Evan's Very Hungry Caterpillar First Birthday!

There he is!  My very hungry bug!

We were blessed with a beautiful day for his party.  A little warm, but it's hard to complain about warm weather when the sun is shining and there's no rain in sight.

The planning for this big day started months ago when I stumbled upon Pottery Barn Kid's idea to make the invitations in mason jars on a "leaf" cut-out and a handmade caterpillar out of pom-poms.

And from there it spiraled into everything caterpillar!

The goody bags and caterpillar cut-outs came from the Dollar Tree down the street.  The bags were sold in sets of two and I got about 50 caterpillar cut-outs for $1!!!  I made the butterfly clothespin snack bags from a pin on Pinterest.  I simply hot glue gunned some pom-poms, stuck on eyes, and glued on pipecleaners.  Then I used a snack bag ziplock loaded with Annie's bunnies and puffs for one of the bags and snapped the clothespin in the middle.  Easy and a big hit!

The decor took the most time since I made every poster by hand.

 The banner was made out of a roll of burlap from Michael's and then I used my handy-dandy hot glue gun again to glue on the circles I cut out of card stock to write the letters.  I hung it above the gift and goody bag table.

Streamers and balloons were a must!  I used some more of the circles and cut-out caterpillars that I had left to hide the blue painter's tape from where they were attached to the wall.

These took a while, but I made two suns with kid paint and then allowed Evan to make handprints around them to finish off the suns.  For the middle poster, I bought bulletin board trip and cut them in strips to fit a poster board.  I glued them on with a glue stick, cut out the number one out of poster board, and glued that on to finish it off.  And there's my backdrop for the food table.

We had to have a caterpillar with all of his pictures from each month.  This was another easy thing to make as I used a large bowl to help cut out the circles for the caterpillar.

To welcome people into the house, I made a strawberry out of poster board, found a caterpillar image from the internet and printed that off to attach with some balloons.  It beat hanging the balloons on our mailbox.

I saw the idea to use the book as a guest book for everyone to sign somewhere on the internet and fell in love with the idea.  How fun will that be in 17 years to look back in his book to see all the wishes for his first birthday?  Well...I'll enjoy it at least.

None of my birthday parties for the boys would be complete without a slideshow made on Windows Movie Maker software with all their pictures from the past year.  I narrowed it down to about 17 minutes worth of pictures and songs.  That's pretty impressive for me...

My favorite part!  His cakes.  Yes, that's plural.  The smaller one at the bottom is obviously his smash cake.  It was huge, but he had so much fun digging his fingers into it.  The larger one was unbelievable!  The detail on the fondant and the freshness of the buttercream frosting and marble cake batter was out of this world.  Monica's Cakes.  That's who created these masterpieces!  Bravo!

My one true splurge for this party and something I didn't feel up for making, as fabric and sewing is not my forte, was this highchair banner.  I bought it on Etsy and I loved, loved, loved it!  I think it totally helped make his cake smash pictures!

Speaking of food, I made some centerpieces for the tables out of buckets I found for $2 each at Michael's.  I used images from online, some cardstock behind them to add a pop of color, cake pop sticks, floral foam pieces to stick them in, and then some of that paper grass.  Very easy and turned out cute!  I only put four food tents on the table with quotes from the book.  I tried to do some of the food items like green leaves (salad), watermelon, and other fruit, but for the most part I kept it to simple BBQ fare.

Last but not least, his shirt.  I ordered his shirt off Etsy and it couldn't have turned out any better!  The red looked great on him and it's big enough that he can wear it through early fall while the weather is still mild.

I'm so happy with how the party turned out and I think it's safe to say everyone who came enjoyed themselves.  So, now...a few party pictures!

Happy birthday, Evan!  This year went by too fast, but we love the little person you've become!

Week 33: Sour Cream Noodle Bake

I'm going to be honest.

This week's meal I planned to blog about today was the worst meal out of 33 weeks of cooking and trying new recipes.  The worst.

