Amber Waves of Grain

Everyone who sees inside my pantry says, " That's a great idea! ". And, today, I'm finally going public with this fabulous idea. I bought a shoe organizer at Target ($8.19) and attached it to the inside of my pantry door. Simple . I'm amazed at how much space it saves inside my pantry once I take all of these items out of their original boxes. And, it's easy to see what snacks I can grab for packing lunchboxes. I leave the bottom 2 rows empty so that Kennedy isn't in them, but you could put kid's snacks down there if you wanted something they could access on their own! Here you can see I have a pockets for granola bars, Carnation instant breakfasts, PB crackers, and fruit strips. Other pockets include oatmeal packets, boxes of raisins, Ritz cracker sleeves, ziploc bags, microwave popcorn, and even TUMS. Make sure you buy a clear one so you can see the contents. This one from Target has 24 pockets. I think this would also be great for a closet...

Today is Nathan's 35th birthday!! In honor of his birthday, let's take a quiz about Nathan! Here we go: 1. If Nathan has the TV on, he's mostly likely watching which of these? a. ESPN sports b. A war documentary c. CNN d. MTV 2. I tell Nathan that he would be a perfect replacement for.... a. Mr. Rogers b. Peter Jennings on the evening news c. Ross on Friends d. The guy from Blue's Clues 3. At the fair, Nathan is most likely to eat: a. A cream puff b. Deep fried veggies c. Deep fried pickles d. Deep fried cheese curds 4. When we dated, Nathan drove: a. a Dodge Shadow b. A red Firebird c. A blue pickup truck d. A moped 5. Nathan's half of the bedroom looks like what? a. Neat & tidy b. Messy c. Neither, he sleeps in the garage d. I'm not sure why I'm taking this quiz 6. If you stopped by our house at night, you could find Nathan: a. On his laptop, watching American Pickers, eating a pint of Ben & Jerrys b. On his laptop, wa...

Merry Christmas in September!! Here is our 3rd installment of gift ideas for 2011 ! Again, the first 10 ideas are here ( LINK ) and here ( LINK 2 )! Enjoy this month's 5 ideas! 11. FACEBOX or ZOOBOX STENCILS . These would be fun for an older child. You mix and match parts to create fun animals or people. They are quiet and require no batteries ! Great to take to a restaurant or event where a child needs to be occupied. $10 at Uncommon Goods ( LINK ). 12. MONOGRAMMED GARDENING GLOVES. I've always wanted to get someone these gloves from Red Envelope ( link ). They are a soft brown suede with canvas cuffs. $19.95 + $4.95 for the monogram. 13. Family Tree Throw Blanket . We all have grandmas who are hard to shop for. This would make a good grandma gift . They embroider the last name at the top and then up to 12 names in the actual tree. $50 from Personal Creations ( link ). Allow plenty of time. 14. IMAGES OF AMERICA book series . I like these books that t...

Jennifer & I took a blogcation this past weekend and traveled to Columbus, OH for the national Country Living Fair! The fair was in Ohio Village which was a cute area set up like an old pioneer village. There were tents and booths everywhere filled with antiques, homemade jewelry, art, and lots of fun, creative stuff. And, not to mention good food! (photo by Lisa Marton) : We shopped and ate our hearts out all weekend. We also went to the Columbus mall and even had time to catch a movie. Nathan stayed home with the kids and did an AMAZING job watching them and even keep the house clean! I came home with some treasures . Some of these are for my house and some are for a cabin in the woods Nathan plans to build to rent out to hunters (hence the antlers and hunting magazines): (the coat on the right is a homemade coat I bought for Savannah): We also went into Country Living Magazine's Boothomatic where you could have your photo taken with a treasure. They'll select so...

That's right. I'm an official soccer mom! I have the mini-van , the double stroller , the toddler to chase off the field, the baby to watch , the giant canvas bag filled with stuff that would make Mary Poppins proud, and finally........ a child signed up for soccer !! Here are some pics from our first 3 times at soccer! All decked out in his soccer gear: At his first game looking all cool in his shades. He's on a team called the STARS . (Sounds intimidating, right?) Here's Michele helping me with Savannah. Everyone needs a Michele: Savannah cheering on her brother: A rare moment where Kennedy sat still long enough to eat a sucker: I caught her expression as she was running onto the field, looking back for an adult to chase her. T.R.O.U.B.L.E. And, finally........ it sort of looks like he's picking his nose here. I can't confirm or deny it. 3 nights down, 4 more to go! Go, Stars!!!!!!!!!!!

It feels like fall here in the Midwest this week. A perfect time for pumpkin! Last night I made this delicious & easy dessert (again) to take to a church group tonight. I thought I'd be a friend and share the recipe with you too. It involves a lot of opening and dumping which is what I like these days. Here it goes. PRALINE PUMPKIN DESSERT 1 can (15oz) pumpkin ( just plain pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling) 1 can (12oz) evaporated milk 3 eggs 1 cup sugar 4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 1 box of yellow cake mix 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans 3/4 cup melted butter (that's 1 1/2 sticks... and you can go to the gym later ) In a bowl, mix the pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, sugar, and spice. Pour into a greased 9x13. Sprinkle the dry cake mix all over the top. Sprinkle on the pecans. Drizzle the melted butter all over the top. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes. Cool 90 minutes before serving. I store it in the fridge. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

Today is my 34th, ahem , I mean 6th 29th birthday . I've come along way. Here I was as a little tike. In honor of my 34th birthday, I will attempt to tell you 34 things about me. I've done this in the past, & this gets harder each time to think of new things. I'm not making any promises; some might be repeats. Here I go: 1. I had these rules from my dad about dating : No boys with vans. No boys with long hair or who wore their hats backwards. And, preferably no boys who drove foreign cars ( Dad worked at Chrysler ). 2. I can remember when school buses where stick-shifts and I'd sit in the front seat watching the driver shift gears while driving. 3. I've held a scorpion . 4. My recent purchase of an electric griddle has changed my life. 5. I was born at 10:48am . 6. In middle school, I babysat a devil child who tried to attack me with one of those pitch fork tools from the fireplace. 7. My middle name is Dawn . 8. I took microwave cooking class i...

Savannah is SIX MONTHS old today!!! For those of you wanting an update....... here are the top 10 Savannah facts ! 1. She is the sweetest baby IN. THE. WORLD . There, I said it. 2. She started solids in August and is a good eater. Loves peas and green beans. 3. She can *toot* as loud as any man. 4. She not only rolls over, but she can roll all the way across the room in no time . And, she can raise herself up on her front arms and scoot. Folks, we may have an early crawler on our hands. 5. She smiles nonstop . 6. She and Keegan are finally buddies. It took 5 1/2 months but Keegan finally acknowledged her existence and now even likes to play with her! It's precious . 7. She still doesn't sleep through the night. She has on occasion, but certainly nothing consistent. See the bags still under my eyes? 8. She's been accepted to Harvard . No, wait. I'm ahead of myself. 9. She weighs 15 lbs 3oz and is 26" long. 10. She...