My T.O.Y Box

Remember a little while back when I blogged about the box I was sending to a military wife? Well I got mine the other day! It was soooo cute! I have to give a huge thanks to Kelly Mae Blog for starting this. I was having a rough week and my box totally brightened up my day.

I got supplies for making spring/easter cupcakes and walmart giftcard to buy ingredients. I also got 2 adorable handtowels and a sweet card. Thank you so much!

Would you like to brighten up the day of a military spouse? Or maybe your a military spouse who needs a little sunshine? Sign up Here to send or recieve a T.O.Y (Thinking of You) box. Anyone may sign up to send but please only sign up to recieve if you are a military spouse.

Bacon and Spinach Deviled Eggs

Spinach Deviled Eggs

 

This deviled eggs recipe was submitted by Tamar, a blogger and freelance writer at Deviled Eggs 101.

 

Deviled Eggs is a classic appetizer prepared by most American families, and with Easter right around the corner, it may be the perfect time to think of new and different ways to make your Deviled Eggs. The usual Deviled Eggs recipes calls for the yolk of hard boiled eggs, mixed with mayonnaise, salt and pepper, and piped back onto the egg white halves. This Spinach Deviled Eggs recipe with bacon not only adds a healthy and tasty ingredient, but also gives the yolk mixture a great pop of color.  A fun rendition of this recipe would be to use the eggs you have colored for Easter; the colored egg whites make for a great presentation of the hors d'oeuvres and might even get the little ones excited to try it out.

 

Ingredients

12 Eggs

1/4 Cup Mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons White Vinegar

2 Tablespoons Butter, softened

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

4 Bacon Strips

1/2 Cup Chopped Spinach, squeezed dry

2 Tablespoons Capers

 

Directions

Step #1: The best eggs for a Deviled Eggs recipe are ones that are about a week old. These eggs tend to be easier to peel and work with. Begin by placing 12 eggs in a pot, all on one layer, and fill with enough water to cover about 2 inches above the eggs.

Step #2: Bring the water to a boil on high heat. Allow water to boil for 2-3 minutes, and then remove the pot from the burner.

Step #3: Set the eggs aside for 15 minutes to complete the cooking process and to cool down. You also have the choice of creating an ice bath, which will accelerate the cooling process and make it easier to peel the eggs afterwards.

Step #4: While the eggs cool down, it’s time to cook the bacon. Place the bacon strips in an unheated skillet. Cook for 8-10 minutes on medium heat, turning occasionally.

Step #5: Once the bacon is cooked to your liking, remove them from the skillet and drain/dry on a paper towel to remove excess grease. After bacon has cooled down, chop and set aside.

Step #6: Peel the eggshells and cut the eggs in half, lengthwise. Gently scoop out the yolks. Put the egg whites on the serving plate and reserve for later use.

Step #7: Place the egg yolks into a mixing bowl and mash until finely ground. After, mix in the mayonnaise, vinegar, butter, sugar, pepper and salt, and mix well until homogenous and smooth.

Step #8: Stir in the bacon bits and chopped spinach into the yolk mixture.

Step #9: Using a spoon, pastry bag, or a Ziploc bag with a corner cut, fill the yolk mixture into the egg white centers and refrigerate until ready to serve.

 

You can learn more about making Deviled Eggs or check out Tamar’s other Deviled Egg Recipes!

Liebster Award

 I got a Liebster Award, thank you Kelly at Kelly Mae Blog for the nomination!

This is such a cool idea! So the Liebster Award is making its way around the blogging community. Its basically a linky thing that gives you an opportunity to network with other bloggers. You have to have less 200 followers to recieve the award so its pretty cool that us smaller blogs get some lovin too!

The Rules:

{1} Each blogger should answer the questions the tagger has set for you.

{2} Choose 11 new bloggers to pass the award on to and link them in your post.

{3} Create 11 new questions for the chosen bloggers.

{4} Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

{5} Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

{6} No tag-backs!!

My questions from Kelly....

{1} Did you play any sports in highschool?
       I played volleyball for a short while in 9th grade, then we moved and I was homeschooled the rest of my highschool years where I played softball on an intermural team.

