ILuvBNaMom

Women in the Word Wednesday

2011-01-19T02:05:00.005-05:00

Test Anxiety

I am following the Good Morning Girls study of James and thought I'd share...

Here is my SOAP (Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer) for James 1:2-4

²My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; ³Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. ⁴But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

O
I am supposed to view trials and temptations as joyful. Going through these times will help me to build endurance, steadfastness and patience. Knowing this I need to allow these qualities to fully develop so that I can reach my full potential.

As a new Christian I often admired folks who went through trials with smiles on their faces, a pleasant spirit and no complaints. I'd think, "Wow, God must really think highly of them to give them such a test. God must know that person can handle a lot." Then I'd think, well what must God think of me? Not very much I guess because I've had it pretty easy. Now I am married, with kids - homeschooling, trying to raise Godly children and keep a Christ centered marriage. I am going through many life trials and certainly have been tempted to give up because it's "just too hard" and have forgotten what I used to want years ago. My chance to prove my faith. I have forgotten that hardship can actually be a good thing. I've been focused on how I must not be doing things right and why is it I can't hear God answering my prayers or telling me how to do it better.

I realize that instead of all the head chatter, I instead need to focus on embracing the hard stuff. I need to focus on the fact that these trials will help me to fully develop into what God intends me to be. I can be encouraged knowing it is all part of the plan for me!

P
Thank you God, for providing me with the perfect educational plan. Thank you for each trial, temptation, test, bump, bruise, discomfort and everything else that is not easy in my life. Thank you for the opportunity to learn, grow and develop. Please help me to reduce my test anxiety and face each challenge with joy knowing that the end product will be just as You intended. Thank you for having faith in me. Help me to strengthen my faith in You so that I can pass my tests with flying colors!

As if it ain't cold enough!

2010-12-11T12:12:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week we did a lesson on ice!

Messy

I put bowls of water outside the night before and brought them inside in the morning. The were partially frozen. When we turned them upside down and popped the ice bowls out, they all sprang a leak and a tiny fountain of water flowed from each of them - actually, one had two holes. The kids got a huge kick out of watching through the ice as the water level inside decreased while the water leaked out. We talked about the different states of matter.

Messier

Next, the kids used water and food coloring to make different colored ice blocks. We put the color combinations in ice cube trays and froze them.

Messiest of all!

Finally, the kids painted a picture on freezer paper and then used "ice cube paint brushes" to draw designs in the painting. I froze popsicle sticks in blocks of ice the night before and popped them out in the morning for the kids to use. They loved this. After they were done, we put them out in the freezing cold to dry. The finished products are cool - they still look wet but are completely dry!

Christmas Distress

2010-12-08T15:23:00.000-05:00

Here are some Christmas tags that I tried to do Tim Holtz style. I first cut the tags out of manilla file folders. I used glimmer mist, a mask, TH Tea Dye distress ink (on the edges of the vintage music and the words December). Stamped green swirlies and black Noels. I distressed the edges with my scissors since I don't have the neat TH distressing tool... yet. Then I inked the edges of the tags with TH Vintage Photo distress ink. I folded the wreaths using this tutorial, attached them and added tiny green bows, along with bows at the top of the tags. I really like how they turned out!

Scrappy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-27T08:19:00.000-05:00

Here's a little something for you!

Get your FREE subscription to Scraps of Color Scrapbook Magazine today! All you need to do is visit their site at http://www.scrapsofcolor.com and sign up! That's it, no strings attached! They have a SUPER Creative Team ready to thrill and delight you throughout 2011! First, issue arrives February 2011!

How cool is that! I'm already signed up!

Stay tuned for their page call announcement and a wonderful December filled with ideas and inspiration by the fabulous SOC Girls and a super BIG BLOG GIVEAWAY! Don't miss a minute of the scrappy inspiration!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

2010-11-16T16:40:00.002-05:00

Lil' Miss has private violin lessons, group violin lessons, private Spanish lessons, dance class and Girl Scouts. The Little Guy has private piano lessons and soccer practice. Lil' Cherub has a toddler class at the library and a gym class at the Y. We also have a preschool group that meets twice a month, a bi-weekly playgroup, a weekly co-op, and a playgroup that meets every other week. And of course, there is church, including weekly Bible Study.

We have so much packed into our schedule that it is a miracle we actually get schooling in! God somehow works that out each week. Not only have we found time to get all of the 3 Rs done (and other fun subjects) but we also manage to include daily practice for their musical instruments and Spanish.

With a life this busy, the year certainly flew by! I do hope that before the year is out, hubby and I will find time to spend together. We have been on two, maybe three dates this year. Our 8 year anniversary, a wedding, and out to dinner once. And I'm almost ashamed to say, we have not had a night alone since before our first child was born! Now that the baby is weaned and independent and bossing everyone around, maybe we can leave her with the grandparents and go away for a weekend sometime soon. Or better yet, stay in for a weekend!

Hope everyone is finding time to cherish the ones they love this holiday season!

A Little Imagination

2010-11-16T16:37:00.001-05:00

My first time posting a Phindy image on her PCP site. Yay! This is the Bleeding Heart Fairy. I used Copic markers to color her in and DCWV's Pocketful of Posies paper. Flowers, ribbon and bling to finish it off of course. Oh, and I used the Cricut to cut a scallop circle to mat the image on, but for the life of me I cannot remember which cart I used!

Holiday Craftiness

2010-11-14T16:23:00.002-05:00

It's time for my annual fantasy post about what I'm making for the holidays! Every year I get so excited about making homemade gifts for Christmas, especially when Sew Mama Sew begins the Handmade Holidays series. I make a huge list and then start surfing the net for ideas, tutorials, patterns. It is at this point that I usually run into a problem. I see so many fabulous handmade things on the internet, I can never decide what to make! My list gets so impossibly huge that I don't even finish a fraction of the projects.

This year will be even harder. In January I joined a wonderful scrapbooking site called Scraps of Color. I have always loved scrapping and making cards, but since meeting these crafty folks, it's all I want to do! I've been a card making fool this year! When October rolled around, the time I usually begin thinking about sewing gifts, I felt strangely conflicted. My neglected sewing machine was calling me, but my stamps, punches, markers, papers, ribbons and all things scrappy had a hold on me already! What's a creative girl to do?! What I always do of course, pack it all in!

So for 2010 I am making Christmas cards for friends and family as usual. I am involved in a couple of holiday card and tag swaps with the SOC group. I am making a few paper gifts - bookmarks, note card sets, gift card sets. I am also making several handsewn gifts. For the kids there are snuggies, tic tac toe sets, doll clothes, doll changing sets (diapers, changing pads, wipes), fabric food, superhero capes, tents and mail carrier sets. For the adults there are aprons, coasters and place mats so far.

How am I getting this all done you ask? It is time to reveal my secret identity....

I AM Supermom!!!

No seriously, I've been getting together with a few friends once a week after the kids are in bed. We all bring our sewing machines and have been encouraging each other to get it done. During the rest of the week, I do the papercrafting late at night, after finishing the housework and work for my job. I'm not sure that the entire list will be accomplished, but I believe that exactly what needs to get done will get done.

How about you? Are you making anything for the holidays?

Good Times

2010-10-03T00:45:00.004-04:00

I practiced using my copic markers with these three spunky ladies. The sentiment stamp is from Raindrop Echo Designs. The embellishments were cut with Martha Stewart Punch and EK Success Punches. I used stickles to add some interest to their outfits as well as on the embellishments. The paper border is also a Martha Stewart border Punch. I also used, ribbon, flowers and textured cardstock.

New School Year

2010-09-25T01:26:00.002-04:00

I've been trying something new this school year. I read a homeschooling article that suggested it is beneficial for multiple children in a family to learn all together at the same time. Last year I worked with each child separately, however I thought I'd give it a try this year. So the last few weeks I've been sitting everyone at the table, starting off with prayer and a scripture. Then I have each kid stay at the table while we do the work. Obviously they are 2 and a half years apart so they aren't working on the same level. I'll have Lil' Miss read from her reading book while the Little Guy listens. Then the he'll work on his beginning phonics while she listens. They work on math together and I just direct questions to each, appropriate to their level. And so on with the other subjects. It's been working somewhat. The baby has even been paying attention. When they do artwork, I give her paints and paper too so she can participate right along with her older siblings. I figure, back in the day when they had the one room school house there were way more than three kids, so I should be able to handle this!

My stress relief

2010-09-25T01:12:00.008-04:00

A few cards I made recently...

A simple card with just patterned paper, stamps and ribbon.

It's hard to see but there is a tree stamped in gold in the center of the scalloped oval (cut from the forever young cartridge). I used the cricut to cut out the leaf (accent essentials) and the cuttlebug to emboss the sentiment.

Five stamps were used to make this 3 x 3 card: a 3 layer set of flowers, a leaf stamp and a hello stamp. It's matted on metallic blue cardstock with a pink cardstock base. Lime green ribbon and a bit of bling finished it off.

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T16:21:00.007-04:00

Today has been a wonderfully blessed day. I woke up to healthy children, a loving husband and Christ in the center of our family.

I am spending the afternoon organizing my craft room. When it is all done I'll try to post some before and after pics... or maybe just the after pictures!

In the meantime, here are some Mother's Day cards I made.

My mother took a picture of the one I made for her.

I took these next two pictures with my cell phone so they are a bit blurry.

Here is the one I made for my grandma. And here is the one my mother made for me. How are you spending your day today?

I Still Love Being a Mom

2010-03-25T16:18:00.003-04:00

I do, I really do. I've just been a bit overwhelmed lately. The baby is now 14 months old and has been walking since 10 months old. Now she is practically running. It has been quite a challenge keeping up with her and her antics while also managing the other two. My little guy is full of little boy energy and the ideas that come into his head always catch me by surprise. The oldest just turned six and seems to have that confused with 16. The moodiness is just off the charts!

These signs of growth and life in our home have also been accompanied by lots of celebrations. We had a Christmas Eve dinner with about 17 folks over. The baby's first birthday was attended by a total of 32 family and friends in January. Lil' Miss' birthday a couple of weeks ago was smaller, with 8 little girls, 2 little boys and 9 adults. And now we are gearing up for Easter Dinner. Phew!

I am trying to figure out how to keep everything together. Dinner, laundry, homeschooling, cleaning, outside activities (a must for the little guy), my own hobbies of scrapbooking and sewing, church, Bible reading, prayer time. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!

I am thankful however to have such busy days and a full life. I am always surrounded by family and friends and I know that is not the case for everyone. I am truly grateful for all that I have been blessed with. I just need a little help learning how to be a good and faithful steward of all these blessings!

Oh, and of course, I'd really like to keep up with my blog as well! Any advice?

Gifts

2009-12-05T00:49:00.007-05:00

free myspace layouts

It's time for my yearly ritual of making a huge list of gifts to make and waiting until the last minute to begin. I know it is so stressful to wait until the last minute but it always seems to work out that way. Even if I start making my gift list in March or June, I can't get myself to actually begin sewing until December! Oh well, here is my list for this year and links to the tutorials I am using to make them!

Checkerboards for the boys

Cloth Napkins and coasters for the grandparents

Felt Foods for the younger kids

Bookmarks for the tweens and a few friends

Shoe bags for my dad

Fabric Hopscotch mat for the girls

Apron and Chef hats for the godkids and a couple of aunts

Fancy rubber gloves for some friends

I can't list what I'm making for hubby and my mom because they occasionally read my blog!

Whatdya think? Will it all get done by December 24?

Look Ma no pineapples!

2009-12-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

I ran out of pineapples so I used peaches to make an upside down cake. This was my first time ever using peaches and I think it didn't turn out so bad.

