Valentines Delivery Truck!

 This cute project was found at No Time For Flash Cards here. Our downstairs neighbor called us down to make them togetehr! I made Q's! so fun!!

Work Party '11

Fuzzy Coat!

I love my curly hair! :)

Adam's Work Party

We went to Adams work party this month! I really wanted to win a 360 Xbox with a Kinect. I didn't even know if that was an option but I thought that would be fantastic! It was the first prize given away!! But not to us. Actually it was the second year we went and didn't have our name called. Some people had their names read two and even three times. I don't know how that happens but it was another year of waiting for 3 hours of prize winning and not winning :/... I just needed a minute to complain! At least I got to dress up and have a dinner date out! That felt great! My hair didn't keep but it was a nice night with A!! And great food! I am going to miss Pork! This was the last night I ate meat for my new 2011 goal! :)

Choo- Choo!!

 

Alright- here is my first attempt in books and projects! I LOVE to spy on NoTimeForFlashCards and all the awesome things she does with letters and crafts, and I decided it was time to step up!

We painted our box cars on note cards. Q used finger paints and J used Water colors! Then we painted!! We let them dry and the got to glue them on black construction paper. To prevent to corners from curling I turned it over on my table and put pots and pans on it! That did the trick!

 

 

Then we cut them out and put some wheels on them! I cut up circles out of black paper and J got to gluing and Q got to peeling!

 Next, I cut up my diaper box!! I cut out strips and then we painted it black! We also needed a Black Engine so we painted that black too! After that drived we pasted the carts on the background and then my favorite of all MOD PODGE!! Don't they look great in the bed rooms!

I cleared a wall in the boys room and I would like to get some cork boards to put up so I post all of the kids work on them! Won't that be great! :)

Sweet Tofu Tacos

I bought Tofu for the very first time last shopping trip! I was SUPER nervous to use it and I had no idea what I was going to do! I did a quick search on Tofu Tacos and saw that it could be done! This is my version!

Sweet Tofu Tacos

• Cubed Tofu
• Onions & Garlic
• Rasins
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Taco sauce
• Tortillas
• Toppings 

Alright, I feel like Rachel Ray with my staple of EVOO, Onions, and Garlic. I learned from here when I was beinging to cook and now that I am like re- beginning, the traditon still stays! So- Heat some oil in your pan and add your chopped onions and garlic, cook them down!

This really is my FAVORITE part! I love the sweet onion smell and sauteeing sound and smell! Ugh! It's so yum! However- Unline Rachel who LOVES her softball sizes onions, I love my small baseball size- it is just enough to feed my little family!


When your onions are ready I opened my tofu package! I had no idea it was in water!! I drained it out and then began crumbling it into my pan! Next, I threw in a snack box of raisin. I am pretty sure I got this idea from Rachel Ray years ago too! I cooked that around a little bit and got to seasoning. I added Sofrito (I'll have to do a blog on this stuff!!) It is a Puerto Rican staple and any time I am making something hispanic- I need it to give it that special touch! One day I will make my own. Right now I use Goya's. I also add some cumin, chili powder, taco sauce... You can use anything you need really to make it taco tasting! Then I let all of that heat up a little longer!!

 

We had corn tortillas, cover them with a damp paper towel and put them in the micro for 30 seconds! Then they are ready to fill!! :)

 

It even comes baby ready!! Everyone loved it! Even Adam liked it! At first he complained and complained! He was so mad that i made him tofu. He really didn't want it, I tried to tell him that they were so good! I loved that I ate them and I felt satisfied but not full!! I've been feeling that way a lot lately! I love to eat but sometimes I eat way too much and feel stuffed and sick! I felt so alive and ready to take on the rest of the day! I am sure eatting is suppose to be that way! Oh- and the best part!! Look at this pan, easy clean up!! Adam is gonna love this new diet! (He always complains about my dirty dishes that he gets to clean.)

Homemade Race Track.

I just spent 30 minutes roaming around my favorite sites (and some new favorite), and I honestly can't remember or find where I got this cute idea from.Basically, all I did was cut up my diaper box into some lines, long and short, then I made a semi circle and painted them black! Added some cut up paper and added with double stick tape! Then I cut the semi circles in half to make curves in the road!

Stinking adorable and SUPER easy!!

Vegetable Lasagna

Remember those left over Veggi's I saved from the soup! I used them in my Lasagna for Sunday dinner! What a time saver!

