Feathering The Nest

Healing

2012-01-21T16:01:00.001-05:00

I was just sitting here, pondering how to word the post I wanted to write, and listening to our "hymns" station on Pandora, and the song, Be Still My Soul began to play. The Lord brought the words of this very hymn to my mind the other night when I was up caring for a very sick Elsie.

Be still my soul: the Lord is on they side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still my soul; thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

The cross of grief and pain has been very heavy this week. Elsie was sick for several days, throwing up repeatedly. Jonathan was sick as well, and I had it one night. My Dad, who has been fighting brain cancer for nearly a year now, had been getting worse as the week wore on, and had to be taken to the emergency room late last night. But Jesus has been gracious and faithful to hold each of us, giving strength and peace in the midst of so much pain. He has granted Elsie healing of her stomach virus. My Dad will receive his healing at the feet of Jesus. That is such a beautiful, comforting thought.

I am so thankful for the atoning blood of Jesus. Without salvation through Him we would be so lost, lost in sin, lost in pain and sorrow. But we have such a great hope! I know that whatever comes into my life, I can fall on Him for *healing*.

The Simple Woman's Daybook~~Snow Day Edition

2012-01-13T15:08:00.001-05:00

Outside my window ~~ Snow! We've received 4 - 6 inches so far, and it's still falling. Isn't it interesting to watch snow fall? One tiny flake at a time; you'd almost think they could never add up to enough to measure anything, but if it is snowing at all steadily, you can just watch the ground turn white and then the snow begin to build up over everything. Such beauty!

I am thankful ~~ for a beautiful scene outside the window, but also that I get to stay home today, just enjoying the beauty from the warmth of our snug house. And I am very glad for a furnace!

In the kitchen ~~ I have cube steaks thawing to make Chicken Fried Steak for supper, request of Jonathan.

I am wearing ~~ A long homemade flannel skirt, cream with burgundy and green paislys and flowers on it, with a cream colored shirt and a green flowy sweater vest. I also have on a plaid infinity scarf because the neck of my shirt is a bit low.

I am creating ~~ Yesterday I began cutting out coordinating dresses for Elsie and Eden. Just a few more pieces to cut out and I'll be able to get going on sewing whenever I make time for it again. The cutting out part of sewing is not at all my favorite; I much prefer the actual sewing and putting together, but cutting is a part of the process, isn't it?

I am going ~~ Nowhere at all! Today is a day for sticking close to home.

I am wondering ~~ Just how much snow we'll actually get and if the roads will be very badly drifted when Jonathan is driving home from work.

I am reading ~~ The Knowledge Of The Holy by A.W. Tozer. My parents gifted it to Jonathan and I while we were visiting there a few weeks ago.

I am looking forward to ~~ Having Jonathan's Dad and sister over for dinner after church Sunday. His Mom is out of town for a time, caring for her mother far off in Kentucky, so we are trying to have them over when we can to help fill the void I'm quite sure is there without her.

I am learning ~~ To look for God's hand in every circumstance, and trust that He will do His perfect will to my own good, whether or not things turn out the way I desire.

Around the house ~~ I'm doing laundry today, and some cleaning to get ready for our company.

I am pondering ~~ I've been thinking about thinking. I know that sounds humorous, but I really have. When I find myself considering something, I often think next, is this thought glorifying to God? Is it profitable? "Finally, brethen, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

A favorite quote for today ~~ "But unless the weight of the burden {one's obligation to God} is felt the gospel can mean nothing to the man; and until he sees a vision of God high and lifted up, there will be no woe and no burden." A.W. Tozer

A peek into my day ~~

The bank of the pond across the street.

I am sharing this post with the other day-booking ladies here. This is my first time, and I truly enjoyed following the prompts and writing this!

Supper From the Garden...In January!

2012-01-12T11:31:00.000-05:00

Eden is a baby of a very tender tummy. I can't eat dairy products, tomato products, garlic or other "spicy spices", hot dogs or too much pork, or chocolate, or she will be up all night with a gassy tummy-ache. (Chocolate -- that's the killer!) We used to eat a lot of Mexican foods, but that's obviously out now, as well as many other favorites, so I am trying to find new recipes that don't make her sick.

Yesterday afternoon I was paging through the More-With-Less Cookbook, and found Colorado Pie. It's a new favorite, friends! I made the sauce with half homemade tomato juice that's really half tomato water, and half almond milk. It tasted good and no tummy-aches! The green beans were from our garden, and I added some shredded homegrown squash from the freezer. I served the pie with mashed potatoes and homemade applesauce, also from the freezer! We did think the recipe called for too much salt, so I would recommend reducing the salt in the filling.

Colorado Pie
Prepare pastry for a 2-crust pie, using 1 teaspoon onion salt instead of regular salt if desired. I use the recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook, and make it with whole wheat pastry flour. Line 9" pie plate with pastry.

Brown in skillet:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion

Stir in:
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups cooked green beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1 10-ounce can tomato soup OR sauce recipe below

Pour into pastry lined pan, add top crust and cut slits in it. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

Sauce
Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a heavy saucepan. Blend in 3 tablespoons flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt, cooking and stirring until bubbly.

Whisk in 1 cup milk or tomato juice. Cook just until smooth and thickened.

We are expecting a snow storm tonight! They're calling for 5 inches of snow and brisk winds, with more snow coming tomorrow. We're excited...we love snow and have hardly gotten any yet this winter! Jonathan has brought in a pile of wood for the fireplace and I think I'll mix up some hot chocolate mix for him. I'll have to stick with hot tea myself. I've discovered a new favorite tea. Bigelow's Orange and Spice herb tea. Oh, it's so good! A little bit tangy with just a hint of cinnamon...Mmm! Just the drink for a cold day.

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

2012-01-09T15:08:00.000-05:00

My sister, Abigail, discovered this Lentil Soup recipe and made it for the family at home. They enjoyed it so much that she sent the recipe to me, and the first time I made it, Jonathan and I loved it! It is an unusual combination, but the flavors meld together so very well. This soup goes together quickly, thanks to the fact that lentils do not require a pre-soak. I like to serve it with muffins, sliced cheese and a big green salad. I'm posting the recipe here in hopes that you too will try it and enjoy it as much as we have!

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

1/4 cup butter
2 large sweet poataoes
3 large carrots
1 apple
1 onion
1 1/2 cups lentils
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt1/2 teapoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I actually just use water)
plain yogurt if desired

Peel and chop sweet potatoes, carrots, apple and onion. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute chopped vegetables, stirring and cooking until onions are translucent, about 10 minutes.

Stir the lentils, spices and broth into the pot with the apple/vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the medium-low; cover and simmer until lentils and vegetables are soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Serve with yogurt for garnish.

Homes For All

2012-01-06T10:35:00.003-05:00

source

The dog has a kennel, the pig has a sty

The rabbit a burrow (I don't know just why);

The bee has a hive, and the bird has a nest,

For bossy the cow, a good barn is best.

The horse has a stable, the chicken a pen,

The cat has a mat, but the wolf has a den;

A cave for a bear, and a hole for a mouse,

But I am so glad that I live in a house!

By Mable Watts

And We Are Home

2012-01-05T14:11:00.002-05:00

Home, that is such a beautiful word!

Every house where love abides
And friendship is a guest,
Is surely home, and home sweet home
For there the heart can rest.
~Henry Van Dyke

We just returned from a trip to visit my family in Texas, a 1,200 mile journey that we spend two days driving. I guess I could say we were visiting "back home", but now my home is in Michigan, so I have two homes! But this little home of ours, here in Michigan, is my real home; for I have my True Love and my Little Loves here with me. Yes, home is really where love abides, where one's heart is.

When we left, the ground was still oddly bare of snow, but we arrived home to see a pile of white! There was such a lovely sunrise this morning, all pink and purple and reflecting off the snow, but by the time Eden finished nursing, most of the color had fled. Here are some pictures of the morning.

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

A west Texas sunrise.

2011-12-30T12:15:00.000-05:00

Muffins for breakfast! We are in Texas enjoying visiting my parents and brothers and sisters. Elsie and Eden have four adoring aunts and uncles and are getting way too much attention! We are all having so much fun together. I had intended to keep up with posting while here, but after several days, I'm finally getting to it. Regular blogging will resume when we return home next week.

2011-12-24T21:03:00.000-05:00

My sister gave me this fabric bucket she made. Isn't the bird applique adorable? It just sat in my closet while I tried to decide how I would use it. Just Thursday, as I cleaned off the desk, I remembered the bucket and decided it would be the perfect thing to help keep the desk tidy. I'm keeping my camera and it's cord in it, and mail and papers that Jonathan needs to see. I also pulled out one of my blue glass canning jars to hold writing utensils. I love the way the desk looks now, and hopefully I can keep it clean! This desk has been such a dump spot!

I am writing this post to the hum of our newly fixed dishwasher! It's been broken ever since Elsie was a newborn, and I finally called someone and had it repaired this week. It's been so very nice to rinse out each dish as we use it and tuck it away in the dishwasher, instead of dirty dishes piling up on the counter to mock me. I am finding that running the machine in the evening or even delay starting it into the middle of the night works well for us. Then I can put the clean ones away the next morning.

Mantle Decorations

2011-12-20T08:15:00.001-05:00

I redecorated our mantle yesterday. I love having a mantle and changing out the decor on it each season. I do think I am getting more creative with my designs, although it's not quite what you'd see in a magazine! It suits us, though.

I intend to pop into Hobby Lobby next time I am out and about to purchase some flowers to tuck into that empty vase on the end. I've seen already the very ones I want-they are so pretty!

I was having fun playing with different lighting and settings on my camera!

Saturday Night

2011-12-17T21:25:00.000-05:00

We went this evening with Jonathan's family to pick up Andrew, his brother from the airport. He is home on leave from the Marines. After picking him up, we all went out for dinner and had a good time visiting and letting our girls get to know Uncle Andrew.

Now we are home. The house is tidy, and Elsie is in bed. There is a candle burning and the other lights are dim, making a very relaxing atmosphere. Soon I'll take Eden to bed and nurse her to sleep. It is such a joy to be a Mama and a keeper of our home!

Homemade French bread, a yummy treat for supper last week.

My Little Baby-Love

2011-12-16T10:20:00.001-05:00

Instead of posting yesterday, I took a nap. It was the girl's naptime, and I was so very tired, so I tucked Elsie in her bed, and took Eden to my bed with me. We cuddled down together and nursed until we both fell asleep. It was a very cozy, wonderful nap!

After setting up Eden's new bed, I wanted her to have a little quilt to go in it. I considered making one, but really didn't want to take the time right now. Then I remembered the quilts Jonathan's mother had given us, quilts that belonged to him as a baby! I pulled out this yellow gingham one.

It was made by Jonathan's great-aunt, his mother's Aunt Judy, and was originally part of a whole nursery set with teddy bears on it. I love covering my baby girl in a quilt that her daddy was wrapped in!

This picture is a bit out of focus because Eden did her "happy squirm" just as I took it, but I just love her precious grin!

Blessed Quietness

2011-12-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

Joys are flowing like a river

Since the Comforter has come

He abides with us forever,

Makes the trusting heart His home.

Blessed quietness, holy quietness

What assurance in my soul

On the stormy sea, He speaks peace to me

How the billows cease to roll

There are some huge billows rolling in my life right now, and the Lord used the comforting words of this hymn this afternoon to bring peace to my heart. It is a blessing to have memorized hymns and scripture that come to mind just when you need it!

**********************

Our supper last night

I love eating supper by candlelight!

The ham turned out delicious last night! The orange juice and brown sugar glaze worked fine, and gave a hint of sweet tangyness that we all liked. I think I would do it again.

