Winter Wonderland and Storms

    We had our first snow storm of the Winter season and boy did it go all out! Over a period of several days we got 6+ inches of snow, an ice storm and a wind storm. All of this caused several days of Amish living (i.e. no power, Internet or cell service) and just plain roughing it. Let me tell you, it's much harder to do with kiddos! Though we were blessed to only have lost 2 full days of power, some were without for up to 7 days! And, we had heat, unlike most, thanks to our trusty ol' wood burning stove. I was able to head and cook one dinner and one lunch and they were delicious.
    During the first day, when we still had power, we took the boys over to Josh's parent's place to sled down their perfect-sledding-driveway. It was so fun, in fact, the most fun I've had in a long time. It was Lucas' first time sledding and he really loved it. I loved hearing his giggle all the way down the hill!

Parent's house

By morning, the snow had turned to rain=( Doesn't Lucas look like the kid from Christmas Story in the bunny suit?;-)

Josh sledding

Mama & Lucas getting ready to go down the hill

Don't be fooled by Lucas' expression. He loved every second of it.

Even when he & Daddy crashed!

Daddy & Channing in his adorable bear suit

Mama & Channing

I couldn't help but laugh at him. He didn't think it was so funny.

But at least he stopped crying long enough to snap this adorable picture.

    Despite the crazy weather and a week of work missed for Josh, it was fun to have some "off" time and just focus on the kids. I love the snow and hope for much more this year however I could live without the ice and wind. We had many trees come down, including one that hit Channing's window when I was putting him in his crib. It was one of the scariest moments of my life and I'm so thankful that no damage was done to us, our house or cars. 

This is half of the tree that came down. The other half came down about 3 minutes before, falling into our neighbor's yard. It barely missed their house and cars.

The ice got up to an inch thick on the trees and bushes.

The view of our neighbor's fallen tree.

These Blossoming Cherry Tree's were sagging when the ice was at it's thickest. The tree on the left had many branches break. We've kept it up for now but it's not very pretty so it may have to come down. These are my two favorite trees in our whole yard.

One of the biggest problems, the snow never melted before the ice began stacking up on top of it.

The view down our street. Our neighbors a few houses down lost a lot of branches in their yard.

BBQ Bacon Meatloaf

   I had some interest in this recipe on Facebook so I thought I would post the recipe, as well as all the changes I made, so I can refer back to it. If I can brag a little bit, I'm really good at starting with a recipe and making it my own. But I'm not always the best at coming up with a recipe out of thin air so this is a recipe that I found on a blog (thank you Pinterest) and I added and changed some ingredients. And since I didn't take any pictures of the process and haven't researched copyright and plagiarism laws yet (as far as blogging goes) I must give credit to the original recipe. Plus, if you absolutely love Bacon, you'll probably want to try her recipe first. We are not huge bacon fans, though I like it more now than I did before (pregnancy sure changes everything! That is, previous pregnancies... Don't need to start any rumors!) so I used less bacon and put it into the meatloaf, not around the meatloaf.

   You will first need your favorite BBQ sauce. The original recipe has one but I decided to use the one from Grandma's Molasses:

• 1/2 cup Ketchup
• 1/4 cup Molasses
• 2 T vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
• 2 T Dijon Mustard (I used whole grain mustard, the same that's in the meatloaf)
• 1 T Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Hot Sauce

Combine all ingredients. Ready to serve.
Optional: Mix everything in a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off heat or leave on low until ready to use.

BBQ Bacon Meatloaf adapted from Barbecue Meatloaf by Simply Scratch
   My recipe serves 4

• 1 lb Lean Ground Beef (I used 93/7)
• 1/2 C Chopped Onion
• 1/3 C BBQ Sauce (Plus more for basting)
• 1 T Whole Grain Mustard
• 1/2 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Pepper
• 1/4 C Bread Crumbs (I used GF Homemade Bread Crumbs, original recipe calls for Saltine crackers)
• 1 Egg
• 4-6 Slices of Bacon, precooked to the crispness that you prefer

   The following you may omit but I believe they make a juicier meatloaf and I always include in any of my meatloaves. It also makes the meatloaf go a little further and adds ingredients that your kids may not eat otherwise.