And I'm really disappointed because it's from my favorite celebrity chef: The Pioneer Woman.

That being said, I'll still share the recipe and pictures, but don't say I didn't warn ya.  So here it is:  Sour Cream Noodle Bake.

• 1-1/4 pound Ground Chuck
• 1 can 15-ounces Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
•  Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 8 ounces, weight Egg Noodles
• 1/2 cup Sour Cream
• 1-1/4 cup Small Curd Cottage Cheese
• 1/2 cup Sliced Green Onions (less To Taste)
• 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground chuck in a large skillet. Drain fat, then add tomato sauce. 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Stir, then simmer while you prepare the other ingredients.

Cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Add to noodles and stir. Add green onions and stir.

To assemble, add half of the noodles to a baking dish. Top with half the meat mixture, then sprinkle on half the grated cheddar. Repeat with noodles, meat, then a final layer of cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, or until all cheese is melted.

I just couldn't handle the blend of sour cream and cottage cheese for some reason.  I didn't see this being an issue until after the fact of course.  The noodles and meat sauce were great and reminded me so much of my mom's old fashioned casserole.  Then, I got a taste of the cheese blend and it ruined it for me.  I guess you shouldn't fix something that isn't broke.  My mom's old fashioned casserole is amazingly delicious and from now on we'll stick to that.  

Putting my dinner fail behind us, we had a very eventful week and weekend!  It must be the new school year looming around the corner that has me on the go trying to accomplish all those things off my summer bucket list that I haven't gotten to yet.  

Like going to Domino Farms with the boys.

And blueberry picking at Hazen's farm on a beautiful Saturday morning in Howell with my best friend, her daughter Reese, and Sean.

Playing board games with Sean!  It's so much fun that he's able to engage and understand games like Candyland and his new game the Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game now.

We also went to the Aquatic Center in Troy with my family.  Talk about a throw back to my youth!  I remember going in middle school when it first opened and it's quite the full circle to be bringing my kids back there!

Last but not least, we finished off an exciting week with getting Evan's first haircut!  We called last minute at our usual place with boat chairs and a fun kid room, but they were booked solid.  Darn back to school!  Everyone must have had the same idea.  So, instead, we went out on a limb and took the boys to the salon my mom goes to.  They both did great!  No one's peaceful Saturday afternoon hair color was ruined by a screaming toddler or fussy baby.  Everyone was oogling over them and we left with a tootsie roll for Sean and a plastic baggie of Evan's baby hair.  

I can't believe how much of a big boy he looks like now with his hair cut!

Speaking of Evan, it wasn't an easy week for him.  We started the dreaded transition to whole milk on Thursday of last week by giving him a sippy cup of it at lunch and eliminating his mid-morning bottle.  He took a few sips and seemed indifferent.  30 minutes later, he burped and spit up a little bit.  Friday, same process.  Except during his afternoon nap he spit up a ton...and part of his lunch.  By Saturday evening, my parents gave him a few more sips of whole milk during dinner and he projectile vomited at dinner and during his bedtime bottle.  Sunday, we skipped the whole milk, but he still projectile vomited during his bedtime bottle.  Same thing Monday night.  A trip to the pediatrician confirmed that he had a reaction to the milk and that he hasn't seemed to outgrow his milk protein intolerance.  Although some of the new theories include lactose intolerant and still a milk allergy even though he tested negative at 3 months old.  The plot thickens...stay tuned next week as we try lactose free whole milk.  

But, we're not going to let that get us down as we are gearing up to celebrate his first birthday with 20 friends and family this Saturday at our house!  I can't wait to finally see the fruits of all my labor since I've been planning this all summer!  Pictures to follow!

Until then, we are enjoying our last two week days home with the boys before we start back at work next Monday.  It's so bittersweet to see the summer come to an end.  Although, the silver lining this school year is that we're very blessed to have my mom watch the boys each Friday and Scott's mom watch the boys each Monday. That means we are now only sending them to daycare for 3 days!!!  It will make transitioning back to work that much easier knowing they are going to be having the time of their lives with their Grandma and Nana!

