tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61414941080425797722024-03-14T03:02:32.633-05:00A Life So BlessedChristyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.comBlogger346125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-2517818386825492292014-01-08T08:20:00.000-06:002014-01-08T08:20:50.788-06:006 Years<br />
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6 years. That's how long we have been parents. That's how long we have been Samantha's parents. In some ways that's nearly impossible to believe, how has it been 6 years since she changed our lives so completely?! In other ways, it seems hard to believe she hasn't always been part of our life.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April 2013 PK class pictures</td></tr>
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At 6 years old, Samantha is 46 inches tall and weighs 43.6 pounds. She wears size 5 pants (occasionally a pair of VERY cinched up size 6 pants or a pair of 3T shorts!), size 5 or 6 shirts, size 6 dresses and size 12.5 shoes. Her walking problem is completely resolved and she runs all over with her friends.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Field trip to Dinosaur Valley</td></tr>
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Her favorite color is purple, her favorite food is sausage pizza and cheese pizza, and some others that she likes a lot are spaghetti, strawberries, clementines, cooked (not raw) broccoli, and berry French toast bake. Her favorite thing to do right now is play with Legos, especially Lego friends. She got three Lego friends sets for Christmas and built them all in less than a week, completely by herself. Her favorite game is Labyrinth, which was also a Christmas gift. Other games she enjoys playing are Candy Land, Guess Who, Clue Jr and Catan Jr.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 2013</td></tr>
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Samantha likes Fancy Nancy, Lalaloopsy, Littlest Pet Shop and dress up. She chooses to wear dresses very frequently, but she also loves to dig in the dirt and climb trees in our back yard. She plays with her baby dolls, especially her bitty twin, Sarah. <br />
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Her absolute favorite activity, though, is reading. Anytime she is very quiet and we don't see her, she is snuggled in somewhere reading a book. She reads everything she can get her hands on, even reading Magic Tree House books in an afternoon. She will often tell me something and when I ask her how she knew that, she tells me that she read it. She has known the difference between fiction and non-fiction for quite some time as a result. We have also had discussions about the fact that just because something is non-fiction does not always mean that it is true...it might be someone's opinion or the author might be mistaken about something, so we have also learned to look at multiple sources about something before trying to decide if it is REALLY true.<br />
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She finished preschool in May and the kids all dressed up as what they want to be when they grow up. She chose to be a mail carrier and the postal employees here let us borrow a hat and mail bag for her to use during her PK graduation. That was wonderful! She just told me though, as she read this, that she doesn't want to be a mail carrier anymore. She isn't sure what she wants to do, but said that she might want to do what I do. Aaawww :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samantha and Emory at PK graduation May 2013</td></tr>
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She started kindergarten this year and we are homeschooling. She is reading somewhere around a 2nd-3rd grade level and she loves doing math. Handwriting is her nemesis. We do that first, find creative ways to sneak it in to other things, and do math last...as her reward for doing everything else. Whatever works, right?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1st day of Kinder August 2013</td></tr>
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Samantha loves drawing, painting and just about any type of art project. As long as it is one that she gets to do what she wants rather than follow directions. She would much rather do her own thing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with Jacob - April 2013</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 2013 Watching a butterfly as its wings dried from emerging from its chrysalis</td></tr>
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She loves her brother and plays very well with him...most of the time. She never leaves him out, even when her friends are over, he is always welcome to play...at least as long as he is following her rules. Yes, she is a little, or a lot, bossy. We are working on that. Another thing we are working on is honesty. For the longest time, we could depend on her to always tell the truth when she was questioned about something. Then she started lying when she thought she would be in trouble. We have had many talks about her needing to always tell the truth. She is sad when we don't believe her but she will tell us that if she always told the truth we would always believe her. So she is starting to understand. And the lying is MUCH less frequent than it was.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At her 5th birthday party in late Jan 2013</td></tr>
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She has a silly language that she speaks with her brother, and it even has grammar rules. For example, one day she was telling me that a word in silly language meant one thing, I don't remember exactly what, then a few minutes later she said another silly language word meant the same thing. At least that's what I thought. She corrected me. The first word was singular, the second word was the plural. And they were similar words, I could definitely see how the second was a form of the first.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Josie and Samantha Feb 2013</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eden and Samantha Feb 2013</td></tr>
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At the beginning of the year, Samantha would have replied without any hesitation, that Eden was her best friend. She was very sad when Eden's family moved away at the beginning of March, and she still misses Eden. She surprises me by bringing her name up or suddenly bursting into tears about missing Eden when it has been a month or more since she last mentioned her to me. She has drawn pictures for her, though, and lately has been asking me when we can go to Abilene to visit Eden.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah T and Samantha Feb 2013</td></tr>
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Now, Samantha has two best friends, Jocelyn and Sarah T. She loves to spend time with them, as well as her other friends, Rebekah, Ruthie, Emory, Sarah S., Phoebe and Luke G. Her favorite days are our monthly park days when she gets to be with almost all of those aforementioned friends plus many others.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for the dance recital</td></tr>
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She still takes tap and ballet class and she told me that her second favorite day each month is the day she has dance class. She had her second dance recital in May and she looked so grown up! Something funny about the week of her recital was a conversation we had when we were on the way to her dress rehearsal. As we got in the car, she told me that she was almost like a ballerina. I told her that she is a ballerina because ballerinas dance ballet and she dances ballet. She said that she isn't, that she almost looks like one, but she doesn't really look like one. I tried to tell her that it isn't about how she looks, but she would not listen to me at all. When we got to the dance studio, I told her teacher what she had said. Her teacher agreed that being a ballerina is not about how she looks but about what she does, dance ballet. She also told her that she looks beautiful in her costume and with her hair up in a bun. When she got home, she told her Daddy that she is a ballerina, that her teacher said so. Good grief! At least she finally got it, even if she didn't believe me about it.<br />
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For Halloween this year, she decided very early, I think in July, what she wanted to be and there was no question in her mind. She never wavered, she was going to be Wonder Woman. So we searched and searched until we finally found a Wonder Woman costume in her size online. She was so excited when it came!<br />
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Samantha is so much fun to be around most of the time. She has a lovely smile and an infectious giggle. There is a lot of laughter at our house most days. She isn't much of a snuggler, except at bedtime, and when I am snuggling her in her bed, we often have some really good conversations. She really does think things through and I am sometimes surprised by her insight. She has always been and will always be God's gift, God's grace, to us and we continue to remain grateful for her.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">August 2013</td></tr>
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Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-87956684353213454322014-01-06T16:01:00.000-06:002014-01-06T16:01:32.208-06:00Catching up with Samantha Pt 2FYI: This was written in January 2013...just a couple days after the post about her walking problems. It has been sitting here for a year, just waiting for me to put pictures into it before hitting publish, and since she's about to have another birthday, I decided I needed to get busy! Now on to the post:<br />
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So in other news about Samantha's last 18 months...she was finally potty trained in August 2011, at the ripe old age of 3.5. She's ahead of the game on many things, but that just was not one of them. <br />
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We moved into our new house in October 2011, and she loved having her own room...for the first week. Then she and Jacob both cried for each other every night for about 2 weeks before they got used to sleeping in their own rooms. She had a tea party for her 4th birthday and this was the first time that she got to invite more than one friend. She LOVED it and told me that she always wanted to have a tea party for the rest of her birthdays. Of course, she has changed her mind since then, but that doesn't matter at all. <br />
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In February 2012, she started ballet and tap class. She has been dancing around at least as long as we have lived in Clifton and she watched the Nutcracker over and over after Brent recorded it for her. She would tell us to look at her doing her ballet. So we decided it was time to let her try a class. And she loved it! She also made some new friends. She had her first recital in May and looked absolutely adorable in her costume. And the most surprising part was that my shy little girl did not act shy at all when she was on that stage. After all the kids danced, they all went back on stage and were called to the front individually to receive their awards. Samantha went right up to the teacher and then waved at the audience just like a little queen. It was adorable! <br />
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She and Jacob both took private swim lessons in June and she really was swimming on her own at the end of the week. She would do everything she could to not take a breath until she got where she was going, but she could take a breath and keep on swimming. I hope to have her in swim lessons again in the next month or so through the YMCA in Waco to give her a refresher before summer comes.<br />
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Shortly after she turned 3, Samantha was talking about the sounds letter makes and figuring out, on her own, what letter a word started with. So we started working on learning to read. She loves it and whizzes through the lessons. We did the first pre-K workbook, skipped the second one, finished the first Kindergarten book and have made it quite a few lessons into the second Kinder book. We don't have any kind of schedule set for when we specifically work on it, we just kind of let the mood strike, but she will do between 2 and 4 lessons in a sitting. Since that is working, I'm not worrying about setting a schedule, at least for now. And she is sounding out words that are far beyond the ones she is learning to read right now. <br />
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She is also apparently a math whiz. I was putting some things away in Jacob's room one day this past fall and she came up to me and said "Mommy, 8 plus 7 take away 2 is 13." I had to think for a second before I could tell her that she was right. She got that completely on her own, it is NOT something we have worked on. Oh, and add to that, I was sitting beside her as she slept when we made an emergency room trip in December, and I heard her doing math problems in her sleep. It makes me a little afraid.<br />
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Samantha started preschool at the end of August 2012. We decided to have her go two days a week rather than 3 or 5. I just wasn't sure how she was going to do, and it's not like I'm anxious to have her out of the house or anything. She was a little timid the first few days, but then she absolutely loved it. She did great at school and had no problems there, but the afternoons were pretty rough at home for a while. I don't know if it was because of getting used to a new schedule, because of being worn out from getting up earlier, because she has trouble adjusting to change, or if she was holding any frustration in until she got home, or a combination of the above, but I was glad when everything started getting back to normal. She started asking to go to school every day about 6 weeks after school started, but by then, all the other spots were full, so we didn't even have to worry about trying to make that decision. <br />
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We missed the registration week for dance in the fall and by the time we realized that it was already started, we were seeing her problems at home after school, so we decided to just let it go for a while and consider putting her back in once the spring semester started. She didn't say anything about it until just after New Years, when she asked "When am I going to go to dance class again?" I was glad to be able to say with a big smile, "Next week, honey." So now she is dancing again and has moved up to the older class of 5-7 year olds. And she comes home and teaches Jacob her ballet steps, so now he goes through the house showing us Echeppe...although from both children it seems to be separated into 2 words...A ... Shappe, and quite honestly, from watching her dance class, I thought it was two words, and two separate moves myself.<br />
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For her 5th birthday, she received a bicycle from us. And when we went to get it, we discovered that she fit just fine on an 18 inch bike. Yes, my barely 5 year old has an 18 inch bike! She has only been able to ride it once so far, though, because the tube went flat at the end of her first 5 minutes of riding and we haven't remembered to get another one when we have been in Waco. She has already discovered, though, that it is much harder to ride on a chip seal street than it is to ride on a smooth concrete floor in a store.<br />
