The Wilsons Living Life

Taking the week off...

2012-02-12T21:05:00.002-05:00

from school only. Things have been hectic here and I feel the need to go through the house and pare down and organize and clean (once I can see more surfaces). Maybe once I get rid of half the contents I can keep to less clutter? Ha ha. Goodness, I'm making myself seem like a hoarder (I promise I'm not!).

Hope to let the kids do some art projects, play outside (though not with the neighbors, they are grounded from that this week), and read some books, oh, and help me get rid of stuff! Maybe we will shop for John some new glasses? Get done a few projects I have been wanting to get around too?

Normally when we take a week off from school its to go somewhere, like Mimi & Poppa's house (not Grandma & Grandpa's this time of year, Grandma's too busy with taxes). I'd really like to run away, but running away won't help. Hoping more peace and comfort to many friends having a rough go of it right now.

Squash Casserole

2012-02-12T14:34:00.002-05:00

Cause I almost couldn't find this when I needed it. Yummy stuff. I don't do the butter on top, just pancko breadcrumbs.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southern-Baked-Yellow-Squash/Detail.aspx

Yummy Dinner! Beef Curry!

2012-02-02T15:57:00.002-05:00

Luke and I always forget how good this is until I make it again! We had broccoli alongside the curry and rice, super! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tonight! From here: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/08/cocount-beef-crockpot-recipe.html

My version below:

--1-2 lbs stew meat (I used 2)
--1/2 onion diced
--1 can coconut milk
--1 juice from one lime (3 tbsp from bottle)
--2 cloves chopped garlic
--2 tsp brown sugar
--1 tsp RED curry powder
--1/2 tsp ground coriander
--1 tsp cumin
--1 1/2 T curry paste
--1/4 tsp ginger

I put all the above in the crockpot on low and let it cook all day. I then skimmed off a good bit of fat and put it a bit more coconut milk. Serve over rice, and with broccoli, YUM!

I have made this before where I basically cooked the beef with a little water in the crockpot for a while, then drained the juice and added the rest of the ingredients. Definitely creamier this way. Yummy either way!

A picnic and adventure

2012-02-02T15:14:00.001-05:00

Today was so nice we spontaneously packed up a picnic and headed down to the trails after finished our schoolwork. I took along the “good camera” and took a bunch of pictures. Here are a few!

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Wilson Photos

2012-01-01T23:13:00.001-05:00

So with all the Wilson grandchildren getting together at my house I decided it would be a good opportunity for a group photo. I bought myself a little remote for my camera so we could take a group photo and it was so fun (best $4 I spent in a while)! We got some good (and funny) photos too.

This is the best one I think:

But here are the rest too.

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They make me laugh! Now to get all the Pittmans together sometime.

Ruthanne's Christmas Recital

2011-12-20T09:24:00.002-05:00

was last night. I promised a couple people I would record it. So here you go!

The Horseman's Night Ride

The First Noel (and yes, I wanted to pop the guy with the camera!)

I love my stockings!

2011-12-17T11:20:00.001-05:00

I’m surprised that I like them so much and that I haven’t found more things wrong with them to nit pick about. I keep looking at them and going oh this is my favorite, no this is, etc. I love all of them!

Glad they are done though! Now I can move on to wrapping presents!

Busy Day

2011-12-15T21:48:00.001-05:00

Finished pinning on the things for our homemade stockings. Now to sew them all down!

Also made three different kinds of oreo balls, regular, golden, and mint!

Almost forgot, I also made divinity this morning before the kids woke up, no picture though.

Guess who Paul was pretending to be?

2011-12-14T12:20:00.001-05:00

He came up with it on his own; it actually took us a minute to figure it out!

Family Photos

2011-12-09T09:15:00.001-05:00

Super Vacation – Day 3 – Universal Studios

2011-11-27T20:41:00.001-05:00

We went to regular Universal Studios and were a little underwhelmed. It was sooo slooow we wondered how they were able to keep it open (luckily they own Islands of Adventure with Harry Potter World). We did purposefully go at a slow time of year, note to others the week before Thanksgiving is awesome for theme park visiting!

A few highlights included…

Dora and Diego, recent netflix favorites of Paul.

A longtime favorite, George. I just barely got a picture of them together as we had separated to do different things with the kids. I think Luke would have been happier if I hadn’t gotten this picture, but Paul likes it and thats all that matters!

A picture in from of the Universal earth. Who left their stroller there? Us, oops!

Favorites here were the Simpsons Ride, Men In Black Ride, and ET.

Super Vacation – Day 2 – This is Why we Came!

2011-11-27T20:30:00.003-05:00

Harry Potter World here we came!
Hogwarts train.

Singing toads.

We loved everything about Harry Potter World. The three broomsticks was AMAZING, the food was just seriously awesome! Good butter beer (we like frozen), good fish & chips, good ribs, good chicken, interesting meat pastries and shepherd’s pie (the seasoning was a little weird to us muggles). The castle was AMAZING! The wand shop show was fun, the Harry Potter and the forbidden journey ride was excellent, and the little shows in the street were cute too.

I should mention we did other things while we were at Islands of Adventure this day, the Spiderman ride was a favorite, Seuss Landing was enjoyed by all the kids, and Luke did a few roller coasters all by his lonesome.

Super Vacation Day 1 – Sea World

2011-11-27T20:23:00.001-05:00

We called our vacation to Orlando a couple weeks ago a “super vacation” cause we got to go to so many theme parks. Certainly not typical, but we got some good discounts on lodging (afvclub.com for military folks), free Sea World passes (again military), slightly discounted Universal Orlando tickets, and buy 1 get 1 free Legoland tickets. Whew!

Sea World was pretty fun though and we are glad we went. I didn’t take many photos for some reason, maybe cause we were mostly watching shows? Anyhow, one of the highlights was the Polar Express ride/experience which wasn’t even supposed to start until the 25th or something. Anyhow, the big kids and Luke got to ride, but guess what Paul did?

Oh, well, he did at least get to look at the train earlier that day.

Halloween

2011-11-27T19:56:00.001-05:00

Not quite a month late yet!

Before any candy, group shot! We had a couple friends join us this year (Bumblebee’s mom was off trying to have a baby and the rocket, Joseph is our good friend from down the street and church)!

And we’re off!

And, we’re back home!

What to wear for family photos

2011-11-27T19:34:00.001-05:00

I mainly needed a place to put these pictures of our clothes for our photography friend Stephany to look at, though I’d also love if cousin Kara had any opinions also!

My clothes, grey jersey blazer (with some fun jersey loops to somehow put around my neck, would probably wear with navy tee under), off white jersey cardi, and olive green cardi. I’d love to wear the off white one with some kind of solid shirt, but not sure that would go with anything of anyone else’s.

Boys and husbands clothes I originally bought for the shoot. Boys would have white/navy long sleeve tees under their shirts since it will be chilly. I think Luke would really like to wear his shirt below, and honestly, John doesn’t really have anything else (his tees are really graphic and not my fave).

Two photos below are Paul’s clothes. He loves the monkey jacket, so maybe in a photo of just him we’ll have to throw it on. Otherwise I think he could possibly wear the grey shirt below with the mustard and navy stripe (and perhaps Luke and John could wear the shirts above?) Or Paul could wear the navy and red stripe sweater?

John’s shirts, see nothing fabulous.

Luke’s shirts I thought were possibilities, see a few of his tees in the background too. He also has white and navy tee shirts for wearing under something to layer.

Ruthanne’s clothes, brown and purple 3/4 sleeves. Below short sleeve navy dress and shirt with possible denim shirt layer for on top. Oh, she also has a navy cardi that maybe we could layer over the denim shirt? Oh, and a pair of grey tights!

Gosh, we really don’t have many nice clothes. Well, we do have church clothes, but I guess the problem is we don’t generally try to coordinate so that we look good all together!

