Court Bans American Flag, SAY WHAT!

At first I was like WTF, but then after reading why, I understand. It sucks that there is so much prejudice and racism there that this had to go to court. I also feel it is sad that kids are threatened if they wear a flag on Cinco de Mayo. But I also agree that the non Mexican kids shouldn't be chanting and provoking others on this day.
Living in America means you can be free to feel how you want. I think one day a year is not too much to ask for to let them celebrate where they came from and their heritage. I know a lot of Americans feel that if you live here you need to BE here. However we have so many politically correct issues going on right now that it shouldn't still be a problem. We have African American history month and Asian American history appreciation so why not one day for Mexican Americans? Also Cinco de Mayo is more of a party holiday for Americans anyway. An excuse to drink and act stupid.

Well I guess they got that second part right down in good ol' San Jose!

 

School Bans American Flag <<See story here

 

Belieber Shmelieber!

So when Justin Bieber first started to misbehave The hubs and I talked to our daughter about it and said she could still listen to his music if she liked it but we didn't feel he was a good person so would no longer be getting her anything Bieber related. She said that was fine. She agreed.

 

Then we told her about his being arrested 2 days ago for drinking and driving and under the influence of drugs, and she just looked disgusted. She actually said "Oh I'm done with him". We felt very happy.

 

So last night she had a friend stay over and she had her help take down her posters of him. I (in all my wisdom and awesomeness) had a great idea for an activity for them.



My daughter's friend taking aim

 

Perfect Target!

My son had been waiting for this day for a while!



My daughter is red, her friend was blue, and my son was orange paint.

 

Valentine's Day for kids?

Spoiler Alert: This is not a cutesy, DIY Valentine posting today.

 

I have been thinking about this for the last couple of days. Mainly because whenever I pop onto Pinterest lately, I am bombarded with

Valentine's Day crafts, decorations, jewelery, and Valentine related clothing.

#1. My kids are in elementary school. That's a K-5th grade, so 5-12 year olds. Um, they shouldn't have Valentines. They shouldn't have boyfriends or girlfriends. Sure they can have crushes and think someone is totes cute, but I really feel that is about as far as it should go. I'm no prude, or fuddy duddy. I got engaged and moved out at 17, with the man I felt was the love of my life and I would spend forever with. 17 years later, we are still married and have 2 wonderful kids, who know that I was 17 when I moved out, but I have a hard time being okay with it for kids nowadays.

 

#2. Do people actually decorate their homes for Valentine's Day? I mean I know people who do themes for Christmas, winter, Thanksgiving, autumn, 4Th of July, Spring, & Easter (this one mainly for their kids). But is there sense in decorating for days like Valentine's and St. Patrick's. Why not Groundhog day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, or even President's Day. I mean do you put up a foam Mt. Rushmore on your mantel? Do you hang little paper Groundhog head garlands on the trellis? How about putting a MLK Jr. mannequin in your yard in January? Ya, sounds spectacular to me.

 

#3. I'm willing to bet that the moms out there are the ones who scour the internet for these adorable little V-day card ideas, trying to find the perfect one. The perfect one has to meet several requirements:

• Cost to make
• Supplies on hand versus need to purchase
• Cuteness/Coolness
• Ease to make/ skill level required
• Does it come with something extra (candy or toy)
• Will any other moms probably do this or something like this

Once you find your perfect lil' idea, you begin. Time and energy spent coloring, printing, folding, cutting, taping, pasting, sweating, crying, drinking, giving up, jumping back in because you'll be darned if your kid doesn't bring something totally adorable or awesome in.

 And now I guess we are giving teachers, mailmen, bus drivers, the pharmacist and neighbors V-day cards & treats too. When does it end? 
Well the pharmacist is cool in my book; the places I'd be without that angel ;)

See, look at these adorable ideas that I...my kids ;) would love to do!

 #4. The candy and toys. They come home with a bag full of cards and junk because the school has made it mandatory that if you bring something in for one kid, you must bring enough for everyone. And most of the other kids also brought cards with a candy or toy attached so they will be cool. I DON'T WANT MY KID TO HAVE ALL THAT CANDY! And I'm the bad guy when I tell them that and ration it to them like it were the Great Depression. (which they haven't even learned about yet)

And if you do send them with empty store bought cards, they are most likely to be passed over and thrown out without being opened or read.