Giveaway Day

2009-12-02T14:59:00.004-05:00

We just returned from long trip celebrating Thanksgiving with family. Spending time with family was lovely, traveling was not. We had difficulty getting a cab to bring all five of us to the airport and once there, realized that we left Lil' Miss' violin back at her grandparents' house! We had no time to go back to get it since we were already running late, thus we had to have grandma pay $111 to ship it overnight to our house so she could bring it to her lesson the next morning. No, it did not make it in time for her lesson. Yes, of course we are paying grandma back. After flying we had another two hours to drive before finally making it home. The kids were fussy most of the way and cried themselves to sleep about half an hour before we reached our house.

After all of the stress of traveling, I was grateful that we all made it home safely and found our home as we left it. And this morning, I was even more pleased to wake up and realize that today is GIVEAWAY DAY on Sew,Mama,Sew!'s blog. Sew,Mama,Sew! coordinates one day when everyone with a shop or blog can give something away, spreading the holiday spirit. They list all of the participants on the blog to create a master list, and leave the lists up for several days to give readers a more relaxed browsing experience. They also provide some structure with categories and international shipping info.

Last year I had a lot of fun browsing all of the wonderful blogs and even won a prize! This year I hoped to participate myself by giving away a small handmade item, but with our travel plans having us away for NINE days, there was not an opportunity for me to get anything together before the deadline. Oh well, there is always next year! For now, I'll just enjoy all of the fabulous blogs to check out and maybe win something!

Handmade Holidays III

2009-11-12T23:11:00.006-05:00

I can hardly contain myself! Handmade Holidays is here again! This is the third year that Sew Mama Sew is doing this and it's just beyond wonderful. Every day for the month of November there are tutorials of great things you can make as gifts for the holidays. There are projects for every kind of gift recipient - kids, adults, crafters, students, you name it. In addition, there is a giveaway each day, which you can enter just by leaving a comment!

Last year I made several Christmas gifts using ideas I got from Handmade Holidays II. This year my list is hopelessly long. I'm hoping to make things for my nephews, godchildren and my own children, as well as gifts for my parents, grandparents and of course, hubby! However, I don't think I'll ever get started actually making anything because I've been spending so much time looking at all of the fantastic handmade tutorials!

I do hope you get to check it out and add some handmade items to your gift giving this year!

Saving dinner the homemade way

2009-11-11T21:08:00.004-05:00

I found two boxes of taco shells in my cabinet and I could not remember exactly when I purchased them. The boxes did not have expiration or best used by dates anywhere on them, but did say the taco shells were in seal fresh packs, so I figured they were probably still good. There was a recipe on the back of the box for Taco Casserole that looked delicious, so I decided it would be dinner. The recipe called for taco sauce, which I did not have on hand, so I found a recipe for homemade taco sauce. It was extremely easy to make and tasted better than taco sauces I've purchased from the store!

The recipe also called for a packet of taco seasoning - another ingredient I did not have. Okay, so I should have gone shopping before deciding on dinner! Once again, I found a recipe for homemade taco seasoning. Very simple to make and tasted just like the premade seasoning packets I've bought in the past. I don't think I'll ever purchase taco sauce or taco seasoning again!

Okay, here is the best part of the story. After I prepared seasoned the cooked ground turkey and got ready to fill the casserole dish with the broken taco shells as directed, I noticed a funny smell. A smell coming from the just opened seal fresh taco pack. I thought I'd better taste a piece of taco shell and it was so NOT fresh! For a moment, I considered calling the poison hotline because I could not get the horrible taste out of my mouth! What's even worse, is that after searching and searching I finally found a production date of...

... 2005!

I threw the shells away, but then had to figure out what to do about dinner. I couldn't just serve a dish full of taco meat. I mixed up a cornbread batter and spread it over the taco seasoned ground turkey (to which I added corn kernels... just because I love corn). I baked everything at 400 for about 20 minutes, sprinkled cheddar cheese on top and had a tasty cornbread taco dinner!

Here are the recipes I used for the homemade sauce and seasoning mix.

Homemade Taco Sauce
1 can (8 ounces) unseasoned tomato sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
hot sauce to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Let set for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Homemade Taco Seasoning
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
Mix all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

Results Are In

2009-11-10T20:54:00.006-05:00

I'm so proud of myself! I actually made the teething biscuits. I decided not to go with the recipe I posted earlier - I realized that it contains a whole egg and milk, two items which I am not ready to introduce to Lil' Cherub yet. At 9 months old, she has only had egg yolk - and though I know some say it's okay for babies to have whole egg cooked in a recipe, I'd rather just play it safe.

So I found another recipe which contained just four items!

1 cup of flour

1 cup of rice cereal

3 tablespoons of cooking oil

ice water.

I combined the flour and rice cereal, then gradually mixed in the cooking oil. I stirred in the ice water a bit at a time until the dough came away from the sides of the bowl. I rolled it out on a floured surface to the thickness of a cracker and cut it into strips. I baked them on an ungreased cookie sheet for about 10 minutes - or until slightly browned. The recipe made several "crackers."

They are not very pretty, but Lil' Cherub seems to like them okay. If I had to change anything, maybe I would roll them out a bit thicker. They are hard - perfect teething biscuit quality - but also break very easily. That seems somewhat of a contradiction. Well, they snap right into pieces, but the pieces do not disolve very well. So I had to fish several chunks out of her mouth. I think if I made them thicker, they may not break so easily? She might be able to just hold onto them and gum them. I'm still pretty excited to have made them and motivated to try some other recipes!

Something to Sink Her Teeth Into

2009-11-05T22:47:00.005-05:00

Lil Cherub has grown the cutest two little teeth. I'm sure she doesn't know what to do with them yet...though she has bitten me a few times already... Anyway, they are a reminder to me that she is growing so quickly! Babbling, crawling, cruising, eating lots of food to keep up with all of the energy she is spending. I made my own babyfood for all three of my little blessings. However, this time around I'm taking on a new challenge! She loves to eat toasted o's and graham crackers, so Ive decided to make my own teething biscuits and crackers . I found several recipes at a website that was a great resource to me with my first two blessings, wholesomebabyfood.com. I hope to try this one out this weekend and post pictures soon!

Baby Teething Crackers

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 egg, beaten

2/3 cup milk

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.

In food processor or in large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, salt and sugar. Add the egg and mix well. Blend in enough of the milk to form a dough that will hold together in a cohesive ball.

On a floured surface or pastry cloth, roll into a rectangle about 3/8 inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 1/2 x 3-inch rectangles. Place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Stick each cracker 2 or 3 times with the tines of a fork. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the crackers are thoroughly dry. Cool on a rack. These crackers should be hard. If necessary, put them back in the oven for a few minutes.

Yields 10 to 15 crackers.

Tiny Troubles

2009-11-05T14:38:00.008-05:00

I'm so frustrated.

Lil' Miss is in a Suzuki program. They use tiny instruments to teach tiny children how to make beautiful music. We had a rough first year - with Lil' Miss being disagreeable in her private lessons, uncooperative in her group lessons, and downright defiant in our practices at home. We did not want to throw in the towel, thus teaching her to quit, but by the end of the year we had definitely decided that we would NOT register for another year of torture.

Well.... over the summer, her private teacher assured us that Lil' Miss was on the brink of excellence. She apparently has a "natural talent" that is going to "take off at the speed of light" once she gets the attitude stuff under control. I certainly could not see this talent, but then again, I never played the violin. Clarinet from grade school through high school - but never touched a string instrument in my life.

We had a real heart to heart with Lil' Miss - as much as one can have with a five year old. She chose to continue and changed her behavior to show that she was serious. One of her little group classmates even said, "Last year she didn't do anything and now she's doing everything!" He received quite the formidable glare from Lil' Miss.

Today, however, she did not want to practice. She really doesn't want to any day, but will usually comply and then feel good about it in the end. Today she dug her heels in and refused. At every request there was a whine, groan or complaint. "Please fix your bow position." "Whhhhyyyyyy????" "Get your first finger on the A string please." "It iiiiissssss!" "How is your pinky supposed to be on your bow?" "I dooon't knooooow." Most certainly not like it is in the shot I took of her above.

After half an hour of this, I gave up. Asked her to put everything away and I left the room to wash dishes. She happily skippped away, read through a bag of library books and then began playing with her baby sister. I wasn't really mad before, but now I am fuming. She thinks she can get away with not practicing and just go play? But what am I supposed to do? Trudge through the practice while she whines and draws it out for over an hour? Should I forget the whole thing and try tomorrow? Should I save my sanity and just quit altogether?

I finally calmed down, called her back in, and got her to finish the practice. It ended on a good note...but seriously, did it have to be so difficult? I pray daily for guidance with the kids, but maybe I need to begin praying before each practice. Maybe we should start each practice out by praying together! That would not only teach her a valuable lesson about prayer, but also hopefully put us in the right spirit to get through it successfully. Hmmm...it took me having to write this long post to figure that out!

Escape Cat

2009-11-01T22:49:00.001-05:00

Our cat wants out.

At every opportunity, he escapes out the front, back or garage door. If the door is shut, he smashes his little face against it until the door pops open and quietly slips away. He leisurely sniffs around the porch, taking in the fresh air - until he realizes that he has been spotted. At that point he dashes off the porch into a bush, under the porch or some other place from where he cannot be retrieved. Once in a secure hiding spot, he will not respond to his name, toys, food, bribes or threats and only returns when he feels like it a few hours later.

I think this is all normal behavior for indoor cats, who are naturally outdoor animals. The only problem is that when we adopted him years ago, he was already declawed. This was one of the reasons we chose him, especially since my husband is very attached to his electronic toys and the wires they come with. This makes our cat's little jail break episodes life threatening. He could be attacked by another cat, dog or animal and would have a hard time defending himself.

In addition, I fear he may pick up outdoor "issues" and bring them into our home. Ticks hitching a ride, dirt tracked on the floor where the baby crawls, poison ivy oils on his fur, and who knows what else! Just yesterday he was seen fraternizing with some neighborhood cat. How dare he roll around with some strange cat and then saunter back into our home!

I am not sure how to deal with this problem aside from sending him to live with someone else. Any advice?

I WON!

2009-10-30T15:56:00.006-04:00

I won a wonderful prize from the ABC Toys and Crafts Design Team Blog. I'm so excited. It's a Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page Set - the 3 Dot Scallop edge design. It has edge punches that correspond to matching corner punches. They enable you to punch a continuous border around a page. This comes at such a perfect time because I am gearing up to make Christmas Cards. This set is definitely going to be put to good use. Thank you ABC Toys and Crafts Design Team!

Button Your Books!

2009-10-29T10:38:00.004-04:00

Mama Jenn: Kiddos Create Challenge: BUTTONS

I've decided to join in on Mama Jenn's Kiddos Create Weekly Challenge. The idea is to have your kids make something creative out of the theme item for the week. You can also make something with your kids or for your kids. The item this week is ... buttons! After much thought, we decided to make button bookmarks.

First, we cut out rectangles from a box made of thin cardboard. Cereal boxes are the perfect thickness.

The kids then cut tiny pieces of tissue paper of all colors. They used glue to cover the cardboard strips. They then chose several buttons to glue to the top of their strips. Let them dry and voila ... button bookmarks!
The kids had a blast making them and they encourage reading! Thanks for the inspiration Mama Jenn!

Born Again Apple Pie!

2009-10-29T01:27:00.001-04:00

I come from a long line of pie makers. Everyone in the family makes pies and I love making pies. I make them so often without following a recipe that it always catches me off guard when someone asks me to teach them how to make a pie. How to make a pie? What do you mean? I don't understand the question... That's the translation of the look that is usually on my face!

Yesterday we had a special guest visiting for dinner and at the last minute I decided to bake an apple pie. I quickly made and rolled out some dough, sliced up some apples, seasoned everything, put it together and threw it in the oven just before our guest arrived. After a lovely dinner I brought out a beautiful sparkling pie (I sprinkle sugar on the crust before baking - hence the sparkles). Imagine my shock, disbelief and horror, when I, the mistress of pies, cut into her perfect pie only to reveal apples floating in brown water! In my haste, I had forgotten to put in a thickener -which is almost always needed for a fruit pie. I usually use cornstarch, but sometimes use tapioca or even flour. Well this pie had none of the above! I was beyond embarrassed - though our guest and my family happily ate the apple soup. The apples were quite tasty and the crust was delicious. I was still very upset.

