Organizing the Guess House!

I love being a teacher. I love shaping and molding young minds and watching them sprout and grow and by the end of the year seeing them blossom. It is even better being in ESOL because some of my students come speaking no English and by the end they can speak and understand and it is just a wonderful feeling to know you played a part in that.

And of course another bonus for being a teacher is summers off! It seems that I put off doing everything that I need to do until summer because I have almost two months to do it. The bad part is that by summertime, the house is a wreck and it is a lot of work! Being pregnant and tired on top of that is not easy either, but I am hoping that my nesting will kick in early. :)

So, the organization started a week or so ago and it is done. There are several areas of our house that I hated! I hated the entrance to the garage, our laundry, our entrance closet, and our desk! So, I figured if I started small and see progress, it may spur me on to do other things.

Garage Entryway

Before                                                              After

I hated the entryway from our garage. It was just a catch all for everything (mostly Klint's fishing tackle)! I had wanted to do a sort of mudroom feel, but I knew we didn't have the space. A mudroom is something my next house will have for sure! I got a Closetmaid shelf from Lowe's and and added the bins. They are color coordinated for each person. Sophie is pink, I am cream, and Klint is black. I know the top looks a little junkie right now, but that is my school basket that will be gone in a month or so. I just put it there to get it out of the floor in the living room. I was happy with how it came out and it looks so much neater!

Laundry Room

                                          Before                                                          After

 New laundry basket and broom/mop hanger

The laundry room was another catch all and it got where you just couldn't walk around because of all the stuff that got thrown in there. I got a cart to go between the washer and dryer and I downsized my laundry detergent container. The mat came from Marshall's for $12. I thought that was a good find. We have our freezer in the laundry room. I would love to move it to the garage and we might one day,  but for now this is where it stays. I was pleased.

Coat Closet

                                      Before                                                               After                            
Our coat closet was really under utilized and things just kind of got thrown in there and never seen again. I pulled everything out of the closet and was amazed to find my golf clubs! I thought there were in the garage the whole time. I moved them and that gave me a whole lot more room. The white drawers are my craft things. The black crates on the top our board games and miscellaneous items. We had coats hanging in our closet that we hadn't worn in years. Some didn't even fit and I had both of my letterman jackets in there. I kept them in there, but moved them so they weren't front and center. Then I pulled out all the jackets we don't wear and donated them. Then I organized the rest of the closet. I am so happy with the look now and we have room for the vacuum cleaner too.

Desk and Bill Trays

Before

Imagine this sight greeting you everyday! Horrifying and we couldn't even sit at the desk to do anything. Bills would go missing and then we would get the letters about not paying something. So embarrassing. So, this was a big deal for me to get done!

 After, I know the trays still look full, but there are no bills in them. Just magazines and cards. The bills are in the notebook on the clean desk!

 What I am proudest of! We have a bill book that works for us!

 Mail that needs attention goes in the very front for us to pay or check into.

I made the calendars using Google Calendars. It was so easy and you don't have to enter every month. You can set it up to do weekly or monthly. So easy!  I check off as a bill gets paid or is set up in bill pay. Then after each calendar I put a sheet protector to put the bills once they are paid or set up in bill pay. So easy and I can already tell a difference in keeping up with everything!

Happy organizing! 

New Cooking Creme Idea

I made another recipe tonight with the Santa Fe Cooking Creme from Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Wanted to share!

Creamy Mexican Rice and Beef
1 can of Black Beans drained and rinsed
1 can of corn drained
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 pound hamburger
1 onion chopped
2 containers Santa Fe Cooking Creme
2 cups uncooked rice

1. Cook rice how you do normally.
2. Brown hamburger meat and add onion. Cook until onion is tender.
3. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, and cooking creme. You may just want to do 1 and a half containers of the cooking creme. That is all I did and it was perfect!
4. Let simmer together for about 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Served over rice. We put cheddar cheese on top of ours.

It was good and something I am sure I will make again because it was so easy! Hope you enjoy!

Milestones~First Dentist Visit

 Milestones are so bittersweet to me. It is amazing to see your little one growing and doing new things, but it is sad they are growing up so fast. Today was another one of those bittersweet moments because it was Sophie Rae's first visit to the dentist.

We have really built this visit up with her and talked about what they are going to do. When I brushed her teeth I would talk about how they were going to count her teeth and look for "sugar bugs". She wavered between excited and "Noooo!" Luckily today, once she woke up, she was ready for the dentist and excited about going.  I was on the phone with Klint when we pulled up and I told her we were at the dentist and she said "Yesss!" So I knew it should all go good!

We went in and sat down and she asked me about all the chairs and pointed them all out and counted them and asked me where they came from. I snapped a quick photo before we went back. She was so stinking excited!

