Tutus

So. . .my daughter is a ballerina. Or rather, she runs around to music with ten other girls and THINKS she is a ballerina. It is all so very cute!

Since her talent has not been discovered yet, I have a hard time forking out the $$ to get her an unbelievably beautiful dancing costume (Oh, and I may have a hint of frugal blood in me!). Since all that was required for her little class was some soft-soled slippers, I just didn't give in to the $50+ leotards sold at the same store. Instead I found a raging deal--$2 (second-hand!), I believe! And of course, she thinks she is a princess just because she gets to wear pink!

But she had no tutu. And she was the only one with no tutu!!!

But during Halloween, the little preschoolers were allowed to wear a costume to their dancing class. "Oma" was sewing a costume for Princess A's cousin, so I think she felt she wanted to make something for Princess A as well. So, a tutu it was!

I found two websites/blogs that showed exactly what I wanted, so I passed them on to her to try.(Blog 1 and Blog 2) Oma went with Blog 2 (I probably would have too--it is no sewing and it says easy! I won't re-tutorial you because you can go to the link. . . or you can google "no sew tutus" and find a link of your own, but the whole idea is cutting strips of crinoline or ribbon and looping them onto the waist band:

Here is the end product:

The crinoline had sparkly spots on top of the black. The ribbon was shimmery gold kind. And since you may be wondering why it is not pink, here is the rest of the costume it had to match!

Oma also found another second hand tutu that she passed along to Princess A for the rest of her dancing classes. According to Princess A, "purple and pink is princess colours, so this makes me a princess."

However, the fact that it was a second hand tutu proved itself after the first class and it pretty much started falling apart at the seems. Oma came over another day with a new sewn pink one (with a waistband that didn't fray!) and attached the special "rosies" from the first one to her new one.

And of course, the above it what happens when you have a snow day and a tutu!

. . .a crazy looking snow princess!

Menu Plan Monday

Here's the menu plan for this week. . .pretty boring, pretty standard, but still all good.

The highlight of last week was pineapple chicken. Everyone loved it in this house. The only change I would make is to thicken the sauce at the end. . .maybe by stove top. That is just more of a personal preference. The flavour was good. . .and easy.

Monday-spaghetti, garlic bread

Tuesday-Sausage, perogies, stir-fried veggies

Wednesday-Fancy grilled cheese (option 1 or option 2), french fries

Thursday-South of the Border Chicken and Rice Bake, salad (this is a new one)

Friday-Pizza

Saturday-fish something. . . (or out!)

Sunday-pancakes

For more mp ideas, visit www.orgjunkie.com.

A Pink Christmas Giveaway

A very beautiful blog

is having a giveaway.

Cute cards.

Adorable stickers.

Gorgeous note cards.

Christmas made easy by etsy artist Kara Rosenberry.

Pop on over to Bluebird Notes

for this giveaway.

Menu Plan Monday

Menu plan. . .late.

Oh well.

But to qualify, I got a surprise meal made for me on Monday, so really, my plan would have been inaccurate, so it is better to supply you with an accurate plan, right?

That's the excuse I'm gonna go with anyway!

Monday-Chicken Milani (a chicken and vegetable stew), buns

Tuesday-Crock Pot Pineapple Chicken, rice, carrots

Wednesday-sausage, perogies, stir fry veggies

Thursday (CP day)-Beef Barley Vegetable Soup (from last week)

Friday- left-overs or Tuna (or chicken) Casserole/spaghetti

Saturday- will post about this day later. . .its an appie day!

Sunday-Apple Pancake Bake (never tried it yet)

Well, have a happy week, and check out www.orgjunkie for more MP ideas!

MPM. . .if it's not too late. . .

I know, I'm a slacker. . .but I thought I would post anyway, if only for the links! And I can honestly say we have stuck to the plan (because if I changed it at all, you will never have known!) Anyway. . .

Monday- BBQ Chicken, buns, beans (notice all the "B" words? Completely by chance, but not bothersome at all!)

Tuesday-tuna melts, steamed veggies

Wednesday-chicken bacon pizza, carrots and dip
(and oh my--that was terrible. The dip I mean. The pizza ROCKS! You should try the pizza! But I am(or I guess I should say was) a big fan of the epicure (VE) cheese. chive and bacon dip. It is so easy to whip together and tasted so great. I just ordered it again and they changed the recipe in it. . .and wow, that was SICK! Even my daughter who would inhale the old stuff wouldn't eat it! The sad part is the old version is somewhat less healthy for you and I loved that. The new stuff is supposed to be better for you health-wise, but the taste is so lacking. . .in my humble opinion! . . . sorry for venting!)

Thursday (CP)-Beef, Barley and Vegetable soup, buns

Friday- left-overs

Saturday's Snack-um. . .snacks? who has time for that anymore?!?!? (but i do know i am definitely not making that dip again! maybe I'll have to try one of the other ones. . .)

Sunday- might try Apple Pancake Bake. Looks easy and yummy. . .

so there you have it. . .MPM, but very late!

Squah Soup

It is Fall. . .and that means we get to try some fall cooking!

I made squash soup for the first time last year--only because we decided to try to grow some butternut squash in our garden. My hubby remembered his mom making stuff with squash, so we though it would be good to grow. . .if it grew. The squash did grow great, but when I asked hubby what his mom had done with the squash, he couldn't remember. Off to the Internet I went!

We once had a squash soup as a starter at a fancy-ish restaurant, so I thought I might give it a try. It turned out to be wonderful. So. . .a week ago (or more, don't remember anymore!) I made it again!

