New Inspiration for Homemade Artwork

I get tons of inspiration all over the web, but especially from blogs. I read a diverse variety of blogs about decorating, cooking & baking, mommyhood, adoption, infertility, photography and some written by friends. These are just a few of my favorites - take a look at my sidebar for some more great reads.

My most recent inspiration, was a post by Tara at Just Devine Style about some scripture printables that she made and used to decorate her mantel. I have been wanting to get some new artwork for my kitchen, and I love the written word as art, so after reading her idea, I decided to make my own!

I played around with some of my favorite scripture in Photoshop, found some great black frames that Rick made (too bad I only have 2), and voila! Beautiful new artwork for my kitchen!

It's simple and sweet just the way I envisioned it. I made an extra and gave it to a friend for her birthday, an idea I'm going to be tucking away and using again. For just the cost of a simple frame, you have a lovely and inexpensive gift.

Thanks, Tara, for the inspiration!

Days of Summer - Day 8

Ok, so I'm not even a third of the way through this project that I decided to take on...I need to get out more!! Thank goodness I've got some vacation coming up - San Diego here we come!!

Another great thing about summer is all the cold things to eat and drink. We love making smoothies; it's Cooper's (and my) favorite breakfast treat. Pretty much our smoothies consist of: Fruit, Juice, Yogurt, Ice. I pretty much just use whatever flavors I have on hand.

This one is a Banana Orange Smoothie. The taste is reminiscent of Orange Julius (yummy!).

The recipe (amounts are approximate; I usually eyeball it):
1 cup of ice*
1/2 cup of OJ
1 Bananas
1/2 cup Vanilla Yogurt


 *If you use frozen fruit, you don't need the ice.

Put all ingredients in a blender and Blend and enjoy!

Jamba Juice and McDonald's have nothin' on Mama's homemade smoothies!!

What keeps you cool in the summer?

The Things Kids Say...

Being a mommy has it's ups and downs. Between the tantrums and the fits and the screaming, there are many laughs. I thought I'd share some of the things that have been making me laugh.

Lately, my son has been "outing" himself. 

These conversations usually take place with us calling from the other room when he's been unusually quiet.
Me: Cooper?
Him: I not doing anything!
Me: Really?
Him: I not jumping on the couch!

See what I mean?

Of course I know he is surely doing something.

Me: Cooper?
Him: I not going in the office! (as he's walking out of the office, which is off limits and usually locked - oops!)

Rick: Cooper, what was that? (from the other room, upon hearing a "thud")
Cooper: I not throwing anything!
Rick: What did you throw?
Cooper: I not throwing the dinosaur!

Sometimes you just have to laugh! I mean, c'mon, how can I punish him when he's being so cute??

Taken at the new "Pirate Park" near our house on a preschool field trip (hence the purple shirt)

Party Planning - Carnival Prize Party Favors

I am really getting excited about planning Cooper's third birthday party! I'm stealing ideas getting inspiration from Adriana at and baby makes three who planned a phenomenol party for her son's first birthday last month. You should check it out - she's been featured on many sites within the blogosphere. I can only hope that my scaled down version is as successful!

Now, what's a carnival without prizes???

I purchased party favor "prizes" from Hey Yo Yo on etsy. I've discovered that etsy is an amazing forum in which to find unique handmade and/or vintage (or vintage looking) items, like these:

Cute, cute, cute Clown Straws and

Bird Whistles! Remember these??? You fill them with water and them make a really annoying bird tweeting sound??? Love. it.

You can't have a carnival without this stuff:

I found these at the dollar spot at Target.

I also spent an hour at smalltoys.com trying to decide what my favorites were. I finally decided on these:

{Ice Cream Shooters}

These:

and these:

Oh, and remember the invitation I showed you here? I was planning to print them at home, but I found a great deal at seehere.com where I was able to order free 25 4" x 8" cards for just the shipping cost of $4.99! They came in the mail yesterday, and I am thrilled with them!!

Seven weeks to go and counting...

