What a Year!!

Wow! I can't believe that we are in the last days of the year... and what a year it has been!! From a new little person in my life to deciding to homeschool Gabby, this year has got to be one of my busiest and best. My marriage is stronger than ever, we are financially standing on somewhat solid ground (knock on wood!), everyone is healthy, and we have so much to be thankful for this year. There are some days that definitely stick out in my head though this year....

Gabby losing her first tooth

Catching fireflies

AJ and Sophia... they love each other so much!

AJ turned 3 this year

Our family grew... an unexpected Christmas surprise!

We discovered a very cool festival and already are saving up for this summer

Raspberry picking was awesome and sooo yummy!

Gabby started playing sports

Klint got his first tattoo

Somehow I grew and lost a lot of weight... all at the same time! 

We had so much fun in the sun.... these little girls love the Splash Park!

But most importantly... this year was filled with a lot of love and happiness! Happy New Year everyone and see you next year!!!!

Favorite Crafts Tutorials from 2010

This was a pretty crafty year for me since I had a whole nursery to decorate and so many fun things to make! Here are my favorite crafts and tutorials from 2010!

Butterfly Chandelier found here

Patchwork Pillow found here

Sock Owl found here

Pocket Pillow found here

HUGE Strawberry Pillows found here

Baby Bunting Quilt found here

Baby Change Kit found here

Plushy Angry Bird Characters found here

I am sure that there are more, but these are my favorites!!!!

Happy Crafting and see you tomorrow!

Getting Readjusted...

Today my little one is exactly 3 weeks old and while in some ways I have needed more time to adjust to this new routine, in many ways life just continued on as normal. My own children to care for, other children to care for (a new family started the week that I came home from the hospital!), pets to be looked after, laundry... it is all there. I am enjoying this new person in my life though... she is definitely an easy, mellow baby, who already heard the sounds in the sometimes chaotic house, therefore, when I have to raise my voice or there is nuttiness going on she can sleep right through it all. Thank goodness!

Moira definitely has a personality already. She is calm and likes to push away from me to look around her environment. She will fuss if I don't nurse her as quickly as she wants and man oh man is she a messy eater! Most days I have at least a couple outfit changes for me and her as she somehow gets milk on my arms, legs, her whole upper body, lol! I have started wedging a small washcloth between her chin and me to catch all the run off... but at least I know she is eating well. Well enough, in fact, that she gained a whole pound and then some in the first two weeks of her life!

But aside from the baby, most normalcy has returned. There are still some things we need to fix, like getting a bigger vehicle, but all in all... I am getting readjusted quite well!

Oh.... and I just bought these for Miss Moira's monthly photos.... aren't they genius?! The seller has tons of fun designs and they are way cheaper than actually making onesies with the design on it!

Happy Holidays from the Krebs!

Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas from all of us to you!
I am going to take the next couple of days to enjoy my newly improved family,

and will see you all next week.

May your days be merry and bright!!!!!

It's Snowing Snowmen!

I love snow, making snowmen outside, and any craft that has to do with snowmen. I am making these cookies with the girls later today and doing this craft this week!

This is the icing recipe I use, really simple recipe!

What favorite snowman craft do you have or remember doing as a child?

My favorite is always taking different sized white buttons and making snowman cards with the kids... 

easy and so cute to give to relatives with homemade gifts!

In One Week

In one week I have discovered a lot of things about this new life of mine. I learned that it is a lot easier to go from 2 kids to 3, that having a 6yr old in the house is way more helpful than having just a 3yr old, and that putting myself through the trouble of dancing until I was ready to burst paid off in the end. I have been off all pain medicines for the last 2 days, have gotten more sleep with a newborn than when I was pregnant, and have even taken all three girls out shopping today... a daring feat considering everyone has Christmas madness!

I have learned that even at 3am I like to just look at my baby sleeping beside me. This new life of mine is in some ways no different from my life a month ago and in other ways is so much easier. I have regained a lot of my old figure back and am recovering really nicely from my c-section, which I am very thankful for. I am looking forward to spending this Christmas with 3 wonderful little girls and a lovely husband, knowing that this is what I have always wanted and never knew it before. And for that simple fact I am grateful for this life I have.

My Friend Picnik.com

Even though I have all the bells and whistles of Photoshop on my computer thanks to the hubby there are times that I just want to do some quick editing. Times when I just don't want to go through the 7,000 steps it takes to get the effect I want. And when I am in that kind of mood I turn to Picknik!

I love that it is free, online so you don't have to download anything, and super easy so anyone can improve their photos! There is a pro-version that you have to pay for, but the free effects are so good that you don't have to pay for it to be a great tool. (The premium level is worth it though if you really find yourself using Picnik a lot... I recently upgraded and am hooked even more now!

