Crunchy Chinese Salad

2-oz. pkg. sliced almonds

2 pkgs. beef ramen noodles

3.75 oz. pkg. sunflower seeds

1 cup white vinegar                                                                                                             

¾ cup sugar                                                                                                                          

2 spice packets from ramen noodles

1 lb. cole slaw mix                                           

¼ cup diced green onions

                                                                                                                                                 

A few hours ahead of serving or day ahead:

1.    Toast almonds on cookie sheet at 350° for 5 minutes; set aside. 

2.    Break up ramen noodles in the packages; put in quart-size ziplock bag.

3.    Add almonds and sunflower seeds to bag with broken up ramen noodles.

4.    Combine vinegar, sugar, and spice packets from the ramen noodles to make the dressing. 

5.    Cover and put in refrigerator. 

6.    In serving bowl, combine cole slaw mix and green onion. 

7.    Cover and put in refrigerator.

Before serving:

Add broken up ramen noodles, almonds and sunflower seeds to cole slaw mix.

Immediately before serving:

Shake dressing well and pour over salad. Mix well and serve.

 Yield:  12 servings.

Woombie!

If you are like me and have:
a. A baby who likes to be swaddled at night
b. A baby who will bug herself endlessly with her own hands at her face
c. A hubby who just cannot grasp the whole swaddling technique
d. All of the above! (that's me)

You NEED this!  As you can see in the picture, it's just a very stretchy zippered sack.  It keeps my baby girl from getting her hands to her face while still allowing her to move around and stretch.  And when my hubby takes his turn on the weekends feeding her at night, he can get her back to bed while still half-asleep himself. 

What I love about the Woombie:
1. It keeps her hands away from her face so we can all sleep.
2. It has a two-way zipper for easier diaper changes at night.
3. It keeps her hands away from her face so we can all sleep.
4. It's stretchy enough that it doesn't have the straight jacket effect.
5. It keeps her hands away from her face so we can all SLEEP.

Organized Spice Drawer

My organized spice drawer (idea from a Pinterest post):
I bought 25 of the cheapest baby food jars I could find.  I didn't have any lying around, and we're not planning to use store-bought baby food for our little one.  So I dumped the contents into storage containers (yeah, we'll eat them - like applesauce!) and cleaned the jars.  After using my favorite new toy (label maker), the spice drawer is done!  The Pinterest post used chalkboard paint on the lids, but I keep the same spices stocked so I don't need the labels to change.  I might use clear paint sealant on the tops so the labels won't come off.

Maroon Bells, Colorado

HDR (High Dynamic Range) Photography

Snowy Range, Wyoming

Paradise Island, Bahamas

Canyon near Estes Park, Colorado

Baby Nursery

Wooden flower pegs, letters, and shelf are from Hobby Lobby.  Everything is painted with acrylic paint and matte sealer.  The edges of the letters and flowers are a darker color to help them stand out from the wall.  The ribbon is 1/4" polka dot.  It's hard to see, but the shelf has alternating levels of green and pink.  The frames on the shelf are painted to match the edges of the letters.  Love DIY wooden shapes!

Miracle Blanket

THE BEST swaddling blanket!  My daughter was Houdini when it came to getting her hands out of every swaddle.  Not this one!  It was well worth the money since it helped her sleep through the night at 3 weeks old!

http://www.miracleblanket.com