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At 5 years old, Samantha is 43.75 inches tall and weighs 36 pounds. Her younger brother weighs more, but she is almost 3 inches taller...for now. She wears size 12 shoes, 5 shirts, 6 dresses and 5 or 5T pants (adjustable waist and cinched almost all the way in.) She tells me that her best friend is Eden, and Eden is the first person she chooses to invite to anything, but she also is very good friends with Sarah, Rebekah and Jocelyn. Emory is a new friend she met at school this year, and I think that if Emory and Samantha have anything to say about it, we will be seeing a lot more of Emory as well. This past fall, Samantha had her first sleepovers, both with a friend staying at our house and with Samantha sleeping at a friends house. The friend is Jocelyn in both cases, and Jocelyn spends Saturday night at our house most of the time now, then goes to church with us on Sunday morning. The girls finally stopped counting sleepovers once we got past 5. <br />
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She loves to dance, sing, read and play with her baby doll. She enjoys school, playing board games and playing outside with her friends. She is loving but bossy to her brother and gets quite upset when he doesn't want to follow her directions. We do have to work with her regularly on recognizing that other people don't have to do things her way. She is usually honest when confronted, but we have had some issues lately with not always telling the truth the first time she is asked. We are working hard on nipping that in the bud. She is a sweet girl who is concerned about how other people feel and will try to help us feel better with hugs and kisses. She is learning to think about how her actions make other people feel. She is a joy to have in our life and I am so glad God chose me to be her mom!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-83053008212799916852014-01-06T10:06:00.000-06:002014-01-06T10:06:59.573-06:004 Years Old<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">August 2013</td></tr>
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Our baby boy is 4 years old as of a few weeks ago...and he's still as sweet as he can be! But he is also very good at the fine art of temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way...especially when he's tired. He gives the best hugs and kisses and he gives them all the time. He is definitely still a snuggler and there is little (actually no) doubt in my mind that his primary love language is physical touch. He asks me to snuggle him every night when he is going to bed and many times throughout the day. He is usually quite easy going and will go along with what his sister or parents suggest, BUT if he makes up his mind, there is no changing it!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 2013</td></tr>
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I think that he will be an engineer when he is grown. He is constantly touching things, seeing how it works, taking it apart and exploring everything with his hands. I hear from his Daddy that Daddy was like that as a child as well. It makes Jacob happy to hear he is like Daddy. He is trying harder and harder to be like him and he wants to spend more and more time with him. He even threw a fit the morning that Daddy had to go back to work after being home for Christmas because he just wanted to be with his Daddy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">February 2013</td></tr>
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He is also a climber. That one can probably be blamed on me since I climbed everything as a child. I caught him climbing the shelves in the linen closet one day. He got the pillows off the very top shelf. The same shelf that I have to use a ladder to get to. And he has gotten things off the top shelf of the pantry. The child has no fear of doing anything physically. It scares me quite frequently, but I try to stand back and be calm while still setting limits for him.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Falling asleep on his chair after insisting he was not ready for a nap. August 2013 </td></tr>
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His 4 year well check isn't scheduled until February, but thanks to the flu, we went to the doctor the week after his birthday and got his official height and weight. He is 44 inches tall and weighs 46.6 pounds. He wears size 5T pants and shirts, although he can wear size 6 shirts sometimes and his 5T pants are getting a little snug around the waist. He wears size 12.5W shoes. He is definitely a big boy now!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping in the car after church. June 2013</td></tr>
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In the past year, Jacob went on two trips to San Angelo without a parent, but with his sister. The first time was during spring break and the second was the end of June/ beginning of July. My parents were here for the first weekend of spring break and when they were getting ready to go back to San Angelo, Kathy asked if Jacob and Samantha wanted to go to her house and have her bring them back to me the following weekend. Samantha immediately said yes, but Jacob had a hard time deciding. He wanted to go but he didn't want to be away from me at night. He finally decided that he would go. So I waved goodbye to my babies when I waved goodbye to my parents and they were so excited to be going on a trip. This was the first time I had been away from the kids at night since Samantha was born and it was definitely a little strange for me. I was worried that Jacob would have a very hard time, especially at bedtime, but there were very few tears and that was only for the first day or two. He stayed at Aunt Kathy's house and Grandma and Benjamin took care of the kids when Aunt Kathy was at work. They had a wonderful time! In fact, they had so much fun, that they day before it was time to come home, Jacob said he didn't want to come home! But once they got back home, he hugged and hugged me and didn't want to let go.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making sun bread as part of our sun unit. September 2013</td></tr>
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He keeps up with his sister in almost everything, and they are the best of friends. He is so sweet, loving and tenderhearted nearly all the time. He is concerned when his sister (or anyone else, for that matter) is upset. If she has been hurt, he comes to give her kisses and hugs and will often bring Mr. Puppy for her to snuggle to help her feel better. One time when we were leaving the grocery store and Samantha was throwing a fit on the floor rather than walking out the door with me, he went back to her, put his arm around her and helped her to stand up and then supported her to walk out the door.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First day of kindergarten for Samantha. August 2013</td></tr>
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His favorite foods are spaghetti and "all the pizzas." He will try almost anything and likes most foods. His favorite color is blue...at least today, in a few days, it might be green, purple or pink, which are his other answers when you ask what his favorite color is. He likes to play games including Chutes and Ladders, Guess Who, Candy Land, Blokus, and Chinese Checkers. He loves to run and dig outside, play on the teeter totter airplane, "read" books, especially the "Things to Spot" books and mazes, build with blocks, duplos and regular legos...although he still needs quite a bit of help with the legos since his fine motor skills aren't quite good enough for those tiny blocks, and he is good at working puzzles. He tells me, without any hesitation, that his best friend is Luke G. and his other best friend is Luke B.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dino valley with Samantha and Luke G - December 2013</td></tr>
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Mr. Puppy is still his favorite, his comfort object. There was a 2 week period in September when Mr. Puppy was lost. Samantha thought he was left outside and blew away in the wind. I knew that he wouldn't have blown away, and didn't think he had been taken outside, but I was concerned that if he had been left outside, an animal had dragged him off because he was NO<span class="text_exposed_show">T there any longer. And the longer he was missing, the more I was worried that was what happened. Jacob was getting more and more concerned as time went on, even getting up to look for him several hours after being put to bed, so I started looking to see if we could find a new one. </span>It was not easy to find since we got Mr. Puppy when Samantha was a baby. If I had known then that several years later Jacob would choose it as his favorite, I would have bought two to begin with!<br />
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<span class="userContent"> <span class="text_exposed_show"> I found a new one on Amazon for a ridiculously high price. I found a used one on eBay for half that, but still ridiculously priced. They agreed to come down to a little less than half of their list price and shipping was free. Thanks to a fabulous auntie and uncle who suggested that they pitch in to help pay for it, we went ahead and ordered a new Mr. Puppy. Jacob came in and saw the picture on the computer and commented that it was Mr. Puppy when he was new. I asked him if he would like Mr. Puppy to be new again and he said "YES!" So I told him that auntie and uncle were helping to pay for Mr. Puppy to be new again and he would be coming in the mail. He was excited and kept asking when he was coming and if the mailman had Mr. Puppy yet. So then, one afternoon, the kids came running out of Samantha's room yelling "We found Mr. Puppy!" and smiling like you wouldn't believe. An hour later the new Mr. Puppy came in the mail. We had one happy little boy! And he asked me to take lots of pictures of both Mr. Puppies. For a while he called them Mr. Puppy and Mr. Puppy Too. Then he called them Old Mr. Puppy and New Mr. Puppy, but he has recently changed the new one's name to Mrs. Puppy and the old one is Mr. Puppy again.</span></span><br />
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<span class="userContent"><br /> Jacob had a monster birthday party for his 4th birthday. I talked him into it because I wanted to make fleece monster pillows for a craft and had a really cute cake I wanted to make. However, when I was showing him the cake I was going to try to make, he saw a different one and insisted that the other one was the cake he wanted. He would not change his mind, so I changed my plans and ended up constructing a VERY tall cake. This was the first birthday party that Jacob invited friends to rather than just having family. Luke G and Luke B were his choices, along with his sister and Luke B's sisters. The kids had a great time eating monster eyeballs (grapes), making monster masks, magnets and fleece monster pillows. We were worried about whether the party would actually happen because a crazy ice storm came in the day before and many people were stuck in their homes, but fortunately, his friends were still able to come.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At City Park - May 2013</td></tr>
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<span class="userContent"><br /> </span>Samantha started kindergarten this year and we are homeschooling. Jacob wants to have school most of the time when Samantha does, so he is often at the table doing his "work" while Samantha does hers. Sometimes it's the same stuff she's doing, sometimes it's a preschool workbook while she does something else, and sometimes it's alphabet bingo. Thanks to his sister's schoolwork, Jacob now knows almost all of his upper and lowercase alphabet and knows about half of the alphabet sounds. He also counts beyond 20 and understands what 20 of something is. He loves to listen to me read and brings books for me to read to him all the time. He is a wiggly little boy, though, so he is frequently turning himself upside down on the couch while he listens to his story. He isn't really showing signs of being ready to start learning to read yet and he isn't asking to learn, so we haven't started that yet. He has plenty of time in the future to start reading.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pictures at his sister's preschool in April</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running in the rain September 2013</td></tr>
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He has also been part of all the read-alouds and Bible study that we have done with Samantha. Every six days we have a phrase of words to remember. One unit was "I don't quit, I persevere." A couple weeks after that unit, around Thanksgiving, I had put Jacob to bed and he called to me a little while later "Mommy! Mommy!" I said "Yes, Jacob?" Mommy! I'm purse-of-the-yearing!" I smiled as I walked to his room and asked him, "What are you persevering about, Jacob?" He replied, "Waiting for you to snuggle me." My Mommy heart smiles at things like that, not only because he is so precious and loving, but because I am so grateful for the lessons that his heart is absorbing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dressed as a "skeleton rocker" for Halloween</td></tr>
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He is such a sweet blessing in our lives. He makes me smile and he makes me want to scream in frustration, sometimes within almost the same heartbeat. He frightens me and he melts my heart. I am so grateful for the awesome privilege of being his mom and look forward to seeing how he grows and changes in the next year.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Digging in the backyard, one of his favorite pastimes - August 2013</td></tr>
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Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-28960982691637344392013-01-30T16:57:00.001-06:002014-01-06T10:11:09.848-06:00Catching up with Samantha pt. 1I'm not sure when the last time I wrote about Samantha was. I know it was before we moved into our new house, so she, too, has had 2 birthdays that I have yet to write about. She's had a lot going on in the last 18 months or so. A lot of it is about her gait issues, so this post will be all about that...then I'll actually work on catching up with the rest of her goings on in a second post. <br />
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In the summer of 2011, she started having a little trouble walking occassionally. She could not walk fast at all and she was sort of limping while she walked slowly. Running was impossible. We were at the doctor's office for Jacob's 18 month visit the first time I noticed it. The nurse asked her about it and we thought it was probably because of the ingrown toenail she had. The doctor gave me some tips on how to keep her toenails from becoming ingrown since, at the time, she got them fairly frequently. She got better for a while. And then it came back. And it was worse. But this time she didn't have an ingrown toenail. This kept going for a few months until it got to the point that it no longer stopped. She couldn't run. She couldn't walk fast. She couldn't keep up with her friends at the park. She did come up with a way to sort of run, by swinging her leg way out. I was starting to get very concerned. <br />
