Battle: Sugar Ants

 

 

Sugar Ants are such pesky critters. We recently have been battling these little nasties. They've been coming out of the woodwork (literally) several times a day to scavenge around Gabby's seat at the dinner table. Luckily the number hasn't been great but my patience has still been tested. We've used sprays and bait in the past but were at a loss what to do this time since the issue is so close to where we eat.

 

I tried sweeping and moping daily but we would still get the odd scavenger throughout the day. Then I came across a hint by Danny Ledoux, author of Pest Control Simplified for Everyone: use citrus. Apparently citrus is a natural repellent that masks an ant's scent trail. In other words, the can't remember how to get back to the food source (Gabby's seat) and more importantly can't tell their colony of friends.

 

I've been wiping the baseboards with lemon water twice a day and so far it has worked. Not a single ant has been seen since. Bonus: it smells really good too!

Cool T

 

Nate got this cool T-shirt for his birthday from his Auntie Steena. I love the wordplay. It's especially fun since Jim's relatives are root vegetable farmers.

 



Nate loves the shirt too! He keeps saying "Let's turn up the beat! Oooh! Yeah! Baby, I know!" Hilarious.

Lent Suppers - Spicy Shrimp Tacos

A standby in our house for a quick meal is tacos. Not the regular ground beef hard shell tacos but spicy shrimp or spicy fish tacos. The way we make them is super simple: take shelled and de-veined shrimp or fish cut into strips and toss with Siracha hot sauce. Saute and stuff a small corn tortilla. Typically we had a cabbage slaw, cilantro, lime and pickled red onions. Yum.

Siracha aka "Rooster Sauce" is our go to for spicing up meals but i n this dish it really makes the meal!

Bicycle Cake

Nate calls his 4th birthday his "Big Bicycle Birthday". It's not that he wants a new bicycle, he got a great hand-me-down bike from a neighbors grandson. He calls it his "Big Bicycle Birthday" because he wants a big cake shaped like a bicycle. Uhhhh...yeah...I could do that, right?

Sure.

I started by making to 6" rounds for the wheels and a sheet cake to cut into parts for the body of the bicycle. It's a bit rough and clunky, but it definitely resembles a bike...or scooter...or moped...at least it looks like a two-wheeled vehicle!

Much more successful were the Oreo lollipops. I simply stuck a stick into the center filling of the Oreo, dipped them in chocolate and sprinkled fun sprinkles on top. They worked out much better than anticipated.

The best part was that Nate had a good time. He didn't notice the awkwardness of the cake or the uneven dip of the cookies. In his eyes everything was perfect. 

Happy birthday little guy!

Lent Suppers - Cajun Shrimp

Last week we actually made two non-meat dinners. The first was Cook's Illustrated "Best Vegetarian Chili". I'm not posting the recipe or instructions as it was way too much work for the end result. I've had yummy vegetarian chilis before and this wasn't what I had in mind when I made it. It was more of a mock meat chili.

The other recipe was an old standby that we typically make during the Summer, Cajun Shrimp. This recipe is tasty every time! We eat it on its own as an appetizer or tossed with pasta as a main course. The best part is that it is super simple to make.

 

Start with tail on, deveined shrimp.

 

Toss with vegetable oil, Cajun seasoning, red pepper flakes and Worcestershire sauce. Grill on the barbecue until cooked through.

Place cooked shrimp in a clean bowl. Don't touch as they are hot! (Gabby is saying Ow as she wanted to eat one and the shrimp were still hot!)

Drizzle a generous portion of honey on top and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Cajun Shrimp

Ingredients:

12 shrimp, deveined with the tail on
1 T vegetable oil
1 1/2 t Cajun seasoning
1 1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 T+ honey

Directions:

Toss the first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Grill on a barbecue until done.

Place in a clean bowl and drizzle with honey. Serve warm.

Fluttering Butterfly

 

My friend Amanda's birthday was last weekend so I hauled out my craft supplies and started brainstorming what to make for a card. I make Amanda a card every year. We made the startling realization that this is the 16th card I've made her. Here's a link to last years card.

 

This year I admittedly poached the idea from this cool picture I saw at Ikea. I took the picture with my phone a couple of years ago and have been meaning to make my own since.

 

 

To start I drew out some butterfly silhouettes on the backside of my card stock. Then I took out an X-Acto knife and cut along the lines. Next, carefully erase the pencil marks.

 

Then glue a colorful piece of paper to the backside and voila! I think I'll try making a larger shadowbox picture for Gabby's room next!

Partying with Poh Poh

My mom (aka Poh Poh to the kids) came up for a very short but activity packed couple of days this week. We celebrated Nate's birthday early with a trip to the toy department at Target, ate food non-stop and did what my kids do best, ran and ran and ran around the house.

It was exhausting but so much fun. The brief visit highlighted how much I miss my mom for the big events like the kids birthdays but the everyday things too. Sure wished she lived closer.

I love you, Mom!