Peach Pie and Whipped Cream

It is an ATK recipe. Look how it stays together. They drain the peaches and only use some of the juice to help it not be watery. That makes so much sense. I cut out some of the lemon juice because I find some of their recipes to be too lemony (I am looking at you blueberry pie). 

Look at this fun bowl one of my friends gave me for my birthday!! Isn't it great? It goes well with my vintage Pyrex pie plate. I love it. 

I made this pie to go to a friend's house tonight for dinner, but the second child has come down with a mysterious fever.  It is the only symptom and then it is gone in 24-48 hours. I don't know if it is better to be staggered or both be sick at the same time.  

Two for the puddles

The second son started jumping in puddles today. I guess we need another pair of rain boots. :) 

At first, when I had my camera out, he was a little timid. After 30 minutes he was splashing everywhere after his brother. 

We were soaked. One of our favorite activities today was dropping leaves in the gutter and watching them float away. Number two thought that was hilarious. 

On days like today I wish we lived on a nice peaceful court so that the boys could run and jump in the gutters. Cars go down our street so fast that it isn't a possibility. And the muddy driveway is only going to appease them for so long. 

Martin is a little over protective of The baby. A car was parking five houses down and he didn't want him anywhere close to the road. He is sweet. The baby didn't think so.

Frugal Things

1. I made Greek yogurt!! It is so easy. You just strain regular yogurt through a cheesecloth to drain the extra liquid. It reduced in size by half! So creamy! So delicious. 

2. I made a padded bag for my camera. Pictures coming in a future Friday post. 

3. I am wearing a hand-me-down maternity dress! It is super comfy!! 

4. I chopped up a bunch of tomatoes that were marked down at the produce stand because they had bad spots. Some went to Warnie, who likes to eat them plain. Some went in dinner last night, Feta Cheese Chicken. Some went in my Sunday dinner, baked ziti, that I already put together (bonus points! I don't like having to cook on Sunday). The rest I am taking to a friend's house for tacos!! 

5. I also bought peaches that were bruised and marked down. I made a jar of jam, that will be used to stir into Greek yogurt for Jared's lunches. I cut up a bunch and we ate them plain and in smoothies. :) 

6. I turned some old bread and rolls into garlic bread to go with dinner last night. 

7. I bought a bunch of clothes and old shoes from a friend. They are mostly play clothes. Some of them look pretty worn and have stains, but they are perfect for play clothes or blueberry picking clothes. This way I can save their nice t-shirts and shorts for special days and not worry about getting these clothes messy. 

I will try to post my blueberry buckle recipe early next week.  I am making one later today and I'll try to take pictures. 

Simplicity

I try to have just enough of everything around the house. When your house is small and storage space is at a minimum it makes you question what you really need.  I still keep way too much stuff. It is a constant battle. I have always been on the messy side. Jared wants to throw away half the stuff in our house. We balance each other out nicely. 

Here are a few examples on how I have saved space or gained space:

* One laundry basket 

* Three baby spoons (I just rinse them off when I am finished and put them in the drying rack)

* Three baby cups 

* Just enough silverware

* Four knives (a chef knife, a bread knife, two paring knives - note: I do have another chef knife, but it doesn't stay sharp and I never use it, I should donate it)

* Table over the stairs (Have I posted about my sewing table? I can't seem to find the post. Maybe that will be my next Friday post).
* Desk in our room 
* Boys' play closet
* We store the boys' too small, too big, and out-of-season clothes under their beds in plastic totes

Sometimes when I am changing the boys clothing size and season over this happens. Since we were away this weekend this sat in my room for over a week. I know. I know. I am trying to avoid situations like this... The point is that there is always work to be done. We will never be perfect, but it isn't an excuse to do nothing and not care.

Rain

Well, I was going to go blueberry picking this morning. They open at 8.  I need to start checking the weather in advance. 

June has been relaxed

We've been doing a lot of this. 

We have had many free nights at home this month. It has been wonderful. 

I can't figure out how to take a selfie of us taking reading. 

They can't capture all of us well. 

Happy Birthday to me!!

