Homestyle Scribbles

Reeses-Oreo Sandwich

2012-01-27T14:10:00.000-08:00

Yummy yummy yummy in my tummy.

Found the idea here.

Pizza Sauce

2012-01-27T14:04:00.000-08:00

I've been making my own pizza dough for awhile now and am now making the pizza sauce. Up next will be trying to make the mozzarella. Haven't decided if I'm going to try to make pepperoni... doubt it.

PiZZA SAUCE
Combine all this stuff and let it sit for a couple hours.
1 can tomato paste
1/4C olive oil
1C water
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2T oregano
1/2T basil
1/2T rosemary (chopped up)
salt & pepper

Mediocre Artists

2012-01-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

Guy Sings

Nels Draws

February Reads

2012-01-25T10:00:00.000-08:00

Finished my January books so I picked my next ones.

Fiction: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Because I've never read it and I'm tired of not getting my husbands jokes about it.

Non-Fiction: Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours. I love to read Kevin Leman's books and our library doesn't have this one so I bought it. Now I better read it. After reading my January book on Sensoring Processing Disorder I think there is a high chance that nothing in this book will work for my kids but I'm sure it's funny so that's okay.

A "New" Tiny Table

2012-01-24T16:55:00.000-08:00

We have a little table for little folks. It is white and pink and butterfly-ish. And there is a blue chair too. Nels says he likes it as is.

Mom didn't like it. She convinced dad to help her paint it. It looks swell now. Worthy of an adults eyes.

Guy has told me about 20 times now that he doesn't like the new table. I forgot kids and adults have different ideas on what's nice looking.

Happy Year of the Dragon!

2012-01-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

We tried to celebrate this morning with a dragon dance. When the back end of the dragon just sits there, it is more like a tug-o-war. We decided it would be best to just watch some videos of them instead. Guy was really into the Chinese music. He was singing the songs all morning. I'm going to pretend he was singing them right since I don't know any better.

More Cute Cards

2012-01-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

I made cards out of Guy's artwork earlier this year and thought they were the best cards ever. So I made some more. I actually scanned my favorites of Guy's artwork into the computer first - I have over 50 in here. Eep! I'm going to make a photobook out of them if I can narrow them down.

Guy Paints!

2012-01-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

Guy can paint anything!

Need an example? Here is Nels in a rocket ship.

Guy painted it.

He even added stars and later planet Earth. If you ask where he lives, Guy will tell you "I live on planet Earth." Directions home are usually quite simple after that.

Guy can also paint stuff from his imagination. Here's a car. Those stopped existing after they went extinct.

Nels wants to know when he can eat the paint.

How to Capture A Baby

2012-01-17T15:09:00.000-08:00

Put crumbs under the table and push in all the chairs. Lucy was easily fooled by this trap as well.

How to Make Mud

2012-01-10T20:34:00.000-08:00

The hard way: Dig a bunch of little holes, fill them with water, and stomp on them.

The easy way: Chew up some dirt.

P.S. Nels got his first tooth yesterday. It is a nice little tooth.

January Reads...

2012-01-04T21:49:00.000-08:00

Non-Fiction: Sensational Kids
Found this at the library and the current theory on why Guy is such a unique, quirky lad is that he has a sensory processing disorder. So I will read this and figure him out. Or figure out that theory is crazy.

Fiction: A Dance With Dragon
Last book written of The Song of Ice and Fire series. I will read it fast because A) It's so good. and B) It's not my book.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

I'm not really into resolutions but I'm into lists and goals. Measurable stuff.

So in 2012 I plan to...
-Read one non-fiction book/month.
-Read one fiction book/month.
-Visit one store, park, restaurant, museum, etc that I've never been to per month.
-Complete one craft project/month.
-Try at least one new recipe per month.
-Complete one home improvement, interior decorating, or landscaping project per month.

Dec 19 and the rest...

2011-12-31T21:03:00.000-08:00

19-Nels has a stocking!

And we finished this ornament too...

20-Early Christmas Gift! I got a new camera since my husband couldn't stand me using a 10 year old crappy camera. I'm not going to post a picture of that...

21-One last visit with Santa! Instead of asking for a "Christmas tree" this time, Guy asks for "One toy." Much better, Guy. Much Better.

22-I like the garbage man. And the mailman too. They always seem so appreciate of their gifts. We got a nice thank you card from the mailman. And even said our gifts are unique. That's what I aim to be. Our garbage man is a little more cryptic. I like that.

23-Guy had a Christmas party at school! I did not attend but I count it as our Christmas activity. Here is one of my favorite projects he made at school.

24-We welcomed our Christmas guests, inlaws and sister! Yay!

25-Christmas! A little overwhelming for some...
"I'm suppose to open all of these?!"

And exciting for others!

Dec 18 - Too Much Confectionery

2011-12-19T15:53:00.000-08:00

It tastes good, it looks good, but I'd be happy to never eat sugar again. I spend my Sunday afternoon making these and it was a little too much confectionery.