• 2 T finely diced Carrots
• 2 T finely diced Celery
• 2 T finely diced Zucchini or Yellow Squash
• (You could include the Onion from above to save time dicing)

   Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped or whatever size you can sneak past your kids=)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients, except meat, and mix well.
3. Combine mixture with meat but do not over mix.
4. Press into loaf pan (sprayed with non-stick spray) or form into a mound on a baking sheet lined with foil. (This was my first time using a baking sheet vs. a loaf pan and I have to say, I will never go back to a loaf pan!)
5. Baste with a generous amount of BBQ Sauce
6. Cook for 35-45 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160 degrees. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

**This would make an amazing meatloaf sandwich! Keep in mind, it's a bit crumbly. My meatloaf always is. I think it's because of the added veggies and low fat ratio. I will work on this but I think the dietary gain outweighs the need for a stable slice of meatloaf.
**This recipe can easily be made gluten free by checking labels before you buy and substituting your commonly used gluten free condiments for the BBQ sauce.

   I'd love to know what you think! This is my first official recipe post. I can't wait to do more and hopefully include pictures next time. My dream is to someday have my own cooking blog. We all have to start somewhere right?=)

Goals for 2012

   I've never been one for New Year's Resolutions. Just didn't find them necessary. Maybe I just made goals when I wanted to, not just when a new year started. But this year is different. I think it's the mom in me wanting to get a grip on organization. Maybe it's the OCD in me that has grown 100 times since becoming a mom. Above all, I think it's about starting something fresh and new. So here it goes, 2012, in no particular order:

• Get organized! I'm always striving to get our house organized. It's an unending, sometimes daunting task. I'm continually getting rid of stuff but we continue to add stuff too. With our precious new addition, we're quickly growing out of our house. My organizational goals go beyond the stuff. I want to get my schedule organized i.e. daily tasks, chores, routines. I've found some great tools, thank you Pinterest. Now I just need to put them into action.
• Make a family budget and make it work! Josh and I have never really had a budget, that was our first mistake. We have sat down a few times in the past to make a budget but it always falls through within two weeks. Second mistake. We have some financial goals, mostly large purchases to improve our home but we also plan to cut a car payment this year, maybe even both our car payments.
• Strive to become a morning person. I know this is going to be the hardest goal of all. I am not a morning person. Not one bit. I can stay up late, until 1am just fine but wake me up before 7:30am (this used to be more like 9am) and you'll see why I'm not a morning person. And it doesn't matter if I go to bed at 9pm or midnight, I still feel exhausted. But since Channing is beginning to sleep through the night (Yay!), I've set a goal to get up before the boys at least two mornings a week, striving for three. This still gives me my mornings to "sleep in" until the boys wake me up but also sets aside time to get chores done during the most productive time. Who knows, maybe the morning time will become my craft time! (see next goal)
• Get back into sewing. A few months before Channing was born, I started sewing baby products and then selling them to friends, family and online. I really enjoyed it and others seemed to enjoy my products. But of course, with a new baby, all sewing stopped. I'd love to set aside time to really get my business going, for personal fulfillment as well as the extra money.
• Take a Doula training course. I really became interested in all things pregnancy and baby during my best friend's first pregnancy. She researched a lot and naturally, I learned a lot too. Then I witnessed her natural childbirth and it terrified me! I told everyone it would be a long time before I had any babies. But just 6 months later, I was pregnant with my sweet Lucas. I began researching all that I could. I always knew I wanted to do a natural childbirth but the unknown was still scary. I didn't think I would need a Doula for my delivery of Lucas because I was delivering outside of a hospital, with a Midwife. But I quickly learned that a Doula was just what I needed. When I became pregnant with Channing, I spoke with my Midwife Susan (a different Midwife this time around) about a Doula and she highly recommended that I have one. She even gave me a list of women to call. I was lucky enough to find a perfect one for me and she was SO helpful, especially in the weeks leading up to Channing's birth. Fortunately, I didn't really need her at the delivery because Channing came within an hour of the first painful contraction. But I was so thankful to have the support and I would never do another delivery without a Doula again. I would love to be able to be that support for other women, especially women who really want a Doula but can't always afford one. The training is the easy part, a weekend class with the Midwife that delivered Channing. Once I complete all the requirements, the hard part will be the childcare for my boys since at times, I will be on call 24/7. I will be praying through this part but feel I should complete the training and God will take care of the rest!
• More date nights! Can I get an Amen?! Josh and I just went on our first date since Channing was born. We've been out a few times without Lucas but never without both boys. I planned a fun day to celebrate Josh's birthday and it was so nice to have a quiet conversation between ourselves for a few hours. We need to make US a priority and I want to pick a date at the beginning of the month so we don't push it aside.

