Postponed

Well, it's raining and has been for days. The park is going to be a mess!
We will postpone the playgroup for a week.
So
Eastbrough Park
on May 6th
at 10am

Hoping for warm sunshine next week so we can play!

Baby K Easter Pictures

Honestly, these pictures were not taken on Easter day because it was such a rainy dark yucky day. She did wear this dress on Easter, although she also wore a white sweater and white socks with pretty ruffles on them instead of sandals.







It was sunny but very windy when I took these pictures. Here is a slide show of Baby K's Marilyn Monroe photo shoot. :)

Memories

I learned something wonderful this weekend. Well...it's wonderful to me.
I'm not a scrapbook person, they are great, but I don't want to spend my time cutting and glueing and journaling...I still have photos in a box from years ago because I'm too lazy or too busy to put them in a photo ablum.
Anyway, I learned that a gal at church publishes her blog each year into a hard back book! What a great idea, it has pictures - their whole year of activities, family outings, first things her kids have done, etc.
She uses a site called blurb.com
here is a link to the specific page that will give you details on publishing your blog
http://www.blurb.com/create/book/blogbook

When you make your blogbook you can add more pictures or delete posts you don't want in your book. Change slide shows to just pictures - or pictures in place of videos you published.

I am going to do this. This is great for people like me who love to blog but don't want to spend the time scrapbooking or digital scrapbooking - I love the result of those things but don't have the desire to put the time into them.
Anyway, I thought you might enjoy knowing about this resource as well.
Finally, I promise to post some new pictures of Baby K. I'm really behind in doing that.

Easter Baking

I have spent the past week preparing for Easter Morning Children's Church. We had an egg hunt today, read the Easter Story (about Jesus not the Easter Bunny, of course) from a sweet children's book, decorated bags for the eggs, watched the Veggie Tale Easter Carol, etc. Last week I baked cross sugar cookies and then put each cookie in a clear plastic bag and tied them with a white ribbon and gave them to the children this morning. It was fun.

The other baking I did for Easter was bake Easter Bread. I found this recipe via Foodgawker and I am so glad I tried it. It will now become a family tradition for us! I wondered why it is called "Easter" bread, other than the fact that there is a dyed egg in the middle of it. Easter Bread is an Italian and Greek tradition because Bread means Life. Which we know because of the Bible and it's many references to bread and life. I read that there is an old peasant proverb "He who has bread has life" interesting since Jesus said the same thing when he was referring to Himself as the Bread of Life (John 6:48). Imagine what that phrase means to a peasant, how deeply they who have little long for the necessities of life.
I decided that the egg can represent the New Life Jesus offers us - Eternal life with Him! And the Easter bread is sweet - because love is sweet. Maybe that is getting too cheesy for you, but I love the symbolism.
So I made the bread, with Baby K on my hip as I scooped out flour and other ingredients. She likes to "cook" with me. I enjoyed waiting for the dough to rise, growth takes patience. Then you have to punch the dough down, sometimes life bumps you around & can knock you down. Then you separate the dough into 12 small balls (Hey, Jesus had 12 disciples!). Next you roll the balls out into long ropes. Twist two ropes together and bring ends together to make round "nests." Place on a baking sheet and let rise. So you wait, and wait and after being patient again they double in size - again growth and more beautiful than before. Now, brush them with egg wash, sprinkle with brightly colored sprinkles, and nestle an Easter egg in the middle (no need to boil the egg before dying it, the egg will cook w/ the bread!). Bake in the oven for a bit and you will have beautiful Easter Bread. And the best part, aside from eating it....the aroma!!! Our house smelled of the wonderful sweet bread for hours! The bread was finished by 1pm and after returning home from a birthday party at 8pm our home still smelled amazing!
Huh...the aroma of Christ, I hope our family is the aroma of Christ to others. See, more symbolism!

Anyway, I hope to some how type this up more concise and purposeful, like in an activity format, with Bible verses for the different symbols, for our family to pull out and do together each year.

We wrapped each bread up in clear cellophane and tied with ribbon and gave them to neighbors and friends the day before Easter. Next year I would love to attach a card with the verse "I am the Bread of Life." John 6:48 and invite them to Easter Sunday Church with us. What a great way to be reminded of the real reason we celebrate Easter.

Girl Time...no...Escape Time

I need some girl time. Make that Woman time.
No, what I really want is Escape Time.
I'm not looking for deep conversation. In fact, I would like to turn my brain OFF for a little while. No thinking,"What's for dinner?" or "Let's see I have 'X' amount of time until...baby needs food or nap or diaper change, etc." or "What can I learn from my Bible study today" or "What do I have to offer to this conversation?"