(I think it's important to note that I learned my chocolatiering from the game, Chocolatier. Buy your ingredients from reliable sources, avoid haggling in alley ways.)

Dec. 17 - O Christmas Tree!

2011-12-19T15:50:00.000-08:00

We cut it down. (And by we I mean not me or Guy or Nels.)

And we deocrated it! (And by we I mean mostly me. Guy did the most fun part. And I was too short to lift him.)

Dec. 16: Shopping for Service Folk

2011-12-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

In the past I've struggled on what to buy the mailman and people like that for Christmas. Well, I've found the perfect gift for these people, just local stuff. Doesn't even matter what it is as long as it's local. It's like saying "I like this area because of people like you." We found some goods, Guy picked out 4 presents for his bus driver and teachers. And I only broke one. I should have made him pick out a back up. Next year I'll know!

Dec. 15: Cookie Sampling

2011-12-16T10:26:00.000-08:00

To remain Santa's Favorite one must be very selective in the cookies one leaves.

Dec. 14: Shopping for Mom!

2011-12-16T10:24:00.000-08:00

Guy went out to lunch with Daddy and bought mommy a Christmas present! I don't have any pictures because i wasn't there. But I do have some pictures of earlier that morning when Guy went to the Dentist.

Mr. McCool

Typical dentist leaving stance, equipped with balloon, sticky hand toy, and tiny car. Plus he has the hand stamps and the stickers for his shirt. Guy's not above bribes. (And yes, he loves the dentist.)

Dec. 13: Whoops!

2011-12-16T10:17:00.000-08:00

Guy was at school when this happened. And Nels was napping. I really have no idea who did this. But I do know it's a mess. It was a mess to make too. Not just the paint, but I tried to dye batting green to fill the bulb and that was a mess. I still have one more hand printed bulb but I'm too nervous to touch it.

Guy's Christmas Craft

2011-12-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

Guy recently broke the camera so I'm using an old one. I'm having minor difficulties. Anyway...

Guy brought this home from school today - a candy cane made out of pipe cleaners. It's so cute!

Dec 12: Snowman Ornament 1/2

2011-12-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

We are making these. Nels is putting his hand print on one side and Guy's will be on the other side.

I got some prints from Nels! Paints got everywhere (by everywhere I just mean all over me) but Nels had fun and was full of giggles.

Time to wash up! Nels decided he likes painting!

Dec. 11: Craft Fair

2011-12-12T15:31:00.000-08:00

Worked at my Church's craft bazaar on Sunday. I made these nifty neato containers out of wrapping paper and re-purposed food containers. I liked them.

Guy found several treasures at the bazaar. Japanese Santa is my favorite of his picks. I put him in the window to welcome visitors.

Dec. 9: A New Hat

2011-12-12T15:28:00.000-08:00

I keep missing days. They all really just blur together. On Friday we bought Nels a new hat. A signature "I'm Nels and I love cold winters!" hat. He thought this one was mighty nice. No good comment on the duster, though.

Dec. 10: Live Nativity

2011-12-12T15:18:00.000-08:00

We went to see a live nativity.

I have some pictures of darkness to prove it. Here's one so Nels will know that he was somewhere...at night....with a cookie.

Dec 8: Stocking Cut

2011-12-09T10:47:00.000-08:00

Copied the size of Guy's stocking from last year (fabric, complete) to make Nels'. It's cut out, just need to sew it.

Dec. 7 - Wiggles!

2011-12-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

We got the new Wiggles Christmas movie. Guy likes it. In fact I should get some video of his swell dance moves. Stay posted. I like that it's not all about Santa, baby Jesus is in there too.

Dec 6: Christmas Ornaments!

2011-12-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

Took the kids to Hallmark to buy a Christmas ornament.

Guy picked his out in a jiffy. Mickey Mouse and Toodles in Space. I think it fits Guy perfectly as in it just doesn't make sense to me.

I couldn't decide on one for Nels...
Baby's First Christmas, right?
Maybe this one?

Or this one?

But there's one problem...is this kid really a baby?

We got this one. Nels may be a boat builder someday. Too early to tell.

Dec. 4: Teaching Others

2011-12-08T09:13:00.000-08:00

I can't tell time.. anyway, on Sunday Guy taught a very special friend how to color a snowman.

Dec 5: Presents!

2011-12-06T12:10:00.000-08:00

We went out with Mimi to some toy store to do some Christmas shopping! I think we got everything we needed! The only thing Guy asked me for was to stay longer at the toy store. Too bad I can't wrap that up.

Toy Stores are fun and you can buy all your gifts there, except maybe...

California Brittle from See's Candy

Milk Chocolate Macadamia Lacey Cookies from World Market

Caramello from the grocery store? I'm not a total snob.

Dec 3: Santa Train

2011-12-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

We had Mimi visit this weekend from Southern California! So it made sense to take her out in the cold.

