Proverbs 30One

Did you know...

2011-12-05T06:01:00.000-08:00

That you can plant used up green onions in a small jar of water.
Cchange the water everyday and see this in a few days???

What Did We Do???

2011-11-22T20:29:00.001-08:00

Last week I hinted about something the girls and I were doing - we made soap!

This picture is of homemade lye. It was a long process with buckets and hay and rocks and filtering and ashes...whew! We finally got a strong mixture of lye and tested it by floating an egg in it - hence the mystery picture!

BUT...Once I had the lye and the oils all ready I could not find a recipe for making soap using homemade lye. I guess what we made was potassium hydroxide (fancy eh?!) but commercial lye is sodium hydroxide. The two are not interchangeable and we quite possibly have blown up our kitchen had we tried. :)

So, a quick trip to Ace Hardware to get the commercial stuff was in order and we were off on our soap making adventure!

I had made it years ago and took a class at the time so a quick refresher for me and I was able to teach the girls. They were so excited and delighted to see it all come together.

We mixed our lye and water...
Melted our oils...
And let them both cool to 110 degrees.
We combined the two...
and mixed...
and mixed...
In fact we got so tired of mixing until we reached the "trace" stage that I ended up putting the whole thing in the kitchenaid mixer and let it do the work. Two hours later we reached the consistency we were looking for (I was beginning to lose hope!).

The prepared 'mold'...
At the last minute we mixed in our lavender and lemon essential oil and some pulverized oats for grit and poured it into the mold...
A couple of days later we cut it into bars. We were thrilled with the results and are all hooked.

The hardest part? Waiting the 4 weeks for it to cure before we can use it!

Handmade Christmas

2011-11-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

I came across this idea the other day for making yarn out of t-shirts. What a great idea! I had a few in my fabric storage and got to work making a few balls of yarn. There was also this idea for making a layered necklace and I immediately thought of my 16 year old. I whipped this up one evening while watching a movie and I love how it turned out!
***Shameless plug alert***...this one is actually for sale in our etsy store, but I made another all white one for my daughter - equally as nice!

Fall Decor

2011-11-16T09:56:00.000-08:00

So, I had to check the calendar twice the other day because I had NO IDEA that Thanksgiving was this close! When your temps are in the 70s and 80s most days, it is hard to tell when the seasons changed. I'm currently working on our thanksgiving meal plan and that is also the day we decorate for Christmas - that should be super strange!

Anyhoo - we were at the thrift store the other day and I spotted this covered glass canister and I was in love! I oohed and ahhed over it and kept walking past it. I could picture all the fun things I could do with it each season. For only $3.50 I really couldn't pass it up but I am so hard on myself when it comes to buying for me. My husband is always telling me to buy myself this or that but I have a hard time with it. Finally, he had enough of me 'wondering if I should' and grabbed it and stuck it on the counter with the other things we were buying!

FUN!!!
I've already changed it up a few times and look forward to seeing it change with the seasons.

Deals

2011-11-15T06:23:00.000-08:00

There have been a few yard sales here lately and I scored some great finds for my little one last weekend. Everything her size was 50 cents each - I went back 3 times!

She is now the best dressed kid in town!4 Pairs of pants

3 Dresses

The cutest little piggie pjs

4 tops

A coat and a puffy vest
And the sweetest little boots!

(Now, if it would just get cold enough to wear these we'd be all set!)

What Is Going On Here???

2011-11-14T06:21:00.001-08:00

The girls and I have a fun project going this week - I'll share more soon!

Pop Up Puppet Doll

2011-10-31T13:01:00.001-07:00

So, we were talking about Christmas the other day and my 12 year old says something like "I need to make more money so I can buy my Christmas gifts this year"

Gulp!

Instantly I was hit with "what are we instilling in this child?"

Enter...

"THE HANDMADE CHRISTMAS GIFT EXTRAVAGANZA!"
...I made a poster and everything to introduce it to the family :)

I figured it wouldn't be too much to ask for everyone to handmake at least one item for everyone else in the family. Of course, my brain is going ninety miles an hour thinking of all these great things I could make and when the latest Family Fun magazine came in the mail I knew just what my 20 month old was getting. Sure, she might tear it up by noon on Christmas day but it was fun to make.

Supplies:
The magazine suggested using a pair of child's tights in place of the shirt but I had the shirt in a pile of outgrown clothes and decided to put it to use and just sewed it into a tube - of sorts)

Any 1 liter bottle would work - I used a lemon juice bottle)
Cut and sew the shirt or just cut the tights into a 7" long tube.
Gather the top edge of the tube.
Stick the dowel in the tube up to the top and glue the wooden head onto the gathered bit.
Glue the bottom hem along the top edge of the bottle.
Cut out your shirt and hands from assorted fabrics.
Glue the bottom half onto the top half enclosing the hands in the sleeves.

Embellish with buttons and trim.Wind yarn around your hands and tie up, then cut apart to form the head of hair and glue it on.
Peek-a-boo!

Basil Pesto Chicken

2011-10-31T12:47:00.001-07:00

I had a request to share one of the recipes I used in my Once a month Freezer cooking day.

(Pictured Left)

I found this in the South Beach Diet cookbook and it is SO easy - and yummy too!

Basil Pesto Chicken
1/2 cup Bail Pesto
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts cut into serving pieces
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese - grated

Spread 1/4 cup basil pesto in bottom of 8x8 baking dish.
Top with chicken pieces
Smother with remaining 1/4 pesto and top with shredded cheese.

That's it!

At this point you could seal, label, and freeze it.
When ready to cook, thaw in fridge and cook at 375 for 20-25 minutes.

Funny Little Girl

2011-10-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

Every day...
is filled...
with lots...
of laughter!
(I found this late one night while tidying up the house after a long day)

Super Easy Fabric Ornament

2011-09-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

I've been SO in the mood for Christmas. I want to do a really shabby chic Christmas this year and have been looking up lots of ideas online of ornaments and decorations to make for cheap.

I came across this one yesterday and made on last night - so easy and the results are beautiful, I think.

Supplies:
This next part brought me back to elementary school. Remember wrapping the tissue paper around a pencil and dabbing it in glue? Here is the grown-up version:

Wrap little fabric squares (about 2" square) around something pointed. I used a chop stick. Dab a little hot glue on the end and stick it to the Styrofoam ball.
Start by going around the outer edge first and working your way into the middle.
Finish off the back with a circle of fabric to cover where you attach your hanger. (I opted for half circles because I wanted to get twice as many out of the balls - but you could do full spheres too.)
Isn't it pretty?

OAMC

2011-09-23T14:24:00.000-07:00

OAMC is my new buzz phrase around here and I am in love!!! I have been toying with the idea of doing Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) for a while now and decided to tackle it for real.

And...it was SO much fun!!!

I started by compiling all my recipes and really studying the stuff on this website. She has SO much information and it was super helpful.

After gathering my recipes and making my grocery list I made lists of what to chop first and what to cook and what to prepare when and in what order. It was a lot of preparation work but I think as I do it more it should become easier. Plus, I love list making so that part was really fun too!

I did a rather large (rather painful) grocery shopping trip to start it all off but the good news I kept having to remind myself was that this was going to set us up for a month of meals and the subsequent trips to the store should be considerably less.

(supplies ready on the counter)

(meat in the fridge)

I decided on 15 recipes and doubled everything:

The week before I did this I found a food processor at the thrift store for $2 (yay!) I have wanted one for a long time and this helped out so much!
We chopped everything before we started and laid them out on papers with the recipe number:
Then cooked, and prepared. Most of the meals were marinated meats or dishes that just needed to be thrown into a bag and labeled. We call these "dump" recipes.
Having this little helper was - um, not helpful, but she was fun!

Six hours after I started I ended up with all of this!

26 main courses and 6 sides!

It has been a week since I did this and the effort put forth on that day has been a huge help in the days since. Making dinner has been a breeze. I just pull something out of the freezer, defrost it and cook it according to the label. I throw together a vegetable or rice for the side and we're done.

Can't wait to do it again next month!

Works for Me Wednesday

2011-08-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Sometimes these bottles look exactly alike. I always found it frustrating to determine which was the shampoo and which was the conditioner without picking them up, and searching the label through soapy eyes.
This quick tip has made this so much easier for everyone. I just marked the top of each bottle with an S or a C with a sharpie and there is no more guessing.
This works for me!

Visit We are That Family for more WFMW posts!

