Stuffed Shells

He was eating blueberries in this picture. They are his favorite. We have been picking twice so far in 8 days. Both times we came home with two buckets. Oh, and he brought his hat to me and asked me to put it in him. Jared and he have matching sock monkey hats. 

He also ate diaper cream today while I was in the bathroom. Who knew he was tall enough to reach in his changing table drawers? Thankfully, he only ate a bit and hasn't shown any signs of problems.  What a baby. He also learned to climb on furniture this week.  Life is becoming so fun! 

Today I thought, stuffed shells would be really good. I have tried several recipes, but none of them have been my favorite. I tried a version from America's Test Kitchen today (surprise surprise) and loved them!! The fresh basil is definitely a must.  I picked mine from my yard (woohoo, for fresh herbs). Also, I cut the garlic way back because my babies never like garlic. The real recipe calls for 3 cloves and I put in 1/2 a clove. 

Note: I didn't measure everything perfectly, so don't feel like you have to measure exact amounts. I grated about 8 oz of cheese, but it could have been a bit more or less. I had a partial can of diced tomatoes leftover from another recipe and I used that with some water for the sauce.  

Sauce Ingredients

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 T olive oil

1/2 garlic clove

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

2 T fresh basil chopped 

Filling ingredients

1-1/2 pounds (3 cups) ricotta

8 oz (2 cups) mozzarella shredded

4 oz Parmesan (2 cups)

2 large eggs

2 T chopped basil

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

30 shells or 16 lasagna noodles cooked

(ATK suggests putting filling on the lasagna noodles and rolling the noodles up - this was originally a recipe for manicotti and they found it was easier than stuffing the tubes)

1. Pulse tomatoes and juice in blender or food processor until smooth (or coarsely chopped if you like bits of tomato - I don't). 

2. Heat olive oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in pan about a minute. Add tomatoes and a dash of salt. Cook until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil and salt to taste. 

3. Combine all filling ingredients. 

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1-1/2 cup sauce in bottom of pan. Spread cheese in the shells. Place shells in pan. Pour extra sauce on top. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. 

Note: I sprinkle extra mozzarella over the top, they suggest to sprinkle Parmesan and then broil it at the end to get it nice and melted. 

I don't know why these pictures are blurry when I upload them sometimes.  I have posted the picture of Martin to make up for it. Ha ha. 

Happy birthday, me (in 7 days)!!

I love vintage Pyrex!!  My siblings gave me the multicolored bowls for Christmas a few years ago. They sit in my counter holding my fruit and I also use them to bake with. I bought a flamingo pink pie plate on my honeymoon in Maine. It had faded a bit and it more of a light pink now. Today I found one that has little wear and is very close to the true original color!!  I saw it. Then I walked around downtown Salisbury for an hour thinking about if I really needed a 4th pie plate. 

I decided I do. I am also considering that glass cover pink baking dish in the top right stack.  :). I wish I had a china cabinet to display my pretty vintage Pyrex and my polish pottery.  I sure do love polish pottery too. I have five pieces and my favorite is a square baking/serving dish my sister gave me for my birthday last year. Someday I hope to have a collection of pieces like my Aunt Suzanne does. 

Martin is getting a brother. Hooray!!! More building and destroying are in my future. We are going to have so much fun together. :) I hope they are great friends the rest of their life. 

Doodle by Sarah. I will have to save the girl picture for another baby. 

Crepes (Swedish Pancakes) and some random baby thoughts

This is a recipe from Jared's mother. She makes them almost every Christmas. They are so good. We had breakfast for dinner on Tuesday, with the last of the strawberries. 

Today for lunch I filled the two leftover crepes with fresh blueberries and topped them with the last bit of whipped cream.  

Martin and I went blueberry picking yesterday and have been stuffing our faces with blueberries ever since. He might like blueberries as much as i do. They were his first food and I consistently ate them when I was 6-16 weeks pregnant with him. 

I suggest eating these plain, but you can also make crepes and stuff them with plain blueberries or a blueberry sauce or jam. Yum. 

Swedish pancakes (crepes)

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Add the milk and egg. Whisk. I find the batter to be too thick and end up adding 1/4-1/2 cup water or milk to thin it out. 