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I asked Samantha's doctor about it when we went for her well check in January, but she walked with exaggerated care for him so he didn't see what I was talking about. He assummed that it was just something she picked up because of having ingrown toenails so much. After that, I asked Leslie, who is a pediatric nurse, what she thought about it. She wasn't sure what I was talking about. But then when we were at the Lindley's house a few days later, she saw it. She asked if that was what I was talking about and she was extremely concerned. She was so concerned that the next morning she called me a couple of times and left messages when I didn't answer, called her kid's pediatrician in Temple to describe the gait to him and ask his advice, and walked over to my house to talk to me about it some more, all by 8:30 in the morning. She asked to see Samantha trying to run again, so we all went outside to play. She took this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3N6EDv7Oe4&feature=share">video</a> for me, and sent a copy to her peditrician. Her pediatrician advised going to the ER in Temple so that we could get into see a pediatric neurologist without having to wait potentially months to get an appointment. I took the video to Samantha's doctor. The next day our doctor called me back as soon as he had seen the video. He said, "She wasn't doing that in the office, was she?" And I told him that she wasn't because she was walking very slowly and carefully, putting one foot directly in front of the other, kind of like walking a line, but that as soon as we left, she was doing it again. He was very concerned and the next day we had an appointment with a pediatric orthopedist for the following week. <br />
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First we saw a nurse practioner. She checked for joint problems. She checked for a difference in the length of her legs. She did x-rays. She did everything she could think of that day and couldn't come up with what was causing the problem. So she sent us for an MRI and ordered some bloodwork. They did a full spinal MRI, from the neck down. They didn't see any joint problems. There was no spinal tumor. There was no evidence of rheumatoid arthritis. She sent us to her supervising doctor. He reviewed the tests and ordered some additional bloodwork. He still couldn't find any problems.<br />
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Jacob's ECI team told me about a client they had previously, who had an issue with his muscle and bone growing at different rates. They thought that Samantha's gait looked similar and Grace thought that Samantha's right leg felt very tight. They recommended that I look into that possibility. They said that it did not show up in an MRI, that it was diagnosed by PT evaluation and that it was treated by PT. They said that it was important to see a pediatric PT, though, because otherwise the therapist would probably not be familiar with issues like that. <br />
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So I asked the doctor to send us to PT instead of asking to be sent to a neurologist. Our PCP said that he would be OK with that, but that he wanted to talk to the orthopedist first to make sure they were on the same page. I called every month to ask about it and got the same answer each time. <br />
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In the meantime, Samantha started ballet midway through February, and then, right around Easter, Samantha got much better. She even noticed herself. The week before Easter she told me, "Mommy look! I can run normal!" as she ran down the hallway with no difficulty, no limp and no gait problems. That improvement lasted a couple of weeks before the problems started creeping back in. <br />
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Finally, we were in the doctor's office in May or June for something else and I asked again. He called again while I waited in the office. Finally we got the OK to start PT.<br />
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Samantha had her PT evaluation in the middle of June and started PT twice a week the third week of June. She had a lot of milestones that she was not meeting. We worked on her balance, on standing on one leg at a time, on walking on a balance beam, on galloping and skipping and on walking up and down stairs with one foot on each step. She made a lot of improvement, she accomplished almost all the milestones that she had been behind on. But her gait was still bad. A little better, but still not normal. She moved to once a week PT in the middle of July and then had her last day of PT on Thursday, July 26. <br />
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But that Monday (7/23) she had started walking a lot worse again. And then she started eating a lot on Wednesday (7/25). When I told her PT assistant about that during her last session, he said that it could possibly be tied to her growth after all, and that the abnormal gait could be a way for her to compensate for growing pains (which she has not complained of) or for her balance and agility being thrown off by her growth. He did say that he thought that we should go back to the doctor, that if it was his child he would do so. And I was glad to have a professional agree with me. <br />
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I tried to talk about more testing, but it didn't happen. And quite honestly, I was tired of fighting and Samantha was tired of going to the doctor. So I decided that I would give it a break and just keep track of when her gait worsens and when she eats more and that I would track her growth every month. So far, increased gait issues and increased eating have coincided each time. But I think that I need to track her growth at smaller intervals...at least biweekly, so that is what I have started doing now. I figure that if it does show to be tied to growth spurts, then we have nothing else to worry about, with the exception of possibly doing PT again. And if it doesn't, then I have something to show the doctor to say that we really need to be looking at what is causing this issue. So that's where we are right now. Just watching and reminding her about her PT exercises when she starts having a hard time again. And she does do much better than before. And she can keep up with her friends now. And that makes us both smile.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-80520784124467298532013-01-30T14:53:00.001-06:002014-01-06T10:11:23.571-06:00Catching up with Jacob<div style="text-align: center;">
So Jacob is 3 now. Yes, seriously. This cute little baby face</div>
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has magically become this big boy face </div>
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OVERNIGHT! </div>
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Well, OK, it wasn't REALLY overnight, but it sure does seem like it. </div>
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Jacob started speech services with ECI right around his second birthday. At that time he had 5 spoken words and about 15 signs. He didn't talk very much at all. Then Grace and Diane came into our lives and helped us encourage Jacob to speak more. And to work at speaking better. And he blossomed! By May he had over 100 spoken words and I stopped counting in June. By then he rarely used short phrases (1 or 2 words) any longer, but instead spoke sentences of 6 or more words most of the time. I was amazed at his progress. His ECI team was as well. They said that they don't recall having a client make so much progress in such a short amount of time. I am grateful for their advice and help, which helped us to encourage Jacob to be more verbal. He had his last ECI visit the week prior to his 3rd birthday (they can only work with a client and family up to the day before the 3rd birthday) but they did make a referral to the school district for speech evaluation. He again qualified for services, so we go to the elementary school for speech every Monday morning now. <br />
He had swimming lessons for the first time in June 2012. I already decided that he needed them, but when I had to jump in a friend's pool, fully clothed, in April, swim lessons became a done deal. And he did very well. He can't swim on his own, but he can kick, put his face in the water and blow bubbles all at the same time. I hope to have him in lessons again in the next month or 2 so that he will have a head start on the summer.<br />
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At three years old, Jacob weighs 40 pounds and is 41" tall. He wears size 11.5W shoes. Mr. Puppy is still his favorite, but he CAN sleep without Mr. Puppy if he is missing or has to take a bath. He is VERY happy when Mr. Puppy is back in his arms, though. He likes to play Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Uno Moo and Uno Choo Choo. He plays pretend games with his big sister all the time. He loves playdoh, crayons and paint. He hasn't eaten any crayons in at least 6 months...yes that is a big accomplishment! He knows how to use scissors. He can count to five and understands what five of something is. He knows other numbers but doesn't get them in order. He recognizes some written numbers, but doesn't really care about telling me which ones he knows, so I don't know how many he actually knows. Same with letters. He knows a few, but getting him to point them out is a real challenge. </div>
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He is concerned when other people are sad and notices when other people are not being safe...such as not wearing a helmet when bike riding. He loves to ride his bike and tricycle, but doesn't get the whole pedalling idea. He asks to be pushed or he will push with his feet on the ground, instead. He tells me about his friends all the time, especially Ellis. He asks where Mrs, Carla is every time we drive by her house (and since that's across the street, that's all the time!) He thinks that he is just as big as his sister and her friends and DOES NOT like to be told that he isn't big enough to do something. Unless it has to do with going potty. Then he tells me, "Me NOT big boy. Me little boy." He knows that big boys use the potty and he just doesn't want to do that. Sigh. Been there done that, but in the end, he will be potty trained, just like his big sister was.</div>
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He refuses to refer to himself as "I." When I corrected him about it a couple of months ago, the conversation went something like this:</div>
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J: Me want that book.</div>
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Me: You mean, I want that book.</div>
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J: That what me said.</div>
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Me: No, baby. When you are talking about yourself, you say I. So Jacob should say I want that book.</div>
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J: But me want that book. Not you, not Danta (Samantha), ME want that book.</div>
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So he is absolutely convinced that "I" refers to anyone except himself. Once again...he'll get it eventually.</div>
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He has definitely developed opinions and has learned the fine art of the temper tantrum. What can I say? He's 3. </div>
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He still loves to snuggle and I love to have him climb into my lap for cuddles and kisses. He sings along with me and with Samantha, but his signing is usually repeating the first 5 or so words over and over and over while Samantha and I finish the rest of the song.</div>
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He is my sweet baby boy...no matter how often he tells me that he is NOT a baby boy, he is a big boy. I wouldn't trade him for anything. I am so grateful that God chose him for me.</div>
Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-66289036009634670952013-01-17T14:17:00.001-06:002013-01-17T14:17:14.518-06:00Hello from 2013Hello again. Somehow I managed to do a million things other than record our lives here. And my poor children's scrapbooks will be much sparser as a result. I hope to do better, But I make no guarantees.<br />
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So basically, I've missed the last year and a half. My kids have both had 2 birthdays with no word from me, and quite honestly, I don't really remember enough of what was happening a year ago to accurately report it. There are a few things I can accurately recall. Samantha started dance (ballet and tap) in February 2012 and started preschool in August 2012. I finally called ECI in November 2011 and Jacob started services with them right around his 2nd birthday. We moved into our new house in Oct 2011 and started getting to know our wonderful neighbors. After years of saying I was going to, I finally got a vegetable garden started. We have made wonderful new friends. I was director of our church's VBS for the first time in June 2012 and we started a Storytime with Santa this past December that we plan to have each year. We have stayed busy. We have grown. We are loving our life and each other.<br />
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And at least for the sake of memories and the kids' scrapbooks (and for my mom), I will try to blog a little more. We'll see what happens.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-67627005808499065162012-07-14T09:17:00.002-05:002012-07-14T09:17:57.647-05:00Tomato Bounty SalsaAnd yet another from Taste of Home. Like I said, I'm really glad I bought the magazine. While cooking, I thought that I would like this salsa better than the spicy chunky salsa, but I although they are both good, I like the spicy chunky salsa better. I think the cumin kind of takes over all the other smells while cooking so it didn't smell as good to me, but the taste was great. This salsa tastes very good as well...just not as good as the other. I have no pictures other than the finished product, I just got busy and forgot, but hey, it pretty much looks like the last one anyway. :) And now...on to the recipe.<br />
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9 pounds yellow tomatoes (I used mostly Romas instead, with some yellow pears tossed in. I also just used the measurement from the other salsa that 6 pounds =9 cups peeled and chopped, then adjusted for the changed poundage)<br />
4 medium onions, finely chopped<br />
2 cans (6 oz each) tomato paste<br />
1 large sweet red pepper, finely chopped<br />
3/4 cup distilled white vinegar<br />
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I used more of the Hungarian peppers)<br />
4 garlic cloves, minced<br />
3 tsp salt (I used about half this amount)<br />
1/2 tsp pepper<br />
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Blanch tomatoes, then peel and finely chop. Combine the remaining ingredients in a stockpot and stir in tomatoes. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until desired thickness. Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot 1 pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids. Process for 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HNr4V-Af3A/UAEkMcvbsBI/AAAAAAAACMM/pxsLfh37utY/s1600/IMG_8485+first+3+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HNr4V-Af3A/UAEkMcvbsBI/AAAAAAAACMM/pxsLfh37utY/s320/IMG_8485+first+3+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tomato Bounty Salsa is the jar on the right</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I actually made only half this recipe and my yield was 4 pints.<br />Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-30635547032861286072012-07-14T09:01:00.000-05:002012-07-14T09:18:29.651-05:00Spicy Chunky SalsaSo here's another recipe from the Taste of Home magazine.<br />
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<br />
6 pounds tomatoes (I am seriously considering a kitchen scale so I can get these recipes right!)<br />
3 large green peppers, chopped<br />
3 large onions, chopped<br />
2 cups white vinegar<br />
1 large sweet red pepper, chopped<br />
1 can (12 oz) tomato paste<br />
4 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (I used the Hungarian peppers instead)<br />
2 Serrano peppers, seeded and chopped<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro<br />