How do I know this? Because 2 years ago my darling son brought home his bag and when we went through them, he pulled one out and looked sideways at it and said "hmm, no candy" then dropped it on the table. Since then he has come to understand appreciating the thought and effort put in to things.



 (FYI: My daughter just walked by and told me she was impressed with how much i am typing)

 So I have this parent part of me that wants to ask the teachers to have kids not bring candy in this year. And I have the cool parent, that used to be an un-cool kid, part of me that wants to keep my mouth shut.

 

Maybe if I send in one of these vintage gems then they will politely ask me to just not send anything in next year ;)

 

What I'm trying for in 2014

I haven't updated my profile yet but I actually have a job now as well as being the PTO Treasurer and Art Discovery Coordinator at my kids' Elementary school. I used to be the president but needed to take a more low key spot so that I could get a paying job to help with our growing debt to income ratio. Don't we all love those little nuisances called BILLS!

 

To start off, my good ol' minivan I've had for 9 years transmission gave out on Dec 23rd. Since my busiest time of work was coming up in a few days, we had to go get a car on Christmas Eve. (Only day my husband had available to go with me) That turned out okay. I mean I got an awesome new car and the payments aren't that bad. However we figure it will cost at or just over what we make on average a month. My income is tricky because I have a revolving 4 week schedule. Week 1 & 2 is busy but 3 is slow and 4 is slower. Then it starts all over again. But I love my job so I don't want to find another one.

 

We have switched our cell phone carrier so we will be saving about $50 bucks a month there. But I need to get a real handle on the finances and make sure I have the right numbers floating in my head. That there is the problem. I've relied too much on just playing it by ear and knowing how much we have in the bank versus what I need to pay.

So my New Year's Resolution was to get organized. Not just with clutter and papers, but with information as well. I mean here's the Debbie Downer part but, what if something happened to me an my husband needed to know the account numbers for the bills, or the passwords to all the online accounts I have. So I have spent the half of January looking up way to keep track of all this stuff, and ways to go through all the junk in the house too. I don't know why I need someone else to tell me how to clean and organize because I can go to someone elses house and have a plan of attack in like 3 seconds. But when it comes to my own stuff, I have a hard time "letting go". Even though it makes me mad and sometimes I say "lets just get rid of everything, we haven't even opened some of these boxes in years". I know I'm not the only one who feels this way right?

 

I have found a couple of freebie downloads I found that I think will help me. I found some people's Home Management Binders and saw what they did. Some of the info or calendars I felt I didn't need because I need a visual calendar and not one in a binder.

This is the bulletin board above my computer. I have a Meal plan for the month. My bills. Then my work Calendar.

 

The Meal plan is very simple. It is just dinners because we know what to eat for breakfast and lunch. It has whether we will have pork, chicken, spaghetti, pizza, or something else like meatloaf. Then I go plan the meals once a week based on those main ingredients, and shop for anything I don't already have.

My Bills calender, I need to see when they are due in the month to plan which paycheck is going to cover them.

My work calendars show what week my jobs are to be done in so I can choose which days I work and which days I'm going to take off (for volunteering).

 

But I thought I would share some of the pages I've found that I'm going to use. I am thankful for their generosity in offering these printables for free.

My pinterest Organization board

 

 This first website has a bunch of printables for organizing information. 

diyhshp.blogspot.com

 Monthly & Weekly Calendars, Cleaning schedules, Labels, Contact Lists, Dates to Remember, Shopping Lists, Freezer & Pantry Lists, Password Log, Medical Records, Emergency Contacts, etc....

And did I mention its all pretty and colorful :)



 

A Bowl Full of Lemons.net

 This second website has a 14 week plan to organize your home. I look forward to starting it (on my own time) next month. I haven't followed through on if there is a current one running, but this program was in 2012 and I can see how it would help to have moral support and ideas from other people doing the same project but in different spaces. That's why I am trying to rope in my friend who is also complaining about her home. I figure we can motivate each other and tell each other to "suck it up and clean missy". 

Ode to Candy Crush Saga

There once was a girl from Vancouver,
Who tried and tried to menuvuer.
A green one here and a blue one there,
I cant get a bomb anywhere.

I squint and cringe and even yell,
This game is making me mad as hell.
I think im close, im almost done,
Got one jelly left, but moves I got none.