Breakfast at Viamede

2011-01-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

Each evening I read to the girls from the Elsie Dinsmore series. It takes place in the nineteenth century, during the civil war in the South. Elsie is a beautiful young heiress who places high importance on Christian values. We are currently on book 5. There are 28 books in all. We love this series. It is filled with so many wonderful characteristics we are striving to instill in our daughters. One of the glorious homes in the book is in a location named Viamede.

Last week I asked my oldest to take on breakfast duty for Saturday morning. A few days later she showed me her menu plan and said she would like to put on a Breakfast at Viamede. I had no idea what was in store but I let her run with it.

On Friday evening the table was prepared and Saturday morning we enjoyed a lovely breakfast!
We were treated to banana biscuits, rich scones with jam, fruit salad, sausage links, scrambled eggs, tea, and orange julius. And everything was delicious!
Even Hanah got the royal treatment - although she missed it completely as she was napping at the time

Valentine Decor

2011-01-16T21:45:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to have a stash of decorations for every holiday to make each one special for my family. This year I decided to make some Valentine hearts to start my collection.

Years ago I heard of a woman who left her Christmas tree up until Valentine's Day and changed out the Christmas decorations for hearts and Valentine-y stuff. I always thought that was a neat idea but have never done it. The Christmas tree we have now is really skinny and rustic and I love it. I hated the idea of taking it down this year - so I didn't!
I bought this big box of miss matched fabric scraps at the thrift store months ago and it really came in handy for this project.
I just cut out hearts, sewing ribbon and lace to the fronts, stitched them together, stuffed them, and hung 'em up!

New Headboard

2011-01-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

We've been without a headboard since we got married seven years ago. I've been continually on the lookout for one but just never found "the one" though.

Last month when we moved all the rooms around in the house I found myself with a large piece of plywood and could just envision my homemade headboard. Thanks to a gift for Christmas for fabric - I got started (and finished) right away - and I love, love, love it!

I bought vinyl - I wanted something washable and easy to wipe down to clean. I laid the vinyl down, then the cotton batting, then the plywood and we pulled and stapled it all around.
Once it was done I really liked it but I wanted to add some little touch to make it a little more contemporary. I found these upholstery nails at Walmart and just hammered them in all around the edge. It was perfect!
Voila!

2 Misses and 1 Hit

2011-01-06T15:06:00.000-08:00

So, I 've been trying out some new recipes on my family this week. So far I am at 2 misses and one hit! I'll go over the misses at a later time (think...too sweet stir fry and too herb-y pork loin) Anyway - today's lunch was great!

Baby Greens Salad with Clementines, Olives, and Goat Cheese Dressing

Mix the following together for the dressing:
2oz soft goat cheese
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2.5 Tbsp water
1.5 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Combine and spread on plates:
3 cups baby spinach
3 cups romaine lettuce
Dispersed on each plate, add:
4 Clementine oranges separated into segments
Garlic croûtons
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced

YUM!

Menu Plan Monday

2011-01-02T20:11:00.000-08:00

I am sick of cooking. Well, it isn't the cooking I'm sick of really - it's the food. I'm sick of food. I heard someone years ago say they wish someone would invent a new meat - I totally agree! How great would a brand new meat be??? I'll have to work on that!

But in the mean time - here is our menu plan for this week. I poured over some cooking magazines tonight and the newest Martha Stewart one and found some fun recipes to try so the menu plan this week looks a little different than normal - and for that I am thankful!

Monday
Lunch - Broccoli Cheese Soup, French Bread
Dinner - Stuffed Pork Loin w/ Roasted Apples and Sweet Potato Cottage Fries

Tuesday
Lunch - Baby Green Salad w/ Clementine, Olive, and Goat Cheese Dressing, French Bread
Dinner - Whole Roast Chicken, Carrots, Mashed Potatoes, & Gravy

Wednesday
Lunch - Tomato Pasta Sausage Soup (this is becoming a family favorite)
Dinner - Stir Fried Sirloin & Bok Choy

Thursday
Lunch - Cold Sandwiches and Chips
Dinner - Stew & Dumplings

Friday
Lunch - Quesadillas w/ cheese and olives
Dinner - New York Strip Steaks, Baked Potatoes, and Individual Chocolate Soufflés - thank you Martha!

Saturday
Brunch - French Toast, Eggs, Sausage
Dinner - Homemade Shrimp & Mushroom Pizza (make and freeze earlier in week)

And if I'm feeling really adventurous this week for breakfast I'd like to try Crockpot Barley with Apricots, Almonds, and Honey - yum!

2011

2011-01-01T09:51:00.001-08:00

I am continually amazed at how fast time flies. It seems every year someone in the house is saying that this was the fastest year ever.

I was reading Shannon's blog this morning (her baby boy is 2 weeks younger than Hanah) and her words summed up what I am feeling:

I must say I am a little sad to see 2010 go. It was by far our best year ever since we welcomed this little (girl) into our world. Oh my goodness! No one can describe to you the immediate, intense love you will feel for your child. Even though I am a little sad to say goodbye to 2010, I am really excited about 2011. I love watching (Hanah) grow and learn new things every day. (She) will go from a baby to a toddler this year and I'll try to keep my heart from exploding with love.

As for the rest of 2010 - I am kind of glad to see it go. This was a trying year both spiritually and emotionally. We had many personal changes in our lives and are in the process of making some bigger changes in the near future and I can't wait to see what 2011 holds!

I'm not big on resolutions but I am making one this year - it is simple but I am so bad at it. Drink More Water. There are days that go by that I haven't had a drink of water all day. I drink a lot of juice so that helps but I know that I need to be drinking more water - so that's it. A resolution I can most likely keep - for once.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T09:14:00.000-08:00

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6

The Evidence is Everywhere

2010-12-17T05:29:00.000-08:00

There
is
a baby
in
the
house!

Week of deals

2010-12-03T07:42:00.000-08:00

I have gotten some incredible online deals in the last few weeks and they are flowing into my mailbox this week - yay!

A while back I signed up for Ruelala and received a $20 credit (no longer available). The items on the site are ridiculously expensive - like $39 pancake mix and $70 necklaces. BUT! Once in a while they have a killer deal and this was one of them. I was able to buy two Calvin Klein Home pillows for $1.75 total. I could only get European size so I'll have to get some special cases for them but I love them!! They are huge - my husband thinks they could double as mattresses!
(and is it just a little pathetic that I am almost as excited about the high quality bags they came in as the pillows themselves???)
Here is my invoice for these:

Order Subtotal:	$11.80
Tax:	+ $0.00
Shipping:	+ $9.95
My Credit:	- $20.00
Order Total:	$1.75

*******************************

Another site like this is Gilt.com. Again, ridiculously expensive but deals can be found here and there.
After a $20 credit I was able to get this geometric stacker for Hanah for 95 cents!

Order Summary

Order Subtotal:	$13.00
Sales Tax:	$0.00
Shipping:	$7.95
Credit:	-$20.00
Total:	$0.95

****************************

Our local thrift store had 50% off day after Thanksgiving and I scored a number of items of clothing, a sit and spin, and a heavy afghan for just over $16 total.
*******************************

By far though, my biggest success last week was at Walgreen's. They were offering a ton of items free after Register Rewards. I simply bought my first item out of pocket and used that register reward to buy the next item, then used that register reward to buy the next item and so on...I basically only had to pay tax and a few cents on each purchase.

All of this at regular price would have cost...$304
Total I paid after sales, coupons, and register rewards...$14.88!!!!!
I had to do so many separate transactions here are my receipts at the end:

Photo Cards

2010-11-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to get our family photo done this year so I can create a photo greeting card to send out to family and friends. I hope to get the pictures completed this week and start working on the cards. I was so excited when I heard about Shutterfly offering bloggers 50 FREE photo cards that I jumped on it.

I have used Shutterfly in the past for photos and photo books but never greeting cards so I was happy to see the beautiful designs they have available.

Some of my favorites:

Last night I spent some time choosing and coordinating our outfits for our picture and today I hope to be able to capture the girls all together.

I have a feeling taking the pictures will be the easy part - choosing from one of these great designs will be difficult!

Novel Writing Progress

2010-11-16T14:01:00.000-08:00

We'll well underway in our novel writing this month. My 11 year old set a goal of 7,000 words, while my 15 year old set a 25,000 word goal!

H is very excited because as of today's writing this is what she saw on the website:

Word-count Goal:7,000
90.86%
6,360 words so far

B on the other hand is a little discouraged. She bit off a little more than she realized she could chew but is not letting that stop her. She's pressing on - still with over 15,000 words to write.

