Beach Vacation

Last week, my little family drove eight hours in the car to Dauphin Island, Alabama, to spend the week with my husband's family.

While the week was anything but relaxing (apparently my kids think "beach vacation" is code for "wake up two hours earlier than usual"), it was refreshing to have no responsibilities for a little while.

Wait, who am I kidding?? No responsibilities?? I took my two biggest responsibilities with me, haha! But I digress. It was, nevertheless, refreshing to spend time with family and read, and sit on the beach and read, and take pictures...

Yeah. I took pictures. Shocking, I know.

So here are some of the highlights from our first family vacation!

1. Cousins.  2. Beach baby.  3. Typical picture of my kids (Hallie loved the beach, if you can't tell).  4. Hallie kissing her cousin.  This happened all week.  

1. Daddy coaxing Gabriel into the surf.  2. Sand castle that hubby and I built together.  I call it Cair Paravel. -nerd-  3. Daddy bringing the sand to Gabriel who, up until this point, hated it.  Look at that smile!  Way to go, Dad!  4. Gabriel witnessed (and tasted) the huge speckled trout that Daddy caught.  It was delicious!

SoverM Week

SoverM.  Sisters over Misters.

That was the theme of the week I spent with my three sisters.  Poor hubby! ;)

Don't worry, we had lots of fun with him, too, getting my sisters hooked on Downton Abbey (his idea)!

Here's a quick post about our week together.

We made scarves following this tutorial found -- where else? -- via Pinterest.  We didn't use old t-shirts, but purchased some cute tanks from Wal-Mart for less than $4 a piece!

We did Bible studies.  One of my sisters taught a little bit about what she'd learned in a lesson from Beth Moore's Mercy Triumphs study on the book of James.  We told her that she was going to be the next Beth Moore.

We did watched this one do crazy things like hoola hooping in Wal-Mart.

We cooked.  A lot.

We made awesome SoverM t-shirts using my Silhouette and freezer paper.  They turned out awesome, as you can see!  (Also found these shirts at Wal-Mart for around $5 each.)

My son got a much-needed haircut from his hairdresser auntie.

 The same auntie made something special for Hallie-girl's room. :)

And, of course, we hung out.  Talked.  Listened to music.  Watched Downton Abbey.  Instagram-ed (obviously). Talked some more.

And Gabriel and Hallie got to know their aunties better. <3

Happy March!

Happy March, y'all!

March is my favorite month -- birthday and wedding anniversary!

Yesterday, I made chocolate chip banana bread.

Gabriel and I ate about half a loaf together after it cooled a bit.  Oops!

On Sunday night, three of my sisters are flying in for a girls week.  I couldn't be more excited!  The last time we did this was like four years ago!

Look how young we are! :O

I've got lots of fun crafts planned for this month... so stay tuned! :)

Goals for the New Year

So my post is two weeks late.  I was out of town for Christmas/New Year's and am just now getting back into the swing of life at home.  Don't judge. ;)

Last year, my only resolution was a reading list.  I read most of the books on it, so I'm quite proud of myself.  I think the only one I haven't finished is Jane Eyre... mostly because we moved when I was half-way through and I just kept forgetting to pick it back up. :/ It will get finished eventually...

But Drew and I made a couples' resolution apart from any personal resolution that we might make on our own.  Stop arguing.  And I like to think we did a pretty good job with it.

We still have fights and, yes, even the occasional argument.  However, I like to think we've banished the argumentative spirit from our home.  It's been a process that hasn't been perfected yet, but we're still working on it.

We still disagree.  A lot.  But we have learned that there are better, more productive ways of resolving our conflicts.  We talk.  We try not to get upset or angry when we do.

I won't lie.  It's still hard.  We are argumentative people.  I know that I still get in moods where I disagree with everything that Drew says.  (Drew calls them "contrary moods.")  But we are working, striving.

And we are succeeding, slowly but surely. :)

This year, I've decided to set some goals for myself.  Not resolutions, mind you.  Goals. The difference?  Resolutions are vague and usually too lofty to achieve.  Goals... well, they're:

SO.  Here are a few of my 2012 Goals:
- Go 'poo free... for so many reasons.
- Read a daily devotional book for moms.
- Fully decorate my house.
- Blog more, starting with once a week!- Craft (with my new sewing machine and Silhouette Cameo)!  This is broken down into more specific goals in my head... like make clothes for my kids, make gifts for my family, make custom decor for my house, et cetera.

