A book and a baby!

Wow it has been over a year since I have made a post on this blog! Can we say slacker?!

A lot has happened since December 2012. We moved into a bigger townhouse, we attended the weddings of seven of our friends and family, and now we have a child! (He is pretty much awesome too, and I tend to just sit and hang out with him all day!) 

2014 doesn't look to be as busy as 2013 was, but that doesn't mean I won't find ways to fill it! The month of January isn't even over yet and the little man and I have already flown home to Michigan for a weekend! AND he started 2014 off with a bang, by rolling over bright and early on January 1st!

One of my favorite things to do with our little guy is read his books to him.  He will actually sit still and pay attention to the pictures on the pages long enough for me to read him at least two or three  board books.  The parent in me loves to see his curiosity on his face and the teacher in me loves knowing that he will have a good start in pre-reading skills when he is old enough to attend school. 

One of the books he owns is near and dear to my heart. I am proud to share that the author of "Smicky Micky and Muff" is my very own Aunt Karren Cram! Not only is the story wonderful, but the illustrations are fabulous too (hats off to the illustrator, Greta Berg!) This book is a heartwarming story about a mouse named Smicky Micky and a cat named Muff. Both, Smicky Micky and Muff, were bullied for their differences and felt lonely. Until one day they met each other and realized that it is ok to be different. They also realized that to make a friend, you have to be a friend. 

If I were still teaching, this would be a book that I would share with my class to foster conversations about friendships and celebrating differences in one another.  

I also look forward to sharing this story (and the future stories about Smicky Micky and Muff) with our little guy.  One day he is going to begin to make friendships with others and I think this is an inspiring story in how to make new friends!

Check it out for yourself and feel free to let me know what you think! 

Click here to see Smicky Micky and Muff

Nuts and Bolts

Tomorrow we are going over to Joe's aunt and uncle's house for an after Christmas get together.  I volunteered to bring an appetizer, but we have had so many different dips lately that I thought something munchy would be better. Somehow I remembered the amazing Nuts and Bolts that my Grandma Eisele used to make around the holidays.  Luckily one afternoon before she passed away I was at her house and asked how she made it.  I quickly wrote everything down...ON A NAPKIN.

Yesterday I pulled out my trusty napkin and began to prepare a grocery list.

6 TBS butter
2 TBS worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 C Corn Chex
2 C Rice Chex
2 C Wheat Chex
2 C Cheerios
1 C cashews
1 C bite sized pretzels
1 C garlic flavored bite sized bagel chips

After I returned from the grocery store, I realized that it is quite simple to make...
First you heat the over to 250 degrees.  In an ungreased roasting pan, melt the butter in the oven.

Then stir in the seasonings.  I added the seasonings and then whisked it all together.  Gradually stir in the remaining ingredients until they are evenly coated.

 Bake for one hour, but you need to stir every fifteen minutes.

Spread onto paper towel to cool, and then store in an airtight container.

This stuff is phenomenal! I believe you can find it on the back of any of the Chex Mix boxes (at least that is what my mom said)...however I just find it in my cookbook on the napkin that I wrote it out on four or five years ago.

Giveaways

I have never blogged about a giveaway before, however let's be honest: I am fairly new at this blogging stuff anyway! I do love to read other blogs and sometimes I wonder if my blog is going to stay something that only a few friends check, or if one day I will have people reading about my rants that I have never even met...

It is Christmas Eve and this year I am 1200 miles away from partaking in my normal Christmas Festivities...however I have been spending a lot of time with my in-laws and even my cousin who I don't get to see enough of, so while I feel sad to not be with my parents, I feel very blessed for the time I have with these loved ones!

And speaking of blessings, VeryJane is going to bless three people with some amazing prizes right after the New Year! Check out the deal and enter away! You can have up to 10 entries (and possibly more if you check the giveaway page daily):

https://veryjane.com/giveaway.htm

Good luck!!!

Monica's Eggs

This morning I was feeling ambitious, so I woke up early and made an extra special breakfast. I call it Monica's eggs because my friend Monica made this egg concoction the weekend we all stayed at her apartment in Chicago for my (and Andrea's) bachelorette party. Monica and Andrea grew up calling this breakfast "Mrs. Johnson's eggs" because Mrs. Johnson (whoever this genius of a woman is) was the one who introduced it to them...

