My Everyday Life

New kiddie pictures in the sidebar!

2010-07-23T12:24:00.004-06:00

I can't Not post these...

2010-07-08T14:00:00.013-06:00

They are almost three months old, these pictures.
But I'll put them up anyways.
Such great memories!
*
Birch Bay, WA, Deception Pass, WA, Fort Casey, WA,
Stanley Park, BC and Granville Island, BC
(catch that? and in order of appearance, too!)

Quick Catch-Up: life's great!

2010-07-05T12:22:00.004-06:00

Hey there! This isn't quite the post I expected, but of course, life gets in the way!

We've been having some great summer fun, with a lot of bonfires, scrub baseball and swings!

Jack has two teeth now, thankfully. The inbetween stage was SO horrible for him. Fever after fever and so little sleep! (for all of us...)

We're in the process of selling our house (Yipee!)(and, Yikes!), now for the finding of an affordable larger one. :o)

My house has never been so clean! Many showings to potential buyers keeps me on my toes. Also: I haven't been cooking much. Hello Mcdonalds. ;)

The heat. OH THE HEAT. We don't have air conditioning. End of story.

So, I guess that sums things up! These next few months are gonna be BUSY! But good busy, right? Right.

The Spring 2010 Catch-up Post...... is coming!

2010-06-23T14:56:00.004-06:00

Life is crazy right now! And just when I managed get a spare moment, a certain blogging website WON'T LET ME UPLOAD PICTURES.

But the catch-up post is coming. . . with LOTS of pictures! I promise.

;)

random, not-very-interesting things from our trip

2010-05-26T11:05:00.007-06:00

This was Jack's set-up on the loooong 20 hour drive. Sleeping babies are SO precious. Until they wake up, that is!

Miss Avah, trying not to get knocked over by the wind on a little leg-stretcher break, while mommy feeds Jack.

I can't remember exactly, but I think she was singing something at the top of her lungs, here.

Josh's Uncle L. and Aunt J., whom we stayed with on the way down and back.

An amazing looking (and tasting!) sushi plate for 3.

There's a first time for everything....

Success!

Mr. Jack, taking it all in...

"You actually eat this stuff?!"

An amazing Southwest restaurant in Bellingham, WA called "Pepper Sisters". Lots of bright colours, retro booths, and exposed brick walls; VERY cool!

And they brought the kids (and "big kids") water toys to play with while we were waiting for our food.

This was a kids' meal. It was huge! I highly recommend this restaurant!

Meeting Petra the puppy.

So excited!

The Woodland Park Zoo - Seattle

2010-05-20T15:25:00.008-06:00

On this trip we really wanted to take Avah to a zoo, since she had never been, and is a great age to go. We went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and Avah loved it, just like we had hoped. Every animal we came to was "so cute!" and she wanted to take them all home and be their friend. I don't think she really understands that these animals are wild. :) Isn't it strange how, as parents, we get more joy out of seeing our kids have fun than from having fun ourselves?

A freaky snake posing very symmetrically and staring straight at us.

One of the peacocks strolling around the zoo.

A toucan!

One of the many animals about which Avah exclaimed, "It's SO cute!".

Jack missed out on most of the day... :)

Lounging Gorillas-so comical!

and, strretccchh!

The only time we took Jack out of the stroller was at lunch, and not because he even wanted out. He was such a happy little boy all day!

Getting a better look at things...

A perfectly posed bear

Avah, just monkeying around. (I think those are actually orangutans, though)

This was the cutest thing! It was kind of a chilly day, and this orangutan was all huddled up under a burlap blanket, with his face pressed up against the glass. He was completely still except for his eyes, which were looking back and forth at everyone passing by. It was so weird to be so close to him, with just a piece of glass between us. He actually kind of reminded us of a homeless person!

An elephant that almost looks like a statue...but it was real. :)

Avah loved the hippos!

An even more colourful Peacock. This one kept walking towards me, closer and closer, and then I realised that I was in his way, because he wanted to hop up onto the railing.

Chatty got a good picture of it, but the sign beside him says something like "Caution, stay off railing". I guess Peacocks don't have to follow the rules!

Oh look! Someone woke up!

Nate and LeAnne's Wedding

2010-05-13T09:46:00.009-06:00

So, now that all of us but Avah have had our dose of the stomach flu, I can get back to the line-up of posts I have planned!

First up: the Wedding!

Leanne did such a good job planning all the details for her wedding. Almost everything was DIY which is right up my alley! Here are just a few random shots of the beautiful flowers and table decorations:

All the food was prepared in this kitchen, and was it ever good!

The reception area.

The only semi-decent shot I could get of the two kids. :P

Very conveniently, this is what Jack did for the entire ceremony. He fell asleep as it started, and woke as it ended. I Couldn't have asked for better, as Josh was a groomsman, and I sang during the ceremony, so grandma was on hand to help with kid-duty.

Apparently, the marriage commissioner was cracking jokes that most of us couldn't hear, the entire time. :)

♥ The Kiss ♥

Signing the marriage certificate. (A Canadian thing)

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Brown!

The bridesmaids

The whole wedding party

Too sunny for you, LeAnne?
(Kind of ironic, as it was pouring rain up until a few minutes before pictures in the park)

Avah had never been too fond of swings until this day. Once she discovered how much fun they are, I couldn't drag her off them. Unfortunately, there was a nice puddle directly beneath her....

and I was too busy to notice/care that she was getting filthy! Oh well, you've gotta let kids be kids, right?

Mmmm, cupcakes!

Look at that amazing desert table!

These were the yummiest little meringue cookies ever. Macarons!

Nate's goodbye speech

And off they go!

And , a family picture, in which we all look a little weary and rumply and crumply. Who's idea was it to do a family picture at the end of the day, anyway? Oh yeah. mine. Smart one Holly!

LeAnne has been here with us for a couple of weeks now, and we're so glad to have her!

(Up next: the Woodland Park Zoo)

Lots to blog about, no time to blog

2010-05-10T15:45:00.004-06:00

,
I've been gone a while, partially because we went on a big trip out West to see Chatty and to see Cousin Nate and LeAnne get married, and partially because I've been having to spend a lot of time these last few days snuggling a sick little boy! Our little dude has the stomach flu. I guess anyone can get it, but I would never have expected such a young baby to get the flu like this! We're just praying we can keep it contained and the rest of us stay healthy.

I've got tons of pictures to share, from the wedding, the Woodland Park Zoo, Stanley Park and Granville Island, Fort Casey and Deception Pass, and the beach at Birch Bay. Sooner or later I'll get them all up on here!

(Photo from Woodland Park Zoo)

Spring! ...sorta...