Heat a pan over med/high. Add butter. Swirl pan to coat the whole thing. Add 1/4-1/3 cup batter and swirl pan to evenly coat. Place back on stove. Cook 1-3 minutes on the first side. Flip (you might burn your thumbs doing this, but it is worth it). Cook about 30 seconds in the second side. You want it to have brown spots, but not too crispy or it won't roll. 

Expect the first one to never turn out. You can eat the scraps. :) Also, expect a few others to stick and rip when you flip them. Eat them too (or feed them to your children). 

Makes about ten. I often double or triple this recipe when serving more than Jared and me. 

We even have a Swedish pancake flag in our house. Cindy made this for us for Christmas two years ago. It hangs in Martin's room. 

Funny Swedish story: my mother-in-law was supposed to be named Wendy, but her Swedish grandfather couldn't pronounce it. So they named her Cindy, but he called her Tindy because he couldn't pronounce Cindy either. :) 

I guess I can claim to love Ikea and Swedish things because my husband and children are part Swedish. Ha ha. Wouldn't it be funny if my German and Jared's Swedish genes got together and had a little blond-haired and blue-eyed child? 

We find out the gender of baby Shelton today. I want both a girl and a boy. So I will sad and excited either way. I really want Martin to have a brother, but I want to have a girl so I can braid her hair and make her clothes. Three hours until we find out. God knows exactly what we need and I can trust Him. Isn't that great to know? What a comfort. 

No nap

This is what happens when the baby doesn't take a nap. 

Martin rarely falls asleep in the car, but on the way home from church last night he did. He didn't even wake up when we took him out of his seat and carried him into the house. He woke up briefly when Jared changed him into his pajamas.  He looked up, as if to say, "where am I? Who are you?" As soon as he was in his crib he fell back to sleep. I love him. 

Wedding Cake

Happy fifth anniversary, Jared... In one month and one day. It has been an amazing five years. 

Photo by my friend Becca from college

Sunday I made my wedding cake recipe. I ran short of cream and so the icing was a simple cream cheese frosting instead of having the whipped cream folded into it, but it was still good. 

Toppings of butterfingers and peanuts

The ganoche was a bit on the soft side. Our wedding cake had a more fudgy consistency, but this was still good. I will have to okay with it to find out what I did wrong. 

Copy of recipe of my wedding cake from Jared's mother. :) We also served peach cobbler (Jared's favorite) and brownies (for the kids). 

Cake Ingredients

10 T butter

1/2 c. Peanut butter

2 c. Brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2-1/2 c. Flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 c. Buttermilk

Icing ingredients

12 oz. cream cheese

6 T butter 

1 tsp. vanilla

2 c. Powdered sugar, divided

3/4 c. Heavy whipping cream

2 butterfingers

1/3 c. Chopped honey roasted peanuts or regular peanuts

Ganoche ingredients

2-1/4 c. Heavy whipping cream

1/2 c. Brown sugar

12 oz bittersweet or semisweet chopped chocolate

1/2 c. Peanut butter

Hint: make the ganoche first so it has time to cook down and set while the cake is cooking and cooling. 

For ganoche filling: bring cream and sugar to boil.  Boil 1-2 minutes until sugar is disolved. Pour over chocolate and peanut butter. Chill until mixture achieve a spreadable consistency. 

For cakes: Grease and flour three 9" round pans. 

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Combine  dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture alternatively with buttermilk. 

Pour into pans and bake at 350' for 17-20 minutes (I pulled mine out at 24 minutes because I was afraid of burning them and they ended up being a bit undercooked - I think my oven is cooler than most). Cool for 10 minutes and remove to wire rack. 

For icing: beat cream cheese and butter until blended. Add vanilla. Beat in 1-1/4 c. Powdered sugar until light and fluffy. In seperate bowl beat cream and remaining powdered sugar until stuff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. 

For cake assembly: if cakes are uneven, take a break knife and slice off some of the top (if pieces if cake stuck to your pan, you can use these extra pieces to fill in any holes, trust me, it works great and in makes the surfaces of the cakes smoother). Spread chocolate filling between cake layers (I put mine on top too). Frost top and sides. Sprinkle with crushed butterfingers and chopped peanuts. 

Enjoy. 

 

Photo by my Dad (it is one of my favorites.  I love that we are all laughing). 

