets than my children did. My Boy Bee certainly didn't seem to care. All he wanted to do was eat the M&M's. And Girl Bee just wanted to look for Bunnies, not eggs. Such is a holiday with toddlers.
On a different note, now that it's April, it's time to get a jump on my April Crafts.
Maybe I'll be super adventurous and attempt to make a wreath to hang on the door. Or I won't and I'm just saying that  so I will have something to put down.
Which is more likely the case.
I also need to finish my blanket for Boy Bee. And I would love to get a jump on those mobiles. The trick is actually remembering to pick up the paint swatches the next time I get groceries, though.
We will be with family from April 3rd to April 8th in our hometown of Big Town America. This will also be like a second Easter for the children.
I'll be visiting with Truly by Julie from my other blog, which I will link to. Maybe we'll get some crafting done over there and I can post pictures.
Happy Monday, everyone. With any luck (and a lot more caffeine) mine can be productive.