craft: Place Mats

I've been trying to connect with G, so everyday after school I try and have a project. Last week we made Table Setting Place Mats. Sooo cute and easy. We found a formal dinner setting online. This one works great because it gives you lots of options. We used a medium piece of poster board for our base. Use your dishes to make templates. Cut and paste into the proper place and DECORATE! Cover with clear contact paper (At the store it's found with the contact paper you'd put on your shelves, NOT in the craft section). Voila! You've got a place mat that teaches manners!




Today's project comes from Flipflops and Applesauce. Check out these parachuting bears!

food: BBQ Left Overs

Ever wondered what to do with BBQ leftovers? Try this simple and easy recipe I doctored from Allrecipes.com.

Chili Hot Dog Casserole:

8 hot dog buns or hamburger buns or combination of whatever you have left
8 hot dogs (or fewer-If you do less, cut them in half or quarter them then slice them so there is hot dog throughout the casserole)
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 recipe Chili to fallow-or 1-2 cans chili

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Tear up the hot dog and hamburger buns and arrange the pieces in the bottom of the dish evenly. Slice the hot dogs into bite size pieces and layer the pieces over the buns.

Pour the chili over the hot dogs, spread some mustard over the chili . Top off with cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.

Cooked Hamburger Chili:

1 large onion
3, 4 or 5 cooked hamburgers (really however many you have left)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 can tomatoes (tomatoes in green chili's is our favorite)
2 can kidney beans (or black beans or pinto beans or or or) rinsed and drained
1 beef bullion


Directions:

Dice the onion and add to a high sided non stick pot with a pinch of salt to draw out the moisture. Caramelize onions over medium heat. Meanwhile cut the hamburgers into 1/2 in pieces (I like to use scissors). Once onions are caramelized add meat and warm through.

Add tomato paste and spices and let brown. Add tomatoes, beans, bullion and water. Simmer 20 minutes (or however long to get your chili to be the consistency you like it). Add thickened chili to Chili Dog Casserole.

Tip: If you had a veggie platter at your BBQ and you still have some carrots, celery, peepers or other combination of good-for-you veggies, chop and add into the chili with the onions. This is my way to sneak veggies into the kid's food!

fun: Bolt and Monsters vs Aliens

This weekend was a MOVIE weekend. G was sick and home from school on Friday so we made it a movie day. My favorite was BOLT. So cute and filled with music from the past. Loved it. G didn't know any of the songs and I think that's what I liked best!

Saturday we had friends invite us to see Monsters Vs. Aliens. Cute Cute. I love that the show empowers the female character. She finds that she can do INCREDIBLE things just being her. It was fun to see the show in 3D. G asked how they make 3D movies. J knew how they made them in the past with traditional animation. Any idea how they do it with computer animation?

foster: Rewards

Today I found out the G has been talking about me to her friends and I'm cool! G likes to imitate me. She likes what I like and doesn't like what I don't like. When I visited G's school last week she was excited to see me and gave me a big hug.

Little G gave me a kiss on the lips today. We've been blowing kisses all week and finally he landed one on me! I've had several people from their old neighborhood tell me Little G is a handful, but I've found him to be happy playful and very obedient.

I get tons of information and inquiries in the parking lot of G's school. We didn't switch G's school so a lot of people know the kids from their old neighborhood. Everyone wants to know how the kids are adjusting and who we are. I think it is very sweet. It really shows how much these children are loved wherever they go.

I thought I'd blog about some of the positives that I've experienced as a Foster Parent. Thank you for all of the inquiries and I'm so pleased with how many of you have expressed a desire to meet them! They are sweet, special children and we love having them here!

fun: Our First Saturday!

Today we went to the park to fly our kites. It was so much fun (even though I made them wrong)! We ended up meeting back in our cul-de-sac and flew store bought kites with our friends.