I probably have more, but I'm running out of time.  There is lunch to be made for my hungry boy!  More details on these goals and more to follow soon! :)

Christmas

Well, I'm alive... adjusting to having two little babies slowly but surely! :) I've been so blessed to have two very easygoing babies (although Gabriel is becoming less so as he gets older).  Hallie is already sleeping 7-8 hours at night!  I can't complain!

Gabriel loves his baby sister.  At first, he didn't really know what to think of her, so he basically ignored her.  But now he loves to give her hugs and kisses.  He also loves to steal her blankets and pacifiers. :| He tries to share everything with her, including his food and drink.  I've tried telling him repeatedly that she's too little or that she doesn't like it, but it hasn't sunk in yet.

When I'm not busy with one (or both) of my little munchkins, I've been attempting to get my house ready for Christmas.  I'm going for simple this year, mainly because of Hallie, but also because this is my first Christmas to actually be at home!  Drew and I have been traveling every Christmas.  So yeah, I practically have NO decorations.  I'm compiling ideas for next year, though!

This is our first year to put up a tree.  I'm quite pleased with the finished product, although it definitely needs more lights and ornaments before it's perfect.  Somehow I let Drew talk me into getting only two boxes of lights instead of the four that were in my cart.  And, wouldn't you know, I ordered on Amazon, so it wasn't like I could just go out and buy more. :|

Gabriel "helping" decorate.  I'm so glad I didn't buy glass ornaments!

I actually did almost all of my shopping online this year.  Whoever thought up Amazon is my HERO.  I'd much rather shop in my jammies from the comfort of my home than brave the crowds with two babies.  In addition, everything is delivered to my front door, rather than me having to lug it up three flights of stairs.  Win win!

Most of the gifts were delivered today... which means I get to start wrapping!  Yay!  Christmas wrapping is one of my favorite things to do!

Baby Girl

Little Miss Hallie Ruth is here!  Yay!

When my due date (November 4) passed with no excitement, I convinced myself that my baby girl would be a week late and would make her appearance on 11-11-11!

Thus, I was pretty surprised when I started having contractions at church on Sunday morning!  I didn't say anything to Drew until after the service because I didn't want to freak him out.  He's the type that would get all worried and be all, "Do we need to leave? I think we should leave!" :)

After church, I told him that I was having contractions, but for some reason it didn't register with him that I meant real ones (I'd been having regular Braxton Hicks for weeks).  Guess I shouldn't have worried!  When he finally realized that I thought labor had started, he reacted predictably.

Although my contractions were pretty irregular, we went ahead and called the midwife who recommended we come on in to the birth center.  Apparently with second babies, labor can pick up pretty quickly.  We arrived at the birth center around 3:30pm and Hallie was born that night at 10:48.

A few minutes old.

One day old.

Eleven days old.

So now, I'm a happy, busy, tired mommy of two precious munchkins. <3

Gabriel loves his sister!

Little Lion

We never celebrated Halloween growing up.  Oh, we'd buy the candy and hand it out to our neighborhood friends, but as for trick-or-treating and decorating our own home?  Nope.

I never felt deprived, though, as our church always had a harvest festival where dressing up was encouraged and tons of candy was given out.  Personally, I find that celebrating the harvest is much more to my taste than the creepy, spooky stuff.  But that's just me. ;)

Anyway, Drew and I haven't decided one way or the other if we're going to take our kids trick-or-treating.  He grew up doing it.  I didn't.  There has to be a compromise, right?

It hasn't been an issue yet, as both years Gabriel has been too young, so we've just taken him to our church's fall festival.  Dressed up, of course!

Last year, he was a monkey, and the cutest, cheekiest little monkey you ever did see!

This year, I knew I had to get him a lion suit.  After dogs, lions were the first animal he started recognizing.  One day last April, we were reading Dr. Seuss' ABC book and he happened to have a lion on his pajamas.  When we got to the L page -- "lion with a lollipop" -- he was all excited and pointed to the page, then to his jammies.  I was shocked that he'd made the connection.

Needless to say, when it came time to purchase the pillow pet, we got him a lion.  He LOVED it.

During the last few weeks, we've also been working on animal noises.  Shocker... after dog, lion was the first sound he made.  Out of the blue, he pointed to the lion on his high chair and said "rawr!"  (After at least a week of me making roaring noises whenever we saw pictures of lions.)  He was so obviously pleased with himself.

Now he will do puppy, lion, monkey, horse, and dinosaur.  Everything else just says "rawr."