2010-04-13T15:32:00.003-06:00

Well, although Spring technically arrived quite a while ago, we only took our first walk in the park just the other day. Even though it had been a beautiful day, it was after supper, so we still had to bundle up. Just look at my little teddy bear! (Hat, courtesy of Aunty Chatty).

Josh is a chronic fast-walker. I'm always trying to catch up to him, lol.

As you can see here, my daughter inherited her coordination and gracefulness from me, obviously! (SO kidding.)

Here I was experimenting with the camera's timer. Poor Jack, you can't see him. Oh, and check out my gimp-leg, with skinny jeans, striped socks and Birkenstocks. SO classy. hah. Maybe I'll stay behind the camera from now on!

And here's my little 3 1/2 month old boy, who is this close to rolling over. And crawling. Those knees must get rugburn from all the immobile crawling they do!

Look at those baby blues!

New Dishes

2010-04-12T16:24:00.003-06:00

So, I've gone and done it...I've purchased the Corelle dishes. You know the ones that we all grew up eating off of? Yep. Except these are in a nice "Winter Frost" white. Which is really, just plain white.

I was considering either of these, but in the end, I know I'll use the white ones forever and not get tired of them, like I have with my old set from when we got married. And besides, when all your dishes are white, you can accessorize! And that is an exciting prospect to me. :)

I love how compact and light they are... I forgot how much easier these dishes are for everyday use, compared to stoneware.

And now, my lovely Pier 1 set is for sale on UsedRegina.com. Kind of like our version of craigslist. See ya later, dishes!

.... I will miss them a little.... just a teensy bit.
☻

my little performer

2010-04-08T16:04:00.003-06:00

my little baby is not a newborn anymore... waah!

2010-04-08T14:14:00.006-06:00

We have a little man who loves to stretch. When he sleeps in the swing, it's often with his arms up. It sure doesn't look comfortable to me, but he doesn't seem to mind. :)

"Don't mind me, I'm just hangin' out, airing out my armpits..."

He always has smiles for his big sister. And she has taken to nuzzling him with her nose and saying "I love you" or "Hey sweetheart", I just love seeing the two of them interact together! ♥

And here he is on a different day, (different outfit) in the same position. Goofy, eh?

Here he's practising his "handsome" pose...

...followed by his "shocked" pose. We get this one a lot, too.

And these next ones were taken on the day he turned three months. Three MONTHS! I'm shocked. Where did it go? ...I think every mom says that....

...and to finish things off... just some basking in the sunlight. ☻

Next up: videos!

Belated Birth Announcement

2010-04-07T17:28:00.002-06:00

Here it is, just a few months late! I finally got my act together and did up a birth announcement for our mister Jack. See the jacks along the side? Isn't that clever? Get it - Jack/jacks.... ok, you get it, lol. It's not that clever....anyways....

More pictures soon to come! Our Sonny Boy is 3 1/2 months old!

roadtrip!

2010-03-19T10:42:00.005-06:00

A few weekends ago, Kim, Jack and I went to Calgary for a last minute shopping/sister-bonding road trip. It's been a Loooooong time since I'd been on one of those, it brought back memories from my teen years!

There were fog warnings that didn't turn out to be much more than a really cool sunset as we headed out of the city.

Jack was such a trooper, up until about the last 3 hours on the way home. Then he cried and cried, I think he'd just had enough and was ready to get out of there! (I had had enough too, just ask Kim, lol!)

I know these bookstores are everywhere (Indigo) but I absolutely loved the look of it, especially the kids section! They had some really cool toys, like over sized wooden magnetic "paper"dolls.

The mall we went to was a new mall in Calgary called CrossIron Mills. It's a pretty big mall with a lot of outlet stores (my kind of shopping!). It was also designed really cool, with each seating area having different sculptures and different types of chairs to sit on. Not a boring mall to walk around in! And not that many people will care, but they had an amazing Nursing room for mothers, with changing stations and about 15 rocking chairs that swivelled. Kim and I spent some quality time in that Nursing room, haha.

These were some really yummy smoothie drinks that were, you guessed it, freshly squeezed, and sealed on top, then you just stabbed your straw right through the plastic. We thought it was pretty cool, but it doesn't take much to get me excited, hah!

Jack just chilled in his stroller and flirted with everyone who passed by. Such a little guy in such a big stroller sure gets a lot of comments!

Relaxing back at the hotel....

All swaddled up and sound asleep. :)

This dress was like Dejavu for Kim and I. Mom made us dresses JUST like this when we were little. Floral print, black background, Vee at the waist, tiered skirt....I wonder if I have any pictures?.... I couldn't believe that the store was actually recreating something so 80's. But why am I suprised?

And here it is, the only picture we managed to get of the two of us, and it's blurry! Yay! (I only brought my point-and-shoot on this trip... made me miss my big camera!)

Thanks, Kimmy for an awesome time, we need to do it more often!

a wedding shower for LeAnne

2010-03-15T08:00:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago we had a wedding shower for LeAnne, who will soon be marrying my cousin Nate. We are so excited for her to live here in Regina, and can't wait to hang out at their apartment and the cool park across the street from where they'll live. It'll be so nice to have another young couple around, too!

Martha Stewart inspired tissue paper puffs. Don't buy the kit at Walmart, just look here!

all the pretty presents...

We decided to go for a "dip" theme, for the food. there were around six different dips, with crackers, bread and chips for dipping.

And crepes for dessert! (no picture, though)

The lovely ribbons and bows hat that the bride is required to wear for about 5.784 seconds, lol.

And some lovely snowflake white chocolate suckers, made by Kim!

One Month (Well, he WAS one month old.... a month ago.)

2010-03-12T10:56:00.005-06:00

So, I know these pictures are no longer up to date, but I had them all ready for a post and the days just slipped away on me, so I'm going to post them anyways! Between potty training (not going real great), constant feedings (the dude is still nursing every 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours. But he spits up like it's going out of style. We've got a Dr's appointment next week, because I think he might have acid reflux.), and loads of laundry (see previous point about spitting up), not to mention trying to get a decent meal on the table, OH, and did I mention that Avah is in the throes of teething those nasty two-year-old molars? (wow, what a run-on sentence!) Suffice it to say, blogging, although still on the priority list, has been bumped down a few notches. :)

So, I will share these pictures of Jack, although they're more than a month old. :)

So sweet...

My little light-haired boy.

Fresh out of the bath...I think someone drank a little too much bath water!

Sleepy snuggles.

And more sleepy snuggles.

Smiles!

Then, Avah though Jack looked a little hungry and decided to give him a pretzel...

So I quickly intervened...

And we opted for some cuddling instead.