Sooo... after our guest left and the kids were in bed, I tried a little experiment. The pie was about half gone, but the pie plate was still filled with brown cinnamon flavored water. I stirred some cornstarch into the liquid I could see and just kind of hoped it would work it's way into the part under the crust. I put the pie back into the oven at 350 for 20 minutes or so.

IT WORKED!

When I took the pie out it had thickened beautifully. It was smooth as can be and oh so tasty! While I saved this pie - or at least half of it, I have definitely learned my lesson - no rushing while making pies anymore.

Chicken in Creamy Tomatillo Sauce

2009-10-28T20:22:00.001-04:00

Here is a recipe I created! I was searching online for a recipe using tomatillos, but did not have the complete list of ingredients called for in any of the recipes. So....I made up my own! It turned out fabulous and I will be definitely using it again. Hope you enjoy it!

4 Tomatillos - quartered

1/2 yellow onion - chopped

3 cloves garlic - chopped

1 banana pepper - chopped

1 t fresh basil - chopped

1 t fresh scallion - chopped

1 10.75 oz can cream of mushroom soup

1 T olive oil

1/2 onion sliced

2 chicken breasts

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano

cooked brown rice

1. Blend first six ingredients in food processor.

2. Put mixture in small saucepan and simmer 10 minutes.

3. Add can cream of mushroom soup. Simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently

4. Cut bone from chicken breast, slice into thin fillets.

5. Brown chicken with onion slices in olive oil on both sides.

6. Add can diced tomatoes to chicken and onions. Simmer 3 minutes.

7. Pour chicken, onions and tomatoes into 9 X 13 casserole dish.

8. Pour tomatillo sauce on top.

9. Bake in oven for 45 minutes.

10. Serve over brown rice.

What Will $200 Buy You?

2009-10-28T00:31:00.003-04:00

Who couldn't use $200? Well, here is a chance to win a $200 gift card to Best Buy. Stephanie from a Year of Slow Cooking reviewed a Samsung fridge and got it for FREE. Yes, absolutely hers to keep. Now, if you go to her review site and comment on what appliance would change your life, you can have a chance to win a $200 gift card. You have until November 15 to enter!

Totally Together Reviews: Samsung Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator Review and $200 Best Buy Gift Card Give-Away

This should be easy... I love tea!

2009-10-27T22:05:00.004-04:00

A friend who is a public school teacher received this information from the school nurse. I know there are a ton of tips and advice on how to avoid catching the H1N1 virus, but a couple of these are some I had not heard before. So at the risk of posting something you may already know, I thought I'd share what she sent...

"In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is. While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced:
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications).
2. "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face unless you want to eat or bathe.
3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine or Hydrogen Peroxide if you don't trust salt).
*H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation.
Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water, or hydrogen peroxide.
*Not everybody may be comfortable using a Neti Pot to clean nasal cavities, but *blowing the nose softly once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*
5. *Boost your natural immunity with foods rich in Vitamin C.:
: Red peppers, Papayas, Green peppers, Broccoli, Strawberries, Brussel Sprouts, Citrus fruits (oranges, grape fruit, etc.), Kiwi Fruit, Tomato Soup, Kellogg's Product 19 cereal, General Mill's Whole Grain Total cereal, Cantaloupe, Mangos, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Cranberries
(make up some homemade cranberry sauce with a bag of fresh cranberries, a little brown sugar, orange juice and grated orange rind yum!)
*If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. *Drink warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc). *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. Proliferating viruses are washed from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm."

Focusing on trying to prevent the proliferation of the H1N1 virus makes sense because it is almost impossible to prevent germs from entering the mouth and nose. Those germs and viruses can either lay dormant for awhile or multiply and strengthen.
Since the mouth and nose are the main entrance into our body, it is important to practice daily steps of keeping these openings clean and strong. You can be healthy and feel fine without realizing that various germs/viruses, such as H1N1, can be present in the body via the nose and mouth without realizing. It is all about prevention rather than acting when you feel sick.

Corn!

2009-08-19T14:22:00.006-04:00

Just as a fluke I planted corn this year. I never actually thought it would grow... at least not into anything useful. But look! Here they are! Little tiny ears of corn. I have been told that they need to grow much bigger, but I'm so proud of my little garden!

Happy Birthday Pepper

2009-03-20T15:52:00.041-04:00

Our puppy turned 1 sometime this month. We are not sure of her exact birthdate because she is a rescue dog. She was adopted from a wonderful place called Ozark Mutts and Stuff.

Pepper was dumped on a country road with her three litter mates even before their eyes were open. The four pups arrived at the rescue when they were five weeks old. They all were healthy and happy for a couple of weeks then two of the pups came down with a respiratory infection and passed away.

The two remaining pups thrived and one was adopted to our family! She came to us spayed and with her first set of shots. She was the happiest little dog I'd seen - though I bet any dog would be happy to finally be home after a three day road trip in a cage on an RV with 65 other dogs!

Pepper is great with the kids, albeit a little overly energetic. She is best friends with the cat. They play together every evening. She is housebroken and listens to most commands, at least for a few seconds. Sounds perfect right? Wrong!

I have never been a dog person. Hubby is the dog lover - I am the cat lover. How we ended up together is a good example of God's funny sense of humor! What I am is a puppy person. The thing with puppies is that they grow into dogs. This puppy happens to be growing into a very large dog! I seem to find her every move annoying. I think she senses this because she stares at me for disturbingly long periods of time, as if to say, "I'm going to MAKE you like me!"

Well, I hear her loud and clear. I found out we were pregnant just before she arrived and may have been a tad moody for nine months... and tired for the last two months! I do love her because she is a part of our family. I am hoping that with the spring weather, and a bit more sleep as the baby grows, I'll be able to take the kids and the dog out more. A little sunshine and fresh air might stir up some affection and be a good bonding experience for us!

Organic on a budget‏

2009-03-18T12:49:00.007-04:00

I love organic food. Serving it to my family makes me feel like I am doing one of the healthiest things I can for them. Unfortunately it is becoming more and more difficult for me to make the choice between buying organic and saving money. I read an article today explaining that if you have to tighten the food budget, you can at least be a smart buyer and make choices about which organic selections are most important to buy. The article explained that some foods have higher concentrations of pesticides than others.

The following foods contain higher levels of pesticides:
Peaches
Apples
Bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Imported grapes
Carrots
Pears

The following "Clean 15" foods contain lower levels of pesticides:
Onions
Avocados
Sweet corn
Pineapple
Mangoes
Asparagus
Sweet peas
Kiwis
Cabbage
Eggplant
Papaya
Watermelon
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Sweet potatoes

This makes me feel better about not buying everything organic all the time. Another thing that I have done is to look for organic food in some of the discount grocery stores in our area. For example, we have a Price Rite in our town. They sell Stonyfield Organic Milk for more than a dollar less than the local Stop and Shop. The same exact brand and a whole dollar difference! Our kids are getting bigger and drinking more milk than they ever did, so this helps a lot.

I also can't wait for the local farmers markets to open. Apparently it is a 3 year process for produce to be "certified" organic, but at least I can ask the sellers exactly how their food is grown. And it's nice to meet the folks who actually grow the food we are eating!

Think Spring!

2009-03-04T01:30:00.013-05:00

I can't believe our firstborn will be five years old soon! In honor of this milestone, we are throwing her a spring/garden party! We initially wanted to have an easy, all inclusive party at a restaurant, kids museum or some other place, but realized we have too many friends to keep within the 10 kid max, and we certainly weren't paying $10 for each additional kid! Sooo...we are having a house full of kids here in less than two weeks! I decided to go with a spring theme. Lil' Miss likes flowers and boys like bugs - everyone will feel included and have a great time.

Of course the invitations are handmade because I wouldn't have anything less mailed from this postal address! They are very detailed and still in the process of being made. I used my Cricut (my absolute favorite scrapbooking tool and the best Christmas present EVER from Hubby) to cut out all of the little letters and the grass. Lil' Miss herself punched out all of the hearts to make the flowers and petals. The number fives were created with my Quikutz. The tags were made with the Creative Memories tag maker. They are not attached to the card, but just slipped in behind the grass. The tag in the picture above is blank, but on the others I have written the party details - "Lil' Miss' Birthday" on the front, and the date, time, address and phone number on the back. I'll top each tag off with a little ribbon tied through the hole.

For activities, I am planning on having the kids paint tiny terra cotta pots. They will then fill them with soil and transfer a small flower or plant to their pot. I purchased the pots in packs of 3 from the dollar store. I'll get the flowers/plants in a tray from one of the local home improvement stores. At the dollar store I was also able to find hanging laterns for decorations and craft sticks that we'll use to make markers so the kids know what they're growing. The store also had packs of seeds at 10 for $1! I'm hoping to get back over there to get some tissue paper to make huge tissue paper flowers to put around as decorations, and maybe lots of green construction paper to make "grass" to put around the bottom of the walls.

Finally, my neighbor is making a big flower cake. She bakes the best cakes I've ever tasted! I'll have ice cream with lots of sundae toppings. And for food we'll have pizza for the kids and provide wings and appetizer trays (fruit, veggie, cheese n crackers) for the adults.

Sounds like fun? Spring on over then!!!

Free Scrapbooking Tools!

2009-03-02T13:56:00.002-05:00

I just love scrapbooking and I especially love free scrapbooking supplies! Vanilla Joy is giving away four Creative Memories Shape Makers! The prize includes the Tag Maker, the Sweet Heart Maker, the Square Maker, and the Puzzle Maker. If you have ever used Creative Memories scrapbooking tools, you know how great their products are. I have a few shape makers and some other tools and I don't think I could scrap without them! Check out Vanilla Joy for your chance to enter!

No Shots

2009-02-27T15:05:00.004-05:00

Well, I was mistaken. Lil' Cherub did NOT get the shots I thought she was scheduled to receive yesterday. She is not due to get them until next month, when she gets 6 vaccines all in one day - a combo shot with 3 vaccines, a combo shot with 2 vaccines and the last vaccine administered orally.

This really threw a monkey wrench in my plans because I was all set to launch full force into our normal activities. We had plans to return to our homeschool co-op, church services, playgroups and our regular visit to the library. However, the doctor told us to hold off on these things for another month since we are still in the middle of cold and flu season. This is really hard to do because I have two other children who cannot stay in the house all day for four more weeks and also because I really dislike staying in the house myself!

Sooo... I went out anyway! This morning we went to our homeschool co-op. I figured, all of the kids would be busy with their activities, it is a large space and I'd be wearing the baby anyway. It worked out just fine. I wore her the entire time and the kids had fun catching up with their friends. While I was there talking to one of the parents about the shot situation, I found out that some of the children in the co-op have never been vaccinated at all. Now I have heard of this, but never met anyone who actually followed through with not vaccinating their children. I had so many questions, How did you find a doctor who agreed to this? Do you worry about the kids getting sick from others? When did you first take them out? What do you do to keep them healthy? I feel like the extra month I have before Lil' Cherub gets her shots gives us a chance to really research this whole vaccinate or don't vaccinate debate. What do you think? I'd love to hear your input on this topic!

Little Things Make a Big Difference

2009-02-25T13:50:00.007-05:00

Friday we sang Happy Birthday to our Lil' Cherub! She's getting so big and chubby and starting to interact with everyone more - well, as much as a 4 week old can interact! She makes eye contact and can stay awake for more than 20 minutes without crying!

Our days flip flop between crazy and out of control, to calm and relaxed. I haven't figured out the formula yet. Some days I can't seem to get it together, the kids are wild and full of energy and the baby is out of sorts all day. Those are the times I feel like we'd better just put everyone in daycare or school and go back to work full time! However, I think as we slowly reintroduce various bits of our schedule (homeschool lessons, playgroups, co-op meetings, library time) it helps everyone to settle back into the groove. I always knew it was important for children to have some structure to their days, but I never realized just how significant it really is. Just adding one small regularly scheduled activity makes a big difference in our lives!