Photo credit Anna. I have this blown up in color on a canvas in my sewing room. I loved my wedding do much. It was a giant party/picnic in my backyard. I loved that everyone came casually dressed and  could relax and play games out in the field. We had ladder ball, volleyball, soccer, corn hole, and an obstacle bounce house for the kids (and adults). We also had a candy table, which I never even saw. I love my reception. I was able to visit with people that had travelled to my wedding and relax.  It was wonderful. Thank you to everyone that made it special. 

Photo by Anna. This was our first dance. We came down the back porch stairs, danced our first dance, and then ate food!!! We had pulled pork, ham, sweet potato biscuits, fried chicken, etc. It was AMAZING!!! 

Photos and a Project

This post was supposed to upload Thursday. The blogger app fails to post sometime. Since it didn't load, I will give you an update on the csa foods. We had chicken fajita salads two night, I sautéed the turnips in brown butter and brown sugar, and have made two spinach smoothies so far. I haven't used the kale or the escarole. I am probably going to trying baking them in a casserole topped with bread crumbs and cheese. :)

Wednesday is CSA day (or Thursday could be if we were busy on Wednesday). It looks like we will be eating a lot of lettuce, kale, and spinach (not included in picture). 

I tried to grill my turnips last week, but I burnt them. We will see what happens this week. 

We went over to my parents house for dinner on Wednesday and for homemade strawberry ice cream. I made strawberry pretzel salad with double the strawberries. I will type the recipe in later. But I posted a picture of the recipe. 

 As you can see, I don't follow recipes perfectly. I make lots of modifications. I cut down the water because when you pour hot water on strawberries it causes them to release juice and then the jello doesn't set properly. I also like less sugar and butter and more pretzels in the crust. 

Homemade strawberry ice cream in homemade waffle comes. I don't like hot weather, but if it brings fresh fruit and homemade ice cream, it is bearable. 

And I made a tote bag to carry produce in for my friend that is splitting my csa box with me. It is color blocked pink and blue. 

And has a reversible lining for the fall (since our csa runs through December). 

I thought the bag looked a little boring. So I screenprinted her name on it. 

BUT I made a juvenile error and forgot to put cardboard in the middle and the ink bleed through the bag. Agr. So, I gave it to her anyway, but I was so mad at myself for doing something so silly. Oh well. It can still hold produce. 

Have you been working on anything lately? I have been working on two maternity shirts. I will post pictures if I ever get them to a stage I like. I think at least one of them will make it into my closet. 

Cloth diapers

This could also be titled, Why I am okay that my diapers don't look perfect anymore. 

For the first year of Martin's life my diapers always looked perfect. They could have been an ad for BumGenius at anytime. 

Then one day he found out that they were fun to play with and the neatness was over. The first few times he pulled them all out, I folded them all back in placed and stacked them in piles. 

Now this, see picture, is almost a daily occurrence. After my shower this morning, I found him in his room, laughing, as he pulled out his diapers and shook them around like flags. Today he took great pleasure also in piling the diapers on me, as I lay on the floor and tried to read to him. He laughed and laughed. He also had found his diaper pail (it is hiding behind that open cupboard door in the picture) and he puts clean diapers in with the dirty ones. If all of that wasn't enough, he knows that the reusable liners go in the pail. So, whenever I take one liner out to go wash it, he puts the new liner in the pail before I come back to his room. The only problem is he can't get the elastic around the top. Oh well. I keep explaining how to stuff the diapers so that one day, hopefully, he can pitch in and help me stuff them for future siblings. 

But all of this is fine with me. I don't care that his diapers are all over the floor and that I have to pick them up several times a day. It means that he doesn't need entertaining and that he is using his imagination to do something. I feel the same way when he plays with pots and pans in the kitchen or pulls cans and bottles out of a cupboard. I love when he plays with an empty spice container and learns how to take the lid off and on. I am happy that he explores and figures things out, even if it means little messes that we clean up together all day long. I would much rather let him have adventures then give him an iPad.  He doesn't need that right now. There will come a time when that will be useful, but not now. 

It is more work for me, but I love that he loves learning. I hope to spend the rest of my life fostering a sense of lifelong learning and adventure. I don't want to ever be annoyed at his constant questions. I want to encourage them. We will see how this goes, but so far, pull out the diapers and help me put away the dishwasher and your clothes. It will take thrice as long, but I love it. Keep exploring Martin!! I love you and your busy self. 