After a long week I wanted to go out to dinner and J agreed to take us all out. We started talking about places to go and the conversation turned to who had the best play structure. What! Since when did where I eat coincide with the quality of play structure? Wait! Since when did I eat DINNER at a place that has a play structure? The kids loved it though. We unexpectedly met friends from the ward there. They shared with us an idea for next time. In their family the kids get to pick every other time they go out. Brilliant! So I don't always have to eat at a funhouse. I think I'll be using that trick next time!

foster: Little G

Little G just loves J. He lights up whenever he sees him. J can calm him, excite him and most importantly J can put him to sleep! I got to spend some time with Little G today. The last few days I’ve had to compete for his attention with M (the little girl I watch). Little G is sweet, smiley, and loves to play with the big kids outside.

craft: Fly a Kite

We’ve had so much fun outside now that the sun has come to play and it’s warm! We've really loved seeing our neighbors out enjoying the sun too! Our friends played with us tonight and we were so excited to fly a kite down our cul-de-sac! We couldn’t get it up for long but if someone ran with it it’d float just long enough for us all to ooooh and ahhhhh!

There is something magical about flying a kite. Robert B. Sherman’s musical includes an unforgettable song about flying your very own kite.

With tuppence for paper and strings,
you can have your own set of wings.
With your feet on the ground,
you're a bird in flight!
With your fist holding tight,
to the string of your kite!.....

When you send it flying up there,
all at once your lighter than air!
You can dance on the breeze,
over 'ouses and trees!
With your fist 'olding tight,
to the string your kite!

Let's go fly a kite
Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite
And send it soaring
Up through the atmosphere
Up where the air is clear
Oh, let's go fly a kite!

I'm looking forward to reliving this experience again and again! Tomorrow G and I are planning to make kites of our own! If you’d like to make your own kite with us we've chosen this site to teach us.

foster: Haaaaaaah

One big sigh of.... What? relief? excitement? fear? exasperation? frustration? I don't know what it is but the kids are in bed and all I think is "I've never been this tired in all my life." I feel as if I've been slapped in the face with all of my INADEQUACIES. I have no idea what I'm doing. I love having these children in my home. They are SPECIAL and we are so privileged to get to spend some time with them. But I have to say again I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING! I am not Mom. I am not Grandma. I am not Aunt Erica. I am a STRANGER. This is a strange house and really they don't want to be here. We're so excited to be finally able to HELP and I don't know how to. They need love and rules, fun and discipline, friend and parent. I feel like I am stumbling around in the dark looking for some kind of signal that I'm hitting the target or even in aiming in the right direction. I keep asking MOTHERS, "what do you do when....?" Not because I don't know what to do, but because I'm afraid I'm doing it wrong! I need constant REASSURANCE. The sad thing is these are not hard children. They are adorable and loving and smart and have a strong sibling relationship.

We're so grateful for all of the support we've received from family, neighbors, ward members, and fellow bloggers. Because you care about us and our lives I know it's hard not to be curious about the children staying in our HOME. They are so special and we are so lucky to share a small part of their lives. Please don't ask us the whys or whats about their situation. You know the who (a boy, little G, almost 2 and a girl, G, almost 8) and when (they are with us for a short, undefined period of time while the court decides on a more permanent placement).


Really if you have any tips or tricks I'm a humble recipient of all advice at this point!

foster: Shelter Care

The call finally came today for us to help out! E got a call this morning and asked if we would do shelter care for a brother and sister, ages 1 and 7 respectively.

If you're not sure what shelter care is, it's basically a short term care while the state looks for and considers placement with other family members.

They got here right around 12:30 this afternoon. I was home for lunch and got to meet them briefly. So far we've had a really fun time.

I'll let E post more later if she wants.

J

project: Landscape Class

I've been taking a landscape class through UVU Community Education. It's been a great class and I've learned alot about lawn care, plants, fertilizer, landscape design and much much more! I think for me the best part has been gaining a little bit of confidence. Knowledge coupled with great resources really empowers me and gets me excited to experiment. Last week the instructor looked at our house (including our dreamings for our house) and gave me a customized plan to get started with. I really like the initial plan and I am so grateful that he would take the time to do this for everyone in the class. Today I'm looking for plants that will fit into the plan. Some of the things I'm looking for are large shrubs, an apple tree, and a focal point for the backyard. Here's a bad scan of the plans. Our house sits right in the middle facing the bottom. Our driveway is at the bottom right. The garage and back part of the house don't exist yet.

I'd recomend this class to anyone here in Utah County. It is a great opportunity to learn a lot for a little price tag!

trip: Idaho

We had a great time in Idaho visiting family this weekend! It was so much fun to spend time with Krystal and Hazel! We're so glad they were able to make it out from NY. J's cousin Nick got married in Idaho Falls on the 7th. Cachet was a beautiful bride. We feel so blessed to be able to make it up there and spend so much time with J's extended family!