Knowing that Halloween was coming up, I started looking for a little lion suit.  How ecstatic was I when I found one at Target?!  I had Gabriel with me and when he saw the picture of the little boy in the costume, he happily exclaimed, "rawr!"  Yay!

At first he wasn't too sure about actually wearing the costume, but after I put him in it a few times, he loved it.  Now whenever he sees it, he points and says "rawr!"  (Then he tries to cuddle it like his blankie, hehe!)

So here's a picture of my ferocious but lovable lion. ♥

 Wish I could say I took this picture, but I'd be lying.

This picture is currently the background of my phone and my desktop.  Every time Gabriel catches sight of it, guess what he does?

You got it:

"Rawr!"

Crafty Girl

Happy November, everyone!  It's hard to believe it's finally here -- the month I've been looking forward to since March!  Hallie Ruth is due in just THREE days.

Last week, I promised to share more crafts with you, so here they are!  My sister liked her birthday gift so much that I decided to make some for two more of my sisters who just celebrated their birthdays last week.  I've been itching to post about them, but once again had to wait until they were received!  Only downside to having your sisters read your blog. ;)

First up is for my baby sister, who turned 13 on October 24 (eek; still can't believe she's that old).

Kenzie is probably my most "Anne-ish" sister -- definitely a kindred spirit!  I couldn't resist using this quote.  Anyway, Kenzie has a cool zebra-themed room with purple and green accents, which inspired the color scheme.  I couldn't choose between the purple or green, so I went with both and I LOVE how it turned out!  I also picked a fun font that suited my sister's personality.  Yay for customizations!

Next up is for my oldest younger sister, who turned 22 on the 29th.

I have to admit that this is my favorite one I've made.  I didn't have a specific color scheme to follow, so I just went with what fit Destiny.  Her favorite color is purple, so I spent some time browsing in Michael's to find the perfect paper.  Everything just came together really nicely with this one. :)

I like these so much that I'm probably going to make myself some!  Gabriel and Hallie are probably going to be getting something with their names/meanings... as soon as I find the time to design them!

Click here to see where I link up!

Favorite Cool Weather Dish

I stepped outside today to head to my prenatal appointment and actually shivered!  Little Man and I were both wearing shorts and t-shirts.  A glance at my weather app confirmed that it was 55 degrees!  Woohoo!  I quickly went back inside to get Gabriel a jacket and change into some jeans.

In honor of this special day--the coldest we've had yet here--I've decided to share one of my family's favorite slow cooker recipes:  Beef Stroganoff.  Besides roast beef, this is probably the meal that Drew requests the most.  It's just perfect for a cold (or cool) day, although I shamelessly make this even in the hot summer months because it's just that good. ;)

Start with some basic beef stroganoff ingredients:  beef, mushrooms, onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, flour, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, and sour cream.

My recipe calls for actual steak, but I've found that stewing meat works just as well.  It's cheap and you don't have to spend time cutting it up.  Just dump it in the slow cooker and there you go!

Mix the flour, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper in a small bowl then dump it over the meat in the crock pot.

Now here's the fun part:  coating the meat in the flour mixture!  I'm probably the only one who actually enjoys handling raw beef or chicken (but don't get me started on pork--that's enough to make me want to turn vegetarian).  I just use my fingers to toss everything, but feel free to use some sort of utensil. ;)

All done!  Now wash your hands, regardless of whether you used them or a utensil. :)

Next, combine the onion soup mix, cream of mushroom soup, and some water in a bowl.  I usually just use the same one; I'm all about cutting down on dishes!

Pour it over the beef and add the mushrooms, stirring to combine.  I don't use my hands here!

Set your crockpot timer (or kitchen timer) for 3.5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low.  Then sit back, relax, and wait!  I always cook it on high, because I usually make it while Gabriel's sleeping.

About 15 minutes before the stroganoff is done, add the sour cream.  It'll turn into this creamy beefy color.  Yum!  (I always like to sample it a little here, too... just to make sure it turned out!)

Serve it over rice with a side of asparagus and you can't go wrong!  Just look at it!  (You're welcome to serve it over the egg noodles, which I did the very first time I made it.  My recipe calls for rice, however, so I tried it that way the second time and have never gone back.  So yummy!)

Hope you all enjoy!  And here's to hoping I can put my shorts away for good!

Click here to see where I link up!

