Frosty the snowman

This past weekend, we took advantage of the 40 degree weather and headed outside.  It has been a cold winter and, up until now, the snow has been light and fluffy.  With the sun warming the snow, it was perfect snowman weather. 

 Landon named his new friend...Frosty.

What kindergarten looks like...

 



Sent by Landon's teacher.  A lepruchan hat.

Crochet mittens

I took a brief hiatus from crocheting projects/orders these past few weeks, but I'm back.  This past weekend, I finished up another pair of mittens and am working on a couple owl hats (I'll show you those later this week!)

I know I won't have as much time to crochet as spring approaches, but I don't want to totally abandon it.  I really enjoy crocheting and find it's a good stress reliever.  I think I may need to cruise pinterest for some inspiration.  If you have any suggestions, send them my way! 

Our snow day

 

Our little family of four continued to remain cuddled up at home one more day thanks to Mother Nature.  As the snow tapered off late in the afternoon and temperatures rose, we headed out to have a little fun.

 There are steps up our porch under that heap of snow somewhere.

 After wallowing in snow up to his waist, this little guy was over it. 

Happy Valentine's Day from our little love bugs

It was a quiet day at home...just the four of us.  I can't remember a time when all four of us were home on a weekday for no apparent reason.  In fact, I don't think it has ever happened.  There was no school, so I decided to take the day off to spend with my two youngest loves.  Jer surprised me by taking the day off as well.  We slept in late, played games, read books, went out for lunch and got groceries.  A simple day, and we loved it. 

In the words of my Landon, "Mom, if you were a booger, I'd eat you first."

Another {tooth} bites the dust

Despite not showing those pearly whites for ya, Landon lost another tooth - another front bottom tooth.  And just like the last one, the permanent tooth was already in, so you can barely even tell. 

We kept forgetting to put his tooth under his pillow.  Finally after it sat in a plastic bag on the counter for a few days, I told Landon we should put his tooth under his pillow so the tooth fairy can come.  Landon wasn't convinced that was a good idea and said he would rather skip it.  You can just throw it away Mom...I don't need the tooth fairy to come.

Homemade breakfast sandwiches

Since last Sunday's post on homemade pizzas was such a hit, I'm going to try and post a recipe every Sunday this month. 

Let me tell you about these homemade breakfast sandwiches.  I actually made my second batch of these the same time I made the homemade pizzas.  The first time I made them, I made egg, cheese and bacon on a bagel thin.  This time I made them sausage, egg and cheese on an english muffin.  Both times were good. 

I mostly make these for Jer so he has a good solid start his work day.  He is usually up at 5:15 am, and out the door no later than 6 am.  These are perfect for him, because he can take one out of the freezer, warm it up and be out the door without waking the boys.  I also brought one for my lunch the other day when there were no leftovers and I didn't feel like throwing a salad together. 

Just like the pizza, here is the break down:

•  I spent a total of $8.95 and made 12 sandwiches.  That came out to be $0.75 per sandwich.  

Much better than McDonalds or Kwik Star, and a lot more filling.  I also know exactly what's in them.  You could do some many variations.  Next time I'm thinking just egg whites and some Vermont white cheddar. 

Big boy bed

Along with a new haircut, this little guy is changing all too quickly.  I decided it was time to stop lifting this 30-plus-pound little boy in and out of his crib.  He has never had a desire to climb out of his crib, in fact he likes his bed a lot.

We took the front off his crib a couple weeks ago and turned it into a "toddler bed".  I put a mesh siderail up so he still has the comfiness of his crib, but can climb in and out.  I worried that he wouldn't like it, but he does.

I could sit and watch this sleeping baby all day long...

 

Big boy haircut

 

He's 2 1/2 and had his haircut twice.  Once was just his bangs and the second time was an all around trim.  Despite getting referred to as a pretty little girl, we didn't care.  He's our Asher, and we can't imagine his wild and crazy personality being toned down by perfectly trimmed and combed hair.

Despite how we felt, this little boy had an idea of his own.  He has been begging for a haircut.  Can he sense that he gets referred to as a girl?

He plays hair salon in the kitchen with the office chair, and a pair of playdough scissors.  He threw a fit when his brother got his haircut last week and he didn't. 

He demanded to go with me to my haircut this past Thursday.  I don't know if he really wanted a haircut or just thought he could only get sucker by getting a haircut.  Regardless, he walked out of my hair appointment with a haircut and two suckers.  Not counting me...

Homemade pizza

 

Maybe it's the dreary winter, or the fact that we've spent almost every weekend at home since Christmas, but we sure have been gettin' back to our roots ya'll.  Like Laura Ingall's Wilder style.  Ok, maybe not quite that extreme -- I still do love my wi-fi, don't ya know!

I have been crocheting up a storm, board games are being played on Sunday afternoons and we're snuggled in our pajamas by 7:30 on any given week night.  I've even helped Pa (aka Jer) stack wood as he cut it, all while the boys played on a giant snow pile close by.

I long for a simpler life.  I loved having a garden and canning this past summer, and I'm dreaming of having an even bigger garden this year.  I love being a wife and mother and I love taking care of my family.

A couple weekends ago, I went on a freezer filling mission.  Sometimes life is hectic and a frozen pizza is about as good as supper is going to get.  I love making my own pizza and stock piling my freeezer.  Here's how it went down.

I made a double batch of this pizza dough recipe.  It was enough to make 8 generous size pizza's.  The cost per pizza dough was a $0.23.  Not too bad so far.  After letting the dough rise for a couple hours, split each batch into four pieces.  I only have one circle pan, so I alternated between a circle pan and a cookie sheet.  Bake each dough for about 3 minutes and let cool.  After all my dough was baked and cooled, it was time to assemble my pizzas. 

I just lined them up, put my sauce on, and then added the toppings and cheese.  I spent a total of $24.03 on toppings and cheese.  My boys do not like vegetables on their pizzas, so a couple of the pizzas were half and half.  Meat on one half and vegetables on the other.  A perfect compromise.

After the pizzas were completely assembled, I wrapped them several times with saran wrap and put them in the freezer.  I didn't have any cardboard circles or anything like that, so I just stacked the individually wrapped pizzas on top of each other, put them on the appropriate pan, and stuck them in the freezer.  This allowed them to freeze completely flat.  The next morning I pulled the pans back out of the freezer.  Also, don't forget to label your pizzas.  You will be glad you did weeks down the road, unless you like surprises.

 Regardless of the price, I will always prefer to make my own and skip all the extra additives, but that still doesn't mean I wasn't curious how I came out on price.  Although I did buy the cheese when it was on sale 2/$3, I did splurge on canadian bacon, pepperoni and sausage from the meat counter.  My total cost, not including sauce, (I used my own sauce I canned this fall) was $25.89.  Since I was able to make 8 pizzas, this was a total cost of $3.24 per pizza.  Also, because the pizzas were so big, it fed our family of four, plus we had leftovers for one person to take to work the next day.

I hope this inspires you, and don't be intimidated by the homemade pizza dough.  It was super easy.  If you have any questions, just shoot me an email, I'd be happy to help.