It's Friday..

...at least for this blog it is since I missed yesterday's weekly posting. To make up for it here is a two-for-one picture!

Kitchen Duty

That was my assignment for today. My chalkboard list consisted of: sprinkles, baby food (carrots), fruit salad, jar garlic. And, due to the wonderful presence of Gma (my mommy!), I was able to cross out every single item! It was a long day, which had even Baby Girl wanting to go to sleep around 7pm. I managed to keep her entertained until 7:30, fed her - her eyes rolling to the back of her head - and put her down in her crib, quietly snoozing. Twenty minutes later...she is now hollering for all the world to hear. Pastor Husband hasn't seen her all day so he is going to rock her. The last two nights she has been going to sleep later than usual and waking up earlier than usual. Please, I hope!, she sleeps till her normal 7:30am-ish time for tomorrow.


Back to the list...done, done, and DONE.


The garlic took forever because I don't have two metal bowls to do the fancy trick of peeling garlic. So, it was by hand for me. It wasn't too bad. Nice, repetitive, easy work and I now have garlic cloves ready to be used when needed and my oil is being infused with the tastiness of garlic (thanks Shelby for the idea!). I'm very excited to try out the fruit salad tomorrow morning for a yummy breakfast. The carrots are in the process of freezing into nice ice cube shapes and will be thrown into a freezer bag tomorrow. The sprinkles are being used tomorrow for our last church meeting. I won't be using them because they're going to sprinkle them on top of ice cream - the whole lactose thing stops me - but they were super easy to make so I don't mind. I wish I had bigger granules of sugar, but it's okay. They still look pretty and are just teeny-tiny sprinkles. Try them out!


Here is what you need:
Sugar
Food Coloring
Containers for coloring
Containers for storing

Step One

Clean off your counters - you'll need the room!

Measure how much sugar you want for each color and put the sugar in separate jars, containers, or bags. I used sandwich-sized bags. 

Step Two

Color, color, color - use your food coloring to make the colors you want. Shake them, swish them, squish them to get the color throughout the sugar. Then let them air dry for an hour. I let them dry for two hours using the end of Baby Girl's nap as my timer.

Forest Green, Purple, Watermelon Red, and Teal - all from...

...these four colors. "God must be a painter. Why else would we have so many colors?"

Step Three

The sprinkles will keep for a very long time so place the finished product in appropriate sized (unlike me) containers. Enjoy!

Next time, I'll make more.

...and more cake

The last class of cake decorating finally occurred this morning. It was a lot of fun and my sister and I love to take classes of almost anything to learn something new. My goodness though...the time it took to just get ready for each class and the money was just crazy. I would love to take a cooking class only if the class provided all the food and all I needed for the class was two good-working hands and an apron.


We'll see what we sign up for next.


Here are our final masterpieces...

We call this beauty the "Funeral Cake"

We call this the "Creative License Cake"

Frosting on the face - you know the artist was hard at work.

Pseudo-Quiet

When you're in the shower, you don't hear Baby Girl waking up extra early this morning :)


I'm in love with this song we've been singing at church recently...I hope you enjoy it too!

Friday?

I tried posting from my phone last night and it was just not having it. This is another argument as to why I need a better phone. Anyway...


...yesterday, I did not get a picture of Baby Girl in something, something on her head, or just a cute picture in general. Why? Because she is growing up and cutting her first tooth! It makes me want to celebrate, but makes her want to cry. Gee, I wonder why?


I actually felt it when we went to the movies on Wednesday. If you haven't tried it or haven't heard of it you should do it. At Ultra Star Cinemas they have Parent Movie Morning. They pick a movie and at it only plays once at a certain time. The theatre is not as dark, the sound not as loud, and there is a changing table set up for your baby. They also say to expect crying and feedings so no one is surprised. Well, we finally made it this last Wednesday and saw "Rock of Ages". So good! If you love 80's/early 90's rock then you will love this movie. I sang every song to Baby Girl. I couldn't help myself. She watched some of the movie, had a feeding, a changing, and even a nap. It was so great!


So, I apologize for not having a new adorable picture for you to marvel at, but here is one of the first pictures I took of Baby Girl in something...enjoy!

Two Months Old

Too Much Zucchini!

