The Waiting Game

So yesterday was the day I had been looking forward to and counting down to for the past 9 months.  And it came, and went, with no sign of a baby coming! :(

And then this morning I woke up, thinking that today is going to be the day, and I haven't even had the slightest bit of a contraction.  

But enough the the downer comments!  I thought I would share some pictures of the nursery.  I think the only things not done are putting his name over the crib (Because we haven't named him yet, we are waiting til he's born.), and I would like to put some stuffed animals or baskets up above the cabinet.  

Over all, I really liked how it turned out.  It's not too crazy and busy, but I didn't really want it to be because it is such a small room.  I think it is just nice and not too stimulating. 

Hopefully you enjoy the pictures!

Nice, Clean Laundry

The other day I received a HUGE blessing of baby boy clothes!  It was more clothes than I even knew what to do with!  The only problem was the person I got them from used very strong laundry detergent and I wasn't a huge fan of the smell.  

I washed the first load and used a little more than normal amount of laundry soap, and they still smelled.  So I washed them again using soap, and still nothing changed.  Then I went and washed them without soap to see if rinsing would work.  Guess what?... Nothing!  So I turned to handy dandy Pinterest and read some articles and decided to try using vinegar.  I was VERY skeptical because come on, who wants there new baby to wear vinegar smelling clothes?! Not me. 

But the articles did say that the reason why vinegar works is because over time, detergent and other smells build up in your fabrics and cause them to have a strong detergent smell, or even a musty smell in your towels.  

So I fill the washer again, pour in one cup of white vinegar and hope for the best.  And low and behold, I was amazed!!  The clothes came out smelling like nothing!  There was a little bit of a vinegar smell, but once I dried them, that smell was gone!  

Needless to say, not only did I wash the baby clothes like that, but I also washed two loads of towels.  My towels had just been smelling "off" lately.  But now they smell so nice and fresh!  I am in love with using vinegar in the laundry!  

On a side note, we are pretty sure we are going to be cloth diapering our baby and so I found this to be interesting.  In one of the articles I read, they said using vinegar in the rinse cycle of the diapers will take out any left over detergent that is left in the diapers.  This will cause less chance of diaper rash and less skin irritation. So just something to think about!

So try vinegar in your laundry and I hope you are as pleasantly surprised as me!

That's all for now!

Cassandra :)

My sister is getting married... Her Bachelorette Party :)

So my little sister isn't so little anymore.  :(  She got married this July.  I am so excited and happy for her and her hubby, but it is just weird to think of her as a married woman! She is still supposed to be the little girl who always tried to tag along with me and would drive me nuts, but I would love her anyways! LOL!

Today, I wanted to share with you a little bit about her Bachelorette Party.  It was a really fun night!  VERY CLEAN and VERY FUN!

We started the evening out by having snacks  and getting to know each other.  The girls invited were from two totally different groups, her work friends and church friends.  

What I want to share the most about is the food.  If you have been on Pinterest lately, you might have noticed that a popular trend is foods that don't need to put on a skewer being put on a skewer for fun and for a nice presentation.  So that was our theme.  Foods on skewer sticks. 

We made meatballs, fruit kabobs and fruit dip, veggie kabobs, pickle wraps, sandwiches, and rice krispie bars. 

The things that I made I have included recipes below:

Fruit Kabobs and Dip:

Obviously you can put whatever kind of fruit on the skewer stick.  I did watermelon, green grapes, red grapes, pineapple, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe. Who doesn't love fruit?! But when you pair it with this super simple and amazingly tasting fruit dip, fruit is taken to a whole new level!

All you need to do for the fruit dip is mix one jar of Marshmallow Cream (7 oz) and one tub of strawberry cream cheese (8 oz).  It is really sticky at first when you begin to mix, but just keep going.  It works best to let the cream cheese get kind of warm, it mixes better this way and you get less clumps. 


Pickle Wraps:

These do not need to be put on skewers, but in keeping with the them, I obviously did.  This is not a picture of mine, I use more ham than this, but it gives you an idea!

Items needed:
2 packs of square ham lunch meat
2 jars of Claussen pickles (these really are the best kind to use!)
1-2 packs of regular cream cheese 

1.  Take two pieces of ham and dry them off with a paper towel.  
2.  Spread one piece with cream cheese (fairly thin) then slightly over lap the next piece of ham and spread with cream cheese.
3.  Dry off a pickle with a paper towel and lay on the edge of the ham and roll it up.
4.  Complete three or four pickle rolls and then place the the freezer for about a half hour. They cut much easier this way!
5.  Continue making more wraps and place in freezer. 
6.  Cut the rolls into 1/2 inch slices. 

These are really easy to do, just a little time consuming with the freezer time.

Rice Krispies:  

Make a pan of Rice Krispies as directed on the box.

Once they have set, cut them into 2 by 2 inch squares. 



Place each square upright on a skewer.  I used a half of a skewer. 

Melt chocolate in the microwave.  Used a little more than a bag of chocolate chips. Dip the end of the rice krispie bar in the chocolate and put on a piece of wax paper.



