Upcoming Projects

Ah Mondays, that oh so wonderful day that reminds us just how short the weekend is. Mondays are also my two job day and both of my morning kids are teething. Hooray! They also have discovered that they prefer solid food so I share every meal I make. All these things are manageable but my daughter has suddenly decided she doesn't like her crib anymore so when we try to put her to bed she screams bloody murder. I am hoping this is simply a phase but I will tell you, we are exhausted.

The joys of parenthood. This all being said we did have a very fun weekend at the Fair on Saturday. Daddy and the boys heard the call of the man and had to show off the tractor pull to his little girl. The sound of engines is the male mating call I think as every time you heard one in the distance the boys noses went up in the air trying to locate that particular truck like dogs trying to catch a scent. Quite comical actually.

 Me, personally, I am a bigger fan of the rides. I was a bit of a thrill seeker before  children so when my husband and best friend declined climbing into one of these rides by informing me, "These were built three days ago, I'm not climbing into that death trap." This made me think a second but decided.. Well that's part of the thrill right? All in all it was a lovely trip to the fair. Over priced food and all.

This week I have a few new projects to get working on. One of which is to look for a local Realtor. That's right! We were prequalified for a loan and we are ready to start house shopping! I am so excited I'm ready to start packing but I am aware of the home buying struggle so I am attempting to keep my radical impulses to a minimum. That I believe will be mostly e-mails and phone calls so I have room for a few more projects on my agenda. 

I found a perfect recipe for french toast sticks that are freezable so I'll be making some more of those for a quick breakfast. 

My landscaper friend gave me some tips on my little indoor garden and offered to help me build the greenhouse by the porch so looks like I'm going to have to be a little crafty. We have one of those screen tents and we never use it so I was thinking I can cut out the mesh and replace it with clear plastic sheeting. Maybe remove some squares in the roof and reinforce the plastic to prevent collapse in the event of heavy snow or rain. (Don't really need to shock the warmer plants by snow leaking in.

I have a bunch of pallets and boxes that are begging to have something built out of them. Sadly, I don't have any power tools at home so I have to wait for my husband to get home, at which point it's time for dinner and to give our daughter a bath and boom... It's our bed time. So who knows when I will get to that.

I also a few pieces of furniture that I will be sanding and re-staining, (super excited to turn an old hand me down armoir we have had for year into something modern and beautiful.) So I think this will be one of my first to begin. This project will be something I can do when the babies are sleeping. Photos and results to come.

I feel the more active I am, the more productive I am and the happier life feels.   

Enjoying A Little Tradition

Despite all the clouds and the chilly air today went wonderfully. My husband and I joined my parents on a trip to the orchard in Concord, NH for some apple picking with our daughter. It was chilly but it gave me an excuse to bust out the puffy vest and some boots. My daughter woke up a little on the unhappy side this morning. (All four top teeth are coming in at once, yay.) Still we had fun despite the grumpy photos.

Once we got home she had a very large bottle, a semi large poop and a nap and all was right with the world once again.





Once we returned home I realized my mother bought all of her apples for me and we had bought our own bag as well. Now, I was to make apple crisp for everyone and I had way.. WAY... too many. Yet, baking I did and turns out it has been a while but it was delicious anyway.





I made apple crisp to begin with, something I have made since I was a kid but unfortunately  my ancient Betty Crocker cookbook from the 50's still holds my mothers claim so thank goodness for the internet. I found it. After about half and hour of coring and peeling by hand I got to the mixing and sampling.

 It came out beautifully and once again my home smells like a grandmothers house.
I followed the apple crisp up with a lovely apple pie. What I am going to do with all this food now? I don't know but hopefully it will keep me away from the Halloween candy that has been calling my name since I brought it home.

Am I the only one that buys a bag that never makes it to actual Halloween night?
Anyway, my parents are shutting down the camp this weekend due to the early chill and the predicted nasty winter we are expected to get. So they never came to pick up the goods, time to find a spot in the fridge. Until, I get up that energy I guess I will just watch a movie and sip my martini with my husband.

Days like this make me feel lucky to be me and that wasn't always the case. Just had to look a little harder to see it.

Life Is Full Of Firsts

First kiss, first job, first apartment, first house.

Me, I'm in the middle of a bunch of firsts, My husband and I got married about a month ago, our daughter just took her first steps and we are all embarking on the nightmare that house buying can be when you have crappy credit. I am insanely grateful for the life my husband and I have together and our beautiful little girl Neviah Rae. Whom, I might add, has just started taking her first steps, terrifying and very exciting.

Forgive the bragging but I happen to be super excited my little rugrat is growing up. Being a stay at home mom is harder than it looks especially when there are a couple other children in the mix. Now, my husband and I are talking about having another next year. Not sure how I am going to manage that but I will figure it out, I always do.

Sometimes, I think we forget to simply look back into our own lives to see what truly makes us happy. Sorry to get mushy on you but I'm kind of on a cloud of happiness and caffeine.
I watch my husband play with our daughter and get her laughing and it melts my heart every time. When that happens our cell phone bill or data usage is not so pressing. Suddenly my credit score means nothing at the moment. Some times I use yoga or gardening to sort of center myself but nothing works better than genuinely appreciating what I have instead of wishing my way into the future.