Beef Stroganoff Recipe

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 3/4 pounds boneless beef steak (or stew meat)

10 3/4 ounce can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup water

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 package of mushrooms, washed

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley (optional)

1.  Combine flour, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl.

2.  Cut meat into strips (or use stew meat).  Place in slow cooker and toss in flour mixture.

3.  Combine mushroom soup, water, and onion soup mix in a small bowl.  Stir until well blended.  Pour over meat.

4.  Add mushrooms and toss until mixed.

5.  Cover and cook on High 3-3.5 hours or Low 6-7 hours.

6.  Stir in sour cream and parsley.  Cook on high 10-15 minutes.

7.  Serve over rice.

18 Days

Almost ready for little Hallie Ruth to make her appearance.

Been doing baby laundry for the last couple of days.  Love the smell of Dreft. ♥

Eeek... so much pink!!

Eighteen days until her due date!

Nesting Projects

I have a little over three weeks to go until my due date.

I'm freaking out a little.  Okay, a lot.

I still have so much to do to get ready for Hallie's arrival!  I'm also a little worried because I never really started "nesting" with Gabriel.  I mean, I did get a lot of projects accomplished in the last couple weeks before he was born, but it was more me forcing myself to get off my backside and do them than an urge and the inexplicable energy to get them done.

Now, with an active sixteen-month-old, I'm even less motivated.  Scary.

When we moved, we stuck all of our miscellaneous junk in the spare room closet... the closet that is supposed to be Hallie's.  This week, my number one project goal is to get it cleaned out and organized.  Lovely.

Gabriel's room looks like a hurricane blew through.  He's in the middle of outgrowing his 18-month clothes, so all his 2T stuff that just arrived from my mom is everywhere.  He's been getting dressed every day from the floor.  I need to run out and get some plastic bins to store his old clothes, but haven't found the time/energy yet.  On top of that, his closet is also disorganized. -sigh-

I need to wash all of Hallie's clothes and get them put away.  Easier said than done, as I don't have any drawer space for her yet.  Only so much baby stuff can be hung on hangers!  I also need to get her more clothes and blankets.  Gabriel had tons and tons of itty baby clothes and he went through all of them in those first couple of weeks.  Hallie has very few things, and most of them are sized 3 months!

Well, I should probably get to work.  I need to get groceries and get a load of laundry going.  I've entitled this post "Nesting Projects" in hopes that maybe I'll actually start nesting for real.  Ha.

Homemade Bread

My husband's favorite food is bread.  No, seriously.  A few years ago, he told me that his favorite part about Thanksgiving dinner is the rolls.  Rolls!  At Thanksgiving!  I promptly told him he was crazy.  I mean, I like bread and all, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's my favorite part of any meal, much less Thanksgiving.

Anyway.  Like I said a few posts ago, I've been starting to try more new things in the kitchen and I started with desserts.  Well.  Drew and I do not have the same tastes in desserts.  My first few attempts at surprising him when he got home from work were less than satisfactory.  Knowing that his favorite Christmas candy is his mom's toffee, I tried my hand at this recipe (which turned out amazing, by the way).

After eating a piece, he said:  "You know, I don't think I actually really like toffee.  I think it's more the idea that I only get it at Christmas that appeals to me."

Well, excuse me.  (Not that I minded so much.  I have proceeded to eat almost the whole batch myself.  He has only had one piece and that is fine with me.)

So desserts are pretty much out.  If I can't make something that both of us like, I might as well not make a lot.  I certainly don't need the extra sugar and I am not going to labor in the kitchen for sweets that I don't like!  If I wasn't almost nine months pregnant, I might consider it; right now, being on my feet long enough to make and clean up dinner is rough enough.

But enough of the backstory.  Last week, I got a craving for fresh homemade bread after seeing seeing this recipe on Pinterest.  I knew I had to make it.  It looked so easy and my poor KitchenAid mixer has been somewhat neglected in the last three years.  Yesterday, while my teething tyke was sleeping, I threw everything together in the mixer and happily watched it go.

The recipe says to mix for 7 minutes, but that was way too long.
Mine was done after only 4 and I think I over mixed it.

After letting it rise for an hour, I separated it and let it rise again.

Then, I brushed it with an egg mixture and sprinkled it with oats before baking it.  At this point, Gabriel woke up.  He was not amused that the bread was baking and not ready to eat.  He stood at the oven for about five minutes saying "Mmmm?  Mmmm!"

Meanwhile, the smell of fresh bread permeated my house and possibly the building.

It.  Was.  Heavenly.

After baking for about thirty minutes, I pulled the bread out of the oven and turned the loaves onto a wire rack for cooling.

Totally scrumptious-looking (and -smelling)!

