Reversible Ribbon Headband TUTORIAL

HERE YE, HERE YE, FREE TUTORIAL Here is my tutorial for a super easy reversible ribbon headband. Feel free to Email me if you have any questions!

Supplies: 2 pieces of coordinating ribbon 2 inches wide 2 pieces of solid ribbon 1/2 inch wide ALL PIECES ARE 14 1/2 inches LONG STEP 1: Make a sandwich with the pretty sides together with 1 piece of the solid ribbon inside. (you might need to pin the solid ribbon in place so you don't catch it in the side seam.)

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Step 2: sew the end of the sandwich

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Step 3: Sew the sides together (be careful not to catch the solid piece in the side seam) ********************************************

Step 4: Snip the ends of the sewn sandwich (so when you turn it, it will be more square)

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Step 5: Pull the solid ribbon out of the sandwich, thus turning the headband right side out

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Step 6: Insert ruler(or any object of your choosing) to help straighten out headband, iron flat, turn in the raw edge and insert last remaining ribbon and sew shut.

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You're finished! Yeah for you! You did it!

This is the same headband! It looks great on both adults and children! **********************************

My Food Processor is DRUNK!

With Summer comes all sorts of cooking experiments waiting to happen. I love when my husband can fire up the grill and we can try new things. My parents came over for dinner a few nights ago and I wanted to give them a "Stout Burger", so my creative juices started flowing and this is what I came up with. It ended up be quit the crowd pleaser despite my concerns about the smell of the marinade. This would be a perfect recipe to use for a guys night!

********************************************** Puree all ingredients together 1 Cup red onion 2 Garlic cloves 1 Bottle Dark Beer To make my burgers extra tasty, I mixed in a few tablespoons of marinade into the beef.

Grill burgers as usual, liberally basting with the marinade, while cooking. Serve on toasted RYE bread with a thick slice of Cheddar, some lettuce and enjoy!

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My handy husband also made me some Salt and Pepper shakers out of the used beer bottles (cleaned and dried of course)

This made a great little caddy for taking the silverware, napkins, and salt and pepper shakers wherever we needed them.

I'm a Super Smartie!

So my 3yr old has been driving me a little nuttos lately. She asks "Why Momma?" about a hundred times an hour! This morning, as I was relishing in the joy of having two children......no wait, scratch that and lets try again. This morning as I was going crazy from all the questions, I knew I had to find a solution. So, I asked Emma if she wanted "Special Closed Door Time". She isn't allowed to close her bedroom door, because she does it with such force that I know she would chop of Harry's tiny little fingers if she did. So, I got out an alarm clock and set it for 10 minutes. I stated that once the buzzer went off she had to open the door. I also told her that if she did anything naughty, she would never get "Special Closed Door Time" again. Well, it worked! She played so well, that even after the door was opened, she kept playing. THIS IS GREAT NEWS FOR ME! This was a huge accomplishment for Emma because she hates playing by herself. I was so proud of her and can't wait to try it again tomorrow.....perhaps for 15 minutes :) I olny wish I could have a peephole in her door to see what she was doing.

************************************** I put Harry in the Exersaucer to watch Dora, and I actually got my hair and Make-up done in peace!

This is what I found when I went to get her. She had made a bed for all her babies. Sooo sweet!

Being Cheap is the mother of all inventions!

Emma needed a super cape, and as most momma's do, I got to work creating. Necessity is the Mother of all Inventions. Well, Okay so I didn't invent the cape, I'm just too cheap to go buy one. So maybe that statement should be "Necessity and being cheap is the mother of all inventions" I couldn't bare to watch her run up and down the hall with her brothers blankets anymore. So on about the 319th time Emma asked for a cape, I delivered. She now ZOOOMS proudly around. I can even get her to help with chores more...."Emma, can you zoom theses dishes to the sink?" "Sure Momma, ZOOOM!" Yes she makes the noise.

Fingerprint Friday - God made Zebras

This past week I was doing some painting for a friends daughter. She requested Zebra Stripes on her bedroom wall. Wooozer! So I got to work. It took me a couple of day, and somewhere in the process God used it to teach me a lesson. Funny how that happens :) As I was meticulously painting and designing these giant zebra stripes on the wall, I was thinking about how God lovingly created us each individually "flaws" and all. Each stroke of my paintbrush was intentional. I believe when God created us, each brush stroke was and is intentional. I loved watching the wall come together and I think God likes watching us grow in his flawless design too.

Fingerprint Friday was created by Beki as a way for us to be reminded of God's presence in our lives.

Tigers go RRRRrrrrrrRR!

After we finished our summer reading program at the library, I felt a little lost. The program was providing our summer with some structure. Hmmm what could I do to fill our days with fun and learning? I wanted to make good use our our zoo membership, so I came up with the idea to do an animal theme week. This past week we learned all about TIGERS!

We read tiger books. We made tiger masks!

This is the face we make when we are scared of the tigers.

This is the face the tiger makes if he wants to scare us

We made a tiger sticker!

Water from a tiger cup is far superior to water in a regular cup.

We visited the tigers at the zoo!

We had a lot of fun doing these activities this past week. She had requested we do Penguin week next.