Cousin Fun

2011-10-28T15:38:00.001-04:00

We decided to invite ourselves over to Matt & Jaime’s house last Saturday (nice of us, huh?). Anyhow, here is some of the family fun that ensued.

Baby Talon. So sweet, he let me just hold him for a long time!

Four cousins playing (where are the other two?)

Here they are!

Sweet Dane, mean Dane!

Six cousins, one Nintendo DS.

We did something crazy and the two families went to the nearby yogurt shop. We walked in with 7 kids! Thankfully it was about 2:00 in the afternoon and the place was pretty empty!

Bye Wilson Boys!

The Dairy Farm

2011-10-28T15:15:00.001-04:00

Today we went to the Hickory Hill Milk Dairy Farm. We have been buying their milk for a while now and the homeschool group had a field trip there today. It was so much fun and the calves were sooo cute! I even dragged my fancy camera along the way (I got a really stellar shot of Paul!) so look at the fun!

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Whole wheat bread recipe

2011-10-09T22:22:00.001-04:00

I am frequently asked about my bread recipe. I had a more complicated recipe that I have put on the blog before, but I tend to go back to this simple but yummy recipe I got from someone who used to be a friend (yes, they decided to block me from their personal blog and facebook without any explanation, I swear I felt like I was back in high school). Oh, well, their choice.

Anyhow, I am naming it

Carla's Basic Wheat Bread

Into your bread maker put the following in this order (you can also usebasic bread techniques in a mixer if you don't have a breadmaker, you just need tomake sure to knead it for a long time):

10 oz warm water
1/4 cup honey
1.5 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (if its too gummy use less you may have to experiment based on your humidity)
1.5 tbsp oil
3.5-4 cups fresh ground white wheat (if using store bought you may need less, i just keep an eye on the breadmaker for a few minutes and add flour as needed till its no longer too sticky)
2 tsp instant yeast

Turn your bread maker on to the dough setting. It will go through kneading and some rise cycles. When its done pull it out and knead it into a loaf shape and throw it into a greased loaf pan. Let it rise covered for another 25 minutes, then take a knife and cut a 1/2 inch deep gash along the length of the loaf to allow for more expansion. Put the loaf into a cold oven, then turn the oven on to 350 and set the timer to 28-30 minutes. When the loaf is nice and golden pull it out then let it cool on a wire rack.

I made a full on dinner last night!

2011-09-21T06:42:00.001-04:00

Man, that’s hard work and should be reserved for a weekend! It was super good though and I want to start keeping track of my recipes here a little more and share the love!

Southern Baked Yellow Squash – click for the link – very yummy, I made it exactly as written but I did not put the butter on top with the bread crumbs, saved a few calories maybe!

Marinated Baked Pork Chops – I’m not sure why they are called marinated, cause they aren’t! I guess you could, but probably not necessary. I tripled all the sauce ingredients (except the oil, and next time I will probably omit altogether) and it was really yummy! My chops were done at probably 40 minutes, it just depends on how big your chops are.

The last part of the meal was just mashed potatoes, no recipe just boiled then mashed taters, drained and add butter, milk, and sour cream to your liking.

Way to go John!

2011-09-18T16:32:00.001-04:00

John had a couple breakthroughs this week.

Breakthrough #1 – completed Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons. He can read! Seriously even a month ago if you asked him to read something other than his reading lesson he would tear up and say he couldn’t (but yet he could read a whole page of a story in the reading lesson). Makes complete sense, right? Not! Anyhow, now that he officially finished the reading lesson book, he says he can read and will even pick up a book himself and read it! Yay, progress! Below are a few photos of his last reading lesson (from that book anyways).

Breakthrough #2 – he can really ride his bike! So, remember he got a real bike (two wheeler no training wheels for his birthday) to ride instead of the balance bike? Well, he could ride it but needed help getting started (the bike was a little too tall perhaps). Anyhow, asking him to ride that new bike caused tears every time! Well, yesterday we had some lovely cool (cold, really) weather and went outside, Luke got out the horrid bike and said lets ride this, John teared up, and I said just ride it for a while I’ll give you a dollar. So, Luke helped him get it started a few times and then John just went off and did it on his own! Yay! He even told me today that Paul now has two bikes, the tricycle and the balance bike! He loves the two wheeler bike now! If only we could get Ruthanne riding a bike…

The only other good photo of the week:

Some fun photos

2011-09-09T22:04:00.002-04:00

So, I got to buy myself a new camera with some birthday $$ (one of those fancy schmancy dslr ones, and yes I had to buy used in order to afford one, I don’t get THAT much for my birthday!). Anyhow, its been fun taking photos instantaneously, I’ve missed so much of my kids’ lives with my other cameras!

Anyhow, I’m not good yet and mostly just use the automatic mode, when I get adventurous I get bad pictures, but I’ll keep trying and learning! But, I did get a chance to use it while visiting Matt & Jaime and company for Talon’s baby blessing. Here are a few of the photos I took.

Baby Talon, its hard work being blessed!

Ruthanne loved holding baby Talon! Amazingly, he was happy with her and a little picky and grumpy with me just minutes before.

Goofy Hunter, I think this was my best photo of the day, and then he got all girly on me!

Corbin, the biggest brother.

All the grandkids with the last name Wilson (sorry you couldn’t be here Bentleys).

The many faces of Dane and his cupcake.

And just a few more random photos:

Oh, yes, I didn’t really edit these at all, thinking Matt or Jaime might want to download some and do their own edits. Oh, and I can get anybody a bigger photo if they want. And, I want to go back and look at the all 7 kids photos, maybe there was a better one?

Ruthanne’s Baptism

2011-07-08T21:06:00.001-04:00

Its been almost a week since Ruthanne was baptized and I’m just now getting a few minutes to blog. First off it was a great day, Ruthanne was ready to be baptized and we were able to have a lot of our families come to be there. I wish I could say that it was all peaceful and I had everything impeccably planned so that we had a nice leisurely morning and everything was packed days in advance; alas it was not so. In addition Paul had to throw a humongous fit about getting dressed before it was time to go.

We did manage to take some photos before we left for the baptism.

Ruthanne on her new bench.

Ruthanne with Mimi and Poppa.

Ruthanne with Grandma and hairy Grandpa.

Our family.

Ruthanne and Luke outside the church.

Ruthanne and Mamom.

My Mom and Dad took a bunch of photos with their camera and things were too crazy after the baptism that I didn’t get a chance to download them to my computer (I will someday).

Ruthanne is happy to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and we are proud of her decision to be baptized!

Ruthanne's Baptism

2011-06-21T11:53:00.002-04:00

Well, we finally have Ruthanne's baptism date and time squared away.

July 2, 12:00

Augusta Ward Building

Family is invited to come back to my house for some kind of grub and socializing! Please let me know if you are coming!

John's Birthday

2011-05-29T14:39:00.005-04:00

John had a birthday yesterday (the big 5!). There were a couple things that stood out yesterday:

1 - He was surprised that his clothes still fit him since he turned 5!

2 - When he saw that he got two water guns in his present, he told Ruthanne that she could have one with no prompting from anyone or Ruthanne asking. Such a sweet boy!

Oh, his other present was a bicycle (no training wheels). I never got a picture but we've been out practicing and he's getting pretty good, I just barely hold on to the back of the seat. In a day or two, he'll have it for sure! Of course John has been telling me that he won't be able to ride until he's 8, sorry John you're almost there already (then we need to work on Ruthanne). But, seriously none of my kids (except Ruthanne cause I didn't know better) will have training wheels ever again! Balance bike to regular bicycle is the way to go!

On to the photos of some present opening and cake time! Gotta put together a little kid party for him sometime this week. I'm thinking we'll just do some water games in the backyard.