It's been a few days but feels like forever,
I'll pass level 65, um like NEVER!
I've begged and pleaded for move moves to be sent,
Friends have replied but they've all been spent.

This game truly could be the death of me,
What's that in the corner, another damned jelly.
I think i'll cry from all this strife,
OOOh I gotta go, I just got another life!

Hobo Dinner - Tinfoil Meals

As most my posts have begun especially this summer....So I saw this on Pinterest, LOL

And I thought I can do that. Although it may seem simple to most people, you may have hopefully noticed by now, I am not most people. And I am definitely not simple. The simpler the harder as it comes to me.

Original pin:
http://pinterest.com/pin/196610339953233395/

So the basic idea is flavor your meat and veggies and toss in foil then onto the grill.

I of course being picky myself and having picky kids have had to make some changes.

So original post has mushrooms in it and called for ground beef or turkey.

I used no mushrooms, ick, and I used Italian sausage. I also didn't have any Worcestershire, but i think since we used Italian sausage it worked out for the best.

 

Our family has always liked Italian sausage instead of hamburger in our recipes, but you can do whatever you like.

 

My daughter loved that this was something she could help with. She got to do the mixing of the veggies and then she helped me make the meatballs.

 

I also only used 1 lb of meat, 3 large russet potatoes and 3 large carrots. I think I should've used more carrots especially since some of them got burnt and stuck to the bottom tinfoil. ;) I cooked it for 32 minutes. (It would've been only 30 minutes, but I was playing a game on my phone and got distracted)

Prep done and ready to grill



P.S. Don't touch the foil while it's cooking, it's FRICKIN HOT!

It's gonna be yummy yummy in my tummy.

So in conclusion, for a family of 4 it was a decent sized amount, but we had a piece of bread on the side. If you want this to be your main dish I would recommend using more food than I did. Also I would recommend USING OVEN MITTS and picking it up and trying to move it a bit, almost like shaking it, so you don't lose too much to burning and sticking to the bottom of the foil.

 



The interesting talent of my husband

Let me start out by saying I snore like a grizzly bear attacking a pack of wild dogs. I have been known (to his delight) to wake my husband and even myself from a dead sleep with my snoring. That being said, I can now feel comfortable telling you about my husband ;)

So he is not a loud snorer generally. There have been a few occasions where he has woken me up but that has been because his face was basically in mine. However this isn't about his snoring per say. It's more along the lines of what other sounds he makes while sleeping. NO I'm not talking flatulence. Sometimes an additional sound comes out from his throat or nose that creeps me the hell out.

I am an even lighter sleeper since we just moved to this house. I believe because I know my children are farther away from my room then they were in the old house. Anyway, I am often awakened by some sounds that I do not know what they are at the time, but later find out that they are coming from my husband.

They range from:
~A high pitch whistle that I can only assume is the equivalent to what a dog whistle sounds like to them.
~A snore that sounds like a gurgle that makes me think we are under water.
~A moan that is more like mumbling in his sleep. Like he's even too tired to speak clearly so I can understand what the heck he is saying. Although there have been occasions where he has blurted out things like "more mashed potatoes" and "we've got to get it over there", but I can never get him to elaborate. Sometimes I try to get him to finish what he's talking about and I actually end up waking him up. Oops.
~But the most disturbing of noises that he makes, really puzzles me. I wake up to the sound of what I think is one of my kids yelling mom from across the house. So of course I jump up and run to their rooms flinging open the doors only to find them peacefully asleep. Then as I go back and lay down I hear the sound again only to find that it is coming from my husband. It is like it is a secondary sound that comes out along with the little snore.

I have laid there listening to him trying to even imitate these sounds or even figure out how he makes them, to no avail. That is why I share this with you today. Not to embarrass him or anything like that, however to let you know I live with a possessed demon and if I ever disappear I'm blaming it on the spirit trapped inside him that likes to f**k with my sleep.

Rock Painting

I'm sure it sounds wierd but in today's upcycle everything world, its the
next big thing.
I've decided that since I have a black thumb, I will grow a rock garden.
This way I can have exactly what I want......AND NO WATERING REQUIRED!

I have a feeling by the time I'm done, I will have the cutest little garden
on the block. And I can take it with me if I move :)

 

Here's what we've got so far:

Pick your canvas

Flat surfaces give you most freedom

I saw this (Yes on Pinterest) and had to try it.

I am aware of how completely innapropriate this may look but my daughter made this into a key.

