A little explaination.

Just in case you haven't heard of Etsy, it's for crafty people to sell their handmade things. It's kind of like Ebay but without the bidding. Even if you don't want to buy anything, it's a great resource for ideas.

While I'm on the topic, another good place for ideas is Flickr. This is a photo sharing site. Some people use it for personal family pictures but others show craft projects that they've made, I've even seen some tutorials on there.

Little Girls' Hair Accesories

My girls love to have cute things in their hair but we disagree on what would be cute so they usually end up doing their own hair. Here are a couple of things that we found on Etsy that we all like (we'll see if they actually wear them once I buy them).

Little Lesiw

(They're having a great sale right now!)

billiebrand

(You can enter a giveaway for this shop here.)

Here are some do-it-yourself ideas I've found.

Headbands

http://foofanagle.wordpress.com/2007/06/12/best-band-ever/

http://www.kcquilts.com/blog/2006/09/reversible-fabric-headband-tutorial.html

http://thelongthread.com/?p=669

Soft Curlers

Instructions here.

Fabric Flowers

http://yoonie-at-home.blogspot.com/2008/09/peony-flower-felt-clip-tutorial.html

http://blog.betzwhite.com/2007/01/felted-brooch-tutorial.html

http://blairpeter.typepad.com/weblog/2006/03/fabric_flowers.html

--EDIT- I got my Little Lesiw order today. They are so cute and original. I even got it the next day. I will definitely order from her again.--

Such a crock!

OK- so I was talking about Crockpot cooking with a friend the other day. She said her main issue with Crockpotting is that most of the recipes are very similar. I agree. My main use for the Crockpot is for my recipes that I already make, but adapt them for the Crockpot to make the preparation easier. A site that you could check out for new ideas is this one.

Here's one of my favorite Crockpot Recipes. It's a combination of a few recipes and I use it for Hawaiian Haystacks. I trim the chicken before cooking, then just shred it right in the pot. It makes it so quick and easy.

Creamy Crockpot Chicken
2 whole chicken breasts, trimmed
2 cans Cream of Celery soup (or Cream of Chicken or Mushroom)
1 cup Chicken Broth
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp lemon pepper.
1/2 tsp black pepper (I only use freshly ground. There is a huge difference!)
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)

Place chicken in crockpot. Combine other ingredients and pour over chicken. Cook on High for 3 hours or Low for 6 hours.

My tips:
I don't add salt to this because the broth has enough in it.
You can use the lighter versions of the soup and sour cream to help make it a little healthier.

Another thing that we were discussing was kids' eating habits. Dinner is a struggle at my house because my kids have inherited my picky tendencies. My friend makes a little buffet of salad ingredients and lets her kids assemble their own. What a great idea, and what a great Mom for being willing to put in that effort. It reminded me of the Muffin Tin meals that I've seen around on different blogs. One was this one. Google "Muffin Tin Meals" if you want more ideas.

Baby Burrito

(This is not my baby or my picture, it's from the first site listed for directions below.)

One of my current projects is making swaddling blankets. I got some great fabric at Joann's that is a type of knit, not as stretchy as a t-shirt though. The directions are here and here. Basically it's a 45" square with the corners rounded. I'm just going to serge the edges. I love the suggestion of giving one as a baby shower gift along with a book about caring for babies.
(I tried one of the premade easy-to-use swaddle blankets with my last one, but it didn't seem like it fit right. I'm hoping that this will be better but haven't tried it out yet.)

Family Fun

I love Family Fun Magazine. There are always tons of great ideas. I let my subscription expire but after flipping through a copy yesterday in my Doctor's waiting room, I thing I might
re-subscribe. I'm so glad all of their information is available on their website http://www.familyfun.com/

Here are a couple of things that I'm going to make.
Felt Flowers- (These would be great for Barettes)
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=12129
Paper Mache Piggy Bank (I'm thinking of trying out other Paper Mache crafts with the kids too. It's such a cheap project.)
http://jas.familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts?page=CraftDisplay&craftid=12131

Salad audition

Today I made this Asian Chicken Salad for lunch. I had planned on making it for dinner but couldn't wait. It was OK. I have tried other recipes that I like better. Every once in a while my Mom brings me one from a local restaurant where they put Cilantro in the salad, that makes it really good. (I fried my own Wonton noodles for the first time for this recipe. They turned out pretty good. I did make the mistake of putting too many in the pan at once though.) While visiting the site today, I discovered that P-DUB now has her recipes indexed. This is very exciting because I've found lots of recipes of hers that I love, and I refer to them often. The index page is found here.

Make sure to check out her post with the entries for the Dairy Contest, I've found some really good recipes there too. Here are a couple of my favorites. (I'm pretty sure this is where I got these recipes, but I'm not going back through them all to double check.)


Sopapilla Cheesecake
Ingredients:
2 cans crescent rolls
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
1 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1 stick butter
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
½ cup sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place 1 package crescent rolls in sprayed pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar (1-1/2 cups) and vanilla till fluffy. Spread over crescent rolls. Place second package crescent rolls over cream cheese mixture. Melt 1 stick of butter and pour over crescent rolls. Mix 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 cup sugar and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Can be topped with fruit topping or served warm with ice cream. (We like it best cold.)


Brushetta Chicken Bake- (Tastes just like pizza.)
Ingredients:
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (I use the kind with the chilies added, and I puree it in the blender.)
1 pkg chicken Stove Top Stuffing
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup hot water
1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into pieces or leave whole
1 tsp. dried basil
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine first four ingredients in bowl and mix until moistened.
3. Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish and sprinkle with basil and Mozzarella.
4. Top with Stuffing Mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.

Rainy days and Mondays

I heard about a great site on the news this morning. It's called www.promotionalcodes.com When you are doing your online shopping, check this site for codes that will get you a discount on your purchase like a percentage in savings or free/discounted shipping. One that I'm going to use is 15% off at The Children's Place. It expires on March 8th. Just look under the "Baby Clothes" category.

I'm feeling sad today for a family that is getting ready to say goodbye to their little girl. I don't know them personally, but I've been following their blog for several months and have become emotionally invested in their story. Read about it at http://www.thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com/