Saturday was a fun day for the hyphenated family. We put everyone in the car and went out in the chilly morning weather to a few garage sales around town. We scored quite a few treasures! A few needed a little TLC before they found a home in our apartment.
My night stand was one of the projects.
Larry found this stool/step stool:
It was rough looking, painted cream over the original green paint. Larry loved it right away because it reminded him of one that was in his Grandma's house when he was a kid.
We stopped at lowes on the way home from the garage sale and bought sand paper and spray paint. One sure way to actually do the projects you think up is to bring home all the supplies you need with the item to be refurbished/up-cycled.
Larry sanded all the surfaces and smoothed out the paint chips and drips from the previous owner. Then we sprayed it a cool and retro turquoise.
I may embellish the seat back and seat later with a paint marker or some brushed on free hand designs. I'm thinking a bright yellow and red for accents....
We've been living without night stands since we moved into our new place. While the apartment overall is bigger, the master bedroom is smaller. The nightstands we were using didn't fit in the room with our king sized bed.
I refuse to spend a lot of cash on furniture for this place since it is temporary, so i have been scouring garage sales for the past few months in search of a small night stand.
I scored one today!
Here is the before:
One $2.00 garage sale table, a can of silver spray paint, a little fabric from the scrap bag applied with modge podge:
Tada! Here is my wonderful (and perfectly sized) garage sale night stand:
Pinterest. It is a wonderful thing. I love it. I have to limit my time on Pinterest because it is fabulously addictive. I love seeing all the fun tricks and tips, craft projects, home decor, and of course, recipes. Lots of wonderful pictures of even more wonderful food! (On a side note: I am curious to know how many people actually make any of the projects they pin...)
We are wanna be foodies around here, so I pin all kinds of recipes and last week I actually made one: This recipe for Fudge Babies from Chocolate Covered Katie. I don't know Katie, but her blog is great.
They are totally rich, decadent and not at all terrible for you, in fact they might even be good for you. Fudge Babies are also ridiculously simple to make. You don't even have to turn on your oven.
I've made them twice and my family loves them too. Brooks thinks they are candy. And let's face it, any healthy food that your three year old thinks is candy is a good thing.
Lucy has been moving around for a little while now. She crawls some but mostly she does what we call the "swim," flapping her arms and kicking her legs to gain forward motion.
She has also started pulling up to standing! Needless to say, mommy is not ready for all this. we have no "containment strategies" in place to keep the little girl from getting into mischief. Here is a short clip of exactly what I mean...
Here is a yummy recipe for homemade teething biscuits. I made them for Lucy today and she LOVES them. She loves them so much that when ever she dropped the biscuit she would cry:) lol!
Homemade Teething Biscuits
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 ripe banana
1 egg (you can sub the egg for 1tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbsp water)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp water
1 and 1/2 cup baby rice cereal
Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
First, if your banana is very ripe (lots of spots) - mash it up to a smooth puree. If it is not ripe (even still slightly green, just put it in a bowl (peeled) and microwave it for 1 minute. Mash the cooked banana into a smooth puree. Let it cool before you add it to your biscuit mix.
Cream the butter, add the banana, egg, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Mix well.
Add the rice cereal gradually mix with a wooden spoon until smooth. You may need a bit more or less flour but the dough should not be sticky.
Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out like a snake. About 3/4 inch in diameter.
Press the log sort of flat to about 1/2 inch thick and then cut the flattened log into 2 1/2 inch sticks.
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 45 minutes or until dry. Flip the biscuits over halfway between baking.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for 4-6 weeks.
I discovered one more reason to love my Kitchen Aid mixer because I used my grain mill attachment and ground up some brown rice super fine to feed Lucy some of her first cereal.
If you do not have a grain mill- no worries- you can just use a food processor or a blender (I think a blender works best).
Brown rice is best and short grain brown rice is the best of the brown rice choices.
