State Fair Challenge

I Believe . . .

2012-01-25T20:18:00.000-06:00

. . . in the future of _________________

Aah yes, if you know how to finish that line then you may have been involved in FFA at some point in your life. In this house, once January hits, FFA becomes a big deal around here. With February looming close next week it is only intensifying. HOWEVER; the new FFA position my husband now has of teacher (again) rather than as State Exec/Sec is SOOOOO much better!

Lots of CDE (Career Development Event) practice going on and work on scrapbook among other things. Luckily, Alan has a great alumni and many are volunteering to come in during seminar to help with Creed, Job Interview and Conduct of Meetings practices.

This past month Alan received this for his birthday (no not the iPad - that was lovely Christmas gift from mom and dad) - the blue and gold iPad case.

Finding no buttons in my large assortment that I liked for this project a moment of genius struck when I looked in the dresser and found an old FFA pin - PERFECT!

Check out the beautiful vintage fabric used to line it - I love this fabric {swoon}. Amazing what one finds at auctions sometimes.

Also, the kiddos went to town to watch all the Chapter Member photos. Of course, a photo with daddy in their mini versions of Official Dress was a necessity. Don't know if I blogged about the jackets back in November but Clark's and Addie's are both new (mommy has this whole sewing of cordoroy thing down).

Seriously - I think I should make Teddy a jacket too!
Addie has lots of room to grow into hers yet but already fitting better than when we went to National Convention.

Now, coming up in February is FFA Week. The local alumni is planning a meal and auction to bring in some funds. I'm toying with what type of cake to make for the auction. Since I already made the "Blue Jacket" cake for the Degree Raising Ceremony in November I'll have to come up with something better.

Finally, I must apologize - my blogging has been pretty hit or miss at best since moving. No, it's not the addition of 3rd child and no, it's not the home schooling fun that's been going on around here, and no, it's not FFA and Science Fair frenzy getting in the way. It's our darn internet service - after sharing Christmas with us here my family gets how frustrating it is. We were supposed to be upgraded in January but it was not to be - the company has pushed it back into February. I hope they don't change their minds because I truly enjoy blogging but not when it takes more time than I'm willing to commit due to slow connection and upload speeds.

Plus, I am delving into a new realm (and business) and can't wait to share with everyone. This weekend my husband and I started putting together our business and marketing plans. I'm going to open a small scale cake/goodie shop from my home kitchen. Lots to put together yet but things are already snowballing. FFA seniors are asking me for graduation cakes and cookies already (and this is before I even thought about starting such an endeavor).

I believe God guides us along the path we're meant to travel in this life. As I began to think about this cake/goodie business I realized maybe this whole state fair challenge was a guide to this point. You see, for me, entering the Iowa State Fair in Foods has been as much about educating myself and refining my skills as much as anything else. I have learned so much about the science of baking these past few years. I still challenge myself to practice baking each month - just now I have an outlet to get rid of the stuff by shipping it off to FFA Chapter and Alumni meetings. This has led to students a.) not wanting to miss a meeting because of the food and b.) asking to purchase goodies. In fact, we have one student who watched our livestock over Thanksgiving who asked for cake in payment. He proudly told me later he ate the whole thing himself over the course of 3 days - darn high schoolers and their great metabolisms.

And yes, I checked the Iowa State Fair Food Division rules - as long as my baking business doesn't make more than 25% of my income I'm still able to exhibit! So, we're starting small and asking God's guidance along the way.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Candy Cane Rolls

2011-12-15T05:30:00.000-06:00

This week my bread machines have been humming. Sunday made some Oatmeal Bread to go with Alan's Chicken Noodle Soup. Monday made a couple loaves of beer bread. Tuesday made some sweet braided loaves. Yet to make this week - Stollen (see photos and recipe from last year) and a Hefenkranz Wreath (ach du lieber - my German heritage is showing).

These little candy cane rolls were a delightful treat. These were made for the teacher breakfast at school (where my husband signed up and then let me know he needed to take something).

Ever since seeing them in the 2011 Taste of Home Homemade Food Gifts magazine I knew I had to try them. They reminded me of the big candy cane coffee cakes that were a Christmas tradition growing up. I made a number of modifications to this recipe to make it my own - so it does differ from the printed version.

Candy Cane Roll Recipe (my version):

Rolls:
1/4 Cup warm water
3/4 Cup warm milk
1/4 Cup sugar
1 t bread salt (or regular salt)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 T orange peel, small zest
3 1/4 - 3 3/4 Cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 t instant yeast
3/4 Cup red candied cherries, chopped
1/4 Cup dried apricots, chopped

Frosting:
1 Cup powdered sugar
1 T milk

Place water and milk together in a glass measuring cup. Microwave just until warm (not hot).
Place the ingredients (except fruit) into the bread machine. Set machine to the dough cycle. Add the dried fruit when your bread machine asks for add ins.

If you don't have a bread machine: In a large bowl, dissolve yeast (use 1 pkg active yeast) in warm water. Add warm milk, sugar, shortening, salt, egg and 2 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Stir in cherries. Add enough of the remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 - 8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Continue for both methods:
Punch dough down, let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll each half in a 12" x 7" rectangle. Cut twelve 1 inch strips from each rectangle.

Pizza cutter worked great to make the cuts.

Twist each strip and place 2" apart on greased baking sheets, shaping one end like a cane. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Ignore my poor pan.

Bake at 375 degree F for 12 - 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely. Combine powdered sugar and milk; frost rolls.

These rolls turned out GREAT! Ask Grant - he ate 3 of them in one sitting (and would have eaten more if mommy hadn't stopped him). We all liked them!

The main thing I changed from the printed recipe was the addition of the dried apricots - this was the secret ingredient in mom's large candy cane coffee cakes. Truly it really makes the roll delicious. The other ingredient I added was the orange zest. Again - gives sweet roll dough a great flavor especially when paired with other fruits. If you remember my post from this past Tuesday - you may notice in some of the pictures that the oranges were missing their skin when we made OJ. Yeah - I was sure to zest them prior to making these yummy rolls.

Fresh Orange Juice {for the boys}

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Last week the FFA fruit (fundraiser for husband's students) came in! Made for a busy week for my husband but the students delivered it in just 2 days which we consider pretty good.

Last week Clark and Grant were watching a little Disney Channel and saw Special Agent Oso help a preschooler make fresh orange juice. Darn TV giving my kids ideas - at least this was a good one :) However, all week the question of can we make our own OJ was repeated over and over. Clark even went into the kitchen, searched the cupboards and found my old juicer.
Back to the first paragraph - I did not order any oranges. Luckily, Alan had some extra boxes. So we bought a 1/2 box and he brought it home on Friday. We promised the boys we'd make orange for breakfast on Saturday.

The boys LOVED squeezing juice out of the oranges.

They enjoyed drinking it too!

Although I was offered some of the lovely smelling concoction I politely declined. My mom will tell you that it was her fault I can't stand pulpy orange juice because she used to strain my OJ when I was little. Don't know if this is the reason but I really can't stand OJ with pulp. Frankly, unless I'm sick I don't like OJ at all. Again my mother (who does happen to be a registered dietician) will say she should have never listened to the doctor that told her to start me on OJ when I was just a baby. Yup, some odd philosophies back in the 70's!
All I have to say is bring on the apples!

Friday Night Sew In - Take 2

2011-12-12T11:30:00.000-06:00

Yep, another FNSI coming up this Friday. Lots of items on my list.
At the top:

PJ's for boys
Suspenders for boys and Addie
Some felt play food to finish boys' Christmas gift

If there is time:

Napkins and placemats
A few Christmas gifts I can't list since they are meant for certain readers of my blog :)

If you want to join in be sure to visit Heidi's blog and sign up!

Sunday Smiles

2011-12-11T20:19:00.001-06:00

Sunday seems to be a good day to reflect on the little things in life that make me smile. Today this made me smile :)

This is not hot cocoa (although hot cocoa also makes me smile) this is chocolate pudding with marshmallows and sprinkles! So yummy! The kids loved it - especially the fact that it was made to look like cocoa. Grant thought it was fun to put his spoon in and "pretend to stir." When my husband, who is not a fan of chocolate pudding, asked for seconds that was a sign this was good stuff.

But this is why it made me smile - it was not instant pudding. It was the real cooked pudding made with milk and half & half. Yummmmm. Plus, we ate it still warm - heavenly. This took me back to my childhood and helping mom stir the pudding and eat the pudding.

My husband thought it was for me much like this clip from Ratatouille (the first 40-some seconds) - I agree.

December Friday Night SewIn Results {Round 1}

2011-12-10T22:27:00.001-06:00

Here is the quilt top I worked on this weekend. The fabrics are Flurry by Kate Spain for Moda. The solid white and red were fabrics from my stash. The pattern is by Konda by Moose on the Porch Quilts it was in the Nov/Dec 2011 McCalls Quilting magazine. This is one of the most complicated designs I've done. Triangles have given me fits in the past but all in all the top went together very quickly.

Friday night for FNSI I started out with the jelly roll pieces and everything else left to be cut. Friday night all the pieces were cut and all of the small blocks were pieced together.

Today in between feeding Addie, baking some yummy bread (which will be this coming Thursday"s recipe) and cleaning I pieced the large blocks to make the rows and then added the borders. Amazingly most of my points matched up perfectly :) - I love this quilt top!

While I was sewing I couldn't help thinking of my Grandma Clark and all the sewing her Bernina (which I now sew on) saw. In retrospect I am probably a lot like her in many ways when it comes to sewing. I remember her being so practical when it came to sewing - things like patching and mending, making clothes, a few home good items, etc. I know she made some really pretty things but when I inherited most of her sewing room I found patterns and ideas for some fun and impractical things that she just never got around to. Or maybe like me she just liked looking at the beautiful designs.

I have a lot of fond memories sitting on the floor in grandma's sewing room. I would play with her scrap pile, make clothes for my dolls and sew up little stuffed animals (mainly kitties).

There were a lot of practical things on my list that probably should have been worked on this weekend - like sewing the boys some pjs, mending Clark's pants, finishing up the kids' suspenders, etc. But this pattern was just one of those things I didn't want to put off.

Now to decide whether I want to quilt it or if I should find a quilter in the area and make an appointment for this piece.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Lesson Learned; Make a list

2011-12-08T18:50:00.001-06:00

I wanted to try my hand at some quick and easy cookies, candy, fudge but every recipe I had marked for the week I ended up missing ONE little ingredient (that would make a big difference).

Like Almond Tassies - mom used to make these but I never have and so badly want to try them. Ha! I actually had two cans of almond paste but no heavy cream. Also, not sure where my mini muffin tins are - grrr.

OK - so found a great chocolate fudge recipe. Again, have never made fudge but there is no evaporated milk in the house - there was; however, plenty of sweet and condensed milk. I contemplated this as an alternative but in the end decided no.

Finally, wanted to try my hand at making our own gumdrops. Seemed like a great experiment to try with the boys. I knew I had unflavored gelatin. Recipe called for 3 envelopes - there were 2 in my cupboard.

Lesson of the story - be prepared with a shopping list or in my case adding them into my normal weekly shopping list!

So, here are some recipes I'd like to try that I found on Pinterest (if you want to follow me and see the full collection of recipes I've pinned you can click the little red pinterest button on the top right of my blog - it's lots of fun): enjoy!

Sugared Pecans found HERE. There is a version of these I've made in the past but find it's best to make when husband is at work and then hide some if I plan to share with others.

Peppermint Bark Rice Krispie Treats found HERE. Who knew - I need to add peppermint marshmallows to my grocery list now too!

Gingerbread Truffles found HERE.

Snowman Hot Cocoa found HERE. If you like fun food ideas for kids this is a great website!

Snowflake Cupcakes found HERE. The sight of these makes me smile - but I'm just dreamin' if I think I could make anything so beautiful. Still that's the best part of Pinterest - looking at beautiful pictures, admiring them, pinning them (for me - knowing there is no way I could create such beauty but boy they're fun to look at!).

So, what new tasty treats are you experimenting with this holiday season?

Addison's 3 Month Photos

2011-12-02T19:39:00.001-06:00

Addison turned 3 months on Thanksgiving Day. Since we were up at grandma and grandpa's her 3 month photos were put on hold. Today she smiled ever so sweetly for her photos!

She is growing so fast! Addie started sleeping through night during Thanksgiving week - that was something for which we give thanks!

Test Kitchen Thursday - Cut Out Cookies

2011-12-01T22:14:00.001-06:00

After last weekend I haven't much felt like baking this week! I helped mom make close to 30 dozen (no, not a typo that's really thirty dozen) cookies for the Christmas Tree Farm Shop. We baked, frosted and sprinkled 10 dozen each day for the long weekend.

You would think having made over 300 cookies I would have a great picture - so sorry to disappoint. With all the baking I never had a chance to grab the camera - plus, as soon as I had a batch done they seemed to disappear out the door. So you'll have to settle for our family tree photo :)

But - it was a FANTASTIC recipe that mom found on Cook's Illustrated's website. The dough was so soft and easy to roll out and cut nicely.

Here's the recipe:

Makes about 6 dozen 2-inch cookies (we only got about 5 dozen per batch)

Ingredients

2 1/2cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4cup cornstarch
2teaspoons baking powder
Pinch table salt
2 egg yolks
3tablespoons light cream
1 1/2teaspoons vanilla extract
1cup granulated sugar
12tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
4tablespoons vegetable shortening

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone paper.
2. Mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix yolks, cream, and vanilla together in a measuring cup.
3. Cream sugar with butter and shortening until lightened and pasty. Beat yolk mixture into creamed butter until just combined.
4. Add dry ingredients and beat until mixture begins to clump together (about 18 to 20 seconds on lowest speed of electric mixer).
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead gently to shape into a soft dough.
6. Working with 1/4 of the dough at a time, roll to about 1/8-inch thick, on a well-floured work surface. Use cookie cutter of your choice to cut out shapes. Using a spatula, transfer cut-outs to prepared baking sheet, placing them about 1 inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. Transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Happy Merry

2011-12-01T20:26:00.001-06:00

Somehow, even in the midst of all the chaos that is our household, December 1st did not seem to smack me upside the head this year! Amazingly when I packed up all the Christmas paraphenilia last year I actually created a box with all the Advent calendars and wreaths, the nativities and items needed at the very beginning of the season for setting trees! LARGE SMILE! Plus, with our new attic, the box was amazingly easy to find and pull out.

