Christmas in July!!

Are you sitting down as you read this?  Two blog posts in one day?  What is the blogging world coming to??  I guess it's because this last post is due to the hubby still out golfing, both kiddos are sound asleep and I'm drinking glass number 2 of my favorite wine!  Aaaaghhh what a night!

So I got to thinking while looking through different pins while the kids played at Chick-fil-A tonight.  I've done a few creative things with Addi and Reid before and I've even got pictures to prove it.  So I thought about doing some posts of my own things and pinning them on my board that I've so smartly titled "My Pins".  So I'll do some posts and then pin it on my boards for fellow obsessors, er I mean fellow people who casually spend their time surfing the pinning world :)

So right now I'm gonna do a Christmas in July post!  My mother in law, also known as Nai Nai to 4 special little ones got Addilyn An Elf on the Shelf several years ago.  I felt that last year was the first year she would really get involved in it and boy did she ever!  Josh and I read the book to her and she immediately named our newest family member.  He became Hurley.  No clue where the name came from but every morning she would get up looking to see where she would find him hiding.  If you've never heard of this awesome Christmas "tradition" then read Here and shame on you--it's such a huge hit to anyone I know who does this!
We introduced him on the first day of December.  That meant we only had 24 days to be creative with Hurley.  (he flies back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve)  Boy oh boy did I not have any idea how hard it became to come up with different idea after different idea on where to hide him.  I remember googling a few things and other than that Josh and I came up with our own.  I'm sure some of them have been done, but since we didn't research it too much, I'm taking credit! Josh and I switched every other night on who was on "Hurley Duty".
Here are some that I have pictures to show!

 We always have this huge plate in our kitchen.  It's where I write out the week's menu, catchy phrases or just doodle.  Hurley left Addilyn (and then wee little Reid) their very own personalized message.  Little did I know I was gonna have to remember "Hurley's penmanship" for future surprises!  Notice Hurley is even holding the marker!

 Addi was sooooo excited to wake up and find Hurley had moved her Barbie hot tub into the dining room and invited her newest Barbie to join him.  Wow, didn't realize how provocative that was until I just typed it.  Oh well! 

Remember me saying how I needed to remember how Hurley wrote?  Yep! Well, Hurley flew back to the North Pole on Christmas Eve so on the 23rd he left Addilyn her own little present!  This was his note to her!  She was so stinkin' excited!

Hurley left a mess when he finished wrapping his gift to Addi (which was a Taylor Swift cd) and it was just the icing on the cake!  It was a nice way to end the Christmas tradition and now that I've looked at all the pictures and revisited everything I'm ready to start looking for new ideas for this year!

Happy Christmas in July!!

Make your own Edible Arrangement

So back in May I knew what I wanted to give my sister for her birthday.  Something she could enjoy at work and something edible.  I wanted to send her an Edible Arrangement.  Holy Sheesh! Those things are expensive.  Not that I don't love my sister, but I've got 4 sisters and didn't want them all to expect this as a gift.  And they definitely weren't on the "stay at home mommy" budget list.  So I searched Pinterest and found step by step directions on how to make my own.  I found it HERE.  And this is what mine turned out looking like

I was actually pretty impressed.  Found my pot at the Dollar Store and went shopping for my fruit. 

*Tips*

I couldn't find the kale leaves it called for.  Mine were much smaller and more difficult to keep in place but I managed.

I already had the cookie cutters but mine were plastic.  Metal ones would definitely work easier and faster, but I didn't see the point in spending the money when I already had some.  The pineapple was by far the hardest and my counter tops, hands and clothes were covered in juice!

Because all the fruit was so juicy, the arrangement kept dripping everywhere.  I put it in the freezer until I was ready to leave. (just about an hour) This worked until I made it to Aimee and then it was dripping again.  Oh well!  Nothing wrong with juicy fruit!

Aimee was surprised when we showed up at her work with her gift.  She said her and her coworkers enjoyed the fruit! 

So the next time you are looking for a unique gift and you've got a little time to spare (I think this small one took about an hour-that's while dealing with 2 kids too) then I suggest looking into making your own fruit bouquet! 

Playing a little catch-up!

My appologies for my ever so slow posting of "my attempted pins". It's naptime right now and with each stroke of the key I'm holding my breath that Reid doesn't wake up and I can at least get this post done. So here goes....

