Blue Castle

Put Your Fridge To Work

My kitchen is small.  Not the smallest one I've ever had, and I'm thankful that I at least have a kitchen, but it's still small.  Making it feel even smaller are two guys who really, really like to help me out any chance they get.  So, it's become a bit of an obsession with me to try to organize and streamline my kitchen wherever I can.

I am also fascinated with magnets.  The day I was able to finally step foot inside of an IKEA store, the first purchase I made was a $5 magnetic knife rack.  I thought that was the best thing ever.  A year or so later, I found a magnetic spice rack at Target and thought my life was complete.  Now, with the advent of super cheap rare earth magnets (eBay rocks!), my organizing drive has found a new way to save space.

Here is just one project I've completed so far:

I magnetized my measuring cups and spoons.

(With my two kitchen helpers, two sets of measuring cups and spoons is a must.)

A little dab of glue, a magnet or two (depending on the size of the utensil) and I am set.

Those babies are stuck on there, (but just to be safe, I am not taking any chances by running them through the dishwasher). 

If I get tired of having them on my fridge, I can always use a piece of sheet metal on my backsplash to hold them too.  I'm telling you, magnets can make your life easier. 

Just wait until you see what I did next.

In the meantime, I'm linking up here:

Keeping My Boys Happy

Suddenly, my nine-year-old boy has become a Meat-Lover.  He doesn't just like eating meat.  He adores it.  If I answer the question "What's for dinner, Mom?" with an answer like: "Shepherd's Pie" or "Hamburgers" or "Meatloaf" I get body slammed into the counter by his ferocious bear-hug and then he exclaims, "I LOVE you, Mom." I really like it when that happens.

I'm sure you know I couldn't just make normal meatloaf, though.  I have to pretty it up a bit.

I start with a Bundt pan.  Yes, a Bundt cake pan.

After cooking, it looks like this:

  This is where the magic happens.

Flip that baby over and you have this. No, it's not raw, it's just my camera.

Add some mashed potatoes, ketchup and a sprinkle of pepper.

That is how I keep my guys happy, and make it pretty too.

Eye Candy

Where I've Been

I couldn't find my camera cord today.  Turns out my husband had put it away sometime last month.  It is usually hanging right by the computer, ready for me to upload a picture or two for my blog posts.  (I have an aversion to blogging without pictures) I hadn't needed it until today.  Yes, I've been a lazy blogger.  And let me just say, it's been wonderful.  I needed a bit of a break. 

Now, for the two of you who are left (faithful readers, I love you!), here's some of what happened in our castle this last month:

My sister loves Hallmark Hall Of Fame movies, and managed to twist my arm hard enough to get our family all together to watch A Dog Named Christmas. Have you seen it?  Let me warn you.  If you happen to watch it (which, it's not Christmas anymore, so you may be safe until next year) be forewarned that not only may your husband wipe a tear from his eye, but your pleading and your sons' begging for a pet may suddenly result in said husband coming home from work on his lunch break, loading your family into your vehicle and setting out to the pet pound to bring home one of these:

And suddenly you will be thrust into the world of DOGS!

Little boys and DOGS!

The world of: Tail Wagging and Puppy Barking and The Dog Who Must Not Sleep Without A Blanket Underneath Him and Doggie Diarrhea and POOP On The Floor!!!! and Fixing The Fence Because The Dog Can Escape Through That Teenie Tiny Hole and Little Boys Who Keep Saying "MOM! I LOVE THIS DOG!!!"and Dog Hair Everywhere and That Wasn't Me Who Farted, Mom, It Was The Dog! 

We will not even discuss the little issue of Dogs Who Eat Their Own Poop! As Lyz pointed out, Dooce wrote about that subject very nicely (and if you need a good laugh read through her comment section on that post).

When your sister, The Librarian, brings you The Dog Whisperer, you will suddenly discover you have found your new favorite family activity - watching Cesar Milan tame demon Chihauahs and nasty Pit Bulls.

You may even find you have so much blog fodder from raising your third child (THE DOG) that you start to think you should change your blog name to: Three Boys And A Dog, (on the recommendation of your 9 year-old, because as he says, "Dad's kind of a boy too, so you can count him.") except that Melody already has that blog title.

Your kids will not be bothered by the poop-eating so much and will love having a dog.  They may even be inspired to write a letter like this to the pound employees:

But, hopefully, once the dust has settled  (and there will be dust because, apparently, dog hair accumulates 100x faster than normal household dust) you won't regret watching A Dog Named Christmas.  Just don't blame me if you do, 'cause I told you so.

What else did we do over Christmas break?

-We watched UP.  More than once.  It was very, very good, but now my kids like to go around and pretend they are The Dog, talking to us - like the dogs do in UP.  Cute, but if I hear "You.Are.My.Master.I.Am.Your.Dog." one more time, I might scream.

-We got snowed in.  On Christmas Day.  It was actually very lovely once we settled down and realized that even though my parents only live two miles away, two feet of was not going to be easy to clear on our own.  Luckily for us, we had most of the food at our place. 

And that is what I did during the last month of my life.