Once you have the bar on the wax paper, tilt it a little big sideways in all directions and shake on sprinkles. Let dry.



We also played some games, hung out and just had a fun time hanging out with the bride to be! :)  

I'm Back! :)

So I have been gone for a while and have really missed posting.  Like my last post stated, I am pregnant, and I just really haven't had a whole lot of extra energy lately!  Excuses, excuses, I know... but I have been doing some things over the past few months that I can't wait to share with you all!

Some of the things to watch for are some recipes, craft organization, nursery pictures, and baby sewing projects.  

Stay tuned for helpful posts and fun ideas! 

Cassandra :)

Announcing Baby Rodgers... Baby Themed Meal and Photo

Well... it's official! I am pregnant! I just wanted to share some of the things my husband and I did to share the news with our families. 

We decided to have my husband's family and my family over for dinner and a "game night". I knew that after our news was shared, we would not be playing games, but that was the plan to get them all to come over. 

I was 6 weeks and 3 days pregnant, and I was a little nervous about telling them, but I just couldn't keep it a secret anymore. :)

I made a meal full of small things.

*Baby Burgers - essentially "sliders"
I had all the fixings to go on the burgers... lettuce, different kinds of cheese, onions, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, etc.

*Baby Hot Dogs - Little Smokies
I cooked these in Sweet BABY Ray's BBQ sauce and had the bottle sitting by the slow cooker. 

 *Veggie tray with things like baby tomatoes, baby peas, baby carrots, and cucumbers

*Baby baked potatoes

*Baby pickles 

*Fruit Salad with baby oranges and baby marshmallows

After everyone was done, my wonderful husband asked if anyone noticed anything about the meal.  A few of them started to catch on and got really big smiles on their faces.  We had a present for each of them.  And as they opened it, they all started getting smiles on their faces and then the meal theme started to sink in.  It was a lot of fun and everyone was so happy!  

For all of our siblings we gave them a picture of my shoes, my husband's shoes, and a pair of baby shoes in the middle.  



I made a really cute frame that I wrapped with ribbon and made a bow out of baby ribbon for the brothers and sisters.

For our parents we got a frame for them that said "Grandchild are the Sunshine of Life" and put the picture in the frame.  Then for our moms we got a Grandma's Brag Book and for our dads we got a sign that said "Grandpa's Toy Workshop".

After we spilled the beans, we then had dessert which consisted of baby-cakes (cupcakes) and baby brownies (brownies I made in a mini muffin tin). 

It was a VERY fun filled night and like I had anticipated, we did not get to play very many games.  My Love does have younger siblings, and they were getting kind of bored with all the baby talk, so we did play a round of Apples to Apples, but that's about it.  

That's how we announced our news to our family.  It was so much fun and I wouldn't have changed anything!  Hope you get some fun ideas from this and I hope you enjoyed our news! 

-Cassandra :)

just another wednesday

Do you ever have days where it just seems to not go right?

Do you ever feel like you just can't make it through the day on your own?




Well today was one of those days for me.  Right now with working two jobs, fixing up our house, and trying to have fun with my husband and enjoy being married, I am just feeling worn out!  I really didn't want to get up for work this morning, I really didn't want to be at work today, and I REALLY didn't want to go to my next job this evening!  All I wanted to do was stay at home and cook and clean and spend time with my husband!!! Is that really too much to ask?!?!

But whenever I feel like this, I have to remember what it says in Philippians 4:8...

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

When you break the verse down thought by thought it looks like this...

~Whatever is true~
I am thinking about the truth that Christ LOVES ME! He loves me with an everlasting love and He promises to never leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6).  When I cling to this truth, I can believe that I'm not going through this tough time alone!

~Whatever is noble~

Nobel means to possess very high or excellent qualities.  The only thing that I can think of that is high or excellent is the good news that Jesus came to earth as a baby, then lived a life of example for us, and died on the cross for our sins.  That is the most excellent thing I can think of.

~Whatever is right~

Some versions of the Bible use the word lovely instead of right.  What is lovely in your life?  What is going right?  Think on the good and lovely things, not the things that are out of control, messed-up, or bad.  Think on the blessings God has given to you.  Think about the lovely. 

~Whatever is admirable~

The King James version uses the words good report.  I like that because what kind of reports are we listening and thinking on?  Are we filling our lives with news channels and stories that are negative and depressing?  Are we hanging out with friends that are constantly giving a bad report.  Or are we thinking about the good report of Jesus and he saving grace?

~If anything is excellent or praiseworthy~

God is the only one worthy of our praise.  Whenever I get down in the dumps, I try to think on God more.  I turn on Christian music, read the Bible, and talk to God.  He is the only one worthy of our praise. 

~Think on such things~

In a world where people (women especially)  are constantly comparing themselves to others, it can be hard to "think on such things".  We start to think, "Well her life is just perfect, I bet her and her husband never fight," or "Her children are so well behaved, while mine are going crazy," or "Her house is always neat and tidy and so nicely decorated."  But we have to remember we don't see what goes on when we aren't around.  People are good at putting up fronts, and making them seem to be more together than they really are.  

