Saturday Morning

Saturday morning for us: early the kids arise and wake us. The local big hardware store invites kids to come and build something every Saturday morning. They get an apron, a pin to put on it and something cool to make - all for free - and we like free!! So while the big kids sleep a bit longer and little ones are off building with Daddy:
I get busy with breakfast - quadruple the recipe:

And make loads of these:

Mmmm time to dig in!!

10 minutes later and just a couple left for me :0)

Happy weekend!!

Blessings,

Christine

Six Months

Six months old and look what I can do!! I can sit like this for some time!! Then I get bored and try to get people to pay attention to me :0)!!

Can you get me out of here - please!!!!

Big brother couldn't get me out of here, can you? Pleeeaase!!!

Someone always comes to my rescue and I get carried around the way I like!! I'm also tasting food these days and I get a bit of applesauce before I go to bed. Mommy always hopes that it will help me sleep through the night - but since I'm growing so fast I still wake up hungry in the middle of the night. It's okay though cause growing is what I'm supposed to be doing :0). Mommy and Daddy have a hard time believing I'm 6 months already!! It's gone by really fast!!!

Blessings,

Esther

Homemade

I like to made things from scratch. Homemade is generally tastier and most certainly healthier and almost always less expensive. Plus it's fun!! Lately I've been making homemade yogurt. It's easy and much yummier than store bought and doesn't have a lot of things in it that I can't pronounce :0)!! I had made yogurt on and off for a couple of years in small batches just for fun - but when I recently figured out how much making it at home impacted the budget I got busy and made this a part of my regular routine. This is what I do:

I start with a gallon of milk, a bit of sugar and some vanilla (a rounded 1/4 cup of sugar and 4 tbls. and 4 teas. of vanilla). I'm sure other sweeteners can be used - this is just what I have on hand right now. I messed with the amounts until we liked it - it's just a matter of preference.
Then I scald the milk (with the sugar and vanilla added) to about 180* F. It's really until right below boiling. It takes about 20 minutes - this is when I can get help with the stirring - don't want it to stick to the pan - it's kind of a mess to clean if it does :0).

Then I let the milk cool down to about 115*F. That's pretty much just warm to the touch. This is when I add my yogurt cultures. I sometimes use yogurt that I made from last batch or I use whatever is on sale at the grocery store. (If you use yogurt made from home you can only use that a few times before you need to renew with store bought). I sometimes use vanilla flavored yogurt from the store as that's just free flavoring - but whatever I use must be on sale :0)!!

Oh yeah, I add about 3 - 4 tablespoons of yogurt per quart so that's about 12 - 16 tablespoons per gallon of milk. I stir that in with my whisk really well.

I pour the cultured, flavored milk into very clean, warm canning jars and set them carefully into my ice chest.

I surround the jars of milk with other canning jars filled with VERY warm water (I use about 6 jars half filled with hot tap water and the other half filled with hot tea kettle water) I leave everything alone for about 4 hours and then change that water for more hot stuff.

After about 8 hours it's time to take the jars out and put them in the fridge. Another thing about yogurt: it doesn't like to be disturbed so if you like thick yogurt - don't stir it - it doesn't like that - it will surely be runnier after it is disturbed.
And - Ta Dum - fresh yummy homemade yogurt. Really - all in all - it's about 20 - 30 minutes of work to get 4 quarts of this delicious stuff. I did some rough math when I started this and for where we live it's about 75 cents a quart to make at home - that saves me about 14 dollars a week on my grocery bill.

One thing though, all my yogurt making is laced with one very important ingredient. I cover it all with lots of prayer :0)!! I really don't want a gallon of milk to go to waste and since this involves the mysterious growing of bacteria to make it work I somewhat feel that a lot of yogurt making isn't really in my control. So, I just pray over it every time - it may seem strange to pray over something like this - but I believe God understands my desire to do something healthy for my family and to honor my husband's hard work by trying to reduce the bills where I can. And guess what - God answers these simple prayers of mine. A couple of times I have made mistakes in the process (like this week's batch - where I was so tired at the end of the day I forgot to put the yogurt in the fridge and jumped up this morning, like a shot, remembering) and every time my yogurt has turned out fine!!

We eat this in smoothies and for lunches or breakfasts with fruit on top. Everyone loves it and we definitely go though all four quarts in a week - I think if I made more it would get eaten up just as quick :0)!!

Blessings,

Christine

Lego Man

Sam loves his Lego's - this is where I will find him most days - sitting on the floor creating something. He's the chief mechanic and I'm on standby - ready with my longer (unchewed) nails to pry apart little blocks. The trick will be when sweet baby girl gets on the move and all these tiny toys must be kept out of her reach!!! Until then the floor is all his!!!
His latest creations - maybe he'll work on real airplanes someday (that industry is practically in our backyard)

Until he grows up this is the perfect occupation for a 9 year old!!!

NOT a Hit!!

Won't be making this casserole again!! :0)

Yummy!!!

So, Esther is blowing bubbles with her nose - really gross I know, but hey, I got that award that says I tell the good and the bad, so there it is - yuck :0)!!! Anyway, that means next to no sleep for Mommy and Daddy last night. I was really dragging today so sweet Ruthie decided to take over in the snack department. She made the BEST oatmeal cookies!!!
Don't they look yummy?!! (BTW there is snow on the ground again - you can just see it in the window)

Everyone loved them - especially this little man who kept insisting "Just one more Mommy - it'll be my last one!"

I knew they would go fast - she did such a good job.


Yep, good cookies!!

This sweetie also helped lots and lots today holding a fussy, drooly, sorta slimy - but still very cute baby girl while I folded lots laundry (yay!! Thanks to her I'm caught back up!!).

A Fun Game

So I'm stealing an idea from my friend Cinnamon over at Knights and Maidens Gathering. She put up this game - it's fun - so I decided to borrow her idea tonight. It's been a crazy day here and something lighthearted was in order (we've been running nonstop all day!!). So here goes:

100 Things RULES: There are 100 statements and you bold the ones you have done. Grab it and play for yourself!!*

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disney world

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Had stitches

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea - on the beach, at least

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept in an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitchhiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chicken pox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day