I have no idea where I got the recipe from, so here is my go at it. . .

What you need:

1 large butternut squash

1 medium onion

2 apples, peeled and chopped

olive oil

butter

salt and pepper to taste

ground coriander

ground cinnamon

ground nutmeg

6-8 c. chicken stock or broth

The recipe suggests slicing the squash as shown (which isn't butternut squash, but looking at the web, this kind is similar--just a tougher shell. I needed hubby to cut them open for me. I wasn't strong enough!) Slice, take out the seeds and goop, then score it to let olive oil seep in and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. cover with foil and roast in a 350F oven for about 1/2 hour. I used this squash as food for the baby as well, so I just roasted it for now, and added the spices later on to the soup.

Next I put a little butter or olive oil in large pan, added a chopped onion, and added the salt and pepper now.

Once the onions were soft, I scooped out the squash from the shells and added the rest of the ingredients. After the soup came to a boil, I simmered it for about 30 minutes--until everything was soft and the house smelled great!

Then, I scooped it into my magic bullet, and pureed it.

The recipe suggested adding a splash of white wine to give it a refreshing kick. For a more savoury taste, it suggested replacing the cinnamon and nutmeg with sage and bits of chopped bacon. We remembered eating it at the restaurant with a dollop of herbed cream.

We just topped it with sour cream and bacon bits. Oh-so-fancy for us!

And enjoy!

For more ideas, visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, and What's Cooking Wednesdays.

Trick or Twee. . .

Oh, the fall season is upon us . . .

My little creator has been making his way to the kitchen table to do drawing and cutting each morning at 6:30 a.m. or thereabouts. Of course I know this because I have been enjoying mornings that start at 5 or 5:30 a.m. The joys of early risers! I guess the fact that the Fall season also means darker mornings doesn't phase them in the least.

The best I can do for my early risers is yawn throughout the day, start the coffee right after the bottle is warmed so it is ready to greet me when my hands are less full of baby, and smile when I find these treasures hidden around my house:

I learned a new word today--twee. It means exceptionally cute. I think that is quite fitting when I think about my kiddos! Hence the title of the blog post for this fun fall season. . .

Thursday and Friday were pumpkin days. . . we got to go over to Uncle Nolan and Auntie Pam's house who grew some HUGE pumpkins--and lots of them, and pick from their collection. Thanks guys! (Our pumpkins from the pumpkin patches were just too small!) Then it was carving time!

Silly kids enjoying the "ew" and the "goo" that goes along with pumpkin carving!

But in the end they turned out pretty nice. . .guess which one was made by E and Daddy and which one was made by Princess A and Mommy?

Of course we had to have the "glowing at night" photo too--it is a good excuse to stay up just a little later than bedtime! We brought them over to Opa and Oma's front steps to shine during Trick or Treating night!

Costumes this year got used a lot! Princess A got to wear her costume to her little preschool ballet class. It was so-o-o cute to see all these little ballerinas dressed up and prancing around!

She was quite the butterfly, and was sure to tell her teacher all about it! But the excitement was almost too much along with the running around she did! She was a tired girl at home afterwards!

But that afternoon we dressed up again to go to the local library. They were hosting a visit from an author and a Halloween party to accompany it all! Here is my bat and my butterfly.

And here they are listening to author Daniel De Serrano reading "Scare Me, Beware Me!" We got to create some silly mosters of our own afterwards!

Then the next day, there was a pumpkin party connected to the 5-Day Club (VBS-type activity) that E attended over the summer. Since it was hosted at Grandma's house. Princess A came too (even though she was not really old enough). They carved mini-pumpkins and played games and heard a story. . .it was very cute. They received a bookmark with the Pumpkin Carving Prayer on it (along with all the other stuff in their little treat bags!)

Then, here we are ready to enjoy the neighborhood. It was fun to stop by some of the houses that we knew.

Here they are with their cousins (and a few other people we don't know!)

A bit later, we met up with some friends to walk around the block together. We had lots of fun--and the kiddos looked so great!

And we met some more cousins (and our pumpkin-providers) during the night!

And then everyone went to bed! ~Too many fall fun activities in a short time!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Menu Plan Monday

Menu plan. . .check.
Monday. . .check!

It has been a while since I can boast on having this done on time!

Monday-scalloped potatoes, sausage, stir-fried veggies

Tuesday-teriyaki chicken wings (from last week. . .i did keywest chicken instead last week!), french fries

Wednesday- tacos or taco salad. . .

Thursday-CP Creamy Chicken, noodles, salad

Friday-left-overs

Saturday- see the salsa below!

Sunday-French Toast Casserole

Okay, had to show these. . .roasted pumpkin seeds--wash them out, spread them on a cookie sheet, top with salt, (and garlic and a touch of chili powders), bake for 3o min. at 350F. . .super easy snack on a pumpkin-making day or a squash baking day. Squash seeds can be eaten the same way. We also make it in the fry pan, only then I add some oil. . .not so healthy that way, but a little faster than 1/2 hour away from a treat. Enjoy. . .

This past week was a salsa-making week! It's a lot of work for only a few jars. . .piles and piles of tomatoes and peppers turn into only 4 jars! Oh well, my hubby loves it, so I make it! (Made 2 jars one night and two jars another night. . .the second night I convinced him to help me chop, so that all worked out!) I use these two recipes on www.food.com: recipe # 9272 and #32124. This time around, though, we added a bunch of different kinds of peppers--including Habaneros!!! This site is a good one for telling you about peppers.

See how beautiful/colourful it looks all fresh and cut up in the pan?

For more MPM, see www.orgjunkie.com