Pumpkin cheesecake smoothie

Today being out of leftovers and all bread being in a frozen state, I threw a conglomerate of ingredients into the blender and served it for a quick lunch.  Three of four kids gobbled it up, which I consider a raging success.  One cup was surprisingly filling, and we had leftovers!

One 15 oz can pumpkin

1 brick cream cheese

1 cup powdered milk

1 cup ground flax

1 tsp cinnamin 

Sprinkling of ginger, nutmeg, and allspice 

1 tsp molasses 

1/2 cup (not packed) brown sugar

12 ice cubes

15 oz of water

Blend, pour, and enjoy!

Note, if you like your smoothies ice cold this won't suit your tastes.  We like ours just chilled in order to avoid the brain freeze factor.

Let me know if you try this, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Play silks

I alluded to the gift in my simple Christmas post that I was really excited for the kids.  Today I'm eaking out time (read: not cleaning the house) to show off a smattering of those silks.

The dream was born years ago when Abi was a tot playing with them at a friends house.  The price was prohibitive for us as Phil was still in college.  Through the years I would bring it up but they never made the cut.  I even looked into making mine own by dyeing with koolaid.  The process intimidated me and I decided that I didn't want them bad enough to try making them on my own.

This year my friend Hannah asked me about it.  Finally someone who understood my desire to have them without paying an arm and a leg for the premade  variety!  Hannah is something of an expert when it comes to fibers, so I knew we could do this together.  She did all the leg work learning the process and gathering supplies.  I came with my check and aided her in the project.  It was so lovely catching up, and the first hour and a half held a fun learning curve. Then we realized that we had probably bitten off more than we should chew for one day, but with the holidays rapidly approaching we didn't have a choice but to press on despite our empty tummies.  We survived the last ninety minutes and said the quickest goodbyes known between friends.

The end result was worth it as the silks have mottling color variations throughout.  Something that money can't buy.  Christmas morning held mixed reviews from the children.  Abi and Lizzi were less than thrilled in lieu of the gift bequeathed by their sibling.  Miles didn't like them, and Wesley was thrilled and immediately engaged in play.

Since Christmas, I have seen the silks transform into capes, cloaks, baby doll blankets and diapers, bonnets, skirts, and yes, even hair.  I'm sure there has been more that I haven't seen.  I love that silks are an open imagination you for all ages.  I even made some for the baby, because s/he will need them too!

If you're curious whether or not silks would be enjoyed by your kids all you need to do is set up a play date with mine to find out!

Pillow makeover

Abi was gifted a kids sewing project book for Christmas.  After flicking through it I saw an adorable pillowcase pattern.  I was totally inspired to create my own.  I have some sofa pillows that have seen many moons of fun under our sun.  As you can see they are pretty icky looking!

I found enough coordinating pieces from grandmas fabric stash.  A few hours later with some helpful input from Phil these delightful vintage modern shams have covered those eyesore pillows.

A fun way to ring in my new year, and now with the cold winter blast, the crafting fever has hit and I'm itching to start some more projects!

Happy creating in 2015 :)

Simple Christmas

This year I'm really excited for our little Christmas.  We are keeping it small and simple, much like the life we are living here in our country abode.  

Our move into a smaller home has really forced us to evaluate our possessions and consumer mentality.  In our old ginormous 2,800 sqft house we didn't really pay as much attention to what we brought in, there was always somewhere we could stick it.  When you have 1600 sqft to divide between a family of 6 nearly seven people intentionality is crucial.

So we opted to not put up our huge tree, partly because we didn't want to try and fit it in and partly because having a tree and toddler has never meshed well in our home.  Instead we bought a Norfolk pine house plant and tiny string of led lights.  It may be Charlie Brownish but we love it.  The kids had just as much fun decorating this one as they have in years past.  In fact it went better just because it was small, there was no waiting, and given its size the task held their interest with minimal squabbling over where to put great grandma Betty's beads and ornaments.  I'm also not sick from all the usual dust that accompanies Christmas decorations!

