A couple of layouts

Need some inspiration? Go check out the awesome sketch by Stacey Curry on Feeling Scrappy's blog today! Here's a layout I created using her sketch-


And here's another pretty simple page for Joshua's birthday. This one is going in his album.



This is what scrappy stickers are for, right????!!!!! LOL

Father's Day and a cute prize!

Jeremy wanted to head to the zoo for father's day this year. Too bad it POURED on us most of the time (we actually went on Saturday...it was a nice for most of Sunday!) Despite the rain, it was still fun and Joshua and Abby loved seeing the animals.

Here's Jeremy and the kiddos on father's day-

And us, drenched, leaving the zoo-

And on a totally unrelated note, check out this cute little prize I won from http://sharon-c-thats-me.blogspot.com/ !! Isn't it soo adorable??!! She makes and sells these!!! I can't wait for our new little baby girl to show it off when she arrives.

From Triker to Biker!

Guess who got a new bike? Joshua was a little too good (and too big!!) on his tricycle so we got him a bike yesterday. He loves it! We've gone for a few walks/rides around the block already. He's still pretty unsure of himself but I know he'll master it in no time and be ready to ride without the training wheels. Abby has a tricycle but she hasn't quite gotten the hang of it so she pushes a baby doll stroller on our walks.

Layout and sketchapalooza

Happy Friday!! Here's a layout from the recent Shimmer Sparkle and Shine class at Feeling Scrappy. (I generally do this right away...but I still need to journal on this one! Yikes!)



We are beginning to gear up for the next class which is another sketch class. Yippee! I love the sketch classes!! You get a ton of brand new sketches and samples from the design team. I am always motivated to get a lot of layouts completed during these classes! I hope you'll consider joining me there. You can go here for the details- http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/search/label/Classes

A couple of photos...

Just a couple of recent photos of the little ones.

Joshua and Abby love to dress up in clothes and costumes from our dress up box. Abby really gets into being a tiger when she's wearing this one...roaring and chasing Joshua.


Joshua has been getting pretty good at writing letters and drawing people. He really started to get interested in it a couple of months ago.

Menu Planning Monday and new layout

Here's a page I finished over the weekend. I used a sketch from 52 Sketches 52 Weeks and combined it with a challenge from a weekend crop at Scrap 4 Life.


I haven't been very good about posting my menu for the week. I love menu planning to help me prepare in advance and it keeps us from eating out too often. I'm doing a lot of crockpot things this week so I don't heat up the house with the oven.
I also like checking and linking to http://www.orgjunkie.com/ because it helps keep me accountable to plan our week every Monday. If you haven't checked out the site, you should! Not only are there hundreds of menu plans every week linked there on Mondays, but they have other great organizing ideas as well.


Monday- Crockpot smothered meatloaf, steamed veggies, potatoes and maybe some rolls or other bread
Tuesday- Crockpot BBQ chicken, Rancher's Potatoes, Corn
Wednesday- Crockpot taco style lentils and rice (probably to be used as burrito filling with lettuce, tomatoes, etc.) *This recipe was surprisingly good! We froze leftovers for tacos and burritos later.
Thursday- Crockpot Mexican Chicken Soup
Friday- Crockpot Asian Chicken (new recipe), fried rice and veggies
Saturday-Homemade pizza
Sunday- Keilbasa, black beans and rice

**Hope you have a nice week!!!

Kielbasa, beans and rice

This is super yummy! We like to use turkey kielbasa to make it a little healthier.

Kielbasa
2 cans black beans-drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes (not drained)
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
cooked white rice
avocado-optional but really good with it
Directions:
Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Throw it in a skillet and sear. Toss in the garlic, cook another minute or two then add the beans and tomatoes and let it all simmer til you are ready to eat. Serve the bean mixture over rice and garnish with sliced avocado. Serve with cornbread if you’d like.

Crockpot Mexican Chicken Soup

A yummy and healthy soup that's easy to make. This recipe is from my friend Jayne.

Mexican Chicken Soup
1 lb chicken breast
1 can black beans
1 can corn
2 cans Rotel or Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 can 14oz tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
Directions:
~Cook in crock-pot 6-8 hours. Shred chicken and enjoy.
1 cup = 2 WW points
**I generally add some extra spices to suit our taste such as cumin and fajita seasoning.

Rancher's Potatoes

This is a fabulous potato side dish from Dirt Road Scrapper in the ScrapShare cookbook.

Rancher's Potatoes
6 large potatoes, washed & cubed into chunks
1 can chopped green chilies
5 strips bacon, cooked & chopped
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. Ranch dressing
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
Directions:
Place potatoes in a large casserole dish with a dash of water and microwave on high until almost tender. While they're cooking, combine all other ingredients and stir well. Stir into potatoes. Place dish in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Card

Here's a card I made with the metal embellishments that I dyed with alcohol ink. You can see detailed instructions on the Feeling Scrappy Blog. http://feelingscrappyclasses.blogspot.com/
Hope you are having a great Sunday!