Friday, November 19, 2010

What I did this week

It's Friday and time for my weekly post. I am having a hard time thinking of something specific to write about so umm.... here are a few things I did this week. I wish I had some pictures. I never think of taking picture until I go to do a blog post.

My regular weekday schedule goes something like this: Go to work in the morning for a few hours. Ben comes to get me and we swap places. He goes to school and I go home with the kids. Then, depending on the day, we either switch places again or I take the kids to Grandma's while I go back to work for a few more hours. In the evening I am home with the Kids and Ben goes to work or has class. Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a longer break in the middle of the day with the kids so I usually use that time to get some things done.

This week I have been getting lots of things done but not getting much sleep. Heber came down with a fever last night and was tossing and turning all night because of it. Eeva has been sick for a few weeks now and I wish they would both get better already. Sick grumpy kids are no fun. At least I get lots of time to snuggle my little ones. All they want is for mama to hold them and nurse them.

I finished knitting Eeva's dress. Now I just need to weave the ends in, sew a button on and knit up the booties to go with it. I think I will also make a matching headband.

I made a last minuet change in the toy I wanted to make for Eeva's birthday. I was going to make some nesting cubes but instead decided to make wool balls with different rattles/bells inside. I went to a whole lotta stores looking for round rattles squeakers and bells bud didn't find what I was looking for. I ended up using some pin pong balls that I cut it half, filled with rice and other stuff, and then tapped back together. For the wool I am using some white wool yarn that isn't twisted. Last night I had so much fun dying the wool different colors. I used food coloring and vinegar and it seemed to have worked really well. I will put together a post on this entire project once I get some pictures.

Lets see.... what else..... I went to the grocery store. I tried to make Cheese and it was a total fail. I successfully make Mozzarella cheese the first time I tried. The second time it was alright and I have never been able to get it to work since. I have used various methods and recipes but to no avail. I have tied at least 3 times now and I just can't get it right. I think I am making it too acidic. Someday I will learn to make delicious cheese. And we will get a milk goat and everything will be lovely. : )

Oh yes and the most important thing: Made the most delicious squash soup I have every had!!! It was seriously so so good. I want more right now but it is all gone.I made a few adjustments to the recipe found here. This is my version


Squash Soup

Ingredients:
  • 8 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups apple juice + water if you need more liquid
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1-2 tsp fresh ground pepper (or to taste)
  • 8 cups chopped and cubed fresh winter squash (I used acorn and butternut or you could use 6 cups canned pumpkin puree)
  • 1 cup carrots, chopped
  • 2 cups onion, chopped
  • 4 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano, chopped
  • 3 cup whole milk
Directions:
Add everything to a big pot except the parsley, oregano and milk. Cook until all the veggies are soft (about 30 minuets).  Add the parsley and oregano and cook for a few more minuets. Remove from heat and puree soup in batches in the blender. Add milk and enjoy. You could easily leave out the milk and it would still be delicious.

We sipped it from mugs and ate it with cheese toast. It was so yummy! Funny thing: While we were making this Heber kept asking about the "pumpkins" we were using. He carried the butternut squash around all day saying how much he liked his pumpkin. I told him it was called butternut squash. Concerned he asked "does it has nuts in it? I can't eat nuts, they make me sick." They today he asked if our butter had nuts in it. It makes me feel somewhat relieved that he can ask if something has nuts and know he can't eat it. I told him the other squash was called acorn squash which he says "eggcorn". He later told my sister that we were eating corn egg squash. What a cute boy!!

If you try the soup, let me know how you like it. Have a happy weekend!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Happy Halloween

Ok, these are a bit late. I was planning on posting them earlier but never did... And since I have a goal of posting once a week and I haven't thought of much else to write about.... so this is what you get.

We dressed up for a family party the weekend before Halloween and then never ended up do anything on Halloween. We had a busy day and decided for a quiet evening at home. The costumes were simple and I was able to sew them in just a few hours.

my little lady bug

My puppy dog. Heber picked out what he wanted to be and was so excited about his doggy costume. 
His favorite part was the tail. He kept says "I have a tail, and Angle (my parent's dog) has a tail too"

This week I have been baking lots of yummy food and trying to take a slower pace. My house -especially the kitchen- is a huge mess but who cares really. I am doing what I want to do and not worrying about the rest. This weekend I hope to get Eeva's knitted dress done and start a sewing project for her birthday. I can't believe this little angle is almost 1. She is very close to walking and is starting to say a few words. How did she get so big so fast?


What are your plans for the weekend? Does anyone know how to get it so my pictures don't have a border? I have tried editing the HTML to say border=none but it is still there.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Busy

Why do I feel like I always have so much to get done? Sometimes I feel so busy it is completely overwhelming. I run from place to place as fast as I can to get more things done. Doing, going, rushing. I have a to do list that I constantly keep (either in my mind or on paper) of all of the things that need to be done: dishes, laundry, grocery store, meal planning, library, LLL, sewing project, knitting, .... it can go on forever.

What is this mindset of business that I always seem to have? I don't think it is necessary or even important. A few days ago it occurred to me that being to busy with so much to do was not making me feel fulfilled or even happy. I was so grumpy and cranky, yelling at my kids and whining to Ben. I was miserable! This was not a new revelation to me but it was a much needed reminder to slow down, enjoy life, be happy. 5 years from now, I won't think back to this time when my kids are so little and say "oh how I wish I had a cleaner house, or I wish my dishes were clean." I'm sure I won't care about that at all. Instead I will wish I had taken more time to play, to laugh, and to love. I will wish that I had cherished and soaked in every moment when my babies were little for it only last such a short time. I want to stop being to busy. I want to stop doing things that make me overwhelmed and stressed. I want to forget all of the to dos and instead do the things that make me happy and fulfilled.


My usual self would say "What is wrong with me" but I resisted. On Tuesday I went to a workshop on Emotional Intelligence and learn many things. On of the most useful things I learned was to resist asking "Whats wrong with me" and instead as "What can I change". So I put this to the test. Being a list maker, I made 2 lists: "Things that make me happy" and "things that don't". I noticed that I wasn't doing anything on my "things that make me happy list." No wonder I was so miserable. So I decided to make a simple change- Do more things that make me happy and less things that don't. That is exactly what I did yesterday and it worked wonder for me. I took the kids on a little hike to trow rocks in the stream. I enjoyed taking pictures while the kids played in the leaves and water. It was so refreshing and I feel so much happier. It's funny how easy it is for me to get stuck in a rut of miserable living and how a simple change can make such a difference for me and everyone around me. My new goal for the next... well forever really... is to do more things that make me happy and less things that don't. I will put this up on the fridge along with my lists as a reminder : ).




Hope you all have a happy weekend full of things that make you happy.