Wonton Soup

2010-02-20T16:20:00.003-06:00

Wonton soup is good stuff. Josh and I had been striving to make the perfect Wonton soup for a while now, and the other day, I think we succeeded! Here's what we did.

First, we chopped finely three boneless pork loin chops and about a cup of shrimp. Then we marinated it in 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 2 tsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. fresh ginger and 2 chopped green onions for about an hour.

Then, using purchased wonton wrappers and a very helpful youtube video, we made Wontons!

Aren't they just so cute?! We actually ended up with about sixty of them, and froze about 40 to cook later.

Then we cooked them in boiling water for about 5 minutes...

while the broth simmered on the stove beside. Here's what's in the broth:

-6 cups water

-6 tsp. Knorr Wonton Soup Mix (kind of like chicken boullion, but better!)

-a handful of chopped green onion

-a handful of chopped baby bok choy

-a handful of chopped cilantro (The most important part! this makes the soup, in our opinion.)

Once the Wontons were cooked, we transfered them to the broth, and Voila! Wonton soup!

And to go with: handmade fresh rolls.... Sorry, no accompanying photos for these, I didn't get the bright idea to blog about it until after they were assembled. Maybe next time! :)

So, give it a try! It looks like a lot of work, but if you're a Wonton Soup lover, it's soooo worth it.

an Avah update

2010-02-19T15:24:00.005-06:00

It's been a while since I've said much about Avah, so I thought I'd do a little update.

As you can see in the picture below with her Aunty Bree, she... ... has recently discovered her nostrils, specifically her left one, and is CONSTANTLY shoving her finger up there. Should I be surprised? She is a two year old, after all!

... is working on her mothering skills: rocking, burping, sucky inserting, etc. She is always mimicking the things I say. These are a few:
"No be grumpy, Jack!"
"Really? Really? " (in response to cooing)
"He lookin' at you!"
"He smilin'!"
"Jacky. Jacky! JACKY!" (this is her own nickname, not ours.)
"is ok, is ok. is fine. No be sad, Jack."
"Sick! He spit up'd!" (I'm pretty sure this one is care of Aunty Kim!)

... is constantly changing her clothes, socks and shoes. Here I had tried curling her hair with heated rag rollers, Doesn't she look all model-esque?

...can talk a mile a minute! She has become very good at communicating, and here she was giving some sort of lecture to her tub toys. Apparently the crab had had enough, though.

...has moved to a "big girl" bed, which is proving to be an adventure... and a test in patience! I'm sure things will smooth out soon though.

***

Also on the list of updates: we are on week 1 of potty training, and so far we haven't had a lot of success. We're just praying that it clicks sooner rather than later. Another test of patience!

***

And, it's totally random, but I think it's the cutest thing when she sings in her own little chipmunk voice. Especially this song:

"Jesus loves the little Twildwen, all the Twildwen of the world!"

***

And finally, a little glimpse into our life on the prairies, with Avah helping daddy "shubble" snow.

Isn't that a CRAZY amount of snow?!

that diaper bag review....

2010-02-18T15:35:00.005-06:00

Remember a loooonnnng time ago when I mentioned that I'd be getting a *free* (!!) diaper bag to review? Well I got it, right around the time Jack was born. How convenient!
I have to say that I'm super-duper impressed with this diaper bag. Yes it's still a diaper bag, and it looks like a diaper bag, but it's REALLY stylish, if you ask me! And it is really high quality, too. It's a nice thick canvas fabric, and has tons of pockets for storing all the little stuff in.

It's almost perfect. I say almost, because there are a couple of things I would like to be different.

Since I have two kids now, with two sizes of diapers (we're working on eliminating one size!) and two changes of clothes, it's a little short on space. I have to keep it super organized, which I suppose isn't a bad thing, lol! When it's so full, the big flap sometimes has a hard time staying closed, since it's only held on by two magnets. If it had a buckle of some sort, and if the small front pockets had flaps or some other closure to keep my little stuff (chapstick, cell phone, etc) from falling out, I'd say this bag would be nearly perfect!

...but really, can I complain? Nope! I'll take it! Thanks CSN Stores!

Jack at Two Weeks and Giveaway Winners!

2010-01-13T14:32:00.005-06:00

Just a random cute picture of Avah. It can't be ALL about Jack, now, can it?

So, we had a little photoshoot, yesterday afternoon while Avah napped, and these are the results. :)

This pose is NOT as easy as it looks! It took me a good ten minutes of positioning him and quickly grabbing the camera before he fell, to get this shot. :)

Baby bum!

***

And now on to the giveaway winners! Since none of you were even close, (who knew I'd be THAT late!) I'm going to give a prize to the closest, and then pick two random winners. So....

The winner is Susan, who guessed December 25th!

And the two randoms are Heather and Brooke.

Email me your hat preferences and address at hcostron (at) hotmail (dot) com. Susan will get first pick. Hopefully I can get these out to you all soon, before the weather warms up too much. :)

Jack Thomas has arrived!

2010-01-02T16:00:00.004-06:00

The Stats: Monday, December 28th @ 4:45 am. 8 lbs 13 oz, 20 3/4 inches long.

So this is how it all went down: Saturday and Sunday I went to the hospital for a non-stress test, just to make sure the baby was doing okay, and because the doctors really wanted to induce me. I really wanted to hold out a few more days to see if he would come on his own, as the contractions from induced labours are often much faster, harder and stronger than natural labour. This time around I was really hoping to forego the epidural, because it really slowed down my labour with Avah, and I think it took me longer to recover because of it. I knew I'd chicken out and probably end up asking for the epidural if I was induced, so twice they sent me home after the tests.

On Sunday evening at 10:30 I experienced what I thought was my water breaking. Then I started feeling contractions. Once at the hospital, they couldn't find any signs that my water had actually broken, but I was still contracting. I was only 1 cm dilated.

The attending Doctor then basically said, we can induce you now, because these contractions might not be real and lasting, or we basically insist you come in tomorrow for an induction. At that point it was almost midnight anyways, so we decided to stay.

Inductions don't work for everyone, sometimes it takes three tries, but my contractions came on HARD and FAST within about five minutes of having the gel inserted at 1:15 am. I then had to stay in bed for two hours while they monitored the baby, not a fun thing to do when you're in excruciating pain!

When my two hours were up, I sat up in bed and my water broke, for real this time! I laboured a little in the bath, then got out, and my contractions started becoming even more intense. Around 4:00 am I was 5 cm dilated. Shortly after, I wimped out and asked for an epidural, as I was an absolute mess! I did not recognise the woman sobbing and moaning in that hospital room! I may have told Josh to "Shut-up" a couple of times, haha!

