Hot Chocolate & Peppermind Marshmallows

Another year of homemade gifts. This year's projects included an especially delicious treat. Homemade Peppermint Marshmallows and Hot Chocolate on a Stick! This year, a group of girls I had coffee with were talking about gift giving. And so we made a plan together to make food gifts together. It was a blast! We scoured the internet (thank you pinterest) and thought peppermint marshmallows and hot chocolate on a stick sounded like a fun combination. (We used recipes on the above links above, but increased the sugar in the hot chocolate, and decreased peppermint in the marshmallows.) If you plan to make these one day, let me know. It was a pretty big project, and I have some tips I could share with you!Cutting, Dipping in extra chocolate, getting ready for their packages!My list of recipients is growing - More teachers, more neighbors, more relatives, more friends! And I packaged these up several ways for a variety of recipients.

Thankfully, I found these free downloadable labels online too! Hooray!

Here are 2 other cute packaging ideas if you decide to try this on your own! Here and here.

Snowman Milk

Here's a project that I found on the internet, which claimed to be "quick" and "easy." That's partially true, if you don't exclude all the time it takes gathering all of the supplies! This took much longer than necessary. But it turned out super-cute, I think! If you decide to give this a try, here's what you'll need:
Here are the supplies (because it took me a while to get this figured out.)
-Milk Bottles (or Starbucks Frappucino bottles, with labels removed by Goo B Gone or Turpentine)
-Orange Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds (I called around, and got the last pack from my local TJ Maxx!)
-Icing to affix the "nose" to the "face"
-Chocolate Nonpariels (only works if you use a thick cakelike donut)or a Edible Pen (works for airy or cakey donut)
-Powdered Donut Holes (this was a toughie! I went to 10 locations looking for the right ones. They were either not covered with enough sugar, irregular in size, too small for the bottles, or would not work with the sprinkles) If you are in Middle TN, Fox's Donut Den makes the only ones that will fit.
-Straw & Milk
-Felt for Scarf (the craft-sized felt is too short. Must buy yardage at your local fabric/craft store)
-Buttons & Glue Dots (or with Hot Glue, or stickers, etc.)
-Egg Carton for transporting donuts

Family Photos

We got our family photos back a few weeks ago from photographer Tec Petaja. Wow - he captured some amazing shots! Click here to see the highlights!

Thanksgiving Table

Some more fun projects I made, based on stuff I found on pinterest! Pilgim Boats, made from felt, craft foam & a straw!The kids table placemats. A free download from here. I had them printed at my local Kinko's, since it is larger than a 8-1/2 x 11 format.

Trick or Treat Bags

This is a late post...but I decided to make some more trick-or-treat bags for my other kids. One kid always had a cute one, while the other had a grocery sack! So I finally bought some felt to make 3 other bags. The one in the back is the original. Lance & the kids designed the faces (can you tell which is Ethan's and which is Katie Belle's?), while I made them into bags. I haven't finished the upcoming new baby's bag, but I think that at 7 months old, she's not going to be needing any candy anyway! Now they are stored away, ready for next Halloween!

Snowman Handprint Ornament

Are you on pinterest yet? It's a treasure trove of great ideas! A friend & I just completed these snowman ornaments for Katie Belle's 3 year old class Christmas party! Kristen each child's handprints this morning, and I made the snowmen! Here was the original idea on pinterest. (Details: A dozen frosted glass ornaments for $5 from Hobby Lobby!

Homemade Gifts of Past years

I'm looking forward to another year of homemade gifts! Mine have partially been made, although not completed. Of course I'll share with you in January! But here are some things I have put together in the past. Last year I made Homemade Vanilla, Blueberry Preserves and a Fabric tote. For a run-down on how-to's, click here for my post from last year.Handmade coasters, soup mix, cornbread mix & granola bars. Find even more of my past gifts, including granola, notecards and other past gifts we've received here: 2009 Gifts, 2008 Gifts, Other received gifts.

It's a Girl!!!

Having family photos made at 20 weeks pregnant was not the most pleasant experience. It took me ages to figure out what I was going to wear. BUT...on the upside, this photo was taken on the day that marked my 20th week of pregnancy. AND on the date of my 9 year anniversary! I will post more later, but wanted to share this fun moment. A big thanks to my sister-in-law, Renee, for filling the box full of balloons!!! (photo taken by tec petaja).

12 Months of Jewell!

Wow. My baby is 13 months, and gearing up to be a big sister! I had fun with the 12 months of stickers. But can I do it again with baby #4? I don't know if I have it in me!!! What was probably the best thing about the stickers is that it forced me to document a baby who has very few photos otherwise!!! What fun we had making faces at each other as I took the pictures. Although the past year was a blur, I remember every one of these days. Enjoy some smiling baby photos! 4 Months: Found those fingers!5 Months: Rolling all around, playing with her feet and her hands, staring at her fingers, and laughing out loud! 6 Months: Drooling, drooling, drooling! Sitting Up7 Months: Army Crawl, Everything in her mouth, mad when toys get taken away and wiggling, wiggling, wiggling! 8 Months: Everywhere! Crawling, pulling up, becoming acquainted with the first 3 stair steps, obsessed with anything crinkly, shiny or off-limits, squirming, blabbering, slobbering & putting everything in her mouth. 9 Months: Moving non-stop! Crawling, Cruising, Pulling Up, Loves to try to eat paper, has accepted that whole "teething thing" like a champ, loves to just watch and laugh at her brother & sister, & eats cheerios like they're going out of style. She hasn't conquered our stairs yet (which KB climbed at 8 months). Has a shiny tooth!10 Months: Saying Bye bye, happy, mama, dada, bible, and hi. She is nodding, shaking her head, standing, crawling up stairs, and has 4 teeth coming in. Has taken a few steps11 Months: Completely walking...I mean running...all over the place!12 Months: Loves books, puzzles, now also says "uh oh" "all done" and "no." Loves gibberish and mimicks noises. Eats steel cut oats with applesauce for breakfast.