{2} What made you smile today?
       It was a busy, busy day and my girls crashed when we got home. My youngest fell asleep right next to the dog beside me on the couch. Cutest thing ever watching your kids sleep!

{3} How many kids do you have or want?
      I have two girls of my own and my oldest stepson considers me the closest thing he's had to a real mom even though we are fairly close in age. I'm also so very blessed to have 4 other stepsons whom I love dearly. I'm pretty sure we are done having kids at this point, but I have to admit I get baby fever occasionally.

{4} Taco or burrito?
      Taco, I love the crunch.

{5} What is one word you would use to describe your life?
      I would have to say "blessed" I've been through some difficult times in life but I'm constantly reminded of how God has blessed me with so much.

{6} What kind of music do you listen to?
     Depends on my mood. I'm a big hard rock fan, and dubstep/rock mixes. Since I'm from the South I like to get my country on occasionally.

{7} What is the last thing you ate?
      A cupcake. Haley has been talking about cupcakes for weeks and we finally made some today!

{8} If you were stranded on an island with just a beach chair, what would be your drink of choice?
     I'm a Captain and coke girl.

{9} Are you a morning person or night owl?
     Definitely night owl! I'm trying to get up earlier and go to bed earlier though.

{10} Do you prefer hot weather or cold weather?
         I like it Hot!

{11} Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
         I'd like to be finished with law school and maybe even own a law firm. I'd also like to own several acres of land where we have a mini farm.

My 11 Random Facts

 

1. I'm addicted to coffee, coffee drinks, coffee scents all things coffee!

2. I was adopted by an amazing family when I was 5.

3. I love cats, wish I could have one but I'm allergic to them.

4. I've always wanted to be an actress.

5. My zodiac sign is a Cancer.

6. I pole dance for fitness, one of the best workouts I've ever had.

7. I tend to be a thrill seeker.

8. I hate Twitter and think hashtags are annoying.

9. I'm the oldest of 8 kids.

10. I know it sounds vain but I love getting compliments

11. I feel very protective of my family, easiest way to get me angry is hurt my family

 

 

My Nominations

 

1. Paula at Well, Well Paula Michele

2. Meg at A tsp of nutMeg

3. Kate at Dancing in the Minefields

4. Lauren at Lights in the Sky

5. Jenni at A Dash of Sunshine

6. Jules at A Dose of Jules

7. Caroline at ...Love, Caroline

8. Judy at Pursuit of Functionl Home

9. Hayley at Wallflower-Beauty and Babies

10. Jennifer at Thistle Bear

11. Ashleigh at Love Stoned

 

 

My Questions for You

 

1. Whats the saddest movie you've ever seen?

2. Whats your dream car?

3. How many states have you lived in?

4. What is your guilty pleasure food?

5. How long have you been blogging?

6. When you've had a bad day, what cheers you up?

7. If all the fast food chains when out of business, which would you miss most?

8. Is anyone in your family in the military?

9. Whats the nicest compliment you've ever recieved?

10. Pedicure or manicure?

11. Have you ever had a paranormal experience?



Metabolism Boosting Apple Cinnamon Water

Here's another metabolism boosting drink. I believe the secret behind this is the fact that replacing all your normal beverages (coffee, tea, soda, crystal light, gatorade) with this cuts out a lot of calories. And of course the simple act of drinking lots of water will cause weight loss.

Apples- contain antioxidants, boost your immune system (with an antioxidant called quercitin), high in fiber. According to the USDA the most beneficial apples are Red Delicious and Granny Smith.

Cinnamon- shown to reduce cytokines linked to arthritic pain, has natural anti-infectious compounds, and can also reduce inflammation.

I use a gallon jug and add 2 sticks of cinnamon (washed) and 2 apples thinly sliced (also washed and scrubbed) Place in the bottom fill with water and place in fridge.

If you drink right away it may taste like slightly dirty water. You will get best results if you let it steep for 8 hours. You can also leave out in the sun (like tea) to steep faster and drink within a few hours with some ice. Toss apples when they turn brown or start looking mushy. I've found the cinnamon sticks can last for at least two jugs.

Want to try another detox/fitness water drink? Click Here

St. Patty's Day Candy Bark

The girls loved helping me make this treat for St. Patty's Day, and it turned out sooo yummy!