Well, the epidural went in, and before it had any chance to kick in, I said "The baby is coming!" The room flew into chaos. Kim was supposed to be in the room with me, but with all the rush, no one had a chance to get her from the waiting room where she had just arrived. She said she heard "call the Doctor!" and people were running down the hall to my room, so she knew that something was going on in there!

For some reason, I was convinced I could not do this without the epidural. I remember yelling " But I need the epidural! I NEED the epidural!". But this baby was NOT waiting. Within seven or eight pushes, our little boy was born into this world, but not before I turned into a crazy lady and screamed and cried at the top of my lungs! (Kim said she could hear it from the waiting room... lovely.) I'm convinced the induction had everything to do with the level of pain I experienced. I DO NOT recommend it to anyone!

But it's amazing how short my memory is! I feel a little traumatized, but overall, I have a feeling of " I did it! Yay!" And of course, it was all worth it!

So now we're home, the normal Holly has returned, and Avah just LOVES her little brother! She smothers him with hugs and kisses and always asks, "I hold it?" I'm recovering, slowly. We managed to make it 'til midnight on new year's eve! Jack finally realized last night that nighttime is for sleeping, so we're all much more rested.

***

Thanks, everyone for your prayers and well-wishes! We're so thankful for a healthy baby boy, even if he did take his time getting here!

Gingerbread Houses

2009-12-24T14:58:00.007-06:00

Look at all the time I have on my hands! I'm able to catch up on blog posts I wanted to do. :) I guess it's a good thing, because these pictures would probably have just collected dust had baby arrived on time. :) A couple of weekends ago, Kimmy had us all over for a fun and festive time of gingerbread house decorating!

Of course, Avah was more interested in stuffing her face than helping decorate, and soon she was off playing with Grandpa instead. It wasn't such a problem though, because my hormonal (*insert: controlling*) self and my Type A husband had grand plans for our house that couldn't be hampered by little fingers! :)

Abby, working on her fantastic house.

Everyone hard at work.

Everyone brought candy to share and we ended up with TONS of variety!

And here's our finished product! Not a tree or a gumball out of place. :) We sure got teased for it though, lol!

Our vertically challenged snowman.

Don't you just love those citrus gummies? :)

Kyle and Janeen posing with their "Christmas Carnage" house. See below for close-ups.

Someone brought little gummy army men, and great use of them was made on this house, as well as jujube blood, haha! So, here we have a guy who went *splat* on the back of the house...

In the front there's a pond with a shark eating some unfortunate guy's leg, and another unfortunate guy on the ground...

There's a guy going in the upper window to surprise the guy looking out the lower window...

And finally, a guy on the roof who somehow misplaced his leg... oh wait, just follow the trail of jujube blood, haha. Let's just say it wasn't your traditional gingerbread house!

Nate's "House that Christmas Threw Up On". By the way, we just heard that he's *engaged*!!!! Congrats, Nate!

Jesse's house; very ornately and elaborately decorated.

Kim's "cover every square inch" Las Vegas disaster house!

And Kerri's sweet little gingerbread house, complete with it's own little gingerbread man!

Our complete gingerbread village. Tah Dah!

All the talented decorators, including Frankie the cat, who may or may not have eaten a few too many lost jujubes!

***

Well, NONE of you were right on the date of arrival of this little guy, but even I wouldn't have guessed he'd be THIS late! We'll see what happens in the next few days!

In the Meantime....

2009-12-22T15:16:00.002-06:00

So, Considering that this baby is taking his sweet time, I guess I'll show you a little crafty/sewing project I completed a couple weeks ago...

This is Avah's snowsuit from when she was little,

and besides the pink embroidered duck on the front, it was basically unisex... so...

I dug in my stash for a couple of coordinating scraps, and stitched this little elephant on the front to cover it up. :)

Cute, isn't he? :) Now if only someone even cuter would arrive so we can bundle him up inside!

P.S. - The plan is to induce me on Saturday if nothing has happened yet. NOT pleased with that idea!

No baby yet.....

2009-12-19T12:48:00.002-06:00

In case anyone is wondering, (sigh) no, the baby hasn't arrived yet. I was officially due 4 days ago, and I'm starting to get impatient! :)

Oh well, we all know it can't be much longer....

She's Gone Home...

2009-12-15T14:58:00.002-06:00

Early Monday morning, Nadia left this world to be at Home with her Heavenly Father. I don't question it, but it sure is hard to comprehend life down here without her. Please keep praying for us friends and family. We don't have to be sad for her; I know she's happier up above. But pray for comfort for those left to carry on down here...

***

p.s. - No baby news yet. I had 4 hours of "false" labour (It still hurt!) on Monday, contractions every 5-10 minutes, which tapered off to nothing, and not a twinge since then. Talk about getting me excited for nothing. :(

I couldn't resist....

2009-12-07T14:47:00.003-06:00

My wispy-haired sleepy little girl....

My super-hero nun about to save the day!

...

(Future wedding slideshow photo?)

Cookies with Kimmy

2009-12-05T13:28:00.006-06:00

Avah has become very proficient at the touch-screen aspect of Kimmy's iphone. Which is, of course, helped by the fact that Kimmy has so graciously downloaded a few toddler games for Avah to play! :) I had to put this picture up here, just because she looks like so many teens these days, except they're ten times her age, lol!

Last Saturday Avah and I went out to the farm to give Daddy some peace and quiet to study for an upcoming exam (Yes, he has an exam exactly one week before my due date. I better not be more than 6 days early or Daddy might not do too well on his test!).

On a whim Kimmy decided to make sugar cookies with Avah, and Avah turned out to be very adept at cookie cutter-ing. (I'm making up words here, ha!)

" Mother, can't you see I'm busy?"

Getting a little direction from Kimmy.

Such a cute pair of cookie-bakers!

Avah made it her personal duty to make sure each and every single sprinkle was pressed firmly into the dough... Such cute little fingers... :)

p.s. - Is anyone else having troubles with blogger not allowing gaps between paragraphs? It's happened to me in my last two posts! :(

The Leftovers - a baby hat....and a giveaway!

2009-12-03T16:20:00.008-06:00

So, after I was finished crocheting the baby's blanket, I had all this leftover yarn in such pretty colours that was begging for another project.

So one evening while watching the Saskatchewan Roughriders (Canadian Football League - CFL) win another game, I whipped up this little earflap hat to match!

Speaking of the Riders: I have never cared so much about a game in my life, more than when we watched them throw away the championship game by accidentally having too many men on the field in the last play. They got a penalty, and that allowed the other team another field goal attempt, which they made! Boo Hoo! But I got over it fast, haha.)

