A Week of Thankfulness....Day 4

My Super Awesome Parents

I am a very lucky girl. I grew up with two loving parents who have a great relationship. They were the perfect example for me to follow when looking for a partner of my own. They were also great parents and I model many of my parenting traits after them as well. We had a very trusting relationship when I was growing up. I came to them with everything because they truly listened, and I knew what I told them stayed with them.

Growing up they set rules, and instilled some great values. However when I moved away to college, our role as parent and child changed. They made me their friend. DJ and I love to spend time with my parents. We have gone on vacations together, explored lots of different places, and have dinner together at least 3 or 4 nights a week.

These two folks know everything there is to know about me. They know my hopes, dreams, and goals. They also know all the things I like and don't like. They not only know the child that I used to be, but the adult that I have become, and they can see the connections between the two as well.

They are also amazing grandparents, and nothing is more important to them than getting to see my kiddos grow up and to be a part of it. What a blessing!

I am so very thankful to have such wonderful and loving parents.

A Week Of Thankfulness....Day 3

My Wonderful Husband

DJ and I have been together for 8 years now and I thank God everyday for putting him in my life. He is a great father, a wonderful husband, and a hard worker. He is the reason I get to be a stay at home mom, and he is extremely supportive of all my crazy plans and ideas. I have never felt more comfortable around anyone. Ever.

A Week Of Thankfulness.....Day 2

Home Sweet Home

I am so thankful for this home of ours. It is not much, but it is the place where we are raising our children, making memories, and nurturing our souls. This small little house is our safe place from the outside world, and a place that is full of laughter and fun. It is more than just a house, it is a home. A place that we love to be, and love to come back to.

Along with our house, I am also thankful for the wonderful neighbors that we have. Many have lived on this block for years, and they are always there for each other.

A Week Of Thankfulness....Day 1

My Kiddos

Yesterday at church, the sermon was all about thankfulness. I spent the rest of the day thinking about all the things I am thankful for. I realized that this was a crap year for my family, with lots of stress, and tears. DJ was gone for 7 months, I was on moderate bed rest for a while during my pregnancy, and Steve got so sick. However, no matter how bad of a year it was,  I was still thankful for so much, and I decided to share some of those things with you guys.

I am feeling extremely thankful for my children. Even though this was a hard year for my family, it might also had been one of the best because we became 4. I have two beautiful, smart, and healthy children that I thank God for everyday. Even though some days they drive crazy, I love them so much, and am so proud of them. I will forever be amazed just how much children change your lives. Not just because you have a little person who needs you, but, how they change the way you think and look at every situation in life. I truly understand unconditional love now.

One of My Most Helpful Tools

                                           Have any of you ever seen this book before?

 

It is a small book that I ordered years ago called ,Make Your Place; Affordable, Sustainable Nesting Skills by Raleigh Briggs. I bought it on a whim and have been so happy that I did. It is full of all kinds of information on health and first aid, nontoxic cleaning, body care, and gardening. It is also full of super cute illustrations.

This book is where I get all the information I need to make cleaners for my house, and it saves me a ton of money on expensive cleaners from the store, and it is better for my family's health. By chance, almost all of my cleaners ran out around the same time, and I just went through a mega list of things to make from this book.

 

Bittersweet

Back when DJ and I were dating, we made the decision to not have any children, well about a year after we got married, we changed out minds. Then when Miss O was born, we said that she was going to be our only one, Well once again, about a year later, we changed our minds again. However now that we have two, we are pretty sure that Short Round is going to be our last. Because of this, it makes everything he does super special. It also makes the idea of him growing up so sad.

Well, last night Short Round started sleeping in his own bed, in his own room! As you can see from the photo above, he seems fine with this new change in his sleeping arrangements.

They grow up so fast, and we just have to make sure that we enjoy this time while we can.

