Counting down our days...

...literally. Abram loves repeating the numbers one through ten. He enjoys seeing the numbers on our fridge (though our number 1 is permanently lost, I'm afraid). Though his pronunciation of each number isn't super clear, it's clear he's starting to remember the pattern. This morning's conversation at the breakfast table sounded like this (he skips some numbers, like one, five, seven, and nine because he's in a hurry to say the numbers that follow):

Me: One
Abram: Two!
Me: Three
Abram: Three (sounds like Tree)
Me: Four
Abram: Four
Me: Five
Abram: Six! (sounds more like Siss)
Me: Seven
Abram: Eight!
Me: Nine
Abram: Ten!

Regardless, it's exciting to see he's getting it! He will start counting random things around the house, but it's more the way he's saying sounds than saying the right sounds in order that lets us know he's counting. He's making his math education mama proud.

Why I Had To Find Out What A Papoose Board Is

Bram and I had some mother-son bonding time tonight while my husband is out of town at a conference all weekend. Just before bed, Bram followed me into the kitchen where I filled up his bedtime sippy cup, and then he just casually slipped while walking towards me, flew forward, landed arms splayed, and bit his lower lip as he hit the floor. His lower lip was badly cut by his teeth so I decided I needed to put on my big girl pants and find somewhere for him to be seen. Trying not to dwell on the fact that I had to do this without my husband by my side! Three urgent care centers later (why I had to go to three is a longer story), four hours later, and a few stitches later, I was able to put one snoozing toddler in bed. Special thanks go out to Google Maps for iPhone (I'm definitely still very green when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of the metro area, especially when driving to unfamiliar towns and never-before-visited urgent care centers) and compassionate receptionists. He has to have the stitches in for five days and then we will go to his pediatrician and get them snipped. I think I'll follow Bram's lead and head to bed now. This one's for the books!
Sent from my iPhone

We're Still Alive!

We've been keeping busy over here, and I guess that is why I haven't updated the blog in awhile. I'm making more and more friends at church and getting connected in Bible studies, so we have been out of the house more than before, for the past month or so.  Also Bram went from two naps to one, so the computer stays tucked away all morning, and then when he goes down I'm usually found in the kitchen working on dinner prep! (I must mention we tried an awesome new dinner recipe, Taco Potatoes) All that being said, here's a few pictures of what we've been up to:

 Bram's favorite thing to do is read books and have books read to him.

 I snapped this pic on our back porch. I think he's practicing a pose for senior pictures! Only 17 years to go...

 I hit a good sale on Dr. Seuss books so here's Abram and Jon enjoying one of the newbies together.

When we're outside, I put Abram to work. Here he is with the rake.

I've also been baking. Remember when I shared the Butterhorns recipe? They are so yummy! Great reheated when frozen, too.

Here's a little video of Abram practicing his phonics. Just kidding. But he does have the M sound down!

A Few Dough-licious Recipes

I was able to buy a stand mixer with birthday money earlier this month, so I decided to put it to work kneading dough last week. As well as perfectly kneading several loaves-worth of bread dough for me, my mixer also enabled me (as well as my two main men) to enjoy this Whole Wheat Butterhorns recipe and also this Easiest, Tastiest, Healthy Pizza Crust recipe.

You can probably tell from the name of the recipe alone that the Butterhorns were deliciously indulgent. They indeed were. After freezing half the baked batch in freezer bags earlier in the week, on Saturday we popped a few frozen ones in the over for a few minutes and wow, they were soft and tasted fresh. I think it would be easy to have these in your freezer and pull them out for guests or anytime you want to stretch the main course.

The easy-tasty-healthy pizza crust recipe was so easy to mix up in my mixer with dough hooks. And I was amazed that I didn't even have to let the dough rise. Just give it a 10-minute rest and it's ready to go into the oven! It was such a soft and fluffy pizza dough. Definitely the best whole wheat pizza dough recipe I've found so far.

Just FYI: I didn't use as much flour as the recipes call for, because I don't use freshly ground flour, I bake with King Arthur White Whole Wheat store-bought flour. From my understanding, store-bought whole wheat flour is more dense than freshly ground (like if you have a wheat grinder in your kitchen), so if the recipe is written for freshly ground (like these are), use a little less flour if you are using store-bought. For example with the pizza dough, I probably used somewhere around 4 1/2 cups flour, give or take, when the recipe as written calls for 5 cups.

"Chick"peas

As I was peeling some chickpeas the other night, I started seeing little chicks pop out at me. Anyone know if this is just a coincidence or if this is why these legumes have their funny name?

Nativity Blocks - an investment for future years

I don't "Pinterest". I have an account but the site completely overwhelms me. That being said, I did in fact log on to Pinterest back in October and a friend had just posted a link to this nativity block idea. The craft was simple, almost simple enough not to need directions: unfinished blocks + paint + stickers + Mod Podge to seal = kid friendly nativity set. My hubby cut the blocks for me out of scrap wood in his dad's shop back in December, I bought the stickers from Hobby Lobby, I began painting this past Tuesday, and the rest is history. I just can't wait to watch Bram and any other kids we have play with these in future years!

Here is the original project link I saw last October.

I had been perusing Etsy for a nativity block set to buy and saw a few great ones, running for somewhere around $30 a pop. Also this Melissa and Doug wooden nativity made it on to my wish list, and it's on Amazon now for just $20.49. But would you believe how inexpensive this nativity block project was if I told you? It cost me a whopping $7! Here's the breakdown:

wooden blocks..................FREE (cut from scrap wood)
5 colors of acrylic paint....$5 (around $1/per)
Nativity stickers................$2 (if I had been thinking I could've used a 40% off coupon and got them for just $1.20)
Mod Podge........................FREE (already owned)
sandpaper...........................FREE (already owned)

Anyway, this was a fun and super easy project to complete, and I know it will last many, many years, giving my husband and I ample opportunities to discuss the Greatest Story Ever Told with Bram and our other kiddos. If you're interested, you've got about 11 months to go and make your own until next Christmas!

Chilly Weather = Soup Weather

Sunday evening my husband and I put a chicken with some veggies on the stove to simmer all night. When we woke up, we had lots of tender chicken to use this week and about 16 cups of rich and good-for-you chicken stock. I used about half of our fresh stock and chicken to make Chicken Tortilla Soup. I used the HH's recipe and mashed it with Sally Fallon's Mexican Soup recipe in the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Basically I took the HH's recipe for soup (link above) and added 1 can tomato paste and 1/2 cup fresh lime juice. I also eliminated the chopped tomatoes in light of the addition of tomato paste. All that to say, I thought it was so yummy! The lime juice really gave it a 'zing' in my opinion. Instead of using homemade tortillas, this time I opted for Ezekiel 4:9 brand Sprouted Grain Tortillas. The combo was great. And - a plus - Bram ate it, too. We stretched the soup to feed the three of us through 2 dinners, and then Bram and I enjoyed the tail end of the leftovers for lunch today. Do you have any tried and true soup recipes you make for your family? 

 

 Here are a few snapshots of Bram the Ham at breakfast yesterday.