Grind up the rice into a fairly fine powder (think cream of wheat). The powder can be stored in an air tight container for a couple of weeks. This rice cereal has to be cooked the recipe is as follows:
1 cup water
1/4 cup brown rice powder
Bring the water to a boil in a small sauce pan then slowly whisk in the rice powder (whisking prevents clumping). Turn down the heat to low and simmer, covered for about 10 minutes. The mixture will be thick and get even thicker as it cools. Add fruits or breast milk/formula to thin to desired consistency. If there are any lumps just mash them out with a fork.
I'm back after a Vacation Bible School hiatus. (PS- they should think of another name for VBS that doesn't include the word vacation, because it is a LOT of work!)
These are so easy you'll want to make them over and over in all kinds of flavors!
Inside Out Whoopie Pies
Ingredients:
Cakes:
1 yellow cake mix (18.5oz)
1 stick of butter
1 large egg
Filling:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp coco powder
1/4 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg white (pasteurized)
Directions:
Melt butter and mix into cake mix with the egg just until it comes together. Dough will be like cookie dough. Using a tbsp size cookie scoop or spoons shape the dough into 1 inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake of the top rack at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cakes should be soft still but not brown at all.
Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan for 5 minutes. Move them to a wire rack to finish cooling completely before you add the frosting.
While they cool, make the filling. Mix the sugar, shortening, egg white, cocoa and vanilla just until completely combined. Use a piping bag or just spoon about 1 tbsp of filling onto a cake then top with another cake. These are so goo and won't last long!
Variations: Use any flavor cake mix-
Chocolate with the cocoa powder left out of the filling for traditional whoopie pies.
Red velvet cake mix with cream cheese substituted for shortening in the filling
German chocolate cake mix and chocolate filling but roll the sides in toasted coconut.
Lucy was super sick this weekend- throwing up, diarrhea and high fever. We called the pediatrician's on call back up SEVERAL times and every time they made us feel like we were totally over reacting.
"it's just a virus." "it will run it's course." "blah blah blah."
After over 36 hours of fever and constant runny diapers- Once again I called the pediatrician on call (not our regular doc BTW) who once again said all the same stuff- virus, has to run it's course...
I told her I was worried about dehydration and she said- "well I guess you just have to do what you want and take her to the er."
I did what I felt I had to and took her to the er.
If they were going to tell me it was just a virus- they were at least going to LOOK at her and tell me it was just a virus. At what point do people start getting concerned when a four month old is unable to keep anything in her little body!?!
The er doc said she was a little dehydrated but recommended re hydration with pedialyte vs. a hospital admission since she wasn't dangerously dehydrated. He also did a stool culture (shocker I know!) which no one else suggested.
We got the results of the stool culture this morning- SALMONELLA! Holy Smokes! It isn't something that would just run it's course. She has to have an antibiotic and see her pediatrician this week!
had I just let the doc on the phone blow me off- we would have never known until Lucy got even sicker.
I had a feeling- nothing definite, but just a feeling something was really wrong and I followed my gut. Dumb on call doctor can think what she wants, er nurses can call me an over reactor- but when it comes to my children- WATCH OUT!
Lesson: ALWAYS follow your instincts- you never know- I could have very well just been over reacting but I'd rather overreact and have a live, whole, and well baby girl than the alternative!
Want to add some yummy to your iced tea this summer? Need a mixer for a cocktail? Try this:
Lemon Flavored Simple Syrup
Ingredients:
-zest and juice from 2 lemons (or 4 limes for lime flavored syrup)
-1 cup water
-1 1/2 cups sugar
Zest the lemons or limes and then squeeze the juice. You want equal parts liquid and sugar so if the juice and water equals more than 1 1/2 cup add more sugar to equal the same measurement.
Put zest and juice in a small sauce pan with the water and sugar. Heat on medium high heat until sugar is dissolved and the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute then remove from heat.
Strain the syrup through a fine strainer or a cheese cloth into a clean jar or bottle. Let cool and enjoy! It will keep for 1 month in the fridge.