Pardon that tangent, I got a little carried away! Anyways, making this little hat reminded me of some other hats I had made for a *failed* Etsy endeavour. I never sold one hat, so I had them in a bag kicking around in the basement for months. Then it dawned on me: a Giveaway!

So. Considering that my official due date is December 16th, here's how it's going to work. Leave a comment guessing when you think I will ACTUALLY give birth, and if you want to be clever, put both the date and time, in case you're not the only one guessing that day. And if anyone guesses December 25th, you had better be wrong!

The winner will receive his/her (who am I kidding? I'm pretty sure no men read this blog!) choice of one of my hand crocheted earflap hats below.

Aaaaannnd, if I feel like it, there may just be a runner up, or two!

The ones above are sized for a toddler, except the far left one is more like 6-12 months.

These two are kid-sized. :)

And these two are adult-sized.

Ooh, I should mention that Avah was born 7 days past her due date, if that has anything to do with it! :) Good luck! Except there's no such thing! :)

And please, don't expect your prize before the new year! Things might just be a little busy around here!

A Friend in Need

2009-11-26T16:36:00.003-06:00

I'm sure most people who read this blog also read my sisters' blogs too, so you'll know already about Nadia's situation, but I thought I would also add it here. My younger sister's best friend (and a friend of mine!) is in the hospital right now with a very serious blood infection that could take her life. Kim posted a few details here, but we would just ask for prayers for Nadia, that the Lord would heal her if it's His will, and for comfort for family and friends.

"Lord, He whom thou lovest is sick." John 11:3

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. . . unto Him be glory." Ephesians 3:20,21

Product Review!

2009-11-25T19:39:00.003-06:00

So, as you all know, I'm about to give birth to a little boy in a few weeks (21 days! *yay*). So it couldn't come at a better time when I received an email from CSN stores asking if I wanted to review a product that they sell at one of their online stores.

Of course I hopped right on over to csnBABY.com to see what I could see, and WOW, they have a lot of stuff! Everything from kid and baby furniture, to nursery decor, to some pretty cool baby gear!

I'll be reviewing this snazzy diaper bag from Skip Hop:

I can't wait to give it a try, as I've heard some GREAT things about these bags, as far as durability and usefulness. Stay tuned for a review!

Saturday at the Farm

2009-11-12T08:00:00.003-06:00

Now that Auntie Kim works full time, she always has Saturdays off. So the other day when mom and dad were gone on vacation, we went out to the farm to keep Kim company on her day off.Avah was introduced to Frankie, or should I say "Shwankie" and basically mauled her the whole time we were there. Frankie was surprisingly calm about it too!

She still needs to learn how to hold a kitty properly without strangling it, but she's working on it!

Kim was working on some artistic pumpkin carving while we were there....

This one was my personal fave. :)

And we brought out the new-to-us, old game of probe which has strangely gained popularity among the YP here these days. We go through weird fads, haha. :)

So old-school, so retro and so much fun to play! It's like wheel of fortune and hangman.... kinda. My best word so far: crustacean! Took everyone a LONG time to get that word!

The Baby Ripple Blanket

2009-11-10T08:00:00.002-06:00

Recently I discovered an awesome blog, Attic24. She's an amazing crochet-er (?) and uses so many bright and lovely colours in her crocheting that I was inspired to do the same!

So, Ta-Da! It's a very, very colourful blanket for this little guy inside me whenever he decides to show up!

I couldn't make myself go full-out rainbow, but these are nice, muted, perhaps you could say "jewel-toned" colours, and I am totally in love with the finished product!

I used her pattern, which I linked to above, and I have to say I like it better than any ripple blanket I've seen. It's much more wavy and less chevron-y, if you know what I mean.

---

Up next, an earflap beanie to match. Stay tuned!

One Last Nice Day

2009-11-08T08:00:00.003-06:00

I'm afraid this is it, folks. Winter is coming soon, I can just feel it! But the other day we had some GREAT weather, so Avah and I took a little walk down the street to the park to enjoy the sunshine....

Sportin' her new boots (that are a teensy bit big on her still!)

Bein' silly...

*warning: object above is *just as large* as she appears!*

Road Trip to Edmonton

2009-11-05T15:22:00.007-06:00

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Josh's sister Sabrina and her family recently moved all the way from New Brunswick to Edmonton, AB. So last month we decided to take a little trip to see them.

The little Diva in the back seat.

Hangin' with her cousin Abby.

Brody, who was just a newborn at our wedding, but SO grown-up now!

Edmonton has an AWESOME mall. It's the largest mall in North America and the fifth largest in the world. It has an aquarium, which we explored, an ice skating rink, an amusement park and an amazing waterpark/wavepool.

Avah and Abby checking out a big fat toad.

They had little manta rays that you could touch, but it was hard to get a good picture because the lighting was poor.

...tons of neat fish....

...penguins that would follow your hand on the glass...

...and sea turtles!

They also had a sea lion show. It's crazy, an aquatic show right in the middle of the mall!

First they introduced us to a penguin, and it was so neat, because the animals were VERY close to the spectators, the kids got a kick out of it.

Then the sea lions came out and did their tricks.

Afterwards, the kids had their picture taken with a sea lion, and it actually kissed Abby on the head for the picture! Unfortunately I don't have a copy of it, but it was pretty cute!

And what better way to end a long day than with a nice warm bubble bath? :)

---

Just as a side note, Sabrina's husband, Danny, who is in the military was deployed to Afghanistan just last week. He'll be there for a minimum of 6 months and his specialty is in bomb and mine diffusion, (very scary!) so I would ask for prayers for his safety and well-being while he's there!

Avah's 2nd Birthday!

2009-10-29T15:49:00.009-06:00

Avah is two! And what better way is there to celebrate than with many many cupcakes?! I had grand plans to do something from this book, but in my increasingly pregnant and tired state the birthday girl had to be happy with smarties (these, for all you americans) and sprinkles. I don't think she minded a bit. All weekend I kept hearing out of the blue in a little voice, "Birthday Cakes? Birthday Cakes? I TWO, I TWO!".

The sparkler scared her at first, but once that was done, she had no problem blowing out her candles. :)

Daddy to the rescue!

I should mention that Daddy's birthday is one day after Avah's so he gets to help blow out candles. Sorry Daddy, no manly cake for you! But it's all about the kids now, right?

Really, all she cared about were the smarties. Or "Marties", I should say.

Baby Davey got his first taste of frosting.

Going in for the big bite. :)

---

We ended up having two little parties, one with the Young People, whom she considers herself a part of, and another on Sunday afternoon with family.

Now we're getting the hang of it!

Opening presents with daddy...

So Exciting!

Showing all her loot to Grandpa.

And finally, a little family picture to commemorate her 2nd birthday.