Another thing that has really helped me to maintain some sanity is naptime. Little Guy has always taken a nap after lunch. Lil' Miss then practices violin with me and then either gets on the computer, reads books or plays until he wakes. This usually means she's asking me for help with something on the computer, asking me for help with the books or asking me to look at her doll's latest outfit or taste some imaginary meal she's cooked. A couple of weeks ago I decided that she too needs to take a nap so that I can have a moment to myself! After her violin practice, I have her quietly go upstairs and climb into bed (the two are in a bunk bed) without waking her brother. She thinks this is a fun challenge. She eventually falls asleep, at times for nearly two hours! This has been such a blessing because I can get work done, catch up on email, or take a short nap if the baby is sleeping! Now I truly appreciate how precious these little moments of quiet are!

Lil' Cherub gets her first set of shots on Thursday, so hopefully we'll get to attend our co-op meeting on Friday and go to church service on Sunday! Returning to church will really make things feel like normal. As much as it is a challenge getting two kids ready and out the door for church on a Sunday morning, and I can't imagine what it will be like with three - I always feel like something is off when we miss a couple of weeks of service and other church activities. I not only miss the worship and the education components, but the fellowship of our church family. I think this is important for the kids as well. Again, just a small piece of our time - a couple of hours on Sunday, Thursday (Bible Study) and random special events, but a huge impact on our lives!

Now, if I can just find a time to begin blogging regularly again!!!

A Baby Story

2009-01-31T15:15:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but for good reason! Our newest family member arrived early Friday morning!!! This time around was almost as exciting as the last time. My water broke at 2:15 in the morning, and though I tried to climb back in the bed and pretend it wasn't happening, the contractions began right away and I had to face reality and wake Hubby up. We both hopped onto our laptops to send quick emails to work and and friends, then gathered the kids up and headed to the car. We tried to keep the kids asleep by not putting their coats on and wrapping them in blankets instead, but the cold woke them up. We drove to my parents, dropped the kids off and sped off to the hospital. By the time we checked in, it was 3:45am. I was 7cm dialated upon check in, and within half an hour was 10, pushed once for the head, a second time for the rest of the body and praise God, we had our second daughter!

She was 8lbs 8oz and 22 inches long. Beautiful and chubby with a nice loud cry. She got 9 and 10 on her agpar. The first 12 hours were fantastic, then things took a sudden turn. Her temperature, heartrate and respiratory rate went up, while her routine bloodwork came back with a shifted white blood cell count. I was GBS positive but did not arrive at the hospital in time to get a full dose of antibiotics. You need to be there for at least 4 hours. I only got one dose of penicillan. Because of this red flag in our chart and the sudden show of symptoms, the doctors became concerned that she might have possible infection. The medical team made the decision to discharge her from the nursery and admit her to the NICU. As upsetting as this was to Hubby and I, especially since it was almost an exact repeat of what happened with the Little Guy, I understood the logic of airing on the side of caution rather than the, "let's wait and see what happens" approach. I did not want to unknowingly take a sick baby home and end up in the ER a few days later under dire circumstances.

Once she was in the NICU, some of her vitals stabilized, but her blood cell count was still off. They put her on two antibiotics and monitored her. They performed a spinal tap and ran lots of tests, but everything came back negative. I was allowed to breastfeed, which was comforting for both of us. Hubby stayed two days until my official discharge, after which time he went home to take care of the kids. I took up residence in a rocking chair next to her bed in the NICU for the next five days. A couple of nights I was able to get a room on the NICU floor, and one night ended up sleeping in a meeting room/library. The final two nights the nursing staff agreed that she was healthy enough to room with me. After her last dose of antibiotics she was cleared to go home!

Now we are ALL recovering from the ordeal. The baby is getting used to her very loud and active surroundings. Lil' Miss is head over heals in love with her new sister. The Little Guy is trying to figure out his new role in the family. Hubby and I are learning to function with only a few hours of sleep at night! Soooo.... if my posts are infrequent for a while, it's because we are adjusting to life with three little ones.

Getting Ready

2009-01-20T00:22:00.008-05:00

Well, it's getting down to the wire. At our appointment last Thursday the midwife gave a green light for the baby to arrive. Everything is apparently ready (I won't go into a reproductive lesson describing what that means) and it's just a matter of waiting. Her instructions were to "take it easy." I thought that was hilarious, as I have a 2yr old and a 4yr old with me all day, every day! Taking it easy is NOT an option. She then told me to pay attention to any pain I may have. For some reason I don't really feel strong contractions until the very end. I actually slept through the contractions last time and woke up having to push. The Little Guy was almost born in Hubby's car on the way to the hospital. This may seem like a dream come true, but I personally would rather have a bit of time to get prepared. So, I'm doing the next best thing and trying to get everything set well in advance. The kids' suitcases are already packed and at their grandparents' house. My bag is packed as well. Hubby... well, I'm sure he'll just throw something in the car as we rush off!
When the time does come, I'll try to put up a quick post before leaving. Stay tuned!

By the way, I wanted to mention a couple of Blog Candy/Giveaways I won recently!

This is my gift from Trudy at Bits of Wool. The box was FULL of goodies, so much that I couldn't fit them all on the table for the photo. Not in the picture is a huge box of Hickory Farms tea - 96 packets! There is also a beautiful hand stiched embroidery piece and the cutest apron. She made most of the stuff herself.

From Terri at Purple and Paisley I won a wood sign that says YOU SEW GIRL, which goes perfect in my craft room. It came with a flannel pillowcase with the sweetest little elephants on it.

My First Blog Award!!!

2009-01-19T00:24:00.004-05:00

I'm so excited! Marie*Jolie from Permission to Unwind awarded me the Lemonade Award for having a blog with Attitude and/or Gratitude. This is my very first blog award! Thanks so much Marie! You really have to check out her blog to see all of the great ideas, tutorials, and tips she has. Plus she's funny as all get out!

Here are the rules for receiving the Lemonade Award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!
3. Link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Now I get to choose 10 blogs to award! I hope they like lemonade as much as I do! I am nominating the following 10 blogs:

Jenn at Mama Jenn
Tony at Well Watered Woman
Bethany at Happy to be Called Mommy
The busy mom at Green Jello
Jennifer at Life in a Small House
Kelsey at Vanilla Joy
Nanette at Freda's Hive
Terri at Purple and Paisley
Trudy at Bits of Wool
The crafty mom at Bella Dia

Please stop by to check these blogs out - I think they're great!
Thanks again Marie!

Treats for All

2009-01-10T21:36:00.011-05:00

I love it when a lesson is easy enough for my two and four year old to complete and actually understand, but engaging enough for older kids as well. The homeschool co-op we participate in (for ages 2 to about 7) had just such an activity for our get together yesterday. It was pajama day, since the kids hadn't seen each other for a while over the holiday break. So they were already in happy, cozy moods being able to run around in their pjs with all of the other kids. After some coloring time, a story telling and two books we had snacks. I was scheduled to provide snack yesterday and I baked dairy free pumpkin muffins (not from the can but from an actual sugar pumpkin) - they were a big hit! The kids all settled down for their activity. Each kid got a large blunt needle with embroidery floss, and the table was filled with several bowls of popcorn, grapes, raisins, dried cranberries, peanuts and cheerios. The kids strung the embroidery floss with the snacks to make a nice little treat to hang from a bush or a tree for the birds and squirrels! My kids had such a great time doing this, they actually sat long enough to almost fill about two feet of embroidery floss. Of course, I ended up finishing the rest while they ran around playing with their buddies. We brought them home and hung them in the front yard in hopes of being able to watch the animals enjoy the treats. However, it either must be too cold outside or too strange looking for them to eat because they haven't touched them yet! I think if I were a squirrel or a bird, I'd love to have some - I was almost ready to eat them while the kids were making them! Well, here are their little gifts to the animals, still hanging from the tree.

I suppose if they haven't been touched by the end of this weekend, we'll move them to another location. The woman leading the activity did say that she noticed the squirrels were the fattest she'd ever seen them at winter time which could mean that we are going to get a lot of snow. Maybe they have already stuffed themselves and are too full to eat our creations!!!

Iced In

2009-01-07T20:59:00.007-05:00

We got a huge ice storm today. Schools were closed, Lil' Miss' violin lesson was cancelled and according to the news, the roads were dangerous to travel on. Soooo...we stayed in. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but I get stir crazy when I have to stay in the house all day. Our schedule is set up so that we get out at least once a day. However, I had a feeling we might be stuck in today, so I already had a plan as to how we were going to fill the day so that I wouldn't go too nuts!

I found a great activity on a fantastic blog I follow, Permission to Unwind. We used empty cardboard boxes to make thank you cards for the Christmas gifts the kids received. I cut the cardboard down to small note sizes (smaller than the instructions suggested) and let the kids cut pictures out of magazines to cover one side. The cardboard side is left blank for them to write their thank you notes. I wasn't sure how well this would go over with them, but they sat for over an hour working on the project! The hardest part for me was not "micro-managing" their work. They kept cutting out pictures that were too small to cover the entire box front and wanting to make a more collage type cover. That's okay, except that Lil' Miss' pictures were mostly ads - for cameras, sanitary napkins, detergent - you name it. I couldn't get her to cut out other things. When she would finally find something cute to cover the entire card, she'd decide that she only wanted ONE part of it - like a beautiful image of a group of penguins, and she only wanted the "daddy" penguin. Don't ask how she knew which one was the daddy, but one penguin did NOT cover her card. I finally had to just let it go and let her do her thing.

The Little Guy, on the other hand, was happy to just glue and cut. So he'd cut out a big image, and I'd cut it down to the size of his cards and then let him glue them on. The activity as a whole was great though because it reinforced the idea of recycling (which we discuss a lot in our schooling) and the Little Guy got a chance to practice his cutting and gluing skills.

After that, we made chocolate chip cookies and had lunch with cookies for dessert. Then while the Little Guy took his nap, Lil' Miss and I practiced violin and then got on the computer. Lil' Miss loves Starfall and will practice her letters and beginning reading for as long as I let her, which allows me to catch up on work for my part time job.

Okay, these obviously aren't chocolate chip cookies! The kids made these gingerbread folks a few weeks ago. There was NO WAY I was going to let them eat them with all that candy on them, so they've been sitting around individually wrapped. I finally explained to them that the candy would make holes in their teeth, unwrapped them and arranged them on the counter to take a nice little picture and then threw them all out!

Toward the end of the day though, I began to get anxious about Hubby coming home. I thought maybe I should go out and put some salt down because our driveway was a sheet of ice, but I was worried 1) about falling on the ice, especially with my balance being off with this big belly and 2) having the kids out there falling on the ice since I certainly couldn't leave them inside alone. So poor Hubby had to shovel all of this when he got home, after working all day.

Now, normally after being in the house all day, I would have been cranky by the time Hubby arrived, but I was pleasant and had dinner ready - baked ziti with ground turkey, veggies and extra, extra cheese, and hard dough bread with butter. He went out to finish shoveling (ice is pretty heavy so it took a while) after dinner, so I had the kids clean up the playroom and got them bathed. By the time he came back in they were ready to read bedtime books while I sorted out baby clothes, then we had Bible time and prayer!

All in all, I feel very proud about how I handled the day being trapped in the house! Praise God for giving me patience today! Maybe I can learn to stay in more often - it would certainly save on gas money!

Recovery

2009-01-04T15:40:00.039-05:00

I am slowly getting my footing back from all of the holiday madness. Not madness really, but just lots of work that I suppose I created for myself. It really wouldn't be Christmas to me without all of the baking and cooking and sewing and crafting and company and visiting and giving of handmade gifts! I made a few things that I am quite proud of. I don't know how they'll look online in these photos, but I am sharing anyway!

