Pumpkin Swirl Brownies

The other night I had a craving for some pumpkin and chocolate and instead of heading to Dairy Queen in this chilly fall weather I made these Pumpkin Swirl Brownies from Betty Crocker. I am a lover of all things pumpkin and this is a quick go-to recipe if you don't have time to make pumpkin pie or if you don't want to run out to DQ. :) Enjoy!

Pumpkin Swirl Brownies
from: Betty Crocker

Filling 

1 pkg (3oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 egg

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (I use fresh)

Brownies 

1 box Betty Crocker® Premium Brownies Ultimate

ingredients listed on box

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 9-inch square pan with shortening or cooking spray. In small bowl, beat all filling ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Set aside.

2. Make brownie batter as directed on box, using 1/4 cup oil, 2 tablespoons water and the egg. Spread 3/4 of the batter in pan. Spoon filling by tablespoonfuls evenly over batter. Spoon remaining brownie batter over filling. Cut through batter several times with knife for marbled design. 

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted 1 inch from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.  

They don't make good leftovers so you'll have to eat them all in an evening - so invite some friends over to share. :)

"Vintage" Baby Quilt

My dear friend Wendi and I share a love for vintage things. She has more of a shabby-sheik flavor to her vintage and mine is more farm-house. For instance, she owns a vintage chandelier and uses vintagey pink in her decorating. :) My colors or more red and aqua and I have a barn light hanging in my kitchen. We enjoy junking together at barns out in the middle of no-where Iowa and stopping at little shops that repurpose old things into new treasures.

She designed her baby's nursery around a vintage pink and aqua. And it's gorgeous. Love the touches she added around the room. Since this was her third baby and her second girl, I thought it would be nice to make her something special so I suggested a quilt and she loved the idea. After a great day of driving through the countryside looking at some great refunked junkery we stopped at our local fabric store (which is amazing, by the way) and she picked out some perfect fabric for her baby's room. I finally got to work when I heard she went into labor. :D

It didn't take me long to sew this quilt as I had a great plan (drawn out for me by one of the employees at said fabric store) and got to work. I took one afternoon to cut all the squares and sewed them together. The next morning (while waiting in the car for my husband to give plasma (that's what pays for his seminary classes)) I hand-quilted the whole works together. And then that evening finished the edges with the machine.

 

Honestly, I had a hard time giving this quilt away. It was the first quilt I made that looked good. I've made some cute quilts but this one was good. The squares were even, the quilting was sweet, the edges were perfectly sewn and there wasn't a lumpy back which always seems to happen to me.

And then there's the fact that any time I make something for a baby gift, I think of my babies. My babies who are now little boys and my babies in heaven. I feel like I put a little of myself and my boys into these projects. It may seem weird, I know, but those blankets and burp cloths are made with a lot of love and it really is hard to give them away, but it's also very therapeutic for me. Giving someone a gift helps me cope with my loss. Creating something with love calms my spirit and I am thankful to God for that gift.


For your viewing enjoyment, here are a few more pictures of the nursery. :)

 

Cleaning the Basement

We are finally tackling the basement and all the stuff it stores. There's some junk that we need to sift through and decide if we want to hold on to things until next spring and have a garage sale or just dump it off give it to Good Will or Salvation Army. There's a pile of kitchen gadgets that need a home until I need to use them. And lots of filing to do.

There's also this huge daunting pile of maternity, post-maternity, 0-3T clothes sitting in a corner. There's a box of baby shoes. A box of burp coths, bottles, liners, breast pads and nipple cream sits among the pile. Then there are the mixed boxes of outgrown clothes that didn't fit into the original sized box: a 2-T winter coat, some 3T jeans, a 24 month long-sleeved white onsie, a bunch of baby-sized hats and mittens... The list goes on and on. And this stuff takes up so. much. space.

I look at it and wonder if it's worth keeping. Seriously, it's the bulk of our storage items and it's really hard to look at it. We're wondering if the attic would be a better storage option because we don't know when or if we'll ever use this stuff again. And that just breaks my heart. Today I put away a pair of booties that I kept out for Elihu last year. I found it in a box of mis-matched items that were thrown together for the move. We're wondering how long we should hold on to this stuff until it's time to get rid of it. To have the best garage sale ever with boy clothes from 0-3T, maternity clothes from small to extra-large, and lots of baby supplies. If we ever do have that sale (and if it's because we weren't able to have more children) I don't think I'll be able to be at that sale. It will just be too hard to watch my precious baby's things sold for a quarter. I will hold on to a few meaningful items and maybe even regift some unopened items (you've been warned) but most of it will be sold. And I don't know if I'll be able to witness that.