Use this syrup in place of sugar in iced tea or hot tea. Pour it hot over a bundt cake still in the pan just out of the oven (let it cool in the pan with the syrup) for a super moist cake. Use this syrup along with some fresh lime juice, triple sec and tequila for a great margarita. Add it to some rum and coke, or just coke:). It also makes a great hostess gift or house warming present packed in a cute jar along with some green tea bags.
Hamburger Buns (or hot dog buns or rolls or whatever kind of bun type shape suits your purpose)
These will elevate any ground beef or pain old hot dog to gourmet level- promise!
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast or 2 tsp of yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg
Instructions:
In your mixing bowl ( I use my kitchenaid) put 1 3/4 cup of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix together and set aside.
Heat milk, water and butter to 120-130 degrees. Doing this in a saucepan on the stove top vs. microwave makes it easier to control the temp. Temperature is important because if the liquid is too hot it will kill the yeast.
Add the liquid mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture and mix well. Add the egg and continue mixing until combined. Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough comes together and cleans the sides of the bowl. This will be a soft, sticky dough and you may need a bit more flour to get the dough to stop sticking to the sides of the bowl.
The dough needs to be kneaded for 8 minutes- I use my mixer to knead- you can do it by hand if you want. The texture should be smooth and elastic.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape as desire for hot dogs or hamburgers. Place on a greased cookie sheet and sit in a warm place covered until they double in size.
bake in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Remove when done and brush tops with butter.
Notes on flour variations- I tried these with bread flour and they came out a bit heavier and tougher- chewy- not bad but not as tender as a hamburger bun should be.
I have NOT tried these with part whole wheat flour- but if you do, let me know how they come out!
Recently Larry and I decided to get with the times when it comes to our cell phone technology. We recently got iphones. We totally drank the koolaid. We don't know what we would do without them now. We love everything about them EXCEPT every once in a while the text autocorrect really does some funny things- mostly because we get tap happy and hit send or post before we realize that auto correct has betrayed us. This happened to me today.
I was trying to text a church friend to ask "Time for the Mother's Day breakfast-9:30 or 8:45am?"
I mistyped and the auto correct promptly replaced the misspelled word with what it thought I was trying to type. I tried to backspace (all this while holding a baby) and ended up hitting send. SO... My friend Chris Taylor got this text message :
Time for meat.
Bless him that he didn't respond with anything too snarky. Just three little questions marks ??? beacuse I was laughing so hard as was EVERYONE in our staff meeting that I couldn't see to send him another message
We are enjoying our Easter dinner- Ham and the fixings. I look at Brooks across the table and ask him to please stop playing with his food and eat his ham.
He replies: "It's not Hamm- it's Evil Dr. Pork Chop!" Then he proceeds to take a bite.
I hope he is not too devastated when he discovers where bacon comes from...
Apparently folks- there actually was a bunny at my son's school. He didn't make it up.
One of the teachers dressed up as the Easter bunny and all the kids took a picture with him.
Here is Brooks and Shawn the Bunny:
I know it looks as if Brooks is about to punch the bunny-but he didn't.
Oh- and we asked, the bunny didn't have a name- Brooks did make up that part. :)
1 8oz tub of cool whip (fat free works just as well as regular if you want a low cal alternative)
1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
In a small bowl (microwave safe) melt the chocolate chips in your microwave -30 second intervals. In a separate bowl add 1/3 of the tub of cool whip and the chocolate.
It is important to use a different bowl from the one you melted the chocolate in so you don't completely melt the cool whip.
Stir the cool whip portion and the chocolate until completely combined. The add the remainder of the cool whip and fold together until well blended.
You can eat right away or you can refrigerate and enjoy later.
We like this one with bananas, strawberries and pineapple- but it is good with everything!
Apparently folks, there is a white bunny rabbit at my son's nursery school and his name is Shawn. This could be a fabrication, however because when I asked who brought the bunny to school Brooks replied "his name is... (scratching his head and thinking for a moment) 'Got it.' Then he laughed hysterically.