Word-count Goal:25,000
38.14%
9,535 words so far

Needin' Some Motivation

2010-11-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

I was making my first real quilt last year at this time while I was pregnant:

I was so pleased with how it turned out I decided to make another one this year. This time it will be a Christmas gift for my husband. He has been asking me to make a quilt for years. He wants something really warm that can be used around the house so I'm making it out of flannel and will back it with something even warmer I hope.
I have a long way to go still. I've made 4 of these blocks and have 16 more to go. Yikes! I've got to get busy and posting my progress on here is the best way I can think of to keep myself motivated. (Thankfully, he doesn't usually look at my blog so I'm not worried about him finding out!)
My "plan" is to make 4 blocks each day this week and have the top of the quilt completed by the end of November so I can compile and hand quilt it during December. So far, I'm just working during Hanah's naps - which is a challenge but we'll see how it goes...:)

'Tis the Season

2010-11-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

It is snowing here today (yay!) and bitter cold. We put up some Christmas decorations over the weekend. It seemed a little early but we couldn't help ourselves. Seems we have a renewed excitement for the season with a baby in the house. Everything is magical.

I really want to decorate every little corner this year. Usually I just put everything in the living room but I want to spread it into the other rooms and make them all...magical! The girls are getting into it too.

Yesterday I focused on the bathroom. A much neglected room in our house because it is in serious need of an overhaul...sigh...one day.

Here it was at the beginning of this week:
(I had already taken everything off the cabinet and thrown a horrible cactus that stood in the corner in the trash)

And after:
I had been thinking of painting the cabinet white for a while and I figured now was a good a time as any. I really like how it brightens up the room. I moved a bookshelf in from the kitchen to hold our hair and laundry things, added some Christmas magic and voila! I am especially pleased with how the garland makes the exposed pipe look so much better - I really need to paint that thing white!!
Bella bought all the things to make this wreath and then regretted spending her money so Dad bought it off her! I'm going today to pick up some silver candles for the candlesticks.

I really need something in the corner to hide the cracking wall that just needs to be torn out and replaced - but for now I'm going to put up this wire basket I found at an estate sale last week for a quarter! I'll add some towels and soaps to it and it should look good.

Huge Savings!

2010-11-05T07:35:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I started buying at least 4 Sunday newspapers. There were too many valuable coupons to not spend the $1.50 per paper to use them and it has really paid off.

Walgreen's
Total price of everything before sales and coupons $112.50
My price after sales and coupons $28.59 + I came away with $10 in Register Rewards to use on future purchases.
But what we are going to do with 8 boxes of cordial cherries? They 'll make great Christmas gifts for coworkers and friends.

Target
Total before sales and coupons $13.88
Total after sales and coupons .04 !!!
All the trial sizes plus the cat food were free. The juices were $1.02 less $1 coupons making them .02 each!

It Worked - Again!

2010-11-03T09:36:00.000-07:00

Remember this post?

I did it again, this time I received 2 Walmart gift cards worth $20 each!
This is really going to help with Christmas shopping!

A Few Deals

2010-11-02T13:12:00.001-07:00

I snagged a few deals at Walmart over the weekend.

Before sales and coupons this would have cost $14.96

With coupons I paid $1.43

The best deal were the label stickers. Priced at $4 each and I had $5 coupons! I made a $1 on each one which spilled over into my other purchases.

NaNoWriMo

2010-10-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month - the Young Writers Program. I heard about this program last year but wasn't up for taking it on. This year I am all over it!

Basically, the kids will each write a novel - in a month! They set their own word count goal and write a certain amount each day. For example, H will write between 2000-5000 words and B will write between 10,000 - 25,000 words - they will decide in this range what they want to accomplish. By the end of the month they submit their word count to the website and send in their manuscript which then (if they met their word count goal) will be printed into a paper back copy of their own book!

I'm about to break the news to them...

Craft Fair

2010-10-25T09:03:00.001-07:00

Well, we did it. We crafted until our hands were dry, our feet were sore, our backs were aching, and our fingernails were stained with paint.

And it was great!

We ended up making:
24 candlesticks/pedestals (I love these!!!)
14 countdown block sets - sold all but one!
4 work block sets (I had more of these almost done but just couldn't finish them in time - too bad, I could have sold more as I sold out of what I had)
over 40 cake pops
6 white boards

Here are the candlesticks. I sold about half - which is okay because I can find all sorts of places for them around here or give them as gifts:
Here is half of the fair. Its held in the high school, in 2 huge rooms, one with an upper floor, and 2 hallways. We were in the smaller room of the two and I enjoy that room. It is quieter, brighter, and not so big. We were across from a lady that sells home decor items which she buys wholesale. By 2:00 she had made over $5000!
Our booth - it was tiny, only 3'x10' so only one of us at a time could sit the entire day. The girls enjoyed being there all day and were able to get a little shopping in as well. Hanah got to go home around 2:00 with Daddy - she was getting pretty restless by that time.
Our cake pops - we sold about half of them:

Here are some things we purchased:

I got these earring for Bella, she was eying them - so I slipped away and got them for her stocking ($1):
The girls were shopping on their own for a bit and were so excited when they came back to show me what they bought for Hanah ($2.50):

It was a long and exhausting day (week) and we went out for our date in the evening to a Mexican restaurant. We shared this enormous burrito - I just had to take a picture. We were both stuffed by th

No Idea!

2010-10-22T09:32:00.000-07:00

I like to think I have a pretty good handle on being a Mommy and am pretty well informed of the daily goings on - she eats, she poops, she sleeps etc.

But I really had no idea that we could go through 5 pairs of pants before 10am on any given day!

...still wouldn't trade it for the world :)

Craft Central

2010-10-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Busy!

2010-10-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

So, there is this craft fair in town and I love being in it. Love making the crafts, hanging out all day and selling my wares. A couple of weeks ago I realized it was coming up and was totally not prepared. I made the appropriate phone calls to get myself in the fair but didn't hear back. I figured it was God's way of saying no so I didn't push the door open.

Well, last Thursday I got my call back. They had an opening in the main room (as opposed to the not so busy hallways) and I was first on the list to offer the spot to. Yikes!! I did think about it for half a day and pray about the opportunity and that afternoon called back and said yes!

Thing is...

the fair is this Saturday - double yikes!

But I know I thrive of busyness and being pressed for time so this weekend I employed my husband to cut up a bunch of wood for me. He is so supportive - he says, "well, if it doesn't sell, we have firewood for a while!" Nice! He just goes with it though and humored me by cutting up "really nice wood" into cubes.

Anyway...the plan is to make these:
into these:
And these:
into these:

HOMEmaker's Challenge

2010-10-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

Amy has a terrific HOMEmaker's challenge up this week:

"Your Homemaker’s Challenge is to add 3 new outfits to your wardrobe BUT, you can’t spend any money."

Oh boy...

I was up for this challenge. My mind got going and I thought up a bunch of different things I could do. Here is what I came up with:

Outfit #1
This shift dress was bought for 50 cents at a thrift store months ago and I have never worn it. I stuck it in the back of my closet and figured I would never wear it. Today, I got it out and paired it with a sweater I already had, some tights, and I now have a fall outfit for the chilly days when I want to get a little dressed up.

Outfit #2
Okay, so this isn't an outfit but I love this! I took this pair of shoes I have had forever and was almost ready to throw away last week and simply cut off those awful elastic straps - voila - new shoes!

Outfit #3

I couldn't really find just one more new outfit but I did bring in all our winter clothes from storage and switch out from our summer clothing. I was nice to see some things I hadn't worn since before I was pregnant and one pair of pants in particular that I used to really like wearing now fit me perfectly!

Beautiful!

2010-10-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

I came across these drawing by Jean Keaton online today and just love, love, love them. I would love every one of them framed in my house!
Here are a few of my favorites - they are just beautiful!

Perfection

2010-10-12T12:42:00.000-07:00

Fall is officially here and I love it!! It has been blustery the last few days and almost cool enough to light the wood stove. Crisp mornings calling for for cozy sweaters and hot steaming mugs of coffee - pure perfection!

Saturday we took the family to the local pumpkin patch. I just love going there every October. The whole thing is so festive and fun. Also, I get to pick up some cute pumpkins and stuff for decorating the house for super cheap.
Hanah was so funny. Since it was a little windy out she felt the need to stick her tongue out almost the whole time to feel the wind on it I guess - made for some sweet pictures!
I think I'll take this one!
Weighing the cutest pumpkin in the patch:

Menu Plan Monday

2010-10-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

Monday - Crock Pot Ham and Potato Casserole

Tuesday - Italian Sausage Pasta Soup, fried zucchini, french bread

Wednesday - Salmon, veggies, rolls

Thursday - Stew & Dumplings

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - eat out

Sunday - Beef Stroganoff

See more at orgjunkie.com

82% Savings!

