To honor Veterans Day, I'm going to offer a link and encourage you to check it out.
Every so often The Pioneer Woman does assignments on the Photography section of her website. One of my favorites was called "Coming Home," and featured photos sent in from various photographers whose subjects were soldiers.
"Coming Home"
If you're anything like me, you're going to want to go ahead and grab a Kleenex before viewing these. Or ten.
You know what? Just go ahead and grab the whole box, and drag the trashcan over by you so you don't end up with a pile of snotty tissue next to you when you're done.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Kitchen Tip
We here at The Crislers love to save money. I appreciate a good money-saving tip, and I came across one we have consistently used for about the past six months.
See those tall green spears in the Ball jar? (Not the red pot- that contains aloe vera, which we chop off to slather on burns- another money saver!)
Those are green onions. It turns out, after you buy a bunch at the grocery store and have chopped off all the green part of the onion, all you have to do is fill a jar with water, stick what's left in, and they re-grow like crazy. I had these all cut down to the white part about six days ago, and nearly a week later, they've nearly grown back up to their original height.
I would recommend you change out the water every few days, and you'll need to trim the roots every couple weeks, lest they get all slimy and gross.
Unless you're a super-enthusiastic green onion lover, this may not save you a fortune, but every little bit helps, right?
Right?
See those tall green spears in the Ball jar? (Not the red pot- that contains aloe vera, which we chop off to slather on burns- another money saver!)
Those are green onions. It turns out, after you buy a bunch at the grocery store and have chopped off all the green part of the onion, all you have to do is fill a jar with water, stick what's left in, and they re-grow like crazy. I had these all cut down to the white part about six days ago, and nearly a week later, they've nearly grown back up to their original height.
I would recommend you change out the water every few days, and you'll need to trim the roots every couple weeks, lest they get all slimy and gross.
Unless you're a super-enthusiastic green onion lover, this may not save you a fortune, but every little bit helps, right?
Right?
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Toy Story
It snowed last night. After Atticus finished romping in the scant two inches we received, he came inside, and I decided it was time to sort through our toy boxes.
In each of the two bedrooms belonging to our children, there is a toy box. They are both filled to the brim with toys. Every so often, I like to dig through them, throwing away Barbie legs and Q-tips, trying to find all the pieces to stuff back into Mrs. Potato Head, and generally sorting and organizing.
Usually, after about a half hour of this, I realize we have eight rubber duckies, two bajillion Barbie shoes, and my kids don't even play with half the crap in there. I get frustrated and start making illogical proclamations at the top of my lungs like, "I will NEVER allow another new toy in this house!" and "THAT'S IT! Say good-bye to your toys, children, they're all going to Goodwill tomorrow!"
Then my kids start crying and I feel bad for ten whole seconds, but remember that honestly, I make them cry almost every day by making them do outrageous things like bathe and wash their hands and help unload the dishwasher.
So what do we do? I can count on one hand the number of toys we ourselves have bought for our children. They don't even seem to be aware there's a toy aisle at Wal-mart. Do we ask those pesky, loving relatives of ours to stop being so generous toward our offspring? Haul away all their toys and make them hate us forever?
Well, in the past year, I have instituted a new system. It's appears to be a popular one, especially amongst my fellow parents who don't have unlimited space in their house for toys or have entire wings of their homes devoted to playrooms. About every six months or so, I pack up half the kids' toys, put them in a giant plastic container, and shove it in the closet. When six months have gone by, I haul out the bin, switch the toys in the toy boxes for those in the container, and put it away again.
Our kids love toy-switching day. It's like Christmas for them; there's lots of gasping and pleased exclamations over toys they had completely forgotten we own. This seems to make up for me taking away the other half; they're so excited to get the hidden half out that they don't mind when I snatch beloved playthings out of their hot little hands.
This seems to be a solution that works for our family, and I've been enormously pleased with it.
But I still refuse to lift the stuffed animal ban.
In each of the two bedrooms belonging to our children, there is a toy box. They are both filled to the brim with toys. Every so often, I like to dig through them, throwing away Barbie legs and Q-tips, trying to find all the pieces to stuff back into Mrs. Potato Head, and generally sorting and organizing.
Usually, after about a half hour of this, I realize we have eight rubber duckies, two bajillion Barbie shoes, and my kids don't even play with half the crap in there. I get frustrated and start making illogical proclamations at the top of my lungs like, "I will NEVER allow another new toy in this house!" and "THAT'S IT! Say good-bye to your toys, children, they're all going to Goodwill tomorrow!"
Then my kids start crying and I feel bad for ten whole seconds, but remember that honestly, I make them cry almost every day by making them do outrageous things like bathe and wash their hands and help unload the dishwasher.
So what do we do? I can count on one hand the number of toys we ourselves have bought for our children. They don't even seem to be aware there's a toy aisle at Wal-mart. Do we ask those pesky, loving relatives of ours to stop being so generous toward our offspring? Haul away all their toys and make them hate us forever?