We went to the Santa Train last year and liked it a lot. Guy thought it was just as good this year. Maybe even better since Santa Claus wasn't so scary.

On the train... Nels used this as a good time to stare rudely.

From last year, 2010
I love how Lucy would lean down to look into the display cases. Then she'd hobble from one case to the next in that stance. She was soooo cute.

Dec 2: Stocking Shopping

2011-12-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

Nels picked out fabric for his stocking. Well, more like mom picked it out and he agreed it was a decent choice.

Small Mess

2011-12-01T15:09:00.000-08:00

Guy had a potty accident. He was taking too long in the bathroom afterwards so I was expecting a mess when I went in there. And I found one...

Guy said he did that for Nels. So kind.

Dec 1: Decorating

2011-12-01T15:06:00.000-08:00

I decorated while Guy was at school. He was so excited to see them when he got home. Except... "Where's the Christmas Tree?!!" Sorry, Guy. I don't have one of those.

I didn't forget to decorate baby bottoms! (Santa diapers!)

It's About that Time...

2011-11-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

Time to start the festivities!

I got Nels dressed in his PJs and then handed Guy his pair. Guy exclaimed "WHOA!" He stuck them on right then and yelled at Nels "WE'RE THE SAME!" Matching pajamas can't be too dorky if kids like them. Kids are known for their appealing taste level.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-29T10:39:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving we spent the day at a friends. I still had to cook and clean though!

Nels was thrilled to sit in daddy's lap for the day...

Guy was happy to carry around a pup...

Mom was excited for the weekend following when she got to go out for dinner! Kids liked it too.

Guy in Video

2011-11-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

Some kids just need a cue to stop singing. Probably most kids actually... But this is all new to me.

An Interview with Guy

Okay, just had to throw this picture up. Guy drew it this morning. What is it? A written request for me to put more mini muffins in his bowl. I guess that's a hint about how verbal he is.

Farmhouse Bed

2011-11-22T09:34:00.000-08:00

I found this amazing site years ago and wanted the Farmhouse Bed. So we built it. I'm very happy to un-bookmark those plans finally. But now I see so many more things to make...

The finish isn't quite right but I don't care right now. I can always go back and redo it.

My handy assistant...

Just kidding. He pretty much made the whole thing. Many thanks and hugs to him.

The benefittors:

Nels 7mo.

2011-11-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

I'm Nels, I'm 7 months old.

And I will crawl someday.

Because I'm a turtle.

Missing Lucy

2011-11-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

I think one of the hardest things about losing a child is not about you. It's about knowing that your other children lost a sibling. And in Guy's case, his best friend.

Guy keeps asking about Lucy. He wants to go in the car and go see her. I'm not going to make that happen on purpose. He demands to know where Lucy is. I say she died and went to Heaven. And he wants to know where Heaven is at. And since I don't know what to say I tell him it's in the sky. And then he yells at me to "Make Lucy come down!" He gets upset about it. I figure he just thinks people shouldn't be in the sky. Aside from people in airplanes I generally agree but it still makes me sad that he's sad. I think it would be best if Heaven moved locations.

Santa, I Want...

2011-11-11T08:25:00.000-08:00

Guy's Christmas wish? He asked Santa for a Christmas tree! I'm sure there will be plenty more opportunities to see Santa before Christmas if he wants to be a little more greedy.

Santa gave Guy a candy cane and Guy wanted another one, a "little one" for Nels. I'm so proud of big brother.

Bread Making

2011-11-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

We went to a friends house for dinner and of course I begged to bring bread.

We made Ciabatta! And this was not it... Nice technique anyway, Guy.

Pretzels, Ciabatta, and Grissini! (All from King Arthur Flour!)

Heart Doctor!

2011-11-09T20:12:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel like our days are full of doctors! Doctors are nice people and I guess their waiting rooms are usually fun. Guy likes the special attention. Maybe hanging out at doctors' offices is alright.

Today the boys were able to borrow heart monitors! Minotaurs would have been nice too. (Sorry - spell check distraction) I am not even going to start complaining about the difficulties with these because Nels is a baby and Guy knows not to touch it. Can you imagine keeping one of these on a 2 year old? That's a funny thought!

It has added a little excitement to our day and I can't wait to take them off. Only 15 hours to go!

They like to pretend they are carrying around ultra-cool walkmans.

Nels is happy to show off his tummy.

They are sleeping peacefully in them. They are both wearing two sets of clothes just so I could get the monitor out of choking hazard range but I think it's working. I'll only go check on them another 20 times.

Eye Doctor

2011-11-08T14:06:00.000-08:00

Guy went to the eye doctor for his check up. Lucy had an appointment too that I forgot to cancel. I thought I did so good canceling everything but I forgot one.

I was proud of Guy today. He sat in the exam chair and tried hard to identify everything and when he couldn't he would ask me. But the doctor said no cheating.