This is my happy early morning baby! Notice my braids coming out after I have slept on them all night. Good thing Jared has trained me to enjoy waking up by 6am because his children take after him. I used to be such a night owl until I married him. 

Today I turned 30 and started the third trimester of baby number three. I had three visitors and have eaten three cookies. :) Three is one of my favorite numbers. I have high hopes for my thirties, especially 33. 

Yesterday, my sweet friend Caitlin (www.morningjoy.co -- she actually does reviews of all the books she reads through the year -- which reminds me, I just finished my fifth book in June and I need to update my book list) made me these chocolate cookies with buckeye balls on top (I was trying to decide what kind of cake or cookies to make for my birthday, so these were especially exciting because I didn't have to make anything!!).  Chocolate peanut butter is one of my favorite combinations. They are amazing. I want to stuff my face with them, but they are so rich that I ends up only eating two yesterday and three today. And she came with a new book, which is always welcome around my house. 

My sister and her sweet little family brought me chick-fil-a breakfast and played with the boys for two hours. I was wonderful to see some of my family on my actual birthday. The rest of them live far away or are on vacation. 

And another dear sweet friend of mine brought me a balloon!! Which might not sound like a big deal, but I was thinking of buying myself one to celebrate. So, it was a huge surprise. :) 

My family sent me a gift, that was supposed to arrive today, but it is pouring down rain today and our mailman is funny about delivering anything in the rain. He sometimes just takes those days off. So, I am guessing it will come tomorrow. How exciting! 

Also, I made myself brown sugar salmon for dinner. :) It was delicious. 

A, B, C, D Presents

I was invited to a book themed baby shower recently.  When wrapping the presents I organized them by letters of the alphabet.  

A is for Apple (bib).

B is for Ball. 

C is for (outlet) covers (not pictured, but off the registry). 

D is for Doll. 

A note on the doll. When I have time this is going to be my go-to present (along with a large bib). I made a little cute monster doll for Martin when he was a baby.  It had long thin legs and an arm.  He loved chewing on the legs when he was teething.  The baby enjoyed it as well.  I made one for my sister for her shower. Her daughter loves it as well.  

This is the other side of the bib. Note that I used snaps. :) I have gone ahead and replaced all my velcro bibs with snaps. The baby is sneaky and has been able to take velcro bibs off from a young age. 

And here are the packages wrapped. We don't own anything, but Christmas paper around here.

Blueberries

I went to pick blueberries today because it wasn't supposed to rain until ten. :( It started to pour as soon as we arrived. 

We sat in the car for 30 minutes and watched it rain. Blueberries were so close, but yet so far away. We finally gave up and drove to visit GC. So, the trip wasn't a complete waste. 

My breakfasts consist of blueberries, yogurt, and granola for most of the summer. It is my favorite breakfast. So good. And I made this blueberry buckle yesterday and it is amazing. 

Air Force Base Breakfast

My little sister flies around a lot for her job. She flew in to a base that is about 90 minutes from our house and was there for the breakfast hours. So, we woke up a bit earlier, loaded the boys up, picked up my parent's van (they were out of town and not using it), picked up my other sister and her daughter, and drove up to pick up my little sister for breakfast. We went to Chick-fil-A. 

And there was no on else in the play area, so I let them play. 

The baby taught Martin how to go down the slide. 

And then he didn't stop going down the slide. :) 

It was a busy day. We spent the afternoon playing drums and swimming in the pool at Aunt Anna's. Then Jared and I went to a friend's birthday dinner and the boys played at their Grandparent's house. The boys were exhausted by bedtime. 

We are very grateful for all our family! We love spending time with them. I didn't have any cousins close to my age or living close by when I was growing up. Three of my grandparents died before I was 7. It has been fun to see my children interacting with their grandparents and cousins. 

Guitar Strap

I had originally tied a ribbon around the "guitar" because I didn't think it would last.  After, several months of this being a favorite "toy" I decided it was time for an upgrade. Seriously, who would imagine that the bottom of the refrigerator would be fought over! It is played almost every night when we sing hymns after the Bible story.  