Happy birthday my (not so) little Monkey Moo!

Home Sweet (Used to be) Home

2009-09-28T22:31:00.003-06:00

The other day we went out to my parents' farm for a visit, and while Avah napped I went out with my camera to take a trip down memory lane.... just a few things I found...A big, nasty spider. :P

The entrance to the old barn.

Hung from the cobwebby ceiling of the barn.

An old horse trunk with our farm's official name on it.

"Bonnyview Farm Ltd"

A trapped butterfly.

An old (but restored) truck, parked for storage. It seems to have suffered a little abuse at the hands of cats and raccoons.

A dandelion blowing in the wind.

And then this little munchkin came for a visit and I had to get my snuggles in. :)

Avah is quite enamored with babies these days, we'll see what happens when there's a baby around 24/7.

Such a cute little man.... sigh... I can't wait....

Moo

2009-09-22T15:36:00.006-06:00

These are just a few pictures from our visit out to baby Davey's farm, and our sunset stroll to visit the cows....

I just love the symetrical look of a cow's face. :)

Smiles for mom!

Such a big boy now!

Chicken Spaghetti

2009-09-20T16:43:00.005-06:00

Yes, I know the name doesn't really sound appetizing... but this recipe is SO GOOD. Please try it and then you'll thank me. Actually you'll thank the Pioneer Woman. Here's the link to her recipe. I make it a tad different, omitting the pimentos and adding a can of mild green chilies and some red pepper, and I think that's what makes the dish. But that's just me talking....anyways.... :) So I start by sauteing a small onion and half a red pepper in a bit of oil just until they are a little soft.

This is my version of 3 cups of spaghetti broken into 2 inch chunks.

Make sure you have these guys on hand.

And some chicken broth, but not much, about a cup is enough.

And a few seasonings. It's the Cayenne pepper that makes the recipe so good. And I don't like spicy!

Oh yes. And PLENTY of grated cheddar. Cheese makes everything wonderful, agreed?

In a big mixing bowl, combine your "al dente" spaghetti, 2-3 cups cooked chunked chicken, your 2 cans of soup and the green chilies.

add about half your cheddar, your onions and red peppers, 1 Tbsp. seasoning salt, a good sprinkling of pepper...

and 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper. A little goes a LONG way. If you're brave, go for a 1/4 tsp.
Give it a good stir and splash a little chicken broth in there to moisten it up a bit.

Then toss it into a 9 x 13 dish, top with the rest of the cheese and bake it at 350 degrees for around half an hour, just til it's bubbly.

Mmmm.... by far my most favorite casserole these days... and I'm not usually a casserole fan. But it sure pleases the one who is a casserole fan in our house, and Avah doesn't complain, either, which is a great bonus!

Camping with the YP

2009-08-22T18:41:00.009-06:00

The week after Regina conference a bunch of us Young People took a camping trip together with no adults! (I say this as if I'm not an adult, but it felt really weird to have none of our parents there, lol!) This time we went to Madge Lake at Duck Mountain Provincial park. Once again we had a lot of rain, and a very entertaining drowning tent escapade that eventually landed it in the garbage can. Thankfully almost everything in the tent stayed dry. (Thanks to Chatty's type "A" personality, everything was piled neatly on top of an air mattress and not on the floor.) Luckily, we had brought Mom and Dad's good old tent trailer from the seventies and there was enough room for everyone to have a bed the last night, even with no tent.

On the only nice day we had, Uncle B and Aunty Y brought out their boat and took a bunch of us out on the water. I stayed nice and dry on the beach, as boats create too much bouncing for this belly of mine, lol!

Avah loves boat rides, but all good things come to an end, and it was time for this little girl to have a nap. She thinks Nate is the best!

Avah is the best little camper. She probably had more fun than the rest of us. :)

Here's Kim showing off her woodswoman skills. This is with the shiny new axe that Josh went and bought after our old one broke in two pieces shortly after we arrived. We won't go into details how THAT happened, haha.

The girls brought along Crayola window writers and went to town on Dad's truck. Everyone signed their names on the back window, which ended up washing off in the rain before I got a picture of it completed.

Here's Avah writing her "name"/scribbling.

Isn't "pic-a-pop" such a cute name for a drink? I think we emptied the camp store's cooler during our trip; a lot of these were consumed!

They had a very cool 1 km hike out into the marsh along the lake. A lot of the flower pictures from my previous post were taken along this walk.

The Girls....

And below is a sequence of photos that I think will be appreciated. Guys are HORRIBLE at letting you take their picture, lol!

Well, I guess this is the best it gets!

Swingin' at the park...

Just a sampling of the pic-a-pop flavours...

Conversation around the fire...

Cousins Janell and Sara got to come for one night before they headed back home to Washington and it was nice to have them along!

Our beautiful (not!) but functional tent trailer. And a lot of drinking water, as the water here was a lovely but not appetizing rust colour.

After one night at their own site, the boys decided to bring their tent on over to the main site. Tents these days are so portable! Just stuff it in the back of a truck all set up and everything and drive away!

Thanks, Kim, for planning such a great trip!

Camping with Grandma

2009-08-21T13:28:00.011-06:00

The first of two camping trips we went on this summer was with Josh's mom to Greenwater Provincial Park. It is SUCH a nice park with lots to do, and who cares if it's cool and rainy the entire time? :) Avah got to know the local squirrels very well, but she was always mad when they went scurrying off into the bushes. She learned quickly, though, to stay still and quiet when the squirrels were around.

There's nothing like a homemade breakfast cooked over the fire...

Yum!

"Ooh, Squirrel! Want some breakfast too?"

Sure, why not!

Avah became adept at zipping and unzipping the tent. Not so adept though, at getting in and out gracefully, hah.

On a FREEZING day, we decided to go down to the park near the beach and kill time. Avah LOVED the see-saw!

This is her "Uh Oh, Daddy's coming to get me!" Face.

These squirrels were very tame, except the big ones would take all the seeds you offered and store them in their mouth then run off into the forest to eat them. Avah didn't like that so much...

Off to see where Mr. Squirrel went.

And Finally! Some (kinda) nice beach weather! "Mom, how do I look in this? Pretty cute? Thought so...."

Baby Bum!

Playing in the sand with Dad...

Of course a day at the beach isn't complete without snacking on sandy snacks, is it? Even though we only had one nice day, weather-wise, we had a great time relaxing and unwinding. We hope to go camping every year, so if anyone wants to make plans with us for next year, let me know!

Playing with the Camera

2009-08-15T15:17:00.004-06:00

So here are a few photos that Josh and I have taken on our cool new camera. They are pretty random and probably boring for some people, but I think it's so cool what you can do with DSLR without having to even do any editing. I say "Josh and I" because he has actually taken an interest in photography lately too. About half of these are his.