Menu Plan and an Awesome Chicken Recipe

Really, really trying to get back on track here!


Monday: Chicken & Mozzerella Ravioli with olive oil and grated parmesan cheese
(Ok, so I got this pre-made ravioli at Costco a few weeks ago and it was SO YUMMY! Went to Costco again this weekend and got some more. I cannot wait for dinner tonight!!!)

Tuesday: Delectable Grilled Chicken (see recipe below), Rice, Steamed Baby Carrots

Wednesday: Grilled Lemon Garlic Pork Tenderloin

Thursday: Pizza night or eat out

Friday: Pork Fried Rice (with leftover rice and pork tenderloin)

I tried a new recipe the other day. I call it "Delectable Grilled Chicken" because it was so good, I have to make it again this week!!!

Here you go!


Awesome Grilled Chicken
2 1/2 Tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauces
2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Liquid Smoke
2 Tbsp Chopped Garlic
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
Garlic Salt
Garlic Powder
Pepper
8-10 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

Mix all ingredients together (except the chicken). Pour over chicken and marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Grill on medium high heat for four minutes each side.

The chicken was super tender and juicy, and EVERYONE loved it!

Enjoy!

From The Heart

A couple of months ago, I was invited to participate in an anthology of parents stories and poems. Write For Charity, a non-profit organization, created "From the Heart: Stories & Poems From the Frontlines of Parenting." I submitted my adoption story the night before the deadline, and low and behold, my story was chosen out of 500 to be one of 100 stories published. What an honor!

The project is to support children's charities, specifically Children's Hospitals and St. Jude Research. As a mommy, this makes it a project close to my heart. I can't imagine what I would do if I ever had to take advantage of the organizations this book is supporting, for my own son, but I am grateful to know they are there to help.

I hope you will take some time to read the information posted here about this collaboration, and consider purchasing a book.

Q: Tell me a little bit about this project.
A: From the Heart is the brainchild of the ladies at Write for Charity. After finding out that her youngest daughter needed surgery, our chief editor, Beth Davis, felt a driving urge to make a difference in the lives of children, particularly sick children. The idea of writing a book for charity had been thrown around our office for some time, but she jumped in with both feet to get it moving. Understanding that writing a book in a short period of time would be an unrealistic task, the ladies went full steam ahead in search of collaborators.  They searched magazines, the blogosphere and writers groups from around the country for the best and brightest writing talent they could find, extending invitations as they went. After sorting through over 300 submissions over the course of several months, From the Heart was born. The book is a creative collaboration of nearly 100 different stories and poems from all aspects of parenting. July 1 was the kickoff to our 90 Day Challenge and we’ve been moving ahead with book sales ever since!

Q. What is the 90 Day Challenge?
 A: The 90 Day Challenge is a book sales drive that represents a goal that we set for ourselves and the collaborative authors who are choosing to participate. The goal is to jumpstart sales of From the Heart in the first 90 days by selling 10,000 copies of the book and raising a large lump sum of money for charity immediately.  The book is currently only available for sale on our website at http://www.writeforcharity.com/, but it will be available at many other retail locations following the 90 Day Challenge.

Q: Why not make it available through a national distribution channel during your 90 Day Challenge?
 A: We elected to sell the book at www.writeforcharity.com during 90 Day Challenge and wait to distribute the book into bookstores like Barnes and Noble and Borders and on website like Amazon.com due to the costs associated with a distributor. By selling the book on our website, we are able to control in house costs, raise profit margins and, in turn, donate more money to our selected charities.

Q. Who will benefit from this project? 
A: The desire to contribute to children’s charities has driven this project from the very beginning. Since the minute we decided to publish this book, we knew that children’s hospitals and juvenile disease research foundations would be the beneficiaries when it came to fruition. All of the profits from this book will be split between various Children’s Hospitals and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Center.