Even boys can get in on the fun. My son made this grenade.

And he made "bluey"

 

Crack Potatoes - Fancy hash browns!

So i saw this post on my frineds facebook and immediately knew i wanted to try it. But did I write it down....NO. So after putting the word out a week later and getting the recipe I decided tonight is the night.
I hadn't really planned on what to serve with it so we are just going to have hot dogs. Don't judge me, i'm impulsive or slothish. You get one or the other ;)

 

Here is the original recipe:

pinterest.com/pin/196610339955602558

However I didnt feel like making enough for the round table so I cut my recipe down...and since I only had some of what it called for I decided to call it improvising ;) See, no stinkin thinkin here.

So this is what I put in:
30 oz bag of Hash browns
1 16oz container of Sour Cream
1 C shredded cheese, and a pinch more becasue I love cheese (i used a mexican blend not cheddar)
6 strips of bacon, cooked and diced. (Let's be honest, only 5 1'2 pieces made it in there ;)
1 pkt ranch dip powder

I started off cooking it for 30 minutes since it is a modified recipe.
(It is cooking as I type this so I will return later with the verdict.)

Im thinking of doing a 1-5 stars scale on how I like things. Am I important enough to start a rating system...I DO WHAT I WANT! So yes, I will start a Star rating system.

Also while we are waiting, I will point out that I have very picky eaters, so I am hoping this goes over well.
My daughter doesnt like cheese, or hash browns. My son doesnt like potatoes but likes hash browns. Ya this'll be fun.


My happy litlle helper

UPDATE:

We have tried it. It is pretty good. Some reccomendations are: Less ranch mix, it was a little over powering. And more cheese. My husband is having seconds and is going to try sprinkling some shredded cheese on top them microwaving it to melt it a bit. I think cheddar not finely shredded would work great for next time. I think ill put more bacon in too. Cuz, well, IT'S BACON!



I give it 4 stars

Tweet (@Lucky_mamaK)

Keri Crimmins (@Lucky_mamaK) tweeted at 3:41 PM on Mon, Jul 08, 2013:
Every1 is all up about 50 Cents cuss riddled msg about his sons mom. Im sorry were u all expecting a heartwarming love sonnet frm the RAPPER
(https://twitter.com/Lucky_mamaK/status/354369652580823041)

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Rollerball painting

Materials needed: Paint, box lid, paper, something that rolls.

(We used a marble and a bouncy ball)

 

Kam did 3 colors on each side

 

I did 3 on top and 3 on the side

 

And away we go!

 

Keep rolling til you get the desired effect.

These are our finished beauties

 

Crescent Roll French Dips

So I saw this yummy looking dish on ....PINTEREST. Ya i'm sure that was a tough one to figure out.

Original pin:

http://pinterest.com/luckymama10/foodies/

 

And It seemed simple enough that even I couldn't mess it up. And guess what....I DIDN'T!

 

Some reccomendations though, because the directions were very minimalist.

~I would reccomend cooking them straight on the pan, not on tinfoil. Tinfoil keeps the bottoms from getting a nice crisp.

~I do not reccoment string cheese cut up as the cheese on this. It did not melt as well and i think Mozzerella just isnt the right choice.

~I would pre-cook the roast beef in the Au Jus sauce and then prepare it as directed.

 

Here's mine, looking delish



So keep pinning, i'll keep trying and someday we will all reach nirvana ;)

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull

I pinned this a while back and finally got around to making it the other night.

It looked so yummy, i mean how could it not....IT HAS BACON!

So the original pin is here.

 

See it does look good huh.

So I happened to be getting a loaf of bread to go along with our soup and I had cheese. (I always have cheese in this house)

Once I got home I was in luck to see I still had some ranch dip mix left too. Like when does that happen.

So I was cutting the bread and its a little ore difficult than that picture makes it look. You definitely need a bread knife. I never really understood the need for all these different knives growing up. My dad had this one knife that was about a foot long and was rounded at the end and he used it for EVERYTHING! He needed to cut up some steak, he used it. Need to cut tomatoes, used it. Need to put a little butter on bread, he used it. We always made fun of him and that knife. And when I started cooking more I had a favorite knife as well, but it doesn't cut bread for crap!