1/2 cup bottled lemon juice<br />
3 garlic cloves, minced<br />
4 tsp ground cumin<br />
3 tsp salt (I used maybe half the salt!)<br />
2 tsp dried oregano<br />
1 tsp hot pepper sauce<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pqgSKaUdDGo/UAF63aV72tI/AAAAAAAACMg/cdiwAmJ1S5U/s1600/IMG_8430+spicy+chunky+salsa+cilantro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pqgSKaUdDGo/UAF63aV72tI/AAAAAAAACMg/cdiwAmJ1S5U/s320/IMG_8430+spicy+chunky+salsa+cilantro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cilantro ready to chop</td></tr>
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Blanch the tomatoes, then peel and finely chop to measure 9 cups. In a stockpot, combine the tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oh8hlo68mWM/UAF7AyOnvtI/AAAAAAAACMo/dU7AanasuwA/s1600/IMG_8431+spicy+chunky+salsa+chiles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oh8hlo68mWM/UAF7AyOnvtI/AAAAAAAACMo/dU7AanasuwA/s320/IMG_8431+spicy+chunky+salsa+chiles.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">green Serrano pepper, red and yellow Hungarian peppers</td></tr>
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<br />
Carefully ladle hot mixture into hot 1 pint jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids. Process 15 minutes in a boiling water canner. This yeilded 4.5 pints for me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HNr4V-Af3A/UAEkMcvbsBI/AAAAAAAACMM/pxsLfh37utY/s1600/IMG_8485+first+3+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HNr4V-Af3A/UAEkMcvbsBI/AAAAAAAACMM/pxsLfh37utY/s320/IMG_8485+first+3+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spicy Chunky Salsa is the middle jar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-20673879906287759442012-07-14T08:41:00.000-05:002012-07-14T08:41:10.135-05:00Tomato Lemon MarmaladeI bought the Taste of Home Canning and Preserving cookbook/magazine this summer and I am so glad I did! There are lots of very yummy looking recipes! I don't normally like marmalade...or maybe it's just orange marmalade I don't like, since that's the only kind I have had before...but this still sounded good to me, so I decided to try it. And I am definitely glad I did! This recipe yielded 3.5 pints.<br />
<br />
Here's the recipe:<br />
5 medium ripe tomatoes (this ended up being about 4 cups after I had peeled and chopped it)<br />
4 cups chopped, peeled tart apples (about 4 large) (I used granny smith)<br />
2 medium lemons, seeded and ground (I had no idea how to grind a lemon that isn't dried, so I just sliced it very thinly...almost could be considered shaved at times, and then chopped it into small pieces)<br />
6 cups sugar<br />
2.25 tspn ground ginger<br />
8 whole cloves (I actually used 14, because mine are more than a year old, they are still very aromatic, though, so I have no idea if the flavor is diminished or not)<br />
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Peel (I blanched them to peel them), quarter and chop the tomatoes; place in a colander to drain. Transfer to a dutch oven (I just used a large pot); add apples and lemons. Cook and stir over medium heat for 15 minutes. Add sugar and ginger.<br />
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Tie cloves in a cheesecloth spicebag; add to the pot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat, simmer 40 minutes, stirring frequently. (I actually cooked it quite a bit longer, and used my potato masher to break up some of the apple chunks, too.) I can't remember for sure, but I think this was the recipe that I added 1 Tbsp pectin to, in order to help it set a little more. Then boil for a minute or so longer after adding the pectin.<br />
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Remove spice bag. Ladle hot mixture into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims and adjust lids. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HNr4V-Af3A/UAEkMcvbsBI/AAAAAAAACMM/pxsLfh37utY/s1600/IMG_8485+first+3+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HNr4V-Af3A/UAEkMcvbsBI/AAAAAAAACMM/pxsLfh37utY/s320/IMG_8485+first+3+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The jar on the left is the Tomato Lemon Marmalade</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-59307373137789226312012-07-14T08:38:00.000-05:002012-07-14T08:38:50.457-05:00Tomato PreservesI found this recipe in the Ball Blue Book of Preserving. I found one called Yellow Pear Tomato Preserves on one of those forum threads I mentioned before. I wrote them both down to try, but when I was looking at the recipes, I realized that they are essentially the same recipe, except that the one called Yellow Pear Tomato Preserves is a doubled batch, calls for using only the yellow pear tomatoes and has a tsp of ground cinnamon and a tsp of ground cloves added. I decided to try the one from the Ball book first, then next time, I will probably try it with the added cinnamon and cloves. My yield was 2.5 pints.<br />
<br />
Here's the recipe:<br />
1.5 quarts small yellow, green or red tomatoes (about 2 pounds)<br />
(I used a mix of the chocolate cherry tomatoes and yellow pear tomatoes)<br />
1Tbsp mixed pickling spices<br />
1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger<br />
4 cups sugar<br />
1 cup thinly sliced and seeded lemon (about 2 medium)<br />
3/4 cup water<br />
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Wash and peel tomatoes (I skipped the peeling based on my experience with the yellow pear tomato jam, I did however, chop them into quarters. The cherry tomato peels didn't completely melt away like the yellow ones did, but they were not bad at all.) Tie spices and fresh ginger in a spice bag. Combine sugar, lemon, water and spicebag in a large saucepot. Simmer 15 minutes. <br />
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Add tomatoes; cook gently until the tomatoes become transparent, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Remove spice bag. Remove tomatoes and lemon from syrup (I didn't do this, there wasn't much to remove!) Boil syrup 3 minutes or longer to thicken (It was probably closer to 10 for me, but remember, the tomatoes were still in it.) <br />
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Return tomatoes and lemon from syrup (I think I also added 1 Tbsp pectin at this point) boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. (I found that simply stirring gently made the foam disappear.) Ladle hot preserves into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust 2 piece caps. Process 20 minutes in a boiling water canner.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eJISrRNra8Q/UAEenpPN2yI/AAAAAAAACLU/TGoS09FVitY/s1600/IMG_8486+second+3+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eJISrRNra8Q/UAEenpPN2yI/AAAAAAAACLU/TGoS09FVitY/s320/IMG_8486+second+3+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The jar on the right is the tomato preserves</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-42978315748213447282012-07-14T08:36:00.000-05:002012-07-14T08:39:58.459-05:00Yellow Pear Tomato JamSince we have such an abundance of the yellow pear tomatoes, I went searching for things to make with them. Apparently this tomato plant is very prolific for most people because I saw things come up in my search such as "What to do with a gazillion yellow pear tomatoes." I followed the link to several of those, which took me to a few different forums, where people responded with what they like to do with them, and there were even a few recipes. The one I found for Yellow Pear Tomato Jam is one of those. I have to say that I am VERY glad that I wrote the recipe down, because right now, I have no idea where the forum or thread is where I originally saw the recipe...or the couple of others that I also wrote down. The taste of this jam is very different...but I like it quite a bit. The poster of the recipe had recommended eating it with goat cheese and crackers. I think that would be great...or with cream cheese, possibly even on a biscuit, but it is definitely not something you would eat with peanut butter on a sandwich!<br />
<br />
Anyway, here's the recipe:<br />
4 cups sugar<br />
3/4 cup water<br />
6 cups yellow pear tomatoes (the recipe didn't say to, but I went ahead and roughly chopped them)<br />
3 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped (I used Hungarian hot peppers which are larger, but not as hot)<br />
3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil<br />
3 Tbsp lemon juice<br />
2 Tbsp distilled white vinegar<br />
<br />
1.) In a 6 qt saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until the syrup reaches 234F on a cooking thermometer. (If I remember correctly, this is the soft ball stage.)<br />
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2.) Remove from heat and add tomatoes, mixing well. The syrup may change consistency, but keep stirring and eventually the tomatoes will mix evenly.<br />
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3.) Return to the heat and add the chilies, basil, lemon juice and vinegar. Simmer, uncovered, on very low heat until the mixture thickens, about 1.5 to 2 hours. Stir often, being careful not to burn. The jam will darken.<br />
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4.) Ladle into clean jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Cap and seal.<br />
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5.) Process 15 min in a boiling water bath canner.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eJISrRNra8Q/UAEenpPN2yI/AAAAAAAACLU/TGoS09FVitY/s1600/IMG_8486+second+3+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eJISrRNra8Q/UAEenpPN2yI/AAAAAAAACLU/TGoS09FVitY/s320/IMG_8486+second+3+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The middle jar is the yellow pear tomato jam.</td></tr>
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<br />
A couple of notes: This recipe yielded 2.5 pints. It is not necessary to blanch and peel the tomatoes before starting. The poster of the recipe said that the peels of these tomatoes would just melt away and she was right. When I made this, the jam didn't seem to be setting up so I added pectin...a whole box. I shouldn't have...my jam is VERY stiff. It still tastes great, but it is very stiff. Next time I will only add, at most, half a box, or maybe just try the recipe the way it is written. The part about the jam darkening...I did notice this some while I was cooking, but when it REALLY darkened up was while it was processing in the canner. The jars came out MUCH darker than they went in. I'm glad I was warned or I might have been afraid that it was ruined!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-73207665739187857262012-07-13T22:49:00.000-05:002012-07-14T02:12:39.031-05:00Fig JamLast week, Brent's mom called and said that there were many figs on the tree and we were welcome to come get them. I picked for about an hour and a half. There were plenty more figs that would be ready in a couple of days and there were many completely green figs as well. This is what we came home with.<br />
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Yes, I think it is safe to say this is a good year for figs! Since figs don't last very long, I got busy making fig jam. Brent's mom gave me Nanny's instructions a couple of years ago. It includes soaking the figs in brine prior to making the preserves. I think this is to soften the skins, but these figs are so small and tender that the skins break down easily, so I just skipped that step, and it worked out just fine. <br />
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Then you cook 9 cups of chopped figs with 3 cups of sugar and a little less than 1/2 cup (half of 3/4 to be exact) of water.<br />
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And cook it, and cook it, and cook it. I use a potato masher when everything is getting really soft to break the skins down a little more. I like the chunks in my jam to be fairly small. (Nanny's instructions did not inclde the next part, but I read that you need it to make the jam acidic enough to store safely.) Then when everything has thickened up nicely, you add 1/8 cup lemon juice, cook for an additional minute., then ladle into hot jars and process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes. I made two batches...one made 4.5 pints and one made 5.5 pints...and we still had figs left for fresh eating and for a drying attempt. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished jam</td></tr>
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I know you aren't supposed to double jam batches because of problems with inconsistent jelling, but the recipe in my canning book calls for 6 cups of sugar with the figs, so I think that it would have been fine to make both of these batches at the same time.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-54771353060351736292012-07-13T22:39:00.001-05:002012-07-13T22:53:36.111-05:00Canning, canning, canningSo along with a large harvest comes..."What do I do with all this food?!" We have been giving quite a bit away, eating a lot of it, yet the refrigerator, basket, colander and windowsill were still overflowing. It was time to get the canner out. So for 8 days, I cooked, preserved, jammed, pickled and canned. I made fig jam, 2 different salsas, yellow pear tomato jam, tomato preserves, tomato lemon marmalade, canned 1.5 pints of tomatoes and made pickled okra. And here is the result. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1VNyk_zeC0/UADoxVfzAUI/AAAAAAAACJ0/zypbqfIXvR4/s1600/IMG_8484+all+6+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="121" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i1VNyk_zeC0/UADoxVfzAUI/AAAAAAAACJ0/zypbqfIXvR4/s320/IMG_8484+all+6+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One jar of each of the six tomato recipes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mD2rFGG6RGc/UADpBFR0o4I/AAAAAAAACJ8/0957egFFOkg/s1600/IMG_8483+all+tomato.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mD2rFGG6RGc/UADpBFR0o4I/AAAAAAAACJ8/0957egFFOkg/s320/IMG_8483+all+tomato.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the tomato jars minus 1.5 pints of salsa.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IOz5d1xBYsc/UADoAZRIx_I/AAAAAAAACJc/KEqjpGnjexw/s1600/IMG_8487+all+jars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IOz5d1xBYsc/UADoAZRIx_I/AAAAAAAACJc/KEqjpGnjexw/s320/IMG_8487+all+jars.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One jar each of every recipe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2_FyKab0nrI/UADoMace4GI/AAAAAAAACJk/B6IBFDycJmI/s1600/IMG_8489+all+jars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="172" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2_FyKab0nrI/UADoMace4GI/AAAAAAAACJk/B6IBFDycJmI/s320/IMG_8489+all+jars.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All canned jars minus the 3 pints that had already been given away or eaten.</td></tr>
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When I was done, on Wednesday, (after going through about 12 pounds of sugar!) this is what we had left<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BGgShdncdss/UADocWOwtWI/AAAAAAAACJs/GOA6lYvb2rc/s1600/IMG_8481+tomatos+left.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BGgShdncdss/UADocWOwtWI/AAAAAAAACJs/GOA6lYvb2rc/s320/IMG_8481+tomatos+left.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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...well, not counting the squash and eggplant in the refrigerator. And now the basket is full of tomatoes again. I guess I will get back to making salsa again tomorrow :)Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-43403892124526513972012-07-12T23:39:00.000-05:002012-07-12T23:39:30.911-05:00Garden Gone Wild<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I've been talking for years about having a vegetable garden, and since we finally have PLENTY of space and sun, I put one in this year. Brent scraped the space that I marked out (which looked a little small, but was 9X13 when I measured it and a little smaller, but not much once we finished the frame.)Brent built the frame for me, so that we could level the ground since we live on a slope, and I asked him to build it even higher so that I had plenty of room to amend the thick clay soil that composes our yard. My parents helped me loosen the soil and get the roots out. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mvo-v5P2uY8/T_-a0ugZY8I/AAAAAAAACHs/vYt8yciyuqU/s1600/IMG_6603+compost.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mvo-v5P2uY8/T_-a0ugZY8I/AAAAAAAACHs/vYt8yciyuqU/s320/IMG_6603+compost.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April 3</td></tr>