These are tutus I made from this no sew tutu tutorial. You do have to sew just a bit, for the waist, but the rest was easy. I made one for each of my goddaughters and one for Lil' Miss. It's hard to see how cute, colorful and poofy they are from these photos.

I made a little "scrap pocket" for my mother. I saw a woman at a scrapbooking retreat using one and just fell in love with it. It was so cute and adorned with little buttons. It was also bigger than the one I made for my mother.

The top is filled with fish tank gravel encased in a ziplock bag, surrounded by batting for softness. The gravel keeps the top on the table while the pocket part hangs down off the side of the table and mom can just throw paper scraps in it while she's making cards.

I made a "cobbler cozy" for my father. He loves making peach cobblers and will often make them as gifts for people or bring them to events and gatherings. I thought it would be nice to have something to keep it warm and easy to carry. The outside is a black denim material with black and white gingham lining. You place the casserole dish in the center, the sides come up and snap shut, then you pull the other sides up and hold them together by the handles (made out of pvc pipes - didn't have wood dowels on hand).

Now that all the sewing is done, sort of (I still have a couple of little boys I'd like to make something for), I can get down to the business of nesting! We spent a lot of the holiday break working on the nursery - putting the crib together, sorting through old baby clothes, etc. I have quite a bit of washing to do, especially getting all of the cloth diapers in order. I would REALLY like to try my hand at making some cloth diaper covers with my serger, but I haven't figured out how to use it properly yet. I tried it on one of my Christmas gifts and just made a big mess. If anyone has any tips, I'd really appreciate them!

Busy Little Elf

2008-12-21T23:51:00.013-05:00

I've been working away, though it seems as if everything that could happen to keep me away from my tasks has happened! My cold has lingered on, making me really exhausted by the time the kiddos go to bed (and it's hard for me to make gifts while I'm sleeping). Friday I was determined to at least get the things that needed to be mailed finished. A big storm was supposed to start Friday around noon, and I was furiously sewing and cooking away while keeping one eye on the skies (looking for snow) and one eye on the kids. Yes, your math is correct, that didn't leave enough eyes to have one on my sewing machine. As I was rushing, I sewed one of my reverse applique letters right to the collar of the t-shirt! It was a nightmare to take out because I used a really close stitch. It was also my first time doing reverse applique, so it took me quite a while to complete the project. I hope the boys like the finished product - I wanted it to have a rough, boyish look and I think I acheived that, though their parents might just think it looks messy. Oh well, messy sure was a lot of work!A bit after 12:30, Lil' Miss announced, "The snow is coming down Mommy!" It came down fast and hard and by the time I finished the shirts, there were several inches on the ground. I ended up waiting for Hubby to get home and he drove us to the post office. So I am happy that I got the t-shirts finished and six bags of chocolate covered roasted pecans made AND they all got in the mail on Friday.

I thought that Saturday I'd be able to get some more things done, but since we got 12 inches of snow on Friday, hubby spent most of the day cleaning up - which meant the kids were with me (they went out for a little bit, but are too small to really stay out very long). Sewing with the Little Guy around just does not work. However, I did go to my neighbor's house for a cake baking lesson. I already know how to bake cakes, but she makes those professional cakes that you pay tons of money for birthday parties and other events. It was great, I learned how to make the cake AND the icing and it was delicious! This is a 12 inch, 3 inch high cake and 24 hours later there is only about a fourth of it left!

Today, church was canceled because it was still snowing - it snowed straight through from Friday until Sunday evening. Though I was looking forward to going to church, not only to worship and fellowship, but I had a few bags of pecans I wanted to give to some folks, I was also happy to have the time to work on some projects. Well, we drove out in the snow to get a few things and wouldn't you know that when we returned, our CO detector was going off again?!! Hubby went down to check out the furnace and the one near the bedrooms began to go off too. We decided that it would be best for the children and I to leave the house, while Hubby tried to figure out the problem. I woke the Little Guy from his nap and bundled everyone up and went to a neighbor's. While it was nice to visit, all I could think of was my sewing! It felt like someone really didn't want me to make any gifts.

When we finally came back home to a soot covered Hubby, I let the kids decorate gingerbread cookies while I started on one project. By the end of the night, I was able to finish it and a little something to go with it. It's a tissue pouch holder and a keychain! Hopefully the next few nights will be much more productive!

Time to Panic

2008-12-16T00:54:00.004-05:00

I am officially panicking right now. There are only 10 days until Christmas!!!

I have so many things that I wanted to do, but haven't been able to. We've had a rough few weeks with the Little Guy being sick first for a week, then Lil' Miss getting pink eye, and then Hubby and I sick the week after. I avoid medications during pregnancy, thus have had a much harder time with this cold than I normally would. I can't seem to get rid of a very congested cough, I'm stuffy and cannot breathe and my throat is unbelievably sore. In addition, I still have the normal pregnancy symptoms, heartburn being the worst. All of this together has not allowed me to get a good night's rest in quite a while, so I am just beat during the days. Add to this mix a very active 2 and 4 year old and you do NOT have someone who has energy to sew or bake at all!

I keep checking the US Postal Service website to make sure I have time to mail stuff. If I can at least muster up enough energy to make gifts for my out of town family, I'll be happy. If I read the website correctly, the last day to mail stuff and get it to it's destination by Christmas is December 20. This gives me 4 days (or 5 if I can sew and bake a bit on Saturday morning) to get several gifts made, wrapped and packed up. Once they're done, I can pull a few all nighters and get the local family/friends gifts done. This is a pretty tall order, so I'd appreciate any healthy thoughts and prayers you have to send my way! Thanks!!!

Fifty-six Handmade Christmas Cards

2008-12-10T21:48:00.012-05:00

Here are my Christmas Cards for this year! I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos. I did not have good lighting where the cards were and my camera is not the best.

The last few years I made a photo card, either taking my own photo or getting a professional photo and using it to create the card. This time however, I wanted to actually scrapbook a card. My mother is quite a gifted card maker and I've become more and more inspired by her handmade cards. I started working on these at the scrapbooking retreat I went to in November.

I started off with 8 & 1/2 x 11 sheets of forest green, cranberry and cream paper. I cut them in half so that they were 8 & 1/2 x 5 & 1/2. I ran them through a Cuttlebug using an embossing folder. That's what made the pretty raised pattern. It's the cutest little machine that you can use to manually cut shapes and emboss paper. Then I cut varous 12X12 sheets of beautiful patterned cream, gold, light green and flowered paper down to fit the cards (now folded in half). I used a Creative Memories decorative trimmer to give them a wavy edge. I adhered these pieces to the center of my cards. I left the flowered paper as squares (no wavy edges) and used some distressing ink to give the paper an antique look, then adhered them to the right side of the card front.

I used a wooden stamp with black ink to make the bible verse on strips of red and green paper, cut them and matted them to brown or red paper. I did the same for the little manger image with an acrylic stamp. I am new to using acrylic stamps, but I really like them. You can see exactly where you are placing your stamp. I adhered these matted stamped images to the card. I also stamped "Handmade by" on the back of each card and wrote my name underneath.

I used EK Success snowflake punches to create about 175 little snowflakes in various patterns. The EK Success snowflake punch line offers six different patterns so that you can layer them and make an endless amount of unique snowflake arrangements. I layered and glued three snowflakes to each card, and put a dot of white glitter glue in the center.

I punched out 240 tiny gold doves, using leftover gold foil label paper. All of the labels had been used, but I saved the empty sheets. I punched the doves from the leftover gold borders of the label paper! I used these to adhere a wallet sized photo of my kids to the inside of the card, over the embossed area.

I bought a couple packs of holiday stationary, and used The Enveloper to make envelopes for all of the cards. Now they are just sitting on the table waiting to be signed and mailed. That part is taking quite a while because I am writing a personalized message in all 56 of them!

A Dream Come True!

2008-12-10T15:17:00.003-05:00

Okay, this is a biased post because I LOVE SCRAPBOOKING! I have just come across the BEST GIVEAWAY EVER!!! Vanilla Joy is giving away a Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter by QuicKutz. I was actually considering getting a second job just to save up for one of these. Now I'm hoping to just win this one!!! It works through your computer and you can design just about anything you want to cut out and use on your scrapbook pages, cards or other handmade crafts! If you love papercrafts, this is the giveaway for you. Check it out before the deadline, December 13!

Vanilla Joy is also giving away a designer kitchen apron by Heavenly Hostess. It's a beautiful Mod Martini Halter Apron and it's reversible! This giveaway ends on December 12. Wow stumbling upon Vanilla Joy's website is better than if I were to get paid to fill out surveys!

The Silent Killer

2008-12-10T13:44:00.006-05:00

Early Tuesday morning Hubby and I awoke to a loud alarm. It wasn't the smoke alarm, but our Carbon Monoxide detector. We were not sure what to do as it was 4am, we felt fine, the kids looked okay and we really just wanted to go back to sleep. We concluded that it was probably faulty and went to bed for a couple more hours.

Later that day, Hubby checked out the alarm to make sure it was working properly (it was) and went around the house checking our CO levels. They were quite high in the basement and bouncing up and down in the other areas of the house. That night we called a good friend, my dad, who works in the heating and cooling field. After answering several questions and having Hubby try a few things, he determined that he needed to come over immediately. Together they pulled the entire boiler apart and discovered that it was extremely blocked up. Apparently it was only ventilating at about 25% of what it should be - which means the rest was going you know where - INTO THE HOUSE!

Hubby and my dad stayed up until about midnight cleaning it out and making sure all was running smoothly. Praise the Lord for my dad who knows about this kind of stuff and was able and willing to come out in the middle of the night like that. The bad thing is, I had no clue that the boiler could even get blocked that way and cause those sort of problems. I thought CO problems were issues for older homes. Our house is only 11 years old. I figured we had several years before we had to worry about such things.

This is very scary because you can’t see or smell carbon monoxide, but at high levels it can kill a person in minutes. Carbon monoxide (CO) is produced whenever any fuel such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal is burned. If appliances that burn fuel are not working properly or are used incorrectly, dangerous levels of CO can result. Hundreds of people die accidentally every year from CO poisoning caused by malfunctioning or improperly used fuel-burning appliances. Even more die from CO produced by idling cars. Fetuses, infants, elderly people, and people with anemia or with a history of heart or respiratory disease can be especially susceptible.

Here are some tips for making sure you stay safe this winter heating season...

Have your fuel-burning appliances -- including oil and gas furnaces, gas water heaters, gas ranges and ovens, gas dryers, gas or kerosene space heaters, fireplaces, and wood stoves -- inspected by a trained professional at the beginning of every heating season.
Make certain that the flues and chimneys are connected, in good condition, and not blocked.
Choose appliances that vent their fumes to the outside whenever possible, have them properly installed, and maintain them according to manufacturers’ instructions.
Read and follow all of the instructions that accompany any fuel-burning device. If you cannot avoid using an unvented gas or kerosene space heater, carefully follow the cautions that come with the device. Use the proper fuel and keep doors to the rest of the house open. Crack a window to ensure enough air for ventilation and proper fuel-burning.
Call the Consumer Product Safety Commission (1-800-638-2772) at http://www.cpsc.gov/ for more information on how to reduce your risks from CO and other combustion gases and particles.
Never idle the car in a garage -- even if the garage door to the outside is open. Fumes can build up very quickly in the garage and living area of your home.
Do not use a gas oven to heat your home, even for a short time.
Never use a charcoal grill indoors -- even in a fireplace.
Do not sleep in any room with an unvented gas or kerosene space heater.
Never use any gasoline-powered engines (mowers, weed trimmers, snow blowers, chain saws, small engines or generators) in enclosed spaces.
Do not ignore symptoms, particularly if more than one person is feeling them. You could lose consciousness and die if you do nothing.

