Dry Eyes...

So I recently got a very handy new kitchen tool/accessory. They make me look a little funny, like maybe a cross between a biker chick and a snowboarder, and Judah just stares at me when I wear them.
Have you seen these before??? They are onion goggles.

I don't know about you, but onions make my eyes burn like something crazy. I get so teary-eyed that I can't see what I am cutting and then my nose starts getting the sniffles too. It's is awful. In fact I used to hate to cut up onions. But not any more...

I saw Paula Dean wearing them one time on her show a while back and wanted a pink pair. Well, I got some for my birthday and I have been using them for about a month now. They work great. In fact earlier when I started smelling the onion as I was cutting it up, I was mentally preparing myself for me eyes to burn. They never did though.

The New Normal...

Hello to you, that is if there are still any blog readers out there!

Since October, my life has changed in so many ways. What used to be the normal routine and
activities for me is either no longer or morphed into something different. Somehow in the back of my mind, I figured that I would still vacuum my house everyday, sew fun things, keep up with the laundry, make gourmet dinners, blog regularly, keep up on weekly FlyLady zoning, and spend all of Judah's waking hours playing or nursing him.

I realize that I had unrealistic expectations, especially considering that if Judah is awake I could care less about hobbies in light of playing with him.

I am settling into a new routine. I've figured out that if nothing else, keeping up on the laundry helps me not get too overwhelmed by my potential to do list. Judah and I have a system worked out for vacuuming. I carry him on one hip while I vacuum the house. He doesn't mind the noise then and I don't mind carrying him. Judah likes to play on the floor in his bedroom while I fold his diapers and put away his clothes. We read, do some "baby yoga", exchange "sugar", and play. Judah hangs out in his exer-saucer or plays with his daddy while I fix dinner. We have been trying to spend a few evenings a week in the back yard, enjoying God's creation before it gets too hot.
Judah also got a snazzy walker last week. He follows me around the house as I empty clothes bins and put away the odds and ends around.
I hope to be a little more regular with my posts. I have a whole list of things I want to write about and share. Not to mention catch up on many of your blogs. Hopefully as I begin to finally feel like we are in our new groove, I will be a better blogging friend.

I am curious, what housekeeping activity is your "when all else fails at least _______ has to be done" chore?

Living Room Redo...

Judah is now to the point where he is really close to crawling. However, we have hardwood floors all throughout our house which makes learning to crawl complicated on two accounts. The first, Judah's feet just slip around and he would quickly give up trying. Second, when he would slip he would come very close to hitting his face on the hard floor.

So this past weekend, my DH and I went on the search for a rug for the living room. After purchasing/returning 4 rugs, I found the one I liked. The next task was making the rug work in the living room. I looked for some before pictures of the room but I couldn't find any.

We moved the loveseats this way and that way. The armior was moved up and down the wall. Finally we decided to try it a comepletely different place and it worked PERFECTLY. I am going to do a small collage of pictures on the wall next to the armior and over the brown loveseat.

From Garden to Puree..

One of the big things that I knew I wanted to do when I was expecting Judah was start a garden so we could grew veggies to turn into Judah's baby food.

In January/February my DH put in some spinach, carrots, leaf lettuce, and English peas. Well, we have had two delicious salads from our leaf lettuce so far and harvested the first little bit of spinach.
I was able to make several weeks worth of baby food from the spinach my DH thinned out. I made some plain puree and tried out a fancy one from the cookbook Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel.
The recipe we used had sweet potatoes, peas, and spinach. You cooked it until soft and then pureed it.
I am using ice trays to freeze them into individual portions and then popping them into a Ziploc bag after they are frozen.
It is working like a dream.

Adoption Fundraiser...

Over the last few years, I have made some new friends. Some I get to catch up with at local coffee places or cafes, others I catch up through their blogs and have never met face to face.

One of my blogging friends is Mrs. U. I "met" her about two or so years ago. They have such a sweet family and are in the midst of adding to it through adoption. She is having a Blog Party to help raise funds for their adoption.

Head over to her blog to get the details on how you can help out...

Baby Booties Cake...

At the beginning of last month, one of my DH's coworker's wife was given a baby shower. The theme of the shower was Victorian. They are having a little girl, but the mom isn't a really big fan of pink.
So, I came up with a cake design to fit the theme and the colors. I made some little Victorian baby booties for the top of the cake out of gum paste.
The cake turned out a little brighter green than I had originally planned. I had wanted more of a light sage color.

Springtime Fun...

A couple of weeks ago, the weather began changing from cold to nice and breezy. The weather change coupled with the first day of spring gave us a good reason to head outdoors and have a spring day.
Judah cooperated as I prepared us some goodies to take to a local park for a picnic. We had chicken salad, crescent rolls, mixed fruit salad, birds' nest cookies, and of course some sweet tea.
We brought along our Radio Flyer to give Judah a little ride; however, the paint was coming off like dust on it so that idea was nixed.

While we were home in Florida, I found the cutest little book about spring. I brought it along to read at our celebration.

We also brought Judah over to the swings and tried those out with him.
Before long, the cool breeze got a little to chilly though so we headed back to the car. We did have a great time enjoying God' s beautiful creation though.

First Family Easter...

I hope that all of you had a very nice Easter. From some of y'all's pictures that I've seen, I would say you did.

Judah's First Easter.

We had a very low key Easter this year. I had originally planned a nice meal and dessert; but, those plans all fell through. My DH was up most of the night with a stomach ache and migraine. I was getting up trying to help him while also trying to get some sleep because I knew that Judah would be waking up at 7:00.

So when 7:00 a.m. rolled around, I got Judah and nursed him. He fell asleep while he was nursing, so I went back to sleep as well. Next thing I knew it was 9:32 and church starts at 10:00. I hopped out of bed, got Judah dressed, nursed him, washed my face, and threw on some clothes. We made it church about ten minutes late. My DH came in for the sermon.

Since the morning went the way it did, I wasn't able to get lunch in the oven before church. My DH wound up making some tasty BBQ chicken while I nursed Judah. I planned on making this cake. The cake itself turned out great, but for some reason my icing didn't turn out. The first time I had a large candy chunck stuck to the bowl when I poured in the syrup and the second time the sugar burned, I think. So we wound up having coconut cake with strawberries and cool whip instead.

In the end, I guess my day could have been ruined because I looked like a "who-da-thought" for church and my planned Easter meal was a flop, but that isn't what the day was about. So, I celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord because all else pales in light of Him and what He has done for us.

Halfway to One...

As of today, Judah is six months old. So this post is about something every mother has dealt with at some point, I am sure. Nevertheless, I am still going to ask the question, "When did my little newborn grow to be a 6 month old?".

While I have been enjoying all of the snuggles and playful moments, my little infant has been growing into an honest to goodness baby, complete with a smile that melts my heart.

Resurrection Sunday...

Happy Easter!

I hope that you and your family have a blessed Resurrection Sunday.
Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!

Love's redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!

Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where's thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!

Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!

Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!

King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!