2010-10-11T07:31:00.001-07:00

Before sale price or coupons this would have cost $64.54

I was able to get it all for $11.47

That's a savings of over 82%!!

********************************

By far, my best deal was this pair of denim shorts for next summer for my husband. They were on clearance for $3.24. I used a $3 target coupon for men's denim and paid 24 cents for them!

Versatile Blogger Award

2010-10-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

Hayley at Consider It All Joy has nominated me for 'The Versatile Blogger' award
***Thank you Hayley!***

To accept the Versatile Blogger Award the rules are:

•Thank and link back to who gave you the award.
•Share 7 things about yourself.
•Pass it along to 15 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy
•Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award

Seven Things About Me:

1. I am a Christian.
2. I waited over 12 years to get pregnant and finally have my little one who is now 7 1/2 months old!
3. I love music. It ministers to me deeply.
4. I grew up in British Columbia but married an American 7 years ago and became a US citizen three years ago.
5. I met my husband online.
6. I love thrift shopping. The hunt and finding that great bargain are thrilling for me. I will often look at an outfit I'm wearing and recollect where everything came from and how much it cost. Most of the time the entire outfit cost under $10 - including shoes!
7. I have recently lost 12 pounds (and counting...) through counting calories and running every morning!!!

Here are 15 blogs I enjoy and have nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award

1. Wholesome Womanhood
2. Amy Bayliss
3. A Thrifty Mom
4. Bless Our Nest
5. Brown Paper Packages
6. Happy Homemaking With Kristy
7. His Doorkeeper
8. Katie's Keepers
9. Lynette Kraft - Dancing Barefoot on Weathered Ground
10. One September Day
11. The Homespun Heart
12. Women Living Well
13. The Happy Housewife
14. Stafford Stories
15. MckMama

Free Samples!!!

2010-10-07T14:35:00.000-07:00

I got this box in the mail the other day. I didn't remember ordering anything so I was curious as to what it was. I was shocked at the free samples that came from Boiron - a cold medicine company.We're well stocked for a long while and I have lots to share!

White Boards!

2010-10-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

I just found this very cool - very simple way to make super cute white boards.

Frame:
Scrapbook Paper:
Voila!
I've made two of these so far and use this one for school every day.
Such a simple idea but I think it beats the typical office supply white board by a long shot. I had no idea until recently that just glass works as a dry erase board. My mind is churning with ideas...

We've got a craft fair coming up in town in a few weeks and I'm thinking about whipping up a bunch of these for the big event.

I Won!

2010-10-04T15:57:00.000-07:00

Last week, Moneysavingmom had a day full of contests and great things to be won. Of course, I entered nearly every one of them. I was so happy to see yesterday that I won a photobook from Picaboo - This is perfect as I just started digital scrapbooking!

Of the 7,302 entries to the Madison Photo Book from Picaboo, the winners were:

Cherilyn (musicalchers@)

$1 Shoes

2010-09-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

I was shopping at Walmart the other day and noticed these little girl's shoes on clearance for only $1. I thought they were so cute and couldn't resist them for the price. Hanah won't fit them for some time but I was happy to get such a deal and put them in her "too big yet" box.

The Irony

2010-09-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

I had these two items sitting on my coffee table this week and my daughter recognized the irony of them sitting together.

It Worked!!!

2010-09-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

So, I've been reading online about these sites you can sign up with for just $1 for the first month. Thereafter it is upwards of $15 per month for membership. Anyway - the deal is, you sign up, get your free gift they are offering and cancel your membership within the first month.

I decided to dabble in it and see what the fuss was all about. Last week I signed up with 3 companies, paid $3 total and today - these came in the mail:
2x $10 for Lowe's
2x $10 for Starbucks
2x $10 for Target
The check is for $10 which was from a survey company I do little surveys for daily.
...I'm off to cancel those memberships now...
The sites I used are:
completehome
greatfun
livewell

Menu Plan Monday

2010-09-27T08:57:00.001-07:00

This week I'm trying to incorporate more crock pot cooking to make things easier when we're on the go and busy at home. Trying lots of new recipes this week too - hopefully they taste good!

Monday
Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Tuesday
Roast Chicken, veggies, rolls

Wednesday
Brown Bag Burritos
(I found this recipe a while back and made up 32 of them for the freezer last week)

Thursday
Crock Pot Potato Soup

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Eat out

Sunday
Crock Pot Pasta Pizza

For more menu plans visit orgjunkie.com

Drugstore.com

2010-09-27T08:38:00.000-07:00

I recently got tipped off to a 1 penny sale at drugstore.com. I was able to snag 5 large bottles (I already used 1 of them) of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash for a penny each plus shipping. I'm putting away the 3 lavender ones for my oldest for Christmas.

All of this cost me $6.04

Show Us Your Life - Master Bedroom

2010-09-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to participate in Kelly's Show Us Your Life this week. I really dislike our bedroom. I have never put much effort into it until lately and I'm still not sold. But the few changes I have made recently are making it a little more bearable.

It is a super small room, (like, 11' x 11' small). I read the other day that the bed size you choose should only take up 1/3 of the room it will be in. If that is the case, we should be sleeping in a twin bed!

We have a queen size bed. I just bought the blue pillows a few weeks ago and like them. I am thinking of getting away from the red in this room and going more subtle with blue and white. It makes it more serene and we both prefer it that way. The pack and play "just" fits beside the bed and I hung a few pictures of us in our "early days". And of course, the best accessory in the room is in the middle of the bed!
We are waiting to put larger vinyl windows in this room so I haven't really ever done much with the window coverings. They are pretty boring. Also, the walls need to be patched and fixed. The house used to be a rental and there are a lot of problems with the walls in our room. They really need to be torn out and redone. Someday. I stuck our cedar chest in the corner and added a few white accessories and candles. This is one of the newest changes and I really like it so far.
Since our room is so small, I decided to put our dresser in the closet and hang a curtain in front. I like how it hides the clutter.

I'm Back!

2010-09-13T15:48:00.001-07:00

My camera cable came in the mail today and I am back in business - so excited!!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-09-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

My week in review:

kids are sick
husband is sick
house is a mess
baby is barely napping and doesn't yet sleep through the night
mom is tired

BUT...dinner is still on the table every night - woo-hoo! Here is what we're having this week...

Monday
Beef Curry over Basmati Rice

Tuesday
Roast Beef, Rice Pilaf

Wednesday
Beef & Cheese Burritos

Thursday
Roast Chicken, Carrots, Rolls

Friday
Homemade Pizza

Saturday
Pancakes, Sausage, Hash-browns, Eggs

Sunday
Slow Cooker Cheesy Lasagna

For more menu plans visit orgjunkie.com

MIA

2010-09-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, I know I've been MIA for a while and I am not happy about it either!

The main reason is my camera is on the fritz and I cannot take pictures right now. Do you know how crazy this is making me??? I have missed a couple of weeks of little Hanah's life already and I am so missing taking pictures of her (and everything else of course!)

So today I went online and got the cable I needed for my camera and hopefully this will fix my problem. I hope so - it cost me a whole 1 cent to buy it!!!

It should be here next week and I can get back in gear.

...just thought I'd share.

Happy Homemaker Monday

2010-08-30T05:54:00.000-07:00

The weather in my neck of the woods:
It is 6:54am, the birds are chirping, the weather is cool and promises to be a chilly day - autumn is upon us.

Things that make me happy:
Candles

Book I'm reading:
Magazines from the library, The Mom Walk daily devotional

What I'm enjoying on TV:
nothing

On the menu for dinner:
Roast beef & mashed potatoes

On my To Do List:
Starting school today - the kids are excited and I have a few fun things planned for our first day

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
We had Mediterranean burgers the other night, with feta, red onion, kalamata olives, and sundried tomatoes - yum!

In the craft basket:

The top of my kitchen table is primes white and looks great. I need to get the top coat on and paint the rest of it.

Looking forward to this week:
Digging into the new school books

My favorite blog post this week:
Be Still by the Homespun Heart

Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Brown Paper Packages - totally inspired me to do some craft projects this week.

Lesson learned the past few days:
That God's timing is not always our own - duh! (Sometimes we have to be reminded of the simple things again and again.)

On my mind:
How the training will go this week and what the job outcome will be

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8

Visit Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Happy Homemaker Monday posts!