Q: So, 100% of proceeds from this project go to charity?
A: One hundred percent of profits will go to our selected charities. Obviously with a project like this, you have printing costs, but other than that, we have committed all of the funds to our selected charities. Our authors have donated their work, our editors have donated their time and our graphics people have donated their talent. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful group of talented people involved in this project.  For a list of contributors, visit www.writeforcharity.wordpress.com/the-authors. 

Q: Tell us something we don’t know about your project.  
A: Well, the biggest thing would definitely have to be the caliber of our contributors. We have several nationally recognized writers in our group of nearly 80 contributors and many of our contributors have been featured in nationally distributed publications, on popular websites or on television. Their willingness to donate their work to our cause is admirable and I know that everyone who reads this volume will enjoy their poems and stories. Together with our contributors, we have begun a grassroots effort to raise funds for our wonderful charities that is growing by the day. Their eagerness to help get the word out about the book is admirable and we appreciate their support.

Q: What’s it in for me to support this project?
A: The charity situation on a national level has taken a severe beating as of late. Many incidents of run ins with unsavory “charities” have appeared in the media in the past several years. Many individuals and companies have completely lost trust in those trying to do good work because of a few “bad eggs.” Many individuals have contributed time and effort to put this project together. Our authors contributed their work out of the kindness of their hearts and our editor, layout artist and designers all contributed time as well. Because they believe in the mission behind this project, to help children in need, we hope you will take the time to support us and purchase a copy of the book. The book in itself is a fantastic product and by purchasing, you are helping a good cause.

Q: How can I support Write for Charity’s From the Heart?
A: There are a number of different things you can do to support the project. First and foremost, you can click here to buy a book!  On our website, we have the ever popular blog buttons which I have starting seeing crop up all over cyberspace. You are welcome to download the “supporter” button for your own website if you are so inclined. This is the first anthology we have done and with the success we are already seeing with it, we know it won’t be the last. Contact one of our editors at press@writeforcharity.com for more information on how you can contribute to one of our upcoming projects or help to support our current project.

Black and White, Hands and Feet

I {heart} black and white photos. I have them all over my house. Color photos let you experience a moment, but black and white let's you experience emotion. You focus more on the subject than on what they're doing. Are they happy? Sad? Focused?

Usually, when I take out my camera, my son runs away laughing like "you can't catch me!" This is the first time I was able to get my boy to do exactly what was asked of him. 

To me, he looks very content and happy.

Maybe it was because I promised him a popsicle. I can't be sure.

Enjoy the photos!

Days of Summer - Day 7

The best part of summer, is spending lots of time outdoors. I've become more of a homebody in my old age, so a backyard kiddie pool is right up my ally. Coop spent hours in it over the course of two days, soaking up the sun and splashing in the water. I spent hours watching him, and getting drenched in the process. What better way to cool off on a HOT summer day!

Submitting these photos to Simplicity's Photo Challenge: Summer

 

And I couldn't leave out our new friends, now could I?

 

What's your favorite thing to do in the summer?

My Best Friend is Pregnant

Yup. Due February 25, 2011.

I'm happy for her. Mostly. I think.

Yes, definitely happy for her, but, sad for me. I wonder how long it will take for that sadness to go away. I keep thinking, here we go, another baby shower, another trip to the hospital maternity ward where my son was born and I wasn't there to hold him.

My son was born to a drug addicted mother in September of 2007 in a local hospital. I had been to that hospital just nine months prior, to see my best friend's firstborn son less then 24 hours after his birth. I was the only person outside of family she would allow into the room, and I'm sure that this next birth will be no different. Except that it will be different. I am different.

That day I went to visit her, I struggled with my emotions as I was in the midst of a waiting game - diagnosed with infertility, and waiting for my adoption placement. I cried on the way to the hospital and I cried all the way home.

It's been nearly three years. Nearly three years since my son was born in that same hospital to the drug addicted mother. The same hospital that my best friend will give birth in and my future god-child will take his or her first breaths. The same hospital that I will be expected to visit.

