Kid Art Display

Kids (all kids, I think) love to display the things they create. Heck, so do grown-ups! When the boys create something "artsy" they want to show it off. Our walls/fridge have served us well the past year of home schooling, but um, I realized we needed to make different arrangements when Spencer stapled (23 times) to the wall a piece of paper with a tiny bit of art on it.

Don't believe me? Think I'm exaggerating?

Exhibit A:

From August 2011

Overkill much?

So, I started combing the interwebz for options for "kids art displays" many featured frames and clothes pins and other lovely homey type things.

Then the thrift store came to my rescue. What's that? A giant, glass-less frame for 10 dollars? Don't mind if I do! Excuse me? Krylon spray paint? Oh, yes please! Clothes pins? I'll just rob ma clothes line! Wire? Home Depot, you got my back!

And thus the "kid art picture frame" was born. I just painted it, sanded it to make it look less, erm, nice. Cuz really, "nice" doesn't stand a chance around here. And then I attached a picture frame hanging kit three times to the back. It's pretty, and messed up a bit and uneven, and well, exactly as it should be.

Not too shabby. Just shabby enough to fit in around here. I had the boys draw me some stuff to put up for picture taking. They came through... kind of. "This is you when you're angry, Mom," says Henry.

Hmm.

Alas, can't win them all.

Here it is folks: $15 dollars.

From August 2011

Love the shadow-y phone pics. Sigh, my SD card for my camera is MIA

But, regardless of craptastic photography, I am in LOVE with it. LOVE!

So, there. Yup, I have no conclusion to this post.

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Chicken Kabobs

So, I got the chance to participate in BlogHer's Knorr Chicken Stock Recipe contest. SO exciting. So, with Derek's help, we created something out of a little tub of concentrated stock. I get to now claim having created a recipe from absolute zero. It was a blast! And the results? Delicious. It makes a light but filling summer meal. I highly recommend it. But of course, I created it. ;)

Mediterranean Chicken 

1 Knorr Stock Concentrate

1 cup boiling water

1/2 cup chopped chives

2 garlic cloves chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary 

1/8 teaspoon dried ginger

1/8 teaspoon Red pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 chicken breasts, chopped

Grilled Greek Olives

8 oz mixed olives

1 bell pepper

1/2 cup marinade

Lemon Rice

3 cups boiling water 

1 Knorr Stock Concentrate

3 cups rice

1/2 lemon, zested and juiced

1 teaspoon paprika

Salt and pepper to taste

Four pitas, cut in half (or 8 halves, depending on brand)

Serves: 8
Cook time:
Chicken, 20 minutes
Olives, 10 minutes
Rice (instant) 15 minutes

And now for the details!
Marinade:

From June 2011

From June 2011

Whisk stock and boiling water until dissolved

From June 2011

Mix in the yogurt until completely incorporated

From June 2011

Add all the spices and olive oil together, then add to yogurt/stock mixture.

From June 2011

From June 2011

Chop the chicken. 

From June 2011

Cover chicken with marinade. Reserve 1/2 cup marinade (before covering the chicken) for later. 

From June 2011

Refrigerate 6 hours. 

Skewer  the chicken and pour the marinade that dripped off from the chicken back over the chicken.

From June 2011

Chop bell pepper and kabob with the olives, use the 1/2 cup reserved marinade on the veggies. 

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From June 2011

Grill chicken for 20 minutes on medium heat, turning frequently to cook evenly. 

From June 2011

Grill veggies for the final 10 minutes. 

From June 2011

From June 2011

Lemon Rice: 

Boil 3 cups water, add 1 Knorr Stock Concentrate, whisk to combine, bring water to boil again, add rice, and 2 bay leaves. 

From June 2011

From June 2011

Cook according to package instructions. 

While the rice is cooking, zest and juice half a lemon.

From June 2011

From June 2011

When rice is finished, remove the bay leaves and discard.

Add lemon juice and zest, 1 teaspoon paprika and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Grill the pita for one minute on each side. 

Viola! Mediterranean Chicken, Greek Olives and Lemon Rice with grilled pita on the side. 

From June 2011

From June 2011

Yum!

Some notes:

~If you don't have time to marinade, just dredge the chicken and grill it immediately, it will still be delicious.

~If you can't/don't grill then you can stove-top grill the chicken. Just skip the skewer stage and use a well-oiled skillet and turn frequently to avoid burning, cook it on medium and it will be done in about 10 minutes. Toss the olives and peppers in with the chicken the last few minutes.

~ You can control the lemony flavor of the rice by adding more or less zest and lemon. An entire lemon's zest and juice yields a very tart rice, but the flavor will mellow by the next day, so if making ahead of time, a whole lemon won't be too much.