Vintage Ballerina

I found this lovely vintage sheet at the thrift store about 4 months ago. I couldn't bare to cut it up until I found just the right project. It is super soft, which gave me the idea for some pj pants for the girls. Oh they turned out so cute. I appliqued some of the flowers onto a tank top to make a complete outfit. I just love how sweet they look in them. My husband took the kiddos to the Gym last night, and while they were gone, I challenged myself to make a dress for Emma in 1 Hour. Here is the finished product. She LOVES it!

Rio Sweet Pork

I loved this recipe! It was so versatile and my entire family ate it. It was super easy to cook the pork overnight. I am absolutely in love with the dressing and our family has been putting it on the table almost every meal now. I loved that I could give my kiddos the rice and beans on the side. We served ours as tacos with rice, beans, pork, dressing, fresh lettuce, and some guacamole! FANTASTIC, and made TONS of leftovers. We ate it as a salad the next evening. 



2 pounds pork (I used boneless pork Tenerloin) 
3 cans Coke (NOT diet)  
1 ¼ C brown sugar  
dash of garlic salt  
1/4 cup water  
1 can diced green chilies  
3/4 can enchilada sauce  

Marinate: 1 ½ can of coke and ¼ C brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. Drain marinade and put pork, ½ can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock-pot on low for 6- 8 hours. Remove pork from crock-pot and drain any liquid. Shred pork.  

In a food processor or blender, blend ½ can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste.). If it looks too thick, add more Coke slowly 

Put shredded pork and sauce in crock-pot and cook on low for 2 hrs.
 

Cilantro Ranch Dressing  

1 Pkg dry Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK) 

1 c. Light Sour cream 

1 c. skim milk 

1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro 

1 clove garlic 

juice of 1 lime 

diced Jalapenos to taste  

Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That's it!

 

Cilantro-Lime Rice  
2 C cooked rice (long-grain, brown rice) 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice 
3 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro  
Once rice is cooked add all ingredients together.

Caribbean Salad

SALAD

Lettuce (I used Romain and Spinach)

Corn (I used left over corn on the cob)

Black beans

Fresh Pineapple Chunks

Pineapple chunks

Your favorite teriyaki sauce

chicken

pico de gallo (sometimes I just use fresh salsa and drained the juice out of it)

Marinate the chicken in Teriyaki sauce for atleast 2 hours - grill and cube. Dice all ingredients and add all other components.

HONEY LIME DRESSING

1/4 c Grey Poupon mustard (the smooth kind)

1/4 c Honey

1 c Sour Cream

1 T Olive Oil

1 1/2 T apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 t lime juice

Blend all together, cover and chill. Make ahead so the flavors have time to mesh

Blue Berry Chicken Salad

2 C fresh blueberries 2 C cubed cooked chicken breast ¾ C chopped celery ½ C diced sweet red pepper ½ C thinly sliced green onions 1 carton (6 oz.) lemon yogurt 3 Tbs. mayonnaise ½ tsp. Salt Set aside a few blueberries for garnish. In a large bowl, gently combine the chicken, celery, red pepper, onions and remaining blueberries. Combine the yogurt, mayonnaise and salt; drizzle over chicken mixture and gently toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Top with reserved blueberries. Great on a Salad or as a sandwich. This recipe was great, perfect for a girly lunch. It was also great because I could use leftover grilled chicken! I left out the red pepper for no other reason then I just forgot to get one at store. I had my mom over for lunch and we whipped this up in no time at all. We opted to have it on toasted rye bread. YUMMY! The best part of this recipe was it got me thinking. I wonder if something like "Orange Chicken Salad" could be made. I'm so going to try making chicken salad with : Teriyaki Chicken, Orange yogurt, pineapple chunks, toasted cashews, and green onion. I"ll let you know how it goes.

Fire Cracker Pony O's

Fire Cracker Pony O's are popping up all over my house. Be sure to get your before they are gone! Every set comes with a prize!

UP and AWAY

Today we had girls day out! We hired a babysitter for Harry and hit the town. We had a lovely lunch outside, and then went to the movies. We saw UP in 3D!

Emma is explaining to me about all the candy she "needs"

Flower Skirt

Last week when Melissa sent my daughter a headband, I knew I had to make a skirt to go with it. It ended up being a little long, but thats what I get when I sew after she is in bed, I can't have her try it on. I'm pleased with how it turned out, and I think it will fit her for a long time, I can't wait to try it with tights this winter!

She was a bit tired and goofy during this picture.

Tooth Brushes and Silence!

I just got home from a weekend trip to Nana and Papa's House with my kiddos. I was determined not to bring the whole toy box with us in the car, but still needed a way to survive the 4 hour road trip. On the way up the kids mostly slept, HALLELUJAH! The way back was a different story. They slept for about 1 hour and then wanted to be entertained, and once all the snacks were gone, I was really out of luck. But then, Ah Yes, I remember..........Nana bought them tooth brushes! So I got out the tooth brushes and never heard another peep from either of them. So next time you have to travel, Try Toothbrushes!

So fresh and so clean!

Spectacular Silence!

Using it as a microphone!

Brush brush brush your teeth, brush them all day long, brush them in your car seat, while you sing this song!