Zucchini Breakfast Cookies (Chocolate ones too!)

2011-05-19T21:53:00.007-04:00

At Missy's request (thankfully, I've been meaning to do this forever), I'm gonna write down my zucchini breakfast cookie recipe variation.

Zucchini Breakfast Cookies

1 heaping cup wheat flour*

1 heaping cup old fashioned oats

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt (maybe 1/4 tsp)

1 heaping tsp cinnamon*

2 tbsp oil (I use extra virgin coconut oil but a vegetable oil will work)

2 eggs

1/2 cup sweetener (honey, sugar, etc)

1 cup shredded zucchini

1 tsp vanilla

Mix together all the dry ingredients, add in all the wet and mix (don't go crazy but mix it together). Now, you may need to add more flour (or wheat germ if you want) if its too liquidy, you want it to keep its shape when put on the baking sheets and not run out like a pancake (I'll try to take a pic the next time I make these). For this much batter I make 12 cookies on 2 greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 10-15 minutes (rotate your pans around while cooking).

*If you want to make these into chocolate zucchini breakfast cookies, use 1 level cup wheat flour, 3 tbsp cocoa powder, just 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and add in some chocolate chips if you want something truly decadent. You still may need to add more flour depending on your zucchini that day and what sweetener you use.

**Other varieties: Banana

For apple or pumpkin, just replace the zucchini with applesauce or pumpkin puree, easy and yummy! Get creative! I keep thinking of making a carrot cake version sometime, if you do it first, tell me!

New Bread Recipe

2011-05-19T08:43:00.003-04:00

So, I had a bread recipe I had been using for about a year that for some reason was becoming unremarkable to me. I decided to go back searching, and remembered a King Arthur recipe I liked. I made it a couple times, but it was too orange-y to me. So I modified it a bit and came up with something nice and light and it really does keep well. There is nothing "weird" in the recipe that you have to search for except the vital wheat gluten (I buy it in bulk from amazon).

10 ounces warm water

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup dried milk (you can just use warm milk instead of the water)

1/2 cup instant potato flakes

2 tbsp orange juice

2 tbsp some kind of oil/butter (I use extra light olive oil but canola or a low flavor vegetable oil would work best)

1-2 tbsp vital wheat gluten (you generally need less in the summer, if your bread is gummy, use less)

1.5 tsp salt

3.5 cups white whole wheat flour*

2.5 tsp instant yeast

I combine all the ingredients in an order recommended by my bread machine but you could use standard bread making procedures. After its kneaded (and whole wheat needs a good long knead) and risen, shape it into a loaf pan (metal works best, and actually I use three mini loaf pans because it keeps better if the loaf hasn't been cut into), cover and let rise again. Place bread into a cold oven, turn the oven on to 350 and set the timer for 20 minutes. If you use a regular metal loaf pan it will take longer (about 30 minutes), but my mini loaves are done at 20. Take it out of the oven and immediately out of the pans and let cool, then store in a ziploc bag.

*I use freshly ground white wheat flour. If you use wheat from the store you may need to use less. Sometimes I need less/more depending on the humidity anyways, so just make sure it has formed a nice ball and isn't too sticky while kneading.

**Metal is better by far than glass (I found some good pans at Kroger recently, and bonus, they were cheap, but still bake really well!). If you use a glass loaf pan you may also need to cover it with tin foil to prevent too much browning on top.

Paul is Two!

2011-05-06T16:25:00.001-04:00

Happy Birthday silly boy! I don’t dare want to jinx myself, but he has seemed a little mellower lately. I really doubt the terrible twos are going to be all peaches and cream though! You all need to wish me luck too though, John will be moving into Paul’s room soon! Yikes!

A couple photos of the birthday boy.

We get to have Boy oh Boy! tonight. Maybe I should share the recipe on the blog huh? Its an old Wilson favorite, Luke’s favorite actually which is good because its for his birthday too! I decided we didn’t need two treats this week!

I just bought Ruthanne's Baptism dress!

2011-04-29T13:48:00.002-04:00

Aaack, that means she's really going to turn 8 (in June) and get baptized and be all grown up and responsible! Ok, not totally. I really kind of wanted to make her dress (like my mom made mine, we donated it to the local church and it is now to raggedy to be used for Ruthanne says mom, although the church still uses it!) but between a lack of good fabric stores, my lack of experience with sewing clothes, and fear of frustration and irritation while sewing the dress, I decided it was probably worth it just to buy a dress. Plus between the fabric and pattern it would probably cost me about as much to make it myself as to buy it already made! Etsy to the rescue!

Fun Printables

2011-04-29T09:45:00.003-04:00

I came across this blog with lots of printables.

http://blogginwithbobbi.blogspot.com/search/label/Printables

I foresee a wall of inspiration fun things in my future (maybe, this assumes I actually do it!).

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:59:00.001-04:00

It was a great day, we went to church and had a fabulous Easter program, ate a bunch of chocolate (a splurge on Easter candy, its my favorite candy), enjoyed the Easter baskets, and even read the Easter story together as a family.

Feeling happy

2011-04-12T21:18:00.004-04:00

for the moment at least. Why?

- The RSP is back!

- Luke doesn't have any trips planned (no constant packing/unpacking/washing/ironing like I've been doing back to back to back this past month)!

- My garden is growing!

- The weather is nice (for what a few weeks?)!

- The kids are having fun playing outside!

- Luke and I assembled a portable basketball goal by ourselves and still want to be married!

- We are taking the kids to the Atlanta temple open house next week!

Whew, you don't realize how easy life is normally until you go through an

extra crazy month! Maybe I'll share some pictures soon. I'll leave you with this one since this is what I should be getting ready to do.

On the way back from Mimi & Poppa's (a couple months ago?)

A new favorite blog

2011-04-12T09:26:00.001-04:00

Perhaps most interesting for the LDS folks out there, but really this guy isn't preachy, its just a good nutrition blog. Maybe it will inspire you to eat a little better!

http://www.wordofwisdomliving.com/

Kettle Corn

2011-03-25T20:39:00.002-04:00

Nothing like a little kettle corn to make life better, right? We're enjoying a movie (a little LDS flic called Turn Around) and I thought I'd throw some of our new favorite popcorn recipe together. Its super good. As Luke says, he doesn't even like popcorn, but he likes this.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup oil (I use coconut oil - the good extra virgin $$ kind, but any kind of veggie oil will work)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

Throw the oil in a big stock pot over medium high heat. Put in three corn kernels and wait till they all pop. Then sprinkle in the sugar and popcorn kernels and put on the lid. Alternate shaking and keeping the pot still every 3 seconds until most of the kernels have popped (you will notice it all of sudden stop popping as frequently). Take it off the heat and transfer it to a big bowl and sprinkle with a little salt. Next come tell me how much you love me for sharing this recipe with you!

Thanks for all the thoughts yesterday. We had a somewhat better day today until after nap time. Any thoughts on how to snap him out of a post nap funk?

Screaming

2011-03-24T17:50:00.002-04:00

It seems to go in stages, but Paul (almost 2 now right?), still screams all the time. Gotta get in the carseat - scream, out of the carseat - scream, change diaper - scream, get dressed - scream, eat - scream, been screaming for over an hour now after his nap, despite holding him, etc. I still don't feel human. He does sleep through the night and the past week has been taking naps (count my blessings, right?). I'm just at my wits end. I'm tired of reading blogs where everything is hunky dorey. I want my life to feel that way, I want to be that way. I'm tired of listening to my child scream endlessly and cling to my legs screaming when I do ANYTHING. I don't like putting him in the playpen when I just can't handle the screaming any more, but I just don't know whats wrong. Anyone have any ideas, because I don't.

I'll probably take this post down shortly, but I think it will make me feel better to put it out there at least temporarily. Who knows, maybe it will make me feel worse.