In the waiting room

They called us back and I answered some questions about our paperwork. They then told us we could go and wait in the playroom. The playroom is a really cute room with a huge mural painted on the wall and a Thomas the Train town on a big table. Sophie was in Heaven!

Mural

Miss Whitney came up and told us that my normal hygentist, Miss Dale, was running behind, but that she would take us back and do x-rays and then Miss Dale could clean her.  I was a little nervous because I hate getting x-rays. The thing is so uncomfortable in your mouth and I could only imagine poor Sophie. I was so nervous I didn't get any pictures of them doing the x-rays, but Sophie handled them like a champ and did wonderful! Part of that was because they have little TVs in front of the chair and Curious George was on. Not much could effect her with that going! They kept bragging about how good her "pictures" were. I did get a picture after the x-rays! She looked so tiny in that big chair!

Miss Dale came over and said she would go ahead and check Sophie's teeth and polish them for us. They were so good about explaining everything to her. They showed her their pink gloves and purple masks and explained what each tool was and what they were doing. She really seemed to enjoy it!

 After they "counted her teeth" they told her they were going to polish them. They showed her Mr. Thirsty (the suction straw) and Mr. Tickle (the polisher). She got to wear the toothpaste on her finger. She felt very big and helpful!

Next they flossed her. She did good with this too. They did it pretty fast because Sophie was slowly starting to lose interest.

Lastly we did a fluoride treatment and I had to help because Miss Dale had her hands full doing the toothbrush and Mr. Thirsty. But we got it done. At this point, Sophie had had it and was ready to go. Dr. Hasty came in and checked her teeth while she sat in my lap. That is when he dropped a bombshell on me...Sophie has a cavity! My heart just sank. I felt like I had bad mother written on my face, but he quickly told me that I really couldn't have stopped it. Sophie has a misshapen tooth with an extra ridge. The cavity formed in that extra ridge. That made me feel a little better. We go back July 16th to a pediatric dentist to see about having it filled.

Before she left Sophie got to pick a toy and Miss Dale gave her a teddy bear made by a lady from our church. Sophie took it grinning (after I coaxed her...she had really had enough).

So I guess we had two milestones in one day. Our first dentist visit and our first cavity! At least I know there wasn't anything we could really do because it was just the way the tooth is shaped. Sophie is not looking forward to her next visit, but maybe we can have her ready before it gets here! He he!

Love! Love! Love!

I love, love, love Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Cremes! It just opens everything to endless possibilities for dinner! I made a new recipe tonight I wanted to share! So good!

Google Image

Creamy Chicken Spaghetti with Artichokes and Tomatoes
1 container of Philadelphia Cooking Creme - Italian Herb and Cheese
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts quartered (drain juice and rinse)
2 boneless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
Your favorite pasta (We used angel hair)

1. Cook your pasta according to the directions.
2.Cook chicken until white and no pink is visible.
3. Add the artichoke hearts and cooking creme. Stir and let simmer.
4. Add diced tomatoes and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes to let the flavors blend.
5. Serve over pasta topped with Parmesan cheese.

This was wonderful and it could easily be vegetarian by taking out the chicken. In fact, I didn't really eat the chicken (some weird pregnancy thing going on) and it was wonderful.

There are also lots of recipes for the Cooking Cremes on the Kraft Recipes website! I have an idea for another recipe I am going to try tomorrow night. If we like it I will post it!

Enjoy!!!

Freezer Meals: Part 1, Research

I have been doing a lot of research on the whole freezer meal idea. I have done a few in the past and they have always turned out good, but I have never done meals with the soul intent of freezing them. So this is new territory and with a new baby on the way and school starting soon (I don't want to start the countdown to the end of summer yet) I figured why not give it a try while I had some time off. I have looked all over Pinterest and searched the web. Here are a few resources I have found. I thought it might be nice to have them all in one locale!

1. Freezer Meals for Dummies ~ This blog has a lot of tips from what to freeze, what not to freeze and everything in between. I thought it might be a good place to start for freezing novices!

2. 10 Steps to Freezer Cooking - This blog has Crockpot freezer meals which is probably where I will start. She list out everything step by step and has the recipes too. They all seem pretty easy. She even tells you what to write on the bag to help when taking it out of the freezer.

3. 10 Freezer Meals in 1 Day! - This is a huge deal, but I think once it is done it will be worth it. I had a friend send me this blog link and they made into a party and did it all together. I know the Wild Rice Casserole is very good because she made it for church one time. I think I may try to do a few of these too. There is a pdf version of the recipes too.

4. Freezer Cooking - Slow Cooker Meals - This blog I loved because she gives you the grocery list. This is another one I will probably go ahead and do because she has it all laid out. This one does have another teriyaki chicken recipe as the second one does to so just pick and choose which one you think will be better or make them both. I actually think the second one and this one are connected pretty close, but this one does have the grocery list!