I know this is a lot of hypotheticals and worries but I just needed to get some of them out of my head. My heart is burdened by all that stuff in the basement as I wonder about God's plan for our family. I pray that God grants me peace no matter what happens and that I can willingly open my hands and let my stuff go as God calls me. For now, the items will sit lovingly piled in the basement along with our box of wedding memorabilia, kitchen gadgets, crystal bowls, fondue pots, and decorative items.

A Recent Blog Find

I stumbled upon The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking the other day and really enjoyed its content. It's a fairly new blog but have already picked out several favorite posts including this:

The Five Stages of Housework (from Feb 2011)

1. Denial: My house isn't dirty, it's lived in.
2. Anger: You peed on your sheets on purpose, Didn't you?  Didn't you?
3. Bargaining: Maybe if i put this laundry basket in the hallway, the clothes will actually make it to the laundry basket...
4. Depression: Make the bed?  Why?  I'm just going to mess it up again later....
5. Acceptance: Well, nobody else is going to do it...

I can totally relate to this. :) Here are a few more of my favorites:

32 Ways to Beat the Winter Blahs (from Feb 2011)
This is a great list with some really easy and creative ways to keep entertained this winter.

10Ways to NOT Make Your Home a Haven (from Nov 2010)
I can see how perfection is a stumbling block for me. My home will never be perfect so I need to stop waiting for perfection before I invite people over. This was a really refreshing post for me.

Homemade Wool Dryer Balls (from Apr 2011)
A really handy tutorial that I'd like to try this winter.

Demystifying the Seasoning of Cast Iron (from May 2011)
I have a cast iron frying skillet and do not use it as often as I should. I don't know what to cook in it and I'm not sure how to take care of it. This is a great post to help me with the latter, but does anyone have any suggestions for what to make in my cast iron skillet?


Make sure you head over to The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking for more homemaking tips from the real world.

Five in a Row: Weeks 1-4

We've been having a great time schooling at home this fall. It's been such a blessing to watch my boys learn! And to see how God has created their brains to keep learning - takes a lot of pressure off of me.

We've been enjoying the Five in a Row (FIAR) series and will continue throughout this kindergarten year. It's been fun to include our 3 (almost 4) year-old in our activities each day. Some of the books are easier to get through than others but overall it's been great for us.

Our first book was The Story About Ping by Marjorie Flack. Our boys loved hearing about Ping avoiding a "spank" and how he had to face his discipline in the end, but was just happy to be with his family again.

Social Studies: We looked up the Yangtze River online and read the blog of our friends who live right on the River. The boys had fun looking at the different landscapes that the River runs along.
Language Arts: We discussed the word "fiction" and tried to use it throughout the week. We practiced telling fiction (make-believe) stories to each other.
Fine Arts: In the book water is drawn in different ways and we practiced drawing the different types of water.
Math: We colored Ping's family (by Shari F.). It was fun to watch him count all the cousins.

The boys really enjoyed this book and learning about the yellow river. I'm glad we have it in our home collection.

The second week we watched the story of Lentil by Robert McCloskey (one of our favorite authors). Our library doesn't have it in print so we watched it on video. The boys thought it was pretty cool that they got to watch a movie everyday and they really enjoyed the music from the film.

Social Studies: We talked about Ohio being the friendly state O-hi-O. :) We talked about where we live in relation to Ohio and planned a road trip on Google to find out how long it would take for us to drive there and what cities we would go through to get there (we planned fun  things to do along the way).
Fine Arts: We listened to Blues Traveler - Hook online to hear some really good harmonica music. We loved dancing in the kitchen to the song as we played it over and over and over. We also picked up a harmonica at a toy store downtown and they have enjoyed playing it (and I have too). :)

The third book we read was Who Owns the Sun? by Stacy Chbosky. Miss Chbosky was fourteen when she wrote and illustrated the story. We thought that was pretty neat to have a book published when you're still a kid.  This book was a little heavy for us. I had a hard time explaining slavery in the South. It seems so far removed from our lives but I want them to know that it's a part of our American history. I related it to slavery in the Bible when Moses had to get the Israelites out of Egypt. But it was still a difficult subject for me to teach.