Soooo Proud!

2011-02-27T21:48:00.001-05:00

Ruthanne had her first piano festival yesterday. She did so well! She had to memorize two piano pieces to play in front of a judge, take a written test, and do an ear training test. She got a superior on her playing (the best ranking), a 90 on the theory test, and did pretty good on the ear training (she was mostly doing this for experience). So proud of my big girl! She insisted on wearing a skirt to church today and I thought she looked very grown up. We also worked on crocheting today. I almost gave up (and so did she) but she persisted and can now chain away! Tomorrow we move onto the single crochet!

Yummy Garlic Bread

2011-02-12T14:15:00.001-05:00

Buttery Garlic Bread Ring:
Bren’s Recipe

1 Loaf frozen bread dough thawed & allowed to rise (or make your own)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 stick butter, melted (I use ½ stick)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, beat egg and add parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt & parsley flakes, and mix to combine. Spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pull golf ball size pieces of dough off the risen bread dough. Roll in egg mixture and set them around the bottom of the bundt pan. Allow resting for 1/2 hour and it will rise again slightly. Bake in oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter. When bread comes out of the oven, immediately drizzle or brush butter on the bread, covering it evenly. It will sizzle or bubble and look like the bread is drowning in butter but, don't worry, in about 1 minute, it will soak into the bread.

Notes: This removes easily out of the pan and you can either butter the cut bread slices or place melted butter in the center of the bread & use to dip the bread.
*This can also be made in a loaf pan (But, I think the bundt pan is better). Set balls of dough in lines of three going down the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Drizzle or brush the top with the butter. Serve warm right out of the oven. Slice to serve.

Why didn't anyone tell me...

2011-02-12T13:15:00.002-05:00

that there was a new America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook out? Its the Healthy addition! Green, perfect!

Have you noticed the new addition...

2011-02-08T18:47:00.003-05:00

there on the right of my sidebar? That is where you can see items I've "shared" from my google reader feed. So, you might find coupons, fun kids crafts, recipes, etc. Check it out!

I love glass mason jars!

2011-02-08T18:45:00.003-05:00

It makes storing soups, homemade broths, homemade beans, etc so much easier than in ziploc bags, plus I don't have to buy as many bags! Have you ever tried to defrost broth quickly that has been stored in a ziploc baggie? Yeah, it starts getting too hot in the corners, melts the bag and then you have liquid all over your microwave! Not a problem with the glass jars, just take off the metal lids and pop it in the microwave!

Mexican Quiche

2011-01-20T15:02:00.003-05:00

Its been a while since I shared a recipe. I made this for dinner last night for the first time in a LONG time! Its a yummy one served with some fresh diced tomatoes (how lucky am I to live in a place where you can get nice greenhouse tomatoes fresh from the farmer?).

Mexican Quiche

5 eggs

1/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup butter melted (I think you could just use 2 tbsps and be FINE!)

1 - 4 or 7 ounce can of diced green chiles

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup chopped onion cooked in another tbsp butter

1 cup shredded cheese (pick your fave!)

Preheat oven to 400 and spray pie plate or 8x8 (or 9x9) pan and set aside. Beat eggs then add in flour and baking powder and wisk well. Add the melted butter, chiles and cottage cheese. Then add in the onions which have been sauteed in 1 tbsp butter and the shredded cheese. Then pour it into your prepared pan. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and cook for another 25-30 minutes. Serve warm. It also reheats well (I had some leftovers for lunch).

Catch Up!

2011-01-17T18:05:00.001-05:00

My Mom told me today I needed to update my blog. So here’s a small attempt. Thankfully I didn’t resolve to post more frequently/regularly on my blog this year! I have however been exercising 6 days a week which I am really excited about!

So, what have we been doing? Not much. The day after Christmas it snowed a little.

Then we hung out a bunch and even went to Warner Robins for a day where all the grandkids got to play. I of course left my camera at home. I did take a few with Frances’ camera (you want to email me a few Frances?).

We’ve played a lot and spent time as a family. Here’s Paul and Ruthanne playing the piano.

Paul is insisting on sitting in a chair to eat a lot. Its going a lot better than I anticipated.

Paul happens to think bouncy balls are the greatest thing ever. Here’s a funny video of him playing.

And, it snowed a 2nd time this winter and swiftly turned to ice. When we went out to play in it you couldn’t gather any together, it just crunched under your feet. We were home bound for a couple days.

Hmmm, thats about it for now! I’ll try to think of something fun for us to do and post about it. Oh, maybe I should ask ya’ll if I should finally take the tree down or embrace it and make a Valentine’s tree? Paul loves the tuh-ree!

Christmas Morning

2010-12-25T21:38:00.001-05:00

We had a lovely Christmas.

Santa made a little accident and gave Ruthanne a leapster game she already had (woops, luckily I had some extra in the closet and I offered her one of mine for her Santa one).

We had lovely cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

We relaxed and watched movies and chatted and enjoyed a quiet day.

All the pictures I took are linked below.

View Full Album

Tex Mex Crockpot Roast Recipe

2010-12-12T22:00:00.003-05:00

I found this recipe last night and made it today. I modified it a bit and it was sooo yummy!

Tex Mex Crockpot Roast Recipe:

1 can chili beans

1-2 cups frozen corn

1 can rotel tomatoes/diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

1/2 tablespoon ranch seasoning (I keep a jar with the herbs already mixed)

1.5-2 lb roast (mine was pretty lean)

Throw it all into the crockpot and cook on low about 8 hours, or high about 4 hours. We served it over rice with shredded cheese and sour cream. Everyone ate it and liked it!

Cold Weather Dinner

2010-12-07T14:43:00.002-05:00

Since we have some cold weather blowing through, I thought we needed an appropriate dinner tonight. So we're having:

Chicken Corn Chowder

and

Skillet Bread

Hopefully it will be a success!

In Support of Poppa’s Team

2010-12-04T20:20:00.001-05:00

Paul wore his Auburn outfit. I guess it worked!

Charging the camera:

Cheese!

Ruthanne & John get in on the camera action.

Cyber Monday!

2010-11-29T08:03:00.001-05:00

Gotta love it! Just scored Curious George (the movie) on dvd for $7.99 on amazon! Perfect Christmas present for this little monkey!

I love this

2010-11-18T15:31:00.003-05:00

Because it totally keeps my monkey lover (Paul) occupied for a few minutes!

Oatmeal Soufflé

2010-11-17T09:01:00.002-05:00

I can’t believe I haven’t posted this recipe here yet. Patricia had seen oatmeal soufflé mentioned in a food network magazine and insisted I make a version while they were here one weekend. I obliged and it was really good. A little fussy and takes a little while to throw together, but we enjoy it. The original recipe comes from here: http://www.ericsons.net/535/oatmeal-souffle

But my version is this:

Preheat oven to 325 and grease a large high-sided casserole dish.

Bring to a simmer in a pot on the stove:

2 cups milk

1/2 stick butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup brown sugar/demerara sugar

Once it is simmering add in:

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

and simmer for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, separate 6 eggs.

Whip the egg whites until peaks form but still moist.

Beat the yolks until thick and lighter.

When oatmeal is done, mix in 4 ounces of cream cheese (the whipped works well for me) and the egg yolks until combined. Then, gently fold in the egg whites 1/3 of the mixture at a time. Pour into casserole dish, sprinkle with more cinnamon and brown sugar (optional). Bake for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy with cream or milk if you want!

My First Ball

2010-11-15T08:49:00.001-05:00

So, I finally got to go to a ball! Luke was invited to pray at the Marine Corps Ball on Friday, so we got a babysitter and off we went! I had the babysitter snap a photo before we left though.

We got some professional photos taken at the ball, we’ll see if they turned out any better!