My mother-in-law let me borrow her snap tool (and I invested in over 2000 snaps to fix my diapers). So, I have been looking for ways to use them. I quickly sewed this strap from my most boyish fabric.  It is adjustable so that it can fit both boys as they grow.  It also comes apart in the middle as a safety feature.  

They both love it! Oh, the simple things of life. These two constantly remind me to enjoy every little thing. God has richly blessed us with many things that we take for granted.

My siblings will be happy to know...

That I have updated the pictures in my kitchen. I know you will appreciate that the goofy April fools photos are finally gone. 

Out with the old, younger versions of ourselves. 

In with the photos from Christmas.

 It was so good to see all of you at one time. I love you all dearly!! 

Book update

I may have only finished one book in May (and that was read on the 30th and 31st). Thanks to a hold at the library for the newest David McCullough book on the Wright brothers. It was excellent. That brought me to 16 books for the year. 

June is already shaping up to be at least a three book month. 

I just finished The Jews in Berlin and Bringing the Gospel to Covenent Children (by Joel Beeke - will probably be the best book I read all year and one I read at least once a year from now on). I hope to write a longer review of the Beeke book once I finish Shepherding a Child's Heart (which I have been in the middle of for over a year). The Beeke book is way more consice. He fit in more material almost a third of the pages. I appreciate that. 

I was pondering what to read next when this showed up. Happy early birthday to me from my parents!!! I am pretty excited about this one. It might set me off on a missionary biography spree. :) 

I already finished my meal for tomorrow. So, off I go to start my new book!!! 

This Is Not My Place of Resting

I fight the feeling of wanted peace and knowing this is not my home. I am not promised comfort here.  The older I grow, the more I understand the verse about all of creation groaning, waiting to be made new.  This song is off the new igrace album. It is amazing. It inspires me to put more energy into kingdom matters. This life is so quickly over.  What am I spending my life on?

This is not my place of resting,
Mine’s a city yet to come;
Onward to it I am hasting,
On to my eternal home.

Refrain:
Beautiful home, oh, may we come
Safe to its fields of fadeless day;
Where every trace of sin’s dark story,
All the curse hath passed away.

In it all is light and glory,
O’er it all a nightless day;
Every trace of sin’s sad story,
All the curse hath passed away. [Refrain]

Soon we pass this desert dreary,
Soon we bid farewell to pain;
Never more are sad and weary,
Never, never sin again. [Refrain]

A funny mistake

On my meal plan for Thursday I wrote down hamburgers on the grill with sweet potato fries and broccoli from my parent's garden. However, hamburger meat was cheaper in the 3lb container than the 1lb. So, I bought the 3lb and changed my meal plans a little bit. 

Yesterday, I worked in the kitchen making  three meals at once:

1. The hamburger patties 

2. Sloppy Joes

3. A new ATK recipe - Cuban something (it has a bunch of spices and raisins in it)

I decided to warm up the Cuban dish for dinner and serve it with black beans and rice. I even tried some when it was finished. I thought it was quite good. It reminds me of Chrsitmas chili. 

The phone rang right before Jared came home. He had to rush off to have his hair cut. So, I pulled out the containers from the refrigerator while I was still on the phone. I warmed the boys both up some and let Jared dish up his own. **

Everyone ate it. But when I asked Jared later what he thought of the new recipe, he replied that is seemed bland. That seemed odd to me because it had a lot of spice in it, but made a mental note not to make it again. 

Fast forward to lunch today. I went to warm up the sloppy joes for the boys and I for lunch. And it struck me, I had pulled out the sloppy joes to go with the beans and rice last night!! No wonder the food tasted bland. Ha ha ha. I opened up the other container and sure enough, there was nothing taken out of the Cuban dish; it was all still there. 

I guess the lesson is to pay attention when you are on the phone. And don't put the two dishes right next to each other. The thing that kills me is that I DISHED UP THE BOYS FOOD.  I can't believe I didn't notice. Oh well, Jared will have to try the new dish tonight. Too funny. 

**You may wonder why I didn't eat with everyone else... I did, but the new baby doesn't like huge meals or garlic or spicy foods at night. So, I ate, but it was an apple with peanut butter. :)