I am really enjoying this new daily blogging habit. Today I even had too many pictures and ideas for one post so tomorrow's is already planned! I am planning a giveaway when I reach 200 posts on this blog. This is number 133.

Cozy Lamplight

2011-12-13T16:03:00.000-05:00

Well, the sun has left us for a while. Our forecast is nothing but rain, and then snow for quite a while. Today it is not raining yet, but the sky is overcast. The house feels dark, so I lit some candles and oil lamps. They make it feel a bit more cozy and cheery.

I found the inspiration for this picture in my sister Abigail' s post a few days ago.

My other sister, Alison recently made this new header for me. I really like it! I am still deciding if I like this golden color background or if I should go back to white. I'm leaning toward the white because I like the fresh clean look, yet I also like the warmth of gold. Have any suggestions?

I am baking a ham for supper. Jonathan found one on sale, and bought it along with a little jar of cloves for me to put in it. I studded the ham with the cloves, and rubbed it with a paste of brown sugar and orange juice concentrate. Many of the glaze recipes I found called for pineapple juice, which I did not have, so I made up my own! I hope it turns out yummy. The house already smells good.

A Sunny Day

2011-12-12T15:52:00.000-05:00

I have been experimenting with my camera, trying to capture a picture of how my plant shelf looks with the sunlight shining through the window. I think I finally got the picture I want today.

I love having house plants, especially in the winter when the only green plant outdoors are the pine and spruce trees, and even they are often heaped with snow. Jonathan put this shelf over the kitchen sink for me, and it is a wonderful place to keep some plants. I have aloe, rosemary, a spider plant and parsley. On the other side of the kitchen, I keep a philodendron on top of a partial wall. I would like to eventually have more house plants. I think Snake Plants are so pretty!

The pond and woods behind our home

Today is very sunny, and quite warm. The little snow we had on the ground is melting rapidly. We have really been having an unusually sunny December, which I am thankful for. There are some winter months when the sun only shines one or two days out of the whole month, and oh, how I do miss sunshine!

Some rays of late afternoon sunshine

I was able to take our girls outside for a long walk this afternoon, carrying Eden in my new Ergo! It is such a comfortable baby carrier! I hope to do a post about baby wearing soon.

2011-12-10T21:53:00.001-05:00

I am getting my Finding Beauty In The Ordinary post up today, although much later than usual because we've had such a busy Saturday. We started out with doing some rearranging of furniture. Eden has outgrown the little cradle that she'd slept in since she was born, so Jonathan set up her full size crib this morning. To make room for it in our bedroom, we moved a bookshelf out to the dining room. I had fun reorganizing our books and making it pretty. (We also have another shelf in the living room.)

Later in the day I baked Morning Glory Muffins. We enjoy eating muffins on Sunday morning, and I often bake then on Saturday as Sunday mornings are busy enough with getting two little girls ready for church! These are one of our favorite kinds of muffins. The recipe is from the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Book. The muffins are huge, so I usually bake twelve regular size muffins and put the rest of the batter in mini muffins. This time I had ten mini's as well as the regular muffins.

Morning Glory Muffins
1/2 cup raisins
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup packed brown sugar (I just use 1/2 cup)
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups peeled, grated carrots
1 large tart apple, peeled, cored and grated
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup slivered almonds or chopped walnuts
1/3 cup sunflower seeds or wheat germ (I've never actually used this, but I'm sure it would be good.)
3 eggs
2/3 cup oil
1/4 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*. Lightly grease muffin pan or use paper liners

Put the raisins in a small bowl and cover then with hot water. Set aside to soak while you assemble the rest of the recipe. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, spices and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, nuts and sunflower seeds. Beat together the eggs, oil, orange juice and vanilla. Add to flour mixture, and stir evenly until moistened. Drain raisins and stir them in. (I just stir them in with the wet ingredients.)

Scoop batter evenly into the prepared pan(s). Bake muffins about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in pad for 5 minutes then turn them out onto a rack to finish cooling.

I will not be posting tomorrow, Sunday, but plan to be back on Monday. Good night!

This Moment :: Baby Edition

2011-12-09T08:05:00.002-05:00

Elsie is still learning to play gently with Eden, but when she does, it just makes my Mama heart sing! She likes to give her toys, saying, "here, baby, toy!" My sweet girls!

Sharing this post with SouleMama on {this moment}

My Pumpkin Harvest

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

This post should more accurately be titled something like My Pumpkin Scavenge because I didn't actually pick them. These three, I found thrown in a brush pile across the street! I also have three more that I rescued from a dumpster while taking a walk. I'm sure I was quite a sight walking along with one baby in the stroller and one in the sling, lugging a pumpkin under one arm and toting two more in the basket under the stroller! Oh, my! I was glad I didn't have far to go - just around the corner. My fifth pumpkin, grown by my sister in law, Lydia, and given to me, has already been made into pumpkin puree and stored in the freezer. These other ones will probably follow this week.

A Vest For Elsie

2011-12-07T10:47:00.001-05:00

This is a Colin Vest that I am knitting for Elsie. The front is completed, and the very beginning of the back is on the needles. I am hoping to give it to her on New Year's Day. My parents had a tradition of giving us a gift on New Year's morning (after we went out for breakfast!) and I would like to continue that with my own children.

I am sharing this post with Ginny on her Yarn Along.

Morning Smiles

2011-12-06T16:30:00.000-05:00

I was rocking Elsie this morning after I woke her up, and she wanted to go rock in her own chair. This little red rocking chair was a gift from her Great-Grandma, who rescued it from being thrown in the dump! She gave it a fresh coat of red paint, sewed some rainbow cushions, and gifted it to Elsie. Elsie loves having her own little chair to rock in.

Finding Beauty In The Ordinary

2011-12-05T15:31:00.000-05:00

I have seen, on various blogs, different daily photo projects, usually involving some kind of link-up. I have decided to do one of my own, that I am calling Finding Beauty In The Ordinary. The purpose is to help me put my camera to better use and to find more beauty in my every day life. I intend to post a picture each day this month. Yes, this is already the fifth of December, but it is a Monday, and Monday is a good day to start a new project! I am starting this for myself, but if you would like to join in, feel free to post a link to your blog post in a comment.

I'll start with this picture of Eden because smiling babies are always beautiful!

10 Things I love About Being A Mama

2011-12-05T06:00:00.002-05:00

1) Kissing fat baby cheeks

2) Hearing delighted squeals of "Mama! Mama!" when I return from a rare outing by myself

3) Feeding my baby from my own body

4) Sweet smiles on tiny faces

5) Babywearing

6) Happy coos

7) Sewing little clothes for my girls to wear

8) Playing "Peek-a-boo"

9) Having a wonderful excuse to eat lots of food and take naps :)

10) Simply being "the Mama!"

Eden had fallen asleep in the sling, and I was trying to take picture of all of us. Every time the camera flashed, Elsie would squint and giggle so this is the best picture I got.

Stuffed Winter Squash Recipe

2011-11-15T09:39:00.001-05:00

I have mentioned before how much I enjoy shopping at our local farmer's market. You can buy such a wonderful variety of fresh produce at low cost. This fall we are eating lots of winter squash, and enjoying trying out new kinds. Right now, our favorite is buttercup squash. It has such a moist, creamy texture, and mild, sweet flavor. Winter squash is a great source of nutrients! It is an excellent source of carotenes, and a good source of vitamins C, B1, folic acid, pantothenic acid, potassium, and dietary fiber as well as vitamin B6 and niacin. Talk about good for you!

This stuffed squash recipe is from a Moosewood Restaurant cookbook, and I have altered the recipe to suit our tastes. As I was fixing it for our supper last night, I was dreaming up another version with sausage and mushrooms. I may need to take another trip to the farmer's market!

Stuffed Squash
To prebake squash, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Split the squash lengthwise down the middle and remove seeds. Back face-down on an oiled tray for 45 to 60 minutes, or until very soft. (A fork should slide in easily.) Make the filling while the squash bakes.

2 medium size winter squash
1 cup raw brown rice and 1 3/4 cups water
1/2 pound hamburger, browned (optional)
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 tart apple, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspooe ground clover
1 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
plain yogurt for topping (optional)

Place rice and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, adn elt simmer undisturbed for 30 to 40 minutes, until tender. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium size skillet. Add onion and saute about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add apple and spices and saute over medium heat about 5 minutes more.

Add saute to the rice and mix well. Season to taste with salt and honey or brown sugar.

Fill the prebaked squash halves, and bake uncovered until heated through, about 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with yogurt to top with.

The Birth Story of Eden Shalom

2011-11-07T16:13:00.000-05:00

Eden's birth story begins on August 22, 2011. My due date had come and gone by 7 days, and though I had a few days of thinking maybe this is it, I was still very pregnant! As usual when one is overdue in the middle of summer, I had been feeling hot, heavy and tired, this day, Monday, I was feeling especially energetic. I tidied up the house and made a big nice meatloaf dinner. While I was cooking I began having cramps every 10 minutes or so. The cramps continued throughout the evening so I decided to go to bed early and get some sleep in case labor really kicked in in the middle of the night. My sister in law, Lydia had been planning to attend the birth so she came over to spend the night with us.

Jonathan holding holding less than an hour old Eden.

I slept well in spite of being awakened often by light contractions. I would get up on my hands and knees and rock the contraction away, then lay down and go back to sleep. Around 5:00 am I was tired of being in bed. I got up and dressed, and went out to the kitchen to make some muffins for breakfast. With each contraction I would lean over the counter top and sway my hips and breathe deeply. At this point they really were not painful.

Marcia, my mother in law came over at 7:00 to care for Elsie when she woke up and take her home with her. Contractions continued to be regular but very light, and I knew I needed to get them going to really move the baby down. Around 9:00 Jonathan, Lydia and I headed to a nearby park to walk. On the way I called Yolanda, our midwife and told her, "I'm in labor...sort of!" I walked, and walked, and walked, squatting on the ground for contractions. I took frequent stops at the outhouse as I was having the loose stools and bloody show that signals the beginning of labor for me. Finally we came back home and I took a nap while Lydia prepared some lunch for us.

Eden getting her newborn check.

I was beginning to be tired of being in labor with no obvious progress. Jonathan and I walked around the yard until we were shooed back inside by raindrops and mosquitoes. I walked around and around the house, took hot showers and baths, squatted, rested a while and started again. Still contractions puttered on, getting slightly stronger but no closer together.

Yolanda had been checking on me by phone throughout the day, and at 4:30 pm she came over, and I had my first check. 4 centimeters. I was so disappointed I sobbed. I really wanted to be closer to birthing than that, even though I knew there was no way I could be. After instructing us to eat some supper and for me to keep squatting, she left to get some supper herself.

Finally contractions started to intensify and become closer together. I paced around between them and when one hit, I would drop to my hands and knees wherever I was and moan and growl and crawl my way through it. My arms and shoulders were becoming tired from all the crawling, but I couldn't bear to have a contraction in any other position! Yolanda blew back in a thunderstorm around 7:30 and a check at 7:45 showed my cervix to be 8 centimeters. Finally! I had been having transition symptoms of trembling and nausea so Jonathan was keeping a bucket near me.

I was an excited, happy mama!