When we remember to think on these things... the things that are true, noble, right, and admirable... we will begin to see what really matters and more importantly WHO really matters!

Be Blessed!
Cassandra :)

burrrr-acious! my word for SUPER cold!

Welcome to North Dakota!! It is so cold today!  I am a true North Dakotan... meaning I LOVE THE COLD AND WINTER!  But this is even a little too cold for me.  This is the second day of this weather and I am kind of getting ready for it to move on.  Now, I feel I should explain, because two days of this wouldn't usually be so bad, except that all of last week was well below zero too!  

Now -14* is not all that cold, but when you add in the pesky wind that happens to ALWAYS blow in North Dakota and the windchill (or RealFeel as they like to call it now) makes it feel like -49*, that makes it a little unbearable! 

So for dinner, I am thinking something warm and hearty is on the menu.  While I am not quite sure what to make tonight, I just wanted to share this recipe I made on Monday.  I wish I could make it again, because it would be perfect for warming us up tonight!

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup milk
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
3 cups uncooked macaroni
chicken bouillon
pepper
3/4 cup Ritz cracker crumbs

Directions:

In a large skillet over med-high heat, saute onions in butter until onions are tender. 

(I'm not a big onion fan, but this really did make the dish WONDERFUL! So trust me, even if you don't usually like onions, don't omit this step!)

Add in soup and 1 ½ cups cheese; gradually stir in milk.Cook over medium heat until cheese melts; stir in chicken; taste and adjust seasoning with bouillon and pepper.

While everything is melting together, cook the noodles in a separate pot.  Cook until just about done, as they will soak up some juice as they cook in the oven. 

When noodles are done, place them into a 3 quart baking dish. Transfer mixture to the dish and mix it all together.

Sprinkle on the Ritz cracker crumbs. 

Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Top with remaining ½ cup cheese and bake 5 minutes.

I got the recipe idea from the site below.  I added a few changes to make it my own!  

ENJOY! :)

http://www.food.com/recipe/chicken-macaroni-casserole-351655

organizing my art supplies

I have a HUGE art class this year.  I have never had one so large.  And I finding out that the hardest and most time consuming thing we do all class period is hand out and clean up supplies.  

I was on pinterest the other day and saw an idea for organizing supplies like sharpies, pens, pencils, etc. and I immediately thought of my art class supplies.  

It is very simple and only took about 30 minutes to complete the whole project from start to finish, and it needs very little supplies.  In fact, I had everything I needed right in my classroom! :)

I started with a box I had laying around and got all my empty paper towel tubes and toilet paper tubes out.  I cut the paper towel tubes in fourths and some toilet paper tubes I left whole, and some I cut in half.

I then put a piece of packing tape on the bottom.  This would not have to be done if you aren't planning on ever taking the supplies out.  But I am going to use them to pass out the supplies to my class, so I needed to have something on the bottoms.

Then I put them in the box, filled them with the supplies, and made a sign for the front. 

If I wasn't going to be using this for such a messy supply like chalk, I probably would have covered the inside and all of the outside with paper and made it really pretty!  But for right now, just covering the front looks good for where I have it sitting on my shelf of art supplies! 

It is VERY primitive, and not nearly not as cute as I would have liked, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! :)

Easy as pie!  I hope this will help organize my art class better as well as give us more time to create and less time passing out supplies.  

Let me know what you do to keep art supplies organized in your life.

Be Blessed!

Cassandra 

welcome to my blog

Welcome to my blog! Like the title implies, I will be posting a little of this and a little of that. Anything from recipes to crafts to household tips and tricks to ideas for kids to thoughts and ideas from the Bible... pretty much anything that brings me joy, makes me happy, and makes my life easier. 

A little bit about me...

I am married to my wonderful husband Caleb. We were married in June, and it has been a fun adventure so far!

I love Jesus! He is my all, my everything, my rock, and my strength. I can't imagine what my life would be with out his love, guidance, and protection.

I run the children's ministries department at my church. I have been doing this for 5 years, and I LOVE IT!

I teach middle school. This is my third year teaching. I never imagined I would teach middle school, but God is showing me His plans are bigger than my plans. 

I love to scrapbook, but never seem to find the time to do it. There always seems to be some other new fun project to tackle.

I am trying to become a better sewer. My husband got me a sewing machine for Christmas, and I'm trying to put it to good use!

I have also started to crochet. Still trying to get the hang of it, but it's something nice to do while watching movies.

I am kind of obsessed with wreaths! I LOVE THEM! I would make so many of them... if I only had a place to display them all!

I love penguins, cold weather, and skiing.

I LOVE TO GARDEN!! I always end up running out of space and have way too many flowers and plants!

If I ever have spare time, I am on pinterest. Check out my boards and follow me! http://pinterest.com/cassandraheber/

I love to cook new food for my husband! And he always likes to try new foods! So it is a win win for both of us!

That's all for now! Thanks for stopping by!