So, this morning the kiddos were surprised with all the advent and countdown to Christmas items ready and waiting.

I loved the addition of the Christmas book countdown that we did last year; however, I was not looking forward to wrapping 50 books (I actually have 75 and have included Addie). Don't judge me. I have been collecting Christmas books for a very long time.

Anyway - I came across a post this year where the family had sewn bags and filled the bag each day with a book. I have to agree it saves time and paper (lots of paper). So, this is my variation. Boxes!

Super simple and I can load them with surprises other than books throughout the season so it is truly a surprise each day! Today's surprises were the Advent LEGO calendar and Playmobil calendar. The boys were super excited. They get to open them each night with daddy before bed! If you want to see a preschooler and a toddler get to work cleaning a playroom just tell them the faster they clean the faster they get to open a door on the calendar. Lightning fast I tell you!

Grant and his Playmobil calendar.

My only question today was why did I not put the advent candles with the advent wreath? Grrr.

November FNSI Results

2011-11-19T19:13:00.001-06:00

Well, quite frankly I didn't accomplish much sewing at grandma and grandpa's house last night. Not because I went to bed early knowing I had to feed a baby a couple times during the night (nope that would have been smart). Had to watch the riveting ISU vs Oklahoma State game - and scream and yell with my mom (not even caring if we woke all the kids up). Because GO STATE! What a game - still on a Cyclone high today!

Anyway here's what I did accomplish. I actually did this shirt early Friday AM before boys were up and before we left.

Yes, a little geeky Thanksgiving humor - but little Addie will be sporting her new Pumpkin Pie (pi) shirt this Thanksgiving.

After the boys were in bed and during the less exciting part of the football game I did manage to get a bunch of fish cut out for my fishing game Christmas gift for Grant. Today I nabbed some washers from dad's stash to use inside of them that will hopefully easily latch onto the magnet on the fishing pole.

I don't have a photo but I also worked on some black suspenders for all three children (Grant needs them especially bad). They are all cut out and ironed - ready to be sewn together.

I hope to cut out a few more fish tonight. Grant is working on colors right now so we are going to do a fish in all the major colors. I also have some iron on felt numbers so counting can be worked in too. Might as well have it be a dual purpose gift - fun and educational!

November Friday Night Sew In

2011-11-17T14:06:00.001-06:00

Ahh - so desperately needed - a night of sewing. Yep, the November Friday Night Sew In (FNSI) is tomorrow (see button on right side for link).

OK - I realize I'm traveling back home tomorrow but I have some hand sewing planned that I can do when I get there (and get the kids settled in bed). I plan to return home via Ames because the kids and I must stop at the Consignment Store - Clark has absolutely NO pants that fit him. The children's consignment store just happens to be on the same block as my favorite quilt store so we may have to make another stop as well.

My sewing project is actually Grant's Christmas gift. Grant is currently into using anything he can find to go "fishing" with. The plan is to make some cute felt fish with little magnets in their bellies so Grant can go fishing. Yes, I believe in imaginative play but I am also tired of searching for my good cloth tape measure every time Grant goes on a fishing trip!

Thinking something like this from this blog.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Fa La La La La - Spritz Cookies

2011-11-17T12:55:00.001-06:00

Above is Grant this past weekend - two fisting the cookie batter. Gotta love his enthusiasm!

This weekend we baked 8 dozen Spritz cookies and 12 dozen sugar cookies (Auntie Cookie Recipe found here). When baking large batches (or prepping for state fair entries) I like to prep my kitchen first. This means cleaning and organizing everything first. Then setting out the items that will be used in each recipe (basics like flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, eggs, etc). When I do this I use the same measuring device for each item or same bowl for mixing dry ingredients, etc. It really has helped me cut down on the use of bowls, measuring spoons and cups and keeps the process organized and efficient.

Here's the first batch of little spritz trees ready for the oven. For some reason my cookie press only wanted to pump out trees. The poinsetta plate gave me fits.

The recipe I used was the Fiori di sicilia Spritz Cookie recipe out of the 2011 Holiday Preview King Arthur Flour Catalogue. This recipe does use a special ingredient that you can order from King Arthur Flour but you may be able to utilize something else instead. I have only used the fiori di sicilia in one other recipe and really wanted to try it in something else. So this truly is a test kitchen for future use as a state fair entry. I am hoping this recipe sets itself apart enough to yield a ribbon. They did yield a beautiful citrus scented and tasting cookie.

Recipe:

1 Cup     unsalted butter
3/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup cream cheese
3/4 t        salt
1 t           vanilla extract
1/4 t        Fiori di Sicilia flavoring
(you may be able to substitute lemon flavoring or just leave out - or go nuts and order the flavoring for some yummy cookies)
1             large egg
2 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
zest of 1 whole orange or lemon, very finely grated (I used orange)
Sugar for decoration (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. If making shaped cookies through the cookie press freeze the cookie sheets while making the dough.

Beat together the butter, sugar, cream cheese, salt, vanilla, Fiori di Sicilia, and zest. Beat in the egg yolk, then stir in the flour.

Press/pipe cookies onto the chilled baking sheets. Top with colored sugar, if desired.

He started out doing so well - each cookie seemed to have more sugar than the last!

Bake the cookies for 8 - 10 minutes, until they are brown around the edges. Remove from oven and wait 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to racks to cool. Move cookies before they are totally cool, otherwise they may sitck to the baking sheet.

Yields 7 - 8 dozen cookies.

These do have a great taste. I love my lime flavored spritz and will probably make a batch of those yet this year too. And possibly some plain old almond flavored spritz. They are just so easy and make easy little gifts. So Spritz 3 ways this year (we've been watching too much Top Chef around here lately). Funny thing is I don't even like spritz cookies that much or any butter type cookie (which is great to make because they won't end up on my waistline). Although mom mentioned she found a chocolate/mint spritz recipe that may be worth trying - I look up that recipe when we go visit this week!

A Little Turkey Dinner

2011-11-16T19:41:00.001-06:00

This week we started "talking turkey" during our preschool time. Monday we happened to have a turkey and cheese sandwich on the schedule. I also happened to have my cookie cutters out (well, some of them anyway - my collection of cutters is well into the hundreds - which I don't often admit too since people would probably find me crazy but I love cookie cutters and will pick them up cheap at auctions and yard sales). Since my husband wonders why we have all these well catorgized, labeled and boxed cutters sitting around I figured I should find new purposes ('cause who needs to make that many cookies?).

The big cutters work great for cutting out sandwich shapes! We've done acorns, leaves and now turkeys.

Amazingly, Grant who will not eat cut up sandwiches WILL eat cookie cutter cut sandwiches.

The cutters also work well for making playdough shapes, making paper templates and shapes, sorting and organizing fun for the boys and of course for cookies - which we made about 10 dozen cut out sugar cookies this past weekend. FUN & YUM!

Test Kitchen Thursday - Banana Muffins and 25 Day Menu Cycle

2011-11-10T10:14:00.001-06:00

This week we started something new. I always try to have a weekly menu plan and shopping list for weeknight suppers. However, I have been struggling to provide wholesome nutritious snacks and lunches for the boys (and myself). I usually eat salad for lunch but then wonder what to feed the boys. Leftovers are often part of the plan but not always. And just grabbing a box of crackers for snack time is not where I wanted to be. But it was that or spend lots of time trying to figure out what would be good for snack times.

Enter the Montana Childcare Cycle Menu. My mom actually gave me this printout a long time ago. As I was organizing my new recipe book cupboard this fell out. Maybe God's way of saying you can do better.
It's not just the menu plan for 25 days it also includes recipes (scroll to the bottom - 4 pdf downloads alphabetically). After visiting their website last week they also have printouts you can download of just snack ideas (look under the menu planning header)! Hooray!

For those of you that have been reading this blog for awhile you know I like a good challenge. So, I am challenging myself to follow this meal plan for the entire 5 week cycle. Obviously Thanksgiving week we will have to take off but I'm hoping this helps relieve some of the pressure to put food on the table during the entire run of the holiday season. Plus, with an actual plan in hand for groceries maybe also save a little more money to use elsewhere this time of year.

Day 1 Breakfast: Whole Grain Banana Muffin; Applesauce and Milk.

The recipes are all fairly simple but I have found myself making changes to the recipes. Mainly to add a few more seasonings. The recipes are healthy in nature which I love but sometimes just a few ingredients (not neccessarily sugar or salt) can improve a basic recipe.

That said - let's just say my first day I almost quit the program due to some recipe mishaps.

Whole Grain Banana Muffins (recipe source: Montana CACFP - originally sourced from www.pammshouse.com/kidseatveggies.html)

1 Cup Enriched All Purpose White Flour

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 Cup Wheat Germ

pinch Salt (I used 1/8 t)

3 t Baking Powder

1 Egg, large

1/2 Cup Banana, ripe - mashed (I used 1 whole banana)

1/4 Cup Apple Juice (concentrate, thawed)

1 Cup Milk (skim)

3 t Butter (melted)

1/4 Cup Dried Fruit (optional - I opted out this time around)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl combine flours, wheat germ, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, juice concentrate, milk, butter & banana. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in fruit, being careful not to over mix. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill each cup 2/3 full and bake for 15 minutes. Can spread with peanut butter or cream cheese.

They turned out looking fabulous! In fact, I don't think I've ever had muffins put on such nice perfect tops.

However, when putting the grocery list together I only read Apple Juice (not concentrate). My gut instinct told me to add in some sugar along with the apple juice I had but I didn't. The muffins were a little on the non-sweet side. After showing the boys how to dip and spread their applesauce on the muffins they ate them right down!

At snack time I made the Taco Chex Mix. Again, should have gone with my gut instinct. I know that my homemade taco seasoning has more punch than the store bought variety. I was going to reduce the amount of taco seasoning but didn't. It was a very SPICY snack. Grant is my guy who doesn't like things overly spicy and yet he ate the Chex Mix and loved it (and I had my tongue burning) so who knows.

The best part of the whole week has been ALL of my meals and snacks have been pre-planned and I have all the ingredients needed and on hand. Having a plan helps me have more time to accomplish other things throughout the day. The boys love the variety and I love knowing they are getting their dietary requirements met.

Without the plan on Monday we probably would have resorted to PB&J sandwiches and carrot sticks since I spent 2 hours in the doctor's office that morning. The banister attacked me on Sunday night and gave me a nasty splinter deep under the nail on my right index finger - bleah! There was no way I was getting it out and I couldn't take the pain on Monday so off the doctor for some numbing action. It's amazing how much you take things for granted until you lose them. Who knew how much you use an index finger? Meal prep with a numb index finger added a whole new challenge. Typing was also a problem on Monday and Tuesday (finally got full feeling back Tuesday afternoon - just in time to finish decorating cake and cookies).

Even if you don't want to follow the complete menu plan if you're looking for some easy recipes and snack ideas the links above to the Montana CACFP have some really great things. They even have guides to help you build your own menu plans.

Cake and Cookies for a Special Day

2011-11-10T08:43:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night was the Red Oak FFA Chapter's Degree Raising Ceremony. For those of you not familiar with FFA the freshmen go through a series of items they need to complete (like memorizing the FFA creed, giving a 5 minute speech in public, etc) to become Greenhand Members and earn their Greenhand Degree. The older students also have items to complete - mainly dealing with their Supervised Agricultural Experience (basically their work related or science research project they have throughout high school) to earn their Chapter Degree. Usually it is just sophomore's and newer upperclassmen that are raised to the Chapter Degree. In this case, almost the entire Chapter had to be raised to the Chapter Degree.

I was asked by my husband to make the refreshments. Had to call mom for her awesome Hot Apple Cider recipe - so glad I bought a couple coffee makers at an auction a while back because the cider was a big hit. I put together an FFA Jacket cake - cake recipe blogged here (Classic Vanilla Cake from BHG). No the emblem is not icing and it's not edible paper - although edible paper would have been cool but I could never justify the expense of an edible printer. Since it was just regular paper for food safety I put a large slab of yellow frosting underneath and a layer of wax paper and scraped that all off before cutting.

I also whipped up some "Greenhand" cookies. It didn't work to frost the whole cookie (couldn't tell what it was) so decided to go with just the outline. Then piped the names of the Greenhand Degree recipients in the middle. It was fun to see how protective students were of their special cookies. I decided if I do this again next year I'm going to try dying the cookie dough green. Cookie recipe blog found here.

At the ceremony a mother came up to me and told me her son came home after the first meeting back in September and told her Mrs. Spencer is an awesome baker (Chocolate Zucchini Cake). She also told me that he now won't miss an FFA meeting for fear of missing the refreshments - no pressure there! Whatever I can do to help my husband get kids to meetings :) - he he. Yesterday after school my husband told me that there is one student who wants to buy a cake from me, another who is in LOVE with the cookies, and a request for a birthday and graduation cake from another. Hmm - I hadn't considered a cake hobby business on the side - but the students in FFA are sooo sweet here.

In other news - last weekend I organized the toy/preschool room. Sorry - it was such a horrible mess I did not take before pictures. Basically you could not see the floor due to toys pulled out and boxes everywhere. I wanted to surprise the boys so the room was off limits while I cleaned and sorted. Sunday night we did the big "reveal!"

The boys were so excited! They love their new room! All we need is a small loveseat so we have a place to snuggle and read books. Right now the floor is working OK. Or instead of furniture a couple of big floor pillows might do the trick too. Right now I love the Jelly Roll Floor Pillows tutorial on the Moda Bakeshop blog.

The pretend food play area is still their favorite! On Monday they spread out a baby blanket and "invited" all their stuffed toy friends to a picnic. It was very cute!

Superman Dresser

2011-11-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

Finally finished the boys' dresser! I posted about the beginning stages back in these posts: post 1 & post 2.

Here is the $1.00 dresser that I picked up at the auction. After fixing up the drawers and doing some cleaning it came together rather nicely.

Primed the entire piece.

I used a freezer paper stencil to add the superman logo.

Outlined the logo in blue.

I added some new knobs and ta da! A dresser my boys LOVE!