Enjoy!

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Hi Friends.

It's me. Morgan. How are you? How were your Christmas celebrations? Did you get a new Ipad? Hope not, cuz the next one comes out in like three months and it's got a video camera. How about that?

Anyway, sorry. We're not here to discuss Ipads.

 I'm here to tell you I'm retiring.

Okay, not really, but I am moving locales. See, I am finding that having 100 children is proving to be a bit like well, like the old woman who lived in the shoe, see? So, since I have so many children, I don't know what to do, and I don't believe in spanking, I'm forced to like, parent them and stuff.

This is hard for me.

And I am finding that since Erin had a baby and is working full time she's never around anymore.

And I don't want to just leave The Diet Coke Diet to die a quiet death, slipping into the night like a long forgotten PBandJ sandwich left on the dinner table. Ya feel me?

I know you do.

And while I have a lot ideas, I have no time to make them come to fruition. Like I said, 100 children is a lot.

Don't cry for me, Blog-friends. The truth is, I never left you. I've just been blogging primarily at my family's site. And I've decided to leave this space for a while, and take any and all how-to's I might create there with me.

I'm toying with importing this here blog into that there blog, but frankly I'm not entirely certain how that would work and it makes me mighty twitchy. Cuz I don't want to mess up EITHER blog's content or dating, or whatev.

So, for now, I'll not be updating here. Please PLEASE PLEASE join me at The -Ing Family if you haven't already. It's a bit more "kids" and "family" but like I said, I'm going to go ahead and start incorporating some how-to's there as well. To keep it all balanced.

Balance is important, I think.

Right?

Join me friends. It'll be fun.

And if/when my 100 children cease to be a huge demand on my time to the point where the only how-to's I am writing are "How to check and see if anyone has on clean underwear" I'll let you know. I promise. You'll be the first to know.

Come on over.

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How to Bring Christmas Cheer

Hi all! So, I'm not fully "back" into the swing of things. Did you know that four kids is A LOT? Yes. It is.

Anyway, because of our very very very new newbie + the stomach flu for the older three, it's been a little less than jolly around here. The baby is not so much the problem, he's kind of easy, and straightforward. Eat, sleep and poop, like all newborns. No, it's more the end of the semester for the husband (who not only is a PhD student but a professor as well, DOUBLE-WHAMMY!) and a leaky toilet causing all kinds of issues, and cold weather and did I mention the stomach flu?

See? My days are looking a little less than merry and bright.

But, that doesn't change the fact that it's CHRISTMAS in a week, and kids don't care if parents are stressed or tired or sick or anything else. They just want to enjoy Christmas.

So, I'm trying to bring the cheer around here. We made cookies (during the stomach flu, I am FANTASTIC!). And I'm looking at fantastic Christmas crafts that I have no energy to do, but we did paint wooden ornaments.

So, tell me friends, how are YOU bringing the cheer to your home this year? Parties? Baked goods? Got any good recipes to share? Ginger bread or graham cracker houses? Caroling? Service? What are you doing to be merry and bright? Inspire me, folks. I am a mama in need.

From December 2010

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How to... Homebirth, I guess?

Hi all. I had a baby!

You can read it here.

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Clothing Organizer Bag

Well, with almost four kids, I am attempting to streamline our "everyday" things, ya know? I mean, like getting dressed for instance. I'm not ready to pull a Duggars and make everyone wear blue every Tuesday, but still, a little bit of smooth-ness to our daily routine is not unwelcome.

To that end, I decided the best way to get our mornings to be happy times (besides my grumpiness) is to set everything up the night before. But with little boys, "laying out" clothing is simply not an option. It will end up everywhere, all over the floor. 

So, I created these "Clothing Bags," and each night, we'll throw tomorrow's outfit in each bag. It's great! It's adorable, and it's easy. Each bag is assigned a kid, there is no mistaking it. And Sundays? Prechurch? Forgetaboutit! I have big plans for that. We can even put their church shoes in the night before, so there is no, "WHERE IS SPENCER'S SHOE!" I am excited!

To make the bags, I used fabric I already had in my stash, which equaled out to FREE. It really doesn't need to cost a thing! If you haven't got fabric, why not slash up an old pillow case? That'd be SUPER easy!

I did the Nature Bags basically, but on a bigger scale and rather than a strap, I added a little loop to hang on a  hook. Fabulous. 

So, I started with one 15"x15" square and for the back, a 15"x20" rectangle. The rectangle makes the flap, see? Depending on how large your children are, you may need to make a different size. Do what you must. 

From The Diet Coke Diet

I made three at once, cuz I have three boys.

Then I did the monograms. I just used my pinking shears and sewed them on in the middle of the front square piece.