Week 32: Chicken and Cheese Taquitos!

In case I haven't mentioned this before, I love Mexican food.  I really, really love Mexican food.

It drives me nuts that it's darn near impossible to find a decent Mexican restaurant close to home.  There weren't any near Clawson and now there's maybe one that I would consider decent near Plymouth.  Truthfully, I think you just have to make the voyage to Mexicantown in Detroit for authentic, delicious Mexican food.  My recommendations are listed with my favorite as number 1:

1.  Los Galanes
2.  Xochimilco
3.  Mexican Village

Yum.

Considering I had my umbilical hernia surgery a week ago today, going to any of those restaurants was out of the question.  Instead, the day before my surgery, we picked up a rotisserie chicken at Kroger and decided to make some homemade chicken and cheese taquitos with some Spanish rice.  It satisfied my monthly craving for Mexican!

Clearly, not my picture.  I think you can cut me some slack this week since I was prepping for going under the knife.

3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh black pepper
3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Preheat the oven to 425ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until it's translucent, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes until it's golden and fragrant.

Reduce the heat to low, and then add the lime juice, cumin, paprika, salt and black pepper to the pan, stirring to combine. Add the shredded chicken, tossing to combine.

Transfer the chicken mixture to a large bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes, and then stir in the shredded cheese.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring the chicken broth to a simmer. One at a time, dip each tortilla into the broth for 10 to 15 seconds, just until it's pliable enough to roll. Transfer the tortilla to your work surface and place about 3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of each tortilla. Tightly roll up the tortilla, and then place it seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat the filling and rolling process with the remaining tortillas.

Bake the taquitos for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and crispy.

These were great!  A little bit of prep since you have to tear apart the chicken (totally Scott's job!), get stuff going on the stove, prep the tortillas, etc.  On a side note, the blogger says that it's best to dip the corn tortillas in hot chicken broth on the stove before rolling them so they don't crack.  I actually found that dipping them in the chicken broth made them fall apart.  So, I just rolled as is and they didn't crack at all.  It could be that they were super fresh since we had just bought them that day.  Or it could be that Ole brand tortillas are amazing...

And that sums up my week.  

Seriously. 

Monday I took Sean to the Museum of Natural History in Ann Arbor on U of M's campus with Jackie and the girls.  Evan and Scott stayed home and hung out. It was a great place - dinosaur bones, all the stuffed animals you could imagine (taxidermy style of course), and an exhibit with play fruits and veggies!

The surgery went well on Wednesday.  I enjoyed my time just laying in bed watching old movies all day.  When else can you steal in naps and movies once you have kids?  Apparently, surgery is a great chance to catch up on sleep!

My mom came over Friday afternoon to help me take care of Evan all weekend so Scott and Sean could go up north to the lake house.  I have the best mom.  Hands down.

She deep cleaned my carpets and took off all my couch cushion covers and washed them, hung photos on the wall, played with Evan, took him for walks in the stroller, took me out to breakfast and to dinner at Las Palapas (yes, more Mexican), and helped me run boring errands like returning things at Hobby Lobby.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time together, as it seems like life is always too busy and too hectic to get in some quality hanging out time.  I mean we even had time to go through 841 pictures from my mom's two week European vacation.  Yes, 841...

By the time she left on Sunday, I was feeling almost back to normal.  That's a mere 4 days post-surgery.  Yup, I'm a surgery rock-star.  

And so life has gone back to our summer routine.  Filling time by working out with the boys in the basement, buying new patio furniture (pics coming soon!), switching insurance companies, and trying to enjoy every. single. minute. that's left of our summer vacation.  It's hard to believe we're only a few weeks away from going back to work and the kids back at daycare.  I talk myself into getting excited for the change so we can look forward to all the things that come with Fall, but in reality, I'm going to miss these little bugs.  They may drive me crazy most days, but they are the loves of my life.

A Simple Request...

