one year and counting....our blog anniversary

holy guacamole! it is hard to believe that a year has gone by since our first post. thank you to all of you who faithfully read, leave sweet comments and follow this blog in one way or another. we are honored that you take time out of your busy day to stop by. also, thank you to all of our friends and family that have supported us and shared our little blog with everyone that they know---we adore you! each of your encouragement, patience and motivation means so much to us.

we started this blog on a whim and had no idea that anyone would really read what we had to say. who knew that we would grow this much in only a year!? (you like us! you really like us!). we are truly humbled by your generous support.

in the past year we attended our first blogging conference, struggled, celebrated, provided advice, complained, crafted, ate a *lot* to find the perfect recipes to share with you and added another child into nellie's family. 


we're having so much fun and have no plans to go anywhere....so stick around to see what else happens in our lives throughout the next year.

xoxo-

chach & nellie

friday fun finds: mother's day ideas

mother's day is only a couple of days away. here are some of our favorite treats to make or buy for the mommy in your life (or to forward to your hubby, if you like). we hope you all have a wonderful mother's day surrounded with love and support. xoxo- chach & nellie

printable: "well, a mother, a real mother is the most wonderful person in the world. she's the angel voice that bids you good night, kisses you cheek, whispers "sleep tight"--wendy darling

girl's emergency clutch diy from eighteen 25

mother's day questionnaire 

blooming flower pot cake

special dates print (kids birthdays?)

mother's day handprint corsage diy from little bit funky

free candy bar wrapper printable from lovely little snippets 

mother's day free printables from kiki and company

diy silhouette chalkboard from ruffles and stuff

diy lemon sugar hand scrub from under the table and dreaming

mother's day newspaper (free printable) from martha stewart

mother's day card diy from our daily obsessions

straight talk for shut-eye

ask just about any parent (novice or veteran) what’s on their mind and you’re likely to hear the same answer over and over: sleep!  even expectant parents have sleep on the brain - along with anxiety, terror, and denial - after well meaning friends and relatives have warned them for months about the long road of unrelenting sleeplessness that lies ahead of them once their little bundle arrives.  one of the cruelest jokes of parenthood has got to be the persistent and defeatist declaration that sleep deprivation is a “rite of passage.”

ha!  the reality is, poor sleep habits are not a given…unless you make them so.  the reality is, many families suffer sleepless nights for months (or even years) and the toll it takes on children and parents is no laughing matter.  many parents believe that adequate sleep for themselves and their children is negotiable, a “nice to have.”  my response?  are eating, shelter, education or medical care  “nice to haves?”  of course not!  and neither is sleep.  babies and children need sound, restorative sleep and are happier, healthier, and more able to learn when they can do so successfully.  the important thing for families to understand is that sleep problems, while very common, don’t have to happen.  

so here’s what you can do now to start creating healthy sleep habits for your children:

• start early: take a prenatal class on newborn sleep.  hire a sleep consultant once your baby is born.  as soon as you possibly can, start preparing and setting the stage for your child’s sleep health before poor habits take hold.  tackling sleep hygiene early is the most important step in avoiding sleep problems later.

• rule out feeding &/or health concerns: many sleep challenges will resolve naturally once adequate daily nutritional requirements for growth are met during daytime hours and once any underlying health concerns are identified and treated appropriately (e.g., reflux, gerd, protein sensitivities, allergies, apnea, pyloric stenosis, etc.).

• set an early bedtime: the best time to put your child to bed is sometime between 6-8pm.  

• sleep in the same place every night: this lets them know they are safe and in an environment where sleep is expected of them.  

• create a predictable bedtime routine: repetition and predictability are what let your child know that he or she will soon be expected to fall asleep.  

• put your child to bed awake!:  it’s only by letting them fall asleep without your help at bedtime that children can learn the skills necessary to stay asleep through the night.  

• be patient: if your child wakes up during the night wait a few minutes before intervening.  many babies and young children can figure out how to get back to sleep on their own when given appropriate time and space to do so.  

so there you have it.  no more excuses.  go get some rest!

