Saturday, March 31, 2012

Birds Nest Brunch Eggs


Thought I'd share this appealing, tasty, and easy egg recipe with you!

Birds Nest Brunch Eggs

2tbs melted butter
6 pieces bread
6 pieces bacon
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat  oven to 375 degrees.
On med low heat cook bacon slightly. About 4 min on each side. The bacon will continue to cook once it is in the oven.
Spread melted butter on the inside of a muffin pan.

With a rolling pin, flatten bread and cut each slice in half.
Line the each of the buttered muffin cups with bread, making sure that the pieces of bread overlap.
It's once piece of bread per muffin cup.

Tear bacon strips in half and line inside each of the muffing cups. 1 slice per cup.
Crack an egg into each of the cups.
Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.
Bake in oven for 20-25 min. Depending on how soft you like your egg.

Enjoy!




Why wound't we play with our food when it looks like eyes?








wednesday's wowzers     Photobucket The DIY Dreamer

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

These are good the best pancakes.

My mornings are usually not the least stressful time of the day. So I'm always a fan of quick and easy breakfasts. My boys LOVE pancakes, but there is no way I'm going to make them every morning. 
~I'm so impressed with the women who make a hot breakfast for their families during the work week. Kudos to you!~
So what I usually do is make a triple batch of pancakes every 2-3 weeks and freeze the rest of them.
Then in the morning I can pull a couple out of the freezer, throw them in the toaster and voila! Hot, home made pancakes. 

Here's my go-to recipe for the BEST pancakes you'll find!

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 mashed banana
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 melted butter (oil works too)
handful mini chocolate chips (optional)
{I triple this}


 Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and make those cakes!


Make sure you put them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely before freezing the. 
You don't want any condensation in your bag.


I always put chocolate chips in them. 
That way they are sweet enough to eat on their own without syrup.
 Less mess? Yes please!
It also makes them easy for "on the go".


Store in a freezer bag and throw in toaster.


"Nummy in my Tummy"




Do you have any early morning tricks to make mornings less stressful?
I'd love to hear them!



Photobucket

~My entry into Strut Your Stuff sponsored by Appliances Online and the Bosch Washing Machines~

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

WWIW

I was so excited to have a reason to wear this outfit.



James took me to see The Hunger Games on a double date with my sister and her hubby.
Dinner was yummy! But it was too fancy for me…
(you know, the kind of place where you pay $30 for three tiny scallops)
The movie was true to the book. And I hate to say that I loved it. 
After all, it is a demented gruesome story line!



Jacket: Wal-Mart $3.00
{I told you I had this jacket in two colors}
Dress: Target: $5.00
Boots: Ebay $46.00 
{they were a gift from my hubby}



Also…I'm loving the "Katniss" side braid right now : )
~obsessed much~




Linking Up Here

Saturday, March 24, 2012

a good day

This was a good day.
  



It was one of our first times we went out for dinner as a family, and enjoyed ourselves.
 The kids were well behaved! It's getting easier. 
It's getting enjoyable!







We went to a soccer game in Boulder to watch a few of James' 2nd graders play. 
The boys ran around, and giggled. The sun was shining. Ella was adorable. 

This was a good great day.
What did I do to deserve this? Nothing. 
~Thank you Lord for Your grace~

This is my joy.

Friday, March 23, 2012

breath

I feel like I was just here. 
Talking about medical issues with Ella. Talking about struggling with guilt that comes with ER visits.
This weekend did not help.
Micah woke up with a cough on Sunday morning. No big deal, right?
By 10pm he was struggling to breath. He is a loud snorer, so I didn't notice if he was wheezing or not. But something didn't seem right. His stomach was retracting under his ribs and his throat was caving in.
By 10:30 he was being rushed through Urgent Care to the x-ray room.
No pneumonia. Thank God, right?
"Not necessarily" says the Dr. This could be a indication of something more serious.
His "stats" were so low {82% oxygen level when he was crying}, and I had no clue!

Ugh. 


