We've been busy- my update

It's been a busy summer around here lately:

~Miss B turned 8 and celebrated with her girls

~and I think we're officially entering that pre-teen sassy stage

~My dishwasher broke (do you know how many dishes we go through a day?)

~We took a beach vacation to the OC with my family

~We found Crocs for $10 at Big Lots- yeah!

~Mr. C has started throwing huge fits when he gets frustrated, including kicking and pounding the floor.

~The puppies are almost gone- we're down to one! They sure are cute but I can't wait till my kids stop smelling like puppies all the time!

~Baby brother has started kicking around in my (huge) tummy so I don't forget about him.

We have confirmation

Miss E had the best reaction- I told them the baby was a boy and said "yep, we're going to have another little brother!" She said "YEAH! Wait, do we get to keep both of them?" I thought that was great.

I'm not completely useless...

And neither is my blog! I've found some great free downloads to share (via other favorite blogs- keep reading) I am almost done inventorying my food storage, the "system" will be in place THIS week and I will post about it- by Friday for sure! I started with a clip board and some sheets of lined paper and started writing everything down, and counting cans. If you are anxious to start, start doing that, it will take you longer than you expect.

Now for the fun stuff:

These free gift tags from Whisker Graphics are so cute! Click HERE to get your own.

Also found from her website this free funny "To Do" list from Vale Design HERE.

Design Mom always points me in fun directions, and I was thrilled to find this site, Vintage Printables with free, high resolution, vintage images.

She also posted a link to Design Dazzle's "scratch off" Father's Day card- I love that idea! See how to make your own HERE.

And finally, my crafty project for the week, THIS Father's Day envelope card (or some version of it) from Pine is Here.

Stamper?

I confess, when I think about stamps I usually think of little old ladies stampin' up their old lady crafts, especially "rubber stamps" but since all the cute clear stamps started coming out I started getting a little excited about them, and have even picked up a few. Exploring Etsy tonight I found this amazing, talented artist who sells her hand carved stamps- and they are so cute, perfect for making your own stationary, or stamping little recipe cards, invitations or something fun! Check out Corrabelle's shop HERE and look how cute these are!

I had to do it

The one reason I won't be completely miserable if this baby doesn't arrive early is I will get to see this in the theater! THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD

As cheesey as Twilight was, I keep wanting to watch it, and it gets better every time. (really, if you only watched it once, you've got to give it another shot!) I am really looking forward to seeing this, and that little peak we get of Jacob makes me glad I kept his tattoo.

Food Storage Friday- randomness: recipes, pandemic update

Sorry for my lack of blogging- I've been in a summer funk, it's too hot to do anything, my sister in law who we have lived next door to for almost 6 years moved away, (like 5 minutes away, but still...) and I just can't seem to get things done enough around here to really sit down and do a thoughtful post! There are a few things that have been bopping around in my brain for a while so I'm just going to get them out here- first of all, a great food storage friendly recipe we tried last week, it is from 5 Dollar Dinners:

Black Bean Soup

she suggests serving it with fresh cooked corn on the cob- it's a good combo

1 cup dried black beans (can substitute 3 cans prepared black beans)

2 cups chicken broth

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tsp dried garlic)

1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies (12oz) or salsa

2 TB lemon juice

1 tsp ground cumin

dollop sour cream

shredded cheese (optional)

1. Soak beans overnight in lukewarm water or for at least 2 hours in HOT water. Drain and rinse. Add to large saucepan and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until beans are tender. Once cooked, strain off liquid and return beans to saucepan. Mash beans with potato masher. (Or skip all that and just mash 3 drained cans.)

2. Add broth, chopped onion and garlic, salsa, lemon juice, cumin. Stir through about cook for about 15-20 minutes. Simmer longer for a thicker soup. Top with dollop of sour cream and/or shredded cheese.

3. Remove husk and threads from corn. Boil 4-5 minutes in large saucepan. Serve hot with butter!

And I haven't tried this yet but it's on the menu this week, Tuna Melts from Taste is Trump. Maybe it was the picture that got me, I've never had the desire to make tuna melts, but all of the sudden, hers sounded really good. Recipe HERE.

Ok, and finally a little pandemic reminder, thank goodness all the hype is over, and hopefully the swine flu fades away and we don't hear much about it again, but the concern is, viruses are always changing, and it's possible that this one, (or any other flu strain going around actually?) could mutate and become something more serious and deadly. It could happen, this fall, or years in the future, or never at all. The best preparations besides a good supply of food etc, would be to make sure you have a steady supply of not expired otc pain relievers, kleenex, hand sanitizer, disposable gloves, and possibly medical masks. If someone in your family somehow contracted a potentially deadly virus, you would certainly want to be prepared to keep them separate from everyone, and still care for them without putting yourself or the rest of your family in danger. So that's my latest thoughts! Sorry for such a long post but it's pretty over due!

**Check back next week, I'm planning on laying out a Food Storage inventory system! Hopefully to be put in place around here this week- cross your fingers for me! I realized we've been using up a lot of our food stash and it's time to start keeping track of what we have and what we need more of.