I'm a few mere weeks away from starting my 8th year of teaching.

I can't believe I've been teaching for 8 years.  My post back in May can assure you that I'm not in this profession for the money or for the summer vacations.  Although, it has been nice having the past 2 months off.

Every year at this time I start getting an anxious feeling that creeps over me.  The kind of feeling that gives me a thrill out of buying boxes of pencils and packages of erasers from Target for some incredible deal like .25 cents!  Or the excitement from flipping through the Teacher's Discovery catalogue and circling all the items I'd love to have for my classroom this year.  I can't help but constantly check Zangle online to see if my class rosters have been posted.  Maybe these are back to school butterflies.  Whatever you want to call them, this feeling is so real and it happens every year.  It's what drives me to make it through another school year.  I love what I do.

Now, in case you haven't been following, the state of education in Michigan is a sinking ship.  Lack of proper funding, unrealistic demands that every child will perform a certain way despite a multitude of road blocks that stand in the way, a focus on state-wide testing, and constant attacks on our salary and health insurance are just a few of the current issues that are going on.  Every week new legislation is written that tries to viciously blame teachers for students' disappointing grades and in turn cause teachers to have to do more paperwork, more "teaching to the test".  The worst part is, all of this legislation is written by people who have no experience in the field of education.  None of them are educational experts who have devoted their career to the interest of students.  They're written by wealthy, white men who send their children to private school.  They're written by people who are so far removed from middle or even lower class reality.  It's a shame.

So, now picture the beginning of the school year with teachers who are so excited to bring new ideas and new technology to their classroom only to be told that it's not in the budget to do this.  Thus, my need to shop at Target and pay for the supplies myself.  But, my classroom needs go beyond pens, pencils, and crayons.  In my 7 years of teaching, I've had the same textbooks and technology in my room.

A dinky overhead projector, a computer, and a small TV in the front corner of the room.  That's it.

I wipe overheads clean every night before I go home and make photocopies of them for absent students. I have to read Powerpoint presentations out loud for the students because they can't see them on my tiny TV screen.  That's how antiquated my classroom is.  We can check out more updated equipment from the library, but between 30 teachers and 2 technology carts, my chances of getting one when I need it for all the hours I need it is slim.  Not to mention that getting one that's working perfectly is similar to your chances of winning $5 on a scratch-off lotto ticket.  Bottom line:  I need new technology for my room.

Knowing that my school can't afford this kind of equipment, I chose to embark on acquiring new technology for my classroom via two sources.  Donorschoose.org, an award winning charity website for teachers that allow them to post a project and ask for funding from family, friends, and strangers.  And a grant that my school district offers in the fall each year.


Here's my classroom request:Authentic Materials On The Big Screen!

The project on DonorsChoose.org is for a projector for my classroom that can be used with either a laptop or a document camera.  It will allow me to project things like maps, brochures, menus, Powerpoint presentations, Jeopardy games, the textbook pages, etc. on to a big screen.  No more wiping clean overheads!  No more reading Powerpoints out loud for kids who can't see from the back of the room!  

I'm asking for donations of any size to help my kids. For the next week, any donation you make to my project will be doubled! If you know anyone who is passionate about education, please pass this along. Your donation will brighten my students' school year, and you'll get photos and thank yous from our class.
To have your donation matched dollar for dollar, enter the match code INSPIRE on the payment screen. This awesome match offer lasts through August 16th.  

In the hopes of getting this projector, I also plan to write the grant asking for a document camera.  Finally, I will be purchasing a laptop out of pocket for my classroom needs.  With these tools, I truly believe my students will be set for success this year!  It will truly change the way I'm able to teach my students.  

It's a shame that my school isn't able to provide these technological advances to all the teachers in my building, as I know this would enhance how we all teach our kids.  But, to have college-bound students in the 21st century, we need the proper funding and technology to give these students the best educational opportunities possible.  I'm excited to start this process!  Sometimes when you have to work hard for things, you learn to value and appreciate them more.