Dress Up Closet

I wanted a creative place for my kids to dress up. We have a small odd-shaped closet in the playroom, so it's perfect. I took a tension curtain rod and hung it for the clothes. Then I simply attached a ribbon with push pins and used clothespins to hang the hats.

There's a mirror on the right side... it's a little hard to see in the picture. Right now it's on the floor leaning against the wall, but I'll be hanging it.

I have 3 stacking baskets on the left side where they have all their "accessories".... my daughter's dress up jewelry, superhero masks, etc.

Since they've had this dress up closet set up, they've spent hours changing outfits and pretending.

The whole thing cost me about $30 with the mirror, stacking baskets, and curtain rod.

Bookshelf Revamp

So, it's been 3 long years since I've posted. I can't believe how fast time has flown. I'm too busy these days to maintain this blog regularly, but I'll post every once in a while. I've been working on some projects around the house and wanted to tell y'all about them... they've been fun and also have helped us get organized.

We love reading in our home and I wanted a good place to showcase their books.We had an unfinished bookcase in our kid's playroom.. I wanted to spruce it up.  I painted the bookshelf white and then used my Cricut to cut out some vinyl lettering. We have a bean bag chair (not in the picture) in front of it for a cozy spot for the kids to curl up with a book. I love the way it turned out... simple and clean.

I wanted to display some toys that my Dad had as a kid and that my sisters and I used to play with when we were little...

I wanted to include a quote from a book and chose this one:

  

The project took me just a few hours overall .... and definitely worth it.

Time flies!

I can't believe it's been over 2 months since I last posted. My intention when I started was to post a couples times a week. I have several topics in mind, so I will be posting more soon.

Yesterday in my Bible study, we were talking about being BUSY. I had to laugh that the address for my blog is "busy mom." I felt like one of the ladies nailed it when she said that a spirit of busy is on us and we are even rewarded for being busy. I don't want to be so busy that I don't have the time for God. Of course, I pray and do my Bible study homework, but I need more time with Him, with my Father.

I am working on more things around the house to make life easier and feel less hectic. I am reprioritizing and focusing on what's more important. I also need to say "No" sometimes. I think that's something all of us busy moms can work on.

So, this week I challenge you to take a look and see if there's anything you can do to be less "busy." :)

A Moment Captured

Today Kevin and I went to our older 2 kiddo's preschool for their Easter parties. When it was time to leave, our 3 year old got upset. He LOVES school; he was just enjoying having us there. When we walked back by just a little bit later after going to our oldest son's party, we saw our 3 year old, playing in the sand with his friends. He didn't see us walking by. It really wasn't a big moment and he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. It was just neat to see him and he not know we were there. I will probably always remember that random moment... he pushing a truck in the sand, big smile on his face, just as happy as can be. It just got me thinking tonight about how we're raising 3 precious kiddos and what they will accomplish in their lifetime. It just hit me, more than usual, that we have the honor of shaping them and be the biggest influence in their lives.

I guess my point is to take time to treasure what we have with our children. No matter how busy our lives get, our kids need to know how important they are to us. In the busyness of go..go..go, it's important that we slow down for them and take the time to notice these special moments.

Pasta with Zesty Pecan Sauce

So, the good news is no raccoon eyes! I still have a little bruising, but nothing that's too bad. :)

Last night I tried a totally new recipe and it was a big hit! I made a couple changes though... you'll notice the title is "Pasta with Zesty Pecan Sauce." I used walnuts. I didn't have pecans and wanted to use what I had on hand. I also didn't have linguine, so I used penne. I wanted to have some more protein in it, so I added some cubed chicken breast (I just boiled it and stirred it in).

The sauce is made up of cream cheese, artichoke hearts, grated parmesan and garlic..it blends into yumminess! :)

It was a hit... even with the kids. My 1 year old actually seemed to like it the most.

You'll find the recipe here. It originally came from "Southern Living" magazine.

"On the Job" Injury ;)

Looks like I got my first (and hopefully my last!) broken nose today.

I was relaxing in the family room while my oldest, Camden was just outside the back door playing on the patio. He sarted yelling and I thought something was wrong. I ran out there and was so relieved to find he was just excited over a helicopter. Just as I was thinking about how much fun it is to be excited over a helicopter and was reaching over to hug him, BAM! He jumped up one more time in excitement and his noggin hit me square in the nose! I literally heard a "crack," reached up to my nose and discovered lots of blood. Ugh. I don't do really well with blood. Luckily, my paramedic husband does. He thinks it's a cartilage break (is that the right term?). There's a small area of bruising across the bridge of my nose now and it's just a tad swollen. We'll see in the morning if I wake up with raccoon eyes or not.

Pioneer Woman's Crispy Yogurt Chicken

First, if you're not familiar with Pioneer Woman, you HAVE to check it out! Ree Drummond has delicious recipes, ideas for home and garden, photography and life living on a ranch. She also has her love story, which is sooo good. Once you start, you'll want to read straight through, so be prepared!


I have tried a few of her recipes so far. We love chicken around our house and I'm always trying to come up with new ways to get my kids to eat it. They all loved this recipe! You dip the chicken in a yogurt, garlic and parsley mix and then coat with Panko bread crumbs. Bake for an hour. Very easy! On her recipe, she uses drumsticks. I used chicken breast tenders. My breading turned out a little "soggy." I'm wondering if I put a little bit too much butter on the dish, but nevertheless, they were delicious!


You can find the recipe here.


This photo is from the Pioneer Woman's site. Her chicken is prettier!