Here is a great sample of what you can do in just a few clicks:

And all I did was crop the photo, color balance it, and then put a winter effect on it..... soooo easy and took less than 5 mins. With this awesome program you can add text (and they have FUN fonts!), whiten teeth, remove wrinkles, add frames, age the photo, and so much more. Of course I can do all this in Photoshop, but I don't even want to go into how many steps it would take and the effect wouldn't be half as cool in my opinion!
Here is another photo I have edited recently:

Cool huh?! So be lazy, open up some photos in Picnik, and you will have no excuse for unbalanced, washed out photos!

Guest Blog: hubby cooks Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Cooking with Gabby many years ago!

Wifey kindly asked me to guest blog here on my soup I made last night so here we go!  A little while ago I was inspired by a friend who is nearly a vegan (she can't give up chocolate!) and the health benefits of vegetarianism to check into recipes and find out if there are tasty meals I can make without meat.  I checked out a few books from the library and most of the meals sounded like side dishes or had ingredients I couldn't even picture in my head let alone ones I could predict what they would taste like combined.  Finally I stumbled across Betty Crocker's Easy Everyday Vegetarian.  I've always been a fan of Betty Crocker recipes, and as I paged through this book I found meals that sounded filling and delicious.  We've already tried the slow cooker lasagna (easy and turned out GREAT!) but this recipe for the tortilla soup REALLY hit the spot today.  It was bone chillingly cold today and I was really needing warmed up from the inside out so a nice hot meal that had some zing to it sure sounded great this morning.  So without further adieu, here is how to warm up on a cold day, tortilla style!

You will need:
3 tsp vegetable oil
4 corn tortillas (or I just used tortilla chips)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cans (14oz each) vegetable broth
1 can (10 oz) chopped tomatoes and chilies, undrained (I think this is where some of the heat comes from)
1 Tablespoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro or parsley (I used cilantro because I love the way Chipotle's rice tastes)

1. In a 2-quarts saucepan, heat 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil over med-high heat.  cut the tortillas into strips and cook them for about half a minute until crisp and golden brown.  remove and drain on paper towels.  (I skipped this step and just used tortilla chips)
2. In the saucepan you just used, add the remaining teaspoon of veggie oil and cook the chopped onion until tender
3. stir in the broth and tomatoes.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes
4. stir in lime juice and cilantro.  Be careful with cilantro...it add some zing!

We added cheese and sour cream and served along with some cheese quesadillas for a delicious and hearty winter meal.

check out this recipe and LOTS more in the Easy Everyday Vegetarian.  LOVE IT!

Favorite Baby App for the Droid!

One of the hardest things for me to get used to about having a brand new baby around is keeping track of all the nursing and body function details... which side Moira nursed on last time, when she pooped last, how long ago did she eat, etc.... Well thank goodness for my Motorola Droid!!! Now I have some easy to use and FREE tools to help me adjust easier to our new family member.

Personally I am a huge fan of an app called Baby Care. It is really easy to use, is detailed enough for me to keep track of whether she ate on one side or both, for how long, and how much time passes in between. It also keeps a history so when the pediatrician asks I can just pull up all the information. The app also keeps track of diaper changes, sleeping, other details, and has a diary function. Love it!!

Even though taking care of a baby is pretty basic, it is nice to have some modern things to make the job a bit easier!!

Top 10 Reasons Why I Loved Being Pregnant!

Klint took this of me when I reached our due date and I love it! Even though my bump is just a memory and there will be no more future bumps, I can honestly look back on this pregnancy with a lot of fondness.... Here are my Top 10 Reasons Why I Loved Being Pregnant (this time!)

10. Minimal Weight Gain- Don't know how I managed to gain as little as I did without puking my brains out everyday, but I definitely enjoyed not wearing maternity clothes and feeling good about myself in general.

9. I Rocked Out the Bikini- Something I never dared to do with either of my other two pregnancies! It may not have been the Swim Suit photo of the year, but I felt pretty good about myself in my Speedo bikini!

8. I got to paint my belly like a pumpkin! (A goal of mine since we got married!)

7. Hardly any nausea and throwing up.... thank goodness!

6. No Swelling- not even in the last trimester!

5. I Got Informed! If it wasn't for this pregnancy I would not have stood up for my birthing rights and would have remained woefully ignorant to the blatant wrongness of our modern medical OB system. I learned so much and have become so much stronger for it. I got to really look at my first two births and see that I was manipulated by an OB who did not have my best interests at heart and that there was something I could do about it!

4. No one called me fat, asked if I was having twins, and only one stranger rubbed my belly- a new record for me!

3. No food aversions- I escaped this pregnancy loving all the foods that I started out loving.... thank goodness!

2. I got to meet awesome women who shared my journey with me, found a doula who is awesome, and now have an OB that I trust and would recommend to anyone I know!

1. My marriage is so much stronger than what it was when we started out this adventure. I got to fall in love with my husband all over again and know that he feels the same way. Even though physically there were some rough times for me, it was so nice to know that my partner was there to hold my hand and support me.

And that my friends, is why I loved being pregnant this time!