The kids begged to buy each other gifts this year.  After much discussion Phil and I decided that they needed to experience the joy of buying and giving.  However, we didn't want dollar store quality items invading our home if they all bought for everyone.  We opted to have them draw a name and select one quality gift.  Each sibling thus far has kept it a secret of who they drew.  Phil has taken each child out for some special one on one time and hasn't had to offer much assistance on the selection.  I'm choosing to be surprised at what each is giving, but it warms my heart to know they are putting great thought into the sibling name they drew.

I'll have to write later about what I made for the kids as sometimes Abi likes to pop on here and read my posts.  I can tell you this--it's something that I've wanted for them for years, and it spans all their ages, stimulates the imagination and can be played with as a group or singularly.

My hope is that however you and yours are celebrating Christmas that it is filled with as much joy and excited anticipation as our season is this year.

Merry Christmas friends!

Light night 2014

December 11 is a special day for Phil and I.  It commemorates our first date together.  As poor college kids we didn't have the funds to go out.  So dinner was served through our meal plan at the cafeteria.  Then since Phil hadn't planned anything other than hanging out watching tv, I made him drive me around to look at Christmas lights.  We've gone every year since then, braving sleep deprivation as brand new parents one year and a blizzard on another.

This year Phil surprised me with flowers.  He had the boys go down to the basement to help him With something.  A few minutes later he called us gals down.  When we got to the bottom each gent was holding a different colored carnation.  With earnest eyes Wesley looked at us and asked if we would go and look at the Christmas lights with them.  It was the most endearing thing ever.  The girls were oohing and ahhing over their flowers the boys were cheering that we said yes, and Phil came and kissed me.  It was one of those moments that you wished could have been captured on camera.

Thirteen years of dating such a wonderful man with hopefully many more to come!

Egg hunt

Today was an 'I feel great day'. The baby shifted which left moving easier for me sans round ligament pain.  I managed a walk that only left me slightly breathless instead of recouperating in the recliner.  Once we finished school I kicked us all out of the house.  Fifty degrees on a December day?  Crazy awesome!  Wanting to take advantage of the weather I decided to traipse through the forest.  My reason was threefold.  First, I wanted to move rather than sit after our school session.  Second, I wanted to see if I could find the bodies of our two missing chickens from the day that our dog's name was changed from Emmy to chicken killer.  Thankfully I didn't find any (was afraid I'd missed them and the chance to at least process them for the freezer), so I'm still guessing as to what happened.  Third, I was hoping to find some eggs.  Our latest birds were youngest case scenario six months old and still not laying.  This has been baffling me as our first hatchlings  started laying at four months and the second set at five months.  So to have birds that were at least six months old if not older and not producing was troublesome to me.  My efforts paid off as I found a well protected nest deep in the forest!  All counted there were fourteen eggs, and all of them passed the freshness test.

Now the mystery remains of how many of them are from the gals that were already laying and how many are from the 'newbies'.

Living room

I love having a formal living room.  Comfy seating surrounded by books and music. This room is quite possibly my favorite.  It is relaxing and peaceful.  If I'm not cooking, this space is where you will most likely find me.  Since it is where we all enjoy being, it happens to be the one that we invest the most time in keeping clean.  Which works out well for me if anyone happens to drop by unexpected. Of course being in the country that hasn't happened, but feel free to change that situation for me!

Meet the room that brings calm to my life in the midst of raising four children:

My seven dollar junk jaunt find.  It rocks, swivels, and reclines.  I sit here in the early mornings watching the sun come up snuggled under that quilt that my grandma made me. And if the littles haven't detected my presence I might even get to read a bit from the Word of God.  In the evenings if I'm lucky I can turn it to the window behind it and watch the sunset.

The eight foot tall bookcase we made together this fall.  Amazingly enough this isn't all the books we own, and that's after giving half of our collection to the library prior to the move.  This is the couch that we read on together under some of the favorite pictures that we've taken through the years.

This is the observation spot.  The large window looks out over our front porch.  From here we can watch the chickens antics, the combine roam the fields, and storms as they blow through.

This is probably the kids' favorite part of the room.  A mirror to dance to, and a table that caters to their imaginative play.

It might be a small room but it packs in a big punch to our daily lives!