I'm realizing this because my husband is enjoying a weekend with the guys and I'm home caring for our sweet baby (who really has been sweet) and wondering when the last time was I had a really good laugh (that was not related to something my child was doing). Adam called last night to say good night and he and his buddy were cracking up - I'm jealous.

Anyway, I saw a trailer for a Movie coming out May 1st called Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, staring Matthew McConaugh*ey and Jennifer Gar*ner. Looks like a total chick flick and a great way to just eat junk food and turn my mind off for 2 hours. I know it's a month away, but seriously, anyone else want to make a date of it? Any other mommies want to check out for 2 hours and eat buttery popcorn with me? I'm totally serious!

Who's in?

While I wait for May 1st, I am calling to make an appt to get a massage next week. I have a gift certificate from Valentine's Day and I'm cashing it in! :)

Tiny Friends

Baby AJ came to play today. We are having lots of fun with her. Everyone is napping now so I thought I would share some pictures from our day.

Half way and frustrated...

I have been cleaning and organizing today. I use to be a very clean neat person...everyone told me this would be hard after having a baby, i didn't believe them. I mean, really, how do you take the neatness out of a neat freak?
I'm frustrated because I realized that I seem to only get things half done these days. For example, Baby K's nursery feels half done - still have two pictures and her name letters to hang on the wall - but they just sit there waiting for me. I finally cleaned the master shower the other day (after like a month) but never got around to cleaning the sinks or the counter top. I vacuumed about 2 weeks ago but never got to the dusting then I dusted a week later but will I ever be in a house that is both vacuumed and dusted on the same day and with bathrooms all shiny with the smell of lemon all at the same time? Will my sock drawer ever be organized again, or my pj drawer?
I started a Beth Moore Bible study this Spring. Our group took a week off for spring break - but I am so behind I am afraid to pick up my book and see how far behind I am...but I want to catch up before Wed or at least get close...see another 1/2 done project around here.
We bought new furniture for upstairs when we finished our basement. I need to accessorize and make the upstairs look "complete" and cozy again, instead it all looks one color and needs some personality - see 1/2 done. grrrr....
So this is my rant. Thanks to a snow day we have been staying in. My husband helped with the vacuumming and I have cleaned the bathroom, done dishes, put laundry away, started more laundry, feed and changed the baby I don't know how many times, and all I need to do is dust. Some day I may get to organize a few things but for now I'll take a clean house.

More new favorites!

Ok, LOVE our new highchair - it's great, it is washable, it takes up little space and we can easily take it to grandma's in a little bag that came with it - perfection.

I happened to actually pay attention to the links on Simple Mom's blog and found this great site for baby food info...LOVE IT!
NurtureBaby
it is a great resource and such a cute blog/website.

Finally, I SO SO SO Love a new bakery find - a friend suggested them to me for some cookies for a baby shower - while I was there I looked at cakes they had out on display - amazing cakes for birthdays, weddings, showers, etc. They make beautiful (and soft & Yummy) cookies and I wanted to know if their cakes taste good or just look amazing so I bought a cupcake (I had to take one for the team, right?)
Anyway, I got a chocolate cupcake with mint creamcheese frosting - AMAZING! I think it will be a little pricey but I really want them to make Baby K's 1st Birthday cake - we'll see.
Check out Cheri's Bakery and know that the pictures on their site don't even do justice to what I saw in their shop today. YUM!

Drool Dialed?

Did you get drool dialed? I never thought that Baby K would be able to hold the unlock key down long enough to get the phone active and then actually call people. Oppps - if you got a mysterious call from me yesterday you were drool dialed by the baby. :)

More on Coupons...

Ok - I have more to share about these coupons and organization, now that my baby is sleeping I have time to write a few more thoughts.

Back to the coupon lady on Dr. P - in addition to her extensive coupon collection she takes to the store she also takes a binder, what's in the binder you ask? Well, W-Mart will honor ads from other stores - so she 3-hole punches the ads and organizes them in this binder then in addition to using coupons at the register she also shows the cashier ads from other stores and has the prices adjusted to reflect the cheapest price. WHO HAS THIS KIND OF TIME! The time to organize it all - and then the time to stand in line (and drive those in line behind you CRAZY MAD!) while they change all your prices and ring up your coupons. I guess you try to go early in the morning on a weekday when the lines are short and the cashiers are excited to get workin'. :)

As for the organization tools I shared in my previous post, so the 1st picture, the one I called THE ULTIMATE - I guess you can't use that if you have a baby in the cart - the binder takes up the passenger seat of your cart. This means the money I save will be spent on a babysitter so I can go to the store in the wee hours of the morning so no one is waiting on me to hurry up and get through the line. Or, I can wait until my husband is home to watch the baby and go to the store at the end of the day when I am tired and everyone else at the store is too and we can all be annoyed at all the time I am hogging in the lane - but when I'm done I can shout to those behind me, "Hey Everybody! I just spent $14 on $75 worth of groceries! AWESOME!" Maybe they'll forgive me, maybe they'll be jealous, maybe they'll just want me to get my money saving butt out of the line!
LOL!!!