Total Cost:
$1.00 Dresser
$20.00 Primer and Paint
$15.00 Knobs
$45.00 Dollars for a custom dresser.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Applesauce Doughnuts

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

Decided to try my hands at doughnuts one more time. After last year's disaster I've been a bit gun shy (see post here). But what is one to do when a little two month old wakes you up for a feeding at 4 AM and you can't fall back to sleep - sure, make doughnuts.

This recipe comes from the 2011 Better Homes and Gardens Fall Baking magazine. After our trip to the Apple Orchard we had plenty of apples for making applesauce (15 pints) so I had what I needed for the doughnut recipe.

Applesauce Doughnuts

4 Cups all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1 T ground cinnamon
1 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup homemade applesauce (or unsweetened applesauce)
1/2 Cup buttermilk (or sour milk)
1/4 Cup butter, melted

Vegetable Oil for frying

Cinnamon Sugar for dipping in while warm

In a large bowl combine the first 5 dry ingredients, mix well, set aside. In another large bowl whisk together eggs and egg yolk. Add the sugar, the applesauce, the buttermilk and the melted butter - whisk until well mixed. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Use your hands to mix together until all of the flour is moistened. Cover and chill dough about 1 hour or until easy to handle.

On a floured surface roll out dough to 1/2" thickness. Cut dough with a floured 2 1/2 inch doughnut cutter, rerolling dough as necessary.

Fry doughnuts and doughnut holes in deep hot oil (365 degree F) for 2 - 3 minutes or until golden; turning once. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.

Dip warm doughnuts and doughnut holes in Cinnamon Sugar.

These turned out really well. The boys were super excited to have doughnuts for breakfast. Although now that Grant knows that we can make our own doughnuts he is upset we don't have them more often. Grant really liked the little doughnut holes the best.

Pumpkin Night

2011-11-02T19:59:00.000-05:00

Halloween Night found us carving pumpkins!

First the boys each drew a face on their pumpkin.

Grant has a thing with mini - pumpkins so we just let him color his own pumpkin. Daddy asked him what he wanted for a face - he said happy so his pumpkin received a happy face.

The boys carving and scooping goop. Have to save the seeds for roasting.

Grant with his pumpkin - he wanted to hold onto it the whole time it was lit.

Clark next to the upside down face that he and daddy thought was amazingly funny.

Our pumpkins on display. It was such a nice night even Addie came out for a short time to join the family fun.

Can't believe it's November already! Roasted the pumpkin seeds today and can't wait to have them for snack time this week. We started our Thanksgiving count-down calendar on the 1st and are having fun working with the boys on showing gratitude and giving thanks.

Trick or Treat

2011-10-28T14:57:00.000-05:00

Last post I mentioned that the boys decided not to wear the costumes we had planned on. Maybe deciding to find and open the toy box full of our costumes and pretend play items two days before Red Oak's Trick or Treat on the Square night was not mom's best decision.

Clark's Darth Vader costume that we bought last year at the consignment store (on sale) fit perfectly but I think Clark has a thing with masks and decided he didn't want to wear the costume. Grant's dragon costume from last year was a bit too small and the dragon/dinosaur costume Clark has worn the past two years is still too big for Grant. The vast majority of the other costumes are rather female in nature (witch, mouse, prairie girl dress and bonnet, etc.). Luckily I did this before our monthly trip to Council Bluffs (to go to Walmart, Target and Sam's Club). The boys were immediately drawn to the knight's sword, shield, and helmut in the toy box. Both decided they wanted to be knights and fight dragons. (They also thought Addie should be a princess but I wasn't going there this year).

Picked up a new sword and shield for Grant for under $5.00 that actually had the exact same dragon insignia as the items we already had at home. We luckily found some great fabric for $13.00 at Walmart.

That worked its way into awesome knight's suits on Wednesday. Two costumes done before 4:30 PM and the Trick or Treat night. Good thing Addie had me up at 4:30 AM for her morning feeding. I have enough fabric left over that I could also make "chain mail" pants but ran out of time yesterday. I also have the black fabric to make "boots" and belts.

It's hard to see in the photo but the sleeves and hood look like chain mail. I used a shiny silver lamine under a shiny grey sports apparel fabric (like used for shorts) that has holes built in. It looked pretty neat and actually shined in the sun.

Addie went in her little kitty outfit.

And later when it cooled off more we tucked her into the traditional baby hot dog costume.

Better view of the "chain mail" effect on the boys' costumes.

Happy Halloween!

Turning 2 Months Old

2011-10-26T17:37:00.000-05:00

Busy, busy week! Last week we were in Indianapolis for the National FFA Convention.

To catch you up - yes I finished two new kids FFA jackets just in time for the convention and completed my Kids Clothing Week Challenge! Addie's jacket went together in 2 hours! Getting lots better at sewing jackets. I'll put the FFA Convention in a seperate post.

This week Addie turned 2 months old! Here's a video of what she's up to now.

And Addie's 2 month picture.

Other than that we've been working hard getting everything shored up outside before colder and more inclimate weather sets in.

This has also been a busy work week prepping sponsorship materials and preparing info for teachers. To top it all off the boys completely changed their minds on Halloween costumes so I have $13.00 worth of fabric we picked up today ready to sew into Knight's tunics. Luckily we had the swords and shields in the pretend play toy box so no cost there. (What were they going to be? Clark was set to be Darth Vader - a costume we bought last year but he didn't want to wear and Grant was going to be a dinosaur/dragon. But Clark decided he wanted to be a knight after seeing the stuff in our pretend play box. Thought it would be neat if Clark was a knight and Grant was a dragon - but no, Grant also wants to be a knight.)

Test Kitchen Thursday - Pear Pie Bars

2011-10-14T08:31:00.000-05:00

Like last week's post this recipe again comes from one of those pesky special interest magazines that seem to grab my interest. This time it is the Better Homes and Gardens 2011 Fall Baking magazine.

Due to some issues with ingredients I did have to modify the recipe - I'll make those designations in the recipe itself. All in all I didn't actually enjoy these bars as much as I thought I would. Good for my waistline I guess. However, Grant, my husband and my father-in-law thought they were great. Clark left some on his plate so I take that to mean he wasn't a fan either. So, you may just have to try them yourself to decide. (Note: they seem to get better if left to sit overnight)

I think part of my reasoning for not enjoying them as much was the recipe reminded me very much of my mom's Apple Slices. Very similar look and method but maybe the apples just add the right amount of sweet/tart that the pear's didn't provide. Everything about the recipe technically turned out just right - good consistency, ate like a bar as stated, good aroma, pretty appearance.

Before moving on to the recipe I just have to tell this little story. Clark was helping me with the recipe this afternoon and he would ask me what the instructions said to do next. At one point he asked, "Mommy, does it say next to take a picture?" Observant boy - he's so used to the camera in the kitchen I didn't think he noticed it anymore. I explained that the pictures were a step mommy added for fun. His 4 year old response, "Well, we would get it in the oven a lot faster without those steps." So true my boy, so true!

Five Spice Pear Pie Bars from the 2011 Better Homes and Gardens Fall Baking magazine.

Pastry Crust:
3 Cups all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup shortening (used butter flavored shortening)
1/2 Cup cold butter (used unsalted butter)
2 egg yolks, beaten
1/3 Cup milk
2 Tablespoons water

Filling:
6 Cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced ripe pears (about 6 - 7 medium)
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup crushed cornflakes (if I try again might use oatmeal instead)
1 teaspoon five-spice powder (was unable to find this so used 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)

Orange Icing:
1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 - 2 Tablespoons milk

For pastry, in a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening and butter until pieces are pea sized. In small bowl whisk together the yolks and milk. Gradually stir the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture, tossing with a fork to moisten. Sprinkle 1 - 2 tablespoons of the water over the mixture, gently tossing until all of the mixture is moistened. Gather mixture together. Divide pastry into two portions, making one portion slightly larger than the other. Wrap and chill until needed.

For filling, in an extra large bowl combine pears, sugar, cornflakes and the five-spice powder (or other spices). Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use your hands to pat the larger portion of pastry into the bottom (sprayed with baking spray first) of a 15 x 10 x 1 inch pan.

Spoon filling evenly into pastry-lined pan.

Roll the remaining pastry portion between two sheets of waxed paper to a 15 x 10 inch rectangle. Carefully peel off top sheet of waxed paper. Invert the rectangle, pastry side down, over the filling. Carefully peel off waxed paper.

Press over top. Make sure there are a few slits in the top pastry and brush lightly with egg white.

Bake in preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes or until pastry is golden, fruit is tender and filling is bubbly. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Drizzle with the Orange Icing. Let stand until icing is set. Cut into bars. Yield: 32 bars.

For icing: in a medium bowl stir together powdered sugar, orange peel, vanilla and enough of the milk to make icing a drizzling consistency.

Enjoy!

My goal was to make these on Tuesday so I could have the post pre written and ready to go on Thursday morning. However, the boys ate all the pears I had bought for the recipe so I had Alan purchase some pears to bring home Monday night but should have specified they needed to be ripe. Then my internet connection broke down on Thursday when trying to post. So, finally its up and ready!

kcwc - Days 2 & 3

2011-10-12T20:48:00.001-05:00

Time slipped away from me yesterday (Tuesday) - so didn't get to blog about little Addie's skirt.

Since it was for a newborn it didn't take long at all - pretty much just an hour. I am however considering adding a little ruffle embellishment to the bottom but I'm just not convinced. Tried it on her this morning before sewing the elastic shut and it fit perfectly! Well, as perfectly as anything fits a 7 week old.

And below is a photo of today's work:

This is Clark's new blue cordouroy jacket being laid out. Since I'm doing a replica of a 1940's jacket there is no perfect pattern. Most of the time today was spent figuring out how to alter/modify the pattern. Once that was accomplished I remeasured my son (which took bribes and conjoling) to make sure I had the fit right. Before cutting into this fabric I wanted to make sure there would be no mistakes/regrets. Everything is now cut out and ready for the sewing machine. And before I get comments on the look of the fabric - yes, I did cut it out with wrinkles in the fabric. This fabric is so stiff and unwieldy it isn't funny. Rather than struggle with such a large piece on the ironing board I cut it this way smoothing as I went and now that the pieces are cut I will steam them all and reassess the cut before stitching everything together. This is not my first dance with this fabric - I have found this works better than other methods.

Hopefully I will have power to my machine tomorrow. The house we're renting is getting an electrical makeover. The electrician is actually adding a second box and moving some of the wires. After I told the landlords about the potential dryer problem with double wires going to the fuse for our dryer they brought out an electrician that verified my find and noticed other similar problems throughout the box. Whew - I'll feel safer when it's all fixed but somewhat of a nuisance while parts of my house go dark throughout the day.

Day 1 - Kids Clothing Week Challenge

2011-10-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

Pajama pants were on my list for getting some items done for the boys. These pants were made from an old t-shirt out of our t-shirt bag. I was actually just wanting to try out the pattern I had made to make sure everything fit right. You know - before cutting into the fabric I bought and messing it all up.

Once Grant had them on he didn't want to take them off! So I guess they passed the comfort test. The emblem was cut out of the middle of the t-shirt and just zigzag stitched onto the bottom. They should go over well when he wears them on our trip to the National FFA Convention later this month.

A view of the front (old paint splatters and all).

The pants went together so quick I even had time to do some sewing for baby girl. Well - this skirt was mainly cutting and knotting - but there was sewing involved in finishing the elastic and adding the grossgrain waistband. I left extra elastic and tucked it under the tulle so as she grows there is some room to let it out. Again - great colors for the FFA Convention.

This is so new to me - the high school kids are actually EXCITED that the kids and I are going along. In fact, there are arguments among the high school kids going as to who will get to watch over/hang out with which of my boys. Ahh - I can't tell you what a happy place we're in right now! Although the Alumni at the school are all afraid we might pull up stakes if we aren't happy. Many of the concerns due to the fact that we are renting our home. We are always being informed of acreages in the area for sale!

Finally, at the end of the evening I put together the pattern for Addie's black skirt that she'll need. I am using the XS size but didn't want to cut the original Simplicity pattern down that far (since I'll probably make the skirt again in a larger size next year). Transferred it onto freezer paper and now am ready to cut and hopefully sew today. And yes, for those that know what I'm up to this week - I am procrastinating on the jackets. Mainly because cutting into that thick cordouroy is almost a painful experience.

Alright - off to work I go - have a great day!

Test Kitchen Thursday - Pumpkin Cupcakes

2011-10-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Finally back on track with Test Kitchen Thursdays!

Once it starts to feel like fall there's nothing like baking with pumpkin (for me anyway). Once again I was suckered into purchasing the newest Taste of Home Fall Baking Magazine at the check out stand. My husband said he has no problem with this as long as I actually bake some of the yummy looking recipes. (my mom on the other hand is a complete enabler - but I love the Christmas magazine you gave me :) - thank mom!) So, this works perfectly with trying out new recipes to blog about (and potentially find something good for the 2012 Iowa State Fair).

These cupcakes remind me a lot of my absolute favorite cupcakes growing up - those chocolate ones with the cream cheese filling and chocolate chips. Wow - mom made the best ones. Same principal just pumpkin cake with cream cheese filling. I did experiment with the recipe and added those little caramel bits to a few cupcakes - so worth the experiment.

Without further ado - the recipe:

Yield: 2 dozen

Cake Batter:
1 can (15 oz) solid pack pumpkin
2 Cups sugar
1 Cup canola oil
4 eggs
2 Cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used my vietnamese cinnamon - yum)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 Cup sugar
1 egg
Caramel chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat the pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs until well blended. In small bowl, combine rest of the batter ingredients - whisk together.

For filling, in another small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg; beat on low just until combined.

Batter and Filling

Fill paper-lined muffin cups 1/3 full. Drop filling by tablespoonfuls into center of each cupcake.

Sprinkle with a few caramel chips at this point if desired.

Cover with remaining batter.

For some reason I had loads of batter left so put the rest in my two pumpkin ramekins. My cupcakes did sink after cooling so I probably should have added more batter; I didn't add the rest of the batter because my cups were over 2/3 full and I didn't want them spreading all over the place - but this batter doesn't seem to do that.

Bake at 350 degree F for 20 - 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on wire rack before removing from pans to racks to cool completely. Refrigerate leftovers.

Grant and Clark both loved the cupcakes! Although Grant ate completely around the cheesecake center on the first one he ate. I told him it would be better once it was cool - after all you can't leave the best part!