After that last check, Yolanda said, "Rest through a few contractions, then I want you to get back up and walk some more". I was so very tired I did not want to get back out of bed. She went out to the kitchen for something, and while she was gone, my water broke. I sang out happily, "Water broke!". I knew I wouldn't have to get up anymore! I suddenly felt like I was going to throw up, and told Jonathan to get the bucket. I leaned over and my body heaved...down. I was pushing, not throwing up! I pushed about 30 minutes, maybe 5 or 8 pushes in all. I reached down at one point and was very surprised to feel the baby's head crowning. The pushing stage seemed to go so quickly. When the head was born, Yolanda told me firmly to stop pushing because the cord was around the neck. I panted for breath, trying not to push but she told me to take deep breaths to get plenty of oxygen to the baby. She quickly freed the cord and I was free to finish pushing the baby out. At 8:38 the babies body slithered free of mine. Yolanda caught it and laid it on my belly. I pulled the warm wet baby up to my chest and Jonathan helped me take of my tank top so I could have total skin to skin contact with the baby.

I lifted one little leg and exclaimed oh, a girl! Because my pregnancy had been so different from Elsie's, we had been sure we were having a boy, but I was excited to have another girl and a sister for Elsie. We named her Eden Shalom, the name we had decided on a few weeks before. I pulled her up and she latched right on and began to nurse. I'll never forget her little scowly face looking up at me as she nursed.

Elsie met Eden the next day.

The placenta delivered at 9:00 and we cut Eden's cord shortly after that. Jonathan and I pulled out our cell phones and started calling our families telling them all about Eden. I was so hungry, and it was like a party with Jonathan, Lydia and I sitting around the bedroom talking and eating snacks.

A recent picture of Eden.

Right Now

2011-10-17T11:07:00.000-04:00

Right now I am...

Enjoying the quiet while my two little ones are napping.
Working busily to finish preparations for my family's long awaited arrival this evening!
Disappointed that I lost the nearly finished post containing Eden's birth story.
Hoping I get a chance soon to re-write it.
Loving this cool, windy fall weather.
Trying to get back to blogging--I miss it!

It's A Girl!

2011-08-30T09:43:00.000-04:00

We have another little daughter! Eden Shalom was born at home on Tuesday, August 23. She weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces, and was 19 3/4 inches long. We all just love our baby girl!

From My Garden

2011-08-10T11:10:00.002-04:00

I love walking out to my garden each afternoon to see what vegetables I can pick and include in our evening meal. One afternoon last week this is what I found.

Four ripe tomatoes, a small cucumber and a purple onion. Elsie grabbed a green tomato before I could stop her, so I let it ripen on the windowsill.

For supper I was making Quinoa Greek Salad, and these fresh off the vine veggies were a delicious addition! The only change I made in the recipe was that I added a chopped chicken breast.

So good!

Yesterday I picked a large bucket full of tomatoes, our first substantial tomato harvest, and a bowl of green beans.

I prepared the tomatoes for freezing following these directions. It was quite a simple process, and much faster than canning. I got four quart bags of tomatoes plus a few more and three jars of tomato juice. I did not fill the jars very full since they were going in the freezer and I didn't want to jars to crack from the pressure of expanding liquid.

I also froze the green beans. It is such a joy to harvest and preserve your own produce!

Yarn Along

2011-07-27T09:59:00.001-04:00

*This post is linked to the weekly Yarn Along at Small things.

My current knitting project is a newborn hat for our new babe due in just a few weeks. I sort of followed this pattern but did make some changes. I've already finished a matching pair of booties.

I still consider myself a beginning knitter, although I have done quite a few more complicated projects, so I was a little nervous about starting these baby booties. But they turned out to be so simple. This was my first time knitting for babies and I could hardly believe how fast they knit up. Making tiny things has it's advantages!

I actually knit this identical green set first. Since we don't know if our baby is a boy or girl, I thought I would just stick with a pretty shade of green that the baby could wear either way. After finishing it I decided to go back and buy some pink yarn for a really girly set in case we do have another girl.

Summer Days

2011-07-25T14:40:00.001-04:00

Our area of Michigan has not escaped the heat waves that covered much of the Midwest this summer. I've been very grateful that we have air conditioning! One way I try to keep the house cooler on these steamy afternoons of to avoid using the oven to cook dinner. We love eating main dish salads when it's so hot. They're simple to make, and cool to eat when you're hot and tired at the end of the day. Last week I made a Macaroni Salad. I don't have an exact recipe because I make it different every time, depending on what I have in the refrigerator. But here are the basic instructions.

Macaroni salad with garden fresh green beans.

Cook enough macaroni of other small chunky pasta to feed your family. I use about 1 1/2 cups dry for us, and we have leftovers for lunch. Rinse the pasta in cool water, drain it well and place on a large salad bowl. Now you get creative! Chop up a variety of veggies and add them to the bowl. In this salad I used broccoli, zucchini, snow peas, tomato and onion (green onions are best). I prefer to lightly steam the tougher veggies such as the broccoli. For some protein, I usually add chopped chicken. If you don't have any chicken on hand, you could use chopped hard boiled eggs or cheese cubes or a combination of all three! Drizzle the salad lightly with lemon juice, then add enough mayonnaise to make the salad creamy. Mix it up well and serve room temperature or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers.

Garden produce I picked today.

Right Now

2011-07-18T09:57:00.001-04:00

My birthday girl!

Right now, I am...

feeling thankful for air conditioning

wondering just how much bigger my 36 week baby belly can possibly grow

knowing that despite the discomforts, I really do love being pregnant

sipping a glass of iced pregnancy tea

remembering how excited Elsie was to open her birthday gifts on Saturday

enjoying making a quilt for a very special soon to be married couple

From My Garden

2011-07-14T11:05:00.001-04:00

Jonathan and I both enjoy gardening. Our goal this year was to improve on our garden from last year and to keep up with preserving the produce that comes in. (My job.) This morning I harvested a large bowl of green beans, two heads of lettuce, a zucchini and two jalepeno peppers. We will eat beans for dinner, and the rest will go into the freezer.

We are very thankful for the blessing of home grown food.

Kitchen Tip: How to Revive Wilted Lettuce

2011-07-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, I bought a large head of our favorite buttercrunch lettuce at our local farmer's market. Because I didn't make it over there until after lunch, the lettuce had become rather wilted in the hot sun. But I knew a way to perk it back up and make it crisp again. When I got home, I trimmed off the stem end and stood the whole head in a bowl of cold water and put it in the refrigerator for a few hours. The lettuce drinks up the water like a bouquet of flowers, making the leaves nice and crisp again, perfect for our taaco salad supper!

Big Girl!

2011-07-01T09:34:00.000-04:00

Elsie (11 1/2 months) learned how to climb up into the rocking chair all by herself this morning!

Ten Things I Love About Spring

2011-05-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

1. The scent of freshly mowed grass
2. Pretty flowers blooming everywhere
3. Taking Elsie to swing at the park
4. Picnics at the lake
5. Bare feet
6. Opening all the windows
7. Sleeping on our back porch
8. Sunshine
9. Homegrown rhubarb made into a yummy crisp
10. Planting a garden

Homemade Pizza

2011-02-23T08:29:00.000-05:00

We love homemade pizza. I grew up on thick chewy crust pizza, but Jonathan was used to thin crispy crust. I thought I didn't like crist crust because I had eaten some pretty bad stuff at a restaurant one time. Lately I've been making homemade crisp crust pizza and found out that it's pretty delicious! The crust recipe from The Bread Bible is the best I've tried so far. And the homemade pizza sauce recipe from my Mom is so spicy and good! It calls for crushed tomatoes, but I use diced because we love it chunky.

Since I am lactose intolerant, I eat pizza without cheese. I think it actually tastes better that way! You really get the full flavor of the sauce and toppings.

Homemade Pizza Sauce
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 can (29 oz.) tomato puree
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dries basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

In a large saucepan, saute garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the remaining ingredients. bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes or until sauce reaches desired thickness. cool before using on pizza crust. Sauce may be refrigerated for up to a week.

I topped this pizza with green peppers, onions, olives, hamburger and cheese.

A Hint Of Spring

2011-02-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

The wall of snow along our sidewalk after the blizzard we had several weeks ago.

I think I have a love hate relationship with winter. I simply adore fall. Picking apples with a crisp breeze whipping brightly colored leaves around is about as nice as I can imagine. But in the midst of autumn beauty, there is a bit of sadness for what I know is coming. The cold, the ice, the snow. Then it comes, and here in Michigan it really comes, and I love it! Piles of snow creep up nearly to the windows. I wade through a four foot drift to feed my rabbits, and it is lovely. But when in mid-February the temperatures climb up to fourty or more, and the snow drifts turn to piles of slush, I am so excited! Today's forecasted high is fourty-six! I am eager to take Elsie out for a walk when she wakes up from her nap.

Elsie playing with a skein of yarn.

My Little Family

2011-02-08T10:31:00.001-05:00

Jonathan and Emily

Joanthan, Emily and Elsie

Jonathan, Emily, Elsie and ...

Yes, New Baby number two is expected next August!

My Cloth Diapering System

2010-12-23T14:43:00.000-05:00

Last winter while I was pregnant with Elsie, I sewed a whole stash of cloth diapers, using the PooPockets pattern from New Conceptions. Now after using the diapers for 4 months, I can say I really like them! At first we had lots of leaks, but I soon learned how to position the diaper to avoid that problem. Using liners (there is a pattern included with the diapers) for extra absorbancy helps too. Now we have a leak only very rarely. I was very glad I made the premie/newborn size to use at first. They were even too big around my baby girl's skinny legs. Now that I know more about using the diapers, though, I could have folded them to fit. I just didn't know that then.

The New Conceptions Diaper Covers Deluxe pattern is very good also. I used the Quick Wrap style.The leg gussets and elastic accross the back prevent many leaks. Sewing the binding around the edges is challenging, but after having made several, it gets much easier.

Washing diapers was the part I was most hesitant about. Would it be really gross? And rinsing them in the toilet...ugh! BUT as long as a baby just has runny breast milk poo, YOU DON'T HAVE TO RINSE THEM IN THE TOILET! (If the baby has solid poo, just shake off the excess or use a diaper sprayer.) Yay! I was so excited to learn that. I just throw the used diapers straight into a large trashcan with a lid. Every other morning I start a load of diapers to wash. I begin by running a cold water prewash cycle. This rinses the diapers and prepares them to be washed. Next I switch the machine over to hot wash, cold rinse and add 2 tablespoons of my homemade laundry detergent. They come out nice and clean. Last summer I was hanging the diapers outside to dry, but now that it is cold and snowy, I just use the drier. It takes mine about an hour to dry them completely. I have found that just a hour or two in straight sunshine will remove every stain!

We use cloth diapers at home, at church, when we go shopping, pretty much all the time. I did buy a box of disposables for our recent trip to Texas. At times it's nice to just pitch the diaper! I can honestly say I enjoy using cloth, and it has certainly saved us lots of money!

Homemade Calendula and Tea Tree Oil Salve Recipe

2010-12-06T09:59:00.001-05:00

A calendula flower

I had been wanting to make a salve for years, and even had all the ingredients, but never actually got around to doing it. Last fall when Joanthan hurt himself, it was finally the right time. I made this salve and we have found so many uses for it! Cuts, scratches, bug bites, diaper rash, all these benefit from a coating of this healing antibacterial salve.

2/3 cup calendula petels
2/3 cup olive oil
1 ounce bee's wax
2 teaspoons tea tree oil
10 drops lavender essential oil

Place petels in a small jar and pour the olive oil over them. What you are going to do here is infuse the oil with calendula. This can be done by covering the jar and setting it in a warm sunny place for 2 weeks. Or, if you want the salve today, place the jar in a saucepan of simmering water. Keep the oil warm but not boiling for 2 hours stirring it occasionally. You don't want to cook the oil, just keep it hot enough to draw out the healing properties of the calendula.