April is Cesarean Awaremenss Month in honor of that here is my expereince with cesarean birth and VBAC.
Some people know my story, journey- struggle really to have a VABC delivery with my second child.
After my first C-Section, I had no idea that I was suddenly in a category of obstetric patients that have VERY limited choices for future childbirths. During my first labor my son wasn't in distress, I wasn't in distress. I didn't know my options, I made a lot of uneducated choices and didn't ask any questions. The doctor said it was time for a c-section and I believed him. I'll never truly know if it was really necessary or not. My gut is that it wasn't. I didn't realize when I consented to that first surgery that I would feel so strongly about it later- feelings of loss, grief and that I was somehow broken because I didn't deliver my son normally-vaginally.
In searching out a VBAC provider or in other words a doctor who would support my choice to try to have a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean. I realized very quickly with my second pregnancy that those kinds of doctors are almost impossible to find. I thought I found one- but alas he pulled the bait and switch with me in my last trimester.
At 34 weeks I found myself searching out a new provider and having to drive over an hour and a half to Atlanta to see Dr. Joseph Tate. He is pretty much one of the only options for a truly VBAC supportive provider in the state of GA. Women drive hours from as far away as north FL to see him.
Some people were supportive, some were incredulous- sure I was nuts for wanting something so much- sure I would deliver on the side of the hwy in an attempt to get to Emory on time- an hour and a half a away without traffic.
I was able to deliver my daughter, Lucy, on February 10, 2011 via natural VBAC. I could not have done it without a husband who supported my choices and drove me to Atlanta, who understood, listened and helped me process my grief over my first C- Section. I also could not have done it without ICAN- the International Cesarean Awareness Network. The local chapter in Athens and the Atlanta chapter were invaluable resources who supported me, answered questions and understood in ways that family and friends couldn't.
When I was able to hold my daughter in my arms for the first time- without surgery- it was without a doubt the most empowering, amazing moment of my life.
There is a wonderful documentary that was done in Atlanta with MY doctor- the incredible Dr. Tate and all the wonderful women of ICAN Atlanta. If you want to see and understand what this is all about- I HIGHLY suggest you watch it. It sums up my experience completely and any of the women they interview could have been me. If you want to understand - even just a little- watch it. It is worth the time.
Just in case any of you were wondering- the splinter is still in Brook's hand. No worries though, he has gotten over it and has stopped asking for bandaids.
If you have kids then you know all about stains and have probably learned a thing or two about getting stains out. Here are a few of the tricks I have used successfully over the past 3 years of mommyhood:
PERMANENT MARKER OR INK ON FABRIC: cheap hairspray- that's right the cheaper the better. You know those auquanet aerosol cans your grandma uses- yep- just spray some on the stain until it is saturated- let it sit for a few minutes. I just throw the item in the wash with the rest of the load, but you can also use a soft brush to rub at the stain and apply more hairspray if necessary.
You can also use rubbing alcohol in the same manner but hairspray works better.
DISCLAIMER* You are supposed to test a small hidden portion of the fabric first to see if it is color fast- but I never do this- who has the time?
INK OR PERMANENT MARKER ON LEATHER: Think tennis shoes or Robeez or perhaps those lovely leather couches that belong to a certain university that will remain unnamed.
CUTICLE REMOVER! Health and beauty items save the day! You'll find this in the nail care section- any brand will do, but Sally Hansen works great in my experience. Put a blob of cuticle remover on JUST THE STAIN- be very careful not to spread it all over- the small tip of the tube will make this easier. Let is sit a few minutes and then rub rub it off with a soft cloth. You may have to do this more than once.
I got BLACK permanent marker out of a brown leather sofa this way. I also successfully removed blue pen ink from pair of robeez this way as well.
CAUTION- Don't let it sit on too long (more than 5-10 minutes at a time) or you may scar the leather. If you do leave a funny spot on the leather a bit of leather conditioner or shoe polish will fix it right up.