Last year I remember being so proud of both Guy and Lucy. I remember Lucy was so excited to get her eyes checked because she first watched big brother. She was just trying to copy him but she was too little to do a lot of the things he was able to do. Like resist the urge to try to grab the toys from the doctor.

Brothers

2011-11-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

I've been worried that the age gap (4 years) between Guy and Nels will be too big for them be best buds. But they like each other. All is well!

Guy - 4 years
Nels - 6 months

Above Rubies Adventure

2011-11-04T09:02:00.000-07:00

"A capable, intelligent and virtuous woman, who is he who can find her? She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far ABOVE RUBIES or pearls." -Proverbs 31:10

A friend recently told me about the Above Rubies magazine and an Above Rubies retreat coming up. So we went together and it was extremely amazing and encouraging and I could go on and on. Silly how everything you need to know is in the Bible but lots of times you just need someone else to read it enthusiastically to get it.

Here's some pictures from the retreat...
My bunk mate, Nels:

The way from my room to the conference hall...

Breakfast! The food was great or maybe the break from cooking was great?

Pretending is for Lazy Kids

2011-11-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

Guy inherited Lucy's play kitchen. And he's determined to make it work.

He baked cookies.

He cleaned out the cupboards. Empty boxes need to go!
Please note I collected these and taped them up all nice and was expecting a big hug in return.

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

I thought Guy could wear his costume from last year. When I tried to pull it out of the dress-up bin he saw his Viking hat. That works! I bet everyone figured he was wearing a costume on under his coat. Sneaky!

I had to prompt Guy at every house to say "Trick or Treat" and "Thank you" but he made up for that in enthusiasm. He loved walking around in the dark and ringing doorbells.

He sure was generous. For every piece of candy he ate he handed out a piece to everyone else.

Too much candy makes sleepy brothers.

Treats, no Tricks

2011-10-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

Spiderwebs!

Recipe here. I like how she emphasizes the spreading out the batter. I didn't spread mine out and I ended up with half muffins.
I am so excited about the frosting. I love frosting that just runs together like it's all painted on there. I just don't like the way it tastes...

Ghosts!

Made these by shoving vanilla ice cream in a popsicle mold. Incredible. I even covered one in melted chocolate. No photo because I ate it.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-24T12:18:00.000-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch.

First things first. Get some milk for the baby.

HAY RIDES FOR NONE! Guy missed the hay ride while I was yelling at him to hurry or he was going to miss it. I think I confused him and I think he is only 4 years old. So he cried and asked for a "try again" while I kept saying things like "That hay ride sure looks fun!"

So I'm not entirely mean. He did get his hay ride. But he had to pay in patience.

Nels didn't get a hayride because I'm not paying for him to sit. He just doesn't like to do it.

Nels got in trouble with the patch police for dissing the hay ride so we had to get out of there.

Our spoils

Left: Moms Pumpkin
Middle: Guy's Pumpkin (They almost didn't sell it to him. But we are trying to fight perfectionism so if he picks a moldy pumpkin we are going to celebrate it.)
Right: Pumpkin from our garden. Artwork by Guy of course.

Carving Pumpkins

2011-10-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Nels and Guy got a pumpkin. Nels and Dad were a team. I got the honor of being teamed up with Guy.

I kept telling Guy to watch dad and I think he got the idea.

He drew and I just carved.

I think he might see a bit of a flaw once we light up the candles at night but he is extremely happy with his meatwad-esque pumpkin.

Nels, the declared winner.

A Sort of Sickly Birthday

2011-10-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Nels turned 1/2 years old on Sunday! And he was sick. He had a fever and was forbidden to leave the house.

But he got in some naked naps with some satisfying thumb sucking...

Then I gave him some ice cream for lunch! YAY!
Wait a minute... you don't like it?

How about cuddles? You don't like that either?

Oh, you did want the ice cream?

Maybe you just don't like me. Did someone tell you I snuck into your room while you were sleeping and took naked pictures of you? Yeah, that is pretty mean.

I'm glad you take graham cracker bribes. Happy 1/2th Birthday, Nels!

Our Little Angel

2011-10-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

We buried our little angel on Monday, 10/17/2011. We wrapped her up in her favorite blanket so she can rest happy.

Guy's Art Gallery

2011-10-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

Guy's artwork is welcome anywhere in our house.

He has his legendary flower (first the rough draft, crayon sketch. Then the final draft, the painting) in our living room.

At his workspace he has the self-portrait (he is painting in that picture). And behind the picture is a wall in need of repainting due to amazing artwork done in a purple dry-erase marker. Dry erase?! A Sharpie would have done less damage.

In his bedroom, the most important artwork of all, the "Wipe Out" obstacle course.

This artwork doubles as entertainment because he makes his Lego men run the course.

Halloween Decor on a 4 Year Old Budget

2011-10-14T10:00:00.000-07:00

Construction paper... check!
Glue stick... check!
Safety Scissors... check!

