What a weekend at our house!  We spent most of the weekend cleaning the house after a long 2 weeks of all 6 kids being home = dirty house.  Once we were able to wipe the dust bunnies out of the corners I even cleaned the porch.  I seriously can not get over this AWESOME weather.  The kids played outside every afternoon.  I am so thankful for all the exercise and VITAMIN D they have been able to get!!

On Sunday my husband let me embark on a project I bought supplies for in October! Beginning of October, if you can believe it.  The supplies are for the curtains in my boys bedrooms.  I went to Ikea for the hardware and purchased drop clothes for 20.00.  So excited about these awesome canvas curtains.  Mainly because I made them myself.

I began and let me tell you the beginning was the hardest part.  I gave up 3 times in my mind!!!  Curtains have to be straight, meaning straight seams or they look funky.  Well let me tell you mine are pretty darn straight and I am very happy about that.

First I spread out this massive drop cloth on the floor and measured and remeasured…..with a little help from my side kick we finally cut in to it.

Not before she had to make a cruse across it.  She just wanted to get a feel for that awesome canvas cloth.  You know those drop cloths are total quality fabric! HA

Truth is I am crazy for them.  I have made pillows, bags and a hundred other things because they are cheap and I think they are cool.

The edges (the up and down sides of the curtain) I folded the fabric over 1 inch.  I then folded that again a 1/2 inch.  Once both sides were ironed I seamed up both of them 1/8 inch from the edge.

 

One the bottom I ironed a 1 inch fold and then folded it up 3 inches and ironed again.  I then seamed it 1/8″ from the top edge.

I did the same on the top except I folded one inch ironed and then 4 inches and ironed.

So when you are measuring make sure you include an extra 9 inched for the hems on top and the bottom.

I pinned and ironed and ironed and pinned and the outcome looked like this and I am amazed.  They totally do the trick. VOILA!!!! I did it!

With the boys back to school today Ryan, Colin, Grace and I spent the morning getting our business done!  Grace’s therapy was complete by 10 and Ryan 10:30.  I love days like that!  Even with all the time we took off I am really happy with Ryan and Grace’s progress.  Grace is almost up on all 4’s.  She is a crawler but looks like an inchworm, which is so darn cute if I do say so myself.  We want her to crawl on all 4’s though so I crawl her with a sling around her tummy and in just 3 weeks she really seems to becoming more comfortable in that position which is what we are going for.  Her tone has increased drastically in the last couple of months, that makes me smile.  She has also had a bit of a growth spurt.  Time for new pants!!  Fine with me, I love visiting the girl racks.


These two have an amazing bond and I love to watch them play together.  My heart skips a couple beats every time.

The afternoon got away from us and I forgot to take anything out from dinner!  I HATE when I do that. (more often then not I must admit) That is OK because I had an inbox from a blog called Pink Suede Shoe (she is a great cook BTW) and she made what looked like the most amazing cauliflower cheese soup.  I was off!  I had to have it.  I of course did not have cauliflower so I substituted broccoli.  It is SOOOO yummy!!!  It is great gluten free as well.  I used a GF flour and you can not tell a bit of difference.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

2 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (You and use gluten free flour with out any problem)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups half and half (or milk if you like)
2 cups of chicken broth
1 head broccoli, cut into 1-inch chunks (I used the organic frozen broccoli from Costco)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tbl spoon of hot peppers from the jar dice
2 shakes of nutmeg
1 tbl spoon of sugar


In a large saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 


Whisk in flour and salt. Gradually stir in half and half, and chicken broth.  Bring it to a boil and add the broccoli.  


Cook for 10 mins till broccoli is nice and tender.  Add the Dijon, salt, nutmeg and cheese as well as the hot peppers.  Stir till the cheese is melted and then add a tablespoon of sugar.   Use an immersion blender or a regular blender to blend the soup till it is creamy and smooth.

Yum Yum Yum!

Ryan and Grace can not have cheese.  Thank goodness for the chili I made last night.  Here is a recipe for chili seasoning because most of the store bought packets have wheat in them.

2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (more to taste)
1 teaspoon of Garlic powder if you do not use fresh garlic in your chili
2 teaspoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
salt and pepper to taste

This is enough for a regular pot of chili.  I never knew till Ryan had dietary constraints there was life outside of the chili packet! HA!  You can make chili without a packet, who would have known.