I promptly texted my husband:  "You are in for a treat tonight!!!"

When he came home, he was ecstatic that I'd made him homemade bread.  He couldn't say enough about it.  Between the three of us, we polished off over half a loaf.  Drew and I both ruined our dinner... but we couldn't help ourselves!  The bread was so yummy that it was worth it!

And you know what?  The bread was my favorite part of the meal. :)

Gabriel and I had some for breakfast this morning.  I toasted it in the toaster and then spread butter and strawberry jelly on it.  It was insane.

I use paper plates for breakfast.  Don't judge.

This bread is probably going to become a weekly staple for me.  I'm definitely going to have to bake a few loaves to freeze so that I can enjoy it after Baby Girl gets here!

Melon Adventure

I love Wal-Mart.  A lot.

Growing up as one of nine kids, Wal-Mart was almost exclusively where my parents shopped.  I hate going into Tom Thumb and HEB to buy things that I know are cheaper elsewhere.  And let's face it, Wal-Mart is cheaper.

But one thing I have learned about shopping at Wal-Mart on my own the last three years:  they do not have great produce, especially fruit.  Produce is one of the few things that I sometimes purchase at smaller stores.

However, a few weeks ago, I was shopping and got a sudden craving for cantaloupe.  Little-known fact about me:  I could probably eat a whole cantaloupe in one sitting.  Just cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and I'll eat it with a spoon, using the rind as a bowl.  LOVE.  (Another little-known fact about me:  I'm actually allergic to melons.  My throat gets all itchy when I eat them, but I love them so much that I don't care.  Ha.)

Anyway, Wal-Mart happened to have cantaloupes on special, so I went ahead and bought one.

Best.  Decision.  Ever.

It was seriously the ripest, sweetest cantaloupe that I have ever tasted.  So, last week when doing my weekly shopping, I decided to try again.  Who knew?  Maybe I'd get lucky twice!

When I cut into it, I was ecstatic.

Look how ripe that is!

It's practically begging me to gobble it up!  Unfortunately (fortunately?), I have a little guy who loves melon as much as I do, so I had to share.

And really, who could resist that face?  (Don't let the shirt fool you... he's a fruit monster.)

Needless to say... I'll be buying cantaloupes at Wal-Mart more often!  Next time, however, I'll be taking Gabriel's shirt off before he eats.  Melon apparently stains.  Any suggestions for getting it out??

Tailor-Made

Well, as everyone can see, I have changed my blog look... again.  Sometimes I think I have too much fun with the template designer.  Ha.  This look, however, will be staying for a while... because it's symbolic of a shift in focus for my blog from mainly family/life posts to more artsy-craftsy stuff (although the family/life will probably not go away entirely).

Anyway, I'm super stoked to share with you the first official craft of Tailor-Made. :D I've been waiting since Monday, when I made it, to post about it.  It finally arrived at my sister's yesterday afternoon!  Yay!

Here it is:

Me and my four sisters are pretty much obsessed with Anne of Green Gables.  We watched it and Anne of Avonlea countless times on VHS growing up.  This past spring, I flew home for a week and we watched Green Gables and Avonlea again for the first time in years.  (Actually a funny story--the only VHS player available was in my brothers' room, so we all camped out on the floor... even my bros!)

In any case... we've all been kind of on an Anne kick since March, so my sister Destiny suggested getting Brianna something Anne-related for her birthday.  She sent me links to lots of Anne stuff on Etsy and told me B's favorite quote.  I actually found something that I liked and had it in my cart ready to buy when a thought hit me:  "I could totally make this.  I have Photoshop."  That idea basically took over my brain.

It's not nearly the quality that the one on Etsy, but there are definite bonuses to me making it myself.  1) I picked out the colors to match her room (white and brown with coral, which looks pink in the picture but it's not).  2) I was able to frame it myself for less than the cost of the print (score!). 3) I got to pick out my own font, which is a huge deal because I'm kind of obsessed with fonts.  And 4) I got the satisfaction of having made something myself!

Now, I know it's not perfect.  I wasn't sure exactly what kind of adhesive to use to stick the layers together and I think I made a poor choice as you can see the paper wrinkling.  It's also crooked.  But I choose to ignore those facets.  Or embrace them because it shows its handmadeness.  Or something. ;)  The next time I make one of these, I'll spend a little more time figuring out the logistics like adhesive and straight sticking before I start, haha.

For now, I'll just sit here and stare at the picture and feel proud of myself. :D

Click here to see where I link up!