Deer Tallow Soap

2011-10-13T10:26:00.000-07:00

I made it! I used it! I feel clean!

I think it turned out. There is some tweaking to be done with the process and with the amounts but good enough for me.

I used these amounts:
25 oz Deer Tallow
7.5 oz Coconut Oil
12 oz Distilled Water
4.5 oz Lye

How Resourceful!

2011-10-12T20:34:00.000-07:00

I think I'm a pretty involved parent but some days I just don't feel like it or anything else really. So Guy interrupts me while I'm reading my search results for "vacationing alone" to tell me he wants to paint. I wave him a way with an unenthusiastic no.

Later I find him like this...

Those are the bowls we eat out of and that's half of a bottle of paint in each one. And you know what I think? How Resourceful! How Creative! How Inspiring! I'm lucky to live with people like this.

Deer Tallow

2011-10-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

My husband's buddy got a deer so I begged for the deer fat to make some tallow (for soap purposes).

I had to cut lots of the fat off the deer myself. It was kind of gross but the fat actually felt like any sort of solid oil so I knew it was going to be good. In fact I bet you could have used it for lotion at that stage if you like smelling like the insides of a deer.

I diced the fat and roasted it for an hour. And it didn't really do anything.

So I ran the fat through the meat grinder and roasted it again and it melted into this funny smelling stew in 10 minutes. Haha!

I did read later about people adding water to their "stew" and I also read about people adding a cut up potato. If I make this again I'll try the water in hopes in removes a lot of the brown coloring from the tallow.

Then I strained it through a sieve and got some funny smelling liquid.

It hardened over night with half the tallow being brown and half being white. If I had added the water I think the brown coloring would have dyed the water, not the tallow? And I would have had a brown puddle in the bottom of the bowl and white tallow floating on the top. But I do admit I have no idea what I'm doing. I could have remelted the tallow and tried again but I'm naturally lazy.

I'm impressed. It looks legit to me. Time to make soap!

Anti-Brownies

2011-10-10T09:04:00.000-07:00

Our Church had a brownie social and I was concerned about it being boring so I didn't make typical brownies. I made cake brownies (pretty much just super chocolatey cake) and peanut butter blondies (for the crazy folks). I would totally eat a pan of either of these any day.

CAKE BROWNIES mostly from Better Homes & Gardens
3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan and set aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Remove saucepan from heat and stir in sugar and cocoa powder until well combined.
Add eggs and vanilla and beat lightly with a wooden spoon until just combined.
In a separate small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
Add flour mixture to the chocolate mixture, stir in milk until well blended.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

PEANUT BUTTER BLONDIES mostly from King Arthur Flour
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350F.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, then the eggs, one at a time. Stir in 1/2 cup of the chips. Pour the batter into a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle the remaining chips over the top of the batter.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is shiny but the middle is still gooey.

Glassware

2011-10-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

I love glassware! And I adore little kids! Sucks to be me.

Some super awesome stuff Nels helped me find at the thrift store.

I love my Walrus cookie jar to no end but a clear cookie/muffin/etc jar is so awesome if you want to gain some extra weight. The square jar is for storing flour and the little pitcher is for storing oil. Keeping my flour in buckets and oil in massive jugs is cool and all but sometimes I want that stuff to be in the actual kitchen.

A Good Sister or a Good Sandwich?

2011-10-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

We have this picture up in the house:

Today while we were commuting in the car Guy told me how much he really liked the picture of Lucy with the sandwich. It got me teary eyed even if he was just admiring her sandwich. I like that picture too.

Canning Pickles

2011-10-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

You know what a great idea is? Follow a recipe half way through and then just make up the rest. And that's how I ended up with pickled boiled cucumbers. Pickles don't get canned with a hot water bath! They are still delicious and I'm still an idiot.

Hey.. the salsa turned out!

Schooling

2011-10-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last month we started school. It makes things hectic since we are used to being undisciplined and stinky. Neither goes well with school.

Guy likes going and I'm very proud to be the mom of a goofy kid.

Nels' schooling has been revolving around spoons and peas.

NASA: Breaking Dreams Since 2011

2011-10-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

Nels says "V for 'ventures!" He doesn't say whole words yet...

Nels' Space Shuttle suit finally fits! But, all that training wasted!

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic

2011-09-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

That's why we aren't posting.

I'm reading...

A Song of Ice and Fire Series

(I did have a picture of the books here that I stole from another site. But I guess they got mad and changed the image to something pornographic to make people like me look like pervs. Many apologies if you witnessed that. I don't read stuff like that. Sometimes I read Harlequin Romances, though, but we'll keep that a secret.)

Guy is writing...

Nels is doing arithmetic...

(he's been counting toes)

Silly Kids...in video

2011-08-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should have signed Guy up for more speech therapy! Well, I know what he's saying.