Well, in the past year, I have instituted a new system. It's appears to be a popular one, especially amongst my fellow parents who don't have unlimited space in their house for toys or have entire wings of their homes devoted to playrooms. About every six months or so, I pack up half the kids' toys, put them in a giant plastic container, and shove it in the closet. When six months have gone by, I haul out the bin, switch the toys in the toy boxes for those in the container, and put it away again.
Our kids love toy-switching day. It's like Christmas for them; there's lots of gasping and pleased exclamations over toys they had completely forgotten we own. This seems to make up for me taking away the other half; they're so excited to get the hidden half out that they don't mind when I snatch beloved playthings out of their hot little hands.
This seems to be a solution that works for our family, and I've been enormously pleased with it.
But I still refuse to lift the stuffed animal ban.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Dictionary Entry
irony
i·ro·ny, noun: refusing to put any of the drinking glasses we received as wedding gifts in the dishwasher, claiming they're too fragile; instead, coming to realize seven and a half years later that, due to extreme clumsiness and poor depth-perception, I have broken all but two of the large set we registered for while hand-washing them.
(See also: shattered glass cake stand cover, glass pitcher, wine glasses, glass drink dispenser, etc, etc...)
i·ro·ny, noun: refusing to put any of the drinking glasses we received as wedding gifts in the dishwasher, claiming they're too fragile; instead, coming to realize seven and a half years later that, due to extreme clumsiness and poor depth-perception, I have broken all but two of the large set we registered for while hand-washing them.
(See also: shattered glass cake stand cover, glass pitcher, wine glasses, glass drink dispenser, etc, etc...)
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
My mom and her two sisters are crafty.
By "crafty," I don't mean rubbing their hands together and cackling while plotting someone's demise (actually, I can totally see them doing that). What I really mean is they enjoy making crafts. They quilt, knit, crochet, sew, cross-stitch, and have no remaining fingerprints from years and years of wielding a hot glue gun (which is a plus when it comes to the other kind of craftiness).
They recently started a blog together, Confessions of Three Former 4-Hers. They write about the various projects they're undertaking. Between the three of them, I don't think they'll ever run out of material.
My two aunts live near Joplin, Missouri, which you may remember was hit by a devastating EF-5 tornado last spring. A whole lot of people lost everything, including, of course, their homes... which is where the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition comes into the picture.
This television show (you know, the one who's host is Ty Pennington, who could be a posterchild for ADHD?) recently came into Joplin and completed 7 Homes in 7 Days for an episode that will air sometime in January. I've watched the show before, and seen all the volunteers hammering and sawing and moving furniture... but I never really gave much thought to all the sewing that would need to be done for a brand-new home with brand-new furnishings. I guess I just assumed they bought all their pillows, curtains, etc, ready-made.
Apparently, I was wrong.
These two aunts of mine have recently donated a considerable amount of time and labor to this show and the homes they were creating. They were part of a team of sewers who made everything from quilts and curtains to pillows and duvets.
Oh, and they've been blogging about it the whole time.
It's been really interesting to read about the other side of the show, more of a behind-the-scenes look at all that goes into the creation of these houses.
You can check it out, too, either by clicking on the link I provided above, or by going down to the bottom left corner of this page and clicking on Confessions of Three Former 4-Hers under Blogs We Read. If you scroll down on their blog, you can read the posts in order, starting with the post "Kay and Sherry's Incredible Adventure."
Happy Reading!
By "crafty," I don't mean rubbing their hands together and cackling while plotting someone's demise (actually, I can totally see them doing that). What I really mean is they enjoy making crafts. They quilt, knit, crochet, sew, cross-stitch, and have no remaining fingerprints from years and years of wielding a hot glue gun (which is a plus when it comes to the other kind of craftiness).
They recently started a blog together, Confessions of Three Former 4-Hers. They write about the various projects they're undertaking. Between the three of them, I don't think they'll ever run out of material.
My two aunts live near Joplin, Missouri, which you may remember was hit by a devastating EF-5 tornado last spring. A whole lot of people lost everything, including, of course, their homes... which is where the show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition comes into the picture.
This television show (you know, the one who's host is Ty Pennington, who could be a posterchild for ADHD?) recently came into Joplin and completed 7 Homes in 7 Days for an episode that will air sometime in January. I've watched the show before, and seen all the volunteers hammering and sawing and moving furniture... but I never really gave much thought to all the sewing that would need to be done for a brand-new home with brand-new furnishings. I guess I just assumed they bought all their pillows, curtains, etc, ready-made.
Apparently, I was wrong.
These two aunts of mine have recently donated a considerable amount of time and labor to this show and the homes they were creating. They were part of a team of sewers who made everything from quilts and curtains to pillows and duvets.
Oh, and they've been blogging about it the whole time.
It's been really interesting to read about the other side of the show, more of a behind-the-scenes look at all that goes into the creation of these houses.
You can check it out, too, either by clicking on the link I provided above, or by going down to the bottom left corner of this page and clicking on Confessions of Three Former 4-Hers under Blogs We Read. If you scroll down on their blog, you can read the posts in order, starting with the post "Kay and Sherry's Incredible Adventure."