Ingredients:

Pretzel sticks
Green m&ms
Grasshopper cookies (or thin mints)
2 bars of baking chocolate (I used Ghiardelli dark bittersweet)

1. Start by lining a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Break up pretzel sticks in a layer on the cookie sheet.

 

2. Next add in the M&Ms. There really aren't any measurements to this, just eyeball it and add in more or less of your favorite items. (Like I used the whole bag of M&Ms lol)

 

3. Break up the cookies and add on top of the pretzel's and m&ms. Melt the baking chocolate over low heat until smooth. Spoon over candy mixture.

4. Use a fork to make sure the melted chocolate gets all in there really good. Top with green sprinkles.

 

5. Refridgerate for an hour and then eat!

21 Questions to ask your Kids

Need a laugh? Here are 21 questions to ask your kids. It should be hilarious what they come up with! Here's what my 2 girls age 4 and 3 had to say.

1. What is something Mommy always says to you?
Serenity-Clean up the clothes
Haley-Clean up my toys and clothes

2. What makes Mommy happy?
Serenity-when I clean up my toys
Haley-cupcakes

3. What makes Mommy sad?
Serenity-when I get into stuff
Haley-because we didn’t make muffins

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
Serenity-tickling me
Haley-when you tickle me I say hahaha

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
Serenity-a child
Haley-you make cupcakes and get boo boos

6. How old is Mommy?
Serenity-6
Haley-14 76

7. How tall is Mommy?
Serenity-4 feet nothing
Haley-little

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
Serenity-make cookies
Haley-you make cupcakes and you be happy

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
Serenity-clean up
Haley-sleeping

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
Serenity-the concert
Haley-be a star in a famous show

11. What is Mommy really good at?
Serenity-taking care of us
Haley-clean up the books

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
Serenity-making soda
Haley-messing up the books

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
Serenity-clean up and coffee
Haley-clean up the books

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
Serenity-chinease food
Haley-spaghetti

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
Serenity-making macaroni and cheese
Haley-making cupcakes

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Serenity-a doggy
Haley-a horsey

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
Serenity-watch a movie
Haley-make cupcakes

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
Serenity-we like lots of fun
Haley-me and serenity

19. How are you and Mommy different?
Serenity-I clean my toys
Haley-because I be a horsey with a bucket on my head

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
Serenity-You clean up
Haley-we play horsey

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
Serenity-the grocery store
Haley-with a purse

I got this idea from my friend Shantel, pop over and check out her blog Just Another Marine SAHM

The Girls Room-Reveal!

I am very excited about this post!! I have been working on organizing and remodeling my girl's room for about 2 months now. It was sort of stop and go, I had to search high and low for each piece of furniture. Everything had to be not only what I envisioned in my head but in my price range (of like $5 lol). It finally all came together! I debated revealing it since I'm a perfectionist and in my mind it isn't quite PERFECT yet. But it is at a place where I can be comfortable with it, and if I waited until it was perfect I would never post this. So without further ado.....

 

This is what I started with. The walls were an ugly mint green when we moved in. We had bunk beds that were donated to us a long time ago.

There were a few wire racks in the closet and two mirror doors. We took one mirror door off to create more space. (Its a pretty small room)

We turned the bunk beds sideways so to create more of a flow. We put the bookshelf in the awkward corner behind the bed. Of course we painted the walls pink!

My mom and sister made this beautiful bedspread and pillow sham. (Maybe I can get her to do a guest post on how she did it!) It turned out absolutely gorgeous!! Thank you so much Mom and Kate!

I found this princess castle thing in a storage auction way back when. I kept it for some reason and I'm glad I did. The metal rack came from yardsale. It was a yellowish brass color so I repainted it black.

I'm sure you have seen this toybox before! It was an old green military footlocker Steven had and I remade it. See the process Here. I put all the girl's stuffed animals in the box. The top is also padded to make a bench for reading.

I found some pink Ikea curtains at Goodwill. We put them above the closet to sort of section it off since we removed the doors.

Eventually I think I will redo this section. It's still not "neat" enough for me. But it does look pretty good. I found this wood cube at a yardsale. The 6 tubs on the bottom are from Dollar Tree. I wrapped the middle 3 ones in duct tape. The top 3 boxes are various cardboard boxes covered in duct tape. You can find a tutorial for that Here.

