The Drawback

So the drawback to my closet system for my children is that it is Elly's favorite place for destruction.
She likes to empty Emy's bins and try to fit the panties on her head. I tried to get a picture of that but I just wasn't fast enough.

Children's Laundry Day

This is the way we do the laundry around here. Well at least the girls. For their clothes I decided against a conventional dresser and opted instead for a system of bins in a shelf unit. I chose this specifically for this purpose.

When I pull their clothes from the dryer I tell Emy it's time to get out her bins and play our sorting game. She gets hers one at a time and I grab Elly's. We line them up in the same order so it is easier for her to find the right bin.

Then I sit on the couch and fold the clothes handing them to her to put in the correct bin. ( I never said they get put away neatly, particularly when Emy tries to use her teeth to carry them)

Afterward is the push back to the closet. Here Elly's trying to help but is caught on a box of diapers.

And we are done all the clothes are in and the bins are back in the closet.

She loves it, the laundry gets folded and put away lickity split. Happy kiddo, happy mommy.

Valentine Boxes (a day late)

Growing up I remember sitting on the floor with one of my mom's friends from high school while she taught my sisters and I how to make paper boxes out of nice pictures pulled out of a calendar. And while apparently my sisters had forgotten this craft I somehow have kept it fresh in my mind. With money being elusive these days I have taken to making gifts every chance I get. However, around here we like to do things a little late. So here is a craft that you can do next year. Really this is a very versatile project. The boxes come in handy for all kinds of gifts. And who doesn't love candy any time of the year.

First you want to gather your supplies for one box you will need :

2 pieces of square paper I used 12x12 you can use two pieces decorated or one decorated and one plain since the bottom doesn't really show, which is what I did.

A bit of decoration perhaps ribbon, paper hearts, fabric flowers, stamps, stickers, etc.

A pair of scissors

And something sticky (tape, glue dots or glue) is optional but a nice finishing touch.

First thing you do is fold your paper in half

Then open it.

Turn it and fold it in half again

Open it again and using the creases find the center.
And fold your corners to the center.

Fold your sides to the middle, open them, turn the paper and fold the other sides to the middle.

This should create a square in the center.

Open it up again and on two opposing sides cut along this crease to the next crease being careful not to cut too far or your box will fall apart.
You should have four cuts on your box.

Pull out the triangles on the cut sides like this

Add a touch of something sticky to the tips if you would like.

Pull your cut corners together creating sides of your box and looking like a gate on this side

pull up the triangle piece and fold it over the "gate" press the tip into the center. Turn your box and do the same on the other side.

Done.

Do it again with the second page and fill with candy. . .

and some more. . .

Decorate the top, close up your box and be done.

Well almost done, you will have to make one for every member of the family plus a few friends.

(Clockwise: Dave's, mine, Emy's and Elly's)

I hope I didn't confuse you too much and hopefully the pictures will help my poor directions. Have fun and enjoy.

Huckston Matthew Barela 1-23-2011

Finally he is here! Emy has been asking for the past week, "is Huck here? is Huck born yet?" and this morning when I woke her up to tell her that he was finally here, she burst into tears and said "No, he's not." However her mood soon changed with a little food and time to wake up fully.
On the way to the hospital she kept saying "I'm so excited" and on the way into the hospital "I'm so happy, Mom." Needless to say she has been waiting as patiently as a two and a half year old can, for her favorite uncles son to be born so she can play with him. She already has grand plans of what they will do together. While chuckling and tickling her stomach she told me: "I am going to tickle him, and he will laugh."

Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Family photo.

Matt trying to look like Huck who sucks his bottom lip while he sleeps, so cute when Huck does it. Matt, not so much ;)

Happy Birthday!

Emy finally able to give him some loves.

The Vancouver chapter of the Barela cousins. Watch out Vancouver!

(Please ignore my eldest pocking her cousin in the cheek, it is just conditioning for what's to come I am sure.)[*edit: apparently it's poking not pocking, haha]

Farmer's Pie (a remake of a French Dip)

I try hard not to let food go to waste and yet not subject my family to the same meal every night for two or three nights. So my goal is to make left overs into something new. I have come across a few recipes that lend themselves to this such as Swedish meatballs, I only use half of them since our family is so small and I save the other half for spaghetti and meatballs the next night. Cheese enchiladas with rice becomes chicken and fried rice, bean soup becomes re-fried beans and either tacos, burritos, haystacks or some other delicious Mexican dish. And lately roast beef or any leftover meat becomes a meat pie of one sort or another.

So when I came across a friends post that included a recipe for Beef French Dip Au Jus I saw an opportunity.

While shopping for my ingredients I found that pork was cheaper than beef and so I used pork. My husband found this to be a wonderful dish and I particularly loved it since French Dip sandwiches are one of my favorites.

The next day I had a ton of meat and au jus sauce leftover so I thought to myself, what can I make with this? and it came to me. . . can't be a Shepherd's pie (it's not lamb), can't be a Cottage pie (it's not beef) and my suggestion of a barn pie was met with looks of disgust and wise cracks about cow pies. So Dave dubbed it a Farmer's Pie.

Cook 4 or 5 potatoes, mash, season and set aside.

While those are cooking place a pound of carrots(I use baby carrots so I rarely cut them first) in a saucepan with about an inch of water, more or less, boil for 7-8 minutes or until just tender.

Using the leftover au jus sauce make a gravy you can use flour or cornstarch whichever you desire or have on hand. If you use corn starch I have found it best to mix it with about a quarter cup of your liquids before adding to your pot, this keeps it from becoming yucky clumps.

In a casserole dish mix your shredded pork and carrots pour gravy over top and smooth the mashed potatoes over that bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

This is now my husbands favorite meat pie and I can't wait to make it again. As for Emy, although she only picked at her French Dip sandwich she loved the pie, which is normal for her. She's not a big sandwich person unless it is PB&J.

So a big THANK YOU to The Happy Sanitarium for sharing her cooking genius.

A few photos of the girls

So I felt the need to post but I have nothing really to post about, at least nothing pressing on my mind. So here are a few of my favorite recent pictures of the girls.

We have had a rash of sock theavery in this house and I beleive we have a new culprit. I have a similar picture of Emy at about this age, however Emy is naked.

Why buy toys just supply a door stop.

Emy all ready for her first day of school with mom. She insisted on putting on her backpack even though it was empty and we were only going to the table.

Apparently I have a cheerleader. This shirt was for a doll of mine and no it isn't a big doll.

Elly's favorite place to be while I am loading the dishwasher. She often has to fight for a place with the dogs.

Emy wanted to play too.

Snuggling in the morning with Curious George

What are big sisters for. . .

She eats everything. I started feeding her lunch one day and after a few spoonfuls realized that she had a felt fruit in her mouth, so glad she didn't swallow that.

Well that concludes my pictures for today.

Hope you all have a MERRY CHRISTMAS and, if I don't post before, a very Happy New Year!

Emy and The Lion

We went to the Portland Zoo recently and had a very interesting experience with one of the lions in the new lion exhibit. For some reason the animals were bothered by Emy that day, I have shots of the mandarills pouncing at the glass while Emy was playing peek-a-boo with them, for another post. here is how it all began, simple enough:

Then a little more aggressive
and after this one I walked around the corner, my little mommy heart was racing with too many terror scenarios of breaking glass. It really doesn't seem thick enough.


Here is a video of the event, sorry you will have to crane your head to see it.