I think that's it! Looks like a lot but I think they're all attainable goals over one year's time. And if I don't accomplish something, I'm okay with that. God may have other plans and I'm excited to see what He has in store for me and for us as a family! Happy New Year!

Christmas Time

   What a fun Christmas we had! Between Christmas eve and Christmas day, we had a lot of down time at home, which doesn't usually happen around the holidays. But we also got to see our families between the two days. We did our Christmas morning on Christmas Eve, in the morning. That's confusing to say. But we switched it because of Joshs' family's schedule, I didn't want to be rushing through our morning so we could get to their house. This way, we enjoyed a relaxing morning/early afternoon opening gifts and eating a yummy breakfast. I had this ideal vision of how I wanted the morning to go...wake up early, start the gluten free dough for cinnamon rolls to be eaten on Christmas morning, make the gluten free pancake mix and start our yummy breakfast before the boys woke up. But like most days, this day did not start as planned. I got up at 5am. Enough said. Channing had woken up just after 4am and by the time I got him back to sleep it was just after 5am. I knew if I went back to sleep, that would be an end to my ideal morning. It was nice to be up before anyone else and get a lot done. I was able to make a small dent in the preperation of the cinnamon rolls, which turned into an allll day baking extravaganza. By 8am, everything was set to go but then I got hit with a nasty headache and tummy upset. So I decided to take a short nap with Channing, which of course is always a special treat, especially as he's growing so fast. I felt much better after I woke up but Josh and Lucas had already had breakfast and opened their stockings. So, we jumped right into opening presents. It was so fun watching Lucas opening presents. We also had him handout presents between Josh and I. I think he enjoyed seeing us opening presents too. He'd shriek with joy at the sight of a box and yell, "Booooox!" This year from us he got a Thomas reusable "coloring" book (uses a water pen and the page turns colors but becomes blank again after it dries), some books, matching pajamas with Channing and the big one...a train table/train set! He's been playing non-stop with it ever since! I got a new Bible (a study Bible, yay!), a pair of grey flats, pyrex bowl set, a kitchen scale and a new printer. Cooking supplies and a printer for couponing...see a trend? Josh got a new pair of shoes, Under Armour socks, pajama pants and a wallet. After presents I made breakfast, which was just about lunch time, so Lucas had pancakes for breakfast and lunch. It was Christmas after all.

The Goods



No real tree for us, for the 3rd year in a row. We've just run out of any possible space for one. And I wasn't really up for redecorating a tree every day, with two kids in the mix. So we went with a four foot undecorated fake tree.

 

Sweet Channing, always smiling

1st present...

Matching pajamas for the boys! I had originally planned for Lucas to open this present Christmas Eve and wake up in them on Christmas morning. But because we switched our present opening day at the last minute, we quickly changed them into their pajamas after this picture.=)

Too cute!

I never got a picture of them together nor did I get a picture of them that night in their matching plaid button-ups...fail. But I was too busy enjoying the moment.

Somehow, Channing kept getting ahold of wrapping paper. A few days later there was some in his diaper. Ooops!

I started the tradition of new ornaments for the boys. Channing got a pair of porcelin baby booties with his birth stats written on the soles. Lucas got Curious George, it's one of his favorite shows.

"Keeeese" for the camera. Notice all his new cars lined up.

Train and Robot movie from Grammy

Still all smiles

A few seconds later, the tree landed on him...another reason we went with a small, fake tree.

New books! A gift set I got at Women of Faith back in October. Includes a toddler nightly devotional.

Opening my kitchen scale. I am so excited to put this to use. There are quite a few gluten free recipes that use weight instead of measurements because all the flours weigh differently.

