If a picture paints a thousand words...

...this picture would say, "It's time to switch to a sippy cup!"

Excited baby + bottle + shaking wildly = big mess!!

Child of Mine

This child of mine loves bath time.  He loves to stand up next to the tub and watch the water filling up the bath, he gets all excited when I dump his toys in and even though he doesn't talk yet, his little squeals, grunts and body language BEG me to please put him in the water!!

"Put down the camera mom and put me in that water!"

This child of mine, with his beautiful green eyes just like his daddy's - doesn't have much patience for his mother taking photos of him when he could be IN that tub by now.  

This child of mine thinks he's part fish and would spend all night in that tub if I'd let him.  That smile of his just does me in, and I turn to mush and can't help smiling too, and not a little smile, but a big ear-to-ear toothy grin because he makes me that kinda happy!

This child of mine - I LOVE HIM!!

Scrap Around the Clock - Pt. 2

I'm back...and I've slept - and I feel a little more like me!!!

So back to the recap, this past weekend was WONDERFUL.  It was full and crazy and I got little to no sleep - but it was totally worth it!!

I'm one of five in a committee (headed up by my darling sister) that hosts a twice-a-year scrapbooking event that goes for 24 hours straight.  We call it "Scrap Around the Clock." 

Jodi & Annie manning the registration table.

Serious scrappin' space!

Friday and Saturday our school auditorium was transformed from a gymnasium into a giant crop station.  We brought in SIXTY-FIVE 6-ft tables, we showed movies on our big screen, gave away THIRTY door prizes and THREE grand prizes, we provided bell-hop service for people's supplies courtesy of our school's Key Club and we hired a caterer to provide amazing meals for our registrants.  We had a licensed masseuse on-site doing massages, and had five vendors with beautiful tables selling scrapbooking supplies and also handmade crafts.  We also had our espresso cart open (that much scrapping necessitates caffeine in a big way) and then had regular coffee, tea, cider & hot chocolate available all 24-hours.  Add welcome packets filled with goodies, sleepover rooms, Wi-fi, and plenty of creative inspiration -  I think we put on a really fantastic event!!

Me hard at work - and I need to be, I'm a little behind.  That's 2008 photos for goodness sake!

Our "give-a-ways" - gorgeous 12x12 double page layouts that people could choose from when their ticket was drawn.

Sarah Nofziger, AKA Sarie June with her beautiful creations.  I bought a ring and have a handmade ruffle scarf coming too!

Christina - our faithful Creative Memories consultant

One of my favorite scrappin' companions, and fellow SATC staff member, Carmajo!

Jana, Cara, Tricia & Jodi

Tina, Kelly & Jennifer

Tracy, Janelle & Krista

Erica & Cindy

Brianna, Christina, Mandy, Heather & friend

And our Queen of the Crop Cassi and Princess of Quite-A-Lot Kourtney, winners of the auction package that provided free registration plus a bunch of extras.

Friday night our local newspaper in town came out and did an article on SATC which was pretty cool. We had 56 ladies come from all over Oregon, and even some from Washington State and several of the registrants drove more than 3-hours to come.   13 were first-timers who heard about it from word of mouth and EVERYONE said they'd be back in the Fall.

Come on October - I'm already looking forward to our next SATC.

Scrap Around The Clock - Pt. 1

This is my short recap because right now I'm so tired and I'm losing the battle against my eyelids.  YAWN.

So with no further ado, here's my fancy recap - pt. 1 (the rest shall come tomorrow)

I came.
I scrapped.
I slept.

However... the sleeping part is only just now about to happen - and while the scrapbook weekend was wonderful in every way... I'm REALLY looking forward to crawling into my bed...right now!

So good night dear readers.

I'll leave you with some of the layouts I created before this weekend to be given as prizes for our hourly give-aways.

"Celebrate" layout

Lazy days of summer

Party page:  One of my favorite features was the tag that read, "Birthdays are good for you.  Statistics show that the people who have the most of them live the longest."

One of a kind

Fourth of July

Tomorrow the real recap comes!!

What's Cooking Wednesday - Curried Coconut Chicken

Today I'm linking up with the amazing chefs over at

Last night I made this fabulous curry chicken recipe for dinner.  Not only was it DELICIOUS but my whole house is still filled with the amazing aroma and it's been several hours!  I found the original recipe on allrecipes, but here's how I made it.

Curried coconut chicken with fresh snow peas and jasmine rice.

It was easy.
It was flavorful.
My family loved it.
Did I mention yet how delicious it was??


Here's what you'll need: (for regular recipe scroll to the bottom)

Chicken, vegetable oil, curry powder, onion, garlic, coconut milk, stewed tomatoes,            tomato sauce & sugar

Start by chopping your chicken into bite sized pieces and season well with salt & pepper.  Set aside.

In a skillet over medium heat, combine 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil with two tablespoons of curry powder. I recommend red curry powder, or the paste.  (I chose a very mild curry myself and next time think I'll kick it up another notch!!)

Stir together and cook for 3-5 minutes over medium heat.  You really want that curry flavor to "bloom," and the smell it will create... AH-Mazing!!!