What did I do wrong this time? Did I wait too long to bring him in? Have I never noticed Micah having an asthma attack before?
It appeared to the Dr that Micah was having a viral induced asthma attack.
 He was put on a asthma treatment plan.
They gave him meds to help slow his breathing and allow his lungs to expand.
We were then admitted into the hospital so they could monitor him and see if his breathing would improve. 
Micah was miserable. I was miserable. James and the kids were miserable.
I'm so grateful that my mother could come and help with the kids at home. We would have been in real trouble without her help.

After over 30 hours we were allowed to return home. We were both so ready. After getting a few hours of sleep in the entire stay, we both needed some rest.
The meds did their job.
The steroid and the breathing treatments he was on make him act like a NUT JOB (literally bouncing off the walls), but they did their job. His lungs were getting stronger.




 Thanks Mom for letting me borrow your iPad! Temple Run may have saved my sanity!
Yes, Micah was jumping off the bed. Steroids!



This picture was taken hours before we went to the hospital. He fell at the park.
This boy…he's going to give me a heart attack!
~Now I feel the need to pray against any pending heart attacks~
But I continue to thank my Creator for giving us healthy bodies. Sometimes they may be weak, but we are strong, and we are able to heal!


 Praise God for that!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

How To Hang a Curtain Without A Rod

I love to have curtains in my windows. It can pull an entire room together.

I have a lot of windows in my house that need curtains. And I'm cheap, so I don't want to spend a fortune on covering them. I had these sheer curtains on hand, but no rod; and a big window that needed to be "covered".

I had done something very similar in Ella's room, so I decided to do it again in our living room.

So here's how to hang curtains without a rod.



Here's what you need.


Wood Knobs
Wood Screws (more on this)
Paint (your color choice)
Drill and Drill Bits
Tape Measure
Ruler and Pencil


The knobs come with a standard screw. The problem is that you can't get them directly into the wall with a flat head screw. So, I hunted these down. These are wood screws made specifically for knobs. Notice there is no head to the screw. You drill it into the wall and then screw your knob on. Make sure you find the right size screw for the knob, too big or too small and this will not work.


Paint your knobs. 
*You can buy any knobs you'd like and this will work*


 This is how I held them to be painted. Pretty helpful…and paint didn't get ALL over my hands.



Next you'll need to measure…and I had to measure like 100 times before I got it just right.
 Make sure you're spacing is even. 

{Do you love my ruler?}

Use a drill bit to pre drill holes into wall. 


Choose a bit that is a bit smaller than your screw. 
If you choose one that is bigger the screw will not be secure in the hole. 


Now it's time to drill your screw into the wall. 
This is how the screw should fit into your drill.


 At the corners and the middle of your window you will hit a stud. Put a little elbow grease in there when you are pre drilling with your bit. You want to make sure the screw will stay in there!

{Don't judge the paint job!}

 These are my knobs…all lined up. This is my "rod".

{Don't mind the lighting…photography is hard!}

 Next I'm going to get "tisked" by the women who can sew.
I don't know how to use my sewing machine yet; so I improvised.
(I'm not super attached to these curtains. I just had them laying around. 
So I don't mind some minor mutilation)


 I measured and cut tiny holes in curtains where they fabric will hang on the knobs.


 The hole is just big enough for the back part of the knob to fit through. 
*tisk tisk*
 I know, I know.


 Now hang!


 I overlapped the curtains on the center 3 knobs only because I measured wrong (surprise surprise). But I didn't hate the way it looked. So I left it alone. 




I even used knobs for my tie backs.

Cost breakdown:
Knobs: $1.50 each
I bought 9…that's $13.50 for the knobs
Screws: $3 for 12 screws
Paint: On hand…so free for me : )

That's a grand total of $16.50.

The rods I was looking at were $25 and tie backs are about $12 for a pack of two.
That's about $37.

So there's a pretty good savings there. And you could use ANY knobs for this project. So if you have some thrifted ones, you could do this for the cost of the screws! Not bad.

Here's the one I made for Ella's room.
 It has a wood board behind it. But it's another way to hang the knobs.

{Sweet baby Ella's Room}

So what do you think?
I'm smitten by them.




ThriftyThursdayModernButton1 Thrift Thursday Week 67
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