Green stuff is delicious. My favorite being mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Ser Nels Undertree

2011-08-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

You know that awesome song at the end of the movie, Wall-E? It makes for a perfect song to sing to your baby when you are tired of holding him. That is all I have to say today.

"We’re coming down to the ground; there’s no better place to go"

Sweet Cuppin' Cakes!

2011-08-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes are delicious. They should be made in every household. They will make you happy. And I like to make promises I can't keep.

This is what they look like when you go to bake them...

This is what they look like when you go to eat them (assuming you put frosting on them, and a tiny cookie, and cut them in half...)

The copied recipe:
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate

chips

1 (18.25 ounce) box yellow cake mix

1 1/3 cups water

1/3 cup canola oil

3 eggs

Directions:

1.	Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and sea salt; set aside. Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add 1 egg and the vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips; mixing just enough to evenly combine. Form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls; place onto a baking sheet, and freeze until solid, about 2 hours.
2.	Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
3.	Beat 3 eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer to break up. Add the cake mix, water, and canola oil; continue beating for 2 minutes on medium speed. Spoon into the prepared cupcake liners, filling each 2/3 full. Place a frozen cookie dough ball on the top center of each cupcake.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake portion of the cupcake (not the cookie dough ball) comes clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

Getting Crafty!

2011-08-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

We found this kit at our favorite toy store for 70% off. (Just so you know we have a heck of a lot of favorites...) Anyway, amazing deal and store. Guy was so excited and I can't get the kid to stop crafting!

He's only allowed to do one craft a day and he's gotten mad at me for setting limits. Can't burn him out before preschool!

Summer is for Exploring

2011-08-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Some of our favorite places to explore...

Rancho San Rafael Park. Double points for having an awesome volunteer-run learning center. Nels learned that he could be adopted from the zoo after all.

And let's just say the park is gorgeous and maybe slightly scary.

River School. The envy of every homestead.

Envy of every chicken enthusiast, too. Pretty sure she's a Golden Polish but I've never seen one this pretty before.

Banana "Ice Cream"

2011-07-29T08:55:00.000-07:00

TRICKED! Guy thought he was getting chocolate ice cream when it was really a banana.

To make run the following through a food processor (or blender):
-Frozen banana chunks
-Splash of milk for consistency
-Cocoa powder to taste

Last Day of Speech Therapy

2011-07-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Today was Guy's last day of speech therapy with Miss Dawn. It was kind of a sad day for us because we are a little attached to her. But, we are happy that other kids get the chance to learn from her since she's a spectacular speech therapist.

We wanted to get her a "Thank You" present and we like plants. Guy picked it out and decorated a planter for it. I think he did a wonderful job.

My New Knife Set-Up

2011-07-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

My mom has a magnetic strip for her knives. And I envied it until I got my own! Well, until I realized it didn't fit on my cabinet.

I figured it would fit if I cut a chunk of the cabinet out. A genius idea really. An idea that has home improvement enthusiasts shouting from the roof tops. Never mind what they are shouting about...

Well, that didn't really go as planned but I learned an important lesson: A Dremel can fill your kitchen with smoke. I added extra wood to the left side of the magnetic strip so it would sit even over the offending cabinet lip.

And it worked! Yay for more counter space.

How to Have A Wonderful Day

2011-07-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

Step 1: Donuts for Breakfast

Step 2: Look at 3 Different Toy Stores for the Best Toy Ever

Step 3: Ice Cream for Lunch

Step 4: Take the Best Toy Ever Home. Use It until Bedtime.

Bonus: Skip Face-Washing for the Day.

The Lovers, The Dreamers, And Me

2011-07-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

The Lover, plotting how to pretend to love others only to steal licks of their food. (Guy - 3 mo)

The Dreamer, dreaming of ice cream and chicken wings and chicken wing flavored ice cream. (Lucy - 2 mo)

And me, I probably should be called the hunter. Look at this snack I was able to take down with my slobbery smacking. (I'm Nels and I'm 3 months.)

My Favorite Songs Ever. Or just today...

2011-07-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

#1. Iron & Wine - Such Great Heights

#2. Civil Twilight - Human

#3. Mumford & Sons - After the Storm

CAKES!

2011-07-18T12:22:00.000-07:00

I made some cakes for my husband's birthday last week.

I wanted to make him a chocolate Oreo cake but at the last minute he said pie or cheesecake. =-( Problem solved.

Water & Rails

2011-07-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

We went to the Water & Rails tour. I had to rush home from my trip to Oregon to make it.

It's a tour of backyards with trains &/or ponds. Guy loved it except at one pond, Guy ran up the the homeowner and demanded to see her train. She won him over by letting him feed the koi. Then he asked more fish food, handed it to his dad, and instructed him on how to feed the fish. That's a Lucy move.

Anyway, here's our favorite backyard. Yeah...

And you know? Pictures don't even it do it justice.

Guy at one of the train tracks...