After 2 hous, strain out the calendula using a fine mesh strainer or coffe filter. Return the oil to the jar in the hot water and add the bee's wax. Keep stirring until the wax is completely melted. Add the essential oils, mixing thoroughly. Now you can test the thickness of your salve by putting a few drops on a plate and setting it in the freezer for a few minutes. If you want it to be thicker, add a bit more wax; for a thinner salve, and a bit more oil.

Now pour your salve into containers. (It will still be liquid at this point.) You could repurpose store bought salve containers, little lotion tubs, baby food jars, whatever you have on hand. Just be sure to wash your containers with hot soapy water and dry them well before pouring in the salve. Let the salve cool, and it will thicken up. It's ready to use!

Carmel Apple Pie

2010-12-05T16:01:00.000-05:00

Jonathan recently took a second job with a cleaning company, working Saturday nights. Last night while he was working I made this pie. I had intended it to be a snack when he came home, but since he had a headache and wanted to go straight to bed, we ate it for breakfast. Haven't you ever eaten apple pie with scrambled eggs for beakfast? No? Well, you should try it. This pie does have way more sugar than regular apple pie, but it is so good! I made a crumb topped apple pie from my Betty Crocker Cookbook, and added 1/2 cup pecans to the topping. Next time, though, I'll probably sprinkle on the pecans during the last 10 minutes or so of baking, because they got pretty dark. Then I drizzled carmel icecream topping over the pie. I used 1/2 batch of this recipe, using whole milk instead of half and half. Delicious!

A Giveaway!

2010-12-02T10:57:00.000-05:00

Nichole is giving away a $10 credit to her Etsy shop, Handmade By Cole! Nichole knits and sews all kinds of fun stuff for Mamas and babies. Jump on over and sign up!

Isn't this a pretty nursing cover?

Back To Blogging

2010-12-01T11:34:00.001-05:00

I figured out what my problem with Blogger is; and while I haven't yet fixed it, I can circumvent it! So, folks, I'm back to blogging!

Elsie Mae (4 months) playing with her owl from Aunt Alison.

Mexican Pork and Black Beans

2010-09-10T15:36:00.000-04:00

This is another recipe that I changed so much that it's very far from being the one in the cookbook. We ate it for dinner last night and enjoyed it so much that I thought I better write it down before I forget how to make it again.

2 pork ribs
salt
chili powder
red pepper flakes
cilantro
1/2 onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
1 small jalepeno pepper, seeds removed, minced
about 1 cup leftover black beans
1 can diced tomatoes

Dice up meat, sprinkle with salt, chili powder, pepper flakes and cilantro, and brown in a little oil in a cast iron skillet. Add onion, garlic and jalepeno, and continue cooking until tender. Stir in the black beans and tomatoes. Simmer about 15 minutes. Serve over rice.

This is just slightly spicy, but you could adjust the seasonings to make it even less. Maybe leave out the red pepper flakes and jalepeno and add some green bell pepper. Please tell me what you think if you make this recipe!

Eating From the Garden

2010-09-02T09:04:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite aspects of summer is eating freshly grown vegetables, whether grown in my own garden or bought at the farmer's market. Last night's meal included fresh tomatoes, and zucchini fritters, both harvested from our garden. I just discovered zucchini fritters this summer, and Jonathan and I have fallen in love with them. The first recipe I found called for Bisquick, something I don't keep on hand. I do occasionally make my own biscuit mix, but I didn't have any of that available either. Since I really wanted to try making zucchini fritters, I googled the name and found recipes to make them from scratch. Then I made up my own recipe! I'm afraid it's not exact, but you really can't mess it up. They are so good! We eat them with a little sour cream for dipping. (or in Jonathan's case a lot. He loves his sour cream!)

Zucchini Fritters
1 zucchini
2 eggs
salt
pepper
garlic powder
flour, about 2/3 cup

Shred the zucchini, then mix in eggs and seasonings. Mix in flour to make a soft batter. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Fry spoons full of batter in a little oil, just like you would cook a pancake. Turn when one side is lightly browned and a bit crisp. Serve with sour cream.

Summertime

2010-08-27T22:15:00.000-04:00

My life is seeming normal again! Elsie is finally in a pretty good routine which lets me get some sleep as well as get things done. I am loving having time to get in the garden, sew and just keep our home looking a bit tidier!

Not everything in the garden produced well, but the green beans were prolific! We ate several meals of fresh beans, and I froze about 12 quarts of beans. Here's how I do it:

Wash beans well. Remove stems and ends, and break or cut into desired lengths. Blanch the beans by dunking in boiling water for 3 minutes, then put them in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain beans, put in freezer bags, and you're done! It's pretty easy!

About 3 weeks ago, we planted a second crop of green beans. We chose a fast maturing variety, and hopefully we will get a good harvest before frost. The plants are about 6 inches tall and have lots of leaves, so it looks like we will get another harvest! Since our spring crop did so well, we planted about twice as much this time. This week we planted the rest of our fall garden, including turnips, carrots, spinach and lettuce. I'd like to get some garlic in soon too.

The Birth Story of Elsie Mae

2010-08-16T12:31:00.000-04:00

Elsie's birth story begins on Wednesday, July 14. I woke up from a nap around 3 PM to use the bathroom and noticed a light bloody show and some cramping. Since this was 5 days past my due date, I wondered if this was a sign that labor would soon begin. Over the next few hours I realized the cramps were coming every 10 to 15 minutes and the bloody show continued. I was excited that my baby would be born soon! We ate dinner and prepared to go to Prayer Meeting at Church. Jonathan asked me several times if I thought I really should go. I think his biggest concern was that my water would break and make a mess on the carpet! :) I assured him that I was fine to go; the contractions didn't faze me a bit. They continued through the service, and just at the end I had one that made me squirm. Jonathan gave me this look that said "I need to get you home"! We told his family after the service that I was probably in labor, and then headed home.

Once we were home I straightened up our bedroom, and put plastic over the mattress under the regular sheets and Mom made me some jello to eat later for a snack. While I was making the bed, I had a contraction that assured me this was the real thing. I had to kneel over the bad and take a deep breath. My body trembled a bit from excitement and not knowing yet how to really handle the sensation. It was not really painful yet at the point. We went to bed around 10:30. I fell immediately asleep, but woke about an hour later to contractions picking up force. I continued to doze, but was woken up every 15 minutes in the middle of a contraction. Around 1:30 I got out of bed. I did not like waking up in the middle of the contraction. I wanted to feel it coming and figure out how to best handle them. Jonathan came out in the living room with me and we timed the contractions off and on fo0r the next couple hours.

I moved around a lot. I was in and out of the bathroom, relaxing on the couch, on my hands and knees on the floor. Jonathan was so encouraging to me! At one point I wimpered, I can't do this all day! He told me don't worry about all day, just focus on getting through one contraction at a time. Whenever I felt a bit hungry, he would feed me bites of scrambled egg or the Jello Mom had made earlier. We talked to Yolanda, our midwife a few times letting her know where I was in labor and getting ideas for handling the pain I was experiencing in my back. Around 8 AM I got in the bathtub. It felt wonderful, and the contractions became so much easier! I was in and out of the tub over the next 2 hours, and the Yolanda arrived about 11 AM.

I got out of the tub and onto the bed so she could check me. I was hoping I was at least 5 centimeters dialated, but was also very afraid she would say I was only 2. Yolanda checked me, and said you are going to be very proud! Then she told me what she had found concerning the position of the baby, the bag of waters, etc. I hardly listened, because I wanted to know how open I was. Finally she said, "and you're an 8". I exclaimed, "are you serious!" I remember thinking, that means I'm at transition! She encourages me to be upright and move around to bring the baby down. The last several contractions before I was complete were the hardest, but it really didn't seem like any time at all before I was pushing.

With the first push, the bag of waters broke and gushed all over the bed. Yolanda put fresh pads under me and we got back to work. Yolanda coached me in how to push; Mom supported me physically and wiped my forehead and gave me sips of watered down juice between pushes; and Jonathan supported me physically and encouraged me. I never could have done it without him! As the head came down the birth canal I was able to feel it, and exclaimed oh, my baby! I pushed for an hour and 15 minutes. As the head came closer to crowning I felt like I was splitting wide open, and asked Yolanda fearfully if I was tearing. She assured me I was not so I kept pushing. As the head crowned I yelled, then the head was out. A little break, a deep breath, another yell, and my baby was born! I babbled baby, my baby!

Yolanda laid the warm, soft, wet little body on my chest and I rubbed the little back and said ok, breathe now baby. It sputtered and squeaked a bit and began to breathe. Jonathan and I were so excited we didn't even think to check whether the baby was a boy or girl. Yolanda reminded me to check, and I took a peak and exclaimed it is a girl! Yolanda had guessed the baby was a girl, but I was just sure it was a boy. We were so happy to see our baby girl, though. We had already picked out names, so we began calling her Elsie right away.

Elsie, just moments after being born.

Our little Elsie was born at 3:18 on Thursday, July 15. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Our little family, about 30 minutes old.

Jonathan rocking Elsie while I got cleaned up.

She's Here!

2010-07-18T19:18:00.001-04:00

I am typing this post one handed with my beautiful baby girl asleep on my chest. Our little Elsie Mae was born at home on July 15 at 3:18 pm. She weighed 8 pounds, 6 ounces and is 20 inches long. Jonathan and I are absolutely in love with her!

Time For A Break

2010-07-08T07:58:00.000-04:00

It's time for me to take a blogging break. Hopefully I'll be back before too long with a birth story!

Creative Breakfast Ideas

2010-07-01T08:44:00.000-04:00

I have been bored with breakfast lately. On the weekends I make omelets, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, all kinds of fun morning meals. But on work mornings, there just isn't enough time to cook much more than eggs and toast or oatmeal. Eggs and toast or oatmeal is a fine breakfast, but when you eat it every day...well...it's just boring! But yesterday I made a discovery on the Heavenly Homemakers website. She has a whole list of interesting breakfast ideas, and many of them can be made ahead! Last night while Jonathan was working late, I made a batch of Giant Breakfast Cookies. This morning we ate them for breakfast with yogurt. They are so good! It was so nice to have a yummy, nutritious breakfast ready as soon as we got out of bed. (Which was rather late because of our late night.) The recipe made enough for us to eat this morning, plus two bags of cookies to put in the freezer to save for baby time.

Here are some thought on the recipe: It calls for whole wheat flour and whole oats. I used one cup of white flour and one cup of quick oats because I was afraid of a dry crumbly cookie. We loved the texture, but next time I want to use all whole grains and implement the overnight soak. I also substituted brown sugar for half the honey because Jonathan is sensitive to honey. I found the 15 to 20 minute baking time to be much too long. My cookies were done at 12 minutes, but my oven does tend to brown things pretty quickly.

We will definitely be enjoying these breakfast cookies many more times!

Strawberry Picking!

2010-06-23T08:28:00.000-04:00

Last week I got to go strawberry picking with my sister in law Lydia. A cloud cover and a few tiny raindrops kept us from being too hot, but the predicted showers stayed away.

Picking strawberries at eight plus months pregnant was a little challenging. Bending over with a baby's little bottom wedged under your ribs makes it hard to breathe! But I actually chatted for a minute with a lady whose baby was due in just two days, so I wasn't the only one out there!

By the time I finished picking, this box was brimming with berries and weighed about twelve and a half pounds. They were the most delicious strawberries I've eaten!

A Little Blog Interview

2010-06-21T09:01:00.002-04:00

Christy, at One Little Word She Knew participated in this bloggy interview. I thought it looked fun, and asked if I could play along too!

If you want to play along:
1 - Leave a comment with your blog URL or your e-mail address saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your blog with my five questions and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.