I imagine walking down the hall, wondering if this is the same room that my son was born in, if these were the same nurses who held him and cared for him. I'll pass the NICU and feel the pangs of guilt that I wasn't there to hold him when he was there, struggling. I'll watch mothers leaving in wheelchairs holding their newborns close, protecting them from harm, and long to share that same memory.

Yes, I'm grateful that I have my son, and I'm grateful to the woman who gave birth to him. But I don't know how I'm going to walk into that hopital knowing that I couldn't be there when he needed me the most.

Yes, I'm happy for my friend, but this time it will be different, because I'm different.

Three Days Off, Swimming Pools, and Chocolate Cake

I took last Friday off, and I spent the last three days hanging out with my son.

After a trip to the grocery store and Target (for new swim goggles!) we went to Grandma's house on Friday to make good use of her community pool, practicing swimming, jumping and diving. No back floats. Didn't force the issue, since I was pretty sure the neighbors would be calling the police thinking someone was being tortured thanks to all of the high pitched shrieks when we did try. Had dinner with Gram at a new Teppenyaki place where they throw scrambled eggs in your mouth. Mmmm.

Saturday morning, we headed out to the movies to see Toy Story 3.

Ohmygosh, I can't not tell you how much I loved this movie! Well, the first hour at least. Cuz that's how long we lasted. Hey, he did better than I thought he would, and for a first-time movie goer, I don't think he did too bad. Afterwards, we headed back to Target, since in the midst of this heat wave, we needed something to cool us off. A new blow-up pool was just the ticket!

We spent a couple of hours in the backyard playing in the water then headed in for a much needed nap.

Sunday, funday, cleaning day! Ok, so those words don't all go together that well, but I did get a lot of cleaning done, put some carnitas in the crockpot (that were, by the way, oh. so. yummy.) The recipe is similar to my previous post, but in my opinion, BETTER, cuz I made a few changes, omitting the water and oranges, and opting for 3/4 cup orange juice, and a 1/2 cup of chicken broth instead! AND since the day was about 15 degrees cooler than the previous week's near 100 degree temps, I even baked a chocolate cake! I found the recipe here, thanks to Sarah at Sugar Bananas. How's that for tempting?

It was amazingly rich and moist and mocha-y. Could be the full cup of coffee in the recipe, but I can't be sure...btw, I used decaf. Can't have a two year old hyped up on Starbucks now can we?

Whew! What a full weekend!! I must say, I loved spending that time with that boy, even if he decided to use the backyard as his bathroom (I'll spare you the details on that one). TTFN!

Job Description of a Parent

Came across this the other day, and thought it was pretty cute and just had to share!!

SO YOU WANT TO BE A PARENT?

JOB DESCRIPTION: Long-term player needed for challenging, permanent work in chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work evenings, weekends, and frequent 24-hour shifts. There is some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far-away cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Must keep this job for the rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule. Must be willing to tackle stimulating technical challenges such as small gadget repair, sluggish toilets, and stuck zippers. Must handle assembly and product safety testing, as well as floor maintenance and janitorial work. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars, and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and levels of mentality. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute and an embarrassment the next. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of end product.

ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION: There is no possibility of either. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, but on-the-job training is offered on a continually exhausting basis.

WAGES: None. In fact, you must pay those in your charge, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 and attend college. When you die, you give them whatever income you have left.

BENEFITS: There is no health nor dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays, and no stock options. However, the job offers limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life.

Days of Summer - Day 6

We had a summer storm the other night.

We were visiting my mom in Yorba Linda (near the inland empire) to go to her pool with hopes of cooling off from this near 100 degree heat wave we've been having. We were not in the pool two minutes before the thunder started rumbling and the lightning crashing. Out of the pool we came, trying to explain to my almost three year old "why?" we had to get out of the pool.

He hasn't stopped talking about the thunder since!

Apparently the lightning caused some fires in the area, and the storm brought rain in some areas, even near the beaches (not too common here in So Cal for the summertime).

My favorite part, was that it brought a beautiful sunset with it.