Social Studies: We talked about which states make up the South. I tried to talk about why the white people had black slaves but that raised a lot of questions that I was not prepared to answer. So we talked about how the slaves worked on the farms for very little to no pay and how some of the slave owners weren't very nice. We talked about how slavery is wrong and that God created all people in His image and how we need to love everyone - not just people who are like us.
Fine Arts: I introduced new colors - fuchsia, teal, melon, mauve, goldenrod, burnt sienna and forest green. My son picked forest green, fuchsia and goldenrod as his favorites and we use them on his seat work throughout the week.
Math: We counted different objects in the book - fence posts, flowers, tree stumps, stars...
Science: We talked about the seasons and how trees can help us tell what season we're in. We colored four trees for the four seasons.

Last week was our favorite book so far, Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans. I love a good illness story so this was great. I got to use my nursing skills to teach my boys about their digestive systems and their appendixes. We also enjoyed learning about France and praying for a former student who now lives in Paris. Crazy to think we really know people who live all around the world. :) This week we created our first lap book. We created different elements throughout the week and then on Friday put them all together into a book. They really enjoyed seeing their work displayed together.

Social Studies: We took a "Tour of France" and matched the pictures in the project to pictures in the book. They had a lot of fun matching and gluing.
Language Arts: I made a rhyming page for him to complete. There were three picture (rhymes) and the first picture had the whole word written, the second was missing the first letter and the third he had to complete on his own. He doesn't particularly care for writing so this wasn't his favorite project.
Fine Arts: We colored two pictures of the Eiffel Tower - one monochromatic (in blue) and the other in full color.
Math: We talked about symmetry and looked at all the symmetrical pictures in the book. I had him create symmetry by drawing the missing half of different shapes (circle, square, etc).
Science: We colored a picture of the digestive system and talked about the other systems in the body and how they each had an important job to do. We then watched The Magic School Bus as they take a trip through Arnold's body. They liked that a lot.


Update:

* It's easier for us to have "Bible" together as a family at breakfast. That's when we will read our weekly story and spend time in prayer together. I'm a night owl and so getting up early enough to plan for "Bible" has been difficult so you can pray for discipline for me to get to bed on time so I can get up on time and not feel rushed in the mornings. :)
* Last week our kindergartner started his first PE class on Mondays and had so much fun. The instructor is great and so are the students that help out in the class. We are blessed to have this as an option for our home school.
* We decided to not have school at home on Fridays as we are involved in our local home school enrichment program and he is taking a class on Friday mornings for two hours. We'll do some handwriting on Friday afternoons and also a lot of reading but we won't do much with seat work and workbooks. It's a nice break for me too and he really enjoys the time he spends with other students.

Kindergarten 2011-2012

 

Last week Monday we started kindergarten. It was a bitter-sweet event as most of the children we knew were headed off to school with their loaded backpacks to meet their new teachers, unpack their fresh school supplies and visit with new and old friends. Meanwhile, we were headed to the kitchen table where there were fresh supplies, fresh workbooks, and big smiles. I'm sure it will get easier when people ask my son if he started kindergarten and where he's going to school. But right now, it's hard to explain our reasoning to strangers in the grocery store during a 2 minute "conversation."

But my kindergarten son was excited and so is my three-year-old. He's participating in schoolwork right alongside his brother and mom. :) It's a blessing to be able to school them at home. I'm excited to see what God's going to do this year in our home. And we're also participating in our local homeschool enrichment program. It's through our public school system and will be a blessing to our family. Through the program we will get a supervising teacher (which you would normally have to pay for), PE classes once a week and an enrichment class once a week. During the enrichment class they will work on computer skills, calendar skills, learn some conversational French, writing/reading assistance. And the biggest blessing is that a lot of the women that work there are all born-again believers. Even though the program is funded through the public school there are many believers who make the program possible and that's exciting for us as a family. Another thing we're finding out is that not all parents homeschool because of religious reasons. We have come to find that there are more reasons parents are choosing to school at home. We are excited to know that there is a mission field for our littles as they attend HSAP activities and classes but we are still giving them a "Christian education" at home. It's really exciting for our family. :)

I decided that it would be best for our family to have school at the dining room table. I know that if it were in another more inconvenient location (the closer to the kitchen the better since I spend most of my day there) I we would have trouble getting my our work done. And I didn't want our dining room space to look too much like a kindergarten classroom so we purchased some shelving from Ikea and our workboxes are on wheels so they can easily be wheeled out of the room for important guests. Our calendar work and Letter of the Week info is on hooks and can also be easily removed for dinner guests. I'm still trying to paint window trim, sew curtains, and add some extra decor but this is where we're at with our dining/homeschool room.

Alright, as for what we're planning this year....