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My wonderful friend, Josie, picked up 3 yards of compost in her heavy duty truck and she helped me unload all of it into the garden. Then I spent the next week or so turning all that lovely compost into the soil to prepare for planting.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l1PavmsX9Tg/T_-N1dL4PlI/AAAAAAAACEw/HxgpFf9zUlU/s1600/IMG_7133%2Bplanted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l1PavmsX9Tg/T_-N1dL4PlI/AAAAAAAACEw/HxgpFf9zUlU/s320/IMG_7133%2Bplanted.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">April 14</td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QTFIYP0oD6g/T_-N_IlUXNI/AAAAAAAACE8/IZKjLzri5T4/s1600/IMG_7172%2Bherbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="99" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QTFIYP0oD6g/T_-N_IlUXNI/AAAAAAAACE8/IZKjLzri5T4/s320/IMG_7172%2Bherbs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And the planting...7 tomatoes, one tomatillo, 5 eggplants, okra, zucchini, yellow squash, yellow and white pattypan squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, red, yellow, green and purple bell peppers, sugar baby watermelon, cantaloupe, leeks, shallots, sweet potato, red potato and yellow potato, black beans, wax beans and rattlesnake green beans, Malabar spinach, basil, fennel, bronze fennel, purple sage, dill, marigolds and nasturtiums. I also planted an herb bed with chocolate mint, orange mint, grapefruit mint, mojito mint, greek oregano, common oregano, rosemary, lemon basil, lime basil, lemon thyme, silver thyme, yellow sage, silver sage, lemon balm, garlic chives and mexican mint marigold and several flowers mixed in. Everything started growing...and growing and growing! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mMaeT4CCm6Q/T_-OlRCmZLI/AAAAAAAACFU/rzv0D-k_EM4/s1600/IMG_7432%2Bveggies%2Bgrowing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mMaeT4CCm6Q/T_-OlRCmZLI/AAAAAAAACFU/rzv0D-k_EM4/s320/IMG_7432%2Bveggies%2Bgrowing.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 15</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vraLSmywNtc/T_-OzLlh6kI/AAAAAAAACFg/X64GJelyjZo/s1600/IMG_7446%2Bherbs%2Bgrowing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vraLSmywNtc/T_-OzLlh6kI/AAAAAAAACFg/X64GJelyjZo/s320/IMG_7446%2Bherbs%2Bgrowing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Those squash vines are all over the yard and the tomatoes have grown bigger than I have ever seen a tomato plant grow! They were at least 8 feet tall before they fell over. Somehow I didn't get a picture before the plants knocked over the tomato cages. I used tent stakes and twine to tie them back up, but they still can't hold the crazy plants up! I'm going to have to figure something else out for supporting them next year. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JFPUevmwi3M/T_-TRSupcyI/AAAAAAAACHE/3qQPv7qWzaw/s1600/IMG_8457%2Bovergrown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="107" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JFPUevmwi3M/T_-TRSupcyI/AAAAAAAACHE/3qQPv7qWzaw/s320/IMG_8457%2Bovergrown.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July 9</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_6oe9OAfTqs/T_-TjQF9bsI/AAAAAAAACHQ/ocUFCXnvYT4/s1600/IMG_8464%2Bovergrown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_6oe9OAfTqs/T_-TjQF9bsI/AAAAAAAACHQ/ocUFCXnvYT4/s320/IMG_8464%2Bovergrown.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The shallots died off...I'm not sure if they got to shaded when the squash plants grew over them or what. The potatoes started out growing beautifully, but then died back and did not make any new potatoes where I mounded the soil, so I'm not holding my breath as to whether or not I will find any under the ground. And I'm not looking right now because the tomatoes and tomatillos have now grown over that spot. The sweet potato vine is still growing, so we might actually wind up with some sweet potatoes. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6HNunnkY5U/T_-fdQT0m3I/AAAAAAAACIs/0DY8ggoBK2M/s1600/IMG_8467+butternut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d6HNunnkY5U/T_-fdQT0m3I/AAAAAAAACIs/0DY8ggoBK2M/s320/IMG_8467+butternut.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The butternut squash is perfect and we still have several growing on the vine. I think we may continue to get more, too, since the vine is still growing. We have had a couple of spaghetti squash, but one rotted, and the other is waiting to be cooked. There are also 3 more on the vine right now. The bell peppers produced peppers, but the purple and green ones were very bitter so they went straight onto the compost pile. The red ones were perfect, and I am still waiting for the yellow one to turn yellow so we can try it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-snrnTRgRjM8/T_-T4S1DHaI/AAAAAAAACHc/h1yvgMhyRE0/s1600/IMG_8470%2Bherbs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-snrnTRgRjM8/T_-T4S1DHaI/AAAAAAAACHc/h1yvgMhyRE0/s320/IMG_8470%2Bherbs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July 12 - herb bed with a zucchini growing in it</td></tr>
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The black beans and the wax beans did great...until the grasshoppers started attacking the garden with a vengeance a few weeks ago. Those bugs are my nemesis right now...when you walk up to the garden, there are so many of them that you would think that we are growing grasshoppers rather than food! In one day, they ate all the green bean and black bean vines down to nothing. Grrrr!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J85Nkcxa1Ns/T_-TEAjmLjI/AAAAAAAACG4/yCwlhJjv-Vo/s1600/IMG_8461%2Bgrasshopper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J85Nkcxa1Ns/T_-TEAjmLjI/AAAAAAAACG4/yCwlhJjv-Vo/s320/IMG_8461%2Bgrasshopper.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These crazy bugs are EVERYWHERE! They are my nemesis!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zaqxYEUEzvA/T_-Sti4db1I/AAAAAAAACGg/HdE3vWSBRyo/s1600/IMG_8414%2Bgrasshopper%2Bbeans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zaqxYEUEzvA/T_-Sti4db1I/AAAAAAAACGg/HdE3vWSBRyo/s320/IMG_8414%2Bgrasshopper%2Bbeans.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In one night we went from lush vines with plenty of leaves and flowers to this sad sight.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jiirmk39_gQ/T_-S20ceRFI/AAAAAAAACGs/C5jjKUCKmms/s1600/IMG_8415%2Bgrasshopper%2Beggplant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jiirmk39_gQ/T_-S20ceRFI/AAAAAAAACGs/C5jjKUCKmms/s320/IMG_8415%2Bgrasshopper%2Beggplant.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They even eat up the eggplant leaves, just not as badly as the beans.</td></tr>
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I planted 2 eggplant varieties, Fairytale (I think it is an heirloom variety) and Black Beauty. Fairytale started producing way before Black Beauty even started blooming. It makes small, cylindrical fruits that are purple and white mottled/striped. They are very pretty, but the skin is rather tough...especially if you grill it. Then Black Beauty started blooming and we have had about 3 or 4 eggplants per plant...with a few of those number still growing.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KhDKH3GMWas/T_-NTNMfS8I/AAAAAAAACEE/bQ3nvw-gvOI/s1600/IMG_7433%2Bfairytale%2Beggplant%2Bblossoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KhDKH3GMWas/T_-NTNMfS8I/AAAAAAAACEE/bQ3nvw-gvOI/s320/IMG_7433%2Bfairytale%2Beggplant%2Bblossoms.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fairytale" with blossoms</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-emjlWIexWVg/T_-dO_kfusI/AAAAAAAACH8/egLTMmHy5DU/s1600/IMG_7471+fairy+tale+eggplant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-emjlWIexWVg/T_-dO_kfusI/AAAAAAAACH8/egLTMmHy5DU/s320/IMG_7471+fairy+tale+eggplant.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Fairytale" fruit</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2yFiyDYRr8/T_-deuw60LI/AAAAAAAACIE/kmssgeLpACo/s1600/IMG_7793+black+beauty+eggplant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_2yFiyDYRr8/T_-deuw60LI/AAAAAAAACIE/kmssgeLpACo/s320/IMG_7793+black+beauty+eggplant.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Black Beauty" eggplant</td></tr>
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The okra, "Clemson spineless" just in case you were wondering, is tall and producing like crazy...in spite of the grasshoppers devouring the leaves. The white scallop squash took off with a bang and hasn't stopped at all. I usually harvest more than enough for us to eat for a week in 2 or 3 days and we've been giving a lot away. It is by far the highest yielding of the squash we planted. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-si1VIerOrpM/T_-kn_DtmoI/AAAAAAAACJQ/VvOlJCmCnGE/s1600/IMG_7434+tomatillo+blossoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-si1VIerOrpM/T_-kn_DtmoI/AAAAAAAACJQ/VvOlJCmCnGE/s320/IMG_7434+tomatillo+blossoms.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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The tomatillo grew and grew and grew. And flowered and flowered and flowered. But it wasn't setting any fruit. Brent thought maybe we didn't have the right pollinator so I looked it up and everything I read said that you need 2 tomatillo plants for pollination. So I was thinking about ripping the plant up to give the space over to something else, but the next day, I noticed that there were a few swollen up husks, and since then there have been quite a few more show up. Nowhere close to all the flowers, but definitely enough that I am not ripping the plant up.</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z1RtoxoQUJI/T_-dqlE-ocI/AAAAAAAACIM/LwctxeWFU5I/s1600/IMG_8466+tomatillo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-z1RtoxoQUJI/T_-dqlE-ocI/AAAAAAAACIM/LwctxeWFU5I/s320/IMG_8466+tomatillo.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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And the tomatoes. Most of the tomatoes I planted are heirlooms. Chocolate Cherry was the first to set fruit. They are so sweet and yummy! It has been producing faithfully, just not huge quantities. I would say that it is just right for keeping a family in small tomatoes. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NCqMuvglWxw/T_-d3lovedI/AAAAAAAACIU/4vvcbeS1WO4/s1600/IMG_7473+green+cherry+tomatos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NCqMuvglWxw/T_-d3lovedI/AAAAAAAACIU/4vvcbeS1WO4/s320/IMG_7473+green+cherry+tomatos.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">green "Chocolate Cherry" tomatoes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">green "Yellow Pear" tomatoes</td></tr>
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Yellow Pear started growing all over the place, it stretches to all four sides of the tomato tangle (the tomatoes grew so much that they knocked over the tomato cages, and even staking and tying hasn't done much for it!) and it is the most prolific of all the tomato plants. In fact it is the only tomato plant that is still flowering and setting fruit as we speak. Having all those yummy yellow tomatoes inspired me to find recipes for what to do with them, because I harvest more than we can eat every day. I found and made a recipe for Yellow Pear Jam that I will share with you another day, and I have several more that I will try. After all, I still have tomatoes left from the batch of jam and the plant is still making more every day. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">green Roma</td></tr>
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The 2 Roma plants are next, producing faithfully and in fairly large quantities. I made salsa with them, canned a couple of jars and we have eaten them fresh, sliced with olive oil, basil and pepper. I also have another pile waiting to be turned into another creation, and there are more ripening on the vine. Brandywine has produced only a few tomatoes, but they have been large and yummy. Pineapple had quite a few flowers but never set any fruit. And finally I had one plant that was labeled "Heirloom Rainbow Mix" It could be one of 6 or so different varieties. It is similar in shape to the Brandywine tomato, but is a little smaller, and has made a higher number of tomatoes than the Brandywine. It is great for slicing and eating on a sandwich.</div>
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The watermelons are small, just right for 4 people to eat in one sitting, and delicious. We did get one teeny tiny watermelon. I knew that it was fertilized, because it took so long to have any female flowers that I hand pollinated the first two on the same day. One grew to a normal size, the other was smaller than a tomato. It was literally about 4 very small bites...but it was still sweet and yummy! :) </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">teeny tiny watermelon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">full size "Sugar Baby" watermelon</td></tr>
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I've been harvesting everyday, and get a decent harvest every time, sometimes even a large harvest 3 or 4 days in a row! The plants must really like all the compost we worked so hard to add in. :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">May 15 harvest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 27 harvest, part 1</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 27 harvest, part 2</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July 2 harvest</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">July 7 harvest</td></tr>
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The cantaloupe is growing and has had a couple of flowers, but no fruit has set yet. The Malabar spinach took a long time to sprout, only two seedlings ever emerged and they have not grown very big yet...only about 4 to 6 true leaves on each plant so far. We'll see what happens with them. The nasturtiums didn't do well at all. Out of the whole package, there were about 6 or 7 seedlings and they never grew more than just a few leaves...although a couple of those seedlings are still hanging in there. I still have several more things to plant for a fall crop. I already have seeds for carrots, spinach, bush beans and lettuce. Samantha really wants to grow broccoli, so as long as we can find it, we will try that and we'll see what else we can find to plant when it gets closer to that time.</div>
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I definitely deem this year's garden a whopping success!</div>
Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-46160104175913494702012-07-09T15:36:00.001-05:002012-07-09T15:36:30.524-05:00Stained Glass CakeI've been very busy gardening and canning lately...but that's not what I'm talking about today. I will tell you all about that another day. Today I'm talking about the cake I made for Bunco tonight. I haven't tried it yet, but I am so sure that it will be fabulous that I am posting about it now.
