Mommiedom

I keep forgetting to stick these up there

2/10/13 Column

2/17/13 Column

Being somewhat Irish, I have always liked to celebrate it some when St Patrick's Day comes around. So of course as much as i loved my Valentine's Day tree, I redid it for the March holiday. I think the whole thing cost me like 5 bucks because everything is from the dollar store. My three year old picked out the hats and than my six year old decided they looked good on the tree.

Of course I also needed t make a fun banner for over my buffet and did it all using the Stampin Up MDS program. I just designed it and printed it up, cut it out, and hung it up. Now I have to figure out what I want to do for Easter which is right after St. Patty's Day!

I was so good at trying to clean out the freezer when I stopped doing it. I got very inventive and loved that I had everything listed out so I knew what was in there. I have been meaning to do it again and finally out of some boredom I did it. I knew I would need to get the freezer ready for my next shipment from Omaha Steaks. I got turned on by a deal from them last fall and now have ordered about four times. The meats are good quality and I calculated it out to be about 7 bucks per meal when I order because I order when they send me coupons and free shipping.

I started off just doing the inside freezer to see what I had in there, mainly vegetables and breakfast foods. I didn't throw out to much because when we redid the pantry, I had cleaned it out some. I pulled it all out, consolidated like foods and took all meats in there to the outside freezer I have (I have a an old fridge out there but would love a stand freezer one of these days).

As I was cleaning it out, I listed everything I had in there as well as the outside freezer, the outside freezer was super quick because everything was easy to read and somewhat organized. I like a total geek went and put it all in an excel file which than made me think about doing the pantry which honestly I should have done in January when we redid it. I have been putting stuff in big tubs to prevent any insects from getting in because I did have a meal moth issue before we redid it all. I have bins for baking items,  breakfast and side dishes.

I than did the next shelf and as I wrote things down, I also organized it. Just kept moving down. I than stuck that all in another sheet in the excel file. Finally I did my overage stash that is in the garage. I put jars of sauce, snacks, drinks and etc.

After everything was in excel and looks pretty, I printed it all up and started meal planning with what I had and made a grocery list of things I would need to complete the meals. I was amazed at all the things I had that I could put together with out going to buy to much. My list is likely less than 40 bucks of stuff and is mostly stuff that expires easy (milk, bread and eggs).

After I went through what I had to create complete meals, I had about 27 different meals with very little overlap. I also have some other things where I could change it up if needed to. Having a well stocked pantry really helps to make some unique things. I have stuff to make Greek, Indian, Italian,  and well so many different global foods.

I am hoping that I can limit what I buy over the next month as well as going out to eat. As I get rid of things I use, if we like it, it will go on the grocery list for the next big shopping day.  I am hoping for lots of creativity during this time plus some good foods.

I so loved in the Sale A Bration catalog the new stamp set that had a British Phone Box. I instantly thought of my most favorite tv show Doctor Who. I love the show and knew that I needed to make a fun card using the phone box which I stamped in blue. I than added in the Who and made it seem a little Victorian.  I love how it turned out and think this would be a great stamp for when I do a Who inspired party.

Miss O and Kit are so happy together. My daughter just loves her AG doll and even more so when they match. She got matching PJs for Christmas and even though they are a tad to big on her, she insists on wearing them so they can be twins.

I saw this fabric a few weeks ago and just had to get it because I knew how cute it would be for the AG  doll and her to have matching dresses. I made Kit's first and she was so excited when she saw it. I than tackled hers and I am no seamstress. I followed the pattern which are never easy to read. I had to retool it all after Miss O tried it on. It will fit her for a long while.

She really likes it even with the goofy face she has on her face.

I am that Mom who likes to work with her kids to make Valentine's. I figure between all the stuff I have, we can make dynamic ones. I saw a really cute idea on Pinterest (yes I get most of my ideas) from there. I of course modified it and used the My Digital Studio program from Stampin Up to create a  Valentine to attach on top of the box of cereal. Miss O gets a kick out of telling people what we did.

I never was a fan of fish tacos and for the longest time despised them but than I got brave and tried some. I was hooked in an instant especially from a certain restaurant not very close to my house so I learned to make them.

I have done them in a variety of ways fried, baked, and breaded. I like all methods but for this I used a lightly pan fried ones.

I thawed the fish and than tossed in some taco seasoning and let it rest in the fridge.

I lightly dunked them in some milk, coated with a tad of flour and pan fried up.

I than took some already sliced up cabbage (coleslaw mix), sliced red pepper, and dressed it with some sour cream and yes my favorite "That Green Sauce" from HEB. If you don't have that use a green salsa.

I lightly fired the tortillas because I like some crunch and served it with some sliced avocado and tomato.

For the black beans, I took one large can of black beans and emptied that into the crock pot. I than diced up tomatoes and roasted red peppers from a jar. I than added in about  tablespoon of the taco seasoning and some frozen corn. I put it on high for about 4 hours. Isn't that simple!

When I made the ornaments on my Valentine's tree, I had left over fabric so when I after I was done working on my Block of the month, I took the precut squares and made a pillow. I think it took me about 15 minutes to put together and five of that was stuffing it.

I love the mesh wreaths that are all the trend now. I just took down my Christmas one to put the Be Mine Banner up from last week. This one I had the wire wreath frame in my stash and just got the ribbon, mesh, and heart accidents. I had the darker pink mesh in my stash from the holidays.

I played and played around with creating this wreath before I was finally happy with how it looked. I tied on the ribbon bow which I made and added in the glitter heart accents. It wasn't my favorite wreath at first but has grown on me. I got lots of compliments from it because it has been hanging on the door for a few weeks.

The kids both feel so so and I wanted to make a soup for them because soup always makes you feel better. I was looking to see what sounded good and I saw Greek Lemon Soup which is basically a creamier chicken and rice soup. The rice didn't appeal really and I knew I had some orzo in the pantry.