 

~ elizabeth is a professional sleep consultant, certified lactation counselor (clc), and licensed clinical social worker (lcsw).  through her private consulting practice at sleep parenting solutions, pc, she helps parents across the country get their families the sleep everyone needs.  through her role as co-founder and managing director of the association of professional sleep consultants (apsc) she helps connect the international sleep community with education and resources.  she lives in denver with her well-rested family.  you can also find her on facebook and twitter.

diy painted flower pots

our friday fun finds about brightening your front porch inspired me. i love spring colors and the blooming flowers that can liven up my day. so, i decided to paint my own pots for the front porch. this is a super easy project you can do with the kiddos. so paint, plant and enjoy!

what you'll need:

• terra cotta pots in various sizes: i found these at hobby lobby, home depot, lowes, etc. just find the place where they are the cheapest. i found them priced from about a dollar to five dollars depending on the size.
• paint brushes
• stencils: i'm not good at free hand painting so these are helpful for me.
• painter's tape
• outdoor acrylic paint: these can be found for about a dollar at a craft store. look for the ones designed for the outside and that are water based for easy clean-up. please note: acrylic paint will not come out of clothes. if you get any on your clothing or your kids' clothing, wash it out immediately before it has a chance to dry.
• spray adhesive
• a stencil brush or sponge

1.  start by coating your pots in a solid paint color. i painted the insides as 

     well to make it a completely covered surface. this will help protect your 

     paint as well. terra cotta pots naturally absorb water so sealing the inside 

     will help keep your paint from bubbling or peeling. this may take a few 

     coats of paint.

2.  after the paint has dried completely, use painter's tape to mark off   

      areas you want to add a contrasting color. paint on the contrasting 

     colors and wait for it to dry completely before removing the tape.

3.  attach the stencils with the spray adhesive. 

4.  stencil in a contrasting color. again, this may take a few coats to make it 

    visible over darker colors. remove the stencils and replace, painting again 

    until your pot is covered in design. 

5.   wait for the pot to dry. this can take some time to make sure it has dried    

    completely.

6.  finally, seal the pot with a clear indoor/outdoor sealer. i like the ones  

     that come in a spray form like krylon sealers. wait for this to dry    

     completely before adding plants.

mmmmm, mondays: arroz con pollo

arroz con pollo

arroz con pollo, or rice with chicken, is a classic spanish one-pot meal. this casserole is super easy to make and is a favorite in our house. (note: it also freezes really well if you want to make ahead).

ingredients:
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn kernels
6 (4oz each) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
½ cup chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1 cup marinara sauce
½ cup red bell pepper, sliced
½ cup scallions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup shredded cheese (i sometimes use more. who doesn't love *more* cheese?!) :-)

directions:
spray 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

prepare the rice according to package directions. 


spread the rice over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. 


layer the beans, corn, and chicken over the rice and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. 


set aside. 


in a large bowl combine the rest of the ingredients minus the cheese. 


pour the mixture over the chicken. 


sprinkle with cheese.

for dinner tonight... preheat the oven to 350 F. bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the internal temperature of the chicken breasts reaches 165F.

if you want to make ahead and freeze: before baking, cover the dish with foil. label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before cooking as directed above.

source: dream dinners....life just got easier! by stephanie allen and tina kuna
*this book has over 100 recipes that all freeze well too. it is quickly becoming one of my favorites. enjoy!*

friday fun finds: margarita madness

in honor of tomorrow's cinco de mayo holiday we have compiled some truly fabulous margarita inspired madness. enjoy!

honeydew cucumber margarita popsicle from endless summer

strawberry margarita jello shooters from bakers royale

margarita cupcakes from brown eyed baker

skinny margarita from skinny taste

pomegranate margarita from teroforma

pregnant margarita (mocktail) from bleubird

margarita chicken skewers from the food network

blackberry margarita from sweet life

have any margarita recipes that you love and we missed? please share!

when the hubby is away, the wife will...well, you get the picture

i found out on wednesday night at 10:30 that my husband was leaving the next morning for three days. yep, he'd mentioned that he "might" be heading out of town but nothing was official until that night. yep...super happy about the advanced notice...but we'll save that for another post.

as i tried to wrap my head around the fact that i'd be alone with five children for three days (at least it's a short trip, right?), i decided to try to find a list of the best things about being on my own for a short time. might as well try to find the positive in it all and relish the out-of-the-ordinary good, right.

maybe it's my late night feedings that have inspired my "letterman" top ten lists lately but, here you go:

the top ten things about the hubby being away


1. the remote is all mine. really? is there anything better? i can watch whatever i want. want to end the night with something on the food network? no one will be the wiser. not really interested in another crime drama to end my evening? no one will complain. wanting to see how "the real housewives" are fairing? no complaints.

2. really, who is going to say something if i wear sweats all day? if i don't have anywhere to be and no one is going to see me, do i really need to get out of sweats? i don't think so.

3. i only need to shave what is visible. i'm pretty sure you get the picture. any less shaving is a plus in my book.