Slice up half an onion and toss the onion into the curry mix, coating evenly.

Then add two cloves of crushed garlic.  My garlic press is awesome for this!!   Cook for 1-2 minutes longer so the onions begin to soften.

Now add in the chicken, toss it around in all the sauce and cook until it's no longer pink inside and the juices run clear... about 7 minutes. 

Now add in a can of stewed or diced tomatoes.

1 8oz can of tomato sauce.  (Or half of a regular size can if you're like me and don't keep the little 8ozer's on hand.)

1 can of coconut milk.

And 3 tablespoons of sugar.  Stir to combine, then cover and simmer (stirring occasionally) for 30-40 minutes.

Serve it on up and enjoy!!


I dished mine up over jasmine rice with some fresh snow peas - and everyone (10 month old, 3 year old and husband) all loved it!   

To be fair, the 10-month old only got bites of the rice with the sauce, but still he "mmm mmm'd" very happily.

This one will definitely get made again in the near future!!

CURRIED COCONUT CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite size pieces.

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

2 tablespoons of curry powder

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed or diced tomatoes

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk

3 tablespoons of sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Season chicken pieces with salt & pepper.

2.  Heat oil and curry powder in a large skilled over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes.  Stir in onions and garlic and allow to cook 3-4 minutes longer.

3.  Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry sauce.  Reduce heat to medium, and cook until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

3.  Pour in stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, coconut milk and sugar.  Stir to combine.  Cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Serve over rice with steamed vegetables.

I'm Too Busy

Saturday was a work day around here - it wasn't raining (that was almost two days straight here in Oregon...a new record for this year).  Dave was working outside in the yard, and I was trying to plow through seven loads of laundry, so I wanted Hayden to go play outside for a while.

Of course, upon suggesting this to the 3-year old, he informed me of the following:


HAYDEN:  "I can't mom, I'm too busy."

ME:  "You're too busy?  What are you too busy doing?"

HAYDEN:  "I've got to have a snack and play the Wii a little bit.  I have to beat the level mom!  I'm just too busy!   (Also imagine him throwing his hands in the air like he's saying "I just can't help it.")


He's THREE and his schedule is just too tight for playing!

My video-game addict!

Nice try kiddo!  I laughed right before I sent him OUTSIDE to play in the sunshine like NORMAL children do!


It might be time hide the Wii!

10 Things I Learned This Weekend

1.  Spring sure took its sweet time to show up in Oregon, but Friday it finally hit.  Sunshine, blue skies, temperatures in the high 60's all meant it was time to pull out the BBQ grill.  Oh yes... hello grilled chicken, I've missed you!

My personal (and very handsome)  GRILL MASTER

2.  Project man is back - my Dave not only created this beautiful raised garden bed this weekend, he also made a cool corner garden in our front yard (pics to be come later) AND hit a liquidation nursery sale and bought all sorts of fun plants & trees for our place.  Operation Backyard is getting kicked into high gear this year!!!  In other exciting news, he also bought paint to FINALLY finish painting our halls - since they've been half painted for almost a year now.

Then he bought me beautiful Gerbera daisies for this corner too!

3.  My baby is growing up right before my eyes.  I know this is a toy car, but seeing him sit in it and hold onto the steering wheel gave me a just a slight moment of panic as I realized he's going to be 16 before I know it.  Dave, I think I need another baby...

"He's an excellent driver, he goes slow in the driveway!"

4.  Dave's love for basketball has been passed down to his son - and his skill too... go Hayden go!!

SWOOSH!!

5.  My hat phobia is completely justified, as proven this past weekend.  Okay, perhaps not a hat phobia exactly, but more the long-term commitment necessary for wearing said hats.  Hats equal hat-hair (and that occurs unusually quickly on my head) so wearing a hat means I need to be okay with wearing it ALL DAY which can be daunting to me.

BAD hair hides under this hat.

6.  I never remember that I have a hat-commitment-phobia when I'm in the store trying on cute hats.  I only remember that I think they're adorable and think I should buy more of them.  This is a problem.


7.  Goodwill is my friend.  Sunday I scored big time when I found multiple things I really liked... THAT FIT and then to make it even better... four of my seven items were 50% off marked price as their special tag of the day... seven clothing items for under $30.  Bargains make me happy.

New purse... NOT from Goodwill  BUT only $7 on sale at Payless... it added to the shopping bliss!

8.  Sunday was my last time buying formula.  For all you mother's who've counted down the days until you didn't have this expense any more - you can all rejoice with me.


9.  I learned that "doggies" is another word for cows.  It still makes NO SENSE whatsoever to me, but apparently watching a Western or two would have clued me into that fact.

Us "herding our doggies" AKA balloons at the Couples Roundup!

10.  It is possible to have a totally spontaneous ice cream outing with six other couples.  We took Yo-Top-It by storm this weekend and it was delicious.


What an incredible weekend - so much fun packed into three short days, and I'm just not ready for it to be over.  I would like to vote that every day becomes a weekend!!!  Anyone care to second that motion?