Kindergarten
Five in a Row - book 1 (fall); book 2 (spring)
Horizon's Math
Explode the Code Phonics (all consonants this fall and vowels this spring)
Handwriting Without Tears

We're also utilizing the workboxes again this year. It's a great way to push me into adding fun things for him to do. Otherwise it just becomes worksheets and coloring. This way I add games, puzzles, crafts, activities into our school time.

Preschool 3/4 yr
Raising Rock Stars Preschool
Letter of the Week by Confessions of a Homschooler

We're really excited to be using this program again. There are some things that are a little over his head as it was created for 4-year-olds but he's really been enjoying it. There are so many fun elements to RRSP and LOTW. I even take some of the activities and put them in the kindergarten boxes for some review work. Plus it's fun when he can accomplish something quickly after working hard on another box. I did not purchase the RRSP or LOTW downloads; I only use their free printables.

We have also been using some great games created by Homeschool Creations. They have been another great asset to our homeschool curriculum this year.


That's what we have planned so far. I'm excited to see where God will lead us this year and we'd appreciate your prayers as we begin this adventure. :)

I Like to Move It, Move It...

Some of you may have wondered where I've been for the last month, but we finally bought our house. And we've been working our tails off to make it home. It's a long process - that will probably last until we sell it in 20 years. But it seems as though we mark one thing off our "to do" list and add three more things. :) I've heard that's the way it goes with home ownership.

Today I thought I'd give you the "before" tour. I really don't want to give the "after" tour until all our projects are complete, but that may be until Christmas. :) So, I will work on some "in the process" pictures to show you some time next week.

 

 

 

  

  

   

  

That's the end of the "before" tour. :) We are so thankful and blessed to have a home!! We've also been blessed with very hospitable neighbors that have brought over cookies, lemonade and their phone numbers. We are so thankful that God led us to this home and we pray that He will continue to bless our ministry efforts while we live here. 

Oh, and I don't have any pictures of the backyard to show you yet, but I will soon. It's great to say "go play outside" and they can. :)

Spittin' Up

I've been trying to get some last minute sewing done before packing up some of my favorite things (sewing machine, fabric, thread...). And there have been a ton of babies born this past month and so I've been making gifts - spit-rags.

Well, I'd like to think that they're more than a rag, but really, that's what it's for - catching that smelly belly milk. I usually put two in a pack, but I'm thinking that three would make a better gift. There's always next time.

For my spit rags I always use cloth diapers. They are super absorbent, wash easily, and are very durable. I usually buy a giant pack at a time and I look for them at second-hand stores and garage sales and I only pick the whitest, softest, cleanest ones. The new ones are definitely stiff, but after a few washes, they get super soft.

For Landon:

Landon's dad is a hunter so I wanted to make sure I made one with a deer on it. :) The first one that I made was pretty plain and really - well, to be honest, kinda ugly. I knew that my sister enjoys camo as much as the next hunter's wife, but I wanted to give her something a little more modern while keeping with the hunting theme. Enter the polka-dots. I think it turned out pretty cute and manly at the same time. :)

 

Landon's Papa has always driven International tractors, so I was excited when I saw this fabric. Again, I wasn't sure what to do with fabric displaying a bunch of floating tractors and picket fences. So I dug through my scraps and found this turquoise fabric with a little grass-green in it. And I think the red polka-dots add the perfect amount of whimsy. It's pretty boyish, but would be a great option for a little girl who's Papa drives International tractors. :)

For Sophia:

Sophia's dad and mom have been friends with us for a LONG time! :) So I wanted to make sure that I made her something really cute and girly. But I know that her mom isn't a very froo-froo kinda gal (and neither am I) so I thought the green ruffles went well - making it girly without being too froo-froo. :) And I love making ruffles. A quick easy way to make anything seem more "fancy Nancy." I also quilted a few owls to make sure that the fabric was nice and tight.

 

For Lucy:

Lucy's mom is pretty stylish, so I wanted to make her something colorful and I love how the charcoal gray makes the polka-dots just pop. The ruffles are made from a coordinating fabric that is a mix of tie-dye and paint splatter. I like how it incorporated all the colors of the polka-dots.

For Sophia and Lucy:

And I made two of these. Once again, I'm not too girly, so I pulled yellow and turquoise from the fabric to make the ruffles.And the gray gives a warm tone to the bright pattern of the butterflies and flowers. I really like how this turned out - a little more vintage than the first two.




I really enjoy making these as I can get pretty creative and it's not a frustrating project (which quilting still is for me). They come together really quickly, don't require a lot of fabric, and make cute gifts. I would love to start making blankets and bibs to go along, but this will have to do until I get a craft room (ie. laundry room).