Kids Week Clothes Challenge

2011-10-05T07:58:00.000-05:00

It seems like it's been forever since I've joined in an on-line challenge. But this one came at just the right time. The boys need some new jammies (fabric already purchased) and both need new blue cordouroy jackets for the National FFA Convention coming up later this month. Addie also needs a black skirt and blue cordouroy jacket (although she could use a hand me down jacket if needs be). Those are the highest needs on my children's clothing list. I have some patterns and fun fabrics for a couple other small projects if time allows.

Monster fabric for Halloween pajamas.

Robot fabric for some soft pajamas.

So this challenge works out great - hopefully it will give me the motivation to keep going and finish some clothes for the kiddos. The hostess is so right - it's amazing what you can accomplish with sewing if you can find an hour a day to devote.

And no, I don't have a sewing room yet - however, I have set up a temporary sewing area in the massive dining room. The sewing/craft room will eventually go up in the 3rd floor attic (can't wait - such a great space but at this point not completely climate controlled). But for right now I have a great view. Thank you to my husband for cleaning out the invading Asian Beetles that were streaming into the room last night!

Want the details? Go to HERE to Elsie Marley's blog. She always has great sewing ideas for kids.

What Would We Do Without Dads?

2011-10-04T21:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Dad! This post is for you!

Thanks for all the years of help you've given me and my family (you and mom both).

Thank you also for all the things you've taught me - from my fine electrical skills (and the ability to call you for advice when I hit a road block) to my "we can fix it or remodel it" attitude and so many other things. I loved helping you when I was little (even if it was moving/hiding the tools) and being your tool "gopher" later in life. I picked up lots of skills and abilities from you that I'm glad I have. I'm proud to be able to teach my boys the names of loads of different tools because you weren't afraid to have me around them. That I'm not scared to use a welder was because you took the time in high school to give me private lessons so I wouldn't feel intimidated by all the guys in ag class. Growing up I loved being in the milk house with you and grandma and riding in the tractor with you (singing lots of little kid songs) and helping you work on equipment. Of course, the time you had me working the levers of the cultivator and nearly took your thumb off made me cry and cry. But your were quick to take the blame and tell me you were the one with your thumb in the wrong place and that I had done everything that you asked me to at exactly the right time.

These are just a few small memories but I'm so glad you're my dad.

Happy Birthday!

Sometimes it's the Little Things

2011-10-03T22:14:00.000-05:00

Sometimes it really is the little things that take your day or week from good to awesome. Sunday we fixed our dryer - no repair person needed, no major problems (we thought a bearing or the belt was bad - but found out when we opened it up all it needed was a good cleaning). Yay - I did loads and loads of laundry today! Clean floors - clean clothes - so happy! Before this we either took it all over to grandpa's to wash and dry OR washed what we needed and hung it out on the line. Not that I mind hanging laundry on the line; however, with three little ones and the amount of laundry they go through the speed of a dryer is so very welcome!

Last time I blogged about my $1.00 dresser. It's now all cleaned up and has the first coat of primer on. I found this great (and cheap) attachment you put on the spray can to act more as a trigger.

I LOVE it. Mine isn't exactly like the photo above but it's close. No spray paint finger, my hands stayed clean, and it provides much better control and coverage. I will never spray paint without it again.

But the best little thing today was Addie smiling at me for the first time! She only did it once but I know it was a directed smile. I made some popping sounds which she seems to like and her face lit up and she smiled right at me. I don't have a picture of her smiling (yet) but I thought this picture was sweet.

Those were my happy little moments today - hoping all of you have some happy little moments throughout your day as well!

Band Day

2011-10-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

Today we headed down to the Clarinda Band Jamboree. This was the band event my husband participated in when he was in school. It reminded me a lot of Algona Band Day which was the band event my family participated in growing up. We were all members of the Algona Scarlet Regiment Marching Band. This year they were both on the same weekend. I miss going up to Band Day so we thought it would be fun to go Clarinda's event (plus they give out the Glenn Miller trophy to the best band - how cool is that). There were a lot of good bands! Years later I have come to appreciate my band instructors for the perfection, hard work and practice they demanded from us. I may not have been a great musician but I LOVED marching band and I learned a lot of life lessons from being a band member.

It was a little cold this morning. We had a great spot for parade watching but it wasn't in the sun. Luckily we brought along plenty of blankets.

Grant enjoyed being wrapped up like a little "burrito." Grant really enjoyed the music and the marching. Hopefully both boys will want to play an instrument. Clark's favorite game today was playing "find the piccolo." Every band that went by he'd try to find the piccolo or ask us where it was. We had to explain that not every band has a piccolo. For those who don't know, I played the piccolo and Alan played the saxophone.

We decided not to attend the field shows since the kiddos were pretty much done with watching bands. Although they did catch a second wind after getting some yummy kettle corn!

So we headed home. Today there was a big auction in Red Oak - we decided to swing by and have a look. I haven't been to an auction in such a long time - it was a lot of fun. We actually need some storage furniture so we can finish putting away items. We took the kids home and I ran back to town (thank you to my wonderful hubby for a couple hours off :). Ended up finding a high boy dresser for the boys room and picked it up for a whole $1.00. Yes, it needs a little work but with a hammer (to fix up the slides for the drawers) and some paint it should fix up pretty well.

Clark was excited and wanted to start painting right away (he has requested a red dresser). So like his mother - however, over the years I have learned that following the proper steps in the right order leads to a better finish (and yes, I am contemplating the red request). I worked on cleaning it up tonight after the boys went to bed and hubby went to chaperone the Homecoming Dance (hee hee). Now, I am just looking at some of my favorite furniture blogs to get some good painting ideas (in between Addie feedings).

UPDATE - to see photos and a story on the Algona Band Day Parade go to my friend's blog HERE.

Homecoming 2011

2011-09-30T20:19:00.003-05:00

This afternoon we met grandpa to watch the 2011 Red Oak Homecoming parade - Go Tigers! In order to get good seats we needed to be there early. To pass the time Clark and Grant enjoyed listening to grandpa read them the library books we had checked out earlier in the day!

Even Addie wore the school colors - yes, we are tigers (orange and black). Good thing I could find all of the kids' Halloween apparel!

This was the first year the FFA had entered a float in a long time. The FFA kids were really excited. Alan helped with float building a couple evenings earlier in the week. The boys even went with last night.

Unfortunately the FFA float was not allowed entry into the parade after a couple teachers complained that the float's message was inappropriate. OK - Alan and I are pretty hard core when it comes to what we consider acceptable both in general taste and in keeping a positive view of agriculture. I guess I'll just show you the pictures and let you decide.

We thought it was fun (no - not actual manure, just soil; and no - the PTO shaft was not hooked up, so no actual spreading of anything) as did all the parents and alumni and the administration. However, the administration didn't want bad press - which I suppose we can't blame them there. The funny thing is the kids got the idea after looking through some old 1980's scrapbooks where the chapter had done the same thing. Funny how times have changed!

The FFA kids still went through the parade. They carried their new Red Oak FFA banner, a bunch of them rode in the back of a truck with their FFA t-shirts followed by the John Deere tractor (without the attachment). We'll chalk this up as a learning experience and move on - although my suggestion for next year is "PLOW them Under" - imagine the possibilities!

Our preschool activity today (other than story time at the library) consisted of sorting parade candy. First sorted by general type, than color or more specific type. Finally, Clark worked on some division as he counted them out and figured out how to equally split the candy pieces between himself and Grant. We were in such a good spot on the parade that we won't need to go trick or treating :)

Wishing you all a happy last day of September and HELLO October!

Feels Like Fall!

2011-09-29T22:15:00.000-05:00

Here's what I found Clark doing outside today! He actually was having problems getting a nice pile together but once I showed him the proper way to use the rake he was all over it. He was so excited to rake leaves - for jumping in of course.

The picture below is Clark tossing the walnuts out of the pile. He decided those would hurt upon landing in the leaves. Honestly, we have to watch it around here. If one isn't careful there is potential to be hit on the head by falling walnuts!

Seriously - I want to know how to maintain their enthusiasm to go rake for years to come (and sweep - I'll find them sweeping randomly as well).

They were very happy boys with their rakes and the leaves.

It provided lots of time for laughing and rolling in the leaves. Here's to hoping there are lots of beautiful fall days left.

Nature Hunt

2011-09-27T19:33:00.000-05:00

This morning we went on a nature hunt. The boys had a lot of fun with this activity! I handed them each a set of paint samples (in fallish colors) and asked them to find items outside that matched the color. We walked all over the acreage finding lots of things. Those items that we were able to haul with us we did (including the orange caterpillar) - the gray cement blocks and big hay bales we left where they were.

As you can see we collected lots of items. It was also a good way to explore our new home.

Often Grant will say he doesn't know a color but today with this activity he had no problem matching real items up with the color samples.

See our orange woolly bear caterpillar. Luckily it was happy with the marigold we picked in the same color scheme.

We then proceeded to paint with pine branches. Clark worked on mixing red and yellow to create orange.

This is his "sunset" picture. It's nice to have a big ol' front porch where we could spread out and enjoy the outdoors. Note: those are baskets of drying walnuts holding down the paper. With so many walnut trees we hope to have some walnuts this winter.

Even baby Addie enjoyed time outside with us! She truly seemed to enjoy sitting out on the porch with us today. (And on a side note we're going with Addie as the spelling when we use her nickname - thanks to her aunt for catching my mistake yesterday!).

In other news today, I managed to clean out everything from the dining room. I still need to clean off the table filled with dishes but the boxes are all emptied or moved to the room they should be in. This allowed me to set up my sewing machine and organize some of my sewing materials. Yes - I am going to be working on the machine a lot in the evenings I hope. My goal is to sew up at least 2 new children's FFA jackets, make a Halloween countdown calendar and put together a black skirt for Addie. We'll see how far I get. With all that sturdy corduroy going through my machine in the next few weeks I plan to pick up some heavy duty machine needles while in Ames tomorrow (this of course means a trip to the quilt store - hooray!).

Happy Birthday (to me)!

2011-09-26T20:52:00.001-05:00

Well, first Happy 1 Month Birthday to Addy! Our birthdays are exactly one month apart!

Had to show the picture of her as big as one of her teddy bears. For the boys I always photographed with a little sign I would make for them each month. Which often meant because I didn't get the sign made some of their "month" birthday pictures were a bit off. On a shopping outing in Council Bluffs last week I found these stickers at Hobby Lobby. Made the decision to go the easy route on baby number three. Although each month is a different color scheme so this may mean finding outfits to match. Yeah, like I'll find that a hardship each month :)

Her big brothers like to get in on the photo fun! Actually, their favorite thing to do with baby Addy right now is give her kisses on the forehead which they are doing in tandem in the photo.

Addy hasn't quite grasped the whole grabbing things yet. However, she loves to grab and hold onto my hair and she has taken to grabbing her Little Red Riding Hood dolly's pigtails too during floor time.

Now on to my birthday. It was a great birthday weekend! I love my family so much! The best part was that if my husband had his old job he would have spent Saturday at a board meeting ALL DAY! But instead he had Friday off due to Parent/Teacher conferences earlier in the week so we had a 3-day family weekend! We went up to Grandma and Grandpa Clark's. Mom and dad watched the kiddos on Saturday (thanks so much - that was an awesome gift in itself) while Alan and I did lunch and some shopping in Mason City. Then we went to a beautiful wedding reception that evening in Hampton. I do believe that is the longest amount of time I have spent away from Addy.

Sunday we ate mom's awesome chocolate birthday cake. On our way home we stopped by the apple orchard south of Ames and had a lot of fun running around (gave the boys a good chance to stretch their legs). The photo above is one I managed to get of both boys sitting in the old school house. Which they thought was neat since we started preschool and tot school at home earlier this month. On our way out we stopped to purchase some apples and some apple cider donuts for the ride home - yum!

And when we returned home this beautiful gift was waiting for us! Finally, I have a full sized refrigerator! Alan and I purchased a new stove and fridge for our home before Addy was born. The stove arrived the week Addy was born and the refrigerator ended up being back ordered. The store said it would be another 2 weeks. That came and went. Finally, the store called last week and said they were frustrated too. The model we ordered had been discontinued and the manufacturer didn't know if they could get us the fridge we ordered or when it would be available for delivery. So - thank you Nebraska Furniture Mart for upgrading us and getting us a fridge. Seriously, there is only so long you can live with a family of 5 out of a dorm fridge! We were sent one of the latest models that was bigger than we had originally ordered (and about $700 more expensive). So that was a great birthday gift! A true case of patience being rewarded.

Since we were up at my parents' house the neighbors we rent the house from came over to let them bring the fridge in. I find it somewhat funny that our landlady sent Alan a text to tell him she was a bit jealous.

This morning the boys and I filled the fridge - it seems so empty. They love it! Although it is not quite so easy for the little guys to grab things out of the fridge now. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

Welcome Baby Sister

2011-08-31T23:02:00.000-05:00

We are so happy to announce the arrival of our little girl!

Addison Elfrieda Spencer

Born: August 24, 2011 at 7:55 am

9 lbs 3 oz

20.5" long

She is our little sweetheart.

Look how much she already adores her daddy!

Ever since we started having children the name "Addison" has topped our list. Once we had our Clark we really wanted an Addison. Clark is my maiden name but as Chicago Cubs fans we couldn't resist the tie in between Clark and Addison (the streets Wrigley Field sits on). And to add to the Chicago reference the popular Grant Park suits our middle child.

Addison's middle name Elfrieda was my grandmother's name. Sometimes I think grandma and I were cut from the same cloth. Giving a little girl her name as a middle name was an easy choice and one I hope she someday finds unique and beautiful. September 1st was grandma's birthday - so happy birthday grandma - I know you would have been proud of your newest great-granddaughter (just as you were proud of all your grand and great-grand children).

Crazy Days

2011-08-11T20:51:00.000-05:00

I think today I hit the bottom of the crazy barrel. Hopefully this means that things should be looking up - right? I don't know with baby girl on the way in just under two weeks things could potentially get crazier around here. So what prompted this blog post regarding my life hitting an all time craziness?

