Monday Menu

Menu:
Monday- breakfast
Tuesday-
Wednesday- stuffed pizza rolls I'm doing them with chicken and artichoke hearts
Thursday- green mac-n-cheese for the kids
Friday- pizza
Saturday- Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Sunday-

kind of an incomplete menu this week. We really need to go a big Costco trip next weekend, I'm running low on a lot of our basics right now.


To-Do's:
Monday- grocery shopping and post office
Tuesday-
Wednesday- N's 18m appointment in the AM, M's 8 year appointment in the PM, small group
Thursday-
Friday- dr appointment for me, shopping in town with my mom (drop off R's t-ball registration), dance for M
Saturday- player assessment for M's softball
Sunday- church, costco

In my dream house...

Matthew and I seem to always be making comments about how we'll do this/won't do that in our "forever house". We've lived in so many house (9, not counting the two weeks that we moved back in with my parents for) that we really feel like we've gotten a feel for what we like and don't like in a house. When the subject came up again the other day Matthew mentioned that we probably won't remember most of it when we actually get to design and build our house. So, I thought I should start writing this stuff down as it comes to me. As luck would have it, I don't even remember what I had just said when he told me I wouldn't remember everything, so I guess really do need this list! There's no time frame, we won't be moving anytime soon (as far as I'm concerned, I've learned that what I think isn't always what God has planned for us by this point), I just thought it would be nice to have a place to write this stuff down as it comes up, and the blog seemed like a good spot. :)

Entryway

Living Room
Gas fireplace (with a big mantle! We haven't had a mantle since our first house, back when I didn't know what to do with it)

Dining Room

Kitchen
I think I want an appliance garage (we've never had one, I just think they look neat)
No corner sink (we don't have one, but my SIL does, and it doesn't work well)

The layout of this kitchen is exactly what I've been picturing in my head, only better. I love it!! I'd do it with a bit more splashes of color, and maybe a different backslash and floor... but as far as the layout, I want it!!

I love the look of all white cabinets and a fun color on the island!

Or keep the island white like the cabinets, but paint the stools a fun color like this (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!!!)




Bathrooms

Kids' Bedrooms

Master Bedroom

Master Bath
Two sinks!!!!
Large shower

Garage/Mudroom/Pantry hey, I'm dreaming here
It would be nice if the layout worked out so the garage entryway is next to the kitchen/mudroom/pantry to make bringing in groceries easier

Yard

Other

Living Room Plan

The whole living room really needs quite a bit of attention, but this wall in particular has me not sure what to do. I finally decided to take a picture of it today and play around in photoshop. At first I was thinking I just wanted one long shelf over the whole couch, but after playing for a bit I realized I didn't like that idea and I came up with this. I have a family photo shoot scheduled for next month (yey!!), and I'm hoping we can fill that big photo spot with something from that. :) Then I went a step further and labeled all the other things I want to change (someday...). What do you think? Any suggestions?


That is the wall you see when you first walk into my house, and right now it's big and empty. I'm also wondering what to do on the other side of the lamp (there's another pretty big chunk of wall... maybe a big wall cock?), but I don't know if I should fill up the whole wall or what. I hate big huge walls, they're so hard!

Across from that big wall is my big photo wall which I love. But with that already in the living room I'm not sure I want a ton of family photos on the other wall too. (I'm planning on painting that bookshelf white, and those baskets are no longer there)

This room intimidates me, and it's our only real wall space in the main living part of the house, so I want to cram everything I love in here, but that just won't work.
I'm thinking about adding a long shelf in the hallway too so I can put up some color photos that I love of the kids. I love my B&W wall, but some pictures just need to be in color. :)

Recipes to Try

Just a post for myself to remind me of the new recipes I want to try. :)
I came across the Our Best Bites blog and I can't stop bookmarking recipes, it all looks so good!! Here are a few that I plan to try soon...

Chicken-Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls (and the regular version) I thinking these would be great for t-ball nights!
Baked Chicken-Bacon Alfredo
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Pineapple Bacon Burgers We may be waiting for grilling weather for this one, but how yummy does that sound?!?
Fire Roasted Artichokes Another for the BBQ (I can't wait for summer!)


These desserts all look amazing!!
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie I think I'll be making this next time it's our turn to bring dessert to home group!
Cadbury Egg Cookies :)
Chocolate Toffee Sugar Cookies
Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies noticing a theme?

Unproductive Monday

This day is not off to a good start. Nap attempt #2 = fail. I spent an hour trying to figure out what we're going to wear for the family pictures I finally get to have taken, and I still can't find the "right" thing. I have tons that I should be doing, but can't seem to get any of it done. I don't think I'm even going to bother going to the grocery store until tomorrow. We did a small Costco run yesterday, and we have a bunch of leftovers from M's party for tonight, so we'll be okay for one more day.

Menu:
Monday- leftover blueberry pancakes (and something else??)
Tuesday- something easy for the kids and I... Grilled cheese and soup
Wednesday- crock pot chicken (nachos, tacos, ??)
Thursday- another easy one, just the kids and I again
Friday- something else with the chicken
Saturday-
Sunday-


To-Do's:
Monday- try to accomplish something before the day is over.
Tuesday- grocery store
Wednesday- eye doctor for R
Thursday-
Friday- Dance
Saturday-
Sunday- church, work in nursery...

I still need to get the t-ball and softball registrations in, I need to look into that this week!!

Cupcakes

Here are the cupcakes I made for M's party last night. I actually used a recipe for the frosting for the first time in my life (Martha's Buttercream) and it was SO yummy!! I just made 1/3 of the recipe, and there was plenty to frost all 22 cupcakes (I can never get the batter to make 24) plus a bunch of "doll" cupcakes (see below). I also bought a frosting tip and pretended I knew what I was doing... I think they turned out pretty cute considering I really didn't have a clue how to use it. I really want to take a cake decorating class, my mom and I need to figure out a time that will work!

Here's M's cupcake with the doll cupcakes. I made them by frosting Reese's minis, they were the perfect size for the dolls!

Both cake plates were made last week from things I found at the Dollar store. The top one is a disposable tray on top of an ice cream bowl, and the bottom one is a candle plate on top of a candle stick.

The party was fun... we had 9 crazy little girls here. I'll try to get some pictures up soon. We're getting ready for round 2 with the family tonight.

Cupcake Toppers

My fingerprints are now melted off, but how cute are these?

I saw the idea on Icing Designs and I thought they'd be so cute for M's birthday! Mine are not as fancy, no leaves or stamens, but I still think they're cute. :)
I used mini cupcake liners (5 per flower) and toothpicks (because I forgot to get lolly sticks when I was at Michaels, and with gas over $4 a gallon I wasn't going back). I can't wait to see how they'll look on the cupcakes tomorrow!