And now that I have successfully talked my family up like crazy, my daughter is getting into everything and my husband is calling for the 5th time. Time to put on mommy hat today. Perhaps later we will put the chef's hat back on.

Cooking my day away.

Time for food and fall!

Cooking has always been one of my favorite activities. The dishes, however, not so much. Today my little one and I have the day off, just the two of us and what does that mean? I get to cook something so we are making some home made sauce from the tomatoes from my mothers garden.

My garden didn't do so well, I was very excited to see my green beans taking over the garden and thought, wow, I finally got something to do well out here. Come to find out morning glories had somehow found their way into the garden boxes and choked out everything but the cauliflower. After much cursing and a slight tantrum I ripped them all out and got the beds ready for next year.

As an act of sympathy my Mom shared her abundant garden supply and hooked me up with all kinds of fresh goodies. So off I went, tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic all in my favorite green pot, (we all have a favorite pot) and cooking away on the stove.

Next will be those wonderful fresh cucumbers. They look a little funky but taste just fine. Those will be jarred with some vinegar and brine to make some lovely garlic pickles. I'm not sure when the change happened in me. Perhaps it was just having my daughter and getting married made me a little more domestic but it is kind of nice.

Well I'm off to do some meal planning, it honestly saves hours of, 

"What do you want for dinner?" 

"I dunno, what do you want?"

"I dunno."

etc etc etc

Makes grocery shopping much easier when you already know what your going to be making. There are less of those mid week store runs or getting halfway through a recipe and realizing your missing something vital. I'm seriously digging this whole mommy thing. Anyhoo off I go. To spend a whole weekend with my loves!

Make your whole house smell like fall.

That time of year again. Once we get sick of humid summer here comes the crisp breeze of fall. Leaf peepers clogging up our highways, beautiful colors, pulling out the boots and jackets, lets not forget the oh so wonderful scarves. Still, when the windows are closed up tight at night against the cold you can lose that fresh smell of seasons changing. I personally am I huge fan of that apple smell of fall. It brings up memories of holidays, family, the familiar smells of cooking and the ever present smell of fall scented candles.

If your anything like me, I always like that smell in my house. So after a little Pintresting, (yes I'm addicted) I found some lovely ways of getting the whole house to have that aroma of food and family. Right now apples are cheap and in season and most people are picking them up anyway to whip up some apple crisp or a flaky pie. So when you find some with a bruise or worm holes, don't throw them away. Make a simmering potpourri.

Simply put, cook up the scent on your own.
You will need:
Water
A Small pot
An apple or two
An orange or two
Dash of vanilla extract
(opt.) pinch of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg.. really anything that makes your house smell yummy when your baking. Your amounts don't need to be specific, it really all depends on how much you like certain spices.
For instance, I go a little heavier with cinnamon and vanilla and lighter on nutmeg and cloves.

 Really anything you like the smell of  can be made this way.
Place some water in the pot and drop in all the ingredients. Throw them on the stove and let simmer for a little while. You can turn it off when the scent reaches what your looking for and always turn it back on later.

It's the simplest of recipes and packs quite a punch.

Ah how I love fall. I'm sure there will be many more fall posts as the cool air rolls into the northeast.

Enjoy!

Where Do I Begin?

Where do I begin?

So I suppose this would be my introductory shot at blogging. I am a big fan of writing but never really got into the whole blog thing. It's sort of like I decided that blogs would be a short lived fad like online journals and tamagotchis. Alas, like the skinny jeans, I was wrong.
Anyhow, adventures as a mom and the many hats I wear in my life. I am an amateur photographer, a nanny, a mother, a wife, an outdoors woman, a prepper, a coupon clipper, a shopaholic and a variety of other hobbies I attempt everyday.
I have a beautiful daughter of my own that will be turning one in October so prepare to see lots of planning and decorating going on. I was recently married to her father, we have been together seven years now and we haven't killed each other yet and I think that is merely due to the fact that we are much too tired. I kid, we get along very well and I am super excited for the adventures we have to come. Alright enough about me, there will be lots to see later on.

Fall! It's what everyone is talking about right now. Me, I'm excited, one of the cool things about living in the northeast is that once you get sick of one season here comes another. He had had just about enough of the humidity and baking heat and boom. It's fifty degrees in the morning. So I couldn't wait to get the simmering potpouri on the stove. Find a fun burlap project with some leftover scraps I had laying around.

Maybe even make some of those cool luminaries I keep seeing on Pintrest.

I had lots of left over material from my recent wedding, such as tulle and mason jars. The wreath was my husbands idea and I just loved it, which is ironic because he is forever making fun of my Pintrest escapades. 

Anyhow, today my attentions have been turned to rearranging my house so I suppose I ought to get back to putting the living room back together and get the kids fed and off the their homes. As I encounter more adventures I will share them with you all as well as some experiences that I love to reminisce about. Until next time...