Jimmy John's Egg Casserole

Do you have a Jimmy John's sandwich shop near you? It is America's fastest growing franchise. And I love it. As many people do. If you have never been, go try the Beach Club. Delish! Anyway, Shawn often goes to Jimmy John's in Ames for lunch and sometimes he picks up a loaf of their day-old sub bread for supper. He picked one up Friday, but we never ate it. By today, it was very day-old. So I turned half of it into a delicious breakfast casserole this morning!

I added eight eggs, Shawn's coconut milk, leftover ham slices, a few pieces of cooked bacon that were left in the package, a handful of fresh spinach leaves and salt/pepper. I sliced half the loaf into one-in. pieces, put them in the bottom of my baking dish, whisked all the other ingredients in a bowl, poured it on top and baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. I topped the boys' pieces with shredded cheddar and added some fresh goat cheese to mine before serving. Shawn can't eat cheese. Too bad for him. It was good!

So it's Sunday morning. I cleaned the downstairs for an hour and 20 minutes. I have plenty more I could do, but I don't want to overexert myself. :)  The boys are tired and grumpy after having been up late last night. We were at Shawn's parents until 9 so I could finish the sewing project I was working on.

Want to see it? It's freaking awesome!!! I am so proud of it!!! Seriously, it looks good. And that's mainly because Shawn's mom and sister Sandy were there to help me figure out the confusing pattern... But now that I've made it, I could easily make more. So if you really like it.... let me know!

But first, here's a few pics from my birthday weekend. Jeez, I didn't realize how badly I needed a haircut.

 Master and apprentice: this is how video game addicts are created...

 Couldn't pass up this photo! Three butts all playing mini-bowling. I love it!

 Me and my boys!!! I love them!!! 

 Opening my presents with Mazy. These two books: one a biography of a nun, one the biography of a stripper... I'm really not sure what Shawn is trying to tell me with these.  :)

My favorite present: Mazy's murder memo pad! It's a body outline with a blood pen that sticks through the body's heart!

OK, and now for the big unveiling of my One-Yard Wonders "Flouncy Bag" that I made for Grandma Maxine's 84th birthday, which happens to be tomorrow. We aren't celebrating her birthday until the first weekend in March so I'm going to make some homemade baking mixes to go with it. Please remember, this is the first purse I have ever made. And that will make you even more impressed.   :)

Look at it: the Flouncy Bag! So fun, so pretty!

 There's just a hint of gold in the fabric, so I chose a gold ribbon for the under handle and I love the way it turned out. This fabric is a pretty red with roses and birds, which are two of Grandma's favorite things.

 Here's another view of it -- aren't those gathers nice? 

 This is actually the inside, which is fully lined and Shawn's sister Sandy had the great idea to create our own pockets -- two from the ribbon and one from a small piece of fabric that was leftover. 

And one last view to give you a better look at the fabric and the piping -- which I have never applied before. But it was a breeze!

I can't wait to give this to her! Grandma loves purses and although she doesn't shop much anymore, I still wanted to make something fun for her. She's made me so many cool things over the years so I wanted to make her something special. 

Well, that's all for now. Talk to you guys later!

Loose Tooth Alert! Loose Tooth Alert!

It's finally happened. After months of anticipation. After weeks of questioning why his teeth are never loose! After studying about teeth for 6 weeks at school and helping chart how many teeth each of his classmates has lost, Mazy FINALLY has a loose tooth!

He's very excited. It's on the bottom, left center -- whatever that tooth is called. I should ask Mazy, he probably knows... His knowledge of teeth is astounding. When they study a subject at his school, they really study it. One day Mazy showed me a drawing he did that illustrated bloody gums and what causes it! Gross! But kind of cool that he paid attention and learned that.  He also draws all the parts of a tooth and can label them correctly. He also told me the process of how orthodontists create retainers for kids.

But the best part is, he brushes his teeth every day now without being told!

Anyway, when he told me about the loose tooth, I knew what my plans for tonight were: to make a tooth fairy pillow!! I searched for patterns and ideas, but ended up merging a few ideas and using a great tooth pattern from mmmcrafts site. And then I created a tooth monster pillow! I think Mazy will like him:

 The mouth is a small pocket where he will insert his tooth.

There's a larger pocket on back so the tooth fairy can leave money and a note, because all the fictional characters who visit our house leave rather lengthy notes. It's like they all like to write or something. Weird.  :)

I also wanted to show you the car garbage bag that I gave my mom for Valentine's Day. I had actually promised it to my sister, but then I didn't get a chance to finish Mom's embroidered tea towel so now my sis is getting the tea towel and Mom gets the car bag. I was going to make one for Mom anyway, so it worked out. And now Heidi bought the One-Yard Wonders book with the pattern and is planning to make her own. So don't feel too bad for her.

 Car garbage bag (hangs over the headrest of a front seat for backseat occupants, like messy children, to use)

It also has a nifty pocket to stash snacks, toys, books, maps, flashlights, whatever. It's a cool item. 

Ohhhh, one more thing. I did NOT win the potholder contest. But Mazy assures me that I should have won it. He said mine was the best because it had food on it, and all potholders should have food on them. The winners were pretty amazing so I don't feel bad about losing. You can check them out at Prudent Baby.

Since I've talked about Mazy throughout this post, let me end with a short Bo story. He was recently introduced to the cartoon movie, Cars, which is a good movie (and which I've watched probably 57 times now). He's started to repeat movie lines in his conversations. For instance, last night, when I asked him if he wanted to read a book before bedtime, he looked at me totally deadpan and said, "Oh yeahhhhh, Mama. Oh yeahhhhh." It's not as funny in print, but it was freaking hysterical in person. I laughed outloud. He said it exactly like Owen Wilson does in the movie -- very smooth and cocky. 

OK, I'm off to bed. I'm reading Jane Eyre and it's really good!