What is it about pizza? Between pizza/Italian and Mexican food we rarely (or at least that's what it feels like) have any variety in our menu planning. But there are no complaints from the table so who am I to complain?

I posted a little bit ago about the Grilled Pizza Cheese sandwiches. My next pizza inspired pin was this PEPPERONI ROLLS and I even took pictures to document. Am I showing you them because they actually turned out looking good? Maybe, but who cares?!

They were really easy to make and were a hit all around the dinner table. Even great as leftovers and warmed up the next afternoon for lunch.













You're impressed aren't ya? :)

Josh's only request was not to use Buttermilk biscuits next time. Okay no problem but when did he become such the biscuit connoisseur? Just kidding! No problem!




**Tips**

For our family of 4 (although Addi and Reid could sometimes be combined and only count as 1 when preparing food) one roll of biscuits would have been enough. But I didn't want to be short on any and like I said, they warmed up just fine.
Enjoy!



Yesterday Addi had her softball swim party at the local pool. It had been a little over a month since they had all seen eachother so Addi was really excited to hang out, swim and eat some cake. While Daddy was busy "working" in the basement and The BossMan was sleeping we decided to make a little softball treat to take with us. How easy are Rice Krispie Treats? VERY! So that's what we did and added a little flair to them. Sometimes when I see something on Pinterest I think "why didn't I think of that?" I mean a lot of them are so easy and take little thinking to come up with. But I'll give credit due to this neat pin

Softball Treats!

Addi had fun helping and then to match her teams colors (The Heartbreakers) we used blue frosting!



They were a hit with the girls!
*Tips*

the instructions call to use parchment (I used wax, maybe it's the same thing, I don't know lol) about the size of your hand to press out onto cookie sheet. I just sprayed my spatula and it worked easier. And I just used one of the kids' plastic cups without paper underneath to cut out my circles. Super easy. The icing I bought came out to thick to make lines so I squeezed it all into a plastic bag and snipped the end.
We hit this one out of the park! Soooo easy!



So I've pinned and pinned about some food. How about a drink? I made this GROWN UP PINK LEMONADE a while back and it was a huge hit! I made sure to put a note on the pitcher that it was NOT FOR KIDS and now anytime Addi sees pink lemonade she asks if it's for grown ups only! 

Great beverage for a girls night or even at the pool! 

Well, can you believe it? Reid is still asleep and I'm done-for now.  Stay tuned and I'll have some craft pins I'll post.  Till then, keep pinning and keep blogging!

Quick lunch/dinner or snack!

So I love a good cheesey, gooey grilled cheese.  To me it's a good comfort food and the cheesier the better :)  And I LOVE pizza.  I haven't met a pizza I don't like-ever!  Other than when I was pregnant with our daughter, which then I could not stand the sight or smell of pizza.  But after 9 months that went away thank goodness!  So when I stumbled across the recipe on Pinterest I knew it needed a spot on my Yum-O board.  And we've had this a few times for lunch. 

 

Pizza Grilled Cheese


We ate at my mom and dads last night and mom made this after I had told her how easy it was.  Everyone had their choice of pizza grilled cheese, reubens and hot ham and cheese.  My little brother found his new favorite food with the pizza grilled cheese and one of my sister's boyfriends ( I have a lot of sisters, not one sister with many boyfriends lol) was giving out high fives and ate his fair share of this new food!

So whether you need something new for lunch or dinner or just a quick snack, chances are you probably have all ingredients on hand.  Enjoy!

**Side Notes**
I've used both regular size and mini pepperonis.  No difference in the two when making the sandwich.
I always have shredded mozzerella in the fridge.  It's just as easy as slices.

Maybe you've found a new comfort food...

2 pins in 1 dish!

So if you've been to eat at my house lately chances are you've entered "the experiment kitchen".  Whether it's a main dish, dessert or side, I'm probably trying something new from Pinterest.  If Josh hasn't ever seen it before, first words out of his mouth are "is this something from Pinterest?" and I just smile and say "try it". 
And this is what happened last Thursday night.  And it was a HIT!
http://millerfamilyorganizer.blogspot.com/2012/02/slow-cooker-salsa-chicken.html

And since this blog is new, I forgot to take pictures...oops!
Addi loved it!
 Reid ate it (but that's not saying much since that boy eats anything!)
Josh said "it's make again worthy"
and Amanda was visiting and she's already repinned it!  That should say enough.  :)

Notes:
I shredded the chicken in the crockpot and then added the sour cream.  The juices from the chicken while it cooked helped to thicken everything up. 
We served it with tortillas, shredded lettuce, cheese, salsa and sour cream.
Some ate their second helping as a dip and just ate it with tortilla chips.