The Art Student Tote

About a year and a half ago, I purchased Anna Maria Horner 's Art Student Tote pattern. I was so excited to start this sewing pattern. I found the outer fabric and the lining fabric at the thrift store. (they were sheets in their previous life) Then, I eagerly cut out the pattern and the fabric.....then, it sat in my studio for no joke, a year before I finally got the courage to start sewing. It was not till April of this year before I made the first stitch on this bag. I worked my butt of on this bag during nap times, till I once again lost steam. I was almost finished all I had left to do was connect the bag to the lining, but I let it sit for another 8 months!

Finally, it is finished! It is a great and roomy bag. I can carry all my stuff, some kid stuff, and even a knitting project. This bag was so worth the wait.

Pizza Night

Right after Short Round was born, my Aunt Rondia bought me the magazine pictured above. I flipped through it time and time again, but it was not till recently that I made my first recipe from it.

A couple of weeks ago in Bountiful Baskets, I got some beets. I have to admit, that I had never eaten a beet before in my life. However, that is one of the fun things about Bountiful Baskets, you get to be creative. It can sometimes be a challenge. So, I was determined to make sure those beets did not go bad. While doing a flip through of the magazine above, a found a recipe for beet and kale pizza. I know, I know, it sounds a little funky, but we decided to give it a try.

I made the crust from scratch in my bread machine (so much better and cheaper than store bought), and we set to work. I made a pretty large batch of dough, so we made a pesto chicken pizza as well. I have to say that the pizza turned out great! Mom and Steve were there to share in the experiment with us, and we were all super surprised at how good the beet and kale pizza turned out.

I was also surprised at how much I like beets. They  had to be roasted before going on the pizza, and they were so good, that I had a hard time not eating them all before I could put them on the pizza. They will be something that is planted in my garden next year for sure! Yum!

This Just Might Be My Favorite

Ok, so this might be my favorite thing I have ever made for Miss O! I bought this fabric about a year ago. I only got a yard, and I loved it so much that I wanted to save it for something special and super cute.

I don't get much time to sew these days. My two little ones take up the majority of my time, which makes me even happier that this smock for Miss O turned out so cute.

This is a pattern I will make again, it was extremely easy to make and it only took a yard of fabric. The pattern is called the Toddler Pinafore Smock and is from the book, One Yard Wonders, by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins. It is such a fun book, if you haven't already, you should check it out.

Adventures In Our Neck Of The Woods

So, Miss O has a Curious George addiction. It is the first thing that she ask for when she wakes up in the morning. I can turn on that little monkey, and she could sit and watch for hours. Sometimes it can be nice when you need a distraction for her, but most of the time we are trying to find ways to distract her from wanting to watch it.

Another thing that she loves as much as Curious George is being outside. Miss O could play outside for hours, but every now and then our back yard get boring, so we head elsewhere. Recently Steve took us to a place with some pretty cool rocks for Miss O to climb on. We took a short hike up to the rocks, and then spend the afternoon exploring pictographs, climbing rocks, and enjoying the amazing view. Curious George was not mentioned once!

Yum Yum! Pesto!

So, the weather in my neck of the woods is finally starting to cool off, and the weather men were even talking about our first frost! In preparation of the change of weather, I went ahead and harvested my basil plants. Then, I decided to make pesto with all of those beautiful basil leaves. Here is the recipe that I used.

 

•  2 cups stuffed full of basil
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 3 to 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup parm cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processer.

I then put the pesto in ziplock bags so they would store nice and flat in my freezer. I am super excited, homemade pesto is super easy and taste so much better than anything you could get in the store.

Real Men Wear Pink

The disadvantages of being a second child...need I say more?!

Happy November

Happy November everyone!!

I hope you all had a safe and happy Halloween. So, some of you might be wondering if I ever manage to finish the kids Halloween costumes on time, well yep I sure did, and I could not have been more proud of them!

Every year, our church does a trunk or treat, and we always take Miss O. This year trunk or treat was the weekend before Halloween, so we also decided to take the kiddos trick or treating as well. Miss O is kinda shy and was super scared to approach peoples houses, but she loved helping Mema ( my mom) pass out candy.