I was busy crafting away last week! Ever since I joined Pinterest, I’ve been adding projects and crafts to do. I decided to tackle a few of them, and I thought I’d share pictures.
Craft #1: Mother’s Day Cards for the Grandmas and Great-Grandmas (original idea found here)
I traced Janie’s hand on green paper and cut it out. I made the flower pot out of patterned scrapbook paper and cut out the flowers before attaching gluing them to Janie’s fingertips. I bent the petals to give them a little dimension. Janie loved this project. “I make flower hands! Flower hands for grandmas!”
Craft #2: Birdseed Cookies (original idea found here, but I used this site for instructions)
You need: 4 cups birdseed 3/4 cup flour 1/2 cup water 3 tablespoons of corn syrup
Mix ingredients in a bowl to make a big, sticky mess! Select cookie cutter shapes (I recommend using 3-4 inch shapes). Spread parchment paper on a baking sheet. Grease cookie cutters with cooking spray. Press the seed mixture into the cookie cutters with the back of a spoon, and use a straw to leave a hole.
Bake in the oven at 170 for an hour. Flip after thirty minutes. The alternative to baking is waiting for them to dry for several hours. Bake ’em if you don’t feel like waiting!
Voila! Birdseed cookie! If your feathered friends aren’t interested in the hanging cookie, consider leaving them out on a flat surface like your deck rail. We love watching the birdies and squirrels come to nibble on the seed cookies. Jane watches the action on the deck, and she announces whenever we have a visitor.
Craft #3 (I suppose it’s more of a baking craft): Ice cream cone cakes (original idea from Betty Crocker’s site)
Use a Ziploc bag and cut off a corner to pour the cake batter into the ice cream cones.
Fill 3/4 of the way with batter.
Follow mix instructions or use your favorite cake recipe.
My resourceful husband cut a hole into an empty cereal puff container to serve as a frosting stand. Clever, huh?
What’s an ice cream cone without sprinkles?! We added different colors to the frosting. We love the Wilton dyes. You can find them in the baking section of most craft stores.
Craft #4: Tile Coaster Tutorial (original idea from The Cottage Home blog)
These were so fun to make, and they’re super simple!
Buy some plain white glazed tiles at your local hardware store. We found a 100-pack for less than $20.
Cut out squares of your favorite scrapbook paper. Mod Podge them to the tile. Add 2-3 coats of Mod Podge over the paper, making sure that each coat dries completely before adding additional coats. Sponge brushes work great for applying the Mod Podge.
Once the Mod Podge is completely dry, apply a clear acrylic sealer (outside!) to the tiles. I used Krylon brand. This will make the coasters water resistant. Don’t use warm beverages on the coasters for at least a month and make sure the acrylic sealer completely covered the entire surface of the tile. Otherwise, moisture will build up and cause the paper to bubble.
Apply felt to the bottom of the tiles with fabric glue.
Voila! You have a cute little gift! I bundled mine together with ribbon and gave them to the great-grandmas, grandmas, my sister, and sisters-in-law for Mother’s Day.
Now, we’re gearing up to celebrate Walt’s birthday on Saturday. Can’t wait!
I love sleep. I looooooooooooooooooooooove sleep. Fortunately, Janie and Walt (usually) love their sleep, too. Unfortunately, they still wake up fairly early, and I’m in the bad habit of going to bed too late. It’s a silly problem, and I really need to do something to fix it because it’s a bad day for everyone when Mama Bear doesn’t get enough sleep. When I don’t get enough sleep, I’m like this lady.
As I get older, I’m learning to embrace who I am and finally own up to my triggers (the things that set me off into crazy Mama Bear mode). Aside from hormones (ha!), my main triggers are lack of sleep, hunger, and a messy house.
I’m finally getting a handle on the messy house, and I’m discovering more and more healthy snacks to keep me fueled throughout the day. My big, remaining trigger is lack of sleep.