 

So anyhow, I just cut mine in thick slits and once down the center. Then I stuffed the cheese in the slits. (I used shredded cheese because it melts evenly and we used it for just about everything.) Then I stuffed in the bacon bits. I used Oscar Mayer pieces I had bought for a  breakfast burrito.

(yes i sang the theme song to spell it right)

And then I poured on the ranch butter mix. I thought it didn't look like enough in the recipe so I added more ranch. DO NOT ADD MORE RANCH. It was a little too much.

 

It was very good though except for the piece where i poured the last of the ranch butter mix onto. You know when you have all that unmixed powder and you think "oh man this is gonna be awesome". Not awesome. That part was like just licking the powder straight from the packet.

 

Here's mine!

 

Here's the recipe:

1 unsliced loaf of sourdough bread
8-12 oz cheddar cheese, thinly sliced (I used as much shredded cheese as I could stuff in it)
3 oz bag Oscar Mayer Real Bacon bits
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix

Using a sharp bread knife cut the bread going both directions. Do not cut through the bottom crust. Place slices of cheese in between cuts. Sprinkle bacon bits on bread, making sure to get in between cuts. Mix together butter and Ranch dressing mix. Pour over bread. Wrap in foil the entire loaf in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

 

I'd like to thank Plainchicken.com for being a great website that I have gotten several delicious recipes from.



Bird's Nest Breakfast

So another Pinterest recipe I have tried a couple times is called the Bird's Nest. It's a hash brown, egg and bacon or sausage combo.

 

So the first try was pretty good. I didn't press down the hash browns much and cooked them for 15 minutes and they didn't end up with enough crunch.

 

Also a variation was that since I was out of bacon, I used little smokies cut up. It was good.

I noted that for next time I would press the browns more and cook them for 17 minutes.

 

Here's pics from try #1.

They also stuck to the pan so this is how they came out. I shoulda used more cooking spray.

 

So attempt #2, I saw a similar pin using cupcake liners. So i tried that. I did press the browns using the bottom of a measuring cup, and cooked them for 17 minutes.

Then I did everything else the same but i did use bacon this time.

I do like the bacon ones much better, but when is bacon not better.

The all around taste was way better and it held together better. But it was hard to get the paper off the hash browns.

 

Original Bird's Nest Pin

Doofenbrain!

So I am sorting all our laundry, which I feel I have the entire household's wardrobe in front of me right now. And I find myself talking to myself about what I'm doing. Not that this in itself is weird, but I'm using the Heinz Doofenshmirtz accent. You knw from Phineas and Ferb. Yah, um I don't know why but it was stuck in my head, so this is the kind of conversation I had, alone, in my room, while sorting laundry.

(Don't forget to read this in his accent!)
 

"Oh hey Perry de Platipus, I didn't see you dere. You see I'm working on my latest Inator. I call it de laundry-inator. Well here lemme just show you how it works. De socks go in here you see, and dis is where de pants go in."

 

I must say it made the whole process a litte more fun, which is surprising.

Pinterest, you enabler!

So I have been trying a lot of Pintest things lately just for fun, and to be more than just one of those people who pin and never actually do any of them.

Some things I didn't take pictures of so i'll just speak of their success or failure.

#1-

I thought this would be fun for the kids. Especially sonce they love playing with water but are not always able to go into the pool.

I had a bunch of crystal light containers so i thought what the heck.

Um, big tip for ya, start with the top and pour some water in each one after you attach it to the fence so you know where the water is going to land, then you know where to place the next one. I didnt do this at first so i had to re adjust 2 of them because they not placed right.

Here is mine. OOOOOHHHHH so awesome i know. Well actually my son loves it so much, so ya it is awesome.

See here he is enjoying my handy work.

#2-

 DIY Screenprint Shirt

The items required are pantyhose, an embroidery loop, mod podge and acrylic paint.

I had all but the pantyhose, but i snagged a pair for like 70 cents at Walmart.

So you draw your design on the panyhose stretched over the hoop, cover what you don't want in a thick layer of mod podge. Let it dry, mine took a whole 36 hours. Then place it on your shirt and basically stamp the paint on like any other stencil. Let it dry then peel off.

I taped mine down so I wouldnt mess it up

 Just dab dab dab away.

It doesnt really give you straight lines so i ended up going over and outlining it after this picture was taken to clean up the lines a bit. I also ended up adding red outline and and accent lines.

But i used a pajama shirt so if i messed up it was ok ;)