Vegetable Lasagna

• Lasagna noodles (cook with box directions)
• Tiny Cut Veggies: Carrots, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Mushrooms, whatever..
• Onions and Garlic, chopped
• Olive Oil
• Vegetable Garden Pasta Sauce
• Cottage Cheese
• Egg
• Parmesan Cheese
• Motzerella Cheese
• Oregano
• S & P

Alright- Chop those onions and drop them in some heated oil! Cooked down with the garlic! Yum!! This is my favortie smell! I'll have to do a blog about Onions and how I hated them and now I love them.. Did I just tell you all about it? Perhaps!

Add your veggie's and cook for a couple minutes! It's kind of the same steps as browning your beef! Alright once done, but not too done, dump your jar of pasta sauce! I add a squirt of mustard. I don't know why. Adam taught me that a couple years back and it just became routine. Mix it all together & take a big whiff! Mmmmmm!

Mix about a cup of Cottage Cheese, one egg, and 1/4 c. Parmesan and a handful of shredded cheese. Mix that all together. This time I chopped up some baby spinach leaves and add that in my cheese mixture! It looked so pretty!

Preheat over to 350. Get out your casserole dish and spread your Olive Oil on the bottom! Then layer up!! Noodles first, then 1/2 sauce mix, then noodles, and cheese mix, noodles once more and the rest of the red mix!! Top with CHEESE!! We love Cheese around here! Bake for 50 minutes!

 

By the looks of things it was darn good! Adam still loves his meaty Lasagna, but I totallu disagree. I'm not a lasagna fan and this is the ONLY way to go! :)

Kid Tested! It's a Keeper!

Vegetable Lentil Soup

This was super yummy and super easy! However, I totally forgot potatoes. That would of made it go a lot farther!

I just went shopping so I had loads of fresh veggi's! This is the perfect time for me to cook up all my fresh ones before they go rotten. One day I'll learn how to even that out.

Vegetable Lentil Soup

• Potatoes
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Zucchini
• Onions & Garlic
• Mushrooms (optional: I guess all veggi's are optional!)
• Vegetable Broth 6 C.
• 1 C. Lentils

So, I chopped my veggi's chunky and saved 1/3 of them (not the potatoes). Then I chopped the left overs really tiny for a lasagna! Start off with Olive oil and saute your onions and garlic! Same 'Ole. Cook those down and then add the others. Let them cook around and after a couple minutes add the Broth, about 6 cups. Then add your lentils. Season with salt and pepper, and maybe oregano. Bring to a boil, and then lower temp to simmer for about 20 minutes!

Soup

Super fast and super yum! Oh, and even better on day two!

Black Bean Bell Pepper

In my first attempt to GO FOR IT! I kind of made something up!

I knew I wanted to make some stuffed peppers because we just went shopping and I got these amazing bright red peppers! These are all first attempts so my pictures kind of suck! Hopefully I will get better at taking pictures!

So, I created this recipe and it turned out great! I actually burnt the cheese on top so I didn't take a final pic but you gotta believe me! Oh, and I used Beef broth, so my first attemp wasn't actually all veggi. It was probably artificial flavor anyways!

I do have to warn you. I don't measure very well. I also just throw stuff in.. that is why these recipe collections will be under the title " Go For It!" because that is what I did! Enjoy!

Black Bean Bell Pepper

• 4 Red Bell Pepper
• Rice
• One Portabella Mushroom Top, chopped
• Small Can Sliced Black Olives
• 15 oz Black Beans, drained & rinsed
• Beef Broth
• Small Can Tomato Sauce
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Olive Oil & Veggi Oil
• Chopped Onions & Garlic
• Salt and Pepper

First is first! I've got to prep the rice! I LOVE making rice and once I taught Adam he makes a pot everyday! Puerto Rican rice has a crisp texture to it. It is not sticky or bloated! It's loose and wonderful! Anyways, first you've got to saute your onions and garlic in some olive oil. Next, I added my chopped mushrooms and got that breaking down! I added some Beef broth, maybe 1.5 cups. S&P'd it!!Cut opened my cans and added them in! Rinse your beans first! It makes less black mess!

Bring liquid to a boil then add a couple cups of rice. Be sure the liquis covers the rice, you might need to add more. Add a spoon full of vegetable oil and stir. Top the pot and turn temp way down LOW! Let cook for 30 minutes.

Preheat over to 400. In your dish add an 8oz can of tomato sauce. Cut your peppers in half and clean them out! When rice is done, stuff peppers and place them on top of the sauce. Then top your peppers with handfuls of cheese! Bake for 50 minutes!