Our summer garden is so sad this year. Last year we managed a couple of cucumbers and about a million tomatoes. Two of my most favorite pieces of produce. This year we decided to plan strawberries - doesn't work with dogs stomping on them and peeing on them! - tomatoes - a different variety, which just doesn't seem to like our yard - and zucchini - it won't stop. There are small ones, medium ones, and giant ones. All the time. Every day I explore through the jungle of zucchini leaves and find...more zucchini!


So, to take care of the problem, I've been pinning a bunch of zucchini recipes. Luckily, Pastor Husband loves zucchini every which way. I, on the other hand, only love it when it doesn't taste like zucchini. Last night's dinner was a success for both of us: Zucchini Pizza.


Here is what you need:
Zucchini - how ever many you feel like making
Garlic
Olive Oil
Lemon
Pepper
Bread Crumbs
Tomatoes (mine were store bought, so sad!)
Cheese


Preheat Oven: 350 degrees

Step One

Make the Olive Oil spread

Mix together some olive oil and lemon juice until there's a good balance between the two. Then add some ground pepper and minced garlic. Taste it as you go along. (Remember you're the chef in your house...always taste before serving!)

Step Two

Prepare the Zucchini

Slice the zucchini in half and then thinly slice the bottoms so they don't wobble. Scoop out the seeds. Brush all of it with the olive oil spread and then make your pizza. I did a layer of tomatoes, cheese, pepperoni, and then more cheese. Then sprinkle with some bread crumbs

Step Three

Bake!

Place the zucchini on a cookie sheet, baking dish (lined with foil for easy clean-up), whatever works for you. Bake, uncovered, for about 20 minutes. You can, afterward, add more cheese and broil it, but we were hungry now and one more step was one step too many.

The zucchini isn't mushy and the olive oil spread plus the spicy pepperoni made me almost forget that I was eating zucchini.

BONUS STEP!

The noodles were just spaghetti and the great thing was that I used the left over olive oil spread for the sauce. Yummy!

see...giant size and baby size

more cheese for Pastor Husband than me, he loves it, I do not

how did my napkin holder turn into this?

The End

CUPCAKES!

This morning was all giggles and frosting during cake decorating class. Sometimes I wonder if the instructor does not regret canceling the class when she had the chance because once my sister and I get going it's very hard to get us to stop. We sure have fun though!

Here are a few of our creations...only one more class to go!

All our end results for the morning

Apparently a mum is a hairy flower

This is mum that turned into a Muppet character

This Quiet Moment

Happy Father's Day to the man who I met a few years back, went to another country with, moved in his direction, and then "met" again. You promised adventures and adventures we have had together and now Baby Girl is included in those adventures!


Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there...it is not an easy role and cheers to those who take it on and take it on with all their strength, courage, and love.

Daddy Adventure #563 (give or take a few)

Nine Months Out!

Baby Girl you have been smiling since the beginning. You're also quite notorious for other faces you make...some very serious and some that could inflict death if possible. However, on my most days, we see your smile and hear your laugh. The serious look is around when you are in a new environment and you're observing and taking in everything. I'm sure something is being worked out into that ever-expanding brain of yours. I thank you for the many months of smiles you've given me.

There are so many times when I have no idea what I am doing or, I guess, what you need me to do. I just pray that there are more good moments than bad and those good moments are the ones that stick with you. What does Jesus tell us? Love God and love others. I do love you Baby Girl and I hope that stays with you and is completely evident in our family. 

You have hit so many milestones! Most of them, not in any book. You may not crawl or walk, but you stand and it makes you so happy when you stand like a big girl. No teeth either, but eating, I believe, is your favorite hobby. You also have a crazy love for prune juice. You can have that all on your own! Let's see, you have also gone international, we actually just got back from Mexico. There was a ride on a yacht. A stay in Dana Point, Big Bear - where your first Christmas was a white Christmas. Disneyland, swimming lessons, pictures with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I cooked my first turkey for your first Thanksgiving. You also have so much love from so many people. Some of those people you see all the time, at least once a week, if not more. Some of the people have only seen you through their computer. That's right Baby Girl, you have gone viral! You have love from all over the world.