I snapped this one real quick when we got home that night.

Days of Summer - Day 5

Summertime is swim lesson time! Coop loves swimming and is becoming quite the fish. I never wanted him to have to wear floaties or a vest in the pool, rather to learn early on so he could take care of himself in the water. The lessons are definitely paying off!

Here's a few shots I took at his swim lessons the other day.

Kick, kick, kick!

Swimming to the step on his own.

Arms up for a dive.

And down we go!

I can't tell you how much I love this shot!!!

Days of Summer Day 4

Summer is the perfect time to be outdoors, learning something new. For my little one, it was how to ride a tricycle.

He's had this tricycle since his second birthday. He loves to ride it and is so proud to wear his helmet, but he would get so frustrated every time he tried to use the pedals that he would give up quickly, and just push with his feet. The other day something clicked...and...HE. DID. IT!

Linking up to I Should Be Folding Laundry's You Capture "Vehicles" Photo Challenge.

Cheesecake Fail, Cheesecake Success!

The man recently informed me that he loves cheesecake. Why he never told the lady who loves to bake, I have no idea. So, for his birthday this year, I decided I was going to make him a cheesecake. Since we were having a couple of people over on the 4th of July, I figured that would be a good time to make it, since his birthday was just a few days later.

Did you know that there are about 100 completely different cheesecake recipes with completely different ingredients? Sheesh.

I've never made a cheesecake before. Love to eat them, never made one. I googled "strawberry cheesecake" and picked a recipe that I thought I could do.

I failed.

BUT (yup, there's a but) I figured out what I did wrong, searched for another recipe, and tried it out the night before his birthday.

Oh yeah. Please do not lick the computer screen.

New York Style Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce

1 cup granulated sugar
3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 8-ounce carton of sour cream
1 ten inch graham cracker crust

*All ingredients should be at room temperature.
Cream the softened cream cheese with the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add the sour cream. Pour into graham cracker crust, and bake for half an hour at 350 degrees F. Turn off the oven, leaving the cheesecake inside for another half hour. Cool and refrigerate for at least 4-8 hours.

Strawberry Sauce
4 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen & thawed), sliced
1/3 c white sugar
1tsp cornstarch (optional)

Heat strawberries and sugar over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Turn the heat down to a low simmer and continue to cook until the sauce begins to thicken. This can take up to 20 minutes. Mash the berries a bit as they cook. Use cornstarch to speed the thickening process if you like, but make sure to dissolve the cornstarch in a little water before placing into the sauce and don't go overboard with it. Be patient with the thickening time or you will end up with a gloppy mess from too much cornstarch. I didn't need the cornstarch.

Puree the topping in a blender until it reaches your desired consistency. If you would like a chunkier topping, take 1 cup of the strawberries out before you begin to puree. I pureed all of it, I like the smoother sauce.

Oh, and here's a one of my favorite recipe searching hints: put "easy" in front of the recipe you're searching for. It totally works.

Five Question Friday

1. What is one food you could eat everyday?  
Cereal. I {heart} cereal. I actually do eat it every night. Now if you want a brand or a flavor, well, that actually changes from time to time, but i can go for a couple months on the same kind of cereal. My current love: Honey Smacks.

 
2. Are you working in the career you thought you would be when you were 18? 
Not at all. I was a preschool teacher at 18, well actually at 19, but close enough. I started school for Early Childhood Education. I did this for about six years. Then I realized that i could never make a real living as a preschool teacher, and took a job as an Office Manager for a church. Still not making millions, but it's better than teaching! Side note: If you want quality teachers, you have to pay them quality money. Preschool is more than just daycare. Children develop the most out of their lives in those first five year. Ok, rant finished.

3. What is something that you wish you would have done when you were younger and you didn't?

I can't think of anything...I was pretty lucky and got to experience a lot when I was a kid. I have a lot that I wish I COULD do now, but that's a different topic...