You probably want to cover with foil for the first half because my cheese got pretty crispy!

It was super yummy to me! I loved it for 3 days in a row!

Going For It!

I was that person who looked at these VEGETARIANS and would say to myself, "I could NEVER do that! I love my meat!" Last year a couple times during my feast on a steak or chicken I felt like such an animal! It took some work chewing up the yummy meat and even more work having my tummy digest it.

In my effort to choose a New Years resolution I wanted to do something in addition to exercise that will help my body be healthier! I decided last Wednesday that I would not eat meat for the rest of 2011! Then I will see where I stand! I really want to do this because it seems like I CANNOT! I can't believe I am so weak inside that i think I cannot go without meat for one whole year. So I am gonna Go FOR IT! Here we are at day 5, meatless and loving it! I am enjoying creating new recipes and I actually feel SO much better even within just 5 days!

I told Adam about my new life goal and he kind of laughed at me. He knows how much I love my food! Then he said it was a great idea! He said we aren't meat eaters anyways! We have herbivore teeth! The only meat teeth are our K9's and our front teeth are for nuts and berries!! Isn't he funny! I secretly think he is excited for me!!

I am gonna GO FOR IT!!

Snow Play!

Must Make Snow Angel!!

Snowed In!

Silly Boy!! Always Nakey!

Jello Castle!!

1st time with Jello! Q loves touching his food!!

New Chore!

Jhas a new chore! He gets to put away the dishes! In order for us to make this easy for him, we had to do some rearranging in the kitchen! It felt good cleaning up and getting my cupboards in an order. Well most of them.. I've still got to work on the spices and the pantry!

Plates. Bowls. and Cups. in Perfect Reach!

Mugs. Tupperware. Baby Food.

Canned Food. We need the rolling shelves next!

Pots and Pans finally next to the Oven

Snack Basket. (Next we need a bread drawer!)

I also cleaned my fridge and freezer! I love that we went shopping and I can see the stuff in my freezer. It is usually overflowing!!

J pays me a toy when I have to do his chore for him. He also likes to help mom clean the bathroom, start the laundry, dust and vacuum! Thank You Love and Logic for showing me they are not too young to help around the house and learn at the same time!

xoxo- Glo

Update* 10-2012 *Switched the dishes back up. Now I have no helpers.

Kissin' Our Zoo!

Our Stuffed Animals were out of control!! I didn't have any room to store them. They would get dumped out and over flow in any kind of basket. I really wanted to get a net to put them in but they were sold out in Walmart, every time I went. I tried to down size but when I 'd go into pick and choose I couldn't get rid of any of them!

Then I saw The Zoo. It looked so fun and easy and it looked like it saved a lot of room! Too bad it is over $100. I just couldn't afford that kind of money. I thought I could make one! Too bad I am also impatient to wait for Adam to get home from school so I could go shopping. We couldn't afford extra luxuries to make something that glamorous anyways. SO- I started searching my house. I took the books and puzzles out of this shelf and made a new home for them. Then I found some elastic in my sewing kit. I nailed in the elastic to look like bars on to the back of the shelf (that way the front can be used later if I change my mind. It isn't the thickest strongest elastic but it saved SO much room and now we can get down exactly which animal we need to play with and put the rest in the ZOO!

Family Thanksgiving

PJ Boys

Finger Puppets! (Check out the one eyed Indian!)

Baby 2's First Oreo!!

Flower Cake from Mom!

A got me a Soda Machine for my B-day! Someone comes home everyday and makes himself a soda!

Baby's first finger paint!! 1's a pro!!

My Mom & Dad

This pic has had a lot of attention from my family on Facebook in the last few days! This is my late Dad and my Mom. They must of been younger than I am because when I was little and my mom was like 24 my Dad got in a terrible drinking and driving accident which made him paralyzed. I don't have memories of him standing but to those who grew up with him this is what they remember. I love this picture because it reminds me how much my Daddy loved my Mom. (and visa versa) They had ugly times too but I still think this feeling is stronger than all the others! I love my forever family and so grateful for the gospel and the truth in Temple Sealing!

Robert Lynn was born on July 1, 1959. He would of been 51 this year. He died 13 years ago. I can't believe the small time I had with him has already doubled its self. How time flies. I think a lot about him when I get personal time with Q. Q has my nose, which is my daddy's nose. and Not to mention I his middle name is Robert after his Grandpa! Maybe his humor and artistic skills will follow!! I think he is using his left hand more which is also a Robert trait. I guess we will find out eventually!

I miss him.