Parade of Bible Characters

A few weeks ago, our kids participated in our church's "Parade of Bible Characters." The kids had a blast dressing up and sharing their clues. Katie Belle's costume idea came from Martha. Can you guess who they were?

Katie Belle's Clues (written by my dad)

The Philistines are coming, King Saul is afraid,
He wants God to help him But mistakes Saul has made.
Since Yahweh has left him, Saul goes to a witch
She calls forth Samuel, Who prophesies a switch
To a righteous new King, and Saul's sons will die
In the battle tomorrow, And she did not lie.
So sadly Saul left her, He wouldn't even eat
She was right about tomorrow, Israel would be beat.
WHO AM I?

Ethan's Clues (written by me)

Jesse's my pop & 7 brothers have I. I left my sheep and arrived to hear a war cry.
You think I'm too young, but didn't you hear? I killed a lion and even a bear.
"We are the Champions" no more he will sing. Because I killed him with only a sling. WHO AM I?

2 of My Favorite Things

#1: Clementines. These are beautifully in season right now. I have to cut my kids off at 4 at a sitting. The other favorite thing: The little bags they come in. For years, this type of bag ended up in the trash! Then, I read how they can be used for scrubbing dishes. BRILLIANT! They work wonderfully, and then you just toss after you use! Do you know this trick? Or am I just late to the party????

Jewell and Me

Do you see similarities?

20 Weeks - It's a Girl!!!

We're shocked & excited!!! I was certain it was a boy. Things will be pretty pink & princessy around here, but tons of sweetness to go around!

Halloween

Like I said, the days are running together these days. Life has been a blur, and trying to squeeze in a nap or 2 here and there. Lance has traveled to Yosemite and Haiti in recent weeks, and I have a growing STACK of papers that I need to attend to on my kitchen counter. Some days, I want to add a few more hours to the day, and then I think..."WHAT? That would be crazy...I'm ready for bed." So, enough of the chit chat. I might post pictures of some of the other things I'm in the midst of. But right now, here are a few pictures from our church's trunk-or-treat.

Our church small group, pictured below. Dr. Brock, Bumblebee Girl and Iron Man!

CSA 2011, October 30

I can't even keep my days straight anymore, so I've lost count of what week of CSA we're on. But here's a picture of today's harvest. About this time of year, I'm ready for the CSA to be OVER. I think a few more weeks!

Jewell is ONE!

Our little sweetie had a birthday! Time flies...And pretty soon we will be welcoming baby #4!

On Motherhood

Perhaps it’s just part of the growing up process, but I had a lot of complaints growing up. My parents were old. We didn’t have a tv. There was never any food in the house. And I never got the toys I wanted. My mother was always so religious. Sure, that’s a simplification. And some of these thoughts weren't that accurate either. But it’s the way I saw it. But in retrospect, those are some of my favorite parts of my upbringing.

Yes, my parents were older than some other parents. But that gave me a perspective that others didn’t have. My mom taught me how to conserve water, how to think about other uses for things before they hit the trash can, she taught me about manners, how to look for the little rocks that show up sometimes in bags of dried beans, and other things that I considered “old fashioned.”

Not knowing what happened on the latest “Full House” or “Blossom” was torture on this preteen, but I was forced to be creative. I played with Fimo, I made up games, I played captured princess outside.

My Easter basket had carob bunnies in it. I brought a avocado & sprout sandwich for school lunch. For dinner, I ate lettuce wedges topped with Nan’s Homemade Ranch (anyone jealous that I know the recipe?). I did like the food, but completely rebelled while not at home. I raided my friends’ pantries when I visited their homes. But I learned what foods were good fuel for my body, and returned to my mother’s way of eating.

I so badly wanted that Easy Bake Oven, but things were simple around our house. I had toys, but I honestly don’t remember many.

My mother knows the Bible like the back of her hand. She spends hours soaking it in. As a kid, I felt the “lessons” would go on far too long. But now, I find myself hoping that one day God’s word so effortlessly flows from my tongue as it does hers.

Now as a parent, I hope I can be the kind of mother that my mom was. So often we hear, “You are just like your mother,” in a voice that’s condescending and insulting. But I strive to be the type of mother she was for me. I love you mom!

What’s your favorite thing about your mom...especially things you failed to appreciate when you were younger?

Gentry Farm

Another wonderful year at Gentry's Farm! I love this place. If you have young kids, and live in the area, you must check it out!!!

CSA 2011, Fall

Well, blogging has taken a back seat to...life. I still do enjoy blogging, but it has been on the backburner in recent days. So, here is ONE of the weeks from this fall. We have been eating lots of stuffed acorn squash these days. And when I don't get around to it, they make great fall table decor!

11 Months

1st of all...Do I need a new header or what? I meant to change that header about a week after I put it up, but never did because I didn't know what to use in its place! Anyone want to make me a header? Feel free to offer your services!!! Anyway...Jewell is 11 months and counting! We had a good start to the photos, but it quickly turned into a little bit of this: Followed by a little of this: And away she goes!