Here are her questions for me:

1 - You're due with your first baby soon! What is one thing you are looking forward to with having a newborn?

I am excited about baby wearing. It seems like such a great way to keep the baby close and cuddly! I am also super excited about this being my baby. I always loved snuggling friends babies, but there's always a point when you have to give the baby back. Now I'll get to be the mama that says ok, I'm going to nurse the baby now, and take my own little one.

2 - How did you meet your husband?

Jonathan and I first met when we were 14 and 12. My Dad was preaching in our home with different families that didn't have a church but were interested in starting one. I remember watching their family get out of the car and thinking, Oh, there's a girl around my age. And a boy, but he looks really old. I thought he was at least 18! Two years ago we reconnected at a family camp. Soon after he asked my Dad for permission for a courtship, I agreed, and we were married last 4th of July!

3 - If you were having company for dinner, what would you cook?

Fajitas! I made them last time we had company and they were a huge hit! I marinated and grilled tenderized steak and chicken breasts and made homemade tortillas. We served it build your own style with onions, peppers, cheese, sour cream, guacamole and salsa.

4 - It looks like you have some experience gardening - do you have a garden this year? If so, what did you plant?

I do have a small vegetable garden and some flowers. The vegetable garden is mostly filled with tomato plants. Some of them already have a few tiny tomatoes! We also have onions, carrots, bell and jalepeno peppers, cabbage, and herbs. I planted spinach, but I was disappointed when it bolted in the heat we had early in the spring.

5 - Is your nesting about done or do you still have a big to-do list before baby arrives?

I love nesting! I guess that's why I named my blog after it! I need to finish my diaper covers and get some more homemade dinners in the freezer. Other than those two, I think we're about ready!

Chocolate Strawberry Trifle

2010-06-11T13:55:00.000-04:00

I made a most delicious dessert last night. I guess it was a trifle. We had company for dinner, so I wanted an easy, pretty dessert, and it came out perfectly! My plan was to layer chunks of chocolate cake with vanilla pudding, strawberries and whipped cream. Realizing that I was out of vanilla didn't stop me from making pudding. I just made it without vanilla, and I really think the dessert was better with just a plain pudding than a vanilla flavored one. I had saved the domes when I trimmed them off an anniversary cake I made, and this dessert was a great place to use them.

In a large bowl, I made a layer of chunks of chocolate cake, spooned pudding over it, then added a layer of sliced strawberries, and topped it with whipped cream. I think I repeated this sequence about three times. I put a sliced strawberry garnish on top. (Make lots of thin slices through the strawberry just to the stem and then fan them out.) Very yummy, definitely a good hot weather dessert.

Cleaning With Vinegar

2010-06-01T10:44:00.001-04:00

My house today is showing the effects of a huge 25th anniversary party for Jonathan's parents last Saturday (nearly 50 people walking around with cake and punch make for some messy floors!) and a holiday spent away from home yesterday. As much fun as we've been having, it's now time to get back to work! I started by mixing up fresh batches of all my favorite cleaners. The scouring powder shaker, the antibacterial cleaner spray bottle, and the laundry detergent canister are full again, and I'm putting them all to use.

To clean the floors, I will be using vinegar. Vinegar is a very good all purpose cleaner. It is antibacterial, killing 90% of germs. It is gentle on wood floors. It leaves a fresh smell that disapates quickly. I use about 1/4 cup vinegar in a gallon of very hot water. Sometimes I add a few drops of lavender essential oil for scent. You can use vinegar water to clean floors, cabinets, the refrigerator, anywhere you need a light cleaner.

I also like to use vinegar in the laundry to remove odors. It works well on sheets and blankets that have been stored a long time, or towels that smell sour from sitting too long while damp. In fact, I almost always add vinegar to the washing machine when I wash towels just to make sure they smell good. I use a few "glugs". It's probably about 1/2 cup.

After Baby Meal Planning

2010-05-27T13:51:00.000-04:00

With just a little over six weeks left, I am thinking more and more about getting things ready ready to have this baby! One of my goals is to have two weeks of meals in the freezer. I know we will have lots of help from family the first week or so, but it will be so convenient to have homemade meals in the freezer to thaw out and eat whenever I want after that. Today I decided that whenever I have the time and ingredients, I'm going to double what I'm making for supper and tuck one in the freezer. That will be a fairly painless way to get quite a few meals in there. I just finished putting ingredients for a large batch of spaghetti sauce in the crock pot. We will eat some tonight, and the rest will go in the freezer. I will probably also have a big freezer cooking day a little closer to the due date. These are some ideas I've had.

Spaghetti Sauce
Lasagne
Enchiladas
Taco Meat
Sante Fe Chicken Stew
Sloppy Joes
Chicken Spaghetti
Meat Loaf

Homemade Bread/Muffins

Cookie Dough

What are some meals you've frozen?

The Farmers Market Opens

2010-05-24T08:34:00.000-04:00

My very favorite place to shop in the warm months is the farmer's market. It is so fun to stroll down the long avenue bordered on each side by booths. You can buy plants, fruits and vegetables, grains, granola, homemade bread, wild honey - even treats for your dog! Last Saturday we picked up four large tomato plants to supplement the tiny ones I grew from seed myself. I am hoping to get lots of delicious tomatoes off them this summer! We also got some home-grown hot house tomatoes, lettuce and asparagus. We ate the asparagus that night for supper, and it was the best I've ever eaten! Here's how I fixed it. The recipe is from Moosewood Restaurant Low-fat Favorites. I actually used the whole dressing recipe on just 1/2 pound asparagus and added pepper to it. Baking the asparagus for the recommended 20 minutes makes it very soft. Next time I'll probably start with just 15 minutes for a more crisp asparagus.

Roasted Asparagus
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove minced or pressed
2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon (I didn't use this because I don't have any)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Toss together the asparagus and dressing in a bowl until the asparagus are well coated. Arrange the asparagus in a single layer on an unoiled baking tray. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the spears are tender, stirring occasionally.

Poison Ivy

2010-05-19T12:47:00.001-04:00

This is a re-post from last summer. I once again have a small poison ivy rash on my hands from unknowingly pulling a tiny shoot out of my garden. From now on I am wearing gloves and keeping my eyes open for this pesky plant!

Leaves of three, let them be. I learned this rhyme in first grade. Three leaves with a red spot in the center (most of the time) mean poison ivy, stay away! Poison ivy begins growing like a vine, snaking along the ground. As the plant develops, it may grow up a tree or fence, or it may grow into a small bush. In the fall the leaves and stems turn red.

Poison ivy is growing rampantly here in Michigan this summer. All the spring rains have made the landscape beautiful, but they also fed poison ivy! Last week I was cleaning out an old flower bed that I want to turn into an herb garden, and found poison ivy. I didn't realize what it was that I was pulling out until it was in my hand! Thankfully, I was wearing gloves and long sleeves. I threw the plant on the trash pile, and went inside to remove my contaminated clothing and put everything straight into the washing machine. But I had already been working in that bed for a few days, and had apparently already touched the plant because now I have a rash on my arms. I have had much, much worse poison ivy reactions, but I am thankful to say this one is very mild.

I want to share with you some remedies that I have found helpful in treating poison ivy. First of all, if you know that you have come into contact with the plant, wash yourself thoroughly with cool water and a strong soap. I have prevented a reaction many times by doing this. Using warm water will open your pores and make them more susceptible to the plant oils, so you must wash with cool water. After washing, put the washcloth and towel you used in the laundry. If there was any oil left on them, you do not want to put it back on your skin by using them again!

If you waited to long to wash (it must be done within about an hour, although I would try it after any amount of time) or washing does not work for you and you have a poison ivy reaction, there is nothing you can do to make it go away. But there are ways to make it less painful and itchy. What has worked best for me this time, is to run the hottest water I can stand over the rash. The hot water makes it itch terribly, but only for a few minutes, and after the itch subsides, I am itch free for several hours. After the hot water I pat the rash dry with a paper towel and dab on calamine lotion. The calamine lotion has a soothing effect and works to dry the weeping and oozing of the blisters.

An herb that is very helpful in treating poison ivy is Jewel Weed. You can find Jewel Weed in health food stores. Usually it comes as a spray. After using only once, you will begin to notice an effect, and Jewel Weed does seem to make the reaction end sooner. I did not have any for this rash, and since it is very mild, I didn't take the time to get any. But I would definitely recommend it for bad poison ivy reactions.

The Poison Ivy Website has pictures of the vine in all it's stages on their home page. Being familiar with what the plant looks like is very helpful in avoiding it. "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure" so please watch out this summer when you are outside and try to prevent even brushing against poison ivy. Then you will not need to find out if any of the remedies I suggested work.

Bird Watching

2010-05-13T10:35:00.000-04:00

I've discovered a new and very fascinating interest: identifying birds! There are many birds here in Michigan that I've never seen before. Several weeks ago I saw this beauty on a bird feeder. Just last night I heard a beautiful bird song from high in a tree. I told Jonathan, that bird sounds like a robin, only richer! After searching for some time, I finally found the bird, and recognized it as the same one I'd seen before. Now I was very curious to find out what the bird was. This morning I found Bird Watcher's Digest, a website and magazine devoted to...watching birds! Using their bird identification guide, I learned that the bird I've been admiring is a Rose Breasted Grosbeak. And one way it described the call is that it is similar to a robin that has had singing lessons. Perfect description! Now I need to figure out what the small, tan, white breasted bird is that is always very high in the tree and has a very unique call.

Sourdough Biscuit Recipe

2010-05-03T19:25:00.000-04:00

Per a reader's request, here's how I made the sourdough biscuits I mentioned in my last Tuesday's Supper post. Honestly, I was flying by the seat of my pants on this one! I had all the parts for our supper ready, but it wasn't quite time to fry the steaks yet. I thought biscuits would be a nice addition and a good way to use my sourdough starter. In my hurry, I couldn't find the recipe I'd used before (you can find it here if you're interested) so I altered a recipe and ended up liking the texture better than the previous sourdough recipe.

Emily's Sourdough Biscuits
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup sourdough starter
a few tablespoons milk

Combine flours, baking soda and powder, and salt. Stir in oil and starter, just until moistened. Add milk a few tablespoons at a time until you have a very sticky dough. Sticky dough is what makes a tender biscuit.

Turn dough out on a well floured counter and knead lightly 10 times.

Roll dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut with biscuit cutter.

Place 1/2 inch apart on a very lightly greased cookie sheet. Let rest for about 1/2 hour, or until you're ready to bake them.

Bake at 450 degrees until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet.

Chicken Fried Steak Recipe

2010-04-29T20:14:00.000-04:00

I had planned to join the Tuesday's Supper link party this month, and even took a picture of our supper, but the past two days I have just been too busy to blog. Is it alright to post nearly two days late?

Our menu was chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and sourdough biscuits . Of course with such a Texas style meal we had to drink sweet tea! And Peach and Pudding Cake for dessert. Such yumminess!

This recipe is from a Southern Living Cookbook.

1 to 1 1/2 pounds cubed round steak (or tenderize your own)
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup oil

Whisk together egg and milk in a bowl. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl.

Dip steak in milk, then dredge with flour. Dip and dredge again.

Fry steaks in hot oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet4 to 6 minutes on each side. Drain on a wire rack in a jelly roll pan. Keep warm in 225 degree oven.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

2010-04-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

Homemade bread is a joy to make and a delight to eat. It is hearty and nourishing. Since we have been married, I think I've bought 2 loaves of bread. Jonathan and I much prefer homemade bread to a store bought loaf. In fact, Jonathan asked me if, after I give birth to our child, he will have to get used to eating bread from the store. It is not a thought he relishes! But I love homemade bread too, and if I must give up something homemade for the sake of time, bread baking will be the last to go.