Made in Where?

2010-08-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

We attended our local county fair last week and received this little flag from one of the booths. They made a really big deal about talking to our children about the importance of the flag and all it stands for. They even made sure we knew not to let it touch the ground.

On the way home I took a closer look and saw this

Pushing the Limits

2010-08-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

There has been a great coupon out for $1 off post-it-notes. Walmart has the single packs for $1 - making them free. The best part is there is no limit on these coupons so I printed 35 of them and headed for Walmart.

Wouldn't you know they gave me a huge hassle saying that they couldn't take them because it would make them free - gasp!

I had been in touch with one of the managers in the past with problems like this and so I threw his name around a little but he wasn't in. I decided to take my coupons and go home.

The next day I called the manager and he said there was come confusion with my coupons (I guess I had been the talk of the coffee room!) They thought I had photocopied the coupons - which is a big no-no. I assured him I did not and he told me to come back in and ask for him if I had any more problems.

I went in that morning and everything went smoothly - coupons scanned - got my 35 pads of post-it-notes and paid only tax.

I am SO tempted to go in with 100 coupons next time - but who needs that many post-its!?!

Stocking Up

2010-08-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

The best price I have found on ground beef lately has been $1.65/lb. I usually try to stock up at this price when I can. Last week I found a whole lot of ground beef in the clearance bin marked down to $159/lb. I bought it all and froze it in bags.
I learned from a friend to flatten out the meat inside the back instead of freezing it in a ball or mound. It makes for quick thawing and stacks well in the freezer.

The Best I Could Do

2010-08-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

I went to make my bed the other day but this was the best I could do

I Love School Supplies

2010-08-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

I came across this tutorial in a Martha Stewart magazine a little while ago and loved the look. I thought it would help with our fresh start of the school year. Plus - I love how fresh and neat new school supplies look. Martha's uses chalk board paint and writing the labels on with chalk. I decided to take a different route.

Jars:
Card Stock Labels with sticky squares:
Ta Da:

Keeper of My Home

2010-08-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned, I have been pouring over websites ad racking my brain trying to get some ideas on how to best manage my home. I really like a clean, organized home but I find it difficult to stay on top of it all without becoming overwhelmed and just giving up for a time. For the past couple of years we have done a big cleaning day on Fridays. We only do a four day school week and then focus on cleaning house on the Friday. It just wasn't working though so some changes had to happen. It was also really important to me to be vacuuming and sweeping more than we were because of a little 'someone' that will soon be on the move!

I decided to break down our cleaning into chores that need to be done daily, monthly, and a few times or once per year.

Here's to no more surprises under the stove and inside the couch!

(You won't see laundry on this list because I am just in the habit of doing it as necessary and the girls do their own when their baskets are full.)

DAILY

Monday

Sweep
Wipe & disinfect kitchen sink
Change bedding

Tuesday

Vacuum

Wednesday

Sweep
Dust all flat surfaces

Thursday

Wipe/Disinfect counters, doorknobs, phones, keyboards, & remotes
Wipe kitchen appliances

Friday

Sweep
Mop
Clean bathrooms, toilet, sink, shower

Sunday

Weekly menu plan
Grocery shopping for week

MONTHLY

1^st Tuesday of the Month

Wash mirrors
Launder bed coverings

2^nd Tuesday of the Month

Dust wood moldings & ceiling fan
Clean microwave

3^rd Tuesday of the Month

Wipe fronts of kitchen cabinets

4^th Tuesday of the Month

Dust mini blinds & shades

YEARLY BREAKDOWN

JANUARY

Clean inside fridge
Scrub tile grout

FEBRUARY

Wash pillow coverings
Clean walls and ceilings

MARCH

Wash & air out all pillows
Wash all quilts, blankets, & comforters

APRIL

Wash windows
Clean inside fridge

MAY

Wipe down baseboards

JUNE

Move & clean under heavy appliances
Vacuum in & under couch
Vacuum/wash drapes

JULY

Clean inside fridge

AUGUST

Wash pillow coverings

SEPTEMBER

Wash or air out pillows

OCTOBER

Wash windows
Clean inside fridge
Empty & clean out all kitchen cabinets

NOVEMBER

Wipe down baseboards
Clean the oven

DECEMBER

Vacuum in & under couch
Vacuum/wash drapes

It's That Time Again!

2010-08-20T20:53:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks I have been spending a lot of time organizing our fall an the start of the next homeschool year. I've been pouring over curriculum catalogs and websites devoted to ideas and ways to better manage and organize my home. This year of schooling will be challenging for a number of reasons. The first being our new baby and figuring out how to manage it all with a squirmy wormy in tow. The second is that I will be teaching alone this year.

With no help.

Teaching 10th grade geometry.

HELP!

I will outline by plan of attack at keeping house in another post but tonight I wanted to get down in print what we will be using this year.

***************

Math 10 – The Life of Fred – Geometry

This one is new to us this year and it looks like it will be enjoyable, simple to use, and fun – whew! The books are written by a retired math teacher who loves math and wants to share his enthusiasm with students. Likely to be very appealing to learners who prefer something more than "dry" math.

Math 7 – Mathematics for Christian Schools – Rod & Staff

I was worried about getting math curriculum for both girls and was browsing our bookshelf the other day and found the math 7 we used a few years ago that will be just perfect for H this year. Praise God!

History – Mystery of History, 2nd Semester

We started this last year and completed the first semester. It turned out to be the favorite subject of both girls.

Science – Answers in Genesis – The Design for Life Series - Heat & Energy, Machines & Motion

We've been working through the entire series for a few years.

Radio Shack Electronics Course

Creative Writing/Composition – The Write Stuff Adventure

Another new one – looks fun! Students write letters to Grandmother, an autobiography and news articles. They put out a family newsletter with interviews. They learn how to write copy for want ads, cover letters, and letters to the editor.

Art – How Great Thou Art - Drawing Course on DVD

This one just came in the mail and the girls watched the first lesson – they are looking forward to it.

Consumer Math – Everyday Survival Skills

Exercises on checking and savings accounts, loans, insurance, and more. "How-tos" for shopping, travel, voting. Deals with social security, job applications, aptitude tests, and more.

Typing – Online course

Six Months

2010-08-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

Hanah - you are 6 months old today!

You weigh 17 lbs 8oz
You are 26" long
I absolutely cannot believe you are half a year old already - you are such a big girl!
You made your first road trip to Canada at 5.5 months old. You were excellent - 16 hours there and 21 hours home. You only fussed a little when you were wet, tired, or hungry. I was so proud of you!
You met your Great Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins for the first time. You also got to see Grandma and Grandpa for the first time since you were 2 days old. Everybody loved meeting you!
You were thrown your first "party" - and were showered with gifts. You are and will continue to be one well dressed little girl.
You are rolling over with ease now. It doesn't take you long to roll to the edge of your blanket and rotate around.
Your favorite position is sitting up these days. You would much rather sit up and look around or grab your feet than be laying down.
We got you a jolly jumper and you are having a blast in it!
You greet every morning with smiles.
You are still nursing full time, eating every 3-4 hours, but we have started you on rice cereal and some fruits and veggies. You have tried green beans, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, applesauce, and peaches. So far you enjoy everything. You make funny faces when trying new things but eventually take a liking to them all.
You love to hear singing - especially when I put you down for your daytime naps.
You have started making a "mamama" movement with your lips with no sounds. It is so cute!
I think your gums have been bothering you more lately - you've been a little fussy and not sleeping as well at night. Still no teeth though!
You are giggling more and more at all sorts of things.
You have been "swimming" in the big public pools twice now - you love it! Both times you have taken a nap in my arms. So sweet. You have also "swam" once in our kiddie pool in the yard.
You have a jolly jumper now - all I can say is that you are loving it!!! It is so fun to watch you jump and spread your little legs out each time they are in the air.
You are such a delight - we love you so very much!

Happy Birthday Hadassah

2010-08-13T21:24:00.001-07:00

Hadassah - you are 11 years old today!

What a joy it has been to share in your life the last year (and beyond). You have grown tremendously in the last few months and are turning into such a lovely young lady. I get comments all the time about how helpful you are and what a servant heart you have. Enough to make a mom so proud.

Your current interests are concocting interesting "foods" in the backyard out of mud and outdated food I give you. You remind me so much of me at your age - I used to love doing that! You love to get creative in the kitchen too and are developing a growing interest in sewing and doing all sorts of crafts. You love to collect things - seashells, letters, items from nature walks - dried flowers, favorite stones, interesting leaves. You are just starting to gain a real interest in reading. We used to have a hard time getting you to read through an entire book but now more often than not, we are seeing you with a book in your hand. You love your sisters and are enjoying your time with both an older and younger sibling.