From The Diet Coke Diet

Then the bags got sewn up and the flaps made. I sewed the loops just from scraps from the bags, on the back side, right in the middle.

EASY!

From The Diet Coke Diet

And I use command hooks to hang them on. I purposely hang them up high, because really, I don't want them getting into them once they are packed for the next day.

Some things I learned from this project:
1. Polar fleece DOES NOT work for applique work. No, it does not. It stretches way way way too much. So, on attempt #2 I just used cotton and pinking shears was much more successful.
2. Don't try to sew bags for your kids when they are hungry. It makes Mommy angry, which means I end up needing a seam ripper.

So there it is. An easy way to streamline your life in the mornings.

And if I utterly disappear for a while, well, I'm counting down the days (FIVE) until our fourth is due, so just hang tight. I'll be back, I promise!

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Thanksgiving Thankfulness

So, my kids are very little, in comparison to... um... other people's kids??? Anyway, so we're working on gratitude and thankfulness since it's that season (I am a FIRM believer in Thanksgiving. Do not talk to me about Christmas until NEXT Friday, do you understand?) And since I love Thanksgiving and what it means, I want to instill in them the importance of being thankful for our blessings.

Since they are so very young, things like, "my toys" are high on their lists, which I recognize is important. But, I want to start cultivating in them that deep-seeded joy that comes from realizing that we have WAY more than a lot of people, and are indeed, richly blessed.

SO, tell me friends. How do you teach and cultivate that gratitude in your children? How do you help them recognize what they have?

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How to Buy Used

Okay, so moving has been totally kicking my trash. We've been occupants for almost two weeks of this house, but only actually LIVING here full time since Tuesday. It's been insane. In the meantime, other than wall-hangings and one random box that makes me tear up a bit we're in!

Except I can't find my flinging-flanging camera, which is technically vital to today's post, but whatev, we're going at it, picture-less.

When we left Las Vegas almost 8 months ago, we got rid of A LOT. I mean, anything I figured we didn't really *need* got sold or donated or chucked. Kitchen tables (two of them!) bookshelves, toddler bed, my dvd players (both of them apparently) my piano, the lovesac, the list goes on and on. We knew we'd be storing stuff for a long time, and didn't want to pay to store stuff we didn't really love.

Well, suddenly, I am faced with an empty house, almost no furniture and zero money. Gotta love relocation, right? We needed a kitchen table, we needed a washer and dryer, we needed two couches, (seriously actually NEEDED!), we needed a DVD player, see? We had all this stuff, but we really really needed certain other things.

A budget is a funny thing. You can *choose* to ignore it and pay the price later (hello credit card!) or you can choose to stay within it, and eat on the floor. OR there is indeed a third option.

We found a happy middle ground: BUY USED.

Seriously.

So, why do you need a cheapo new table from Walmart, when the thrift store (ala Goodwill, Desert Industries, etc) has a fantastic one for $10? Does it HAVE to be new? I don't have cash or space for fancy. So it's either big-box, mass-produced, not so good, or used and sturdy. I chose used and sturdy.

I had exactly $250 to purchase a washer and dryer. Not each, TOTAL. Enter the internet. Craigslist is your friend. You have to sort through scams sometimes, but still, totally worth it. You can refine your search right down to what you need. In Utah, where I'm located, KSL.com classified are where it's at. Everywhere else in the world is Craigslist. Derek found me a set the night before we moved, $200 and the guy delivered them for FREE.

That's right, I saved myself $50. (Derek is my hero! He is a classifieds professional.)

Same with our "new" couches downstairs. We have a tiny house and a little basement and tight stairs. So, we went to Ikea and found the ONE couch that would go. ONE. It was $150. So, we decided to come back in a couple of days, when we could get it home, and buy it.

That night, Derek found the exact same couch on the internet for $40. It was basically brand-new.

I'm not telling you this to brag (okay a little!) I'm just saying, do not EVER discount the idea that someone else is desperately trying to get rid of whatever it is that you desperately need. If you have the money to pay $1,000 for couches, then great, I think you should. But for us, and our current situation, it just isn't possible.

Add in the idea that recycling is a great thing to do, and buying used really is a good deal. You're lowering your own personal consumption of the resources of the world. Don't you feel good about that?

I love that I can look around my home and see things that were 1. Given to me by loving family 2. Carefully purchased used or 3. Saved up for to purchase new. It is a great feeling of satisfaction when it isn't just "stuff."

So, next time you need something, check your thrift stores, ask friends and family if anyone has one to sell, or hit the classifieds. I am willing to bet, even if it takes a bit longer than a trip to Walmart, that soon, you'll find exactly what you're looking for.

Good luck!

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