Updates

How did I fail to mention that we moved?  AGAIN!  A house across the street from Mom and Dad went up for sale this summer and we just couldn't pass up the deal.  With a lot of help from Dad we went for it.  We're renting the house from him while our other house is on the market.  It's more than twice as big as the house we bought and we have nearly a half an acre of land.  And of course we have the BEST neighbors ever.

Neglecting my blogging.....

I can't believe all of the creative things that have been going on that I have missed blogging about.  I have to admit that sometimes I read other blogs and feel a little inferior and so uncreative.  But then I realize that creativity is relative and subjective.  For instance I did come up with this:

Plus I've been all kinds of creative in the kitchen now that we have a big kitchen with lots of counter space.  Thanks to a tip from a friend I got a great deal on a yogurt maker at Tuesday Morning.  Sophia and I love yogurt and yogurt smoothies but I am hesitant to give her the flavored yogurts they sell at the store, plus buying so much of it was getting pricey.  So I ventured into the world of making my own yogurt.  Attempt #1 was a disaster, it didn't set at all in 8 hours.  Turns out an instant read thermometer is not the best for making yogurt. ;-)  All of my poor little active cultures got killed off before they even had a chance.  Attempt #2 was OK.  Edible but really runny.  That's what I get for meeting a friend for coffee and leaving Joe in charge.  Lesson learned.  Attempt #3 was declared a success by all!  I even made a batch for Dad, who had never had plain yogurt.  He added a little agave nectar and frozen berries and it was perfect.  I put mine in smoothies with frozen berries, honey or agave nectar, flax meal, and OJ.  Yummy!  Sophia prefers hers mixed with a teeny bit of honey and layered with frozen berries and granola.  I have also used it instead of sour cream.  I love that it's so versatile and easy to make.
I also got a food dehydrator that I'm still testing out.  For my first go round I did pineapple rings, green grapes, and fruit leather with applesauce and blueberries.  The fruit leather was a hit Sophia ate the whole batch in one day.  I know I probably shouldn't have let that happen but I was just so happy she loved it and that it was a success.  The pineapples didn't turn out so well.  12 hours and they were still pretty juicy.  I sliced them in 1/2 inch slices per the "cookbook" and that was probably too thick.  Next time I will go thinner and try to rotate them more often.  The grapes were a complete failure.  They started to turn a little brown but that's about it.  They didn't even start to wrinkle after 12 hours.  Guess I'll have to play around with that one a little more.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. ...

I've been busy, OK? ;-)

Winter is keeping me busy with Sophia.  We're dealing with a lot over here and being cooped up in an already crowded house is starting to get to us.  But all of that will be remedied soon.  We bought a house!!!!!  Or, I guess I should say, we're in the process of buying a house.  We've been busy getting all of our ducks in a row and now we're just waiting for closing in 2 weeks.  We won't move in right away, though.  We plan on pulling up carpet and refinishing the hard wood floors and painting.

 

These are some before shots from one of our walk throughs.  I'll have more later after our final walk through and of course there will be after shots.  I'm pretty excited about the kitchen.  It's in need of a complete renovation but since that isn't in the budget right now we plan on going wild and having fun with it.  You know, rhinestones on the cabinets, painting it bright pink or something along those lines.  If you have any fun ideas please feel free to send them along.  We're up for just about anything that doesn't involve a ton of work or money. ;-)

Wanna witness a miracle?

See that list of blogs I follow?  You know that one over there in the right hand column?  See that first blog?  The one that says Our Young Shoot Chloe?  Click on it and watch the video, Chloe's NICU video.  You know you want to.  You won't regret it.
Disclaimers:
You will need tissues, so go get them before you click on it.
You will experience moments of extreme love and joy.
You WILL feel the presence of God as well as Chloe's angel sister Leila.
Cyndi- I hope you don't mind that I shared it here.  It was just too beautiful and amazing not to.  I thank God that I am able to witness the miracle that is Chloe and I thank you for sharing your story with me. :-)

Happy New Year!

Sorry for the absence but it's been crazy around here!  Joe's mom and aunt were here for Sophia's birthday party and stayed for a couple of days after.  Then it was time for Christmas and a trip to Springfield to have Christmas with the Harveys.  Then back to Ohio to have Christmas with the Coopers.  And of course Uncle Adam and Aunt Erin were in town from Philly.  With Sophia out of school and Daddy home from work a lot there's been a lot of running around going on.
I just had to post this website that I got from my friend, Erin, over at bearing blog.  It's a bunch of patterns for felt food.  I might just have to figure out mom's sewing machine for these.
Felt Food Pattern
And Erin has suggested that I post my mom's spring roll/egg roll recipe.  I'll do that when I get more time, right now I'm getting ready for a girl's night out at a friend's house. 

What I've been up to lately.

I went to visit old friends in St. Louis

I learned how to knit a sock

I baked a cake

I made some fruit kabobs (yes those are carrots.  It's what my daughter wanted for her school birthday treat)

I made LOTS of cupcakes

I made a 5 year old happy by throwing her the "BEST BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER!) :-)

I'd say I've had a pretty productive month so far.

Busy, busy, busy

The last few weeks have been a madhouse around here.  The party is over and was a success.  I'll have to post pictures later.  I took two knitting classes: Knitting 101 in which I learned I was wrapping backwards when I purled and Sock Knitting.  I'm about 80% finished with my first sock and quite proud of myself.  I'll write more details about recent events lately, right now I've got to finish entertaining my mother in law and her sister.