I found the recipe in a magazine while we were waiting for Samantha's physical therapy to begin and promptly decided that I NEEDED to make this cake. The picture looked that good! So I bought the ingredients and started thinking of a good reson to make it...and hosting Bunco in the summer is the perfect reason!
The magazine said that the recipe is from a 1950s ad for Jell-O and that it is also known as Crown Jewel Cake of Broken Glass Cake. Whatever, it just looks light and yummy! I did make a couple of changes to the recipe, but I will tell you what the recipe said, with my changes in parentheses. I forgot to take any pics while I was making it...with 2 children helping, I sort of had my hands full anyway...but I will take a pic once I cut the cake so you, too, can see how pretty it is. :)
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zz1T_cnlAB4/T_tAZWWgPXI/AAAAAAAACCw/msp1yXGnnvo/s1600/IMG_8456%2Bstained%2Bglass%2Bcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zz1T_cnlAB4/T_tAZWWgPXI/AAAAAAAACCw/msp1yXGnnvo/s320/IMG_8456%2Bstained%2Bglass%2Bcake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
(It didn't come out gorgeous like the magazine picture did, but I still think it looks yummy)
Ingredients:
12 graham crackers, crushed to fine crumbs, about 1.5 cups
3/4 cup sugar, divided
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 (3oz) boxes Jell-O
4.5 cups boiling water (I used 2.25 cups boiling water and 2.25 cups cold water)
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
(I also added some pinepple tidbits that I squeezed the juice out of and tore, and some mandarin oranges that I squeezed the juice out of. I'm not sure how much I used, maybe about 3/4 cup all together)
Crust: Preheat oven to 325F. Stir cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and melted butter together until crumbs resemble fine sand. Press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan (I used 14 graham crackers and also made a 7inch cake so that my family could have some while we enjoy the large one at Bunco. There were plenty of crumbs and filling for both cakes.) Bake until the edges are golden brown. (The recipe says 12 to 15 minutes, but mine was done after 10 minutes.) Cool on a wire rack.
Filling: In 3 seperate large bowls, whisk each box of Jell-O with 1.5 cups boiling water until dissolved. (I used 3/4 cup boiling water to dissolve the Jell-O, and then added 3/4 cup cold water to speed the setting) Pour Jello into 3 loaf pans, pie plates, etc and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours. Once the Jell-O has solidified, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and keep chilled. Combine 1/4 cup pineapple juice and unflavored gelatin in a bowl. Microwave, stirring occassionally, until gelatin is dissolved, 1-3 minutes. Slowly whisk in remaining pineapple juice. In a large bowl, with electric mixer on med-high speed, whip cream, vanilla, remaining sugar and salt until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add juice mixture until combined. (I added the fruit at this point, just mixing a little) Gently fold Jell-O cubes into cream mixture. Scrape into prepared pan and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-5532127848846687882012-01-23T11:18:00.005-06:002012-01-23T13:38:09.899-06:00New HatsHey Mom, are you sitting down? Because I don't want you to faint or anything, but look...I'm posting a second time in one day. :)<br /><br /><br />We have been hard at work getting boxes unpacked and getting our new home organized. One thing that I have found in unpacking is a rather large stash of yarn, so I've started crocheting again. It's not that I ever really stopped, but I just wasn't hard at work on anything in particular. Other then the prayer shawl that I am making for the group at my in-laws church. Of course, I haven't exactly been working HARD on that since I usually only get a row or two done at a time. So it's taking a very long time to finish. <br /><br />ANYWAY...in regard to getting serious about crocheting, I specifically wanted to make a hat for Jacob. You see, Jacob really likes hats. He wears his sister's hats all the time. And his Daddy doesn't like that. You see, Daddy thinks that boys should NEVER wear frilly girly hats, even to play a little. And ESPECIALLY not when the boy's mommy takes pictures that could be used for future blackmail...and sometimes posts them on Facebook.<br /><br />SO I started looking at hat patterns. And I found LOTS of girl patterns, but not a lot of boy patterns, at least not the free patterns. I also found a lot of adult patterns, and a much smaller number of children's patterns. So I have been working on adapting things. I started out making this hat in the same yarn with which I made a scarf for Samantha last year. It was the only yarn I could find that day that was the right weight. I was trying to see how the pattern worked up and then would possibly make one for Jacob with a different yarn. It was supposed to be a beanie type hat. But when I followed the pattern directions, that is NOT AT ALL how it turned out. So I started undoing it. When I got the hat about halfway undone, I decided not to undo the whole thing but to see if I could change the bottom half enough to make it fit Samantha. SO I tried...and I wound up with a cross between a beret and a slouch hat. Samantha likes it, so we kept it as is.<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mHMe4gA8QU/Tx2t2gdj4wI/AAAAAAAACCM/G1cnF4PMxSQ/s1600/sam%2Bhat%2Bcrop%2BIMG_6150.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9mHMe4gA8QU/Tx2t2gdj4wI/AAAAAAAACCM/G1cnF4PMxSQ/s320/sam%2Bhat%2Bcrop%2BIMG_6150.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700903855259378434" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i_uCd_-z7VU/Tx2t2VphImI/AAAAAAAACCA/BKx-vHCeyZI/s1600/sam%2Bhat%2Bcrop%2BIMG_6146.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i_uCd_-z7VU/Tx2t2VphImI/AAAAAAAACCA/BKx-vHCeyZI/s320/sam%2Bhat%2Bcrop%2BIMG_6146.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700903852356739682" /></a><br /> <br />But I knew that pattern wouldn't work for Jacob's hat. So I continued my quest for the right pattern. Next I tried this one, once again in the same yarn as Samantha's scarf. It's a no brainer, really. I have several skeins of this yarn and it is a somewhat bulky yarn which means that it works up quickly, so it is my test yarn right now. And I really do like the hat. Once again, so does Samantha. So she gets to keep this one, too. It is a little big, but I figure I can either line it to help make it fit a little better, or I can use some elastic thread in the edge.<br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S1m6oQEql9s/Tx2t3Ay1-DI/AAAAAAAACCY/rLfxYgn9KXs/s1600/sam%2Bhat%2BIMG_6157.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S1m6oQEql9s/Tx2t3Ay1-DI/AAAAAAAACCY/rLfxYgn9KXs/s320/sam%2Bhat%2BIMG_6157.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700903863938578482" /></a><br /><br /><br />I wasn't sure about the pattern for Jacob, though. And once I started using the yarn for his hat, I quickly realized that the pattern is nearly impossible to work with his yarn anyway. And even if I did manage to get it worked correctly, the pattern is practically not there because of the way is yarn works up. So that was a no go for him, too. <br /><br />So then I moved to a very simple pattern that uses worsted weight yarn. I made it with the worsted weight yarn, and it turned out pretty small, in fact, it just barely fit Jacob. So I used a slightly larger hook and a the bulkier yarn. I also modified the pattern a bit and it turned out just right. Jacob loves the hat. But when I tried to take his picture, he wouldn't wear it any longer. This was the best we could get. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r_Gt_ASk128/Tx2t1rBcspI/AAAAAAAACBo/T781V2RheUA/s1600/Jacob%2Bhat%2BIMG_6130.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 220px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r_Gt_ASk128/Tx2t1rBcspI/AAAAAAAACBo/T781V2RheUA/s320/Jacob%2Bhat%2BIMG_6130.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700903840914387602" /></a><br />So Samantha modeled it for us instead. <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rwcac2msmJw/Tx2ulpwwFWI/AAAAAAAACCk/NgCL_vDg82U/s1600/Sam%2Bhat%2BIMG_6136.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rwcac2msmJw/Tx2ulpwwFWI/AAAAAAAACCk/NgCL_vDg82U/s320/Sam%2Bhat%2BIMG_6136.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700904665209640290" /></a> Brent thinks the hat is too fuzzy, but guesses he can live with it. Now the final question...there's enough yarn left to make a matching scarf, should I make one for my boy? Seriously...I want your opinion. Because when I asked Brent about it, he replied, "That's really yuppie."<br /><br />And then, just because I saw this cute pattern (which I also ended up having to modify and it still turned out a little big) I made this cute little number for Samantha. <br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMyL5lUVnEs/Tx2t2M7YtXI/AAAAAAAACB0/dfQOeK9Iqgc/s1600/sam%2Bhat%2Bcolor%2BIMG_6107.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMyL5lUVnEs/Tx2t2M7YtXI/AAAAAAAACB0/dfQOeK9Iqgc/s320/sam%2Bhat%2Bcolor%2BIMG_6107.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700903850015765874" /></a><br />I am really enjoying crocheting hats, it's something I can actually get done because they are quick to finish. Now who else wants one? :)Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-76924401279633625082012-01-23T08:10:00.003-06:002012-01-23T08:44:25.986-06:00CalzoneI tried making homemade calzone the other night. I used a hodgepodge of recipes to do it, and they didn't turn out exactly right...or at least not the way you think it should. I still liked them...a lot in fact, especially the inside, but Brent said that they are strange, and while OK, not worth the time and effort. <br /><br />I started out with the dough for crust. I wanted to make a whole wheat crust but the recipe called for wheat germ and I didn't have any. So I used a recipe that calls for all purpose flour, but used the rule that you can substitute up to half of the flour with whole wheat and then just add a little extrra water. I also used pizza dough yeast, but then still let it rise.<br />So here are the ingredients:<br />1.5 cups whole wheat flour<br />1.25 cups all purpose flour<br />1 pkg yeast<br />1 tsp salt<br />1 tsp sugar<br />about 3/4 cup hot water (about 110F, not too hot so you don't kill the yeast)<br />1Tbsp olive oil<br /><br />In a small bowl combine the yeast, sugar and 1/4 cup water, leave in a warm place until frothy. (It ought to get frothy within 5-10 minutes. If it doesn't get frothy within 15-20 minutes, you may have made the water too hot and killed the yeast or you might just have yeast that is too old...yes, I know both of these answers from experience) Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl. Add yeast mix to flour mix along with the oil and remaining water. Mix to a soft dough. (With the whole wheat flour, I had to add quite a bit more water, but I don't know how much...I just kept adding a little at a time until all the ingredients came together as a dough.) Knead on a floured surface 10 minutes until smooth. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 45 minutes)<br />Punch dough down and knead briefly. Pinch off a ball of dough and roll into a 6-8 inch circle, depending on how big you want your calzone.<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGLv0nu-O64/Tx1u0MbitRI/AAAAAAAACBc/XsQaVr7n2p8/s1600/calzone%2BIMG_6123.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gGLv0nu-O64/Tx1u0MbitRI/AAAAAAAACBc/XsQaVr7n2p8/s320/calzone%2BIMG_6123.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700834546289915154" /></a><br /><br />Place fillings in the center, fold over and seal the edges with a fork. <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HWhEgKFDHyk/Tx1uzYeskyI/AAAAAAAACBE/4oUymtlEC2g/s1600/calzone%2BIMG_6124.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HWhEgKFDHyk/Tx1uzYeskyI/AAAAAAAACBE/4oUymtlEC2g/s320/calzone%2BIMG_6124.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700834532344501026" /></a><br />Place on a greased baking sheet, brush calzone with olive oil and bake in a 450F oven for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. <br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-liSb193HBaI/Tx1uzopGQsI/AAAAAAAACBU/qRN9dnmF8bY/s1600/calzone%2BIMG_6125.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-liSb193HBaI/Tx1uzopGQsI/AAAAAAAACBU/qRN9dnmF8bY/s320/calzone%2BIMG_6125.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5700834536683094722" /></a><br />You see how the cheese is oozing out of the one on the bottom? Well the calzon on the left, yes, the one that is cut off a little, had A LOT of cheese oozing out...and when I took it off the baking sheet, that cheese separated from the calzon, so I ate it...yes just the little chunk of cheese...and BOY WAS IT YUMMY!