Focus..Focus...Focus...

As life tends to throw curve balls, I have found myself rethinking how I spend my time as a mother. Every day is piled with "obligations" and appointments. This past weekend, my sweet Aiden said, "Mom, can I miss preschool tomorrow and just go to the Dinosaur Park with you?" I have realized that life sometimes spirals out of control to the point that the things you plan to "enrich" your children's lives ends up overshadowing what is really important: quality time as a family. With that said, I am going to be taking a break for a week or so to reevaluate my time and what I should be doing. May you be blessed in all that you achieve. I look forward to posting again.

Ham Fried Rice

I LOVE Chinese food, but often can't afford take-out. To remedy this, I have started making my own Chinese. One of my favorite recipes is ham fried rice. It is so easy to make and my family gobbles it up! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Ingredients.

Rice, cooked and cooled. (Refrigerate for 2-3 hours until cold)

Green onions, cut into small pieces

Ham, deli sliced and cubed

2 Eggs

Soy Sauce

1 pkg. fried rice seasoning

Any other vegetables you'd like (more restaurants use peas and carrots, but my family isn't a huge fan. Feel free to use what your family will eat.)

1. Start by cooking your rice. I usually use 2 cups of dry rice. This will make PLENTY! Once the rice is cooked, spread in a 9x13 pan. Place in fridge to cool.

2. Once rice is cooled, place in a large wok or deep pan. Add green onions and other vegetables.

3. While mixing the rice and vegetables, add the fried rice seasoning packet. (I only use about 1/2 a package. You may use more or less according to your tastes.)

4. Add soy sauce to the rice mixture. This is your decision on how much to add. I usually add 1-3 teaspoons.

5. Now, push rice to the sides of the pan, leaving a hole in the center. Crack open the eggs and put in pan. Scramble the eggs and allow to fully cook. Mix into the rice.

6. Add the ham. Continue cooking rice until everything is warm.

7. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Fairy Skirt

Here is another quick Halloween costume starter. I made this one for Caitlyn's fairy costume. Be creative and add as many layers as you'd like. This one is fairly short in length because Caitlyn isn't walking yet, but I'm sure a really long one would be SO fun for your little princess.

1. I started by measuring Caitlyn's waist. Then, using 3/4 inch elastic, I sewed it into a loop.2. Next, I folded up some tulle and cut it into 3 inch wide strips. (Watch the remnant bins for tulle. You won't need very much, and the bargain price can't be beat!)

3. Take the elastic ring and stretch over the back of a chair to give you space to work. (I used a small children's chair for this one, as the elastic was too small to fit over our kitchen chairs.)

4. Now, fold the strips in half and tie around the elastic band. (Take the tulle strip, fold in half and pull through the loop made when you folded it.) I doubled up my strips to add fullness to the skirt. Repeat this process until the elastic band is completely covered.

5. Remove the elastic from the chair. Tighten the tulle strips by hand. I added some small 1 1/2 inch wide strips of pink to accent the skirt.

I am using the purple butterfly wings that I bought for Caitlyn's birth announcements with this costume. I also used the leftover tulle strips and made a large bow. I am going to make a headband and attach the bow using a clip. Happy Halloween!

Bucket Ghost

I decided that this year I would decorate our yard for Halloween. My kiddos are SO excited to see what kind of projects we come up with. Here is the ghost we made today. We are going to make 7 of these to hang from our front porch. I hope you enjoy it!

Items Needed:

1 gallon bucket

Electrical Tape

White garbage bag

Wire snips

Drill with 5/32 drill bit

Instructions.

1. Using the wire snips, clip the side of the bucket to remove the handle. Set handle aside.

2. Turn bucket over. Using the drill and drill bit, make new holes for the handle.
3. Attach handle in new holes.


4. Take the electrical tape and make eyes and a mouth. Place on bucket.

5. Tape the garbage bag on the inside of the bucket. Cut into strips.

6. Hang outside to welcome your ghosts and goblins!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

I have a great friend who has a wonderful blog. I recently tried out a recipe posted on her blog. It was a Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake. Let me tell you--it was AMAZING! The best part is that is makes two full 9x13 pans. I ended up cooking one pan for my family and freezing the other one for later. I decided that instead of taking the time to retype her recipe, I would just link the recipe for you. Take a minute and search her older recipe posts. You are sure to find something amazing to try! Happy cooking.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Bake

Board Book: Part Two

I have gotten quite a few questions about the board book project that I posted previously. I must admit, it is taking me a lot longer than I had anticipated due to the fact that I must work on the pages during nap time (which is almost non-existent in our home right now.)

SO, to help answer your emails, here is what I am doing with the board books: I-Spy books for Christmas. Here is a preview of some of the pages for the book.

These photos are a 7x7 format, so they will fit nicely on the board book pages. Since my boys can't read on their own and I want these books to be "quite books," I decided to use pictures for the finding page, rather than words. Below is the second page for the book. I'll post more photos as I finish them. I am doing a "toys" page, a "lego" page, a "book page" and many more! Hope this inspires you to find a use for the blank board books. Enjoy!

Costume: Train

With Halloween just around the corner, I decided to post some ideas for fun, quick, inexpensive costumes. I don't have pictures of each step, as I did these long before I had a blog. Feel free to ask questions if something doesn't make sense.

Choo-Choo Train

(2) cardboard boxes.

(You will need a larger box for the main part of the train and a smaller one for the front of the train.)

(1) Empty oatmeal container

(2) Empty butter or margarine tub, with lids

(1) Margarine or butter tub lids

(2) Small bowl lids

Electrical Tape

Spray Paint

Yellow Construction Paper

Duct Tape

1. Spray paint the two cardboard boxes in the same color. (I used blue)

2. Spray paint the oatmeal and butter container silver.

3. Using a sharp knife, cut off the top half of the oatmeal container. I cut off approx. 4 inches from mine.

4. Using duct tape or construction adhesive, attach the two boxes together to form the body of the train.

5. Remove the flaps from the larger box so your child can stand inside.

6. Spray paint the margarine tub lids and the two small lids. After they have dried, use electrical tape and form the spokes on the wheels.

7. Now, using electrical tape, attach the painted margarine tub to the top of the oatmeal tube (use the larger piece of the tube. This will form your smoke stack.)

8. Attach the smoke stack to the smaller cardboard box.

9. Take the remaining piece of oatmeal tube and measure the lid. Cut a piece of yellow construction paper to fit inside the lid. Place lid on the container. Now, attach the container to the front of the smaller box to form the head light.

10. Attach wheels to boxes using construction adhesive or duct tape.

11. Form straps from duct tape folding duct tape in half so no sticky sides are out. Attach straps to the inside of the larger box.

12. Decorate the train with any other things you'd like.

13. Complete the look: wear some overalls and a bandanna. Our great neighbor let us borrow a real train conductor's light for trick-or-treating. It was lots of fun!

P.S. If you want some cute photos of your little ones in their costumes, check out my blog for a great special. www.smith-family-photography.blogspot.com