Guy, the morning after. Determined to be in next year's tour I'm sure.

From 2010...
This was my favorite picture from last year. Lucy was 12 months old and an expert at pointing at trains.

There and Back Again, A Baby's Tale

2011-07-12T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm Nels,the baby.

We went on a long road trip. To a place called Oregon? Never heard of it. It was all so overwhelming. I couldn't even walk around the entirety of this park we stopped at.

Our vacation was busy and I saw lots of people, more than I can count. I told my brother to go introduce me to some of the local ladies but he kept getting distracted by people in cars throwing small colorful rocks at us.

We saw some animals, too. These tried to throw small colorless rocks at me. I didn't care for them.

Mom says I met lots of friends and relatives but all I remember was a bunch of people with too many teeth. They sure were funny. You should have seen them all.

I had an enjoyable time but now I'm home and can enjoy pondering my adventure.

Making Play-Dough

2011-06-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

Guy did not want to leave Speech Therapy yesterday because he wasn't done playing with the Play-Doh. So he made his own at home.

COOKED PLAY DOUGH
1C Flour
1/2C Salt
1T Cream of Tartar
1C Water
1/2T Oil
Food Coloring (Guy used lots of yellow and a little blue)
*Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until stiff. Let cool and knead. Store covered.

Guy was such a big helper but while it was cooking on the stove top he kept asking for a turn to stir. He was being so sweet and polite and I still had to say no :(

He played with his Play-Dough for hours. And you can tell by the table how much fun he had. He is usually a pretty big neat freak.

Comparing 2-Month Old Babes

2011-06-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

Nels - The Guns

12lb 4oz (It's all muscle!)
24 3/4"

Lucy - The Pretty Face

11lb 13oz
24" (Our Shortie)

Guy - The Artist
11lb 9oz (Our String Bean)
24 3/4"

BE HAPPY!

2011-06-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

Guy was sad so I told him to give me a happy face...

I think he's smiling through the anger?

Just A Good Memory

2011-06-24T23:01:00.000-07:00

One time when I took Guy and Lucy to the library some girls wanted to put on a puppet show. The girls rounded up all the little kids in the library to watch their show. Ten seconds into it all the the kids got up and left except for Lucy. Lucy sat alone and politely watched the whole show. That's how cool she was.

From that day, October 20, 2010.

I Did It! I Canned!

2011-06-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to can for years but was too scared because it involves boiling water which is very dangerous for crabs. So I thought I'd can one jar of strawberry jam to see how it went.

My recipe. My set up:

My jam!

I think I had a successful jamming experience. Except I ruined my potato masher by poking at it with a knife. I never claimed to be a genius. You know I might have ruined my knife too... Let's just pretend those things were already broken.

Who Designs This Stuff?

2011-06-24T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is Nels.

He may look goofy to you but it's just his pajamas playing a trick on you.
His pajamas looks like a baseball theme, right? Then WHY is there a picture of a monkey on them? And WHY does it say "HANDSOME" next to that hairy chump?

The person who designed this has no idea what baseball is all about. Well, I do. It's about being bored and fantasizing about having a handsome pet monkey.

It's Not Snowing - Let's Plant!

2011-06-23T15:57:00.000-07:00

I was going to pass on the gardening this year but Guy needs to learn how to get his hands dirty. Serious. He is obsessed with washing his hands.

Guy shows Nels how to plant a pumpkin.

Time to water! Hey, Nels, you watching? NO?!

Oh, you're being threatened by a chicken?

Turns out they aren't after you, Nels! Just your blanket. The color red tastes the best.

I said red tastes best! Not yellow! Grow some ears, you stupid chickens!

Humor in Postage Stamps

2011-06-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

I like to match postage stamps to the letter recipient. I'm not a philatelist or anything, I just like to waste time.

Today I goofed. I just put this stamp on a letter to my 88 year old grandmother.

I hope she doesn't notice.

Bacon Cookies

2011-06-22T16:29:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe in the June issue of the Food Network magazine, but the recipe is here.

The recipe makes for 12 monstrous cookies. I ate one. Guy ate one. We would have ate more but that would have made us hogs.

The Designer

2011-06-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

Guy has gotten into decorating.

He decorates walls...

and mom...

(photo by Guy)

Decorations curiosity of:

Troublemaker for Hire

2011-06-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

When Guy has no job, he makes trouble.

Cutting his hair... it is getting hippie-ish.

Making a snack. There was no parental assistance involved in this one.

So, I had no choice but to put him to work...

And lucky for me he got half of this pesky tire that was bothering me with all of it's dirtiness.

5 Good Excuses Not to Blog

2011-06-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

1. Kids. Especially of the computer-hogging variety.

2. Religious Activities. Like your son's Baptism.

3. Bad Decisions. Like going to a super depressing grief support group that makes you sad for days. Which would be easier to get over if there were more pictures of buffaloes wearing hats available for my viewing pleasure.