<br /><br />Now for the filling ingredients. I got a <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/">Pioneer Woman </a>cookbook for Christmas and she has a recipe for calzone in it. I sort of used her cheese mix and then just added other stuff. I used 1 cup ricotta cheese, .75 cup shredded mozzerella, and .75 cup shredded colby/monterey jack and mixed them all up. Then I added frozen chopped spinach that had been thawed and drained. I also cooked sweet italian sausage with onions and garlic, then drained the grease and added some of that on top of the cheese and spinach, I also added fresh sliced mushrooms. I tried tomatos, but they made it too watery. We used pizza sauce for dipping.<br /><br />Overall, Samantha ate the ones that didn;t have any spinach, Jacob loved it all and inhaled it, Brent said it was OK, and I thought they were really yummy, even though the crust was a little crunchy instead of being like bread. I might need to work on the the dough a little, but I think the rest of it was just right! :)Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-79532718630630149192011-09-15T22:04:00.005-05:002011-09-15T22:33:04.166-05:00Another FirstYikes! I just noticed that I haven't published anything for about 6 weeks! Mom, I am so sorry! But at least you have seen us a couple times recently, so you aren't COMPLETELY grandchild deprived. <br /><br />Anyway...for everyone else, now, I have to tell you about another first that happened today...and this time it is not about Jacob but is about Samantha instead. I made an appointment for Jacob to get his haircut because it was getting quite long and his curls were REALLY showing up. Brent had been threatening to just buzz his hair, so I made the appointment. <br /><br />When we were getting ready to leave the house, Samantha said that she wants to get her hair cut, also. I told her that we could ask Ms. Sherri if she has time or not, and that if she does, then we will get it cut, but if she doesn't then we would have to try again another time. Well, Sherri did have time, so at 3 years 8 months and 8 days of age, Samantha got her first haircut. She was so excited and sat very still for Ms Sherri. She said that she really liked getting her hair cut and she wants to do it again. We may have created a monster! But at least her hair really does look cute...at least for today, we'll see how it looks when it is my tunr to fix it tomorrow!<br /><br />There were supposed to be picures attached to this post...but something is wrong. I have tried 3 times to uplaod the pictures and it keeps coming up with an internal error and therefore my pics are not publishing. I will put them on facebook, so that until this problem is resolved, you can still see the pics.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-2817510375179651172011-08-05T13:30:00.004-05:002011-08-05T14:14:32.299-05:00Choices, ChoicesOur new house is coming along very nicely and quickly, too. There is currently brick sitting in the yard, and the rock will also be there in a few days. The sheetrock is up, and I believe there is texture on the walls. The cabinets are set to go in the beginning of next week, and we should be done 30-45 days after that. <br /><br />So now we are in the make TONS of decisions stage. I never thought about how many things there are to choose when building a house, AFTER choosing a floor plan, that is. Shingles, brick, rock, exterior paint, windows, doors, door knobs, cabinets, countertops...both bathroom and kitchen, floor tile, backsplash tile, the rest of the flooring, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, appliances, interior paint, and I don't think I have even come close to naming it all! <br /><br />Yesterday, the kids and I drove to Belton to look at granite for the kitchen countertops and brought home four samples to look at with Brent, hoping that he would like at least one of them. Before starting this housebuilding process, I had no idea how very different our taste tends to be. For example, when we started talking about appliances, he asked if I wanted stainless or black. I said "NOT black, either white or stainless." He waited a while and then said, do you REALLY want white appliances?" I told him I hadn't decided for sure, but maybe. I asked if he didn't like that and he said that he thinks that white appliances look cheap. So we went with the middle ground. <br /><br />I am learning all about how to make decisions together peacefully with Brent, how to not get my way all the time, how to compromise. Hopefully we will continue to use these newly refined skills with one another in other areas of our life.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HQMsZjHcG6s/Tjw3FZkRAiI/AAAAAAAACAc/ZvL6Zo4HzfU/s1600/choices%2BIMG_4925.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HQMsZjHcG6s/Tjw3FZkRAiI/AAAAAAAACAc/ZvL6Zo4HzfU/s320/choices%2BIMG_4925.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637441399462887970" /></a>Some of the samples we are currently looking at for bathroom counters, kitchen counter and flooring. (Since taking this picture, we have chosen the granite for the kitchen and the marble for the bathroom. Our granite is the largest piece, on the far right of the picture, called ornamental brown. The picture doesn't come close to doing it justice. And the marble is the very top piece in the picture. This picture makes it look yellowish, but it isn't at all.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fbD5qQX-Fao/Tjw3FY5wGDI/AAAAAAAACAU/hzmEImCGca0/s1600/choices%2BIMG_4924.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fbD5qQX-Fao/Tjw3FY5wGDI/AAAAAAAACAU/hzmEImCGca0/s320/choices%2BIMG_4924.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637441399284570162" /></a>Jacob is fascinated by all the samples we bring home. Apparently he wants to help in the decision making process.Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-21191102355669979242011-07-30T13:24:00.009-05:002011-07-31T20:29:02.583-05:00Busy and Social BeesThis summer has been just flying by! We have been very busy and have been enjoying ourselves tremendously. We had our VBS here in Clifton. We had Benjamin with us for 2 weeks and one of those weeks we spent at the beach and in College Station. The day that Benjamin left, we went to Dallas to go to the Prestoncrest VBS where I taught 3rd grade, Samantha had a blast and Jacob didn't spend all of his days in misery...just most of them. (I really felt bad for poor Ms. Leslie and her helpers who had to listen to him cry for most of the week.) I have all kinds of things to write about...such as finishing Jacob's 18 month post and actually posting it, writing about his first haircut, our beach vacation, 2 different VBS programs, etc, but for today, I am talking about making new friends. <br /><br />We came back home after VBS and had a few days off, then Samantha started swimming lessons. (I will give you a post just about the swimming lessons later, too.) Those swimming lessons have been almost the best thing that has happened since we moved here! I am SOO glad that she was allowed to participate even though she is 3.5 and not 4. Not only did she make great progress, but we made friends!<br /><br />You see, earlier in the summer...maybe about a month ago, I met a couple of ladies at the pool one day. They said that they have a playgroup and got my phone number and e-mail address and told me that they would let me know the next time they were doing something. On the first day of swimming lessons, I saw one of them, Amanda, again. Her younger daughter, who is about 6 months older than Samantha, was placed in the same class that Samantha was. So when we came back for the second day, Amanda and I talked during the lessons and Jacob and her older daughter played in the baby pool. Then during her older daughter's lesson, we stayed and the younger daughter played with both Jacob and Samantha. And the 3 girls were suddenly fast friends. Each day after swim lessons, they don't want to leave because they like playing together so much. And I really enjoyed spending time with and talking to Amanda. <br /><br />They had a play group this past Tuesday afternoon, so after swim lessons, we went to Amanda's house and had lunch, then followed her out to another lady's house for the playgroup...which was an afternoon in the pool at Jill's house. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GIEbEftfDPg/TjXqipt_USI/AAAAAAAAB-s/5OVS8TfnqN0/s1600/playgroup%2BIMG_4769.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GIEbEftfDPg/TjXqipt_USI/AAAAAAAAB-s/5OVS8TfnqN0/s320/playgroup%2BIMG_4769.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635668389759242530" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uztc8Grv7xM/TjXqiWuGoFI/AAAAAAAAB-k/Q_J1Au6uccs/s1600/playgroup%2BIMG_4767.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Uztc8Grv7xM/TjXqiWuGoFI/AAAAAAAAB-k/Q_J1Au6uccs/s320/playgroup%2BIMG_4767.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635668384659447890" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CcPkU8vL7zU/TjXqiOZcpiI/AAAAAAAAB-c/3ZlPHsEoPcA/s1600/playgroup%2BIMG_4761.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CcPkU8vL7zU/TjXqiOZcpiI/AAAAAAAAB-c/3ZlPHsEoPcA/s320/playgroup%2BIMG_4761.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635668382425327138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DYNS-z9WAFA/TjXqhyMEjQI/AAAAAAAAB-U/0D-j1AEV-H4/s1600/playgroup%2BIMG_4759.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DYNS-z9WAFA/TjXqhyMEjQI/AAAAAAAAB-U/0D-j1AEV-H4/s320/playgroup%2BIMG_4759.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635668374853029122" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HDMcpqWzleI/TjXqhgqHXMI/AAAAAAAAB-M/fo38iDAREo4/s1600/playgroup%2BIMG_4758.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HDMcpqWzleI/TjXqhgqHXMI/AAAAAAAAB-M/fo38iDAREo4/s320/playgroup%2BIMG_4758.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5635668370147204290" /></a><br />I met a bunch more ladies, and really enjoyed getting to know them. They are all so nice and so friendly! One of the ladies told me that they started the playgroup a few years ago because there were two of them who could not seem to find a friend when they moved to town...then they met each other. And now whenever anyone in the group meets someone new, the new person is invited to be part of the group as well, because they don't want someone else being as lonely as they were. It already feels like I am part of a group now, and although the individuals may be different each time, I think we will be able to find someone to do things with us fairly regularly. And they have a FB group, which I have been added to as well. That makes planning times and things for getting together VERY easy. <br /><br />Then on Wednesday, we went by our new house, and met some more neighbors while we were there. They have a daughter about 6 months older than Samantha, a son about 6 months younger than Jacob, and a brand new baby. And they were also very nice and friendly. Our girls really enjoyed each other's company and were sad to say goodbye when we headed home for the night. We promised them that they would get to play together frequently once the house is finished.<br /><br />Then some ladies from the playgroup decided to come to the pool on Friday for the afternoon. So I brought our lunch for the last day of swim lessons and my kids and I just stayed through all 3 classes of swim lessons, then got out and ate lunch during the 30 minutes that we had to wait for the pool to open. We were at the pool from 9:20am until 4:00pm. That was CRAZY! But we had a great time and once again I got to talk to people more and make more friends. And Samantha decided that she would rather jump into the pool to Amanda than me, and Jacob cried when Amanda tried to give him back to me, then stopped crying when she held him again...so I know that my kids are happy with our new friends, too. <br /><br />I have to say...I am exhausted after the week and a half of swim lessons and I am grateful that they are over...but I am so glad that we went and had so many days in a row of making new friends and spending time with them!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-3649942762467282142011-07-21T07:35:00.003-05:002011-07-21T07:59:48.688-05:00First Day of Swimming LessonsSamantha had her first day of swim lessons yesterday...and I missed it. Yes, I am completely serious. You see, swim lessons were supposed to start at 9:30 and I needed to meet with the cabinet guy at our new house at 10. So I called a friend from church and she came to be with Samantha at the pool. When I left the pool at 9:45, they were just beginning to get in the water. Then when I got back at 10:40, Samantha was already done and getting dressed. They told me that she did great, and she was excited to tell me so herself. I did get a couple of pictures as they were beginning to get into the pool...and you can bet I will be taking more today since I will be there for the entire lesson!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xpBwieLp7oY/Tigifj91KhI/AAAAAAAAB-E/w1CnWPvodto/s1600/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4640.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xpBwieLp7oY/Tigifj91KhI/AAAAAAAAB-E/w1CnWPvodto/s320/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4640.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631789259652672018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa3Y5jcjajE/TigifVvGQyI/AAAAAAAAB98/Ezam2FZ3lMI/s1600/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4642.