I got mysteriously ill while there and had a miserable drive home. Luckily it passed fast. My stomach is still weak from throwing up but other than that and an occasional headache I'm as good as new!

fun: Modern Traditional

I've had a hard time defining my design style. I used to be traditional. Now I'm more contemporary. The problem is there are still some traditional pieces that I LOVE. The internal conflict has been how do I combine these two design styles?

Woodson and Rummerfield are in LA and I definitely like some things that they've done. I love how they mixed traditional with modern for this homeowner.


Dark chocolate is not a traditional wall color. I love how they paired that with the updated antique headboard. The mirrored side table and lamps I LOVE and I think this room is super cute!
I love the classic lines of the chair and table contrasting with the retro mirror.



The chairs table and stair railing are more modern but the chandelier and nick knacks are traditional. I love how warm this combination makes the room feel.


I also love this chair by Philippe Starck. It's a Louise the XVI chair that has been done in Lucite-a clear acrylic. It's no wonder this chair has been advertised as the Ghost chair!




Here's a peak at what inspires me. What inspires you?

fun: The 9th Ward

Our friend Megan introduced us to this blog and I find it HILARIOUS! I especially like this one.

project: Finished (Almost)

This is mainly for my mom. Every time I talk to her she asks me about currant and past projects. So Mom, here's our most recent completed projects! I can't wait for your feedback!

The 2nd kid bedroom

This one is intended for the older kids (if we get any). I want to thank everyone who helped us get this room together. Thank you so much for the bunk beds, toy storage, bookshelf, money donations, paint, time and effort that were so instrumental for us to get this room put together. Thank you!

I've found it hard to decorate for kids you don't know. This is not how I'd decorate a little girls room or a little boys room but this is my take on a generic kids room.

The bunk beds were given to us and the great number comforter are from IKEA along with the table, chairs and craft storage.

I want to fill these frames with cork board so it's easy to switch out kid art. If that really happens or not, remains to be seen but that's my current idea!

M, the little girl I watch, loves to color and paint in this room!

Nursery

We finally got the dresser painted while Mom and A where here this fall! Now, this is my favorite dresser.

We've been wanting to redo this chair.


I think the ottoman turned out AWESOME!

Basement Family Room/BYU Cougar Room!

Almost everything came from KSL (a local TV station that has free online classifieds).

I hate the shininess of the paint! I walked into the paint store I wanted eggshell and somehow walked out of there with semi-gloss! I'm trying to figure out if I want to try and do some sort of tone on tone paint treatment or just plain repaint it. You can tell on this last picture that the back half of the room is not painted.

obsession: Annoying!

How many of you Utahans are finding it ANNOYING to have to dial 1-801-XXX-XXXX or 1-385-XXX-XXXX to call anyone!? I know it is primarily the Realtors and other small business owners that wanted it this way. But GRRRRRR!

As a REALTOR I can see why one would prefer this. If you've spent years in the business and have purchased special numbers like 1-801-XXX-Home or any othermarketing gimmick it could be detrimental to your business to start all over with a different area code. All the business cards and letterhead to be replaces ect ect ect. So legislators thought it would be a briliant idea to let everyone keep thier number and just assign the new area code only to new numbers.

But what about the young and the elderly. How much more difficult is it going to be for them if I, as a young 25 year old, can't keep it strait? Does this bug anyone else?

project: Ottoman

I've loved the idea of a round cocktail ottoman (one that doubles for a coffee table) for my front room for a LONG time. I started looking for one and found that they were expensive! I finally found one the right size for a "reasonable" price. The only problem was is looks like this:

That picture doesn't make it look too bad but it is really ugly! I plan to recover it and found this fabric that I thought would work.

I'm really torn. the color is OK but I'm not in love with the pattern. It makes it look too formal. Here's a close up on the fabric

These are also fabrics I like:

fun: BYU Game

Last night we were at the BYU Utah game. It was a blast to go out with our friend Jake and it was even better b/c we won this one!

We were in the nose bleed seats-I mean it we were in the last row- and we were in the old people section. At BYU that translates into anything not near the student section. These fans watch the game as if they were at home- lifelessly. =(

It was a white out and the students did a great job wearing the "white" ;) color. LOL. This shot was taken 1 hour before game time and the student section was packed and all in white! Go BYU!