If the CO detector alarm does go off:

Make sure it is your CO detector and not your smoke detector.
Check to see if any member of the household is experiencing symptoms of poisoning.
If they are, get them out of the house immediately and seek medical attention. Tell the doctor that you suspect CO poisoning.
If no one is feeling symptoms, ventilate the home with fresh air, turn off all potential sources of CO -- your oil or gas furnace, gas water heater, gas range and oven, gas dryer, gas or kerosene space heater and any vehicle or small engine.
Have a qualified technician inspect your fuel-burning appliances and chimneys to make sure they are operating correctly and that there is nothing blocking the fumes from being vented out of the house.

Right now I am praising God for keeping us safe through this little scare and for blessing us with family who could help us out in a pinch and I am praying that you have a safe winter!!!

Pink Eye

2008-12-08T16:56:00.005-05:00

Both kids are now sick. Oh, and both parents! The Little Guy is still struggling with his cold - it's just a chest cold, but a persistent one. Lil' Miss started off with a cold and now has PINK EYE!!! She was fine all yesterday - the eyes were a bit watery, but I figured it was from having a cold. Then in the evening, she came in the room and her eye looked so horrible for a minute I thought she had stuck something in it. But it was red, watery with discharge in the corners and I knew immediately what it was. I followed up today with a dr visit just to have it confirmed and get her a prescription.

The fun thing about a 4 year old having pink eye is that you get to put eye drops in her eye twice a day. Now, maybe for someone else's child this would be easy, but for my child it's a whole soap opera. Just getting her to stand still, look up, keep her eye open while I pull the bottom lid down (as instructed by the pediatrician) only to have her close the eye just as I'm getting ready to put the drop in - or flinch or turn her head or fall to the ground or begin screaming or... you get the picture. She's always been this way though. She spits out her medicine, needs 2 nurses and myself to hold her down for a routine shot, and won't even let me cut off a hangnail.

I'm not real sure what to do about the eyedrop thing though. I know she needs them to get better and I cannot physically get them into her eye. Maybe tonight Hubby can hold her down while I get them in??? I am really dreading bedtime tonight. Oh well, any ideas would be much appreciated.

A Two for One Deal!

2008-12-06T23:48:00.002-05:00

Support children’s cancer research by sending all-natural gourmet cookies to everyone on your gift list! Cookies for Kids' Cancer was created to raise awareness of and funds for pediatric cancer research. The cookies are baked fresh when ordered, and include oatmeal raisin, chocolate chip and lemon sugar. Since over 75% of the purchase price goes directly to fund pediatric cancer research, not only are you giving your friends and family a delicious gift, but you are helping out a wonderful cause! The organization started with a kid fighting cancer and his parents’ desire to help him and others. Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 18 - odds directly related to how little money is being spent on research. So buy some cookies today and give two gifts at once!

I actually won some of these cookies through the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. Green Jello was so moved by the mission of this charity, that she decided to purchase a box of cookies and give them away to a randomly drawn winner...me!

Give-Aways Galore!!!

2008-12-04T14:28:00.017-05:00

Okay, you may have noticed that I've been posting a lot of give-aways lately. That is because Sew Mama Sew hosted Give-Away Day on December 3. There were tons of blogs and etsy shops participating who offered a lovely handmade item as a give-away to a reader. I ran across it kind of late, on December 3, but the list was SO LONG that many of the participants have extended their give-aways! So as I continue to go through the list in my imaginary spare time, I'll add the ones still going on to this post! I hope you get a chance to check them out and maybe win a handmade gift (which I think are the best gifts anyway)!

This Craft Addict has a little bit of everything here: fabric, beads, Scrabble tiles, scrapbooking elements, ribbon, tulle, yarn, snaps, buttons, embroidery kits, patterns and books. Everything you need to be a craft addict or feed your existing crafty addiction. To enter, comment on her blog and in your comment, you must write about your favorite charity. The name of it, why you support it, what it does, whatever — give them a plug! Include a link to its web site, if you’d like.

Only until Friday night you can win a Key Wristlet, a Dates to Remember Calendar or a Gift List Organizer. Check out Pamela Posch Designs for a chance to enter!

Two Cheese Please has a give-away for everybody. A free to download tutorial to make a quilted Christmas Wreath and a pattern to make a Christmas stamp. I've never made a stamp but I use them all the time in scrapbooking, so I'd love to try my hand at this - after the holidays are over!

Dressed by Jess is giving away a lovely canvas with a bronze cross in the center. You have to see it!!!

You must see these lovely Travel Jewelry Cases on Finally's blog. There is a bracelet/ring bag and a necklace case.

Mommy and Beyond is giving four readers a chance to win her lovely items. She has included burp cloths, placemat pillows, a petite zipper pouch, and a bracelet and earring set! Wow!!!

Here is a cute little handknit pink muffin at My Crafty Mess. Lil' Miss just loves pink fuzzy things!

Edward and Lilly are offering the sweetest little handmade birdie for your Christmas tree. You even get to pick your favorite color!

For all of you photographers out there, or those looking for a great gift, The Crafty Crow is having a really cool give-away for a handmade camera strap slip cover from the Shey [B] Etsy Shop. They come in so many beautiful designs. All you need to do is pick your favorite from the etsy shop, then comment on the blog about it and add a link to your blog.

Mommy Mandy is also giving away a Shey [B] camera strap slip cover. Check out her blog and comment on your favorite cover from the Shey [B] Etsy Shop. There are a few extra things you can do to get extra entries as well.

Win a Subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

2008-12-03T12:04:00.003-05:00

Update: I actually won this giveaway! My first time ever winning anything online! I'm so excited and I know the magazine will definately be put to good use, as I need all the homeschooling help and ideas I can get!

Heart of the Matter Online is giving away not one, but five subscriptions to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. All you need to do is comment about your favorite Christmas gift as a child.

Here is the link to enter the contest!

Maple Lane: Holiday Apron Giveaway!

2008-12-03T00:36:00.005-05:00

While looking up apron patterns and tutorials I came across a fantastic giveaway! J. Carrell Originals is giving away this lovely red and white polka dot flounce apron on the blog, Maple Lane. The deadline is December 10, so get on over there and enter. And make sure to look around the J. Carrell Originals website, there are tons of other great aprons!

Maple Lane: Holiday Apron Giveaway!

Sewing with a Sick Kid

2008-12-02T19:09:00.004-05:00

Well, it's official. I've got a sick kid in the house. I wouldn't mind so much except that it has completely thrown off my handmade holiday schedule! The Little Guy began coughing and sneezing on Saturday. By Sunday it was pretty bad. Monday he had a fever, couldn't keep his breakfast down, didn't want lunch or dinner, and had a fever again at bedtime. This morning he woke up and whatever was in his tummy overnight (which is a mystery to me because he didn't eat anything on Sunday) came up on daddy and himself, AFTER he was already dressed for the day of course. He managed to eat a bit of very watered down Cream of Wheat for breakfast and then half of a p & j sandwich for lunch. Just before naptime he got warm again, but I in my parental wisdom thought, "He's only a little warm, I'll just let him take a nap and maybe when he wakes up the fever will be gone." Well, he woke up about 45 minutes later BURNING UP. I immediately gave him some Children's Motrin and tried to get him to lay back down. But once the Motrin kicked in and brought the fever down, he had no intentions of sleeping. So he played the rest of the day, ate a muffin - which came up about half an hour later, then played some more.

I suppose I wouldn't have gotten much sewing done until after the kids bedtime anyway, but I am so exhausted from the mental energy that goes into caring for a sick little one, that I think I'd fall asleep at the sewing machine. Instead, I've decided to finish my Christmas cards. I just cut out 200 little gold doves to use as corner anchors for the pictures of the kids I am inserting into each card. Once that's done, it's just addressing the envelopes, sticking stamps on them and putting them in the mail. This just might be the earliest I've ever gotten Christmas cards out!

Hopefully tomorrow I can get some sewing done. I have a prenatal appointment in the morning - only about 9 weeks left until due date - IF I make it to the due date!!! Then Lil' Miss has a violin lesson. After that, we're free for the rest of the day. My little prayer is that we'll head home for some schoolwork, lunch and the Little Guy will go down for a nap. I usually don't do violin practice on the day we have private lesson because I figure she's gotten enough violin in for the day. That would leave two whole hours for sewing!

Here are the things I hope to get done this week...

Play mail bag and letters for some of the little boys

No sew tutus for the little girls

Apron for my auntie in law (a special request)

Fleece scarves and mittens for some of the school aged children

Countdown to Christmas!

2008-12-01T22:04:00.006-05:00

Can you believe it's December already??? We have just three and a half weeks until Christmas! I'm feeling a bit of axiety because I have SO MUCH TO DO.

Here is the list of things I need to complete before Christmas:
1. Sew gifts for everyone (hubby, kids, parents, inlaws, siblings, nephews, godchildren, church family, friends)
2. Finish making Christmas cards and mail
3. Send out invitations for Christmas Eve dinner (we always have family and close friends over)
4. Make menu and buy food for Christmas Eve dinner
5. Wrap and mail gifts to out of town family

I also have lots of baby preparation stuff to do, but I'm hoping that can wait until after Christmas. Even if I deliver a bit early, I figuring I'll have at least a couple of weeks after Christmas to prepare the nursery, wash cloth diapers, wash baby clothes, pack a hospital bag and other important things.

One of the biggest problems I'm having is my love of making things. My Christmas cards are handmade from scratch. I actually started from a sheet of blank cardstock, embossed the paper, stamped all of the images, matted them, punched out snowflakes, added glitter, took photos of the kids, cropped all the photos, punched out gold stickers and used them to attach the photos to the inside of the card, signed them all and am now writing a personal message in each one. I could have left out several of those steps, but everytime I looked at the card I thought, "I should add this," or "That punch would look great in gold!" Oh, and did I mention that I made 50 cards?

The second problem I am having may be bigger than the first. There are just SO MANY wonderful things to sew! I think I've got my list together, then I find something else online.
My absolute favorite site is the Sew Mama Sew blog with Handmade Holidays 2008.
There is also 30 days, which has well over 30 days worth of ideas!
Handmade Holidays through the year has some pretty good craft projects and links to tutorials.
And of course, Craftster is always a fabulous resource. There you'll find an endless list of ideas and tutorials submitted by fellow crafty folks.

I hope to post some photos of my finished projects, but at the rate I'm going, they'll be most likely immediately stuffed into a box and rushed to the post office! Are any of you making gifts at home this year?

Weekend Update

2008-11-29T23:53:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting on the couch next to a snoring Hubby watching an SNL rerun. It's been such a long weekend - but long in a good way. I think Thanksgiving may be one of my favorite holidays because it falls on a Thursday. Almost everyone has the following Friday off and then the weekend. It's wonderful to know you don't have to rush back to the daily routine the next day. Even on the normal weekend, we really only have Saturday, and then Sunday we get up early to get everyone dressed and off to church.

Thursday, I spent the morning cooking. I ended up making two pumpkin pies, pumpkin bread, pumpking muffins (my pumpkin made more pulp than I anticipated, thus all of the pumpkin dishes), a pound cake, and a strawberry rhubarb pie. Then we all went over to my parents for dinner. My brother and his family were up visiting, and my husband's brother joined us. My parents put out a fantastic spread of food - I wish I could have ate more, but I needed to save room for desert. Afteward, the ladies played Scategories (eventually the rest of the family joined in), the guys watched a movie, and the kids played with toys.

Friday we all got together again and went to a shopping center - NOT a mall. I absolutely stay away from malls from Thanksgiving until New Years. I can't stand the traffic and inconsideration drivers have for each other around those places. We went to a smaller town with a series of little shops nicely spread out. After checking out a couple of stores, and buying our Christmas tree, we all went to dinner together, which my dad paid for! Later that night four of our good college friends came over and we watched a movie together after the kids went to bed. It was nice for the three couples to hang out and not worry about the kids.

Saturday we ran a couple of errands, Hubby put up Christmas lights around the house and I printed pictures to send out with Christmas cards I made. I ran over to my parents' house to pick up some Thanksgiving leftovers so that I didn't have to cook. After dinner the kids trimmed the tree, had their baths, books and went to bed. The only drawback to today is that I've had terrible heartburn all day. Another pregancy symptom. I know of a few natural remedies, but I'll have to do a bit more research.