Your birthday this year was spent both with friends and family in Canada and here at home. Today we went swimming, made homemade pizzas, roasted hot dogs in the backyard, ate cake, and opened presents. Right now you are in the backyard having a sleepover in the tent. What fun!

Looking forward to another year...
Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Homemade Baby Food

2010-07-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

I have waited for this moment for years!!!

Mahogany Wings!

2010-07-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

I totally forgot about this recipe until last week. I used to make these all the time. I'm so glad I found the recipe again - they are SO good!!!

15	chicken wings (about 2 1/2 pounds)
1/2	cup soy sauce
1/2	cup honey
1/4	cup molasses
2	tablespoons chili sauce
1	teaspoon ground ginger
2	cloves garlic, finely chopped

Mix it up - marinate wings in it for at least an hour. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. turn over. Bake another 20 minutes. Brush marinade over wings.

I like to pour the marinade in a pot and thicken it with cornstarch and water and brush that over the wings.

Makes a good sticky mess!

This is posted for Cooking Thursdays over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.

I Love Mail!!!!!!

2010-07-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

Oh, how I love getting mail! Especially when what comes in the mail was either free or really, really cheap!

This is what I had in my mailbox last week:
First - new shoes!!!
There was an online code a while back for $10 off at Famous Footwear. I snapped up a pair of sandals regularly $45 - on sale for $15 so I paid $5 after the coupon.

I enjoy doing surveys online for a few extra bucks and one company sent me 2 full size bottles of shampoo this week to try out. In 4 weeks I have to fill out a survey on how I liked it - not too shabby!

Activity Box

2010-07-27T16:33:00.000-07:00

I came across a great idea online the other day for an activity box for the car. The girls are always wanting to take things to do in the van during drives - even around town. The problem is that the stuff never makes it back into the house. The other day I found a bag of melted crayons in there. So I had them clean everything out of there and made them this craft activity box to be stored and used only in the van.

So far it is a hit. They enjoy crafting things while we're out and knowing they will have something to do while we drive around town.

Happy Homemaker Monday

2010-07-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Clear blue skies and HOT. Time to hook up the air conditioner.

Things that make me happy:
5 month olds

Book I'm reading:
"Dating For Under a $1" - lots of interesting ideas!

What I'm enjoying on TV:
Narnia

On the menu for dinner:
Beef & Broccoli & Fried Rice

On my To Do List:
Wash diapers
Make dinner

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon:
Something Arabian

In the craft basket:

The girls are sewing night gowns. I'm anxious to paint my new kitchen table

Looking forward to this week:
The Farmer's Market on Saturday

Tips and Tricks:
I hang my husband's dress shirts on the line on hangers instead of with clothespins to avoid the "pinched" shoulders

My favorite blog post this week:
Crystal's ideas on budgeting

Blog Hopping (a new discovered blog you would like to share with the readers):
Women Living Well - Courtney is a stay at home, homeschooling Mom who loves Jesus and encourages women be all they were created to be

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Lesson learned the past few days:
Not doing laundry for 3 days = mayhem :)

On my mind:
a little boy born at 26 weeks struggling for life with underdeveloped lungs - praying for Bennett

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble Psalm 46:1

Visit Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Happy Homemaker Monday posts!

Wipe Wash

2010-07-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

A friend showed me this great and easy recipe for wipe wash. I am still using cloth diapers and loving them. I have also since began using cloth wipes and making my own solution just like this.

2 cups water
1 chamomile tea bag
Dash olive oil
Dash baby wash
Dash tea tree oil
Once it is all mixed together I store it in a dish soap bottle and keep it on the change table. I just squirt it on baby's bum at change time and wipe her clean. The tea tree oil in it makes baby smell so good!!

New Table

2010-07-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

We discovered an old Duncan Phyfe dining table in an old house were cleaning out so I brought it home and stuck it on Craigslist. No takers. I tried to sell it at my yard sale - still no buyers. The more I looked at it though I could really see it all painted fresh and sitting in my kitchen.

So we kept it - yay for a new table!

My old one was desperately in need of either repainting or replacing. I tried painting it black a year or more ago and the paint never cured so it was constantly sticky. We've just been living with a table cloth on it since - until now!

Goodbye nastiness!

Hello beautiful!
All she is waiting for is a lovely coat of white paint to clean her up - can't wait!

Five Months

2010-07-20T07:43:00.001-07:00

Hanah - you are 5 months old today!

You are wearing size 3-6 month clothing
You are still nursing full time, eating every 3-4 hours
You have started taking a little bit of fruit in your teething feeder. So far you have tried strawberries, apples, red grapes, banana, and an ice cube. You have loved every one!
This month you figured out how to roll over! At 4 months, 3 weeks you did a complete roll and have been doing it ever since.
You enjoy laying on the floor on a blanket or in your crib playing with some toys
When you are playing on the floor you squirm to the edges of the blanket in no time
Your drooling has ceased right now but you are still chewing on your hands full time and anything else you can put in your mouth
You are sleeping without being swaddled anymore and you do just fine
You sleep from about 10:00pm until 10:00am waking to eat once or twice
You nap at least twice a day
You enjoy going out for walks. We have started sitting you up in the front of the stroller and you just love seeing everything we see
When someone talks to you, you look around until you can find the source
You can sit up on your own supported by your hands without too much toppling
Your nicknames are beginning to stick - Bebe (Daddy), and Hanah Grace (Mommy)
You smile at anyone - even if they're not looking at you
You are really starting to take in your surroundings, you have started to notice James, our dog and you will watch him move around
When I take you outside, you watch the chickens run around and sometimes laugh at them
I can hardly believe you are five months old already - you are getting so big!
You are so fun and we love you so, so much!

Some Things Just Make Me Happy

2010-07-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I will look at something and just smile. Usually it is the simplest of things. Today was no exception. I looked out on the laundry line and saw the sweet way my oldest hung up the diapers to dry.
Diapers and little clothes probably wouldn't turn the crank of many people but I have waited so long for this time in my life and cherish the little things - literally.

Summer Fun

2010-07-15T07:31:00.001-07:00

I came across a fun and super simple recipe for sidewalk paint the other day and we decided to try it out - it turned out great!

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
food coloring
Mix it together
And paint!

Resourcefulness

2010-07-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

It has been really hot here lately and my little one has been wearing nothing but a diaper most days. I'll put a onesie on her to make her look cute but what she really needed was some shorts. I was putting away some clothes the other day that were too small for her (sniff!) and got looking at her little pants. I sat down today and worked some serger magic and made some of them into shorts - of course, they are super cute!

Before:
After:
While I was at it I cut the feet off of one of her pajamas that she was too long for. They are perfect for the warmer weather now.

Before:
After:

Works For Me Wednesday

2010-07-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

I just discovered this little trick for getting stainless steel and chrome to shine. It is so simple and works like a charm.
All you do is rub a little rubbing alcohol onto the surface and watch it shine!
Now I find myself looking around the house for more surfaces to polish!

(Visit wearethatfamily.com for more works for me Wednesdays)

Farmer's Market

2010-07-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our local farmer's market is up and running now. It is definitely small town fare. But it is quaint and it gives the girls and I something to prepare for each week. We've been baking and making soap to sell. We haven't done very well in sales - my daughter sold 6 cups of lemonade this past Saturday and nobody was interested in our soap this week. We don't really care though. It is fun and gives us something to do together each weekend.

I always make my own laundry soap for home so I thought I'd try to package it in a cute way and sell it.
I also made a couple of purchases - the small town has its perks - the prices were great!

15 stalks of rhubarb for $1.00
A large bag of sugar peas for $2.00
I froze a bunch of the rhubarb - but not before making a crisp - yum!

Black Bean Brownies

2010-07-11T09:32:00.000-07:00

I came across this recipe the other day and it looked so good I just had to try it - despite the main ingredient. I made the first mistake of telling my family what they were made with - actually it wasn't a mistake at all because it made them steer clear of them and I could enjoy them.

So without further ado...

Black Bean Brownies

3 cups pureed black beans (I filled up the blender to the 4 cup line and added a little water)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Puree black beans with a little water until "smoothy" like consistency.
Mix all wet ingredients.
Add dry ingredients.
Add chocolate chips - the recipe also calls for 1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut but I chose not to add it - it would be yummy though.
Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean in the center. Let cool on a cooling rack before cutting.

