Sew Fun!

I've been learning how to use my Christmas present Jonathan surprised me with in my craft closet last year. My very first "project" was corn hole bags and then I made curtain panels for my bathroom. I just finished my fourth outfit for Elli Grey using a pattern. The pattern thing was extremely tricky for me the first time around. I am a beginner but desperately wanted to figure it out! With my smart hubby's help I was able to pull it off. ;)

Starting out with very simple patterns so that I have a snowball's chance. I have signed up for a sewing class that starts next week so I can learn from an expert and fill in all the gaps. :) It's a lot of fun. Here are pictures of two of the outfits.

Very first go at it:

Dada?

This is the question of the day for two days now. Jonathan went on a short over night trip with our church and Elliott and Weston have definitely noticed his absence. Elli even more than Weston though. They're old enough to wonder where he is but not comprehend that he isn't going to be home and is gone.

Starting yesterday if she would hear a car outside she'd run over to the window saying, "Dada?". Sometimes she would hear something downstairs and look at me and ask, "Dada?". Eventually she would just hear something and say Dada while shaking her head, because she knew I was going to say, "No, it's not Daddy." It's pure sweetness I tell you. Jonathan, you should feel special because you are and we love you! xo

(Just needed a visual)

My New Fav Thing

I sure do love when I find something that cost $0.98 and makes me this happy. This Cherry Carmex is the best lip balm I've ever used. It goes on so thick and stays on forever! I can put it on before bed at night and wake up in the morning with it still there. I had been using Soft Lips before my lip stick(I have purchased my first lip stick. Am I a grown up now?) or gloss but this seems to work much better. It has the SPF and smells great. I prefer the twist up stick over the tube or jar. It's easier and less messy.

Have you ever written an entire paragraph about a chap stick? I just did.

A Jonathan Original

Jonathan combined all his homemade ice cream knowledge to form our absolute favorite. It's Dulce de Leche!

Disclaimer: The following recipe makes about a gallon of ice cream and we half it most of the time.

You need:

Rock Salt

4 cups 1/2 & 1/2

4 cups heavy cream

16 egg yolks

2 cups sugar

3 tsp vanilla ext.

1. Bring creams to a simmer, then remove from heat.
2. In a separate bowl whisk egg yolks until they lighten in color. They should be noticeably lighter.
3. Slowly whisk sugar into yolks.
4. Temper 1/3 the cream into the eggs, then add all back to sauce pan. Temper very slowly so you don't have scrambled eggs.
5. Stir over low heat until it reaches 170 degrees and thickens to coat a spoon. Don't rush this by turning heat on high, there is still the risk of scrambled eggs in your ice cream.
6. Stir in 1 cup dulce de leche.
7. Allow to sit for 30 minutes at room temp.
8. Add vanilla.
9. Chill in fridge first for less time in ice cream maker.
10. Add the ice cream to your maker and follow the standard instructions, ice, salt, etc.

Lunch Deals

Well I'm not exactly one of those "ladies who lunch" or anything close to it. I might not always be shooting for the best atmosphere or finest cuisine. It's more like what's GOOD, can be fast, and cheap? We don't get to go out for lunch too often, but here are some of my favorite places to have lunch around town. Warning: I never said favorite places to go when I'm "being good".

Chico's (downtown of course)- If you go with their special you can eat for 5.99. My favorite things on the menu just happen to be lunch specials on Tuesday and Wednesday. Places that have chips and salsa while you are waiting are always a plus. I'm just going to be honest, Grey and I have just split the special and cheese dip a couple times. Ok, that was about 9 bucks for 2 people.

Andy's - Andy's cheeseburger(huge), fries, and a drink for 5.25. They just raised their prices a bit, but still have cheap combo's. When you think about it that's cheaper than most fast food combo's and is the real deal.

Fajita's - This has got to be the cheapest made to order meal in town. Speedy Gonzales for 3.95. Fajita's has quite a few meals for under 5 bucks(says that giant sign hanging out front). Those authentic Mexican places don't mess around. They are super speedy.

Pizza Inn - They have a buffet and kids 2 and under eat free. You can always print a coupon from their website. Most importantly Weston loves it and eats like a maniac. It's kid friendly minus the strange looking mascot that makes him cry every time. GET AWAY, YOU ARE SCARY.

Chick-fil-A - This food is very good but can get a little boring to me sometimes if we do it too much. The reason it's a favorite is how nice the employees are, it's kid friendly, and I feel less guilty giving it to W & E than other fast food. They have those sticky kid-place-mats and come around and ask if you want a refill! Every time I say thank you they say "my pleasure". Gosh, I love you guys! Tuesday night you get a free kids meal with the purchase of your meal. Ok, this should move up the list. :) (ps. The pickles make it.)

Light.Simple.Good

Oh, and pretty! Trifle's are just pretty. One of my favorite desserts to make! If you are spending a lot of time on the rest of the meal and don't want to have to worry about making a difficult dessert, it's perfect. It can be a great summertime dessert because it's light and involves berries, but also is great following a "heavier" meal any time of year.

You can get a basic glass trifle bowl at Walmart for under $7. I have also prepared this in individual servings using wine glasses which is very cute. For me, the store bought pound cakes work amazingly in this.

All the ingredients you need!

Prepare your strawberries.

Add sugar and allow your berries to macerate in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Doing this makes even off season strawberries delish!

Cut your pound cake into bite size cubes and roll each piece around in amaretto liqueur. One of my favorite aroma's.

Place a layer of pound cake in the bottom of your trifle bowl.
Whip up some cream. I add a little powdered sugar to mine. I would say it's definitely worth the extra effort to make your whipped cream.

...another layer.

Oh, the strawberries look all nice & shiny!

Add blueberries for 4th of July!

You can continue with as many layers as you want depending on how many you're serving or how long you want to keep it in your fridge. :)

Garnish with chocolate shavings or mint if you have either around!

Potty Time

We've been training Weston to use the potty for almost a week now. He picked up on the pee pee thing very fast and tried to avoid the poo poo at first. He went during his nap time when he had a pull-up on. We put him on the potty and turned on "Buzz" one night. He just sat there for nearly twenty minutes grunting. He was so into the movie he wasn't even thinking of what he was doing. I sat somewhere he couldn't see me and when I got up to check, he had gone! "Gone" is an understatement. It was the largest pile of poop I had ever seen! Jonathan and I jumped up and down, danced all around cheering for him. Then he looks in the potty and sees what he'd been working on. His face went from a smile to a look of terror. No tears, just confusion.

Since then he has gone poo poo on his potty about 5-6 times! I believe he is starting to enjoy going on the potty and not having to walk around with it squished in his diaper. Plus, mom and dad act like fools and he gets an Oreo.

Goodness gracious, did I mention how cute his little hiney is in those big boy underwear?

Privacy Please?...with Oreo all over his face

Playing with J's tape measure all morning. I do realize what this looks like though! Ha!