Ps. Bring on the crayons and paint.  Ha ha ha. I think I will keep the play dough hidden for a while longer. I am not ready for that yet. 

Pretty Things

I am going to make these baskets for the kid's playroom. I have more heavy ikea fabric that matches the pillows I made a few weeks ago. 

I don't know if I love these because they are pretty or because they are polka dots. :) my crib sheets are holding up well. I bought four on the clearance rack at target and have only ever used two of them. However, if they ever do need to be replaced, here is a great tutorial. Or maybe I will make these as baby shower gifts. I have some old vintage sheets that I want to turn into sweet baby girl crib sheets. 

http://www.sew4home.com/projects/bed-linens/little-sunshine-fleece-fitted-crib-sheet

I love the remake of these folding chairs.  If I ever see old folding chairs at a yardsale or goodwill, I will do this. 

http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/cutting-corners/2014/04/28/springtime-folding-chair-makeover/

If I am having a girl (we find out in 11 days), this is on my list of dresses to make. I would sew up the back though. 

http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/2014/04/sunny-days-sundress-tutorial.html?m=1

If it is a boy... How adorable is this? I will have to turn some of Martin's old onsies into these.  I love them. 

http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2014/04/baby-boy-cardigan-onesie-with-interchangeable-bowties.html

I want to try to make this dress. 

http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-anna-dress-with-elastic-waist.html?m=1

And this coat:

http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/2014/01/mr-postman-jacket-free-pdf-pattern.html?m=1

And I have been wanting to make Martin a vest. Maybe I will use this pattern. 

http://mama-says-sew.blogspot.com/2013/07/boys-vest-tutorial.html?m=1

Memorial Day Weekend

Jared and I don't really like the beach. We would much rather hike in the mountains somewhere or sit under a shady tree and read a book. However, we do enjoy spending time with our family, especially down in Lewes and when it is only 70 degrees outside. :)

Saturday was my perfect beach day. It was sunny, but not hot.  And the water wasn't too cold. Also, the beach was quite empty and it was relaxing. After and before the beach, we were well taken care of and fed lots of good food, including Grottos Pizza!! 

Even though his mom and dad don't like the beach, someone in our family really does enjoy the beach. We built Martin several sand forts so he could splash in the water without the waves hitting him. He played for two or three hours before finally crashing for a nap on Grandma's shoulder. 

On Sunday, Aunt Sarah came to town and we went over to my parent's to visit with her and play some fun games and eat good food. 

And today, Monday, we have been hanging around the house. Martin and I made rolls, read books, banged on some pots and pans, and played in the sprinkler. The sprinkler wore Martin out; he fell asleep in his high chair while eating lunch. Jared finished putting up the fence in the back yard so Martin can't escape and run into the street. He just needs to paint it now. It looks good now still wooden, but the paint will make it look super cute. 

Did you do anything fun this weekend? It has been so long since we have had a holiday. We just enjoyed being a little family and spending time with people that we love. :) 

Strawberry Pie

You need to make the strawberry pie recipe that I posted last year!!! Look under recipes. I can't link things when I am using the blogging app. 

In case you need convincing... 

Martin Naps

This is how my baby sleeps. He falls asleep for almost every nap and at bedtime like this. I don't know how it is comfortable. He starts off covered by his blanket, but he usually falls asleep on top of it. We sneak in after he is asleep and cover him back up. 

This is how he wakes up. He sits in his crib and reads books. Sometimes he is so quiet I think he is still asleep. Normally, he reads quietly in a funny little voice, to himself. 

This is one of his favorite books.  I have it memorized. 

Strawberries

Every year I say I am going to pick 100 quarts.  One of these years I will make it. I have picked 30 so far this year. Strawberries are probably my favorite fruit, but it is hard to pick a favorite with peaches and blueberries around as well. 

I made strawberry shortcake for Jared's birthday last night (his favorite). Today I am making a strawberry pie, my favorite. 

Today is just a relaxing day around the house. Martin and I started the morning off by going to pick strawberries with Grandma Cindy. Then we came home and read a few books and played. Once Martin went down for a nap, I finished Til We Have Faces by CS Lewis.  I bought it for Jared's birthday and he said I should read it. It is unlike any other book I have read by Lewis, but it is really good. If Jared hadn't warned me that it was based on a Greek myth and a bit strange, I might not have enjoyed it as much. 