I forgot to take a picture of the finished brownies but here is one wrapped up and ready to be sold at our Farmer's Market.
PS...
(they were so yummy)

Oh My Goodness!

2010-06-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, my middle daughter had a "date" with her dad today and she wanted to have ice cream. Since we didn't have any - I suggested we make some! I remembered making ice cream with milk, sugar, ice, and salt - something like that. So we looked up the recipe online and got to work!

We filled a large ziploc bag with ice cubes and 12 Tablespoons of rock salt (we keep this on hand for use with our hard water - so we didn't need to go out and buy anything special for this project - yay!)

Then, in a smaller bag we combined 1 cup of milk, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 tsp vanilla. And sealed the bag - tight.
We put the small bag inside the larger bag - and sealed it up.
And shook it all up - for about 5 minutes.

(a side note - my baby thought this was the funniest thing - watching her sister shake the bag. She giggled and giggled!)

The result?

Possibly the best ice cream we have ever tasted,
EVER.

This recipe made only this small bowl full - so Dad and H shared it.

But the tiny taste I had was so good...

...I made a larger batch tonight and had my own date!

(Recipe can easily be doubled or, you know - quadrupled)

Smith's

2010-06-27T22:22:00.000-07:00

I was asked what I wanted to do for our date night last night. We thought about going for a drive and I needed to get my deals at Smith's so we killed two birds...

Smith's was running their 'all small coupons are worth a dollar' promo again so I paid $2.90 for all of this:

I love a good deal!

Deals of the Day

2010-06-23T04:29:00.000-07:00

Twice a year I get this great coupon in the mail for $10 of JCPenney money! My total just has to be 1 cent over $10 and all I pay is tax. I went this morning and picked out these two pieces of jewelry. The bracelets are for a Christmas present for B and the necklace is for me! I paid $1.04 for both:
I also stopped in at Walmart to redeem some coupons I had been saving. Total paid for all of this was $3.02. The most expensive item was the dish soap at 80 cents. Most everything else was free or a money maker so the money spent was mostly tax.
Some notable coupons:

FREE Bengay ($5 coupon here)
Pampers Wipes and Rolaids coupons were in the Sunday paper insert.

Paper Dolls

2010-06-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

I loved paper dolls as a child and I just found this site to print them out online for free! I know my 10 year old would love these so I'm going to print them out on card stock little by little for her birthday in August. I'm sure I'll be spending many evenings cutting out dolls and clothes but it will be worth it - these are so beautiful! They can be found here.

Maple Syrup

2010-05-21T17:58:00.000-07:00

I had maple syrup on my grocery list this week and one of my daughters mentioned that there was a recipe for it on the back of the brown sugar package. I figured it was interesting enough to give it a try.
I had most of the ingredients on hand already except for the maple flavoring. I estimate that this cost just over 75 cents to make a large bottle of syrup.

1 cup water
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
maple flavoring to taste

Combine water and corn syrup - heat until it steams.
Add sugars and stir to dissolve. Heat to boiling until candy thermometer reads 220 degrees.
Remove from heat and add maple flavoring to taste - I used about 1/2 tsp.
Cool and store in a container with a lid.
We all had to taste this once it was finished and we were all impressed. Very yummy - we can't wait to try it on pancakes!

3 Months

2010-05-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hanah - you are 3 months old today!

You weigh 13 lbs

You are still wearing size 3 months clothes but are fitting into some 3-6 months too
You are getting so active - such a squirmy-wormy all the time - changing your pants is becoming a challenge!
You really don't care for sleeping during the day - just too much to see and do! But you succumb a couple of times each day.
You are drooling a ton - so messy, but cute!
Once you are asleep, you a good sleeper
You are still eating consistently every 3 hours or so and sometimes go for a stretch of 5-6 hours at night!
You still love to be swaddled, cuddled and held - you sleep the best this way
You really enjoy going out, especially to the grocery store - you love the ceiling lights
You greet every morning with smiles and squeals of delight
You enjoy being worn in the snugli - face out. In fact, you are happiest facing out most of the time even when being held - you want to see everything
With the nicer weather, we are getting out for lots of walks and you seem to enjoy your stroller
You love your sisters very much and smile and coo at them when they talk to you
You continue to suck on your hands and have begun extending your fingers to suck on them too
You have started rubbing your eyes when you are tired
Your neck muscles are getting so strong and you can hold your head up without wobbling too much
You have started laughing out loud at times
You are the light of my day and I love you so, so much!

It's Back!!!

2010-05-17T09:01:00.000-07:00

I am so excited because yard sale season is back around here. We won't be hitting them all like usual but a few here and there locally are going to be a lot of fun.

I love yard saling because of the fantastic deals - this weekend I picked up these two dresses for baby girl for 50 cents each! They are in perfect condition and will fit her right now - you can't beat that!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-05-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Lately between having a new baby in the house and life circumstances I feel like I have barely been keeping things together in the menu planning area. It is high time I plan out some meals and get with it. Our budget is really tight at the moment so I've created a weeks worth of meals with mostly things we already have in the house - including some dishes I made and froze while i was still pregnant.

Monday
L - Spinach/artichoke stuffed shells (freezer stash)
D - Ham and cheese strombolli

Tuesday
L - Fried rice, veggies, bread
D - Beef pot pie, bread (freezer stash)

Wednesday
L - Ramen noodles. carrots
D - Bratwurst, barley, veggies

Thursday
L - Twice bakes broccoli and cheese potatoes
D - Beans and bacon

Friday
L - Bean and cheese burritos
D - pancakes, bacon, eggs, potatoes

Saturday
L - Pasta salad, bread
D - Homemade pizza

Sunday
L - Hamburgers
D - Biscuits and gravy

Visit orgjunkie for more menu plans

Walgreen's & Smith's

2010-05-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Our Smith's grocery store is running a fantastic promotion right now. All coupons under a dollar are worth a dollar. So a coupon that is only worth 40 cents was worth a whole dollar off this weekend. I was able to get the following items for $1.71. One thing I really like about Smith's is they almost always have marked down produce for really cheap - and it is still good if used up quickly.

Everything shown here was free except for the broccoli.

Walgreen's - lots of free body wash and 50 cent men's deodorant.

Total for all this was $6.50

2010-05-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

A Newborn's Conversation with God

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the small child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

God said, "You will simply call her, "Mom."

More Deals

2010-05-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

Between Walgreen's and Walmart - I got all of this for $4.99 !!!

My best deal of the day was the kitchen sponges priced at .84 and I had 10 $1.00 off coupons. I made .16 on each one!

Two Months

2010-04-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hanah - you are 2 months old today!

You weigh 10lbs 8oz
You are 22" long
You had your first visit with Dr Boehmer this morning and he said everything looks great!
You are growing so fast!
You still wear size 3 months clothing
You have discovered your fingers and hands and try to pacify yourself with them
You are so happy first thing every morning - so full of smiles and coos!
When we squeal at you, you sometimes squeal back and give us big smiles
You love spending time on your changing table. Even if you were crying before, it always turns you into a smiling baby
Daddy calls you "Elmer Fudd" when you stick your bottom lip out to pout and furrow your brow (you really do look like him when you do that!)
Mommy calls you "Hanah-Grace" because it was God's grace alone when He gave me you!
You laughed out loud for the first time at exactly 6 weeks old
You are on an excellent schedule. Eating every 3 hours and sleeping sometimes 6.5 hours at night
You nap about 3 times a day
You love to be held and cuddled
In the evenings I rock you to sleep and just hold you in my arms for a long time after you have fallen asleep. I treasure that time with you each night

Preparing For Sabbath

2010-04-17T14:33:00.001-07:00

Each Saturday we try to take it easy. No major working and we spend time together as a family. We are in no way under the Law but it helps us to relax one day a week and not have any pressures on us to get anything done. If we feel like doing a project - we do it. We have 2 rules for Sabbath:
1. We spend it together
2. There are no rules

For the last few weeks I've taken it a step further and tried to prepare food on Friday so I'd spend minimal time in the kitchen on Saturdays.

This weekend, I made a breakfast casserole on Friday night and just stuck it in the oven Saturday morning:
And I also prepared some meat and potatoes and just turned the crockpot on in the morning.
Both of these things made for a very relaxing Saturday and we ate well too!