I have two whole grain bread recipes that I like and alter between. This recipe from the More With Less cookbook is the simpler of the two, and the one I've been baking recently. It makes enough dough for two loaves of bread, but I often make one loaf and use the rest of the dough for other bread items. Yesterday afternoon I mixed up a batch of dough and baked one loaf, made a pizza crust for our supper, and a pan of dinner rolls for later in the week.

This recipe calls for honey for the sweetening, but since Jonathan is allergic to honey, I substitute brown sugar or molasses. I also prefer to use butter instead of oil. I think butter has a better flavor, and I've found that bread made with butter keeps better. If you use butter, cut it into small pieces and heat it with the water to soften.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread
Combine in mixer bowl:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dry milk
1 tablespoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons yeast

Heat in a saucepan until warm:
3 cups water
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons oil

Pour over flour mixture, and beat 3 minutes. Stir in 3 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups white flour. Add more flour if it is necessary to make the dough manageable. Knead dough for 5 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease the top. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Deflate dough gently, and shape into 2 loaves or a combination of loaves and rolls. Place in greased pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake loaves for 35 minutes, rolls for 20 minutes.

If you're using some dough for pizza crust, pat the dough onto a greased pizza pan or cookie sheet. Let rest about 15 minutes, then pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes at 450 degrees. Add toppings and bake for another 15-20 minutes depending on how browned you like your cheese.

Giveaway From Thanks Mama

2010-04-15T18:01:00.000-04:00

Thanks Mama is giving away a cloth diaper sprayer! I am so excited to have a chance to win one of these gadgets. I can imagine they make diaper rinsing a lot more pleasant! Go to the blog to sign up for yourself.

How To Clean A Drain With Baking Soda and Vinegar

2010-04-14T19:14:00.000-04:00

Some of the harshest chemical under your sink are drain cleaners. Most are very corrosive and hard on your lungs to breathe the fumes. I have never bought drain cleaner, but use a baking soda and vinegar remedy instead.

Pour one cup of baking soda down the affected drain. You may need to use a butter knife to force it all down. Follow with one cup hot vinegar. The combination will cause a volcano effect that may spit bits of soap scum up the drain. Wipe these out with a paper towel. After about 15 minutes pour a quart of boiling water down the drain.

This method does not work as well on severely stopped drains, but it is great for mild clogs. I try to use it occasionally in my bathtub drain as a preventative measure. It also is helpful in reducing odors in the garbage disposal.

Foraging Ramps

2010-04-06T10:39:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday I was introduced to foraging ramps. I had never heard of ramps before, much less harvested and cooked with them! Now I know that ramps are wild leeks and that they grow prolifically in the woods near our home. Lydia showed us were they grew and how to harvest them. (In the rain!) We brought home a little sack full of the onion smelling ramps to experiment with.

Here is a bunch of freshly dug ramps. When you find them in the woods all you see are the leaves, but the stem and bulb, growing under ground are the best part.

Now here they are cleaned and ready to cook with.

So that we could enjoy the full flavor of the ramps, I used them in a simple white sauce for pasta. The ramps gave the sauce a unique oniony, spicy, wild flavor.

White Sauce With Ramps
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped ramp bulbs and stems
3 tablespoons flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
sprinkle garlic
sprinkle parsley
2 cups milk

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and saute ramps about 5 minutes. Add flour and seasonings, blend well. Slowly pour in milk, stirring briskly as you go to prevent lumps. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.

I cooked strips of chicken breast, laid them on a pile of pene pasta, and poured sauce over the whole thing. It was very good!

Jonathan made a potato salad for a picnic we had Sunday afternoon, and he used chopped ramp leaves in it. Just after mixing the salad, the flavor was not very alive. But after sitting in the refrigerator overnight, the ramps had infused the mayonnaise dressing with a wonderful flavor! The little flecks of green looked pretty too.

One Year Ago Today...

2010-04-04T15:35:00.000-04:00

One year ago today I heard the sweet words,

Will you marry me?

Of course I said Yes!

Here we are today. Jonathan, I love you!

On Eating Popcorn

2010-04-02T11:45:00.001-04:00

When I was at home, my Mom often made popcorn as healthful alternative to potato chips. After being married, I kind of forgot about popcorn for a while. On my last shopping trip I bought some popcorn and have been eating it. I forgot how much I like it! I was looking at the nutrition facts and was surprised to see what a healthful snack it is! The biggest plus for me is that it contains 10% of your daily iron! This is great for pregnant mamas. One serving (3 cups!) of popcorn with butter has 170 calories and 7 grams of fat. One serving of Lay's Potato Chips has 160 calories and 10 grams of fat. But who only eats the 12 recommended chips? Ok, at least I don't. Popcorn also contains 4 grams of protein. It's a great snack for me!

If you're going to go buy some popcorn, please get the good stuff. Yes, it is more expensive, but the cheap brand doesn't compare in texture or flavor. The cheaper brands also tend to have more hulls to get stuck in your teeth. (I hate this!) I bought Orville Redenbacher's popcorn. The bottle cost $4.58, but it contains enough popcorn to make 32 servings. Compare that to a bag of Lay's Potato Chips at $3.99 for 10 servings.

Popping corn is easy to do in a heavy bottomed pan on the stove. You don't really need anything else. Just follow the directions on the back of the bottle for some delicious popcorn! For a special treat, melt some almond bark and drizzle it over freshly popped corn, salting generously and tossing the popcorn as you go.

So Many Daffodils!

2010-04-01T15:30:00.001-04:00

Hello, April! I have been looking forward to April first because that is when spring really begins in my mind. April just sounds like spring, don't you think?

I knew there were going to be a lot of daffodils in my flower beds, but I had no idea how many were really there until they began blooming. They are just beautiful! I can see this bed out my kitchen window.

Over in a corner of the yard is another bed full. They haven't all bloomed yet.

There are just a few of these little white daffodils. They were drooping a bit in the strong sun, but they are still so pretty.

There are also daffodil surprises in different places around the yard.

Over along one side of the shed are these tiny blue flowers. I have no idea what they are. If you do, please tell me! I think they are cute.

There are other plants coming up around the yard as well.

Tulips!

Rhubarb!

The leaf buds on the lilac bushes have popped!

This last picture doesn't have anything to do with flowers. I just took it because I liked it!

Jonathan spent many hours last fall chopping up a huge tree for fire wood. It was very green, but a year of seasoning will make it perfect for cozy fires next fall.

Tuesday's Supper

2010-03-31T08:35:00.001-04:00

Our friends at Our Bluebell Country are hosting a once a month link party for supper menu and recipe ideas! I think it is going to be fun to see what other ladies are cooking for their families and get some new ideas to fix for mine.

I usually cook by recipes. I haven't been cooking long enough to really wing it and have the confidence that it will turn out yummy. But every once in a while I'll get the urge to make something different and create my own recipe. Usually it is a combination of recipes or a twist off something I've recently eaten at someone else's house. That is what I did last night! Since it turned out really good, I'm going to post the recipe for the link party!

Bow Tie Pasta With Italian Vegetable Sauce
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon parsley
2 small zucchini, sliced
1 handful fresh spinach
cooked Bow Tie Pasta

In a large skillet, brown ground beef. When it is nearly done, add onion and continue cooking until beef is browned. Drain.

In a separate skillet saute zucchini just until tender. Set aside.

Return drained beef to skillet and add tomatoes and spices. Simmer about 5 minutes.

Stir in zucchini and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted or is as cooked as you like it.

Spoon sauce over hot pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Serve with a green salad.

I am looking forward to fixing this meal next summer with fresh vegetables from our garden!

The First Day of Spring!

2010-03-20T16:11:00.002-04:00

Today is the first official day of spring and this is what I see out my back door. I thought I would feel sad when the snow came again, but it is too pretty to mourn over. And I know it can't last for long.

An Antique Drying Rack

2010-03-19T09:59:00.001-04:00

Last week while browsing an antique store, my sister-in-law pointed out this drying rack. I knew it was just what I needed, and I immediately fell in love with it! However, the 35 dollar price tag clashed with my frugal nature and I just couldn't buy it, at least not without talking to Jonathan first. I left the drying rack sitting in its little corner and went home trying to decide if I just wanted the rack because I saw it or if I really loved it. It was true love. I couldn't get that amazing thing out of my mind. And Jonathan agreed that I could buy it. Oh, joy! But wait...what if someone else buys it before I can get back to the store? Calm down Emily, if you're supposed to have it, it'll still be there, and if it's not, that's just the way it is. But it was still there, and I have my amazing antique drying rack! It holds a lot more laundry than the modern one I have and it's certainly a whole lot prettier!

The rack folds up nicely for storage.

The tripod legs opened up.

Springtime

2010-03-16T16:33:00.000-04:00

Leaf buds on a Lilac bush.

Spring is an exciting time of year wherever you live, but I think this spring in Michigan has been more so than the past few springs I've experienced in Texas. The contrast between the seasons is so much greater in a climate farther north. To once again feel the warmth of the sun and see bright blue sky, to watch the snow drifts shrink and the ice covering the ponds disappear, to see the return of ducks and geese and our blue heron, (how do they know the very day the pond is open!) to listen to birds belt out spring's song, to observe grass turn green and bulbs poke their leaves up through the winter mulch, each of these things thrills me.

Ahh...green grass.

Yes, I realize the weather could turn cold again; it is even likely to, but I am embracing every warm day we receive.

The pond directly behind our home.

So many daffodils!

Just Because I Love Him

2010-03-12T08:49:00.003-05:00

Thrifted Treasures

2010-03-11T08:24:00.000-05:00

I found this set of enamel plates yesterday while browsing an antique store. I love them! They are perfect for picnics next summer or for small children to use.

I can never pass by a box of old patterns and flipping through one yesterday, I uncovered this vintage pattern for a little girl's play suit and skirt. Hopefully I'll have a little daughter some day that I can make it for.

Tea Basket Giveaway

2010-03-10T15:35:00.000-05:00

My Mother-In-Law, Marcia has written a planner to help you with Tea Parties! Whether you're planning a party for two or several guests, I'm sure it will be a great resource. To celebrate, she is giving away a tea basket stuffed full teas, a book, chocolate, and even an adorable tea cup! Visit the Tea Basket Giveaway post at ehomebody to sign up.

Black Eyed Peas Mexicano

2010-03-09T13:05:00.002-05:00

This spicy black eyed pea dish is one Jonathan's favorites, and I really like it too! I know it's getting toward the end of what you consider the "soup season" but we love this so much we'll probably eat it all summer! It is especially good with cornbread crumbled in it.

1/2 pound hot pork sausage
3 cans black eyed peas
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

Brown sausage in a skillet. When it is about half done, add the onion and bell pepper and finish cooking. Combine sausage and remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Let simmer about an hour. You can also cook it in a crock pot.

Marie-Madeline Studios Giveaway

2010-03-08T19:40:00.000-05:00

There is an incredible giveaway going on at Life In A Shoe! They're giving away a fifty dollar gift certificate from Marie-Madeline Studios! The Long Ladies design cute and modest clothing patterns, handbags and aprons. And they sell gorgeous designer fabrics! Well, I'm really hoping I win, but you can go sign up too. You can even have multiple entries! Happy shopping.