I don’t have a good reason for being tired or for staying up too late. Philip and I don’t get much time together in the evenings after we’ve gotten the kids to sleep, and we’re learning that we simply won’t get as much time as we used to have. He usually has to be up at 5:00 a.m. to be at the hospital for morning rounds, and the kiddos will be up shortly thereafter.
We make resolutions to go to bed earlier when it’s Wednesday and we’re exhausted from staying up too late, but we inevitably slide back into our old ways. We’ll watch one too many episodes of Downton Abbey, or I’ll waste away an hour on Pinterest after we’ve gotten into bed for the night. Before I know it, it’s midnight and I want to smack myself in the head for putting myself through what I know is going to be a tough wake-up call.
So, it’s time to build-in a new habit. There’s a new bedtime at the Boucher household, and it’s 9:45 p.m. That means we will be in bed at 9:45 p.m. There are several reasons we need to build this new habit into our routine:
Philip and I will both get the sleep we need.
I can have uninterrupted prayer time before the kids wake up. I have been doing my prayer time during naptime, but it’s unsuccessful for a few reasons:
I’ve been so tired from going to bed so late that I need a nap every now and then!
Naptime is the time when I can get things done around the house uninterrupted. I need this time to be doing other things.
Sometimes naptime doesn’t go according to plan and I’m not able to get a good prayer time in.
No more of what I call fire drill wake-up calls. When I wake up with the kids, I feel like I’m constantly putting out little fires until everyone’s settled and eating at the kitchen table. I end up re-warming my coffee several times before it’s even half-gone when I’m in fire drill mode.
More time to enjoy reading together or having a little pillow talk.
I can organize my thoughts before bed and relegate all of my mental clutter to the next day’s daily do-it list during this time.
We’ll be alert enough in the evening to re-dedicate that time to praying together as a couple before bed.
So, here’s to the new bedtime, and a more-rested & happy family! For a little extrinsic motivation, Philip and I decided we’re going out for a little Dairy Queen next Tuesday night if we successfully go to bed at 9:45 p.m. every night. Oh, how I love me some French Silk Pie Blizzard…
It’s hard to believe, but Philip has almost completed his first of three years as a pediatric resident. Yay, Philip! We’re so proud of you!
Thanks to the recent work hour restrictions put in place, Philip is able to see much more of his family than his predecessors. Nonetheless, he’s still working very hard, and sometimes the hours get the best of him. His most intense months are called inpatient months. During these months, he works a week of night shifts. With two little ones at home during the day, it’s tough for Philip to get much rest.
Inpatient months are difficult on our family because of the limited time we have with Philip. The trade-off is endless entertainment from sleepy Philip. He’s always sleep-talking, sleepwalking, or doing other goofy things.
During one of his most difficult inpatient months, Philip tapped me on the shoulder in the middle of the night and said, “Hey, who do you think will be the top-selling recording artist this year? Taylor Swift?”
Philip’s been known to sleepwalk and sleep-talk when we have a newborn. Sometimes it can be scary. One night, I had to intervene when I heard the bathroom fan and tub running. I intercepted Philip on his way to the nursery where he said he was going to “give Walt a bath”! Yikes!
Last night, I woke up at 2:45 a.m. to see that Philip had disappeared. I found him, asleep on the living room couch, and he had no memory of how it happened.
A few months ago, in the midst of an inpatient month, Philip decided he’d try to help convince Janie to take a nap. He said he’d try sleeping on the floor next to her daybed. The plan worked for about forty-five minutes. Then, I heard Janie making some noise. I decided to investigate, and this is what I found when I opened the door:
Philip was snoring on the floor, wrapped up in a blanket. Janie was standing over him in her footie pajamas, holding something. She had gotten the hand sanitizer off of the changing table, and was standing over Philip with the bottle, ready to squirt it all over him. Who knows what would have happened had I not come in. Now THAT would have made a good video! Here’s the scene caught on video:
Is my husband the only sleepwalking, sleep-talking resident out there?
It’s been a whirlwind of a day, and I’m all out of creative things to write, so I thought I’d share an awesome recipe.