1. Could it be the fact that the only internet option we have in this out of the way area is satellite internet. Which little did I know comes with download restrictions - we'll see if that interferes with my working remotely from home or not. For now it does mean no watching on-line TV shows or using Netflix on-line :( The worst was having one company lined up and then they canceled on us because they didn't have enough technicians for our area on the day of install (of course I waited the whole 4 hour time limit before they bothered to tell me this). Than the earliest they could have someone out was the first part of SEPTEMBER! I. work. from. home! So called a local dealer and they set us up right away on a different satellite network. Still have download restrictions but at least I'm connected to the world.

Crappy but not the reason for the post.

2. Remember "The Shining" version of the Simpson's? Where Homer writes "No Beer, No TV - make Homer go crazy" all over. Well no caffeine and no TV is making Andrea want to pull her hair out! OK - I willingly gave up the caffeine way back in September to keep baby safe from such things. But who knew not watching the news in the morning really messes with my head. Yes, there is an antennae but in this area of the state forget trying to get anything that way - at least not with the switch to digital TV. I called Directv movers long ago and was so very excited because today our receiver was to be hooked back up in our new home. NOooooooooooooo. Was all I could say when the technician did not show up between 8 am and 12 pm today. When I called in I was told that they said no one was home. What??? I purposely worked on the bottom floor of the house so I would see a truck pull in. Then she told me the address - they sent the tech to our OLD ADDRESS. Seriously - we've been with them at that address for 8 years this didn't ring a bell? Next available date - September 1st. Really?? Again (this time near tears), I called our local communications company. They don't usually do moves since Directv doesn't pay them for it but if we paid the fees they could set it up on Monday. Yes, please!!! At this point I don't care about the $100. My husband feeling he needed to ride in on a white horse for his overly pregnant wife called in and made Directv (who we have been a customer of for 12 years) refund our money for the service call. What a sweet man - defending our honor and all that.

So - no Project Runway viewing tonight. Still not the bottom of the crazy barrel.

3. Being completely swollen with only 12 days left before baby arrives. (yes mom, I check my blood pressure each day and all is well there). Seriously, I no longer have ankles and my hands lose all feeling after too much work. If I put my feet up though the swelling does go down and again my awesome husband doesn't complain about the now daily foot rubs. Well, he should have to go through some discomfort for this child too- right?

Yeah - still dealing with this is what I expected with a late August baby and a move half way across the state.

4. The move - sucks! Sorry, not a fan of moving. In fact, we considered not taking this job simply because we didn't want to move. However, this is for the good of our family and things will get better. This isn't the first time I've had a newborn and no kitchen. When our oldest was born the kitchen and living room were being remodeled and things were everywhere! So much thanks to our parents, my brother and friends who helped with the move. The great thing is we have a wonderful landlord and lots of great neighbors down here (back in my husband's childhood location) who have helped us out tremendously. It is nice to be back in a small community where neighbors help each other.

Still - moving is what it is.

5. Cleaning disgusting who knows what from everything in this house! I decided a while back that there was no way I had the energy to clean our house we were selling after moving out. So, I went online and hired Molly Maids. Best. decision. EVER! They cleaned the cupboards, appliances - everything on the main level. Sweet! Plus, my wonderful mom cleaned the basement floors and went on search and destroy mission to rid the basement of spiders. Thanks MOM! The floors in the basement haven't looked that good since before last year's major August floods.

In hindsight I should have hired a cleaning service for the new house! I really didn't expect the sheer awfulness that awaited. And yes, usually in a rental situation the landlord would have taken care of the cleaning but the renters were late in moving out and then landlord and family went on their summer vacation and we at that time needed into the house. The landlord will be replacing the carpet (which has an odd smell even after he had it shampooed). The past couple days I have been working on organizing the kitchen and the cupboards are just yucky! I have gone through lots of GooGone and Clorox wipes. Today though between the swelling and the lack of TV I gave up on trying to bend down to do the bottom cupboards. My poor husband will have to crawl around to get those clean.

A "throw my hands up" moment but still not rock bottom.

6. Ah - here it is: washing my maternity underwear in the kitchen sink! Yep, that for me was when crazy laughter hit. My two week supply of unmentionables was up. Husband went to hook the washer up last night but realized we forgot the hoses at the old house so there was no way to hook it up. By this afternoon I wasn't sure what I should do. Going commando to my doctor's appointment tomorrow didn't sound like a good plan - plus I could never do that anyway. I couldn't just go out and buy new maternity undies - those just aren't found at stores in this general area. So, I filled a clean bucket with hot water and soap and scrubbed and rinsed and scrubbed some more. Even this wasn't too bad - since honestly some people do wash all their delicates by hand anyway. It was when I realized I had no idea where the clothespins were that I went a bit nuts.

How did I hang my laundry out to dry you must be wondering. With paperclips and binder clips, of course. I love my office supplies! Well, at least I have some wonderfully outdoor line dried fresh laundry ready for the weekend! It didn't help that while my clean undies were hanging in the breeze the former renters came by to check on their truck that was supposed to be gone 3 weeks ago but is still sitting here waiting for the tow truck they tell us will be coming (I'll believe it when I see it). Hey - I guess if you can't get your act together you'll have to bear seeing a pregnant woman's large underpants blowing in the breeze!

Nothing like a little crazy to make us realize and appreciate how special the "normal" times are!

Heat Wave

2011-07-19T16:01:00.000-05:00

Here is how we helped handle the heat wave that has settled over our area of the country this week.

On Sunday, we ran to town and picked up an inexpensive wading pool for the boys.

The boys couldn't wait to play in the water so it was very COLD! You know, from the depth of the well cold. But the expression on Grant's face when he poured water over his head was priceless! They both soaked themselves over and over again.

The boys had wanted the pool at the store with the slide built in but I convinced them we could come up with something better (and save some money). So we took the little slide (that the goats like to play on) from the sandbox and moved it to the pool area.

The boys have had great fun enjoying the pool on these hot days. They especially love that the rules that apply to bath time DO NOT apply to pool time!

Don't let Fred fool you - he merely looks curious in this picture. Yesterday while Clark was in the pool I found Fred playing with Clark completely submersed in the water - Fred was loving every minute of it. He was even laying down in the "shallow" end (little bit of a slope to the yard). Yes, we have a water loving dog. Who can blame him in this heat!

Our "New" Home

2011-07-18T17:23:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, we drove down to Red Oak to do a walk through of our rental home. The people were supposed to have moved out on Friday but they were still working on some things so I didn't take as many photos as I had wanted to. However, we did measure all the rooms so I could lay out some plans this week.

Here is the front of the house (faces west). The landlord has someone coming to replace the front steps as they are becoming quite worn but the boys loved running around on the front porch. And sitting on the front porch swing! I'm giddy - we have a front porch swing. Not only that the porch faces west - great location for watching storms roll in. I remember sitting on our back porch with my dad watching storms come in. Granted that porch at home faced North but it was still memorable!

Here was the one interior shot I took. This was probably the old "parlor" but it will be our living room. Wood floors throughout - although they need some love and urethane. The views are lovely from the big old windows. We are a bit worried about how much cleaning there may be but we'll get it shined up.

A view of the back porch. It sits right off the kitchen. There is also a laundry and mud room area to the other side off the kitchen.

A view of the house from the driveway. See that third story window? That is a finished usable space up there which is where my sewing area is going to go. Not to worried about heat in the winter but may need to look into a window air conditioner for the summer months.

Looking to the south of the property. We have a nice clothes line. The place is surrounded by Oak and Walnut trees. Clark was picking up old walnut shells wondering what they were. There are also a couple of apple trees on the property but they don't have many apples this year. In addition, it supposedly comes with a large asparagus patch and I found the old rhubarb patch. Our landlord is very open to us doing anything we want outside. I think there is a nice sunny area to the east that will make a great garden location next year.

Finally, here is our livestock's lodging. It needs some work to make it usable and winter ready; however, it should be a nice little area. My picture doesn't it show it that well but the one side is concrete floor and the other side is dirt floor. It is an open faced shed - facing south. However, there's a nice beam that we can use to build an enclosure big enough for everyone. This is the one downfall of the property - there is no garage and this is the only out building (and there is only one outdoor water hydrant which is up by the house so we'll have to haul water). But for the price and location it's still a very nice property. It is secluded and quiet which makes me happy - I like my privacy.

I think the boys like it - I foresee a lot of tree climbing in the future though. We also know we'll need to build a sandbox since they already mentioned it didn't have one and that is their favorite outdoor activity (well - until we purchased a wading pool on Sunday but I'll post that tomorrow).

Oh, What a Day!

2011-07-12T14:53:00.000-05:00

At this point I would much rather be blogging about preparations for the upcoming Iowa State Fair; but as many of you know our lives this summer have made that a bit impossible. However, I have received numerous e-mails from people who are entering and prepping for the upcoming fair. All I have to say is HOW AWESOME! Good Luck to all of you and I hope you have lots of fun!

Now for a word of warning - the next part of the post is more of a story than a blog but I wanted to put it in writing. So no pictures but I'll try to make it an amusing tale.

For our family Friday through Monday this past weekend was simply a flurry of activity as we finished off all those little (and in our case some large) projects that we expected to get to slowly as we had time and money around the house (we really never expected to move - at least not anytime in the near future). The house is lovely now. My poor husband had to put up with "wow - that would have been great to have done 'x number' years ago". We still have a few little details to work on and some more cleaning both inside and out but we accomplished a lot. The boys had lots of sandbox and outdoor time but not a lot of mommy and daddy attention the past few days. Although Clark was a big help moving empty boxes for me and even Grant helped haul and load some little items that were just his size.

On Monday the inspector and buyers were to do their walk through starting at 1 PM. So, we worked up until we needed to leave. We thought we would take the boys out for a treat and get some lunch and head to a movie. If we all fell asleep in the air conditioned theater we decided that wouldn't be all bad. First we needed to deposit a refund check and take out some cash. Upon depositing our check we realized our bank account was over drawn. That seemed very strange to me since I had been carefully watching our ins and outs with all the extra bills and purchases we've had to make with the finishing work on the house. But I thought - well, I must have miscalculated somewhere very badly. Normally, I would have headed straight home to check the accounts and see where I went wrong but that wasn't an option. With two hungry kids in the back of the car we had to come up with some sort of plan. Luckily, while cleaning out the garage Alan and the boys had loaded up our pop cans to take to recycling. On our way to the recycling center I went through my purse and found a $5.00 bill and $4.00 in my change purse.

Of course, Grant fell asleep in the back seat during our driving around town. Once to the recycling center I stayed with sleeping Grant while Clark and Alan took in our cans. Clark felt like such a big boy hauling in two bags at the same time all on his own. We could tell this little excursion was fun for Clark because he talked about it non-stop and asked a million questions when we were back in the car. It has been a long time since Alan and I have taken back cans in order to get a meal but if that's what it took to get some food so be it. We now had $19.00 to spend. How ironic - we had plenty of food at home but we couldn't go home. It was a bizarre feeling. We headed to HyVee and bought some fruit, meat, cheese, chocolate milk and crackers. We bought a couple fountain drinks and sat down in a booth in their meal seating area. The boys thought it was a great picnic. They were completely happy with their meal. We decided to just enjoy the time sitting together as a family (in air conditioning). We laughed and munched and had a good time.

Of course, at this point we still had about 1.5 hours of time to kill before heading home. The boys decided even though it was hot they wanted to go play at a playground. Mommy decided on the most shady one she could think of in Bandshell Park and we headed out. While at the park my husband gets a phone message from Shazaam saying they have noticed unusual activity on our card. We call in and yes, over the weekend while I wasn't paying close attention some charges had been made on our card - not by us. We tell our hot and sticky boys that we need to go back to the bank and figure out what happened to our account. Clark is determined to find the "bad guys" that stole our money. Which somehow morphed into a lesson on Jesse James - having a history buff for a husband comes in quite handy at times.

Funny enough at the bank I felt worse for the bank manager who told us this was the second case she had handled that day than I did for us. Yes, we had our entire account wiped out but we signed all the paperwork and the bank will take care of it (in about 7 - 10 days). The boys even got suckers which made them happy little campers. The bad thing is the banks have to pay out of their own pockets for these crimes and the perpetrators are rarely caught or held accountable. Sad. All I have to say though is stupid on their part for stealing our pin number - since there wasn't all that much to take at the time anyway.

Amazingly enough after the bank we still had a 1/2 hour to kill. We headed to the library. The boys found some good books (since most of theirs are currently packed up it was nice to get some new reading material) and had some good play time. Grant snuggled up with daddy to read some books and do some puzzles and Clark played at the Lego table (no surprise there). Having someone else along I was even able to look for some books at my leisure and my husband found the comic book section and found some items he has been wanting to look at too. Oh and I found the Brer Rabbit collection of stories that I decided we had to check out. I remember reading the story of Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby with my grandma before naptime over and over again. Grandma once told me it was by far my favorite story. I would beg to have her reread it to me.

Long ~~story~~ day short - we went home and we enjoyed a nice evening meal followed by early bedtimes for all (and mommy enjoyed reading Brer Rabbit to the boys at bedtime). Oh- and we still have $4.00! You know - all in all the day made me very grateful that God has so greatly blessed our little family. Although sometimes the end of the month feels a little tight I know that we won't go without and that is a great blessing.

What Type Am I?

2011-07-07T11:08:00.000-05:00

That's a pretty open ended question. I have taken many quizzes and tests to find out. Things regarding my personality, my work habits/style, my strengths and weaknesses, etc. Most of these for work or school. Today I found something else to help me find direction. Hah - I need all the help I can get in that regard. But today's direction is more home decorating style focused.

Today as I was reading through a few blog posts I found this blog post entitled "House Speak" by The Shabby Nest. Since we are in the process of moving to a new home it made me think about my own decorating style. I have to admit when we first bought this house I almost cried since it wasn't exactly the charming 2-story farm house I would like. I actually find ranch homes boring and architecturally ugly. However, with a lot of time, hard work by hubby and myself we made it feel cozy and homey. Now I am actually sad to leave it and it's open floor plan we created.

Our new rental home will be that charming 2-story farm house complete with original wood work and pocket doors (and a front porch with a porch swing!). We've only done a brief walk through so I look forward to getting inside again the middle of the month to take measurements, figure paint schemes and hopefully by August at least have the nursery, kitchen and boys' room put together.