************************************************************

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

1 pkg. Regular Flavor Jimmy Dean® Pork Sausage
10 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups milk
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
6 cups cubed bread
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup thin-sliced green onions (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 F. In large skillet, cook sausage over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink. In large mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, mustard and salt; stir well. Distribute half the bread evenly in a buttered 9" x 13" x 2" baking dish. Sprinkle with half the pepper, half the cheese, half the sausage and half of each optional ingredient. Repeat layering the casserole using remaining bread, pepper, cheese, sausage and optional ingredients. Pour egg mixture evenly over casserole. Bake the breakfast casserole uncovered for 55-60 minutes, or until eggs are set. Tent with foil if top of breakfast casserole begins to brown too quickly.

Note: May be assembled ahead and refrigerated up to 12 hours before baking.

Yield:

6 servings

Deals, Deals, Deals

2010-04-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

I was able to find a ton of deals over the last week or so. Our stockpile was dwindling so I was glad to pick up a few things and stock up again.

We have a Wonderbread outlet store nearby that has great deals on bread. I buy lots and freeze it. I found these 12-grain loaves for .95 each!
Walgreen's was offering a week's worth of photo deals so I cashed in on those nearly every day. I ended up with 60 prints and an 8x10 for only .20 total!
Our local grocery store had huge packages of bacon on sale this week. I paid $12 and got 4 ziploc bags full - we're well stocked for bacon for a while.
I made a trip to Walmart, Walgreen's and Albertson's this morning. I had a few things to return so my out of pocket expense was nothing. In fact after returns, I ended up having almost $20 leftover!
At last week's Walgreen's trip I paid around $5 for all of this and had some register rewards leftover so I bought the sidewalk chalk for the summer.

Can You Guess What We've Been Up To?

2010-04-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Here's a riddle...

What do these things have in common?

YUP - The flu has hit our home with a vengeance. BUT - God is so merciful and I didn't get hit with it - yet. So I was able to nurse my family to health all night. Everybody is doing better this morning and taking it easy. I am so glad its over!

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23

The Dogs Were Happy

2010-04-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

I was on the ball today - I made dinner! Truth be told, I have made dinner (and breakfast and lunch) for a few weeks now but today was no exception and dinner was simmering away all afternoon.

Stew and Dumplings was on the menu. I was busy nursing so I had Bathsheba mix the dumplings up and add them on top. A few minutes later I smelled it all cooking. It smelled a little different than usual but I was trying pork stew meat so I figured that was the difference.

Then I really started smelling something different - smoke! You know that awful smell of burning food?

Yuck!

I got it off the heat and we sat down and tried to eat it but the taste of scorched food made its way through the entire thing and we were all disgusted.

I had nothing thawed I could make in a pinch so we had no other choice - in my husband's words - "there is no better reason to eat out than when dinner gets burned"
Well said.

The dogs ate well tonight!

2010-04-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

HE IS RISEN!

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. Matthew 2:6

Menu Plan Monday

2010-03-29T20:14:00.001-07:00

We decided yesterday to do Passover this Thursday - yikes! So it will be a busy week (just the way I like it actually). So it is imperative that I have my menu planned out this week. Here is what we'll be having:

Monday - popcorn! (we had a late lunch)

Tuesday - Fish, Fried Potatoes, Carrots

Wednesday - Gluten & Chinese Noodles

Thursday - PASSOVER (Lamb)

Friday - Stew & Dumplings

Saturday - Pancakes, Hashbrowns, Eggs, & Bacon

Sunday - Lasagna, Salad, & French Bread

Passover

2010-03-29T15:48:00.003-07:00

A few pictures from our Passover celebration last week.

All set up and ready to begin:
Searching for the leaven - a favorite of the kids. Like a scavenger hunt for bread!
A Seder Plate:

2010-03-26T21:56:00.000-07:00

I was going through some of my drafts and found this that I never did post. The picture was taken at 4 weeks old and we thought the resemblance was funny!

ETSY!

2010-03-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

I'm jumping on the Etsy bandwagon! I bought some fabric the other day to make little baby skirts and I'm going to try to sell them on Etsy - we'll see how it goes! I made my first one today - took me about an hour.

Menu Plan Monday, uh Tuesday

2010-03-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

We've finally settled into a sense of normal around here and I'm able to plan out my weekly menus again. Here is what is scheduled for this week:

Tuesday - Shake & Bake Chicken, Rice-a-Roni, carrots, and french bread

Wednesday - Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Carrots

Thursday - Onion Topped Ham & Au Gratin (a new crock pot recipe I'm trying out)

Friday - Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

Saturday - Tacos

Sunday - Sub Sandwiches and Chips

Monday - Fish, Fried Potatoes, Carrots

When Frugality Doesn't Pay

2010-03-22T18:47:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for the cheaper way to do things. To a fault. My husband tells me there are just some things you don't skimp on - and I found one.

My little one has been battling terrible gas pains for a while now and just screams in agony and flails around. I feel so horrible for her and have been getting things out of my diet that I know bother her. We also bought some infant gas drops to help her out.

I figured since the active ingredient was the very same in the generic brand as the brand name we could spend $4 instead of $7 and get the same results, right?

Wrong.

My poor little girl battled these gas pains for a week before someone let me try the brand name. She was in agony and as soon as I gave her the more expensive drops - she quieted right down. I just figured the gas drops weren't working - but I soon realized that there is a major difference in quality when it comes to generic vs brand name.

So, in short...

BAD:

VERY GOOD:

Where Have I Been?

2010-03-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

Remember when my daily accomplishments included tearing down walls and painting furniture? Well, things have changed with baby! Today my major accomplishment was to actually put on my make up - woo-hoo!

Back in the day a friend and I would joke that we would "have it all together" when we had kids. We'd be on time for things, our hair would be done, and our babies would be sparkling and smelling great.

Reality has set in.

2 1/2 weeks after having my little one, I can honestly say this is the hardest job on earth!

But every day is getting a little easier.

Perhaps tomorrow I might be able to do my hair!

2010-02-25T22:09:00.000-08:00

On February 19th, I gave birth to the most precious little thing I have ever laid eyes on.

My daughter.

I had prepared for a natural childbirth for months. Reading books, talking to friends, looking over articles and blogs all centered around natural, unmedicated childbirth.

Oh, the best laid plans of man...

On Thursday, February 18th at 3am I began labor. My contractions started lightly and were very manageable. My wonderful husband rubbed my back on cue all day long. He was so attentive to my every pain and discomfort and I could not have done this without him. My contractions began to pick up around 8am and continued all day long. There was no real rhyme or reason to them and they were very sporadic so I was confused as to when to go the hospital. We had decided to labor at home for as long as possible before going in. By 5pm it was time. My contractions had become very close together (about 3-5 minutes) and my discomfort level was growing.

We headed to the hospital and were admitted. They checked my dilation at a 2.

TWO. Um really? I just labored at home for the past 14 hours and I was only a two???

Ugh.

So we walked around the hospital. My emotions were beginning to get little crazy. I quickly realized this when while passing a stand in the hospital with pink and blue knitted hats and booties, I burst into tears at the sight.

I wanted my baby.

The walking only lasted about 30 minutes. I was growing increasingly uncomfortable so we decided to go back to our room. It was 7pm and the nurses were changing shift. The nurse that came on shift was transfered here a couple of months ago from a local city which is known for the use of midwives in their hospital and a frequency of natural childbirth. WOW! Thank you God! This was the perfect nurse for me! She was very supportive, offered so much encouragement with what I was doing and helped me so much!

At 8:30pm we decided to bring the Dr in to break my water to help things progress. And did they ever! At 11pm I was checked to be a generous 8cm!!!

The Doctor was called in, and at 11pm I started pushing. I was encouraged to try different positions according to my birth plan which was very helpful but after some time they discovered that our baby was in a posterior (face up) position. Every time I pushed and let up, she would just slip back and make no progress. This continued for 2 hours. The vacuum was tried - nothing.

Then I heard my husband mention the C word.

I snapped at him "what do you have to go and say that for?". The Doctor assured me they were only talking realities and at this point, it was a very strong reality. Now I was in fighting mode. I had been determined to not have an epidural no matter what, and a C-section? - it never even crossed my mind. To the point that in everything I read, whenever that chapter came up I would skip it thinking it just didn't pertain to me.

Do I pushed harder and with more determination for the next 30 minutes than I had all night. And still - nothing.

The anesthesiologist was called in, the epidural was explained (under great protest from me) and with a flurry of activity going on around me like some hospital TV show I was whisked away to the sterile surgery room, my husband was given scrubs to put on and met me after my epidural was administered. I was scared - but in no pain, which felt like a huge relief.

I was prepped for the surgery and 5 minutes later I heard the most beautiful sound of my life.

My baby's first cry.