Ok, enough of my coupon posting - More baby pics to come...I know that's why you really read this (well and for recipes and chocolate stuff).

Can I do this?

I cut coupons. Then I usually end up forgetting them at home or I actually get them in my wallet only to forget using them at the register. What is wrong with me? A few weeks ago I watched an episode of Dr. Ph*l and he was giving $$ saving tips to some crazies. There was a lady who thought coupons were a waste of time (I did not agree with her). Phil sent her to the store with her usual weekly grocery list and a lady who is like a coupon queen. The bill was $75, the coupons saved them $50 some dollars and the total amount due was like $14 - AWESOME! Wouldn't my husband love to see a grocery bill like this? I would too!

I started thinking today I should look for a way to organize coupons, maybe this would motivate me. Here is what I found...

I WISH I was this lady...
The ULTIMATE COUPON ORGANIZER
This next one is pretty good - except if you look at the link the binder is white on the front w/ silly watermelon slices - what?
Pretty dang good organizer
I'm pretty sure this next one is who I am, at least for now.... it's a good place to start I guess.
Lazy Woman's Organizer

2 Teeth!

For over a month now I have been trying to take a picture of Baby K's first two teeth - she ALWAYS has her tongue out and I can never get the picture. This morning just before eating her breakfast I was being silly with her and she was laughing and showing off her teeth and as luck would have it the camera was right on the counter! So here ya go...Baby K's two bottom teeth!
Her 1st tooth came through on Feb. 6th and the 2nd tooth came through on Feb. 12th.



She is in bed for the night and these pictures are making me miss her already! I can't wait to see this smile in the morning.

New FAVORITE!

Just found this website
Nutrition Data Know What You Eat

If you are making your own baby food and want to know what nutrients you are feeding your kid, this is great!
If you have questions about your own eating habits or nutritional value of your own foods, again - this is great!

If you create a user login on this site (free) then you can compare foods. For example, tonight I wanted to know the difference in nutrition between an acorn squash and a butternut squash because out grocery store was out of butternut and I wanted to know what nutritional value the acorn squash would give Baby K. So I was able to choose both and compare on this site - it gave me graphs and everything! Then I discovered it would also compare w/ the values of Gerber baby foods! AWESOME!

You should check this out.

PS - I haven't gone totally green (although we do recycle a ton of stuff). No cloth diapers around here - I'm too lazy. I'm not a health nut either (I made a huge chocolate chip cookie in an iron skillet for dessert tonight, which we topped w/ ice cream - thanks G for the inspiration for this yumminess!) But yes, I do confess to being slightly obsessed with making nutritional foods for Baby K.

Baby Food...

I've been wanting to post this for several days but life has been busy. Baby K is a pro at eating baby food these days. She is learning how to use a sippy cup (although she is a long way from being able to do it all by herself, she tries). I have been hunting down baby food recipes and trying some things out.

I have a Baby's 1st Recipe Book that a friend made for me - Stac, it's wonderful!!! Thank you!
Also I have been looking at a few websites but my favorite so far is www.wholesomebabyfood.com (thanks to Ging & Stac for recommending it)

So far more than anything Baby K has had (even more than fruit!) she loves loves loves Avocado mixed with squash! I saw a recipe to mix the two together and it is a big hit! She will eat them separate from each other but you should see her go when they are mixed - it's so funny! (it's like baby crack! good thing it's healthy - lol)

This post is getting long and baby will be awake soon. She here is my tip for the day (not an original idea - so don't think I'm taking credit - just passing on the info)

I was worried the avocado would turn brown and look yucky and I didn't want to have to prepare it just in time to serve it to Baby K.
Best way - and they are still green when served - is to cut the avocado into slices - about 8. Put the slices in a water/lime juice bath (a drop or two of lime juice is plenty and won't hurt baby). Lay the slices on wax paper and freeze. When they are rock hard, remove from freezer, let stand for a min or two and remove from wax paper and place rock hard slices into a freezer storage bag. 2 slices is more than enough for Baby K to eat in one sitting - so one avocado can be 4 meals! I bought the small avocado for $1 and got 4 meals out of it - that is half the cost of 4 jars of baby food.
To serve I just take the number of slices I need and let rest for several min (maybe 10-15) on the counter while I cook dinner for the adults. They thaw out and I mash them and add a little breast milk or water (we have reverse osmosis water) to thin it out. You can also add rice cereal, apples, pears or squash.