If you like Indian food and you like using your slow cooker, you’re going to love this recipe. It’s called Slow-Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala. Click on the link to access the Tasty Kitchen blog where I found the recipe. Deeeeeeeelicious!
Image from tastykitchen.com
I’ve copied and pasted the ingredients and directions, and I included my notes below.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CHICKEN:
9 wholeBoneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 TablespoonGround Coriander
1 TablespoonGround Cumin
1 teaspoonKosher Salt
1 cupYogurt
4 TablespoonsButter
1 wholeJalapeño Pepper, Stem Removed, Pepper Pierced Several Times With A Sharp Knife
FOR THE SAUCE:
4 TablespoonsButter
1 wholeLarge Onion, Peeled And Diced
6 clovesGarlic, Peeled And Minced
1 TablespoonKosher Salt
3 TablespoonsGaram Masala
1 pieceFresh Ginger, About 2-3 Inches, Peeled And Grated
4 cupsCrushed Tomatoes
1 TablespoonRaw Sugar (can Substitute White Granulated If Necessary)
2 teaspoonsCornstarch Or Cleargel
1-½ cupHeavy Cream
TO SERVE:
Hot Buttered Rice And Peas
Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Preparation Instructions
Cut the boneless, skinless chicken thighs into 1- 1 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle the coriander, cumin and salt over the chicken, then stir in the yogurt until all the pieces are evenly coated. Cover lightly and let sit for 10 minutes before proceeding.
Melt 1 tablespoon the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Raise the heat to medium high and quickly brown about 1/4 of the chicken. Transfer browned chicken to the slow cooker as it is finished, using 1 tablespoon of butter per batch, and repeat until the chicken is all in the slow-cooker.
Throw the pierced jalapeno in on top of the chicken.
Prepare the sauce. Return the pan to the heat and melt the butter over medium high heat. Add the onions, garlic, and kosher salt, then stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to lightly brown around the edges.
Stir in the garam masala and ginger and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute) before raising the heat to high and adding the crushed tomatoes and raw sugar. Stir well, scraping the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan, and bring to a boil. Pour over the chicken in the slow-cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours, or until the chicken is very tender.
Use a fork or whisk to stir the cornstarch or cleargel into the heavy cream until smooth. Pour into the slow-cooker and stir gently until the colour is even. Replace the lid and let cook for 10 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.
Serve over hot rice and peas, topped with a generous amount of chopped cilantro.
My Notes:
There’s a lot of butter, and you can get away with cutting out a few tablespoons.
The recipe has a good kick to it from the pierced jalapeño. If spicy isn’t your thing, I’d suggest halving the jalapeño or leaving it out altogether.
We found a good-sized jar of Garam Masala (the key spice for the sauce) at Target from their Archer Farms series.
I used granulated sugar since I didn’t have raw sugar.
Consider chopping the chicken thighs and doing the veggie prep the night before so that all you have to do the next day is combine ingredients and turn on the slow cooker.
I used the freezer pack chicken thighs from Costco. Gotta love Costco!
I used cornstarch instead of the cleargel.
We used basmati rice. We cooked according to the package directions and threw in some frozen peas for the last minute.
Serve with naan. Got that at Costco, too! It came in a pack of 3, so we froze the extra. Brush it with olive oil or sprinkle a little water on it and stick it in the oven at 300 for a few minutes.
I love cilantro, but I decided against serving with cilantro since the sauce already had so much spice to it. Taste the sauce before you decide to add the cilantro or not.
The recipe made a lot of leftovers for us, so I froze about half into a few quart-sized bags. I made the recipe a few weeks ago for dinner, and had the frozen half for dinner last night. I thawed the bags in the fridge Monday night and poured the contents into a saucepan to thaw Tuesday night for dinner. All I had to do was make another batch of rice and throw in some peas at the end! We had the leftover naan, too. So good!
If you didn’t get around to making May Day baskets this year, you’re not alone. Fortunately, I found a fun crafty alternative that you and your whole family can do to scatter flowers year-round! More on that below.