This is actually a cactus flower, taken from directly above. Cool, hey?

This butterfly landed on a sunny spot on a towel when we were camping and wasn't very camera shy at all.

Floating twigs in a marshy area on a hike we took while camping.

The Post Where I Catch Up

2009-08-15T14:34:00.005-06:00

So it's been more than TWO MONTHS since my last post. Horrible! I guess I'm going through the no-energy part of the pregnancy these days, and the blog isn't at the top of the list. But I promise to do better!

We'll try to catch up in order here:

David Eric Clark was born to our friends Ben & Susan on June 25th at a mere 6 lb and some odd ounces. Avah was over 9 lbs and baby #2 is bound to be even bigger...I'm a little jealous!
Susan and I had a little photoshoot when he was a week old and he was SO wide awake!

Here he is cuddled in a blanket made especially for him from one of his very far away aunties.

Then, on June 29th My brother Brad and his wife Christa welcomed baby Lyrik Michael Bateman, also at a mere 6 lbs some odd ounces!

Here he is with his daddy, whom he looks SOOO much like. :)

All Snug as a bug..... sigh....

...

makes me wish for my own little boy...

...

oh wait, didn't I tell you? We're having a boy! And couldn't be more excited about it, Daddy especially. :)

...

So what else have we been up to lately...

Getting lots of sun at the beach on two camping trips (which I WILL blog about!)

Avah met her first two cousins for the first time and was the most quiet I've ever seen her. She just stood and watched what was going on around her, it was so cute, but NOT the normal Avah! I guess she's just used to being one of the Young People, so when there were kids around, she didn't know quite what to do. She opened up after a while, though. :)

Josh's sister Sabrina and her family are moving from the East Coast to Edmonton, AB, as her husband is in the military and was transferred to the base there. It's great for us, because we'll get to see them SO much more often as it's only a 9 hour drive compared to a 6 DAY drive. :)

Here they're working as a team to get Avah buckled into the seat. She is OBSESSED with buckles these days, and if there's a carseat or stroller or highchair with buckles in the room, I'm constantly hearing "a-push!! a-push!!", as in "push the buttons for me mom, so I can go ahead and do them up again, and again, and again!" My mother-in-law says I should bring her into the labour room with me so she can be my coach, because she sure knows how to yell "PUSH!" haha. But I think I'll leave that to her daddy. :)

Only four more months and we'll be meeting our little boy! I'm SO excited!!!

Baby Hudson

2009-06-10T17:22:00.004-06:00

So today Avah and I ventured out in the rain to visit Anna and her little one-week-old Hudson. Avah had a couple of friends to play with that were actually close to her age for once, and she played quite well with them.... aside from not sharing toys. But that's still to be learned...

We decided to play with our cameras a little bit. I've always wanted to do a newborn photoshoot, and it was so fun! Hudson was a little angel and did whatever we asked him, except smile. ;)

Love love LOVE the little back wrinkles!

Peek. :)

The picture above is my favorite from the photoshoot, he was so calm and peaceful the whole time, he's such a good baby!

At the end we tried a group shot of the three kids. I have to say this isn't too bad for a couple of wiggly toddlers!

All in all it was a good afternoon. Thanks for having us over, Anna!

12 Week Ultrasound

2009-06-06T16:49:00.002-06:00

So here's the little bean inside of me. :)
A lot of the shots are the same, but still nice to have. When I had my 12 week ultrasound with Avah, I only got 1 1/2 pictures because the tech's machine ran out of paper. Lame.

Sucking his/her thumb, maybe?

This one looks like baby is sticking out his/her tongue. :)

And finally, the 3D shot. We got to see the baby in 4D this time and WOW, was it ever cool to see the little arms and legs moving around. There really is a baby in there!

And It's a.........

2009-06-02T16:30:00.002-06:00

...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
..
.

Baby!

At least we know that for sure. ;)

We won't find out the gender of the little bean for another month and a half, but we now know it has two arms and two legs and one very large brain!

When we went for Avah's 12 week ultrasound she was completely still the whole time, the tech had to jiggle my belly to try and wake her up. But this baby was bouncing and summersaulting and doing a jig the WHOLE time! The girl was having a hard time getting baby to sit still enough for all the required pictures she needed. But it was SO cute to watch. :)

Pictures to come soon....

My Utmost Apologies!

2009-06-01T21:12:00.004-06:00

So, I haven't blogged in almost a month, and there are a few reasons: I'm preggo and have been feeling really yucky and energy-less. Three cheers for the second Trimester! Maybe I'll start feeling better soon. Also, I haven't been taking many blog-worthy pictures lately. I keep forgetting my camera at home when we do all sorts of fun stuff, and what is a blog post without pictures?!

But the other day while trying to get some cleaning done in the kitchen I gave Avah a sink full of bubbles to play with, and let's just say she LOVED it!

Of course a huge mess was made, but it was a clean mess at least!

And then this happened, below...

I guess it's bath time. :) She's got the right idea about bubbles though. Now I just need to train my own little dishwasher!

Only problem is, now she begs (in a toddler tantrum way) to play with the "bubbas" every time I'm at the sink....hmm... maybe I should show her that "bubbas" don't always mean fun, sometimes they imply a lot of dishes to wash!

Well, I have my first ultrasound tomorrow, I can't wait to see this little peanut! Hopefully if my scanner works, I'll post some images on here soon of the little one. There. You can hold me accountable... ;)

French Press Cozy

2009-05-09T15:41:00.007-06:00

Here's my latest crochet project, a french press cozy for my Mother-in-law for her birthday.

Up until recently she had been draping a towel over her steeping coffee in the mornings to keep it hot and I thought it shouldn't be too hard to crochet something up.

Turns out I was able to figure something out without a pattern! Just a big rectangle with a little decorative stitching across the top and three buttons. Voila. :) No more cold coffee!

By the way, have you ever tried making coffee with a french press? It is such an easy and simple way to make coffee. For those times when you only need one or two cups of coffee it's just perfect!

So Ready

2009-05-02T16:51:00.002-06:00

I need another one of these. :)
I need one BAD.

I started looking through pictures today, of Avah's first month of life, and OH MY, am I ever glad I'm pregnant! I just need to squeeze one of these little munchkins, soon!

Maybe it's just the hormones, but I can HARDLY WAIT to hold this little one in my arms! December can't come too soon.

Wasn't (isn't) she just adorable!?

Did I mention I can hardly wait?

You Should Make These.