4. i can leave my craft projects on the counter for three days and no one cares. why clean up a project in the works? it will be sitting there waiting for me in the morning.

5. the whole bed is mine. i can't remember the last time i've had the luxury of stretching out across a bed. no one snored last night. no one took my covers. it is pretty great on occasion.

6. if i feed the kids hot dogs, cereal and sandwiches for three days, no one is the wiser. my kids might start to complain but they will survive...and no one else is around to care. i'll take that.

7. it's pretty much a given that i'll be hitting starbucks...and not limiting my visits to once a day. normally my husband thinks my starbucks addiction is a bit much. when he's away, he will load up my starbucks card to help me get through the days without him. ahhh...it's the little things.

8. eating out once or twice is considered mandatory. my husband pretty much counts on part of his per diem going to feed the whole family. one less meal to cook, clean up after, get the kids to eat = fantastic.

9. i can be crazy productive. when there is even just one less person to talk with, spend time with, revolve around, it's amazing what i can get done. i've cleaned out closets, done more spring planting, crafted up some gifts for teacher appreciation week, all while keeping five kids happy, fed and clothed. i think that's pretty amazing.

10. when he comes home, i'll be guaranteed some time to myself. magically, when the husband does return home, he will feel it's his job to give me a break. really, i haven't done any more work than i normally do. still, he'll feel bad and i'll get to sleep in, go some where by myself, get another starbucks. i think i'd like to sign up for this more often.

how about you? what's the best part your partner being away? i know, it's great to have them back, can't live without them, so happy they are there, blah, blah, blah. i'm happy too. still, there's something to be said about alone time, don't you think?

diy: fabric pennant flag banners

supplies needed:

cotton fabric: i used 1 yard of each color

extra wide double fold bias tape (each is 3 yards long)

thread

sewing machine

sissors or pinking sheers

directions:

i made a quick pattern by folding an 8.5 x 11 paper. making the pennant pattern 8.5" x 9.5"

use the pattern to cut as many triangles that you need. you can use regular sissors or pinking sheers if you want to add a more decorative effect. 8 triangle pennants fit comfortably onto each 3 ft. piece of bias tape.

simply slip each triangle into the fold in the bias tape and sew (one at a time) being sure to secure the triangle securely into the tape. be sure to leave enough bias at each end to use to hang.

ta-da!! the finished product. super cute and machine washable so you can have for many celebrations to come.

puffle cupcakes--guest post by bonnie @ inspiring pretty

i have been so excited about my oldest son’s birthday this year. birthdays are always fun, but this year he changed schools. why does that matter, you ask? only because his old school forbade any homemade goodies of any kind. and for a mama who sometimes bakes just to pass the time, this was almost sacrilege. so when we began school shopping, imagine my delight when I found out that our school of choice not only allotted time for classroom birthday parties; but they also allowed you to bring in any kind of treat you desired.

i wanted to make something special, but i didn’t want to go overboard for a bunch of second graders who don’t know the difference between marshmallow and meringue. aiden (the birthday boy) and I decided to do hostess throwbacks in chocolate and orange. his class is really into club penguin, so we went with a puffle theme.

i settled on a few batters from the sky high cakes cookbook. i chose vanilla buttermilk (and added orange extract) for the orange cake, and chocolate butter cake for the chocolate. the chocolate batter called for brewed coffee, which i was pretty sure the other parents wouldn’t appreciate, so I subbed it with hot cocoa. then i chose smitten kitchen’s seven-minute (aka, marshmallow) frosting as a filling and a swiss meringue buttercream frosting to go on top for its pipe-ability.

they were a LOT of work (if i never beat another egg white to stiff peaks again, it will be too soon), but they were spectacular. and the look on my sweet 8 year old’s face when he got to hand them out coupled with one of his classmates exclaiming, “i wish we lived next door to you!” made it all worth it. 

p.s. i halved the batter recipes, so they each yielded about 15 cupcakes.

orange buttermilk batter

ingredients:

2 whole large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoon orange extract
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.

place the eggs and the yolks in a medium bowl. add the orange extract and 1/4 cup of buttermilk. whisk well and set aside.

combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a mixer; whisk to blend. add the remaining 1 cup of buttermilk and the butter to the dry ingredients and blend together on low. raise the mixer to medium speed and beat until light fluffy, about 2 minutes.

add the egg mixture in three additions, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Don’t over mix.

fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

chocolate butter cake batter

ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 cup hot cocoa, cooled to room temperature

directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with liners.