Halloween Costumes

2010-11-02T21:00:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures I took of the kids before we went to the trunk or treat at church. We have a witch, a pirate, and Mickey Mouse (we lucked out that the weather had cooled off for this costume). The last two pictures are from the trunk or treat, I decorated the car with spiderwebs and had spider rings stuck in it.

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Chili's in the crockpot!

2010-10-30T14:01:00.004-04:00

I think that means its gonna be a good night! We'll be trunk or treating later at church. Halloween pictures to follow!

Oh, I think I'll tack on my chili recipe. Its nothing flashy or fancy or different, its just a really good basic chili.

1 lb ground beef, browned

1 onion, chopped small

1 can chili beans

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 small tomato paste can of water

1 packet of chili seasoning (original/mild - I want to mix my own, but we love the packet)

cheese, sour cream, chips, whatever you like to top your chili with

Add first 7 ingredients into a crockpot and cook for a while! Or you can do it on the stove of course.

Consumers develop taste for locally grown food | The Augusta Chronicle

2010-10-30T13:43:00.001-04:00

Consumers develop taste for locally grown food | The Augusta Chronicle

I'm quoted in the newspaper! Its in the section about Good for the Economy.

Little Lefty?

2010-10-23T22:29:00.001-04:00

Yep, it seems as though Paul is asserting his right to feed himself with whichever hand he chooses, and he chooses LEFT! It looks awkward to Luke & I (but I think it would look that way in his right hand too since he’s not a perfect eater) but if you try to hand him the spoon in his right hand, he just passes it along to the left one. He tends to throw with his left hand also (assuming the ball is small enough to allow one-handed throwing). I’m just happy he can get soft food to his mouth using a spoon, doesn’t matter which hand it is! Rice, yogurt, and applesauce are the current faves.

Oh, and this pic is about a month old.

School

2010-10-21T10:36:00.001-04:00

Is going pretty well. Ruthanne is having tons of fun with her subjects and we are actually getting everything accomplished. This is a fun activity we did when we were learning about Columbus sailing to America. Tin foil boats in the bathtub.

John is doing well in school too. What is John’s school? Learning to read of course! He is doing awesome. I wondered if he would do as well as Ruthanne, and he seems to be flying right along in our reading book. I would highly recommend it. There’s no fluff, its to the point, quick, no preparation needed (totally scripted for the teacher), and produced a really good reader in Ruthanne.

What do I do with Paul during school? Well, we do John’s school during Paul’s nap (since its 15-20 minutes tops). I try to get Ruthanne’s school done in the morning and if Paul is behaving (i.e. somewhat quiet) then he can stay and listen to me read, play with toys, etc. Lately he has been too cranky, seriously hollers even if I am holding him. So, I have taken to putting him in the playroom (with John) with the baby gate up. This way he has playtime (and has started being happy in there) and Ruthanne and I can fly through her schoolwork (so much easier without the boys distractions).

Waiting for his turn with the ball

2010-10-18T21:05:00.001-04:00

Can we say football player?

Just Like Poppa

2010-10-17T08:47:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite pictures from the weekend in Brunswick.

Thanks to Jackson who spilled perler beads all over Mimi and Poppa’s house, the older kids all got a dollar from Mimi for helping to clean them up. One trip to the dollar store later, John is the proud owner of these funny glasses and wanted his picture taken with Poppa, his twin. Too bad Poppa didn’t have on his glasses.

Mice, Mono, and More

2010-10-15T20:43:00.001-04:00

Wow, long time no blogging. I just dumped my camera onto the computer so maybe you will see a bit more of me over the next few days.

First, Mice. We were infested! Six mice caught and disposed of in our house. I guess getting rid of the snake meant we had these little friends to deal with. But, me and the kids got to hang out in Warner Robins since I didn’t want to hang with the mice (Luke was out of town).

Next Mono. Ruthanne got sick while we were in Brunswick last weekend. Strep tests were negative and doctor thinks it might be mono, but I opted not to do the blood test. So, I’m sitting at home tonight while Luke is out at the Navy Ball alone since our babysitter opted out. Good news is Ruthanne is feeling a ton better, can’t believe she was sick a few days ago. Now, just don’t drink/eat after her, kiss her (with a good exchange of saliva), or otherwise get her spit in your mouth! Its a lot less contagious than the flu I’ve learned.

Lastly, more. I’ve had a lot of laundry to do after our two trips. I’m not sure the kids had anything wearable left in their drawers. This is what it all looked like folded on my bed (a king) before I put it away.

And, I got my hair cut by the “mobile hairdresser. A lady at church is a hairdresser on the side and you can go to her or she will come to you. So, I arranged to have her come during Paul’s nap. Perfect, I can actually see getting my haircut at regular intervals (instead of yearly). This is what was left on the floor. I’ll have to get a pic of what she left on my head sometime soon.

There is tons and tons more. Hope to write a little bit of something every day for the next little while.

$38 OOP for Wheat Grinder - Should I do it?

2010-09-08T12:32:00.002-04:00

I'm tired of paying big bucks for white whole wheat flour. I've been saving up my Discover Card rewards money and have $125 in gift cards plus one more on the way, making $150 total. Oh, this is Bed Bath and Beyond money. So, if I order a Blendtec Kitchen Mill (its pretty highly rated next to the Nutrimill) at the store and use a 20% off coupon (and assume I have to pay to have it shipped to me since they probably don't have it in stock) then I would have to pay about $38 out of my own pocket. Should I go ahead and do it or wait another month (I could probably get another GC for $25 then)?

Taco Slop

2010-09-07T21:49:00.003-04:00

Inspired by this recipe. My version:

Taco Slop

1 lb ground beef

1 zucchini diced small

1 can beans (pinto, black, whatever you fancy) rinsed

dried minced onions (or fresh onions)

16 ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup corn

bell pepper (diced small), a red one will go undetected

taco spice (to taste)

Brown ground beef and drain off fat. Add in bell pepper and onion and zucchini, cook until softened. Add in beans and corn and start with 1/2 can tomato sauce and the taco spice. Let it all warm up and add more tomato sauce as needed.

We all thought this was pretty awesome. The kids and Luke ate it in a soft tortilla shell with cheese and a little ranch. For the kids I fold up the bottom of their tortilla, roll the sides inward, secure the folds with a toothpick, and they eat pretty much drip free! I threw it on a bed of lettuce for a great taco salad. Its pretty much like a taco sloppy joe

So…

2010-09-07T07:40:00.001-04:00

I never did find that pesky camera cable.

HOWEVER, I did find something that worked just as well. See Paul has this toy

I happened to see his computer cable sitting in the kitchen box and thought, that looks similar. So, lo and behold, it worked!

So, here are a few pictures…

Playing at the park on St. Simons Island, man was it HOT!

Paul got to spend extra time with Mamom & Aunt Kathy since the big kids went to the river.

I’m sure Paul is looking at a dog in this photo. He loved them!

These pictures were from a while ago, Ruthanne with a watermelon from our garden (before the squash bugs ate it up).

John requested this photo be taken of him with Woody. Poor John was sick at the time.

Well, I had a video to upload too, but youtube is being wonky, I’ll save it for later! Want to go ahead and get this out in blog world. Later today (hopefully), a new recipe, Taco Slop!

If you were my camera cable...

2010-09-01T22:47:00.002-04:00

Where would you be?

I was all set to update and now can't find my cable! I know I have seen it sitting around. That makes the second thing I've lost this week.

In other news, school is going well. Its going lots better than I expected. Will have to share some photos of our timeline, once I find the cable, of course.

I've won two things this week!

2010-08-29T19:49:00.002-04:00

How amazing! One didn't really have much competition, and really I only won because the real winner never provided an email address. The other thing I really won, out of lots of people! It was from couponcravings.com. I won a pair of crocs! Woohoo! I've been drooling over the new styles for kids, so I'm excited!

