Friday, June 18, 2010

O h, wow! Is this the cutest alphabet you have ever seen! I found it via this blog.  Which is absolutely awesome by itself.  I am a pretty big fan of owls.  Anyway, this is a free graphic from this blog.  Pretty cool isn't it!

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Scrapbooking

I have been using a scrapbooking system that I really like and that I feel like I can keep up with fairly easily and tells the story of our family.  I posted about it here.  Unfortunately, it is just one book, so there is no way my kids can have something of their own to take with them.  I recently came across this post.
I loved this idea and decided to try it out myself.  The author of the blog I came across calls it a combination of a journal and a scrapbook.  I found some cheap sketchbooks at Wal-Mart and used some metal embellishments I already had, along with some rub-ons in my stash.  I glued the embellishments on with E6000 glue (amazing stuff) and that was it.  I also got a couple of my new favorite pens.  They are fine point sharpies, that don't bleed through the page.  Love them!  Anyway, I have been trying to write something about each child at least once a week and if there is some little thing that I want to keep for them, I just stick on the page with some scrapbook adhesive.  For example, Blake's teacher sent him a cute Thank-you note after school got out, I wanted to save it, so I just stuck in his journal/scrapbook.  It is a system that finally seems to be working for me. 

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Baptism Pictures

This is more of the work of my amazing sister-in-law.  My oldest was baptized a few weeks ago and got his first suit.  He is not into having his picture taken and gets a real attitude about the whole thing.  I didn't want his memories of his baptism to be awful because I MADE him have his picture taken, but I wanted some nice pictures so that both he and I could remember him at that point.  My sister-in-law was the perfect solution.  The baptism was at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday.  Immediately after it was over, she and my brother drove him to the park between our house and the church.  He was all dressed up in his new suit and feeling great.  They drive a jeep, so all the kids love to go anywhere in their car.  They spent maybe 20 minutes at the park so Amy could snap some pictures and then met us back at our house for a family lunch, where Blake immediately took off his suit and was completely absorbed in playing with his cousins.  I am amazed at what Amy was able to capture in a few short minutes.  I am thrilled that I will always have these pictures of him immediately after he was baptized.  Thanks Amy!  I'm so glad you decided to take up photography!  Like I said before, you need to visit her website.  She's amazing!

Friday, June 11, 2010

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I just finished reading the book, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  The book was amazing.  I could not put it down.  I had heard great reviews, several from people who I really trust when it comes to books.  My sister-in-law loaned me her copy awhile ago and I have kind of been saving it because I knew it was going to be good and there is nothing I hate more than finishing a really great book because then I always feel like, what I am going to read now?  That is exactly the feeling I am left with.  In all honesty, it has been awhile since I had a book where I felt like that.  I wanted this one to go on forever.  We spent some time living in the South, so this book automatically grabbed my interest.  It is about Southern Women in the 1960's and race relations.  The relationships are complicated.  There are no clear answers.  The story makes you think.  It is reality.  The problems are not easy to solve and change is painfully slow.  I am thrilled that the author chose to keep the book clean.  There is some swearing that I could have done without, but the author was able to tell her story without have to fill the book with trash.  I admire that so much!  I think it requires a much more talented author to write clean literature.  It means the author is not relying on sensationalism to sell his/her books.  Anyway, if you haven't picked up this book, do.  RIGHT. NOW.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Strawberry Freezer Jam

I love freezer jam and I have made it multiple times over the past 10 years, but I don't think I have ever gotten it to set up quite right.  It still tastes just as good, but it turns out more like syrup than jam.  Finally, this weekend I got it to work right.  I have been quizzing my mom because she makes it a lot and it always seems to work.  First off, she told me that you can't use the low sugar pectin if you want the freezer jam to set up.  Problem number one, I had been buying the low sugar version.  Problem number 2, she says you always have to boil the pectin.  I don't think I have ever had a pectin that said to boil the pectin for freezer jam.  Due to my mom's warnings, I was very selective when I went to purchase my pectin.  I think I have figured out the key.  This time I bought pectin that didn't say it was for freezer jam.  Here is the one I got:



Once I opened the package there were directions inside for freezer jam and those directions included boiling the pectin before it gets mixed with the fruit.  Amazingly, my strawberry jam turned out perfectly!  It made the best peanut butter sandwich ever today.  I am so excited!  I can't wait for peach season so I can try some peach freezer jam too!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

First Birthday Pictures

My baby turned one this last week.  I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by!  The 9 months of her pregnancy seemed like it would never end and now it feels like I have hardly blinked and she is one year old.  My amazing sister-in-law has recently started her own photography business and she is amazing!  She does the most fun birthday photo shoots.  She came to my house on Brynne's birthday and took the most wonderful pictures ever of her smashing a birthday cake.  They are the best keepsake ever.  I struggle a bit with first birthday parties because the kids don't remember it, yet I feel like its something you should make a big deal about.  Her birthday has been particularly crazy because it has coincided with Blake's birthday and his baptism.  I have felt all kinds of mother guilt because I had to make the baptism the focus this weekend because that is so important and had to kind of let Brynne's birthday go for a few weeks.  Anyway, Amy helped with my guilt by coming over on Brynne's actual birthday and doing the cake photos.  Now I have a memory in pictures to show Brynne forever and I can do her first birthday party in a week or two when I have recovered from the baptism celebrations!  You need to check out Amy's photography blog.  Here's the link.  Her prices are way reasonable because she is just starting out and she is amazingly talented!  The cake smashing pictures are a definite must!

Baked Egg Rolls

We recently joined a food coop where we never know what fruits and vegetables we are going to end up with.  One of the items this week was bok choy.  I had never even seen it, let alone cooked with it, but my friend told me that it works great in egg rolls.  I did a few searches at allrecipes and some other online sites and found out that you can bake egg rolls.  Wow!  I am so excited that I know this now.  I love egg rolls and never would have attempted them if I had to fry them.  I am scared to death of using hot oil, not to mention the fat and calories.  Anyway, baking them and spraying them with Pam tastes almost the same.  I made vegetable ones, but I think next time I'd add some chicken or something for a little more flavor.  I stir fried all the vegetables in a little canola oil.  The bok choy turned out great.  I also used carrots, mushrooms and green onions.  I didn't have any terriyaki sauce, which I think would have made it even better, so I add a little fat free Italian salad dressing, some soy sauce and a little mustard, along with a few shakes of garlic salt.  After your vegetables are soft, you just spoon a tablespoon or two of the filling into your already prepared egg roll dough(you buy these at the grocery store, usually in the produce department) and there are directions on the package for how you fold them and roll them.  Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and then after you place the egg  rolls on the pan spray the tops of the egg rolls lightly with the Pam too.  Bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes.  Make sure you flip them over about halfway through.  I think they taste better fairly well done.  The ones I let brown a little more were excellent.  Honestly, the only hard part about the whole thing was getting the wonton shells apart (that's what the egg roll wrappers actually are).  If anyone has any great tips for making that job easier, let me know!  I am excited to try these again, I think there are lots of possibilities.  I love those Mexican egg rolls at Chili's, I think I might have to try some of those next.