I am about to go make that pie (Google America's Test Kitchen and Strawberry Pie - it is super easy and more predictable than the jello recipe - I might have it listed under recipes) and then fold clothes. Hopefully, I will finish both before Martin wakes up. :)

What is your favorite fruit? Do you have any favorite strawberry recipes? Jared likes strawberry pretzel salad too (why is it called a salad?). I will probably make that this weekend.  

I also want to start back on my deep cleaning list now that I am starting to have a bit more energy. Are there any projects you hope to finish by summer? 

Birthday cooking

I used to love Acorn Market and then they were sold. I went for almost every business lunch and they catered my baby shower at work. I always get the chicken salad sandwich and it used to be amazing. Recently, it has been mushy and watery and not worth the money. The other thing that I love are their cookies. Well, I found online that the lady who used to own it had a blog and posted several recipes. :) One of those recipes, that she posted, was her cookie recipe!! 

So for Jared's birthday, instead of a cake, I made two batches of cookies. They were amazing. I didn't take a good picture, but they are fluffy and perfect. When I make them again I will post the recipe and pictures. I am selling a dozen of them at the silent auction at church tonight. 

I also made these rolls for Jared's birthday dinner.  We had fried chicken, fruit salad, and green beans. I never make white bread anymore; these taste like cake. I suggest you look at the pictures and be convinced to make them. 

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2009/11/wednesday-baking-glazed-honey-pan-rolls/

And today, to use up the leftover rolls, I made mini hamburgers.  They are so cute. Again, no pictures.

 Martin had been on the move and I have been chasing him all over.  We have also been reading a lot of books lately.  I hope he loves to read when he is older. Jared is working on our new fence today on the sides of the house. We hope it will stop Martin from running into the street. I will post pictures when it is finished. 

And here is a picture from last night's birthday celebration, after Martin had put on his pajamas. He loves his aunts and uncles.  

Pillow seats

I am planning on making Martin a little playroom this summer/fall. More about those plans in a later post.  Jared and I bought new feather pillows (from ikea for only $10) and so our old ones have just been sitting in my sewing room. I knew there was something I could do with them.  It dawned on me a few weeks ago that they would make great little places to  sit for Martin while he played or read. As he demonstrates below reading, The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson. 

It is actually one of his favorite books right now.  He sits down with it and flips back and forth in it for a few minutes.  Then he walks around and sits down again and flips through it again. It is very funny.  I have even started to put the book in different places on the bookshelf to see if he will find it. 

So, back to the old pillows.   They were a little flat and not the right shape.  I measured the width and found it was about 18".  So I measured off 18" in the other direction.  

I took my ruler and drew the line all the way across. I squished as many of the feathers as I could down into that end.  Then I sewed on the line and a second line close to it. Because there were still a few feathers in the end I was cutting off, I sewed a third line to keep them in the end that would be thrown away.  Then I cut between the 2nd and 3rd line. 

After, the cut I was left with these ugly pillows. 

Now to cover them... I used several tutorials online for envelope pillow cases. It took me about ten minutes to finish them. It was super easy.  I used some upholstery fabric from ikea that I bought on sale for $1.99 a yard. For both pillows I cut a 44"x18.5" piece to cover them. So, to cover both pillows cost me $2!!!! 

I am pleased with how they turned out.  Hopefully, the rest of the room turns out well.  I am debating what color to paint the room. Maybe I will just paint the ceiling... So many ideas.  

The above picture shows the envelope back. I have wanted to try to make pillows for a while, but they scared me.  Let me tell you, these type of envelope style pillow covers are so so so easy.  I am thinking about recovering my couch pillows now, but they don't really need it. 

Week 13

Who knows how many times I will do this, but I thought I would give a pregnancy update.  This is probably more for me to look back on with future children and have something to compare to.  I didn't write down anything with Martin. 

This is week thirteen and it is that awkward stage where your pants, all of the sudden, don't want to button closed. This happened gradually last time. This time around I was fitting nicely into all my pants until this week. Bam. Something changed this weekend. Now I feel quite squashed and am about about to start the rubber band trick because maternity pants don't work until there is a belly to hold on to. 

Otherwise, things are looking up. I have been much less nauseous and have a bit more energy.  I went to the gym last week and I walked the park with my dad today. It was a lovely day for that. 