Sunday we'll be off to church. A friend of ours is preaching at our church tomorrow. It will be nice to hear him for the first time, and see my girlfriend and their kids. Afterward, Hubby will be focused on football for the rest of the day and I hopefully will be sewing - at least during the Little Guy's nap.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

'Tis the season...

2008-11-24T21:40:00.010-05:00

The holiday season always makes me want to bake. Pies, breads, cookies, cakes... Our home is toasty warm and smelling of sugar and spices from November through January! While everyone else is excited preparing their famous mac n cheese or award winning turkey for Thanksgiving, I get charged up slicing up fresh fruit and rolling out pie crusts. That is going to be my contribution for Thanksgiving dinner at my parents this year. I plan on making an apple pie, a strawberry rhubarb pie, pumpkin bread (from pumpkins, not from the can) and a pound cake.

We usually spend the holidays out of town with my inlaws and I don't get to contribute much. My mil is one of those who has her holiday menu perfectly timed from start to finish. Another cook in the kitchen throws the whole plan off! This year we moved our visit up to this past summer so that we could avoid traveling so close to the due date. Not that people don't travel at 7 months pregnant, I'd just rather be close to the comfort of my own home at this stage. We've done the airport traveling with two small children when I'm NOT pregnant, and it's just not fun.

Anyway, yesterday I tried out a new cookie recipe. A friend gave me the recipe but I made a few changes. After the regular base for many cookies (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, creamed butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla), it called for lots of coconut, pecans, old fashioned rolled oats and chocolate chips. I decreased the amount of pecans by a fourth because Hubby has convinced himself he's allergic to them. He's SO not, it's just that the first time he had a fresh pecan, he happened to eat the very bitter red part in between the meat. I also decreased the amount of chocolate chips by a third because I'm trying to cut down on my chocolate intake. And then I added fresh cranberries to half of the batch. They turned out great. However, this morning, they were pretty crunchy. I think next time I'll also decrease the amount of rolled oats.

I guess the crunchiness didn't bother everyone. I sent some to work with my husband and he said everyone liked them. I'll bring some to church with me this evening and over to my parents. For Christmas I'll be baking cookies and making chocolate covered pecans to give along with my handmade gifts. What are you baking this holiday season?

Beware of Cat

2008-11-20T08:48:00.005-05:00

While I was away last weekend, my husband had a little encounter with our cat. He is just the most gentle thing in the world and would never hurt a soul (or so I thought). We adopted him last spring and he came to us declawed, spayed with all of his shots. Since he is declawed, we do not let him outside - though he has ventured through an open door once or twice, but was so in awe of the great outdoors that he stood frozen, making it easy for us to grab him and bring him back inside.

Well, this past weekend, my bil and a couple of friends were visiting Hubby and one of them left the door open when they left in the evening. Hubby took the dog out for a walk and didn't notice the open door. When he returned, the dog was on high alert for some strange reason, and Hubby and his brother realized she was staring at the cat. My bil went onto the porch to try to get him, the cat freaked and ran under the porch. Hubby spent the better part of the night trying to get the cat from under the porch. When he was finally able to get a hold of him, my cat was so upset that he used his only defense - his teeth. They sunk so far down into Hubby's hand that it swelled up.

Now Hubby and cat are not on the best terms and the little ones tell everyone they run into about how "the cat bit daddy". But just look at that angelic little kitty face, do you really think he would have hurt dear Hubby if he really didn't think he was in danger? The funny thing is, Hubby still cleans the kitty litter for me every morning since I can't due to being pregnant, and he feeds the cat. Such a sweetie - still mad at the cat, but a sweetie! Hopefully Hubby will be able to forgive him soon.

By the way, these are all pictures a photographer friend of mine took of my cat. He is supposed to be playing with these lovely little handmade cat toys, but he was not in a playful mood that day.

A worry free weekend!

2008-11-19T23:07:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I got a rare treat. I went to a 48 hour scrapbooking event at a Christian retreat center. The weekend included all meals, a room and plenty of space and time for scrapbooking. There was also a massage therapist on hand (for an extra fee) and an exercise class. It was great that it was at a Christian center. There was prayer before every meal and no drinking or crazy behavior. The setting was beautiful, albeit a bit far out for me. It was a couple hours away, out in the wilderness and I was sure I was going to come face to face with a moose or bear while out there. From 2pm on Friday until 2pm on Sunday, about 95 ladies worked on their projects and albums. A few, like myself, worked on holiday cards. I made 50 Christmas cards throughout the weekend! Now I have no excuse for not getting my cards out on time.

While I was gone, hubby took great care of the kids. He even did Little Miss' hair for church on Sunday morning! What a man! He told me I should go away more often because he and the kids had a lot of fun together. He'd better watch what he says or I just might run off again - just not so far away this time.

On top of that, I decided to take my 3 hour glucose test on Friday morning so that I wouldn't have to think about it during my scrapbooking weekend. It was a rough day because having fasted since 8 the night before, then taking the test and having four blood draws, then meeting the kids at their homeschool co-op (another mom agreed to bring them for me) and helping to clean up at the co-op, just about did me in. By the time everyone was leaving, I couldn't even put the car seats back into my car. I was shaking and could barely stand. One of the other moms had to put the seat in for me, strap the kids in and follow me home to make sure I made it safely! I nearly passed out once I got home, but luckily, hubby arrived shortly after we did and ran out to get me something to eat. After eating, I regained energy quickly and was able to pack and get on the road. I even put together an apple pie and popped it in the oven for hubby before I left. I felt good about having taken the test beforehand. I felt free to eat almost everything they served, and got some exercise in while I was there!

I haven't heard any information from my midwives, and the way I figure, no news is good news! I've been with them for several years, and usually if there is something off about any test results, they tend to call immediately. The fact that I haven't heard from them leads me to believe that I passed. I have an appointment next week (I can't believe I'm already on the "every two week" schedule) so I'll find out for sure then. In the meantime, I'll just focus on my healthy eating and exercise habits.

The Definition of Failure

2008-11-12T18:10:00.003-05:00

I failed the 1 hour glucose test. I'm so disappointed. I didn't have any issues with the first two babies. It's weird how things can be so different with each pregnancy. I know I have a few of the risk factors, including the last baby being large and my ethnicity. I'm frustrated that I now have to go in for the 3 hour test. The midwife said, "Look at it as a mini vacation!" Really? Are you kidding me? It's a hassle to try to find someone who can watch my kids for four hours - the three hours I have to sit there, the 15 minutes total before and afterward of paperwork and bloodwork, and the travel time to and from the lab. Most people are at work during the day. I have a small handful of folks I can ask to take four hours out of their day with their kids to watch mine. In addition, I have a special scrapbooking event coming up this weekend and I was looking forward to enjoying lots of goodies while scrapping. Now I feel like I can't eat anything special during my scraptime.

Well, the good news is that it has not been confirmed that I HAVE gestational diabetes. The three hour test will determine that. But in preparation, I've done some research on ways to avoid or prevent gestational diabetes. It seems to be quite a controversial subject and many articles stated that there is no way to prevent it, only management and treatment once it's diagnosed. I have never agreed with that mindset. I always think prevention is better than treatment.

Disclaimer: I'm no doctor and this is not medical advice. Just a few things I found around the web that I plan to incorporate into my day! Please seek the professional advice of your doctor.

One of the MOST important things I can do to possibly prevent gestational diabetes is to exercise regularly. Twenty minutes to half an hour a day or even every other day is not that much. A short daily walk with the kids should take care of that.

The second most important thing to do is to change my diet. I already began watching what I ate once I found out I was pregnant - though certainly in a much more relaxed manner than with the first. I was religiously following the Bradley diet with the first child - and using it as a strong guide with the second child. Anyway, it seems that the difference when focusing on preventing gestational diabetes is the timing, pattern and food combinations. I need to break up my food intake into smaller portions and spread them out throughout the day, and take in protein with carbs. This provides a more consistent amount of energy so my system will not be overloaded to respond to strong swings of blood sugar highs and lows.

Here are my new nutrition guidelines

Eat like a bird in the morning: Make breakfasts very small and conservative, and be sure to have protein
Eat like a cow throughout the day: Graze on smaller meals and snacks, but eat more frequently
Be even and consistent: Never skip meals or go for a long time without eating (I am notorious for missing breakfast - it just gets so busy around here)
Did I mention protein?: Eat protein every 3 hours, and always eat protein with carbs
No sweets: Eliminate ALL or virtually all sugar during pregnancy (this will be the most difficult for me - especially with the holidays approaching)
It's quality that counts: I don't need to worry about eating more, but focus on choosing nutrient-dense foods
Where's the fiber?: Cut back and be very cautious with highly refined or simple carbs
Watch my load: Limit my carb intake at any one time and know the carb loads of typical foods (I'm sure there's a list somewhere online)
My bedtime treat: Help stabilize my nighttime blood sugar with a good snack with protein about half an hour before bed
Timing is everything: Make sure my breakfast is 8 to 10 hours after my last snack

First and foremost, I am going to pray about this whole situation. I know that God is in control of all things. I will pray that the 1 hour test was wrong and I will pray that I have the discipline to change my exercise and eating habits regardless of test results. My body is a temple and I am going to incorporate these things into my life in order to be a good steward of the body God has given me. Hopefully by the time I take and get the results of the three hour test, I'll not only be in the clear, but be much healthier, thus turning failure into success!

Testing 1, 2,3

2008-11-10T14:21:00.005-05:00

One thing I have never liked too much about being pregnant is taking tests. I am not fond of pain and certainly don't like watching containers of blood being taken from me. However, hubby and I also want healthy babies, so we've always agreed to most of the testing that the doctors and midwives have suggested - with the exception of the genetic tests that determine any possible birth defects. We feel that the results of those tests would not change anything for us, as God would never put anything on us that we cannot bear, so whatever is in store for us is for us.

Well, today I was supposed to take a 1 hour glucose test. This is a test to determine whether or not I have gestational diabetes. If one fails the 1 hour test, they then have to take a 3 hour glucose test. I have already taken the 1 hour test earlier in this pregnancy because my chart is flagged due to the Little Guy being a really big guy upon birth. He was 9 pounds 4 ounces at birth and 10 pounds 4 ounces by the time he left the hospital a week later (we spent a little extra time there for silly reasons I won't go into but would probably make a good malpractice suit if we were into suing people). Anyway, I was all set to take this test when I remembered that the midwife instructed me to not eat anything sweet the day before. Well, yesterday we had to go to a birthday party and I think it would have been quite rude of me not to eat the cake and ice cream offered to everyone. It was made from scratch for goodness sake!

So I've rescheduled the test for tomorrow. Now I just have to make it through today without eating any sweets. I already gave up my iced pumpkin muffin from Dunkin Donuts - and I was so looking forward to eating it for breakfast. I was going to have a P&J sandwich for lunch, but I worried that the strawberry jelly might be considered a sweet. I ended up simply having peanut butter on whole wheat bread and a glass of milk.

This is a really hard task in our house. I love to bake and we as a family love sweets. Everywhere I turn there are cookies and ice cream and pie. We do try to balance our love of sweets with eating lots of healthy foods. I try to make sure the dinners are nutritious and well balanced. So tonight I'm going to make meatloaf, oven fried red potato wedges and veggies with cheese sauce. Simple, healthy and hopefully not anything to knock tomorrow's test out of whack!

I did spend some time researching the test to see if there are any little "tricks" to make sure I pass it. For example, eating a certain type of food the day before or exercising the morning of or anything so that I don't fail the test and have to take the 3 hour test. But then I decided, why try to fix the test? Wouldn't I rather know if I'm at risk for something that might affect the baby? So I'm going to behave and do as I'm told. I'll eat my dinner, have a snack of toast around 9pm, and then fast until I take the test at 7am tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers for good results!

