Homemade

Granola, chocolate chip granola bars, and cinnamon raisin bread all in one day...I feel productive :)

Here's hoping the bread taste "normal".

Baby Steps

 flour, cheese and butter

Who needs goldfish (or bunnies or any other cheese cracker) when you can have stars! I can't get enough of www.100daysofrealfood.com! And the kids love them too. Here's the recipe. I used my food processor for the first time today (got it at least 3 years ago for Christmas) and loved it. I dropped a block of cheese in it and it shredded it for me and then mixed the remaining ingredients together. I did add a splash of milk, but I may have just not waited long enough for the mixture to "ball up".

While Jason was at band practice last night I watched Food, Inc. Here's the trailer. (I'm kind of new to this whole linking thing...is what I'm doing right?...anyone?) I was disturbed, to say the least, about the "quality" of meat and other dairy products that are in our grocery stores (not to mention the facilities where they are being produced). The price of organic, real food is higher, but I'd rather pay for it and cut out something else than continue to consume (and fill my kids) with what's cheaper and not healthy. After watching the documentary I see so much more value in buying local and organic. I'm on a quest for such. I love learning new things...especially when it comes to food.

This is not going to become a food blog (I'm not that good at it and there are plenty of wonderful food blogs out there already)...this is just a big part of my life right now and I want to document what I'm doing. On that note, here's a picture of what I had for lunch =)

grilled tomato, mozzarella, and basil

Making bread is next on my list...

Not much of an update...

Today I tried four new things. I'm not against trying new things, I just usually get in a rut and don't.

I cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot and have at least two meals planned for it (I'll probably have it on a sandwich for lunch too). I've now got the juice cooking and will have a stash of chicken broth ready tomorrow. Here's where I got the idea: http://thehappyhousewife.com/cooking/whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/

I made apple chips. They were a little crunchier than I expected (I cooked them too long), but they were delicious! Yes, you read that right...were delicious...I just finished them off :) http://www.delightedmomma.com/2011/09/baked-apple-chips.html

The kids made apple, peanut butter and raisin sandwiches. I'm not sure why we've never made these before, but I think they will quickly become a favorite afternoon snack. This was a great snack they could make themselves and had fun putting together. http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/12/real-food-tips-10-ways-to-switch-up-your-kid’s-lunch/

Tonight for dinner I made quinoa. I've been wanting to try this, but just kept forgetting about it. Julie bought some last week at the beach and we didn't cook it, so I brought it home. Delicious! The kids even ate it and that's big for James because he's not big on tying new things.

I've been reading a lot lately over at 100daysofrealfood.com and am inspired to eat more real food in our home. My biggest hurdle will be breakfast food and snacks for the kids. I'm excited to try new recipes and see the kids try new things.

Here's what I plan to make next: http://www.delightedmomma.com/search/label/recipes

And here are a few pictures from our day...

gifts

I heart pinterest. I found this great link the other day for gifts under $5 and was giddy over all the goodies they had listed. I was drawn to the "bird nest necklaces". They were beautiful! Here's her link: http://www.sarahortega.com/2011/05/diy-bird-nest-necklace.html

I quickly ran to my craft stash (read: where all my stuff ends up) and found everything I needed to make the necklaces except the chains and I knew I could get that at a craft store (especially with a Sunday coupon). I was into beading back in college and have hung on to all my supplies, thankfully!

Here's my finished product (I plan on making a few more...just ran out of chain).

May 2012

Yesterday we celebrated James' third birthday! What a fun day we had. James has been anticipating this day for weeks (months even) and was so happy to wake up yesterday and not have to say "I'm almost three". James got to celebrate with his friends at school and was so excited when they sang happy birthday to him. Last night we had our families over and had such a special time celebrating with them. James LOVED having all the attention on him and his face showed it when we were singing to him. He had multiple priceless faces while opening presents too. He was excited with each gift and couldn't wait to open them.

I love that sweet boy and can't imagine how our life would be without him. He is such a sweet boy and is very loving and tender. He loves his family very much. He gets so excited when Gracie comes home from school and usually runs to give her a big hug when she comes in the door. He loves books, just like Gracie. One of his favorites right now is called "Space Adventure" from Jason's childhood. His parents had this book made for him and it's about Jason and three of his friends going on an adventure. James loves reading it and pretending he's one of daddy's friends.

Another big deal in May is that it's ALS awareness. Please visit alsa.org to learn more about ALS and how you can help support those who have ALS. The Walk to Defeat ALS is scheduled for October 13, so mark your calendars. This year the walk will be held at Region's Park and I hope we have an even bigger turnout than last year. Please continue to pray for Suzanne. She has had a good week and was even up for coming to James' party!

Here are a few pictures from the party last night. The first picture (I'm on my phone and can't figure out how to put text under the pictures) is pin the tailpipe on McQueen (I think Gracie and James were the only ones to do this). Gracie requested games, so this is what we came up with. James helped me color that one and Gracie did the one for the front door.

*this was my first attempt at a cake with fondant (I made marshmallow fondant). James loved the cake and gave me a big "wow!!" when he first saw it.

For the Gran

Today is Suzanne's birthday. We were all together for a fun night of celebrating. Yesterday, with the help of Julie and Ryan being silly in the background, we got this picture. There are more than a few 'bloopers' so I was very thankful to get this great shot.

A little more sewing

I made this skirt this week and love it! I just used the same idea as the bottom of the dress from a couple of weeks ago and did a single seam up the back. I then made a casing for the elastic waistband and slid that in. I plan to make a few more as soon as I find a cheaper place to buy the fabric. :)

Gracie update

Last week Gracie had a nasty fever virus. It started early Monday morning and lasted until late Thursday. She stayed home all week from school. I am so thankful that Jason's work is flexible so that he can work from home. He stayed with Gracie four of the days and my Mom stayed with her one day (very thankful for her too). She would be totally fine, but then when her temp would spike she was just pitiful! She didn't eat much at all last week and took naps...very different from her norm. Gracie was so thrilled to go back to school today and said her friends were equally excited to see her. One day last week Gracie made a card for her teacher that said "I love Mrs. Cannon" and at the bottom she wrote "I love subtraction"...she was really missing school!

Now that Gracie is all better, James is running a low fever. Lots of prayers that his is a quick virus and that he wakes up 100% better in the morning.

By the way, I just added blogger to my phone :)

Grandparents Day

James celebrated grandparents day at school last week. He got to have a special picnic with Ma and even did a little dancing with Mommy. He made a sweet card for Ma, but was a little attached to it and didn't want to give it away. Thanks Ma for coming!

Easter Sunday

Today has been a great day. One of my favorite points from Dr. Fenton's sermon today was that Easter is about transformation, not inspiration. God wants to transform us through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus. Jesus died so that we can live and he rose so that we can have eternal life. I want to be transformed daily to be more like Christ. I am so thankful for God and his sacrifice and love for us.

We spent a wonderful afternoon with Jason's family and then the evening with my family. The kids had a great time hunting eggs and then hiding them for us to find. We even got a new family photo that I love. Here are some pictures from our afternoon (I forgot to take pictures with my family).

Mary Katherine helping James find an egg.

James hiding the eggs for us.

Someone was a little tired.

Not sure what she was doing, but this is a great shot.

To get a picture like this...

You have to take a pirate picture and

a silly face picture.