So for a little fun today while I sat for a break to put my feet up (thankfully they aren't swelling up) I took the style quiz over at Sproost. Actually no surprises - I am a mix of 40% Traditional Country, 40% Classic and 20% Modern Elegance. That pretty much sums me up. From the Traditional County I like to surround myself with vintage pieces, rare finds and hand-me downs to help create a homey feeling. From the classic I like classic lines, solid furniture and an overall sophisticated feel. And then there is that little modern side of me where I enjoy simplicity and some modern pops mixed in with my vintage items. Where I fall short on the modern side is actually keeping the place from feeling cluttered. I'm going to work on that in the next home.

OK - back to working on getting this house to the final stages of the sale! We have a buyer (only 5 days on the market I can't believe it), now we just need to get through inspections next week (still lots to do). Once we get past inspections I'll sleep better!

Two and Four

2011-07-05T14:29:00.000-05:00

This year we did not have photos taken of the boys at their birthday time. We decided to save some money and wait until baby girl is born later in August and do a whole family layout by a professional photographer friend of ours. Last night though we captured some great photos of the boys at the playground. We played in the park until it was time to watch the fireworks from the hill of the park.

These are some of my favorites and I think I'll order a few to use as their two and four year old photos.

This is Alan's favorite!

Grant thought he was such a big boy learning how to swing.

Bye, bye - see you later!

It is becoming harder all the time to get any good pictures of Clark. He's become a stinker when it comes to taking photos. That and he's become very quick. Still it only takes one good photo, right?

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T18:41:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July weekend! We spent most of the weekend packing, moving and working on getting the house ready for inspection. However, today we celebrated our nation's birthday with what has become a favorite family tradition - blueberry picking! This is the 3rd year we have picked blueberries on the 4th of July (the 2nd year with grandma).

Clark is a serious little blueberry picker. He worked hard on trying to fill his bucket (which he then proceeded to sit and eat for snack). Funny enough he told grandma that this was blueberry picking time when he caught her sampling the goods!

Grant started off the day putting berries in his bucket but it wasn't long before the bucket was empty. After that point he decided to skip the middle element and just put berries straight in the mouth.

Clark was especially excited when he jumped rows and started picking berries by grandma where they had somehow managed to find the JUMBO berries!

Between the 4 of us we managed to fill two buckets which ended up being just over 10 pounds. Yummy! They will have to go in the freezer though for now but there are plans for blueberry syrup making later this fall.

The boys had fun berry picking with grandma! Grandma picked two buckets also. Eventually the boys did tire of berry picking so their dad took them over to visit the honey bee hives. After lunch they decided to take really long naps this afternoon - must have worn them out. So, hopefully everyone will be ready to watch fireworks later tonight!

Happy Birthday America!

Thank you to our founding fathers and all who have served our country to grant us such marvelous freedoms!

Baby Sewing

2011-06-30T08:29:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure what possessed me the other day (other than my maternal nesting instincts are kicking in for baby number 3 and I have nothing accomplished for her at this point) but I felt like doing a little sewing. Now the majority of my sewing room and fabrics are packed up and loaded on a trailer but I couldn't part with my sewing machine and a few sewing essentials yet so they are still accessible.

The other day when the kids and I needed to get out of the house for a showing we ran to Hobby Lobby and the boys helped pick out some adorable owl fabric to make "baby sister" a little swaddler. I know she's an August baby but even August babies at first need a little soft and warmth.

It was a super simple pattern by Kwik Sew (Kwik Sew 3734). I took these photos before putting the hook and loop tape on but that is now finished too! Which I found a great new product (well new to me at least) - Velcro Brand Fabric Fusion! It was AWESOME! I despise sewing on hook and loop and I thought it would make my cute outer portion of the swaddler look not as finished. On the other hand the adhesive tape doesn't adhere the best to fabrics for long periods. But the iron on stuff is amazing. There's no way it's coming off. The boys have been playing with opening and closing the pieces and the hold is strong as ever.

Alright it's time to get back to my 3 page long To Do List to sell the house and pack it up for moving. But this was a fun little diversion and it will be put to use soon! I keep reminding myself that God knew there was no way I could handle this move with a newborn but it's still possible with the baby still snug inside - not always easy but still manageable :)

Month Long Hiatus

2011-06-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

My apologies to my friends and family and those that follow this little blog! I just realized a whole month has passed since my last post. I didn't even post birthday party photos (for shame). My dad told me at my nephew's birthday party yesterday that I should at least put a post up telling people I haven't perished. So, if anyone was worried I'm fine (frazzled but fine).

On the train for the boys' birthday party!

What happened a month ago? Well, after much prayer we decided my husband should take a new job. When he applied we never expected a school would offer us the salary we would ask for but we ended up to be very wrong. So, Alan is leaving his job as Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the Iowa FFA and will be moving back to teaching high school Agricultural Science. With our young family the schedule will be much better and will allow Alan more time to spend with the family - which makes everyone happy! We are also moving back to his childhood home. The boys look forward to spending more time with Grandpa Spencer. Trust me mom - this is hard for me to move another 2 hours further away from you guys too.

So on top of being now 8 months pregnant I have been in the process of cleaning and packing, and painting and more cleaning. My poor body is exhausted by days end when I normally blog so therefore the blog kind of got set on the back burner as it were. This month has gone incredibly fast. We actually had not expected to move anytime soon and we have slowly been working on remodels to the house. Now, all those little changes and finish jobs have slammed into us!

We listed the house/acreage on Friday - expecting that we would still have some time to finish a few things. We were sorely mistaken. We have had 3 showings this weekend and another scheduled for tomorrow. If anyone has tips on keeping the house clean with 2 little boys running around the house I'd love to hear them. The obvious choice would be to ship them outside but it is either super hot or raining around here lately. I have packed up 90% of the toys leaving them with only a small box of Legos, their Thomas trains and track, some Little People, a small set of crayons and a couple coloring books, some wood blocks and some books. Quite frankly these may be the only toys going back into another house :)

So all of my sewing stuff is packed (except for my sewing machine because I have this absurd notion that I want to make a christening gown). All of my plans for the Iowa State Fair for 2011 have at this point been wiped out. Even the few things I thought I would take won't happen (since we'll probably be in the process of moving into a new home).

Just a reminder for all of you who might be entering this year though

- most entry deadlines for the ISF are due this week!

However, we aren't letting good produce go to waste. Although I don't plan to do much canning this summer that doesn't mean we can't pick and freeze it to put into yummy jams and jellies and other good things later after we're more settled.

Obviously the broccoli hasn't made it into any freezer bags. That' OK - it's much better fresh.

I love the fact that the first day we picked our first head of broccoli Clark just happened to be wearing his broccoli t-shirt. Honest, this was not staged or planned! This was my first try at growing broccoli - I can't believe how nice the heads were!

We picked and froze 6 quarts of rhubarb from our little patch! The boys loved learning how to pick rhubarb and get rid of the big, POISONOUS leaves!

We also went strawberry picking at the Berry Patch Farm in Nevada.

Clark tried hard to explain the color red to his little brother. We still ended up with a few white and green berries in Grant's basket.

All in all it was a good hall of strawberries.

And last week Grant discovered the mulberry tree. I was impressed that he was hesitant to eat the berries until his daddy showed them they were edible. Then there was no getting the child away from the tree. I than proceeded to show his brother how to pull lightly on the branches to get more berries in reach. This provided at least an hours worth of entertainment for them.

And as if this post isn't long enough I do just have to say that I had a happy afternoon at the fabric store today. Since we were kicked out of the house for the entire afternoon we decided to go to Alan's office where the boys could nap and Alan could catch up on a little work. Once the boys were down I headed off to the fabric store. I enjoyed the afternoon flipping through pattern books and wandering through aisles of fabric. I didn't find the fabric I want for the christening gown but I did find this adorable swaddler pattern that seems pretty quick and easy to make (it was a Kwik Sew pattern so how bad can it be). Found some cute owl fabric on sale and some matching fleece and may try to whip it up at naptime tomorrow. I realize I have a million other things to do but I would like to have at least one nice little project made up for the new baby.

So there you have it - I haven't disappeared completely. I will miss exhibiting at the ISF this year but I plan to be back in full force for 2012! Meanwhile I'll try to keep you better updated of the goings on around here.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Cake Debacle

2011-05-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

Ah - cake! Have you ever had a love/hate relationship with a particular food? Cake is mine. I love to eat cake, I love to mix up cake batter, I love to search for new cake recipes; however, somehow more often than not my cakes end up looking like this:

OK - this may be a bit of an exaggeration! This was the lump that leaked out of my stand-up train pan. The upside - at least I get to taste the cake to make sure it's OK ;)

And I somehow overfilled the cupcake liners and ended up with a mess. I have learned 3/4 full does not equate the same across all cake batters. Sigh! I'll have to make a new batch of cupcakes tomorrow morning. I happen to have a very happy family tonight though when they found out the cupcakes were not off limits.

Unfortunately my stand up cake for the boys is going to end up as just a regular plated and decorated cake rather than a stand-up. I tied the wire as tight as I could but it still exploded out the smoke stack. Oh well - the boys still think it looks cool so I'm not going to strive for perfection.

Don't get me wrong - the cakes taste fantastic! I tried a couple recipes from the February 2011 issue of Better Homes and Gardens.

The first was the Classic Vanilla Cake (my husband is a vanilla cake lover and couldn't stop devouring little cupcakes so it was a very good recipe - I added in red, white and blue sprinkles to appease my 2 year old's love affair with all things sprinkled!).

The second was the Double Chocolate Cake recipe. As a chocolate lover I can attest to this being a really good chocolate cake. However, it still doesn't beat my mom's chocolate cake. Mom - your cake is still the best!

A Day of Insect Fun!

2011-05-18T20:10:00.000-05:00

Today we decided to fix a picnic lunch and head for Reiman Gardens.

We wanted to check out the new insect exhibits.

We started in the butterfly wing.

Clark and Grant loved pointing out all the different butterflies.

We headed outside to see the BIG insects!

I think the ants were the favorites of the day.

Although the Children's Garden maze held lots of attraction.

And of course the big Gnome was a hit too.

Although by this time Clark was no longer into posing for photos.

It was great fun to watch Grant practice his balancing skills throughout the day.

He has definitely hit that "I do it!" 2 year old stage of life.

After eating a picnic lunch under a nice shade tree the boys found another part of the garden to explore the fountains. Water fountains have always been some of Clark's favorite things. Today I spent lots of time explaining how a fountain and it's pumps work.

One last outdoor shot with the giant mosquito.

Inside once more to go to the conservatory and see the ant invasion!

We all liked the little rock/metal ants throughout the conservatory!

After all that the boys were ready to head for home. So, according to plan I wore them out. Unfortunately this backfired on me when Grant fell asleep on the way home and refused to wake up so nap time (and therefore wake up time) was VERY early today and I did not accomplish quite as much as hoped for this afternoon. Oh well! Clark meanwhile has decided he's too old for naps - humph - we'll see about that.

He did mention tonight that his legs were very sleepy (tired).

To My Boys - Greetings From L.A.

2011-05-10T19:15:00.000-05:00

Dearest Clark and Grant,

Mommy sends you her love and greetings from L.A., California! I thought you might like to see what mommy has been up to since she boarded the plane on Sunday.

Yesterday the group from Iowa went to the convention center and mommy helped all of the finalists from Iowa set up and clear their projects. No problems - all went well.

We walk by the Staples Center every day on our way to the Convention Center. I'll let daddy explain it's importance. Basically it is where a basketball team plays.

Today was our tour day. Many of our Iowa group decided to take the subway train to Hollywood. When we got there mommy and some friends headed to Grauman's Chinese Theatre. This is a very big deal.

But I thought you might like the dragons that guard the doors so I took a picture for you.

This is a picture of mommy next to the pavement where Roy Rogers and Trigger have their foot/hoof prints.

When mommy gets home she and daddy will need to find the photo of the day Roy Rogers and Trigger actually stepped in the cement. In the picture will be your great-grandpa (daddy's grandpa) standing right behind Roy. Great -grandpa Alfred Sloey used to sing in a group that sang with Roy Rogers. This was long before your mommy and daddy were born. In fact, your Grandma and Grandpa Spencer were very young at the time - maybe just a little older than you.

We also saw John Wayne's autograph. John Wayne is from Iowa and was a very famous actor. In fact, both of your grandpa's like John Wayne a lot (so do mom and dad)!

And I couldn't resist a shot of Gene Autry and Champ's foot/hoof prints. Again another great cowboy singer/actor and his horse.

After sight seeing we stopped at the Disney Soda Fountain for a chocolate shake.

On our way back to the subway station I saw this dinosaur that I thought you both would like.

Finally we took the subway back to the convention center and went to the Nobel Laureate panel. I know this probably won't mean much to you now but I hope someday you will be excited enough about science to appreciate the contributions made by these scientists. My favorite each year is always Dudley Herschbach. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986.

The one thing all of these distinguished men agree on is that their family has always brought them the greatest and happiest moments in their lives. Greater even than winning such a distinguished prize. I think that says a lot. So I want you to know how much you both mean to me and how very much I miss you!

Mommy loves you both so much! Take care and be good boys for daddy and grandma!

That's My Boy

2011-05-01T20:45:00.000-05:00

Yep - pj's and boots; that's my boy! I'll admit it gets a little crazy around here when daddy's gone for the week. Welcome home daddy (we all missed you)!

Meet Fred

2011-05-01T19:53:00.000-05:00

Meet our new puppy - Fred!

Fred is a Rat Terrier (the same breed my husband had growing up). He was born on February 16, 2011. He was about 9 weeks old when we brought him home on Maunday Thursday.

He smelled a bit like pig (yes, he came from a hog farm up the road a ways) when he came home so he was treated to a bath.

He took the bath amazingly well.

Grant thought this was great fun to watch.

Awww!

A close up shot of Fred done by our fine little photographer - Clark.

Fred has been living with us for over a week now and we think he is a good fit with our family. He listens well, he doesn't stray far from any of us when outside, he treats the chickens and goats with respect (probably because they are bigger than he is and let's just say his curiosity towards one of the roosters ended not as Fred expected), he doesn't chase the cats (in fact, Purple scares him - Purple just has to come into visible range for Fred to dart behind my legs; then again, Purple takes on bobcats so this new little creature isn't going to have the upper hand in that relationship) and he only barks when it seems well deserved. Plus, we are well on our way towards being completely potty trained! Only a couple little accidents last week.