The Daily Challenge

2008-11-03T23:04:00.005-05:00

I get a fun task each day - trying to come up with something for dinner that my children will eat and that hubby and I will enjoy. My daughter is a terribly picky eater. She didn't start out that way - being a healthy breastfed baby and moving on to lovingly homemade babyfood, she ate everything we put in front of her. Then she turned two and apparently decided she had a mind of her own when it came to mealtime. Now my son is a great eater, but also a loyal follower of his big sister. So if Lil' Miss says something is yucky, you can rest assured that the Little Guy will follow suit. If my kids could have their way, they would eat mac-n-cheese (out of the box), grilled cheese sandwiches or peanut butter sandwiches every night.

I spend a great deal of time scouring the internet and and my many cookbooks for recipes I think everyone will enjoy. However, the online recipes that claim, "Your children WILL eat this," are not things I would put on a plate in front of my husband. They are dishes such as tater tots covered with cheese or weiner wraps or slices of bread baked under shredded cheese and milk. And I am most certainly NOT going to cook two separate meals for the kids and the adults.

So almost every evening, I say a little prayer, and proceed to prepare dinner. Each night is hit or miss. Some nights the kids are happy and hubby politely thanks me for dinner (we all know what that means). Some nights hubby raves about the meal and the kids refuse to touch it. And then there is the rare night that everyone actually cleans their plate. Tonight was one such night. I had taken the kids for a walk in the afternoon and was quite exhausted upon our return. I was convinced that there was no way I could cook dinner tonight and called hubby to see if he wanted to pick up some already prepared food from the deli at the grocery store. When I found out that he was no where near ready to leave work, I sat dejected on the couch while the children played. Then common sense kicked in and I realized that we'd spend way more money piecing a prepared meal together than if I just got my butt up and made something - especially knowing that I had plenty of time since hubby was still at his desk.

I pulled some chicken breast tenders out of the freezer and thawed them. I sauted a couple cloves of minced garlic, sliced up the chicken and added that to the pan, cooked it all for 10 minutes then added some soy sauce, brown sugar, ground ginger and chopped veggies. I let that cook for 5 more minutes and then added cornstarch to thicken. I boiled a pot of low mein noodles and served the chicken dish on top of the noodles, topping with crunchy chow mein noodles. It was a tad salty (too much soy sauce) but everyone's plate was clean by the end of dinner, save a stray noodle or mushroom.

There are only a few dishes that turn up successful results (defined by how much food is left on the plate) and I realize that I need to begin keeping track of them. A while ago I started a log of everything I make for dinner, so that I can eventually make a monthly dinner menu. However, the majority of things on the list are meals the kids (or the kid and her devoted apprentice) won't eat. Maybe if I just write down the things that everyone likes, I can ensure that all plates are clean every single night! What a miracle that would be. It would probably take me a year to build a month's worth of dishes liked by all! Oh well, I can dream can't I?

Lions, tigers and bears, oh my

2008-10-30T08:31:00.006-04:00

Lil' Miss threw us a curve ball last night. She has suddenly developed a fear of mysterious animals under the bed. I actually think it started the night before, but we didn't quite understand what was going on. Everytime we turned off the lights and closed the door, she began crying for us to come back. The night before, we thought she was just giving us a hard time. Last night, she actually told me that she hears "animal sounds" under the bed after we close the door. I was required to check under the bed with the light on, and then again with the light off. Those safety checks did not make her feel any better. I asked her what kind of animals are under the bed. She told me there were lions under the bed. I patiently explained that lions do not live under beds, they live in the jungle. Then she told me maybe it's a bear. I explained that bears cannot fit under her little bed. She then asks, "Can jaguars fit under there?" I could see that this conversation could go on for a very long time. I explained to her that no animals can fit under our bed, not even our dog. No animals can get into our house because all the doors are locked.

I thought about telling her that the only person in the room with her (besides her brother who sleeps in the bunk below) is God. But she has not been quite clear on who God is. I think she understands that God made the heavens and the earth and all of us, and controls all things, but she quite often asks what God looks like, where does God live, can we take a plane to visit God, can we spend the night at God's house, you get the picture. I thought that if I mentioned that God is in the room, she might spend the rest of the night looking for a mysterious person instead of mysterious animals. She was already in tears and in an unstable frame of mind.

I did a bit of research after she finally went to sleep. It turns out that a sudden development of nighttime fears is normal for children her age. Here is some of what I discovered:

It's fairly common for young children to experience bedtime fears. Their little imaginations are developing like wildfire, and they don't have the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. In her mind, there really IS an animal under the bed.
She could simply be going through a "scared of the dark" phase, and she will outgrow it in time.
She might be reacting to some kind of stress in her environment. As I mentioned in an earlier post, there are upcoming changes in her life that could be stressful to her.
Ask her if she's been feeling worried or scared about anything lately. We could encourage her to draw some pictures of anything that's been bothering her.
Make sure the night light in their room doesn't cast any scary shadows on the wall.
Though she sleeps with several of her dolls, we could also pick out a stuffed animal that can be her special "bedtime friend," providing her with comfort when we're not there.
We could pick out some special kids worship songs to play in the little CD player in their room - right now they just listen to lullabies and classical music.
Most importantly, remind her that God loves her and promises to always be with us and take care of us. Teach her to pray simple prayers if she wakes up in the night, asking God to help her to not be afraid.

A little anxiety?

2008-10-28T01:28:00.005-04:00

Since we found out we were pregnant, we told our children about it. They both seemed very excited, though the Little Guy went through a short period of hitting my belly and saying, "I don't want the baby." That only lasted a few weeks. The older child has been so excited, coming up with names for the baby, preparing a place for the baby to sleep (some blankets and a shoebox - how cute), and kissing my belly. Recently however, she has been acting quite out of character. Lil' Miss has always been a moody one, but it has been off the charts lately. Today, every little thing set her off - either into a screaming fit or a ball of tears. I am thinking that even though she is excited about the new baby, she still has some anxiety about upcoming change. I wonder if she is unsure of what her place will be in the family. Maybe wondering if it will be another brother - she finds the one she has to be a bit overwhelming. Maybe wondering if it is another girl, where does that leave her? I am not sure what to do about this new behavior. Of course, we will still act in the firm way that we do and expect her to be respectful and obedient. However, I feel led to have a heart to heart with her and find out how she truly feels about the coming baby. I don't know how realistic it is to have such a conversation with a young child, but hopefully I can alleviate some of her anxiety. I also will make an extra effort to spend more one on one time with her. As I've posted before, time is hard to come by - I am still as exhausted as I was in the first trimester, but making sure my little girl is emotionally okay must take precedence over sleep for a little while.

How hard can it be?

2008-10-20T18:47:00.004-04:00

I recently inherited a very old serger. So old that the manufacturing company doesn't even exist anymore (at least I haven't been able to find it as of yet - and I've been searching for at least a month). I'm a pretty confident person and thought, I can figure out how to use this thing. I mean, I can sew, so I'm sure I can serge. Well, those little machines are apparently a whole different species than a sewing machine! Just trying to work out the threading alone (upper loopers, lower loopers - whoever heard of such things?) was like taking a logic test. I finally thought I had it and oh so proud of myself began serging. You should see the mess it made! The thread got tangled so badly that it jammed up the whole machine. So off I went again in search of some online help. I finally found the blog of someone who has the same exact serger and was able to get a manual from them. http://erikaschiquis.blogspot.com/. Erika uses her serger to make all sorts of beautiful items which she sells in her etsy shop http://erikaschiquis.etsy.com/. Please take a moment to check it out, as I am so thankful to have found it myself!

Once my manual arrived, I happily took it to my craft room to figure the thing out. I quickly realized that the serger came with several little helpers that I didn't get with my hand me down. Yesterday I headed off to Ms. JoAnn's who was able to help me out with most of it, for a not so small fee. While picking up all of the little screwdrivers, serger tweezers, threaders and other items, I also found a few scrapbooking items for my other passion (I'll blog about that another day!). Though they were having a great sale, a full basket of sewing and scrapbooking goodies is not so cheap. Thank goodness I had a gift card left over from Mother's Day and didn't have to spend a dime!

I was so excited to get home and put all of my purchases to use. Then reality set in. The kids hadn't eaten, clothes that I had folded before I left were mysteriously knocked down off the couch and all over the floor, the kitchen sink was full, and I had a report to be handed in the next morning at work. I thought maybe after all was done, I'd be able to get back to my little project, but who was I kidding? After the kids went to bed and I finished my work, I fell asleep on the couch! Oh well. Hopefully this evening I'll have a bit more energy. Everyone has already had dinner, the kitchen is clean and my wonderful hubby is bathing the kids as I type, so things are looking good so far. Those clothes are still unfolded -- off the floor, but unfolded. Really though, what's more important? Folded clothes or getting a moment to do something I love (or at least I think I will)?

Let's get crafty

2008-10-01T21:56:00.009-04:00

I found a great tutorial on how to crochet a drop-stitch scarf. Growing in Grace Magazine (GGM) profiled a woman who created the scarf for her daughter. The woman found the pattern online at http://www.crochetme.com/, a free online magazine for crochet. The tutorial is posted on the GGM website along with some tips throughout the pattern that helped her make the scarf.

What's even better is that she donated one of her scarves to giveaway at GGM. All I had to do was just leave a comment on my website with my thoughts on fall, announce the giveaway on my blog, and add the icon to my sidebar! How easy is that?!

Not so easy for me. This being only my second blog, it took me a minute to figure out just exactly how to add the icon to my sidebar! But that challenge has been overcome and I can now move on to bigger and better things like crocheting! I just love crafting. I sew, scrapbook, crochet, and anything else crafty I can get my hands on. My only problem is finding time to actually do it. I used to do a lot of my handiwork after the kids went to bed, but now I'm so tired by that time, I can only dream of it - literally! The good thing about crochet is that you can take it with you anywhere and work on the project whenever you get a spare moment. Though, the last time I tried that I ended up with less than desirable results. I took my little project to my oldest child's soccer practice, and while I was modeling a bit of active participation, my youngest decided it would be fun to unravel my project and trail it all around the field!

Okay, I'm off to find my stash of ribbon yarn!

It's finally here!

2008-09-23T22:18:00.000-04:00

Well, I've finally got this thing started. I've been reading blogs forever and thinking of starting one of my own, but just never got around to it. It's about time too, as the days here are getting shorter and colder and a new baby is well on the way! I'm looking forward to documenting this journey of mothering, homeschooling, expecting and just living!

I spent quite a bit of time researching blogs before actually starting one. My concerns were mostly regarding safety for my family. In this day and age of identity theft, I wanted to make sure I could blog in a way that would not cause any problems down the road. I tried looking into invisiblog, but was unable to access the website. I checked out Tor, but that seemed a bit beyond my capacity at the moment. Though I'm sure I can easily understand the instructions and all needed to use Tor, I just don't have the time right now to figure it out. My spare time comes mainly after the children are in bed, and that itself is limited because in my pregnant state, by the time the kids are fed, bathed, read to, prayed with and in bed, I'm ready to pass out - especially if I've also attempted something daring like cleaning the kitchen after dinner!

Part of the issue is all that I try to pack into a regular day. For example today, I hosted a playgroup with college friends and their kids - of course cleaning up the entire house beforehand. Well, that's not entirely true, I cleaned the areas I knew they'd see! I prepared snacks and cooked separate lunches for the kids and adults. Afterward I shuttled the kids across town to a music lesson, which I had to actively participate in. When we were done with the lesson I went to another friend's house to pick up new clothes for the kids - new to us at least. Then I hurried home to make dinner, clean up the kitchen, serve dinner, clean up the kitchen again - yes, my kids are still young enough to reduce a sparkling clean kitchen in just minutes to one that looks as if it hasn't been cleaned in days. Then hubby and I launched into the bedtime routine of bathing, dressing, toothburshing, reading, praying and goodnight kisses. A seemingly simple routine, but again, with little ones, easily very stressful and exhausting.

Nevertheless, I look forward to making time to regularly update this blog!