Patrick Coffin, host of Catholic Answers Live (the best show in radio as far as I’m concerned), closes every show by saying, “Be a saint. What else is there?”
Really, what else is there? We’re made to be saints, and we shouldn’t be shy about saying so. If my job as a wife and mother is to get my family to heaven, that’s just another way of saying our mission is to become saints. So, let’s get on with it!
Among all of the saints, St. Therese of Lisieux holds a special place in my heart. This young French girl dedicated her life to becoming a prayer warrior. Ironically, the cloistered Carmelite nun who only lived to the age of 24, is the patroness of the missions because of the way she inspires others to serve, know, and love God. Like Therese, all of us have the opportunity to change the world around us through our prayerful presence–even those of us who might feel like we’re “cloistered” on some days at home with little ones!
In great humility, St. Therese embraced her vocation as a cloistered Carmelite and taught the novices entrusted to her how to follow in her “Little Way.”
“Great deeds are forbidden me. I cannot preach the gospel nor shed by blood — but what does it matter? My brothers toil instead of me and I, a little child, keep close by the throne of God and I love for those who fight. Love proves itself by deeds. I will scatter flowers, perfuming the Divine Throne, and I’ll sweetly sing my hymn of love. Those flowers are every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least of actions for love.”
Each day affords us the chance to “scatter flowers” in “every little sacrifice, every glance and word, and the doing of the least of actions for love.” Blockheads like me don’t necessarily take advantage of every opportunity we receive to follow in St. Therese’s “Little Way.” Catholic blockheads like me are blessed that Mother Church, in Her wisdom, gives us sacramentals to help us along our way to sainthood.
Sacramentals engage all of my senses to remind me that my mission is to be a saint and not a blockhead! Bringing sacramentals into our home for us to encounter on a regular basis helps turn our minds to what is above. In a Catholic home, you’re likely to see holy water, crucifixes, statues, icons, candles, blessed salt, the nativity scene, an Advent wreath, palm branches, etc. To remind ourselves of our mission to become saints, Catholics keep the sacramentals on their bodies. Examples include crucifixes, scapulars, wedding rings, ashes, religious habits, liturgical vestments, etc.
I was hoping to put together some May Day baskets for friends and family this year as a little surprise. I found an adorable basket on Pinterest, but the time got away from me. Since I’m too late to deliver baskets, I wanted to think of a way to build in the habit of “scattering flowers” for my loved ones.
A beautiful ministry called The Little Ways is a home-run ministry that is dedicated to spreading the example of St. Therese of Lisieux. As part of their mission, they teach others how to make sacrifice beads and sacrifice bead bracelets.
Sacrifice beads. Image from thelittleways.com
According to their website,
As a child, St. Therese, the Little Flower used a string of beads to count her sacrifices and acts of love done for God, in that way she was able to advance in perfection daily. You too, can grow in holiness by following the example of the Little Flower. Sacrifice Beads or Good Deed Beads are a string of ten beads, which can be pulled and remain in place. They are used to count the acts of love or sacrifices a person makes in a day for God. The string of sacrifice beads helps a person to grow in perfection by increasing their acts of love they do each day. The sacrifice beads we make also have a fixed Our Father bead on the end of them. Thus they double up as a rosary.
I don’t know about you, but this blockhead still needs to work on self-sacrifice and daily acts of love done for God. What a beautiful, tangible reminder of my daily mission as a wife and mother! Not only is this a fun craft that families can do together, but it’s an awesome sacramental that helps to instill the habit of self-denial and service for others. In this “Little Way,” we hold ourselves accountable on the beads, tucked away in our pockets.
Maybe next year I’ll get around to the May Day baskets. They are adorable!
Until then, I’ll make a string of sacrifice beads to help me learn how to scatter flowers like St. Therese. Hopefully, keeping this string of beads in my apron pocket will remind me to do little things everyday for the love of my neighbor (and, therefore, God).
Maybe I’ll get around to those May Day baskets in July…