In other news, our official first day of school for the 10-11 school year is tomorrow! I hope it goes well! We will be doing school Mon-Thurs with Friday as a catch up day (hopefully not needed). I plan to keep myself at home those mornings and run errands as needed after Paul's nap. I hope things go well and we have lots of fun and learn lots of stuff! I hope to update more about that later! Maybe a weekly, what we learned or what was fun?

And, I totally need to dump pictures off my camera, but I haven't yet. Maybe I will later tonight? Maybe? I hate getting this behind, it makes me not want to get caught up!

Best cookies...EVER?

2010-08-08T21:04:00.003-04:00

Maybe! They were pretty darn good! I wish I took a picture, because they looked liked really good cookies too! These were the Hu La La Surprise cookies with a little tweak.

Luke & I had our very first Hu La La cookie out in Salt Lake City last October from the Lion House. It was unique and good. I looked through the Lion House cookbooks I own and couldn't find the recipe. Typical I thought, if I like something, the restaurant won't give out the recipe (like Barbara Jeans pumpkin bread). Well, they happened to put out a new cookbook soon after, Lion House Bakery, and the recipe was inside! We have made it many many times and it is a favorite of ours, and my mother in law is pretty fond of them too! Well, I decided to make these for our little Mills mini family reunion on Saturday. While I was mixing them up, I thought I would try to make them a little less chunky, so I whirled the oats and coconut, separately, through my vitamix (super powerful blender, though I'm sure a food processor would work or regular blender would do the oats, but watch out with the coconut) before adding to the cookie mix. I love them this way!

Before you make these cookies, be prepared to get your hands messy! These don't call for a mixer and its a lot of dough so I just knead it together with my hands. Oh, and I generally make these into big cookies, a recipe makes a few more than 3 dozen. So, check out the recipe link, and mix these together the next time you need a cookie fix, I don't think you will regret it!

Videos

2010-07-26T18:39:00.002-04:00

Kids playing leapfrog. Ruthanne asked me to take a video of them playing.

Paul walking down the hallway. He has really been walking all over today. He does rounds of the living room, falling down some, crawling over to something to stand up, then starting over. One day he will learn to stand on his own, right?

Protein Packed Pancakes

2010-07-21T08:39:00.002-04:00

Say that three times fast! This morning I made myself an experimental batch of pancakes from the internet. I tested it on me before I made a bunch for the gang. Tomorrow we will all be having them for breakfast (I must have like it!). The bonus (besides all the protein)? It was super easy!

Protein Packed Pancakes
2 eggs
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup oats (old fashioned or quick should be fine)
splash of vanilla

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend it up! Pour on your griddle/pan and cook like regular pancakes! Serve like normal pancakes or I'm imagining some fresh jam on top would be fabulous!

I did eat most of the above recipe (and really doubt I will be hungry until lunch) so tomorrow I will triple the recipe probably for me, hubby, and three (two and half?) kids!

Can you please have more kids?

2010-07-13T08:50:00.002-04:00

Come on, Mom, we need a whole army of clones!

This is what John just came up and told me. Apparently my whole purpose in life is to supply his army with more clones! Too much Star Wars/Clone Wars?

I think Paul is making it pretty clear that he wants to be the baby in this family. Its not set it stone but I can definitely say a baby clone is not making its way into this family any time soon.

Walking?

2010-07-11T21:04:00.002-04:00

Well, sometimes Paul is! It all started last Saturday (the 3rd). He was standing holding on to the guest bed and me & Patricia were in there. Next thing we knew he had let go and just stood there for a second and then took a couple steps. Nothing too major, and I figured it was just an accident and it could be MONTHS until he did that again! Well, he has consistently taken some steps occasionally over the past week. Yesterday he did a couple bouts of lots of steps (7-8?) but today I don't really think he has taken any. He is on his way to being a toddling little boy.

Ruthanne is 7!

2010-06-30T21:59:00.001-04:00

And, it was THE. BEST. DAY. EVER! Her words, not mine! She had a little birthday part here at the house with the kids from her Sunday School class. We did dinner, cake, presents, then some outdoor fun. Outside there were sprinklers, swings, chalk, bubbles, water balloons (NOTE: 100 water balloons don’t last long!).

Some fun present opening. She was sooo excited about her presents and loved each and every one of them.

Getting ready to blow out the candles. Oh, this isn’t a very good picture but the icing is pink with a white big 7. I was SUPPOSED to make the cake pink also, but I forgot. I felt sooo bad, but Ruthanne took it surprisingly well.

Making a wish.

Outdoor fun. See the swingset in the background, the kids LOVE it! Thanks Mimi & Poppa for coming to help us put it together.

Well, I was trying to get a picture of this stinker eating cake off of the kitchen floor but he wanted the camera! Suck that baby gut in!

Next year I guess John will have to have a party. Thank goodness I have about 11 months to prepare!

Water, water, water!

2010-06-20T20:41:00.001-04:00

Man, we’ve been busy! Where is my relaxing summer? Between starting back up piano lessons, two weeks of constant swim lessons, gardening, school, etc, we have been BUSY! Thankfully some of those things were fun things for the kids!

Its also been HOT so those swimming lessons helped the kids cool off, but only made me want to jump in the pool, clothes and all! Ruthanne can swim and tread water and float now! Woohoo! She loves getting her face wet and playing around. Yay! John also made significant progress (last year he wouldn’t even get wet, I think he associated it with potty accidents) and will put his face in the water and can almost tread water. We are going to keep playing in the water this summer and we’ll see if he can make more progress. Here is a pic from before swimming lessons:

We also had some fun water time in our own backyard.

Then, Friday we went and played at Mistletoe State Park as part of the local Marine Family Day (we get to do fun things with the Marines and Navy because of Luke’s assignment). There was a bouncy house, playground, bbq, and a little beach. The kids had a blast at the beach and I got in the water with them. Luke and Paul mostly enjoyed some shade, but for about the last 5 minutes, Paul came a played in the water too. I thought he wouldn’t like it because lately he hates his baths, but he LOVED it!

This is just one of those fluke funny pictures. I’m pretty sure he was not upset but just making a funny face because of the water splashing.

Hopefully I will have a little more time to blog soon!

4 Stitches

2010-06-07T21:56:00.001-04:00

The kids survive their first day of swimming lessons, but John is running around the house and splats down on the ground with a slice over his eyebrow. It didn’t look too bad to me at first, but after he got a bath it started looking like it was gapping open, so Luke took him to an urgent care (Luke is getting good at this, he took Paul to the ped yesterday – another ear infection for Paul). John now has four stitches over his eyebrow and can’t be submerged underwater at swimming lessons until Thursday. Luke says he was very good, and got John some food on the way home, Sonic it was. The hamburger and fries were gone but the shake was still fully intact and Ruthanne got to share some too.

Stitches come out Sunday sometime. We’re wondering what will happen to Ruthanne tomorrow so she has to go to the doctor. Hopefully nothing! Can’t life be boring?

Here’s the Cutie Patootie!

2010-06-02T11:54:00.001-04:00

I think we made it to five, if not, oh, well, I guess that many people just aren’t entertained by my blog!

Here are a few befores. Luke made me have a photo session with Paul before he let me cut his hair.

There are no “durings” of the haircut because it was just not pretty. Lets just say Paul was not appreciative of the haircut. I ended up holding him on my lap and cutting his hair, we were both completely covered with hair by the end! And, here are the results.

I have a few more on the camera, but its inside and I’m outside watching the kids ride bikes. We really like it. He looks like a little boy now and not a baby!

Who wants to see a little boy

2010-05-31T11:33:00.001-04:00

without this much hair?

I think I’m gonna have to wait until I have at least 5 comments before I can be persuaded to share after pics!

Happy Birthday John!