Life Without A Drier

2010-03-08T16:23:00.001-05:00

Over a period of several weeks, my drier died a slow painful death. It hadn't been drying well, but when I realized it was taking nearly three hours to dry a load of blue jeans, I knew it's time had come. That was about six weeks ago. It has been about six weeks since I had a working drier, and I don't miss it. Surprising, huh? But true. Last summer I bought a drying rack at Bed Bath and Beyond to dry items that shouldn't go in the drier, and now it is being pressed into full service. The only things I can't dry this way are sheets. You just can't make a full size sheet fit onto a little laundry room drying rack. I would like to have a clothesline, but they aren't allowed in our trailer park, so I make do by drying sheets at my Mother-in-Law's house.

Doing laundry without a drier is different than if I had one. I have to wash smaller loads more often rather than a big laundry day once a week. And they take longer to dry, up to a whole day for blue jeans. I position the rack over a heater vent to speed things up. Another rack would be helpful, but one works for the two of us right now. I usually hang dress shirts on hangers, and I also have a laundry bar built into my laundry room that I can hang things on.

Do you want to know how much less our electricity bill last month was? Ten dollars! I'm saving ten dollars a month by drying clothes on a rack. Ok, it's not a huge amount, but it is an obvious difference, and I love the idea that it is saving us money.

Best Ever Muffins

2010-03-05T09:24:00.000-05:00

Muffins are so versatile. You can make muffins loaded with fruit or savory onion muffins. Leave the tops plain or dress them up with a streusel. One of my favorite muffins is Best Ever Muffins. That really is the name! They are simple, plain, not too sweet and perfect to serve beside a big bowl of Vegetable Beef Soup.

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 to 4 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Add remaining ingredients and mix just until all the flour is moistened.

Scoop batter into a greased muffin pan. This makes 8 large muffins or 12 small ones. Bake 14 to 16 minutes.

Remove from pan and serve hot, or let cool on a rack.

Note: I use 2 tablespoons sugar. Up it if you like a sweeter muffin.

Starting Seeds

2010-03-03T09:47:00.000-05:00

Spring is in the air! The forecast for this week is sunny with temps in the upper 30's and maybe even low 40's. And I've started my garden. Yesterday I planted seeds in 52 little peat pots! I planted three varieties of tomatoes, three varieties of peppers, broccoli, cabbage, parsley, basil, thyme, asters and snapdragons.

Right now they are covered with plastic and a towel and sitting in my laundry room, a warm dark place perfect for germinating seeds. After they sprout, I'll move them out to the kitchen where they will live on a shelf in front of a sunny window supplemented by a grow light. This is my first time to start garden plants myself, and I am so excited to watch these little seeds sprout and grow right under my nose!

Add A Gadget

2010-02-26T11:28:00.000-05:00

I decided to make a list on my sidebar of baby craft links I've found. It's a good way to organize for myself and might give you some inspiration as well! If you aren't expecting, handmade gifts are always popular at baby showers or just because.

Maternity Skirt Giveaway!

2010-02-24T18:18:00.000-05:00

Passionate Homemaking is hosting a giveaway from Modest Mom, a company that sells new and gently used modest maternity clothing! Sign up to win one of their pretty maternity skirts.

20 Week Pregnancy Update

2010-02-24T08:29:00.000-05:00

20 weeks! That's halfway! We're halfway to having a baby in our arms. Wow. I am loving being pregnant and knowing there is a little baby growing inside me. My midwife told me to look for movement between 18 and 22 weeks, and I started feeling it right on the dot at 18 weeks. Now I am feeling little squirms and wiggles every day. I love it! Sometimes the baby gives me a nice little kick, and I rub my belly and say "hi, baby". It seems to move a lot while I am eating or right after I sing.

I finally have enough of a bump that people are commenting that I look pregnant! I've only been waiting to have a bump for about 20 weeks! Ok, maybe not quite that long, but it did seem like I would always just look a little chubby but no definite baby bump.

Since we are planning a home birth, I've been reading up on natural childbirth, drug free pain management, and so on. I am really excited to be putting into practice what I've been interested in and reading about since I was a teenager!

I've discovered two blogs devoted to natural childbirth. While I surely would not agree with everything these ladies write about, they do have some great information! Stand And Deliver is written by Rixa. I especially enjoyed reading her two birth stories. Birth Faith has stories of her three children's births. There are also lots of childbirth related links and a whole list of recommended reading that I want to take with me on my next trip to the library.

If any of you expectant (or not!) mamas have a pregnancy or birth related book or website you would like to share, please tell me about it in a comment! I love to see what other people are learning.

Watering Houseplants

2010-02-18T10:17:00.000-05:00

I really love having plants in my house. They add color and greenery even when all I see outside the window is snow! Caring for plants isn't as difficult as many people make it out to be. They don't ask for much other than water and some light! Knowing when to water is something I've been learning as I collect plants. What works for me is to check the plant's soil once a week. Most plants need to be watered when the top inch or so of soil is dry. I never allow my Philodendron to get this dry, though. I water it once a week whether it feels dry or not because it loves moist soil! I do allow my potted herbs to dry out before watering again, so they get watered about every ten days. I have a Prayer Plant that should be allowed to dry out as well, so it gets watered about as often as the herbs.

My Philodendron lives on top of a half wall between the kitchen and dining room.

I have read that you should water your plants with lukewarm water so as not to shock the roots. I was watering with cold water, then changed to warm when I read this, but haven't noticed any difference in the plant. I am still giving them warm water though because it just seems nicer. :) Something I've read recently is to regularly mist the leaves with warm water to keep them free of dust and raise the humidity around the plant. I am planning to buy a spray bottle next time I go shopping so I can start doing this.

Crafty Link

2010-02-16T08:45:00.001-05:00

I just discovered a crafty blog, Prudent Baby . They have all kinds of tutorials for baby items and things to decorate your nursery with! I'm excited to look around and see what ones I can use for my baby.

Dressed Up Grilled Cheese

2010-02-16T08:35:00.000-05:00

If you ever need a quick dinner, these sandwiches are hard to beat! They take grilled cheese from basic to special. Add a simple soup or some oven fries and you have a meal!

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches With Avocado and Bacon
Fry two slices of bacon for each sandwich you're going to make. For each sandwich, spread 2 slices of bread with Ranch Dressing. Lay a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on each slice of bread. Top one side with 2 strips of bacon, (I break them in half) and the other side with slices of avocado. Toast in a lightly greased skillet (I leave a tiny bit of bacon grease in the skillet for a good flavor) over medium heat until bread is browned and cheese melted. Press sandwich halves together and serve immediately.

Super easy, super quick, and really super yummy!

I Like Mushrooms!

2010-02-14T16:51:00.001-05:00

Note: You may recognize this title. This post was accidently published half written a few days ago. I thought I hit the save button, but obviously it was publish. Oops!

As a child I hated mushrooms. Since then, I've always said I didn't like mushrooms. I picked them out of casseroles and off pizza. I just didn't eat them. Then I got married. I got married to a guy that loves mushrooms. A guy that sometimes said when eating something I fixed, "you know, this would be really good with mushrooms in it". But he didn't insist that I cook with them because he knew I despised them. Then I was shopping at Meijer and discovered organic baby Portabella Mushrooms on sale. Knowing that Jonathan loves mushrooms, I decided I should be a good wife and fix him a dinner with mushrooms in it. It was a pretty good sized container, so I had a lot of mushrooms to work with. First I put them on pizza. Instead of picking the mushroom pieces off my slice, I bravely took a bite. Not bad! I could really hardly taste them. Next I put mushrooms in Beef Stroganoff. As we finished dinner, I realized, I'm eating mushrooms and enjoying them! Then I was putting mushrooms in everything! My favorite was the omelets Saturday morning. An omelet with onions, mushrooms, broccoli and mozzarella cheese is delicious! I guess I've grown up. And I hope to find mushrooms on sale again soon!

Sourdough Pancake Recipe

2010-02-09T09:43:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I posted about making sourdough pancakes. Since then, I've made the recipe several times, making small changes here and there to try to make the recipe even better. Last Saturday I was completely out of eggs; but we really wanted pancakes so I made them anyway, increasing the oil slightly and adding baking powder to increase fluffiness. (The original recipe only calls for baking soda.) They turned out to be the best sourdough pancakes yet! Even though they are 100% whole wheat these pancakes are fluffy because of the overnight soak. Here's the recipe.

Sourdough Pancakes
1/2 cup active sourdough starter
1 cup water
1 1/4 whole wheat flour
1 egg, optional
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon oil
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

The night before you want to eat the pancakes (or in the morning if you want them for dinner) combine the starter, flour and water. Cover lightly.

Next morning the batter should be risen and full of bubbles. Add remaining ingredients and mix together very well. If you want thinner pancakes, add some additional water.

Drop about 1/4 cup batter into an oiled skillet over medium heat. When the surface is bubbly and edges are dry, flip. Cook until the other side is lightly browned.

This recipe makes 6 large pancakes.

Cloth Diapers

2010-02-05T11:10:00.001-05:00

When we started getting things ready for our baby, I knew I wanted to use cloth diapers. Not the old fashioned kind of cloth diapers, but the new fitted ones. I had seen other moms using them and they looked like a great way to save money. Then I began researching them online and found out that these diapers are very expensive! You still save money in the long run, because diapering a baby in disposables costs around $1,500 and a good stash of cloth runs around $300. But we just don't have $300 to fork over for cloth diapers! That was when I decided I should make my own. I bought the Poo Pockets pattern from New Conceptions. This pattern comes with a newborn size and a one size fits all size. For the "one size fits all" you fold the diaper down to fit your tiny newborn or leave it completely unfolded to fit a toddler! I can't really say how it works yet, but lots of people use this type of diaper and love them. I am making a small number of the newborn size and the rest "one size fits all". The first diaper I made using this pattern took me hours! I put it together wrong and had to take it completely apart and start over. But now that I've made nearly 2 dozen, I can make 4 diapers in an easy sewing day.

My stash of newborn diapers.

A way I am trying to save money on my homemade diapers is to repurpose flannel instead of buying it all new. For instance, I have bought flannel on sale at JoAnn's for $3 a yard. I have also bought a set of flannel sheets at a thrift store for $2.50. You can get a lot more diapers out of a sheet than a yard of flannel! The only thing I don't like about this is that you don't have much choice in the pattern on the fabric. I have made several diapers with cute store flannel on the outside and sheet flannel on the inside. That way I can have cute and save money too!

Some one size diapers sewn from a repurposed sheet. The colors aren't showing up very well, but they are navy and green plaid.

A waterproof diaper cover must be used with fitted cloth diapers. I also bought the Diaper Covers Deluxe pattern from New Conceptions, but haven't made any yet. The reason I choose fitted diapers with covers was for the ease of drying them after washing. I've read that while the all in one styles can be very convenient, the are also time consuming to dry. So to save time and electricity, I choose to use fitted diapers.
I am eager to use all my homemade baby stuff on my baby!

Fajita Meat Marinade

2010-02-03T14:53:00.000-05:00

I was preparing this for our dinner and thought this recipe was too good of one not to share with you! This makes the most delicious fajita meat I've ever had. You are supposed to allow it to marinate for at least 8 hours, which makes the meat wonderful; but if you don't have the time for that, just a few hours adds a boost of flavor anyway.

1 1/2 pounds meat
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Lay meat in a large dish and prick with a fork. Whisk together all other ingredients and pour over meat. Marinate at least 8 hours, (in refrigerator) turning occasionally.

Cloth Diaper Giveaway!

2010-02-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

Hey, Mamas, there's a cloth diaper giveaway going on at Cloth Diaper Talk, a blog devoted to...cloth diapering! The giveaway includes 3 Kissaluvs diaper products, valued at over 30 dollars. You just might want to go sign up. If you don't win, they also have lots of sales going on in the store.