4. Good Weather.

5. Volunteer Work. (I'm the one with the boring hair.)

I Like Frozen Yogurt

2011-06-07T16:36:00.000-07:00

We had frozen yogurt for lunch. Because, well, it's yogurt. And... uh... I wanted to make sure we were hungry to eat lots of it.

The sugar I ate is already affecting Nels.

Back to Speech

2011-06-06T14:05:00.000-07:00

Guy had a month off speech therapy but he starts again tomorrow! I'd like to say he's made huge improvements in the past month at home. But really I have no idea because I don't understand half the stuff he says. Right now he's yelling "Mom! Mom! Mom!" I get that. But the "I wa la pee in!!!!" took me awhile. He wants to paint. Dang Dora, the siren, and her computer games.

Anyway, we made Guy's speech therapist a card to give her tomorrow since Guy likes her so much. He decorated the inside of the card. He drew "Baby Nel" aka Nels. This was attempt 2. The first drawing was of a banana in a trash can. He was putting his I-don't-like-mom-for-not-letting-me-eat-a-banana-out-of -the-trash angst on paper.

I decorated the outside of the card since I didn't want to use the banana drawing.

Gooseville, A Lucy Garden

2011-06-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

This was the week of Lucy's birthday (June 2nd). Seems like most people say the birthday isn't that hard it's the days leading up the birthday. I agree. So it's been a difficult week but it's looking up.

For Lucy's birthday I wanted to put in a garden. Unfortunately, it's still snowing here. So I just made a tiny garden so we're not going to be left with too many frozen, wilted plants.

I used a cute wheel barrow planter. No reason, I just liked it.

Gooseville, named after the little Lucy Goose.

How to Entertain...

2011-05-31T16:39:00.000-07:00

...A PRESCHOOLER!

Take him to see a giant bear and tell him you don't think it'll eat him.

Take him to see a tiny hamster and tell him it will most certainly eat him if he were a corn kernel.

...A BABY!

Call him "Lardee".

Stay out of his way while he spends the next hour trying to punch you.

Guy's Gal, Dora

2011-05-30T18:22:00.000-07:00

We went to the fabric store last week and Guy found Dora fabric he NEEDED. So we decided to make a pillowcase. While I was trying to compare the print to other fabrics he was just yelling "MY DORA! MY DORA!" And even after the yelling, I still got him the darn fabric.

Doing some minor trimming!

(And mom made the major mistake of laughing and he took off crying. He was just so cute when he got frustrated. I wasn't trying to be mean!)

Back on track...trying it on the pillow!

There she is! There's "his Dora." I forgot to look at the direction of the print in the store. Lesson learned. It will make for a great sack-hopping race bag, though.

Supposing...

2011-05-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I think it's the funniest book ever written.
I just added it to Guy's Amazon wishlist because this really is the before bedtime reading we should be doing.

Supposing by Alastair Reid

My favorite thoughts...

SUPPOSING I read a book about how to change into animals and said a spell and changed into a cat and when I climbed on the book to change myself back I found I couldn't read...

SUPPOSING a very beautiful lady fell in love with me and wanted me to marry her but I just yawned and said "Maybe"...

SUPPOSING a nasty old fortune-teller told me I was going on a journey and just to spite her I stayed home for the rest of my life...

Vanilla Extract

2011-05-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

I found a neat blog post on making vanilla extract. So, I made some.

The goods - vodka and 16 vanilla beans. The above blog instructions told me to use 20 beans for my size of vodka container, but King Arthur Flour told me to use three beans. Uh.... I used 16 because it was an easy, affordable amount to buy on OliveNation.com (Less than $1/bean). King Arthur Flour charges $5/bean. Maybe those are better beans so you can use less. I have no idea.
(

I slit each bean with a paring knife and shoved them in the jar. Vodka spilled everywhere but I cleaned it up with a Spiderman napkin. Thanks, Spidey! Now I wait. Six months or so. The bottle should be good and dusty by then.

Recycling Cards

2011-05-25T16:17:00.000-07:00

I reused some cute cards we had gotten last month and made new cards. I guess card making is my new hobby. It's easy.

Guy the Gamer

2011-05-24T10:58:00.000-07:00

I was trying to get Guy to play the Dora games at nickjr.com but he just didn't get it. We backtracked to boohbah.com and now he's a gaming addict. If you can even call these games...

I'm just happy he's learning to use the mouse.

Cherry Cola

2011-05-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

We made some Cherry Cola!

I reused some old Coke bottles so at least it'll look delicious. Then enlisted help from my hubby and his beer brewing stuff to make things super easy. You know, everyone should own a bottle capper. Not only can you recap unfinished bottles of things that should never be finished, like ginger beer, you can fill old beer bottles with Ensure. Hubby will have least have one drink of the stuff before he figures it out...

Edit: Not Cherry COLA. Just Cherry Soda. Hate it - it's gross.