Finally and most importantly he LOVES to play with Clark and Grant. There's nothing like watching the boys run and run and run with a little dog following close behind.

Clark's Preschool Easter Party

2011-04-28T20:20:00.002-05:00

The Thursday before Easter was Clark's class Easter party. His group started the party by potting up some little plants in cute containers to make "fairy" gardens. Amazingly less messy than I would have thought. Little gardener that Clark is he had no problem tucking in the plants.

After the garden fun it was snack time. Clark's teacher asked if Grant wanted to join in. Grant felt like such a BIG boy being able to sit at the table with the big kids and have a snack.

Better picture of Grant and Clark eating snack.

After snack the kids lined up and waited for the parents to "hide" the eggs in the lawn. After hiding eggs I went to look for Grant and couldn't find him over on the edge of the lawn where I had left him. After a brief moment of panic I saw him sitting right next to Clark on the sidewalk with the other preschoolers waiting for the hunt to begin! It was hard explaining to Grant that he didn't get to hunt for eggs with Clark this time around.

All the pretty eggs in the yard outside the church.

Children out gathering the eggs. Each child was to bring an egg carton full of a dozen eggs. The kids then hunted with their egg cartons and once they were full of eggs they were done and could help other friends fill their egg cartons.

Finally, we went inside to play a game before being dismissed. I'm glad Alan, Grant and I were all able to share the special day with Clark and his preschool friends.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Orange Cake

2011-04-28T20:20:00.000-05:00

The following is a recipe I remember fondly from my youth. My mom would make this cake on occasion. It's a yummy spring cake. I decided to do an easy dessert for Easter dinner and this fit the bill. And yes, this fits in the ISF category of cake mix fix-ups. Although this cake has been around for awhile so I don't
know that it would be something the judges consider original enough.

Mandarin Orange Cake

1 (18.25 ounce) package orange cake mix (I use Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Orange Cake Mix)
4 eggs
2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 ounce) can mandarin orange segments
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

Combine cake mix, eggs, 1 package of pudding, vegetable oil, and mandarin oranges and beat well for about 3 minutes.
Bake in a 9 x 13 inch greased and floured pan for 30-35 minutes in a pre-heated 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven.
To Make Frosting: Fold pudding and pineapple into whipped topping and frost cake. Keep refrigerated.

Coloring Eggs

2011-04-23T19:54:00.001-05:00

Eggs in . . .

checking . . .

eggs out . . .

more eggs out . . .

sticker fun . . .

pretty Easter eggs all done!

Family Day

2011-04-20T18:56:00.000-05:00

Since most of February and March (and much of April) are driven by work for Alan and myself we decided to take a day off today and spend it with the boys.

Our first stop was the Iowa Science Center. Grandma took them last week and they enjoyed it - so we decided to go as a family. Alan had never actually been to the Science Center so this was his first visit. I will admit we're rather spoiled - having visited the Indianapolis Children's Museum everything else pales in comparison.

Clark enjoyed making his own Star show.

Blocks were also popular. Both boys spend lots of time building with various materials.

After an early lunch we went to a movie together. We've never done this as a foursome before! Yep - Grant's first movie! He really enjoyed "Rio." We couldn't believe how well he sat for the whole thing. In fact, he sat better than Clark (although Clark was pretty good too).

Finally (after shopping for shoes for Clark's ever growing feet), we stopped for some Coldstone Creamery ice cream. Clark opted for the Cotton Candy with sprinkles. He enjoys trying new flavors.

Grant stuck to his tried and true Chocolate - but it had to have sprinkles. He's a big fan of sprinkles.

Both boys slept all the way home - allowing Alan and I some time to catch up too.

Iowa FFA Convention

2011-04-19T20:34:00.000-05:00

Ahh April - you bring us such joy and misery. From beautiful weather and enjoying our first picnic last week to snow and slush hitting the ground today. "sigh" Oh well - at least it hasn't actually frozen any of my little plants (yet). April also brings the Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference (or SLC or Convention). Which means I get to bring out the boys' ever so adorable Official Dress.

The best part this year though was playing with the boys at the end of the conference. I run the Convention Office for my husband and that is where grandma or Whitney would bring the boys to play after nap time. We had LOTS of left over apple boxes that the boys thought were oh so fun to play in on the last day!

Amber (one of our babysitters and Alan's FFA intern) helped them build towers.

Grandma and Amber put together tunnels that the boys crawled through.

I think their favorite part though was knocking the tower over (and starting over again).

Clark also built a road that he, Grant and Grandma ran through (it even came complete with a construction zone)!

Many, many thanks to Grandma, Whitney and Amber for helping care for the boys throughout the conference - it made a world of difference to not have to worry about the boys and their schedules!

In Iowa State Fair news - today while I watched the snow fly I downloaded the Entry books for some of the areas I'm considering entering this year. P.S. - ISF I love the Butter Cow theme this year (and that it is carrying over into some of the entry classes)!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-18T18:09:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, we went to St. Paul Lutheran's (Clark's Preschool) Easter Egg Hunt. It wasn't a perfect warm sunny Spring day but that didn't seem to matter to the kids.

Waiting for the hunt to begin. Clark could actually put the basket over his head, down his body and step out of it when he got it down to his feet. Mom wasn't too excited by the whole stunt but daddy laughing didn't help matters.

Waiting with his preschool and Sunday School friend Eliza.

Grant enjoyed picking up eggs.

He was proud of his little basket full! All the kids were directed to find 15 eggs (empty) and then they could turn the eggs in for a bag of goodies. Clark counted up the eggs in both his basket and Grant's to make sure they had the right number.

Clark's first taste of Nerds candy - he he! He loved eating them but the look on his first taste was pretty funny!

It turned out to be a very busy Palm Sunday - but we had lots of fun. We had to be at church pretty early for practices since I was playing in the bell choir and Clark was singing with the Sunday School children. Although Clark didn't do a lot of singing. That palm frond seemed to be quite a distraction.

May you all have a blessed Holy Week.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-14T07:44:00.001-05:00

One a penny, two a penny hot cross buns! Yummy - I always loved that my mom and grandma both would make hot cross buns this time of year. These are definitely worth a try for Palm Sunday, Passion Week or Easter breakfast.

Here are some interesting sites regarding Hot Cross Buns and their traditions:
BBC News
Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

Last year I tried King Arthur Flour's recipe (before I had always stuck to grandma's recipe). I have to say I really liked it. Plus they have awesome photo instructions if you like that added help. They also have a blog -Baker's Banter with even more photo details.

Here's my modified recipe that tastes so good!

Buns:

1/4 C rum

1/2 C golden raisins

1/2 C dried currents

1/4 C dried cranberries - chopped

1/4 C dried pineapple - chopped (optional)

1 1/4 C milk, room temperature

3 large eggs, 1 separated

6 T butter, room temperature

2 t instant yeast

1/4 C light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground cloves

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1 t lemon zest

1 3/4 t salt

1 T baking powder

4 1/2 C all purpose flour

Glaze:

1 C confectioner’s sugar

¼ C milk

¼ t butter, melted

(should make a very loose consistency spread)

Decorator’s Frosting (Crosses):

1 C confectioner’s sugar

1 T milk

1 t lemon juice

(stiff enough to pipe/decorate with)

1) Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan.

2) Mix the rum with the dried fruit in a bowl with a tight lid. Mix/shake well. Allow to sit overnight (this is my preferred method) or for a couple hours. You can also use the microwave method used by KAF.

3) Mix together all of the dough ingredients in bread machine. Set machine to dough cycle. When machine beeps for add-ins put in the fruit and rum mixture - at this point more flour will probably be needed to absorb the extra moisture. The dough will become puffy, though may not double in bulk.

If you are using a stand mixer - mix all ingredients except the fruit. Knead in the fruit by hand (or mixer) you will need to add more flour (probably) due to the added liquid.

5) Divide the dough into billiard ball-sized pieces, about 3 3/4 ounces each. A heaped muffin scoop (about 1/3 cup) makes about the right portion. (I love the muffin scoop method) You'll make 12 to 14 buns. Use your greased hands to round them into balls. Arrange them in the prepared pan.

6) Cover the pan, and let the buns rise for 1 hour, or until they've puffed up and are touching one another. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 375°F.

7) Whisk together the reserved egg white and milk, and brush it over the buns.

8) Bake the buns for 20 minutes, until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, and transfer to a rack to cool.

9) Mix together the glaze ingredients, and when the buns are slightly cool (don't let them cool down too much), brush glaze on top of buns. It will be gooey - add more as needed.

9) Mix together the icing ingredients, and when the buns are completely cool, pipe it in a cross shape atop each bun.

Enjoy!

I looked through lots of Hot Cross Bun recipes on-line this week and about the only thing they all have in common are a blend of spices and dried fruit (usually raisins or currents) and a cross. There is a large difference between US buns and English buns. Most UK recipes call for the cross to be cut into the top and they treat the buns more as a savory rather than sweet treat. Whereas most US recipes call for a cross out of frosting. The one and only time I exhibited hot cross buns at the ISF the judge recommended the cutting in of the cross before baking to help the frosted cross stick to the buns better. I guess I stick to the method I'm most familiar with.

There are also lots of philosophies on when to eat hot cross buns. Some people eat them all year long, some save the treat just for the Lenten or Easter season and some have very strict guidelines on the buns being for Good Friday only. In the BBC article a Church of England spokesman discusses the symbolism of the buns. I found this interesting since before reading the article I only saw the cross as symbolic. However, the article states that the bread could represent the breaking of bread or communion and the spices represent the spices Jesus was wrapped in in the tomb.

Not that you may have wanted a brief history lesson with your recipe. You'll have to indulge me on this one. I enjoy learning the history behind foods - especially foods that have remained strong traditions in my family. Which thinking about that makes me realize a lot of my family food traditions revolve around breads.

Thinking Pink

2011-04-08T18:24:00.000-05:00

Today we found out our third baby is a little girl!

Now, she was a very sleepy little thing and did not want to cooperate at all with the ultrasound technician. She lay there with her little hand at her mouth and her little legs wrapped up - all cute with little ankles crossed. Her little side to us the whole time. Honestly, other than a few little arm waves she wouldn't move. One comfortable little sleepy baby. She did move enough at one point that the ultrasound tech determined she was a girl.

It's not 100% but the ultrasound tech and the doctor are pretty confident we're having a baby girl. But since she decided not to cooperate at my next appointment in 4 weeks I'll need to have another ultrasound. Mainly because they couldn't get a good view of the spinal cord. Everything else was normal and healthy - which is really all we cared about.

I'll admit I was in shock - I really did think I would have boy #3! Clark was excited - although as he mentioned he told us God was going to give him a sister. The boys were at the ultrasound too and Clark enjoyed being shown the different parts of the baby and seeing her arm and leg bones. He's very curious about skeletons and how bodies work right now.

This afternoon I spent time looking at some cute patterns on Etsy. Picked out the baby calendar and baby book on BabySakes.com. And have become motivated to once again clean out my sewing room (somehow this room has become the grand catch all room). I don't know what it is about the thought of having a little girl but I have so many things I'd like to try to sew! I've been collecting patterns for years that will finally have some use. Plus, I have my gift from Aunt Sara that needs a workout too - the wonderful serger!

As my mom posted on Facebook today my husband is going to have to get used to hearing the word "cute" around here a lot more! And as my friend Beth and I discussed today - since baby's due date is just after the Iowa State Fair I have dual motivation to sew some things for baby and get them entered in the fair. That way I'll know they'll be done in time for baby's arrival.

Test Kitchen Thursday - Banana Bread

2011-04-07T19:06:00.000-05:00

Mmmmm - banana bread! The best way to use up those old bananas in my book. And recently I've had lots of them. I realize I have shared my banana bread recipe in my Champion Recipe Post but I thought a 2-time Champion winner should have its own blog post. (You may want to go to the link if you want the version without my family photos).

The week before the science fair we had a lot of ripe bananas to use up. Needing a bit of a break the boys and I whipped up two batches. It's really a quick recipe to put together.

Grant washed and dried his hands before helping.

Banana Bread

Yield: 1 Bundt (I always go with the bundt) OR 1 – 9x13” pan OR 2 – 7x3” loaves

Ingredients:
1 C                 mashed banana (~3 medium)
1 C                 sour cream
¼ C                 butter
1 1/3 C            granulated sugar
2                     eggs
1 t                   Madagascar vanilla extract
2 C                 all purpose flour
1 t                   baking soda
1 t                   baking powder
¼ t                  salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour one Bundt pan (or 1 9x13” pan or 2 7x3” loaf pans). (I prefer the Bundt pan because it makes a pretty looking treat to take to events or share with friends).

2. Combine the banana and sour cream. Set mixture aside.

Grant did a great job mixing the banana and sour cream mixture!

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and the banana mixture. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; stir into the banana mixture. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan or pans.

3. Bake for 50 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the bread comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn out bread and allow finishing cooling on wire rack.

For those of you saying to yourself she's nuts about the type of vanilla to use - well, during the banana bread review where the judge discusses the winning entries and announces winners the judge asked me specifically about the type of vanilla used and how she could taste the difference (she actually asked if it was Mexican vanilla - which the judge also believes makes a big difference in flavor even if we aren't supposed to use it - her words). The type I use from KAF is more expensive but it is so worth it. (I also love their vanilla bean paste - yummy!) If you can't get ahold of a high quality vanilla then at least use PURE vanilla extract rather than imitation.

This bread never fails me - it is an awesome recipe. This is actually the second time this bread recipe has won the Overall Banana Bread at the ISF. So even if I thought the first time was a fluke I am now pretty sure it is just a great recipe!

And yes, Clark helped with the process too but for some reason I didn't get any pictures of him helping. He loves measuring out the flour and sugar. A few weeks ago he was asked to draw a picture for preschool of what he liked doing best with mommy. His response - "I like cooking with you, mommy!" Aww- melts my heart!

Boy or Girl

2011-04-07T08:34:00.001-05:00

In about 24 hours we'll know whether baby #3 is a little boy or a little girl. Well, that is unless it's like it's brothers and refuses the ultrasound technician a front view. My boys liked to show off their little bottoms on ultrasounds.