2010-05-30T20:46:00.001-04:00

John had a pretty good birthday I think. It started off with a present.

I wonder what it could be?

His favorite cereal, of course! So, he got to eat that for breakfast.

Then, company arrived, Aunt Kathy and Mamom (sorry Mamom, I didn’t get a picture with you in it, I guess you always had your camera over your face when I was using mine!). Time was spent exploring the content of Aunt Kathy’s purse.

There were a few presents to be had, some letter factory videos,

a scooter (no more sneaking Ruthanne’s),

and a new piggy bank.

I finished John’s birthday treat (chocolate cupcakes, I decided brownie cupcakes, with chocolate icing) just in time! I really like how it turned out.

About to make a wish…

One candle down, three more to go.

I can’t believe John is 4. He seems to be getting older and growing up! I guess he is officially a preschooler not a toddler anymore! I love that boy and his silliness! Life would surely be boring without John!

Anyone have a snake hunting dog I can borrow?

2010-05-24T20:40:00.004-04:00

About a month ago our yard guys noticed we had a couple of snake holes in the backyard near the wooded area. I freaked and stressed about it, wondered what to do, googled, you know the drill. I finally read enough stuff that I thought well I haven't seen one and it will likely stay in the wooded area and non-poisonous snakes are actually good, right? Thats what I kept telling myself. But, I'm going to the bathroom today and as I'm leaving the room I look out the window and see a bird flying low to the ground "playing" with something. Oh, wait, that something is a snake! It starts slithering up a tree slightly and then we lose sight of it.

Luke does go outside to investigate but doesn't see it. All I saw is that it looked dark but that it had some kind of lighter pattern (I think anyways). Oh, and it was slithering across the grass from the open area to the wooded area. Ahhh, not feeling so good about that. I'm constantly scanning the grass looking for it. And, we just ordered a swingset for the kids, and I don't even want to hang out in the yard any more! Tell me to be strong, or how to get rid of it! The county dept won't do anything unless you know where the snake is, they won't hunt for it.

Yuck, yuck, yuck! I DON'T LIKE SNAKES!

A little late…

2010-05-24T20:40:00.001-04:00

Paul’s cake. I can’t believe he actually ate any. These days he is being pretty picky, won’t eat what I offer, but of course, go figure, was trying to eat mulch and grass at the park this afternoon!

Oh, and at his 1 year check up the Dr. started looking at the curve, laughed and said, he’s actually on the curve! For weight anyways, for height he was still hovering over it! He was 24 lbs 11 oz and 32” tall.

Cereal Bars

2010-05-24T20:27:00.003-04:00

So, I'd happened on a recipe I thought could be adapted to a healthy cereal bar. I think I did it! We have lovely apple cinnamon cereal bars now!

Combine the following in a saucepan and bring to a boil to thicken:
1 3/4 cups mashed fruit/applesauce
1 tbsp sugar/honey (optional)
sprinkle of cinnamon
splash of vanilla

Combine the following in a large bowl
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Original recipe called for a 9x9 pan but I thought a thinner crust and more fruit was better so I use a 7x11 (or 8x12 or whatever size my pan is, definitely smaller than 9x13). Grease your pan. Spread and pat down 2/3 of the oat/flour mixture in the pan. Spread your slightly thicker fruit mixture over next then sprinkle over the remaining oat/flour mixture. Bake at 400 for approximately 20 minutes. Let them cool to at least warm before you slice into them. Enjoy!

My sweet boy...

2010-05-21T21:54:00.002-04:00

That John, he can be trouble (remember the market on the legs?), but he can be super duper sweet too! The other night he was in lots of trouble. We found handprints on the bathroom wall, I thought it was just wet handprints and it would dry, nope lotion, supposedly he couldn't find a towel. I told him he should obviously ask for one! Then, in his room we noticed more marks on the wall, looked like water again, but no of course not, vaseline! He's been sick and we keep vaseline on the table with tissue so he can help protect his nose. I guess it was too much temptation. Oh, and these marks were not just let me wipe my finger off they were let me see what kind of design I can draw. I guess we will be spot painting the walls (tacky I know but that is what has been done in this rental so it won't be out of place!).

Anyhow, Luke was pretty upset and and was telling John that he might have to use his own money to fix the walls if he does something else. Well, little John gets a little teary sad and says that when he gets his money (for his birthday from Mimi & Poppa) he is going to get Ruthanne an American Girl doll. Who could be mad at that sweet boy?

(And just so you know, the kids don't even get enough birthday money to get something that expensive, they aren't that spoiled! And, Ruthanne has two American Girl dolls already so its not like she's deprived!)

10 Years????

2010-05-20T09:11:00.001-04:00

Wow, where has the time gone! Luke & I have been married for 10 years today! I wish I had a picture of us on our wedding day (on the computer), but I don’t and I don’t have a scanner. Oh, well! So far we don’t have any big plans for tonight, our would be babysitters will be busy I’m sure (there is a function at church tonight), but maybe we’ll get out soon! But, I do have a photo from a cocktail party we went to recently.

Love ya honey! Can’t wait for the next 10 (and more!).

My little Garden

2010-05-15T21:23:00.001-04:00

Well, I have some other posts I need to get caught up on, but I needed to share my excitement about our garden, ITS GROWING! I’m so pleased! We’re growing tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and melons. I have cucumbers and squash that are about an inch long and a few flowers on a tomato plant! Woohoo! Here is a picture:

I have plants in earthboxes and straw bales (five of each). The earth boxes seem to be doing better (and have rave reviews, so I think they are worth the $$) but the straw bales are doing all right (and are much cheaper, but have to be replace every year/every other year). In the back from left to right are tomatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, and more tomatoes and in the straw bales from left to right are tomatoes, tomatoes, squash (wintery), melons, and squash.

I am going to NEED to figure out how to preserve some of this as I can already tell I will probably have 10-15 cucumbers ready here in a couple weeks! I need to be finding a freezer and figuring out how to can some things! Exciting!

Handmade Birthdays

2010-05-06T21:40:00.001-04:00

I think we are mainly going to do a handmade gift for the kids birthdays coming up and then get them a swingset for the backyard. The contenders are this one and this one so if anyone has some suggestions, let me know!

Anyhow, Paul is getting a self-binding blanket (tutorial from Tara) and a butterbean doll (pattern from bit of whimsy prims). I got them all done today and they don’t look half bad! I’m not sure I’ll do another blanket like this with minky because it doesn’t hold a crease but it was really easy and it is pretty cute!

Next is John’s doll, but thankfully I have until May 28!

Happy Birthday Paul

2010-05-06T21:22:00.001-04:00

Well, in one hour my baby boy will be 1. Can I postpone him turning one as long as I don’t let him smash any cake? The kids kept saying that he’s not a baby any more. Well, I am just going to be in denial!

He has to go to the doctor tomorrow for his checkup so official stats will come then but I know he is around 25 lbs (we’ve stopped gaining weight like crazy since he started moving). He has eight teeth and stands and walks along furniture.

Here are some fun pictures of Paul I took recently.

We love the little stinker!

My daughter...

2010-04-30T09:59:00.002-04:00

She's fantasizing over the American girl catalog (she's gotten a big doll from Santa each of the last two Christmases). She's looking at Kit's treehouse and John says she should get that. I tell her that she should look at how much it costs ($250 WHOA!). But she says thats ok, Santa MAKES the toys.

Likes

2010-04-28T08:34:00.003-04:00

Just for Jaime!

Real maple syrup! Especially on dutch babies or banana pancakes (TDF!).

I like that I ran 3 miles in 30 minutes today! I did 5 laps around the neighborhood (which gives me 3miles) and I ran 2, walked 1, ran 2. It was hard because it seems like most of the neighborhood is uphill. Impossible right? Well, really the downhill portions are steeper so overall more of the distance is uphill.