God has already used your life in so many ways. If you could actually talk I believe you would have told me that you have already given your life over to Him. I pray that you will continue this way of living and I'm excited for all that will come next. He has, through you, shown me what it truly means to give your life over to Jesus. It's not just a different mindset, it's an all over reboot! A committed reboot! I have learned a new type of strength and patience. I have learned, not necessarily a new type of love, but I think I'm getting that much closer to true love.

Your daddy and I love you so very much to the point where we sometimes get teary-eyed as we day-dream about your future. It all happens so quick. Nine months just came and went and now you're sleeping and we're diving into the ninth month with the tenth just around the corner! You have added to our life, but in such a natural way that you don't feel like an addition. You feel like you were always here. I have no idea what the future actually holds or where we may be - with your dad, life is very much the adventure - but as long as you are here with us and we are here with you, it's going to be grand.

CAKE!

My sister and I started a cake decorating class at Michael's last week. Last week we learned how to frost a cake, which is what I wanted to learn more than anything. All the decorating part is a bonus. It's fun and actually kind of relaxing once we get into the lesson. Before and after the lesson I'm ready to run down the customers at the store. I was stressed before class today because I realized we didn't bring everything and then there's stress afterward because we turn to the page to see what we're doing next week and there's all this other stuff to buy!


Keep that in mind - the class costs more than just the cake decorating kit and the class itself. Of course, Michael's doesn't tell you that when you sign up for the class. You find that out once you're already into it. My sister and I are doing our best to share costs and share some of the supplies. 


So, this week I made the frosting and the cakes. I tried my hand at orange cake and it was yummy! I just used a lemon cake recipe when it said lemon I used orange. It was good and made the house smell good. Next week it's cupcakes!


Last week we also had an invention dinner - apple chicken with brown rice and asparagus. I made baked apples and spooned it over the chicken and rice. My invention...it was edible, Pastor Husband said he liked it and that is all that matters to me!

Baked Apple Chicken

Before

After - Sister's Cake

After - My Cake

A Moment of Silence

Yes, they still do exist, these moments of silence. Only, now, they come by surprise rather than by planning. 


I have a bit of this moment, right now, as we get ready for church this morning. Baby Girl is still sleeping. I actually got up on time to take a shower and get myself ready. Now, as Pastor Husband does his thing, I am enjoying this moment until it's time to turn the hairdryer on and then kill my hair with the flat iron - all in the name of beauty, right?


I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday morning and perhaps some time for yourself to look at what you have right at this moment, to see what God has given you, to have a glimpse of clarity of the path He has put you on, and have your heart filled with contentment...maybe even with joy.


Here is some baby to help you out...

4 Days Old

Check out this entry from Send Your Youth Group to FISHFEST 2012 Giveaway Contest!

Check out this entry from Send Your Youth Group to FISHFEST 2012 Giveaway Contest!

Your vote is much appreciated! Thank you!

Friday = Things I Put My Baby In

We're Going to the Pool, Pool, Pool...

...how about you, you, you?


Pastor Husband bought Baby Girl a blow-up pool and I decided to put my lungs to the test today. It was fun and something different to do with the day. I kept waiting for the right day though - hot enough, but then I remembered that we live in Orange County and not the Inland Empire anymore. If I wait for 90-degree weather I'm going to be waiting for months! Today is in the high 70's and the sun shines right in our backyard so the water warmed up perfectly for the little buns of Baby Girl.


She got to wear her red swim diaper, very cute, donned her sun bonnet and we were set to go. We played around with some toys, splashed a little, and I put her on her back. She didn't really float though...not enough room between her back and the ground. 


After swim time was lunch time - a favorite time for both of us. Now, we're relaxing, drinking some water, and watching some kind of crazy kid show. I do not understand the concept for any of these shows, but they keep her entertained so I won't argue. 

Baby Bottom Blues

Poor Baby Girl is having some constipation issues and due to this has discovered her love for prune juice. I have discovered that I do not like prune juice nor do I like prunes for that matter. And I would not, could not, not here or there, I would not like them anywhere! However, I now do believe and have witness the magic that is prune juice.

Baby Girl is all cleaned out and much happier than she was a few days ago. Of course, when she's older and finds out that I wrote about her bowel movements...that may not equal to undying love for her momma. Oh well! I'll take that chance.

Here's a cute picture of her drinking, by herself, the apparently yummy prune juice.

Yes, that's a dish cloth keeping me warm.

Friday = Things I Put My Baby In