So, here is what the family thinks (we're evenly divided).

Alan - baby girl
Clark - baby girl
Grant - baby boy
Me - baby boy

At least half of the family will be right. We've been asking the boys for a while now what they think the baby will be. Clark and Grant have never wavered on their responses. I think Grant just wants a little brother instead of being the little brother. Clark thinks it would be cute to have a baby sister.

Anyway - we'll have to wait and see. As far as names go we have lots of little girl choices. If it's a little boy we may be making up the name in the hospital.

"Rubber" Duckies

2011-04-06T20:50:00.000-05:00

Welcome to our "rubber" duckies' house!

This morning the boys and I headed to the local farm store and picked up 8 Ancona ducklings and 13 Cornish chicks. Yes, procrastinating on my yearly poultry order actually worked out for me this year. Last night when I stopped in for feed I saw they had a new shipment of ducks and chicks in. The price per bird was actually quite a bit less than what I usually pay when ordering birds. Granted I had to take what they had in stock. But I'm happy. I didn't need any new laying hens this year so the Cornish chicks will be nice freezer birds for winter. When it comes to poultry I like rarer breeds or less common breeds and found the Ancona ducks are actually on the rare list as rated by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy.

The boys and I were outside most of the day today. We spent a lot of time in the barn. We made sure the new ducks and chicks were OK. We cleaned out the hen house and refreshed the nesting boxes. We combed the goats. And we checked on the "rubber" duckies. This is what Grant would say when he wanted to go peak in the brooder house.

Grant thought the little chicks and ducks were sooo soft (see his little hand - so gentle). Luckily it was a nice warm day and the chicks seemed fine being handled outside the cage. I have to say I am excited for grasshopper season this year now that our acreage is once again stocked with ducks. Ducks are the only thing that have ever kept the grasshopper and cricket populations down. I remember days when the ducks would waddle to the pen at night with their crops nearly touching the ground. Such good little bug hunters! I'm usually a fan of Rouens but we'll give these Ancona's a try. We'll just have to do a better job at protecting them from bobcats and neighbor dogs. I think I'm better prepared this time around.

While cleaning up the barn we found more sandbox trucks and toys. Of course we had to use them. Clark made a lovely sand cake with grass filling (his words) that we had to try. (Of course it was absolutely delicious).

After nap time we went back out and did some planting. Well, technically seed starting. I am using my handy seed/plant starter guide that I received from Park Seed last year. I'm a bit behind. According to the guide my tomatoes and peppers should have been started last week. Oh well! Using my handy old wash basin with lid we set out the seeds and soil and started tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (mainly used as a border bug trap), marigolds (lots of marigolds), basil and rosemary. Park Seed has a great book I use for seed starting - "Success with Seed." The book recommends always watering from the bottom. It worked last year so that's my new method. This is why I started everything outside - to make sure I had no leaks in my bottom containers.

The boys helped with the process too! I would pour the seed in their hands and then pick out the seeds for planting. They thought this was great fun. We brought the seeds inside and set them on our big trunk in the East window of the living room on a heat mat. I had great success with seed in this location last year so hopefully will have success again! So much cheaper to start from seed than to buy plants (as long as it is successful).

Finally, we topped off the planting day by putting in our radish bed. This old bottomless drawer seemed to make a nice planting area to house little things like radishes (as long as the cats don't think it's their new personal litter box!). Clark claims he loves radishes - I'm not sure he's ever really had one. Although knowing my son he really will love radishes. Other than green beans there's not a vegetable he won't eat. In fact, the odder the vegetable the more he seems to love it. He was even eating raw potatoes one day and loving them while Alan chopped them for supper. Which is how my dad eats them so I guess he comes by it naturally. But wait - I can top the raw potato. One night while chopping onion he asked to try the raw onion. Alan and I never say no when it comes to our kids trying new food. Expecting him to spit it out at first bite he made our jaws drop by asking for more! Ughh - I still haven't developed a taste for raw onion. Which reminds me - I may need to go plant more onions.

Sunny Day

2011-04-05T21:07:00.000-05:00

I couldn't resist taking a picture of my pretty little crocuses poking up out of the ashes. Amazing how even with such destruction my little flowers still decided to poke through and bloom. These little flowers are part of my garden that sat next to the old well house that burned to the ground due to faulty wiring in January. There are some tulips coming up too - so it seems the bulbs made it.

Our daffodils also seemed to enjoy the sunny day. They were almost open Sunday, then rebelled against the cold and wind yesterday only to open to the warm sun today.

Today I get to count as my first official day of gardening! The boys and I planted onions in the backyard flower/herb garden. We planted lots of onions but didn't seem to make a dent in our bag we picked up at Holub's on Sunday. That's OK, my plan is to plant some every couple of weeks to spread the harvest season out.

My garden plan is a bit different this year. Rather than putting everything in the large plot we are going to plant a kitchen garden around the house. I want to work things like tomatoes, peppers, herbs, lettuce, onions, etc. throughout the flower beds by the house. Being pregnant and due in August it sounds nice to just step out the door to care for my high need veggies. Of course, the corn, potatoes, etc. will still go in the big plot. While exploring the big garden I noticed the strawberry plants I put in last year are green and growing!

Since the day was so nice we treated the boys to ice cream cones. It is so great to be able to eat outside again! Grant enjoyed his cone with sprinkles - he found it an especially special treat.

Ahh - the Science Fair is over! It was a great event! However, I am also happy to have a little more time to get back to blogging. Banana Bread is on the list for this week's Test Kitchen Thursday and since I had a very special request I'll share my Hot Cross Bun recipe next week (just in time for Palm Sunday).

Stories for Ash Wednesday

2011-03-09T20:25:00.000-06:00

This evening had me in a reflective mood. As the Lenten season begins I keep thinking back on some of the little things the boys have done that remind me of God's love. I decided I wanted to post these little stories so I would remember them later.

Skipping Down the Aisles:
Grandma told me after church one Sunday how she felt people didn't show the proper emotion after sharing communion. I must have looked at her funny because she continued to tell me that she was so happy after communion that she felt like skipping back down the aisle. As one of the greatest sacraments we receive she told me she felt uplifted and happy to know her sins were forgiven and the slate wiped clean because of God's sacrifice.

I miss grandma an awful lot. Words can't express how much I miss her talks. But sometimes I think she must have whispered these sentiments in Clark's little ear. We take the boys up to the communion rail with us where they receive a special blessing from each Pastor. Clark walks up the aisle with me hand in hand. On Sunday's where we use individual cups rather than the common cup, he takes my cup to place in the basket. But once this responsibility is complete he happily goes skipping down the aisle. And every time I see him skipping down the aisle I can't help but think of grandma and how happy she'd be. And since all of this makes me smile I happily walk down the aisle too remembering grandma's words and how happy I am to be one of God's children and my sins forgiven.

Grant's Prayer:
Little Grant may be just shy of 22 months old but he teaches me little lessons nonetheless. He loves to fold his hands and pray. At lunch we now say a prayer before the meal and thank you prayer either during or after the meal because Grant wants to pray again.

Yesterday, Grant and I had some time to spare before picking Clark up from Preschool. We had run all the errands we needed so I decided a trip to the bookstore might be fun. When we went inside I realized Grant hadn't had a snack and I had forgotten to pack one like I normally do if we'll be running errands. Since they have a little coffee bar we went to have a little treat. Grant picked out a big chocolate chunk cookie (and yes, he can say the word chocolate). We bought a couple of chocolate milks and had our cookie warmed up so it was nice and gooey.

When we found a table, Grant wanted his coat off and then I helped him up into the big people's chair. He could just see over the table. I took my coat off and sat down. As I went to break the cookie in half to share Grant folded his hands, looked up at me and said "pray, mommy?" I think as we said our mealtime prayer I may have cried little tears of joy. How humbling to have a child so little fold his hands to pray before eating a delicious chocolate cookie.

We proceeded to share our cookie and drink our milk and I know I smiled the whole time. I even gave Grant the biggest share of the cookie. He enjoyed every bite! After our snack we found some fun Easter books to take home and share with Clark. The greatest treat for me though was praying with little Grant.

'tis a busy time of year!

2011-03-07T18:39:00.000-06:00

So sorry for my long absence. Until the State Science + Technology Fair of Iowa is over I probably won't have much time to blog but I wanted to check in to let you know I haven't forgotten about my blog or my challenge. The State Science Fair is April 1 and 2 so not much time left before it happens. Last week all of the entries were due. I was swamped with over 400 sets of papers. We have over 500 students registered. We have set a 15+ year record for the number of high school students exhibiting!

In addition, my boys have been sick the past couple of weeks. Both had fevers that led to nasty ear infections. Clark and I spent the Sunday before last in the ER at 3 am because his ear hurt so bad he couldn't sleep. Luckily the antibiotics have done the trick and both are back to their normal selves.

While I'm busy working the boys have been occupying themselves in many ways. One of my favorites was the box. This box started out as a long box that was used as a train, plane and boat. Once it finally fell apart it made a great place to color!

My absolute favorite though was when Clark decided to "send e-mail." Great reminder that what I do is open to copying by the boys. Clark took a stack of papers that after printing I realized I didn't need. To recycle I gave the stack to the boys to color on or fold.

Clark took the stack and put a paper clip or clothespin on each sheet.

When I asked what he was doing he said, "I'm sending e-mail, mommy."

Grant had to be in on the "e-mail" fun too!

Hope everyone is having a good March!

Test Kitchen Thursday - Waffles

2011-02-17T18:52:00.000-06:00

Recently I decided that purchasing frozen toaster waffles (even in bulk from Sam's) was getting to be a bit on the costly side. Plus, there had to be better waffle recipes around. Our family purchased a waffle maker and I sat down to the computer one Saturday to look up recipes. Unfortunately our internet was out - fortunately I have a wonderful library of cookbooks to turn too!

From The Colorado Cookbook (1981)
- I love this cookbook! I'm sure it was gifted to my grandma from my Aunt Sara - grandma in turn gifted it to me when Alan and I were first married. We have found some amazing recipes in this cookbook!

Crispy Waffles

2 eggs, separated
1 C flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3/4 C milk
3 T butter, melted

Beat egg whites stiff but not dry. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, egg yolks, and milk. Blend well.
Stir in butter then fold in egg whites.
Bake in pre-heated waffle iron until golden brown.

The recipe says it makes two 9" waffles but I have made more than that out of the one recipe. Granted my waffle iron only makes two 4" square waffles but I still yield more than the recipe says. Be careful not to overdue how much batter you put in the waffle iron - too much and it pops it open. True story.

I like to double the recipe on mornings I have plenty of time and then freeze the rest for later. Simply cool the waffles, wrap them well (I use wax paper to separate them and then store in freezer bags). Freeze. Toast frozen waffles lightly.

You can also put add-ins like chips or nuts in very easily. Simply add before folding in the egg whites.

At out house we like them plain but layered with strawberries and blueberries. Really the more berries the better. These are frozen berries from the Berry Patch Farm that I put up last year. Can't wait for berry season (freezer is getting low). Top it off with a little homemade strawberry syrup (also running low) and yum, yum!

On a side note I just had to add that we grilled out tonight! February 17th and we lit the grill. When it hits 60 degrees outside the grill just begs to be used regardless of what month it is. So tonight we had t-bone steaks (hamburgers for the boys), grilled corn on the cob (frozen from last summer), fresh asparagus, and a baked potato. I'm surprised I could move from table to computer desk tonight - but it was so worth it!

Clark and Grant weren't too happy about having to come in from outside to eat (Clark wanted a picnic) - until we showed them what was in the aluminum foil. Our boys ate every last kernel off their corn cobs tonight!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-15T18:58:00.000-06:00

Belated Happy Valentine's Day!

Our Valentine's Day started early Saturday morning when Clark and Grant opened their Valentine package from Aunt Em. Loads of chocolate awaited them (which they wanted for breakfast - that will teach me to open packages before breakfast).

On Sunday, Clark's Preschool sang during the church service for a special Preschool Sunday. We were so happy to have Grandma and Grandpa Clark drive down to go to church with us and spend a lovely day together.

On Valentine's Day we actually spent a lot of time outside! The weather is so wonderful. I'll take upper 30's and 40's anytime (this time of year)! Heat wave. Clark loves climbing the snow hills and Grant is just trying to figure out how to walk proficiently on the snow.

As always we had our beautiful guard cat watching over our activities.

Hope you all had a wonderful day!

Playing Dress-Up

2011-02-08T19:24:00.000-06:00

During nap time today I realized Clark wasn't taking a nap; but, he was being quiet. Since I had a lot of work to do I figured quiet time in his room was OK with me. Somehow his little body knows when 3:30 pm hits because he came sauntering out his bedroom door like normal. He was so proud to show me his accomplishment.

During nap time he had decided to try out different outfits until he landed on this combination that he just loved! When I tucked him in bed all he had on was a t-shirt and underwear. Now he was supporting layered shirts and dress pants (and I was informed you can only wear black socks with the dress pants).

Now the t-shirt was on backwards but he liked the look of the dinosaur on the back.

He decided to model for me in his room. I rather forgot about the old mirror behind his door. He thought the mirror was perfect for seeing his clothing creations. And no, this was not the only outfit he tried. I was informed of shirts that no longer fit him and should be taken out of the drawers.

Mommy just loves the cuteness of it all. This age is so much fun!

Winter Strikes Again!

2011-02-07T12:46:00.000-06:00

So sorry for my lack of blogging lately -- between baby number 3 sapping all my energy and preparing for the State Science Fair (my real job) it's been a busy time!

When we did have a day stuck in the house our internet was also out - so, no posts. However, we did take lots of pictures (this was on blizzard day last Wednesday):

Clark on his way out to the backyard (notice the drift over his head).

Drift from the other side.

Braced against the wind.

Making his way to daddy.

The slide dug out to go tend the animals.

Whee!

Warming up with the goats. As bad as the doorway to the barn was the rest of the barn was pretty much snow free and toasty warm. The snow that surrounds the barn is now acting as an insulator.

Even the kitties braved the weather to get a snack! Three little calico girls and their all-black brother. They are just so healthy for being fall born kittens. They're kind of snow kitties - they love playing in the snow and love the fact that the drifts allow them to jump directly into tree branches!