2009-04-28T16:18:00.004-06:00

And by "these" I mean homemade pizza pops/hamburger buns/buns with an identity crisis. But they sure are good! Mom used to make them for our lunches all the time when we would take the bus to school everyday, and she's so kindly passed the recipe to me. *Thanks mom!*
This is what Avah did while I made them. Isn't she getting so grown up?! She can eat a whole banana by herself!

So this is what you need:

*Mozzarella Cheese

*2 lb of lean ground beef, cooked

*1 package of taco seasoning (to add to beef)

*one can of pizza sauce (also to add to beef)

*one recipe of "Mom's bread dough" (I'll post the recipe at the end)

I know it sounds weird to add taco seasoning AND pizza sauce to the beef, but believe me, it works. That's why they have an identity crisis. They don't really know if their mexican, italian, or what. :)

So here's what you do. Divide your dough into 24 balls, or just wing it and start pinching off chunks. Pat it flat on an oiled surface with oiled fingers and pile on the cheese and meat.

See, so cute! Then pinch all the sides together and...

Arrange them like this on a cookie sheet. (You'll need two.)

Bake them at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

When they're done, they should look like this...mmm...

The insides will be all gooey and cheesy and flavorful. Don't they look delicious?

The end. Please make these. They're really, really, REALLY good. Ask my husband. They'll beat a pizza pop any day.

And here's "Mom's Bread Dough"

P.S. - Sorry, I can't guarantee this recipe works without a breadmaker, but I'm sure any bread recipe would work.

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 3/4 cup water

1 tbsp. powdered milk

3 tbsp margarine

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp yeast

Put all these ingredients into your breadmaker in the order listed, set it to the dough/pasta setting and wait 2 hours for the beep!

(Coincidentally, this recipe makes two nice-sized loaves of bread, baked in the oven, if you're so inclined to use it that way. )

Sunset

2009-04-25T15:35:00.005-06:00

I know, more of Avah in the rainbow sweater.... But she's so cute, don't you think?

She was loving going across this hanging bridge again and again...

Intense concentration.

I'm running away, and there's nothing mommy can do

'cause she's on the other side of the fence, haha!

Then we went out again at sunset, with Daddy this time...

I loooooove sun flare!

Notice her bruised little cheek. The poor girl has two left feet sometimes!

"I'm gonna get you Daddy!"

One of my favorite shots.

Strolling off into the sunset. :)

Neufchatel Cheese

2009-04-23T15:33:00.011-06:00

So a little while ago I heard about making your own cheese from a friend who "facebooked" about it, and I thought, hey, that might be kind of cool! So I gave it a try, and I have to say I was really impressed! The type of cheese I made is called Neufchatel (NOO-shu-tell) and it's basically cream cheese with a slightly lower fat content. The actual recipe is here. This website had a TON of helpful information. So. This is what I did: Here are the ingredients: 1/4 c. cultured buttermilk, 4L (1 gallon) whole milk, 1/4 tab of Rennet. Rennet is what helps the curd and whey separate, and I bought it at the local health food store.
First, I heated the milk up to room temperature. A thermometer is best for this, but mine is an oven thermometer and doesn't read low enough, so I just winged it. :) The ideal temperature is 65 degrees F. I added the buttermilk and the rennet(which I dissolved in a little water) and gave the whole pot a good stir.

Then, I let it sit on my counter overnight undisturbed. That's the key, apparently.

In the morning, it was thick enough to cut it into cubes with a butter knife.

Apparently mine was still a little runny (I hadn't gotten a "clean break") and I should have left it a few more hours, but me being as impatient as I am, I went ahead with the next step. It all worked out in the end. :)

Then ladled it all into a piece of clean cotton fabric and hung it in the fridge overnight.

This is what whey looks like. Pretty exciting, hey?! Apparently you can save it and use it for lacto-fermented foods among other things, but mine just went down the drain.

Because of my impatience, I had to let my cheese hang for a good 4 days before all the whey was sufficiently drained. But this is what it looks like when you open it up.

mmmm....

I added a little salt...

Then, because the texture was a little uneven (some areas had dried out more) I gave it a good whip in the Kitchenaid mixer to smooth it all out.

mmmm.... (did I already say that?)

I spooned it into a container...

And Voila! I ended up with 3 1/2 cups of cream cheese, which is a TON! One package of cream cheese is 1 cup, so for us Canadians, anyways (dairy is SO expensive here, especially cheeses), it's cheaper to make than to buy!

So far I've made a cheese ball with some of it, which got rave reviews at Sunday School. I didn't actually taste it myself, since they warn against eating fresh cheese when you are pregnant ( bummer), but josh said it almost tasted like mozzarella. It may have something to do with how much or little salt is added. Either way, I can't wait to make it again, and possibly make a cheesecake out of it.

So, give it a try! It's way easier than you would think!

2009-04-21T15:36:00.003-06:00

Just a warning... this is a long post about nothing. But keep reading! Avah is OBSESSED with purses. Specifically grandma's purse. This could be because she always procures snacks/candy/presents from grandma's purse. It's so cute to see her get a little idea in her head, then with a smirk she runs over to find grandma's purse and carries the big thing over to grandma to see what she'll bring out of it today. Unfortunately she thinks everyone's purses are game, so we've had to keep a close eye on her!

"Like my new hat mom?"

So this is the first time I let her eat a whole chocolate by herself. In this case it was a hollow chocolate duck. She thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thanks grandma!

An afternoon snack out of the easter basket. That basket was trashed and hit the trash VERY soon after it was given her! Who new I had such a destructive daughter!

Really, I don't feed her a lot of chocolate! Daddy actually bought her this chocolate bar, because she was being such a good girl at the store with him. She has him wrapped around her little finger! All she has to do is point and squeak a little "peas?" and he's hooked!

My beautiful, big-brown-eyed girl!

An Evening Walk

2009-04-20T20:05:00.000-06:00

So. I've finally decided to start blogging, after a little convincing! I have to admit, that the catalyst was buying my first DSLR camera (I've been drooling over Kim's for a long time now), and wanting to share pictures of Avah with everyone we love who we can't see as often as we'd like. :)

...but I have to confess it might not be all Avah, all the time! I might throw in some sewing/crochet/crafting projects...

...or a few recipe trials, here and there.

Mostly, this blog will be about what I do as a stay at home mom, in my everyday life.

You'll also probably get a lot of photography practice shots on here...feel free to give constructive critisism!
(For anyone who noticed, my white balance was set all wrong when I took these pictures this evening, and it's too late to start editing them now...so what you see is what you get!)

(Is this not the cutest little sweater ever?!)

Loving her new-found freedom. "No more strollers!"

... Spinning in circles...

...peek-a-boo-ing....

And so it begins.... stick around.... :)