I did make applesauce - not pictured. 2 apples cored and peeled, boiled and simmered in 2/3 cup water for 15min. then pureed and froze in ice cube trays. Yummy & not brown - no artificial sugars added.

Could it be...

Baby K may grow up to be ambidextrous. She seems to change almost weekly the hand she favors most. Last week her right hand seemed to grab more things and reach out for me...this week, the left hand. My mother-in-law is ambidextrous and my brother-in-law is left handed when he writes and does everything else right handed (eating, baseball bat, pitching, etc.).

I am always thinking about what Baby K will be like when she grows up. Things I know for sure are she will be well loved and cute! Possibly left handed or even ambidextrous. I can't wait to find out all the different ways God has made and will make our little girl special!

Beth...

Some day when you get married, please don't have this for your wedding cake!
Because of your childhood fondness for TMNT this made me think of you and I had to laugh. Man, you loved those turtles!


Many of you already enjoy the blog Cakewrecks, but if you haven't discovered it yet - it is a must for a weekly laugh. Where do people come up with these things? This particular cake is actually done well, it is just strange - other cakes are more of a "wreck"

Slide Show

Here is a new slide show. Pictures are from Feb 15th - March 1.

Doctor's Report

Baby K was again such a trooper for her shots. She had 2 shots today & a "drink" for immunizations.
At 6 months of age here are her stats:
Weight: 16 lbs Percentile: 52%
Height 26 1/2 inches Percentile: 78%
Head Circumference 16 1/2 inches Percentile: 35%

I forgot to mention in my last post that in addition to sitting up, Baby K also has 2 teeth now! Also, she loves to stick her tongue out. :p

It's time to get Baby K ready for bed...hopefully tonight before I go to bed I'll have time to post a recent picture of her - in a cute outfit, a hat, and sitting in her big girl stroller! It's a pic I took last week at the Zoo - while we waited on my father-in-law to tell us if my car was dead or not! Anyway, it's a hoot and I hope to share it with you soon!

P.S. due to questions - "Harry" was at Chester's Chophouse (home of the most amazing red wine reduction sauce I have ever savored in my mouth! YUMMY) - if he's in town it's most likely he is having his private jet worked on or just really misses us - other sightings have been at Cibolas, and N&J's and I'm sure many other places.

P.S.S. I think my new background is funny & kind of strange

What happened?

I want to post, I really do...but I have nothing to post about. So here are a few things going on with us...
In the morning Baby K will have her 6mo doctors appt. I'm not sure how that got here so fast, but we are having fun watching her grow. She can sit up for several min at a time now, all by herself. So Sweet!

Last night we had a wonderful dinner with friends to celebrate their engagement & also it just happened to be the 3yr anniversary of my husband & I's 1st date. It was a wonderful dinner, great time with friends and also Harrison Ford was sitting at the table right next to us! SO cool! We did not speak to him b/c hey, they guy's just trying to eat - but so far in life this is the best star sighting I've had - although having Bill Snyder literally bump into me at a store is still my favorite moment. Yep, Bill is cooler than Indiana Jones (i keep writing these things to see if he will ever want to meet me...HA)

My car broke down a week ago this Wed. I'm currently driving my in-laws mini van. THANK YOU!!! They have been so kind to let me borrow it. My brother-in-law is working on my car and hopefully it won't be too much longer until we are on the road again.

I am learning about making baby food. I really want to do this. I'm researching the best way to prepare the food and how I want to go about it. I figure I'll give it a try and if it becomes a pain then I'll buy it - but I really want to make it.

I entered a contest on Pioneer Woman's blog today, winner gets to go to her ranch & cook/bake with her and bakerella - Oh my goodness this would be AWESOME! But it's past 10:30pm and I still have no email saying I've won...so better luck next time I guess - dang it! Honestly I don't remember the last time I won anything. My husband won the iron we currently use - it's really nice and can disconnect from the cord and be used cordless!

Please Pray...

Our friends' little boy, I call him "Little T", is in the hospital for a virus and dr.'s are having a care conference for him today, where a group of doctors and his parents will talk about his care. He has been in the hospital for weeks now and is currently in PICU.
Be praying for T's health and for his mommy & daddy as they care for Little T & help the doctors care for him. They are all very tired and frustrated. Pray for healing, rest, wisdom, good communication with & between the doctors, and that they will be home soon.
We love you Little T!