I also found this cube at a yardsale also. There is a bin for undies, a bin for socks and the top 2 bins hold pajamas. The middle right side is Serenity's clothes and the other side is Haley's. This is where I keep their everyday clothes. Their church dresses and outerwear hangs up above.

And finally lets not forget the switch plate. Someone had cut a huge hole when installing the light switch. We had to replace the regular cover with an oversize one to cover the hole.

The total cost for this room makeover was:

Primer (came with the house)
Glidden Paint (Home Depot) $20
Switch Plate (Home Depot) $2
Bedding (present from my Mom)
Bookshelf (Yardsale) $10
Cubes (Yardsale) $40
Duct tape for boxes (Walmart) $6
Tubs (Dollar Tree) $8
Paint for toybox (Home Depot) $3
Fabric for toybox (Ebay) $8
Ikea curtains (Goodwill) $3

$100 Room Makeover!!! Boo yah can't beat that!


So what do you think? Hope this brings some inspiration to my readers! Would love opinions!

Lasagna Formaggio

This is an excellent recipe if you are craving Italian food! It's also cheap at about $1.50 a serving, which is great for big family on a tight budget.

Ingredients

9 lasagna noodles
1 32oz. container of ricotta cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 jar marinara or pasta sauce

1. Start by preheating oven to 350. Start boiling noodles. I like to add a dash of olive oil and a few shakes of salt to the water.

 

Boil until noodles are cooked but still a tad firm. Drain.

2. While noodles are boiling mix together ricotta cheese, eggs, 1 cup of the mozzarella and spices.

 

3. Next layer a few spoonfuls of pasta sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.

 

4. Top the sauce with 3 noodles.

 

5. Spread a spoonful of cheese mixture lengthwise down each noodle.

 

6. Layer sauce on top and repeat with the noodles, cheese and sauce layers. Top off with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Shamrock hats

Here is another cute craft we did on craft day.

For each hat you will need two pipecleaners, 2 shamrocks cut out of construction paper and two long strips of construction paper.

Staple one end of the paper strips together, then wrap around child's head to get the correct measurement. Staple the other ends.

Next poke the pipe cleaner in one side of the base of the shamrock and out the other side. Repeat on the other shamrock. Staple the pipe cleaners to the base of the hat.

                                        The shamrocks are supposed to wiggle around.

Hehe so cute!

Texture Collage Shamrocks

I've started a "Craft Club" in my home once a week. Its pretty fun for the girls to have friends over to craft and play with them. It also gives other moms a chance to get thier kids out of the house and participate in an educational activity. We had our first craft day this week and made Texture collage shamrocks, shamrock hats and ate a rainbow fruit tray for snack.

This craft is great for toddlers and preschoolers!

 

Start by cutting a shamrock out of cardboard. I used cereal boxes. Next gather some green craft supplies of different textures. I used tissue paper, construction paper, pom poms, yarn and felt.

Let the child cut up the craft supplies using safety scissors. Then glue to the shamrock.

The finished product!

 

 

Little crafters hard at work!

Healthy Oatmeal Banana Muffins

Well heyy looky here! I found an old post I never published. With the busy-ness of the move it got lost and forgotten. (Which is why my counters look different, I made this in our old house)

Here is a great muffin recipe that requires no flour, butter or oil. These muffins are delish and a perfect take-along snack or lunch item. My hubby even liked them! (Which is a big deal considering he rolls his eyes at anything containing the word "healthy")

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup greek yogurt (I used the Chobani chocolate because I was curious how the chocolate would taste with the banana. It was a good choice, but the plain will work just as well)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sweetener- brown sugar, honey, stevia (Although I have regular brown sugar in the pic, I've switched to using all natural unprocessed cane sugar or Stevia.)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 ripe bananas mushed

1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray muffin tin with non stick spray or use foil liners. (For some reason paper liners do not work well with oatmeal.)

2. Place all ingredients in blender and blend until oats are smooth. I have actually made this once in the blender and once just mixing ingredients by hand. Either way tastes good, but blending will make the texture smoother.

3. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full and bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned on top.