The recipe calls for taco seasoning and I made my own.  My mother would fall over dead reading this because I used to NEVER cook!  But not only did I make dinner (which I do quite often now) but I made something on my own that you could very easily buy in a package for about a dollar. 

http://www.5dollardinners.com/homemade-taco-seasoning

Crazy this was so easy, I had all ingredients on hand (that's rare) and it smelled sooooo good.  It made more than what the chicken recipe called for, so I stored it in a air tight container (aka rubbermade bowl) and it's just waiting for me to use again!

So, who's making slow cooker salsa chicken for dinner next week??
Enjoy!

So I'm gonna try the new blogging technique.  As I said, it only took me about a week (ok, maybe 2 days!) to become hooked to Pinterest.  I set up my boards, followed my friends and before I knew it I was a pinning fool :).  From recipes, to kids crafts, party planning and a honey do list, I was in craftiness heaven.  If I get everything done that I've pinned I'll have one organized and decorated home.  My kids will have memorable birthday parties, and my recipe books will be overfilled with yummy deliciousness!  And I'm sure everyone else out in Pinterest-world is the same way.  And I'm proud to say that I've tried quite a few things on my boards. 
So here's my blogging goal.  For every pin (or interesting one) that I do, I'm going to blog about it.  Maybe you have the same craft or recipe or what have ya pinned and you're wondering "I wonder if this recipe is as easy as it sounds" or "how kid friendly is that craft" and although I haven't tried a lot of the cleaning tips, I'll give those a whirl too.
So here goes....
This was one of the first recipes I tried and man oh man has it become a favorite in our household. 
E-A-S-Y! and very very good.
Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
Put this baby in the crockpot and walah-6ish hours later you've got dinner!
I made this dinner Mother's Day weekend when we had my husband's side of the family over and it was easy and GONE!  Big hit with the family.  And little cleanup.  What more can you ask for? 
Went to a girls night out and we had a recipe swap.  Guess what this momma made?  Yep, pulled pork.  And it was a hit there too!
So go on, pull that crock pot out, get the few ingredients together and let your family think you slaved over dinner....

**side notes**
I haven't used a butt roast-you can use a pork tenderloin if you want
Don't shred your pork in the crockpot.  Do it in a seperate bowl and then add your bbq sauce.
I was new to liquid smoke (we now always have some in the pantry :) ) you can find it in the same aisle as condiments
Because my husband likes a little kick (or punch) to his food he likes to add a good splash of buffalo sauce to his.
My kiddos LOVE this! :)

Happy Crocking!
Emily

Things are a little different! Maybe!

So I LOVE blogging.  Actually, I think it's just the writing part, but nonetheless, I enjoy it.  And unfortunately I slack quite a bit on our family blog.  I feel like I bore people with my endless pictures of my kids doing everyday things.  Don't get me wrong, I think those things are adorable, but I'm sure it can tire many out quickly.  So I'm changing things up a bit. 
     To say I avoided Pinterest in the beginning would be an understatement.  I wouldn't click on any link on Facebook that had to do with Pinterest.  People would talk about it and I'd avoid it like the plague.  Why you ask?  Because I was honestly afraid I'd get hooked.  And you know what?  I did!  A friend pretty much made me sign up for it and the rest is history!  I'm addicted.  And I really only try to "pin" things that I'll try.  Not just "oh that looks cute" or "surely I can make that--in the next 10 years!"  So I've tried several recipes, lots of crafts, little things here and there.  Some have become favorites and some have been epic fails. 
     So because of these "hits and misses" I came up with this idea.  After every pin I try, whether good or bad I'll blog about it.  My thoughts, how it turned out, or didn't turn out, easy/hard, pictures to show if mine turned out even close to what the actual pin looked like and to put my own spin on things, a kid rating and husband rating.  Did my kids enjoy the food, did Josh say "ummm, it's ok (which is polite for "don't ever make this again"), was the craft kid friendly, those sort of things.  I'll have the links to the original post (or as good as I can get it).
     So what do you think?  Should I go for it?  Would you read?  And don't just be nice, be honest.  Tell me what ya think!  And the name of the blog will change, but not just yet....