5. How to: Stock Your Freezer with Freezer Meals - This blog has a lot of good tips on freezing meals. There is also a link at the bottom to her recipes in a little mini book. Good stuff!

6. 35 Freezer Meals - This blog contains 35 meals that are freezer friendly and how to freeze them and what to store them in.

7. Top 5 Freezer Meals - This website has five freezer recipes. They seem pretty easy and like something my family would eat. May try these too!

8. Once a Month Cooking - This website was recommended by a friend. I haven't had much of a chance to really look through it, but it looks like it has a variety of things to offer.

My friend, Rachel, is also sending me some stuff too so when I get it I will update. She is in the middle of planning a wedding/vow renewal so I won't rush her! :)

I will update with Part 2 when I actually make these meals! YAY!

Pinterest FAIL!

I love Pinterest! I love the ideas and the creativity and the "Why didn't I think of that moments?" While looking and pinning and going crazy I found the idea of putting shower curtain loops on a hanger for scarves. I am a serious scarf junkie! I have at least 20. So I thought this will be great! So I did it! Here is how it turned out.

Loved it! I was so excited until I went to hang it up and it did this....

Epic Fail! This is how both of the hangers sat in my closet! So disappointed!

I hated them so much that I didn't even hang my scarves back up! It was awful and kind of defeated the purpose! On a trip to Wal-Mart I found this lovely hanger and heard angels sing!

$2.50 and it is made for scarves!

So I used it and hung my scarves and I am in love! It doesn't tip and it is a sturdy hanger. The one draw back I can see is that it is hard to see some of the scarves underneath, but if you put the ones you don't wear a whole lot on the bottom it isn't that big of a deal!

Just wanted to share!

Our "Little Bean" aka Kelly

We had our fourth ultrasound (that is a lot!) today! The doctor said everything looked great and so far we had a healthy baby. She also said "It's official!" which made us feel good. Bean was laying on his/her side and kicking. It looked like it was doing lunges and moving it's feet back and forth. It was boxing as well and doing a little wiggling. Maybe we have a future Zumba/kick boxer on our hands! He he! The heartbeat was 164bpm. We have also been able to hear the heartbeat on our fetal hear monitor which impressed the doctor when we told her. I still just can't believe we went from no heartbeat to a baby in three weeks. God is good! The baby measured right where it should be, 9 weeks 4 days. A few pictures are below. I did already post these on Facebook. Sorry for the redundancy.

Miss Sophie is just beside herself about the baby. She prays for him/her every night and quite often before dinner. Makes me want to tear up. The day after we found out that we had a miracle baby she had to take the pictures to school and keep them. She was so proud of "her" baby. She calls the baby "Kelly" which works for a boy or a girl, but isn't close to the names were are thinking about. She also says the baby is wearing cowboy boots. Silly girl! I just know she is going to be a great big sister! I can't wait to see her when the baby gets here.

From Margaritaville to New Jersey in One Weekend!

The Guess' family is traveled out for awhile...whew! We went from a week in Myrtle to a weekend in Atlanta. We are ready for a rest!

 Klint purchased tickets for us to go to Jimmy Buffett long before I was pregnant. He was so pumped because he loves Jimmy and we didn't get to go last year because of the way the tour dates fell. We got there early and tailgated. If you have never been to a Buffett concert, it is something you definitely should do. There are some crazy people there and people are so creative decking their cars out in island attire or with fins. I saw tiki bars and a pirate ship. It was fun!

Klint had talked about the fact that Zac Brown may be at the concert because he was home until next week when he goes to Bama Jam. So the whole night I just waited for him to come out and he did! He sang two songs with Jimmy. It was great and I of course screamed like an idiot. I was more excited about him than Jimmy, but I did enjoy singing a few of my Buffett favorites. Here are a few pictures of the craziness!

These two guys were just walking around dressed as a king and I'm not sure what the other guy is. This is the randomness that is a Buffett concert.

Zac Brown!

Baby's first concert!

Me and Klint...Love this man!

I guess something I can say about Jimmy Buffett is that I have attended both pregnant. With Sophie, I didn't know I was pregnant and with little bean we were aware! Something neat that they have in common! Ha!

Sunday my parents took my cousin and me to The Fox to see Jersey Boys. If you ever get the chance to see Jersey Boys, do it! It was wonderful! The musical is about The Four Seasons. It had lots of great music and the story was amazing. I really didn't know who The Four Seasons were until they started singing their songs. I didn't know I knew so many of their songs. 

It was a great weekend! Sophie stayed busy with her Poppi and Dee Dee on Saturday and then she stayed with her daddy, uncle, and cousin on Sunday while we went to the show. She was one tired girl yesterday, but took a good long nap yesterday morning and has been great ever since. We are so glad to have a couple of weekends at home before our next big adventure...St. Pete, Florida!