I like my new old navy skirts.

And, I like that Ruthanne is learning how to do more complicated math (we learned how to carry over/regroup in multiple digit addition). Its challenging but rewarding when she "got it".

Hmmm, thats about all. I also keep a etsy things I like on the right, so this post is officially OVER!

Ankle Crossing

2010-04-26T13:57:00.002-04:00

Paul crosses his ankles, ALL THE TIME. Its pretty cute. I just thought I'd put that up here to remember!

Hanging outside

2010-04-26T13:56:00.001-04:00

The yard was actually dry enough that I thought I could put Paul down on the grass. Guess what, he didn’t like it! He was keeping everything he could off the grass and quickly learned to crawl on hands and feet! Otherwise we all just enjoyed a nice Friday evening outside. Too soon it will be hot and muggy all the time! Stay away summer!

A Day at the Zoo

2010-04-26T13:49:00.001-04:00

Thursday I took the kids to the zoo to meet up with some other homeschoolers and we had a blast (of course all the school kids were there too, Earth Day is apparently not a day to go to avoid the crowds!). We got a pass and plan to go frequently over the next year. They have homeschool Mondays during the school year and we plan on attending those once a month once they start back up. Anyhow, here are a few pics that I snagged!

When we arrived at the botanical gardens (it adjoins the zoo).

On the tram to the zoo

Ruthanne with her favorite animal, the flamingos. Guess why they are her favorite.

John getting a closer look at the funny looking bird.

The kids posing with the gorilla/monkey statue.

Kids on the carousel.

Where Paul spent most of the trip, good thing the carousel had a mirror so I could get a picture.

All the kids as we head out!

Merry Late Christmas

2010-04-22T20:45:00.001-04:00

So I’m finally getting around to finishing promised Christmas presents for Luke’s parents and my parents. I’ve finished the Wilsons present (now just gotta get it printed). If anyone else would like a copy, let me know and I can get you the original file (not that you would want one necessarily, but if you happen to).

Family Photo

2010-04-21T11:16:00.001-04:00

I don’t think we have taken a pic of us all together since Paul was born! That’s so pathetic! Since Luke’s parents were in town this weekend and I was bored and decided to iron EVERYONE’s clothes (not just Luke’s white shirt), I figured we should at least get a picture out of it. Its not great mind you, we definitely should NOT have been facing the sun, but it is what it is!

Would someone please tell me I would be a lot happier with my pictures if I was running daily! If only I got decent sleep at night, or maybe I need to start running at night instead of in the morning? I guess the main thing is I just need TO DO IT!

Food Inc on PBS tonight

2010-04-21T07:23:00.002-04:00

For anyone who still hasn't watched it! Seems like it will be at 9:00 pm, but check your local listings! http://www.pbs.org/pov/foodinc/

Peek-a-Boo!

2010-04-19T21:18:00.002-04:00

Paul finally played peek-a-boo with me tonight! He thought he was so funny! I'll have to try to get it on video soon, but I wanted it preserved!

I also have other pics and things I need to download off my camera, but said cute peek-a-boo player tired me out last night, he woke up after being asleep for less than two hours and screamed for an hour with Luke & I both taking turns trying to get him to hush (and not even trying to get him to sleep, just please stop screaming!). He was too tired I think (no afternoon nap) and/or teething (we forced ibprofen down between screams). Oh, well.

Ruthanne is doing good!

2010-04-12T21:13:00.001-04:00

She survived her second surgery in her almost seven years. Today we went in to have her pda (patent ductus arteriosis) fixed. It is a procedure done in the cath lab (no open heart surgery needed). She was a trooper. We had to get there at 6:30 am which meant she was up at 5:00 to have her bath (required) and had not eaten since about 9:00 the night before.

We arrive at the hospital, get checked in, and things are going smoothly, we’re chilling out.

Luke even manages to solves the sliding tile Sleeping Beauty puzzle that Mimi declared impossible and even I couldn’t fix.

But, we soon find out the people before us did indeed arrive (they couldn’t be reached to confirm) and had an 11 month old so they got to go first. It took forever! What was originally going to be a 7:30 procedure became 10:30, then I don’t even remember. She did eventually go back for real at almost 2:00. Poor baby, was so hungry, but she was a trooper! Oh, but we did get some playing in with all that waiting, and got an iv (which they would have done while she was asleep, but they needed to keep her hydrated).

The iv walker thing was called a patient pal and Ruthanne did not like it being called that! She was hilarious when they gave her versaid, right before we left for the procedure. She thought her hand and iv were very interesting and kept saying “huh”. She did good during the cath and by 5:30 was back in her own room and ready to eat! She ate two grape popsicles, a bowl of red jello and some juice while laying down (she has to stay down until 11:00 tonight). Luke is staying the night with her at the hospital and she will be coming home tomorrow around 10:00. Here is proof of the grape and red food consumed:

Oatmeal Chocolate Cookies

2010-04-09T22:15:00.003-04:00

I made these cookies today. They are pretty good and you can pretend that you are eating healthy (4 cups of oats to 1 cup of flour)! I added chocolate chips to the recipe!

Oh, yeah, I'm done for the day, but be sure to keep going, I went post happy!

Baked Oatmeal

2010-04-09T22:12:00.002-04:00

This is my new favorite baked oatmeal recipe. I used some dried strawberries instead of raisins and substituted an equal amount of milk for the yogurt (didn’t have any). I made it up the night before and it did look a bit dry in the morning so I added just a thin layer of milk over the top before baking it. It make enough for two mornings and we were nice and full! Ruthanne likes to eat hers like a piece of cake while the rest of us like to eat it with some milk in our bowl.

I LOVE my new breadmaker!

2010-04-09T22:09:00.001-04:00

It works so well! Why didn’t I buy one before? I only use it to knead and rise the dough, I shape it and bake it still. So easy!

I gave up my money for a floor steam cleaner (really free gift cards from Bed Bath & Beyond from our Discover card bonus money). I figured that even though I would like a shark steam mop, that unless it came with someone to do the mopping for me, I probably still wouldn’t like mopping that much! I do like to eat fresh bread though, so the breadmaker won out!

My kitchenaid still works, barely, but it will be mostly resting unless needed for cookie dough or the like.

Summer Time = Summer Whites

2010-04-09T22:04:00.001-04:00

Seriously?

2010-04-09T21:59:00.001-04:00

This middle child, is just TROUBLE! He looks completely normal, right?

But, look what was hiding under his shorts! Apparently he found a marker in the car and quietly went to town while we were driving around town running errands.

Also, yesterday he got a hold of my salt shaker and dumped salt all over part of the kitchen and school room. I’ve swept but I keep finding salt still stuck to my feet!

Haircuts

2010-04-09T21:53:00.001-04:00

Ruthanne got a summer haircut and Paul got his bangs trimmed again. John cut his hair a little bit recently (but I’m not sure you can see that in the photo).

Eating

2010-04-09T21:51:00.001-04:00

Paul has FINALLY, at 11 months old, started to feed himself something.

Hmmm, could it be that he typically has too much “help” and didn’t need to do it himself?

Regardless, I’m glad I can set him in his highchair with some puff or bread while I get a meal together.

Easter Fun

2010-04-09T21:28:00.001-04:00

We had a little bit of fun on Easter before settling in to watch conference on tv. The kids insisted on dressing up even though we weren’t actually going to church (how weird are they?).

Egg hunting.

I promise we have a better Easter basket for John, but the dyed eggs were kind of leaking dye so I wouldn’t let him use the fabric basket and ruin it!

We did manage to learn the real meaning of Easter this year, despite the fun activities. I’m thankful for my Savior and that we have the opportunity to live on this great Earth!

Is laundry bad for babies?

2010-04-02T22:04:00.001-04:00

Or is it ok for them to watch laundry?