Week: 13

Pounds gained: 8

Cravings: Until this week I was just hungry all the time, it didn't matter what I ate. This week and last week I have been wanting fruits and veggies.  It is a good thing our CSA box starts this week and that strawberry season is soon. I have eaten a bunch of apples lately. 

Projects completed: A stuffed animal elephant and a copy of our wedding cake (I was looking through my recipes for a bread recipe last night to go with dinner and saw the recipe for my wedding cake and thought, I should make that for our anniversary, no wait, I should make that now. About an hour later a 1/4th recipe of a beautiful peanut butter cake, with chocolate ganoche layers and cream cheese frosting was finished. I might still make the whole recipe for our anniversary). 

Books read: The Problem of Pain, The Abolition of Man, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer (542 pages).  I have been doing a lot of reading recently. I am almost finished a 719 page book on North Korea, but Jared is reading it too so I have to share with him in the evenings. 

And here is a list of symptoms that people don't talk that much about (I may add to this, I am sure I am forgetting something). I think the first trimester is the worst. The last couple weeks are also pretty rough, but it is almost the end so it is doable. :) 

1. Random hiccups. I hiccup once or twice randomly throughout the day. I did it a few times while I was in labor with Martin and the nurse commented about how she had never heard of that happening. I must be weird. 

2. Being hungry all the time!! I didn't find that I was that hungry while I was nursing, but during pregnancy is another story.  I eat small meals and snacks all day long and still feel hungry all the time. Which is why I gain weight, but it all comes off with a little work afterwards. 

3. Waking up 2-5 times a night to go to the bathroom. This is the one that no one warns you about. It is exhausting. Thankfully, it goes away during the 2nd trimester. 

4. Heartburn when you eat too little or too much or garlic of any kind. 

5. Feeling so angry. Ha ha. This happens to me during the first few weeks.  I get mad about the littlest things and feel like stamping my feet and crying. 

6. Crying about silly things.  Jared asks when he will get his wife back because of this one. Although, I haven't cried as much this time. 

7. Everything smells. You will notice smells that are stomach turning.  Things that don't normally bother you suddenly make your stomach do flips. Coffee grounds are the worst for me. 

8. Being exhausted. I never nap, except during the first few weeks I am pregnant and the first few weeks the baby is born. When I worked, I would nap during lunch break, when I came home from work in the afternoon, And go to bed at 730. I am not quite that bad now, but I do like to go to bed early. 

But all in all, having a baby isn't that bad. It is exhausting and you wonder why you are doing this to yourself (again).  In the end, it is all worth it. I would trade a longer labor for a shorter pregnancy. Pregnancy seems to drag on forever. Labor is refreshing because you know it is about to end. Nine months is a long time, thankfully, I only have six more to go. Woohoo. 

We love this weather. 

And our picnic table that my Dad made us. :) 

Siblings

I happen to think having siblings is the best!!  I love all my siblings so much! They are all special and wonderful in their own way.  I am also happy that, in November, Martin will also have his own little sibling.  

He is pretty excited about it because I tell him that he will love it.  He watches the neighborhood kids playing basketball every day after school and looks so much like he wants to run out there and join them.  Instead, he settles for yelling (or maybe cheering) for them out the window.  

I would love to have a girl this time because dresses and skirts and doll clothes are fun to make. However, I want Martin to have a brother, so I am not as eagerly anticipating the gender reveal sonogram in about six weeks (well, not as much as last time).  

Martin will probably spend some time looking like this when he realizes he is not the center of our universe anymore.  Ha ha.  Cindy says you have to take pictures like this to remember the whole experience.  :) I have dubbed the ones, the whiney ones.  I don't know where he has learned it.  He will start this fake little cry and peer through his fingers to see if he has caused a reaction.  After about five or ten minutes, and no reaction, he stops and goes back to playing nicely.  

Often he whines when I have to take something dangerous away, I wonder if God feels the same way when he takes something away from us that is harmful. Having a baby has made me rethink a bunch of passages in the Bible. I will post some later.  

I want one

Look at this gorgeous little cabin (that is really an rv and can be used to travel around). I love Frank Llyod Wright's designs. I want to visit some of his houses.  I think it is neat that this is based off some of his designs.  

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/this-charming-cabin-on-wheels-travels-with-you-design-news-203100

http://m.fastcoexist.com/3029935/this-adorable-cabin-has-a-secret-its-actually-an-rv#3