FOOD GRASS OR OTHER STAINS in CLOTHING:
Biz (the powder not the liquid) works great! An overnight soak in the washer with about double the recommended amount has gotten just about every stain out that we have encountered: spit-up, poop blow outs, baby food stains (yes carrots and sweet potatoes), grass stains and other miscellaneous stains.
What makes Biz so great are the enzymes that actually eat away at the stain but leave the fabric intact. Meat Tenderizer (spice aisle) works the same way. I mix a cup of meat tenderizer, a cup of washing soda (NOT baking soda) and a cup of 20 Mule Team Borax together and use it the same way I use Biz. It works great. If I have a lot of items I soak them in the washer or I have a big bucket that I use as well. I also have some smaller bowls and containers for the 1 or 2 items that need special soaking.
You can also mix up a paste of the homemade mix and apply it directly to the stain- let it sit until dry and then throw it in the washer.
Here is my Stain Fighting Arsenal:
Latex Gloves- because some stains are just GROSS
Old Tooth Brush- for rubbing out stubborn stains
Cuticle Remover
Small Bowls and a Pop stick for mixing up and application of pastes of Biz/enzyme mixture
Air Duster- learned this from a former dry cleaner- they use a high pressure air blower to BLOW out some stains- really.
A spray bottle of hairspray
My baggie of meat tenderizer mixture
Baby Powder- apply liberally to ring around the collar, lay a washcloth on top and apply a hot iron. Shake off the powder and the collar stain comes off as well!
Regular Detergent and Regular Bleach
*** this is a recycled post- but still helpful, I hope. I would also ADD to this list HYDROGEN PEROXIDE. It makes a great alternative to chlorine bleach for whites and other stubborn stains. Also- random- but we have a front loader washer that came with this apartment and towels always had a weird smell very soon after washing. I add a cup of peroxide to the wash when we do towels and no more smell!
Major drama at our house tonight over a minor (and I mean teeny tiny sliver) splinter. Brooks got a splinter in his hand and has been milking it for all it is worth. We are on bandaid #2. At our house bandaid = sticker and sticker =great. He's asked us to kiss his boo boo repeatedly which is just gross because most of the time the palms of a three year old's hands are nasty- except for the five or so minutes after he's just washed them.
Larry and I tried our best to get the splinter out. It was traumatic for all and we still didn't get the little sucker out of his hand!
So if anyone has any suggestions on how to get a splinter out of a three year old's hand without weeping and gnashing teeth- PLEASE let me know!
I'll re-enter the blogging habit with a favorite post- the Weekend Recipe.
Peanut Butter Porkchops (this one was a hit with Larry)
4 pork chops- bone in are best- but tenderloin chops would be good too (not as juicy)
1 medium onion- sliced julienne (google it)
1/2 cup of peanut butter, I used natural creamy, but you can use whatever you have
4 tbsp of olive oil
1/2 cup flour
2 cups of beef or chicken stock
Preheat oven to 325.
Heat 2 tbsps of olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the pork chops and brown on both sides- 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove the chops and place in a 9x13 glass baking pan or glass dish and set aside.
Add the onions to the hot skillet and saute them until they start to brown a little. When the onions are mostly done and starting to brown layer them on top of the chops in the baking dish.
Turn the heat up to high and add the other two tbsps of olive oil. Stir in the flour. You are making a light roux or toasting the flour a little to add flavor. When the flour/oil mixture is light brown (think the color coffee with a lot of cream) add the stock, turn down the heat and stir until thickend. You may need more or less stock depending on how thick you like your gravy.
Remove from heat and stir in the peanut butter. Pour this sauce over the onions and chops. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour in a 325 degree oven. Serve over rice.
I gave up the worpress blog- abandoned is more like it. It just got too clunky to post pictures and videos and such. Whenever I thought about posting- it just made me tired so I didn't post.
Here I am at a new blog host and hopefully it will be easier to use- so far it is AND hopefully I'll be motivated to post more often.
SO add me to your readers, change your bookmarks and blogrolls and stay tuned:).