Anyway you start by hard boiling eight eggs and cooking the bacon.

I found a blog on Pinterest where she baked her bacon...ummm that is SOOO smart! 400 degrees for 20 minutes...and they're done! I did the bacon for 25 minutes because I wanted it extra crispy.

Then you sauté the onion in some of the bacon grease (I just used the same pot that I hard boiled the eggs in).

Crumble the bacon

Dice the eggs

Add the cream of mushroom soup, and milk and bring to a boil.

Add the cheese, eggs, and bacon

Toast the English muffins and scoop the egg mixture on top.

Enjoy!!

Here is the recipe in review:

1 lb bacon
sm onion (minced) -or less
1 large can (26 oz) cream of mushroom soup
8 hard boiled eggs, chopped
soup can filled with milk
12 oz sharp cheese, shredded
English muffins

Cook bacon. Set aside and let cool until able to crumble.
Use 1/2 t of bacon grease to sauté onion. Drain.
Add soup and milk. Heat to boiling and then add cheese. Add chopped eggs and crumbled bacon. Stir and simmer.
Heat English muffins in broiler or toast in toaster.
Pour hot sauce over muffins and serve.

Sauce can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Best if warmed up on the stove rather than microwaved.

Scrooge

So I had the most WONDERFUL time while I was home in Michigan...to the point that when I returned I haven't wanted to listen to Christmas music OR decorate.  I haven't been in the mood.  I know it has only been two days since I have been back, but the homesickness feeling crept back as soon as we crossed into Minnesota on the drive.  Luckily, Joe was sleeping so I could keep my feelings to myself.  When I left to go home, it was 60 degrees in Minnesota.  When we returned, there was snow on the ground and it was a whopping 20 degrees!  Brrrr!

Since it is cold, I thought I would start small with the Christmas decorations and ease into the Christmas music.  (I mean who would have thought that I wouldn't want to listen to Christmas music on the Christmas radio station?!)  So I just purchased Blake Shelton's new Christmas CD on iTunes...it's pretty much amazing! So far my favorite is #11...HOME (featuring Michael Buble...I mean, it has been a favorite song of mine in the past anyway!!)  I also got out my Christmas candles to burn.  It was fun for me to be able to use the candles I received from Tyler last year as a Christmas gift from my classroom!  That's probably as far as I will get today.

Hopefully I will get into the holiday spirit sometime soon.  Otherwise we may not even have a Christmas tree this year.

Ok enough of that...

Happy Third Birthday Bailey!!!

Wow I have been home for 52 hours and I have already been to the vet, Flint, East Lansing (twice), Pleasant Lake, and back to Jackson.  Needless to say I have been a little busy.  It is 11:25PM and I JUST remembered that today is November 17th!  (Actually I remembered earlier when I wished both of my favorite Casey's with a "C", a Happy Birthday)...and Kacey if you read this, you are my favorite Kacey with a "K"!

Ok, back to the point.  Today is November 17th!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Baileyyyyyyyyy, Happy Birthday to you!!  (In my best singing voice!!)

Gosh I just love my pup!  I can't believe it took me all day to give her her birthday treat!!!

Election Day

I have to admit, I didn't do the majority of my research until this morning.  Joe and I watched some of the debates (but I was easily irritated and didn't end up watching it all).  Reading about the candidates and the proposals was much easier than hearing about it.  With that said, I made sure that I felt confident in who I voted for tonight.  So not much crafting was done today....however, tomorrow I can get back to my crafting all the while knowing that I did my part in helping to decide the outcome of our future.

Tonight I have been spending my time watching the live updates on the huffingtonpost.com  I have also been watching NBCnews Decision 2012 on TV as well.  I have to admit that I am slightly confused though.  They are showing in Blue the states the Obama has won, and they are showing in Red the states that Romney has won.  What I don't understand is how they can claim the state has been won when only a percentage of the votes are in?  For example, right now it says "17% is reporting" in Minnesota.  However, it also says "Obama won".  There is still 83% that still has to report their votes... Truly I have no idea how the state has been "won" if all the votes aren't in yet.

Either way, I did my part...did you do yours?