4. What color are your kitchen walls?  
Green. I've always wanted green in my kitchen, so  naturally the first thing to do when re-doing the kitchen, was to paint it green! I still want to paint the cabinets white, but we'll have to wait a while for that...

 5. Do you remember what your very first favorite song was?
"Tomorrow" from the movie "Annie." My preschool teacher from that time still talks about how I would come in the classroom singing that song at the top of my lungs. I loved that movie. And guess what my first dog's name was? Yup, "Sandy."

Happy Friday everyone! We've been slowing potty training, and I *think* we're going to try big boy underwear this weekend (the boy, not me) so wish us luck!!!

Party Planning - Vintage Carnival Birthday Party

My baby is not going to be a baby for much longer. His third (gulp) birthday is coming up in September. I've chosen a theme for his party, and this is the first year I'm really going all out with it.

The theme? 

Vintage Carnival.

What do you think?

So far, I've put together the invitations. I used Photoshop Elements and a free scrapbook kits from Shabby Princess. I am thrilled with the results!

Immigrants

Proud to be American. That was my grandparents.

In the summer of 1955, my grandfather, grandmother, my mother and uncle, left behind their family in Germany in search of a better life in America. My mother was barely three years old. The family was sponsored by a Southern California Lutheran Church, that helped them get an apartment, some furniture, and employment.

They immersed themselves in American culture, not speaking much German, as my grandparents believed that they were now in America, and they should learn English. That they did. Until the day she died, my grandmother would get frustrated when immigrants here in Orange County, where the culture is very diverse, didn't speak English. She would say, "I had to learn English, so should they!"

I recently came across an old suitcase in my attic. It is one of the few items we have left that made the nearly 6000 mile journey from Europe to America. I thought it was a fair representation for what America stands for, the place where everyone has the right to come and pursue their dreams. For my family, those dreams became a reality in 1955.

What does America mean to you?

"Baby Got Back" - Days of Summer, Day 3

Here's the third installment in my personal Days of Summer photo challenge. How could I not share this one?

I'm also linking up to Simplicity, because, as you can see, the photo is full of

COLOR!

Days of Summer - Day 2

Summertime is...

a time to splash in fountains...

See his little feet not even reaching the ground?

The water helped him cool off in this Southern California heat 

(78 degrees and sunny).

"Take my picture Mommy!"

Oh So Yummy Cinnamon Muffins

Since I love to bake, I try to do something in the kitchen every weekend. This morning I woke up and decided I was going to make some muffins...but didn't really have much on hand. No fruit, no nuts. What's a girl to do?

I searched online and found a few recipes for Cinnamon Muffins. Perfect! I combined a few recipes and this is what I came up with. They were very tasty, and everyone loved them!

Cinnamon Muffins:
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 beaten egg
1/2 vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk

Topping:
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbls melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin pan.
Sift all of the dry ingredients together.
In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.
Fold wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until blended, careful not to overmix.
Pour batter into muffin cups.
Mix ingredients for topping. Sprinkle over muffins.
Bake for 15-20 minutes.



Just Something I Whipped Up

Days of Summer - Day 1

I'm a copycat, and a follower. I'm taking a page out of Alysha's book and starting our own "30 Days of Summer" personal photo project.

Thirty days, thirty photos, documenting the summer of 2010. I tried Project 365, where you take a photo every day for a year, but it just didn't work for me, because like Alysha, the commitment was difficult. But capturing 30 days of our summer, 30 days of outdoor fun, lazy summer evenings, popsicle stained faces, water splashes, ocean waves, bug watching and BBQs, this I can do. Feel free to follow me on the journey.

Tonight was a lazy summer evening sort of night visiting the duck pond and looking for the babies.

Let's go find us some ducks!

Are they down there?

Maybe if I stick my head all the way through...

Let's go down for a closer look, shall we?

Closer...

Closer, but still no ducks...

Where could they be?

Here they are!

One thing I love about raising my son in the city where I grew up is being able to take him to do the things I loved to do as a child. Like going to this very duck pond.