in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, ground cinnamon, and salt on low speed until combined. add the butter and buttermilk and mix on low until moistened. raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

whisk the eggs and hot cocoa together in a bowl, and add to the mixer in 3 additions, scraping down the bowl and beating only until blended after each addition.

fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then pop them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

seven-minute frosting

ingredients:
5 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs whites at room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

directions:
whisk first five ingredients together in a double boiler. To do a make-shift one, place a metal or heat-proof glass bowl over a pan of simmering water. make sure the water level is at least as high as the depth of the egg whites in the bowl. beat the whites on low speed until the mixture reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. do not stop beating while the bowl is in the skillet, or the egg whites will be overcooked.

beat on high speed for exactly five minutes. remove the bowl from the skillet and add vanilla, beating on high speed for two to three more minutes to cool.

swiss meringue frosting

ingredients:
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
20 tablespoons butter, softened (2 sticks plus 4 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

directions:

beat butter in a stand mixer until light an fluffy.

whisk egg whites and sugar together in a double boiler. whisk occasionally until you can’t feel the sugar granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers, a minute or two.

remove from heat and whip until it turns white and about doubles in size. be sure to mix long enough for it to cool completely.

add the vanilla.

finally, add the egg mixture to the butter and whip, whip, whip.
do not worry when this takes a while to come together. it can take up to 15 minutes, but it will come together. beating the butter ahead of time should reduce this problem, but you still have to whip it good. qlso, if you add the eggs while they are still warm, they will melt the butter and you will basically be out of luck, and $4 worth of butter.

to assemble:

tools:

several pastry bags with tips (in my experience ziplock bags will not suffice. the seams always seem split when any pressure is applied.)

miniature marshmallows, two per cupcake

black writing gel

directions:
fill a pastry bag fitted with a small, pointy tip (the design doesn’t really matter) with seven-minute frosting. push the point into the center of the cupcake and gently squeeze filling into the middle. you will see the cupcake start to expand, so stop short of it actually exploding.

separate the swiss meringue frosting into several bowls, one for each different color you want to do (we used four). mix desired amount of food coloring into each one. spoon about 1/3 on each color into its own pastry bag fitted with a star tip, or any tip that you think would make good looking hair.

frost the cupcakes with a knife or offset spatula in your different shades. flatten marshmallows into between clean fingers and place two in the center of each cupcake.

use black writing gel to draw a pupil on each marshmallow and a mouth below the marshmallows.

pipe hair onto each cupcake with the matching color in pastry bag.

keep cupcakes refrigerated until serving.

bonnie blogs at inspiring pretty along with lindsey and claire. it's a home for everything women care about. from recipes to weddings and spirituality to raising a family, we are here to share our lives with you and make yours prettier. our motto is 'a pretty home, a pretty faith, a pretty life'. born just outside chicago, illinois and raised in the mountains of colorado, bonnie found her home in southern california alongside her husband and three little boys. when she’s not cleaning up after all four of them, helping with school projects or making fabulously healthy dinners and scrumptious desserts, she enjoys being outdoors, a good cup of tea, writing and giving design advice to anyone who’ll listen. you can also find them on facebook, twitter and pinterest.

diy: tissue paper pom-poms

diy tissue paper pom-poms

i made and hung these fun and festive tissue paper pom-poms in the trees for my kiddos train-themed birthday party. i originally got the idea from the fabulous martha stewart, of course. they are *super* easy to make and added to the ambiance of the backyard celebration. 

here is what you will need:

tissue paper (20 inches x 30 inches). Choose one to three colors, or similar shades of the same color, to keep things from looking like a circus.

scissors 

monofilament: aka fishing line (photo below of the one i found at a local sporting goods store that worked well).

wire. white, if you can find it. i couldn't and ended up opting for a thin wire that i was able to find at home depot instead of the traditional floral wire. worked like a charm.

directions:

stack four to eight the sheets of paper on top of one another, depending on you puffy you want them to be. i ended up using 10 for each one to make the large and puffy enough to work in the trees.

now, fold the sheets into 1.5-inch accordion folds, all the way across.

cut the ends of the tissue into round shapes, to give them a petal-like look.

cut about a foot and a half length of floral wire.

wrap the wire around the center of the folded tissue and secure it by twisting.

now the final part! pull apart each layer, separating it from the center one piece at a time. do this slowly and carefully. you don't want to rip the tissue paper.

measure the length you'd like to hang your pom pom from and cut a piece of monofilament accordingly.


knot the monofilament to the floral wire and hang!

i actually wish that i had made even more to fill the trees and maybe to hang from the porch, so don't be shy......make more than you think you will need.


i think that they turned out so cute. what do you think?