Fun day at the Museum

What a great start to the week. The weather was a sunny and lightly breezy 73 degrees - gotta love North Carolina (too bad today was a balmy 39). It was such a gorgeous Monday and the kids had off school so what better way to spend the day than with friends at a museum...a mesum of life and sciences to be exact. The outside area was crawling with animals and people. After stopping and looking at some farm animals it was time for a quick snack and then a train ride.

 

After the train ride and some lunch under and umbrella outside (simply wonderful), we walked up a trail to the dinasour trail. The kids immediately started climbing on the dinosaurs and then "dug for fossils" in the fossil area.

 

Last stop on trip, Dallas really wanted to see the butterflies. This came particulary surprising to me because everytime in the past she's not liked the butterfly house, in fact she's been 'scared' of them. But, if she wants to see the butterflies, the butterflies we will see...so off we went.
Upon entering an orange and black butterfly landed on her hairbow for a split second, and she wasn't quite sure how she felt on that one. As we walked around she saw several children holding butterflies but she and Hunter were still ooing and aahing over all the colors. As we were getting ready to leave someone asked if we wanted to hold one, so I took it. I passed it along to a couple of friends who were with us and Dallas decided she wanted to hold it...so she did!!! (Can you see the shock on my face?????)

The butterfly got passed around a few minutes more with our friends, and before we left she wanted to hold it one last time, so she got another turn. She was very proud of herself. Next thing I know, I look down and the butterfly is pooping on her hand...of course it would poop on the one child who was finally getting over her fear of butterflies. We all laughed it off and she started laughing too (after freaking out at first)...now she knows she's got good luck.

As the trip came to an end one last picture was a must! What a fun day we had.

Chicken Enchiladas

Well, for my first recipe entry I only see it fitting to put in my family's favorite...chicken enchiladas. So, hope you try and enjoy as much as our family.

2-3 boneless chicken breast cubed

1 small onion chopped

2 Tbs. Olive oil

1 Tbs. Chili Powder

1 Tbs. Cumin

1 Tbs. Paprika

3-5 squirts hot sauce

½ cup water

Salt/pepper to taste

4-5 burrito size flour tortillas

1 ( 4oz) can chopped green chilies

½ cup sour cream

1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1 can Old El Paso Green Chili Enchilada sauce

In skillet, brown chicken and onion in olive oil. Once the chicken in browned, add  in spices, water, and hot sauce. Mix and simmer until water is almost absorbed.

In a bowl, mix chicken, green chilies, sour cream, and ½ cup cheese.

Spread chicken mixture on flour tortilla (eye ball it). Fold in ends and roll up like a burrito.  Place in greased casserole dish. Repeat step until you have 4-6 enchiladas. Pour Green Chili Enchilada sauce on top. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and heated through.

Ribbon Valances

I've been wanting valances for the kids' playroom. Problem was, I couldn't find something pre-made that I liked, and I don't know how to sew. What's the next best thing, you ask...pre-made valances, ribbon, and ribbon tape.
I bought some white valances from Target, ribbon and double-sided fabric/ribbon tape from JoAnn's, and thought - "Let's give it the good ole college try".

It seriously took about 45 minutes to do all three. I used a level and pencil to mark several places 3 inches from the bottom of each valance. I then cut the ribbon the same length of the valance. Next, I laid out the riboon tape in two spots on the ribbon, un-taped the other side and carefully laid it down on the material...and wha-la a curtain is done.

Kid's Wall Canvases

Lately I've been feeling a little "crafty"...call it spring fever if you will (it's been a pretty cold winter). I painted the kids' playroom in December 2009. I bought some canvases and I was going to do something with them for the walls...question was - what to do with them???

Well, after a year of thinking and contemplating the vision finally came. So, one day I started painting them - one blue, one green, one pink, and one purple.

Oh yes, and my sweet daughter wanted to help, so how could I say 'no'...we had our little thing going.

After painting them I then printed out the letter of our first initials on cardstock, traced them on each one, painted them, and then the fun part...the hand prints - even my husband played along...

And my sweet husband then hung them on the wall. I love them!

ARRRGH!!!

So, I've been working on this dang blog for over 2 hours now. I've figured out a couple of things such as adding pages (content will be added later), but for the life of me I can't figure out how to make the title center...it's driving me crazy!!! I should probably walk away and come back another day...guess that's what I'll do.

Too many choices, too many 'gadgets'...

So here I am, I finally am starting a blog. And thanks to a couple of new "blog friends" they've helped me get started. Although I must say I thought it would be much easier than it is. There are too many buttons and too many 'gadgets'. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing yet, but I'll figure it out. In the meantime, I'm off to watch some tv, veg, and eat a cookie (or two).