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 201px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sa3Y5jcjajE/TigifVvGQyI/AAAAAAAAB98/Ezam2FZ3lMI/s320/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4642.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631789255832781602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wbxip_MGElY/TigifALzz9I/AAAAAAAAB90/yEq4NG5ZXGY/s1600/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4643.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 190px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wbxip_MGElY/TigifALzz9I/AAAAAAAAB90/yEq4NG5ZXGY/s320/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4643.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631789250047627218" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JT33pDa4bC0/Tigie6X41TI/AAAAAAAAB9s/DQ_rI_AVmLM/s1600/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4645.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JT33pDa4bC0/Tigie6X41TI/AAAAAAAAB9s/DQ_rI_AVmLM/s320/day%2B1%2Bswim%2BIMG_4645.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5631789248487675186" /></a>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-84193053092859749472011-07-09T09:33:00.007-05:002011-07-09T09:46:49.941-05:00Morning VisitorWe had a new visitor this morning. When we looked out the kitchen window we saw a grey fox just looking around and sunning itself. It stayed around long enough for me to get the camera out and take several pictures through the window (hence the noise in the pictures, the screen was between the fox and me and I couldn't get quite close enough to the window to make it disappear) then it calmly walked up the road to Charles and Ginger's house, went across their carport and into the trees in their front yard. This is definitely one of the bonuses to living in the country. :)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUg8c4I9MUA/Thhnq1N3I5I/AAAAAAAAB9k/4SHf9MmYTy0/s1600/fox%2BIMG_4017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yUg8c4I9MUA/Thhnq1N3I5I/AAAAAAAAB9k/4SHf9MmYTy0/s320/fox%2BIMG_4017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627361719936820114" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-leG3_uz3N70/ThhnqIzsZNI/AAAAAAAAB9c/m_WgNDRrRbI/s1600/fox%2BIMG_4024.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-leG3_uz3N70/ThhnqIzsZNI/AAAAAAAAB9c/m_WgNDRrRbI/s320/fox%2BIMG_4024.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627361708015903954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7GRZLGIOO2s/Thhnp2Hf8eI/AAAAAAAAB9U/znElTs-HgBQ/s1600/fox%2BIMG_4026.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 283px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7GRZLGIOO2s/Thhnp2Hf8eI/AAAAAAAAB9U/znElTs-HgBQ/s320/fox%2BIMG_4026.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627361702998700514" /></a>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-8280449409743448512011-06-24T22:33:00.007-05:002011-08-02T10:11:24.406-05:00First Haircut<div align="center">Someone got a first haircut today. Any guesses who that might be?</div><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aH1xUflWx24/TjgEDJ5F3BI/AAAAAAAACAE/-zkW7-OuGD4/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3555.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 214px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636259385895672850" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aH1xUflWx24/TjgEDJ5F3BI/AAAAAAAACAE/-zkW7-OuGD4/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3555.jpg" /></a></p><p align="center">Yes, this curly head needed a trim pretty desperately so that he wouldn't start being mistaken for a little girl. </p><p align="center"> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w5LYovO9XCs/TjgEDblaI5I/AAAAAAAACAM/cR8rGGR6UCU/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3554.jpg"></a></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w5LYovO9XCs/TjgEDblaI5I/AAAAAAAACAM/cR8rGGR6UCU/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3554.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 318px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636259390644954002" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w5LYovO9XCs/TjgEDblaI5I/AAAAAAAACAM/cR8rGGR6UCU/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3554.jpg" /></a><p align="center"><br /></p><p align="center">I must admit...I think it is COMPLETELY unfair that my boy is the one with the thick hair and curls...that must be cut off...and my girl has thin, very fine hair without curls...and she still hasn't had her hair grow enough...at 3.5...to have a haircut yet.<br /><br />Since we were in San Angelo to pick Benjamin up, we took Jacob to Sports Clips. Kathy had occassionally taken Benjamin there and they do many 1st haircuts, so we decided to try it with Jacob. It turned out to be a good choice. The lady cutting his hair worked so well with him!</p><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 255px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636257755615462386" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QD6B58ADEXg/TjgCkQoAA_I/AAAAAAAAB_8/AsYX-T5GSXQ/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3558.jpg" /><p align="center">He had to sit on Grandma's lap because he started screaming as soon as I tried to put him in the chair. Even in her lap, he was still a little unsure about the whole thing, but he did stop fussing.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyxfh46ugEQ/TjgCkfaC-mI/AAAAAAAAB_0/P2joegjniBU/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3559.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636257759583468130" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyxfh46ugEQ/TjgCkfaC-mI/AAAAAAAAB_0/P2joegjniBU/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3559.jpg" /></a><p align="center">The first cut...and she even had an envelope ready for me to place that first lock of hair into.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pK5HwsEqDPk/TjgCkFDRl9I/AAAAAAAAB_s/m9fpSXDoUD0/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3560.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 249px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636257752508635090" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pK5HwsEqDPk/TjgCkFDRl9I/AAAAAAAAB_s/m9fpSXDoUD0/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3560.jpg" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HuPtZnbkY00/TjgCj99JRyI/AAAAAAAAB_k/8PXu7GKsO1U/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3561.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 245px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636257750603876130" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HuPtZnbkY00/TjgCj99JRyI/AAAAAAAAB_k/8PXu7GKsO1U/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3561.jpg" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mtr2mxb-cW0/TjgCjt27n5I/AAAAAAAAB_c/-DeVC6E4t5s/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3564.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 224px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636257746282848146" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mtr2mxb-cW0/TjgCjt27n5I/AAAAAAAAB_c/-DeVC6E4t5s/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3564.jpg" /></a><p align="center">The end of his "mohawk"...I wonder if Samantha will miss seeing it during bathtime.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWmDSZQ_3os/TjgApJsexXI/AAAAAAAAB_U/bYu1euOhWrc/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3566.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636255640631297394" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GWmDSZQ_3os/TjgApJsexXI/AAAAAAAAB_U/bYu1euOhWrc/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3566.jpg" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gi_clys2PlA/TjgAouoIDVI/AAAAAAAAB_M/klAmo_pWMWQ/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3570.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 214px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636255633365273938" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gi_clys2PlA/TjgAouoIDVI/AAAAAAAAB_M/klAmo_pWMWQ/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3570.jpg" /></a><p align="center">She even managed to get Jacob to let her use the trimmer. She started by letting him feel it on his hand, then when he was used to the sound and the vibration, she moved to his hair...and it worked great!<br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NBTn_3uV5_o/TjgAofSD0yI/AAAAAAAAB_E/YDpW_ijYoBs/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3571.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 221px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636255629246190370" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NBTn_3uV5_o/TjgAofSD0yI/AAAAAAAAB_E/YDpW_ijYoBs/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3571.jpg" /></a><p align="center">Almost done now.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9RDz3qUHso/TjgAoA6k4BI/AAAAAAAAB-8/gC3wVGO04f4/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3574.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 238px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636255621094629394" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9RDz3qUHso/TjgAoA6k4BI/AAAAAAAAB-8/gC3wVGO04f4/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3574.jpg" /></a><p align="center">What a handsome little boy! There will be NO mistaking him for a girl now!</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-74-zB4LeS9U/TjgAn9I4tqI/AAAAAAAAB-0/LEJQLjkhmpc/s1600/haircut%2BIMG_3576.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 282px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636255620080907938" border="0" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-74-zB4LeS9U/TjgAn9I4tqI/AAAAAAAAB-0/LEJQLjkhmpc/s320/haircut%2BIMG_3576.jpg" /></a>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-53981372376926933352011-06-22T10:53:00.004-05:002011-06-22T11:25:51.969-05:00Weird Storm and Blech!We had a crazy storm last night. Lots of thunder and lightning, and some rain. The kids both woke up crying, but fell back asleep when I stayed in their room for a while. It didn't sound like it was very windy, but then this morning, this is what we found.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UyZeUY5C-z0/TgIQrJUW0uI/AAAAAAAAB9E/RsnJ1kjnBig/s1600/storm%2BIMG_3541.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UyZeUY5C-z0/TgIQrJUW0uI/AAAAAAAAB9E/RsnJ1kjnBig/s320/storm%2BIMG_3541.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621073618333520610" /></a><br />The bird feeders were still right where they started, but a limb was blown out of the tree they hang from.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IDQ4YVB0KHY/TgIWtm24SKI/AAAAAAAAB9M/O3Ax1gfkx_c/s1600/storm%2BIMG_3543.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 165px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IDQ4YVB0KHY/TgIWtm24SKI/AAAAAAAAB9M/O3Ax1gfkx_c/s320/storm%2BIMG_3543.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621080257692453026" /></a><br />The gate was ripped off it's hinges, but the fence was not damaged at all.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x4fWL1MRoA0/TgIQq5793kI/AAAAAAAAB88/_wXfRixqPbc/s1600/storm%2BIMG_3539.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x4fWL1MRoA0/TgIQq5793kI/AAAAAAAAB88/_wXfRixqPbc/s320/storm%2BIMG_3539.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621073614204689986" /></a><br />The plastic swimming pool (which was empty, and therefor very light) was right where we left it, but the trampoline was upside down and across the field.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hSQhb6eBG20/TgIQqpYc1nI/AAAAAAAAB80/kTXj9M8Gmj4/s1600/storm%2BIMG_3540.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hSQhb6eBG20/TgIQqpYc1nI/AAAAAAAAB80/kTXj9M8Gmj4/s320/storm%2BIMG_3540.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621073609760757362" /></a><br />And unless it is safe to weld a trampoline back together, I am afraid that we no longer have a trampoline...blech!!!Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6141494108042579772.post-56879918763218190282011-06-07T08:17:00.004-05:002011-06-07T08:24:00.632-05:00Getting Started<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rBji9QMXhl4/Te4l3il9fhI/AAAAAAAAB8c/XzDqDmsFO_s/s1600/house%2Bbuilding%2BIMG_3223.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rBji9QMXhl4/Te4l3il9fhI/AAAAAAAAB8c/XzDqDmsFO_s/s320/house%2Bbuilding%2BIMG_3223.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615467421486644754" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mRqYxIJvnZo/Te4l4JtNijI/AAAAAAAAB8k/doAmbIum0TA/s1600/house%2Bbuilding%2BIMG_3231.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mRqYxIJvnZo/Te4l4JtNijI/AAAAAAAAB8k/doAmbIum0TA/s320/house%2Bbuilding%2BIMG_3231.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615467431986039346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-op7W6eh41G0/Te4l4ufbU3I/AAAAAAAAB8s/GAe7nPlGB00/s1600/house%2Bbuilding%2BIMG_3233.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-op7W6eh41G0/Te4l4ufbU3I/AAAAAAAAB8s/GAe7nPlGB00/s320/house%2Bbuilding%2BIMG_3233.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615467441860334450" /></a>Christyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15289121058613962393noreply@blogger.com0