I thought he'd be so confused by the diaper box but he excitedly yelled "Box". The train pieces were inside.

Putting together the new train set.

"Where'd it go?"

Daddy building the tracks.

Loving his new train set!

"My 1st Christmas" outfit borrowed from cousin Levi. I think he looks like Mario wearing the frog suit from Super Mario Bros.

 
   I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing the cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning, the chocolates that I had been working on all week and prepping the yummy apple pie that I was bringing to Grandma and Grandpa's for family dinner. I had a lot of successes baking this week so I hope to post my favorite recipes.
   We spent the evening at my Grandparents house in Centralia eating their Christmas Eve shrimp (SO yummy!), opening presents and eating sweets! I wish my brother could have been with us. He's currently deployed in the Navy, on his way to give some relief to another ship. It was the first year in many that my step siblings have been with us on Christmas, not after, and it would have been nice to complete the family celebration with my brother. It was a fun night, chaotic at time with two toddlers and a baby and LOTS of presents. But it was really fun.
   Christmas morning I popped the cinnamon rolls in the oven in just enough time to get dressed and rush out the door with them piping hot. We spent the morning with Josh's dad, brother, sister and her two kids. I brought the cinnamon rolls and a crockpot egg casserole that I had made at 1am early that morning and let it cook overnight. It was a yummy breakfast and I was am so proud of the cinnamon rolls. I even found a frosting recipe that tastes just like the stuff from Cinnabon. I still have some in the fridge and rolls in the freezer, hmmm....midnight snack? After breakfast, came a lot more presents and we came back home so the boys could nap. For the first time in years, we were able to spend Christmas day with my mom. It was such a fun time! She spent the day here, playing with the boys and chatting while I made dinner...a crockpot turkey breast, green beans almondine, Joshs' mom's yummy hashbrown casserole and crescent rolls made from the leftover cinnamon roll dough (9 cups of flour, enough said). It was a delicious dinner! I couldn't wait for my mom to open her present from Josh, my brother and myself...a KitchenAid mixer! She was sooo excited! Thank you pre-black Friday sale at Kohl's!
   It was a wonderful Christmas season and ultimately, I'm so thankful for Jesus. Without His birth, there would be no reason for Christmas. I'm still trying to think of traditions that I want to do each year to celebrate His birth and make it special for our family. It's so hard not to get wrapped up in all the hoolabaloo that is Christmas in America. I admit, I had a hard time remembering the Reason for the Season this year. Next year, I will work on prepping earlier and spending less time "getting things done." I hope you and yours had a special and memorable year!

Channing is half a year old!

  Mr. Channing. That's what I call him. I think his name is just too sophisticated for anything else. He's too cute for words. His personality really shows in these pictures. He's fun, silly, giggly and always smiling. He had some big milestones this month. Just like I predicted, he was crawling before Christmas. I think it was December 9th (before he was officially 6 months) that he realized how to get around. It's not the hands-and-knees crawl. It's more like the worm. He gets up on his hands and knees and then falls forward, leaving his arms behind and repeats that until he gets to where he's going. He also started solids this month, so far just bananas and sweet potatoes, both of which he l.o.v.e.s. We make good eaters. I told Josh the other day, they're going to eat us out of house and home when they're teenagers. And though these milestones are so fun and amazing, my favorite and newest milestone of his is sleeping ALL night! For the past 4 days (don't jinx it, please) Channing has slept 9-12 hours straight, without waking once! AND, he's going to bed before 9:30pm! Sigh, that's a big step for any baby and I'm so thankful that he did it on his own. I think the solids are helping him get more daytime calories and helping me stock up more milk while he snacks on solids. Winning!=)
   So enjoy some of the most adorable baby pictures you will ever see. Ever.

Stunning blue eyes. Both our boys have blue eyes, Josh and I do not.

One of my most favorite pictures of Channing to date.

6 months old, halfway to his 1st birthday, I just cannot wrap my mind around that.

   Mommy loves you sweet Channing. Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives. Your contagious smile warms my heart and can change my sorrow to joy in a second. I look forward to the next 6 months, though I hope they don't pass so quickly.