Happy Reading!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Have You Ever Played This Game?
You know, the one where you see a super-close-up shot of an object, and you have to guess what it is?
Yes? No? Well, either way, that's what we're going to be playing today. Get your game faces on!
Last week, I entered a little online contest. I'm one of those people who never wins anything, unless it's one of those contests where everybody wins. Because I've never really won anything, I keep entering, thinking that statistically speaking, it's going to happen one of these days: I'm going to win.
Well, last week, I finally won something.
So yesterday morning, the boys and I came home from a friend's house, and this was waiting on our front porch. My prize! I squealed in delight, then heaved it inside.
Go ahead and make an early-stage guess.
How about now?
Any guesses?
I'll give you a hint: It's red, and it's shiny, and it's beautiful.
I'm sure by now you've guessed what it is...
That's right: A Kitchenaid Mixer!
One of the blogs I read on a regular basis is Confections of a Foodie Bride. It's a blog that features delicious recipes and lovely food photography, and they also have giveaways every so often. I entered the most recent one. There were nearly 1300 entries.
And we WON!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Shawnda, the Foodie Bride!
Oh, and by the way, you should check out her...
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cupcakes
...just to name a few of the delicious creations that have come of her kitchen.
You can also always find her link down on the bottom left of this page under Blogs We Read.
Yay!
Yes? No? Well, either way, that's what we're going to be playing today. Get your game faces on!
Last week, I entered a little online contest. I'm one of those people who never wins anything, unless it's one of those contests where everybody wins. Because I've never really won anything, I keep entering, thinking that statistically speaking, it's going to happen one of these days: I'm going to win.
Well, last week, I finally won something.
So yesterday morning, the boys and I came home from a friend's house, and this was waiting on our front porch. My prize! I squealed in delight, then heaved it inside.
Go ahead and make an early-stage guess.
How about now?
Any guesses?
I'll give you a hint: It's red, and it's shiny, and it's beautiful.
I'm sure by now you've guessed what it is...
That's right: A Kitchenaid Mixer!
One of the blogs I read on a regular basis is Confections of a Foodie Bride. It's a blog that features delicious recipes and lovely food photography, and they also have giveaways every so often. I entered the most recent one. There were nearly 1300 entries.
And we WON!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to Shawnda, the Foodie Bride!
Oh, and by the way, you should check out her...
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cupcakes
...just to name a few of the delicious creations that have come of her kitchen.
You can also always find her link down on the bottom left of this page under Blogs We Read.
Yay!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Positives and Negatives
I love a good Positive and Negative list. Here's one applied to our kids' Halloween costumes.
Adelaide
Costume: Clown
Positives:
Adelaide
Costume: Clown
Positives:
- It didn't take long to prepare: We used the make-up from last year's tiger costume, and spent about fifteen minutes applying it to her face.
- Inexpensive: We already had the makeup, and she was able to wear regular, cold weather clothing trick-or-treating.
- She loved all the colors.
Negatives:
- The strength of her costume relied solely on her makeup, since she didn't wear actual clown clothing. I'm going to go ahead and spin this into a positive, by pointing out that I don't think it's a negative thing to teach her to direct all attention to her face, especially when I see more and more young ladies treating Halloween as Dress-Up-As-A-Tramp Day (and by Tramp I do not mean the lovable Disney pooch from the wrong side of the tracks).
- She couldn't wear it to school, because they weren't allowed to wear their costumes all day, they had to instead bring it with them to change into in the afternoon for their parade down Main Street. Instead, she wore a little apron, matching chef's hat, carried her kids' cookbook and a small whisk, all of which we already owned. To turn another negative into a positive (an annoying habit of mine), she actually got two costumes this Halloween, and two is better than one, right?
- I tried to get her to let me paint her up as an Emmett Kelly-style hobo clown, but she wasn't having it.
Caedmon
Costume: Chicken
Positives:
- He was so freaking cute.
- It kept him really warm.
- It slid right on over a onesie, and I got to hear Derek say things like, "Your mother did this to you, not me," as he put it on Spud.
- We got to hear all kinds of other people coo and "Awww!" over him.
- I got it for $3 at a garage sale.
Negatives:
- We were told over and over that "She is just so cute in that chicken costume!"
Atticus
Costume: Fireman
Positives:
- It was easy: a raincoat and firefighter's hat.
- It was inexpensive: the raincoat was mine in Kindergarten and Adelaide got the hat a couple weeks ago on a field trip to the Slater Fire Department.
- It was warm.
Negatives:
- It's the same costume he wore last year. He was going to be something else, but I couldn't find this jacket of his that I needed to make it. I'll probably find it tomorrow and be mad.
- The hat was too small for his gigantic head and kept falling off.
Overall, the night was one great big Positive: we had a great time, and the kids were really tired by the time we got home and went straight to bed.
I hope everyone else had a safe and happy Halloween.
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