Just For Laughs

2010-01-28T15:28:00.001-05:00

It seems as though nearly every pregnant woman has one weird thing that bothers her. Mine is hiccups. Before being pregnant I very rarely had them, but I just realized today that I've probably hiccuped a few times a day for the past two months! At first they were really strong and bothersome, especially when they came at a very inconvenient time, but now I hardly notice them. Until this morning when I had a particularly strong one and thought, wow! I've had these things for a long time! I'm just thankful it's only mildly annoying. They actually make me laugh sometimes!

Blueberry Breakfast Bars

2010-01-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

One blog I enjoy reading occasionally is Farmgirl Fare. She posts lots of yummy looking recipes and cute pictures of her farm animals! One recipe I found ages ago and bookmarked was her Blueberry Breakfast Bars. Yesterday I finally made them, and Jonathan and I happily devoured many for this morning's breakfast. They're even better than I expected! Of course farmgirl Susan really talks up her recipe, but after all, she's the one who developed it, so of course she thinks they're good. Well, they really are that good! I changed the recipe a bit to contain more whole grains and less sugar, but if you would like the recipe in all of it's original goodness, here the link. I made these bars with local Michigan blueberries from last summer's farmers market, but you could also use peaches or other berries. (Check out her variations) I apologize for the lack of a picture, but we ate all the evidence! :)

Farmgirl Susan's Blueberry Breakfast Bars Recipe (as altered and baked by myself)
Makes 12 to 16 large bars

Bottom Layer
2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1/2 whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 Tablespoons (1 stick + 2 Tbsp/5 ounces) butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Middle Layer
3-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Top Layer
1 cup all-purpose flour ( I used 1/2 whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup (unpacked) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick/four ounces) butter, softened

For the Bottom Layer:
Heat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla until thoroughly combined. Press this mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan with your fingers.

For the Middle Layer:
Place the blueberries in the bowl you mixed the Bottom Layer in and toss them with the almond extract. Pour them evenly over the Bottom Layer in the pan. Combine the sugar and flour and sprinkle it evenly over the blueberries. All of the flour probably won't stick to the berries. That's fine; just sprinkle what's left on the bowl over the berries on the crust.

For the Top Layer:
Place the flour, brown sugar, and butter in the same bowl and use a fork, pastry blender, or your fingers to combine until the mixture resembles large crumbs (some pea-sized clumps are okay). Set aside.

Sprinkle the Top Layer evenly over the blueberry mixture. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the top is golden, and the edges are starting to brown. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Store in a cool place or refrigerate. Bars may also be frozen.

Quilted Baby Bib Tutorial

2010-01-16T11:32:00.000-05:00

Materials: paper to make the pattern
cotton fabric
cotton batting
matching thread
matching or contrasting double fold bias tape (or make your own seam binding)

Find a bib you like the shape of and trace it. You can also find free bib patterns at New Conceptions Just click on the free pattern link on the home page. Or design your own bib.

Using your pattern, cut out 2 pieces of fabric. You could make them matching or contrasting for a reversible bib. Cut 1 bib piece out of batting.

Use a pencil to very lightly draw quilting lines on the right side of one piece of fabric. You can really do whatever you like here. I am using evenly centered and spaced vertical lines 1 1/4 inches apart. You could do vertical lines closer together or make a grid.

Layer the bib by laying one piece of fabric right side down on the table. Lay the batting on top of this. On top of the batting, lay the other piece of fabric right side up. Pin the layers together well so they don't shift.

Quilt the bib by machine sewing along the quilting lines you marked.

Pin the seam binding around the outer edges of the bib, trimming it off even at the neck. Sew in place, stretching or pleating the binding as necessary to make it smooth around the curves.

Pin a second piece of seam binding around the neck edge, allowing the ends to extend to form the ties. Once again, you may have to be creative to make the binding smooth around the curves, but it is possible. Sew down the edge from one end of the tie, around the neck, and down the other tie. Finished!

Here are two bibs I've made.

Blog Changes

2010-01-15T10:47:00.000-05:00

I've been wanting a three column blog for some time but had no idea how to make one. So today I just googled "how to make a three column blog", found some instructions, and after many tries and many mistakes, I finally have the desired result! If any of you are interested, here is a link to the tutorial I used. It was fairly simple to follow as it mostly involves copying and pasting codes. I tried another tutorial three times before I moved on to this one, and could not get it to work. I'm wondering if they left out a step, because the second set of instructions I followed were slightly different. It could be that there are different ways to get the same result and I was not understanding the previous tutorial. What I really like about this one is that they have sample pages to refer to.

I am interested in your opinion. Do you think the background should be left white, or should I add a color? I just can't decide. Let me know in a comment. Thanks! :)

Pregnancy Update

2010-01-14T17:22:00.000-05:00

One trimester down and just two more to go! The first few weeks after we discovered that we were expecting a baby seemed to creep by. I was troubled only very slightly with morning sickness (except for me it was empty stomach sickness!) but extreme tiredness set in to the point where I wondered if I would ever feel energetic again. I was seriously taking two hour or more naps nearly every day! However after about 12 weeks, I really started feeling good, and now at 14 weeks, I am feeling quite energetic! I even went for the first jog in a very long time yesterday. It seems that I shouldn't have made it to 14 weeks already-time is moving so fast now. It's strange how your perspective changes! I'm guessing that as I near my due date it will begin to creep again, but right now I am really enjoying being pregnant!

My first prenatal checkup was this past Monday. I was pleased to hear the midwife say I looked quite healthy and had the perfect body type for having babies! That's great because we want to write our own version of Cheaper By the Dozen one of these days. I also got to hear the baby's heartbeat. It was so special, and made it seem even more real.

I've recently begun preparing for the baby by sewing cloth diapers! (I hope to post about this soon.) There is a growing pile of baby things that I have made in the room we plan to use for the baby. I've decided that nesting comes early in crafty mommas because we have to have a lot of time to make all the stuff for our babies. ;)

As much as I would like to share a baby bump picture, there isn't a bump yet so we can't take a picture of it. Maybe there will be one with the next update.

Sourdough Pancakes!

2010-01-09T18:29:00.000-05:00

Our breakfast this morning consisted of pancakes drizzled with maple syrup, soft scrambled eggs, and cups of strong coffee. It was a delicious Saturday morning breakfast. What made it even more delicious was that the pancakes were sourdough! When you are keeping a sourdough, it must be poured off and fed every day, and throwing away the pour off just seems terribly wasteful! So I am always on the lookout for common recipes that are made with sourdough. We eat pancakes once or twice a week, so this recipe was a wonderful find. The Nourishing Gourmet has this yummy pancake recipe. I did not do the overnight soak because I found the recipe just as I was ready to make breakfast. But the pancakes turned out tasty and tender anyway. I can just imagine how fluffy they would be if I had done the soak! I will plan ahead better next time and soak them. I am thinking this recipe will become a regular at our house!

Sourdough Update

2010-01-05T08:41:00.001-05:00

Growing a sourdough is a lesson in patience. I began my starter nearly two weeks ago, and just today is it ripe enough to bake with. I started with feeding it every day as in my last sourdough post. After only a few days it began to bubble. I was very excited, thinking it was almost ready to bake with. Then I realized that although it was bubbling, there was no odor. Interesting. So I kept feeding it. After another two or so days it developed a cheesy smell and most of the bubbling stopped. I recognized this smell. My very first sourdough smelled like this, and it made awful tasting bread. Another two or three days I fed it every evening, but no change. So I stopped. I just left it sitting on the counter for about four days, doing nothing but peeking at it occasionally and sniffing. Two days ago, I noticed lots of bubbles and a rather good smell. Last night I fed the sourdough for the first time in four or five days, and this morning it is beautiful! It's very bubbly and has a ripe sour smell that means bake with me! I am looking forward to sourdough bread and my favorite sourdough bagels. More posts coming on baking with it!

Planning A Garden

2010-01-04T09:55:00.000-05:00

Seed catalogs have begun to arrive in our mailbox, and I get quite excited about them! Jonathan and I enjoy paging through the catalogs, picking out several varieties of each of our favorite vegetables. Then we remember that we have a very small yard and not much gardening space, and we try to limit ourselves to what we actually have the space to grow. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds has by far the most fun catalog to dream over! Page after page is full of colorful pictures of old and unusual vegetables, herbs and flowers. (Jonathan is bored by the herbs and flowers, but I enjoy them just as much as the odd looking vegetables.) While all their seeds are heirloom, open pollinated seeds (meaning you can save the seeds from the plant you grow for next year) not all of them are unusual. We are planning to buy some "normal" tomato seeds to grow into seedlings we can plant outside next spring. At this rate, I think every sunny square foot of our yard will be converted into gardening space by spring!

Considering My Pregnancy Diet

2009-12-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I had this thought: everything I put in my mouth now, and for the next year and a half or so, (now during pregnancy and later while breastfeeding) will affect my baby. That was rather sobering as I thought about some of the junk food I had recently eaten that is not normally part of my diet. It really heightened my resolve to focus on staying away from processed "empty" foods, and eating nutrient dense ones. Now this is not to say I will never drink another soda or eat a McDonalds hamburger, but I do not want these foods to become part of my regular diet. Rather, I want my diet to consist of lots fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains, and good meats. Eating for two means more to me than just eating a little extra!

Homemade Salad Dressings

2009-12-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

PHOSPHORIC ACID, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE, Xanthan Gum, Calcium Disodiium EDTA

I know what you're wondering! What are these words? You may recognize some of them from the backs of bottles in your refrigerator. These are some of the ingredients in bottled salad dressings. What are they? Ingredients added to enhance flavor or preserve freshness. But what are they for real? I don't know. And that is the very reason that I want to stay away from them! I have been experimenting with making our my own salad dressings that I know what every ingredient in them is. I expected that making dressing would be difficult and time consuming. But you know what I discovered? It's really simple and only takes a few minutes to mix up a dressing! There are so many dressing recipes available online-that is where I've been finding mine. Here are two recipes that I've made and Jonathan and I enjoyed. The Ceasar Dressing recipe is supposed to taste just like Newman's Own. I wouldn't know because I've never had that brand, but I can say this dressing is delicious. I especially like eating it as a dip for fresh broccoli. Yum!

Creamy Ceasar Salad Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoons parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon oregano

Whisk all ingredients together. Store in refrigerator.

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar
3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 teaspoons Honey
2 teaspoons Salt
Fresh Ground Black Pepper
3/4 cup Olive Oil

Pour all ingredients into a glass bottle (I use an empty olive oil bottle) and shake well. Remember that homemade dressings do not contain any emulsifiers, so the oil and vinegar will separate very quickly. Store in refrigerator.

Sourdough

2009-12-23T08:45:00.000-05:00

I started a sourdough again! Last winter I kept a sourdough for a few months. That was my best sourdough I ever had. Then I got too busy to keep it up, so I let it die. But now I am on a sourdough kick again, and mixed up a starter just this morning. The last sourdough I started began with regular yeast. Then the starter was fed with flour and water, and wild yeast eventually took over. This time I am only starting with flour and water. I plan to pour off half the starter every night and feed it with more flour and water. Going by what I read in my King Arthur Baking Book and other sourdough blogs, this should produce a usable starter in about a week. I'll keep you posted!

If you're interested in starting your own, here's what to do:
Whisk together 1 cup flour and 1 cup water.

Let sit for 24 hours.

Once a day, pour off about 1/2 the starter. Whisk together 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup water, and feed it to your starter.

Continue this until the starter is foaming and doubling in size between feedings. (It will take about a week.)The starter is now ready to use. If you are not pouring off starter to bake with every day, pour off about half the starter and feed it as you did when you were growing it. Always remember to feed the starter after taking away from it to bake.