Another dollar store find

Drew and I stopped quickly at the dollar store last Friday, and I let him pick out one thing. He wanted to get those capsules that "melt" in water and turn into a little sponge animal. He remembered doing this on vacation at the cabin this last summer and so he wanted to try it again. Here is a look at some good quality entertainment...

CHAI

Well I just finished my second batch of Chai mix since November. I got this recipe from a friend in MI, thanks Jen H! I love sipping it at night (well anytime really) snuggled under a blanket watching tv. This is hands down the best I've tasted, no coffee shop can beat it. A few of you have asked for the recipe, so while it's still out on my counter, I thought I'd better post it.

Chai Mix

1 c. nonfat dry milk powder

1 c. powdered non-dairy creamer

1 c. Vanilla flavored powdered creamer

2 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. unsweetened instant tea

2 t. ground ginger

2 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. ground cloves

1 t. ground cardamom

1 t. ground nutmeg

In large bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix well. In a coffee grinder, blender, or food processor, blend small amounts at a time until mixture is the consistency of powder.

To serve: Stir 2 heaping Tablespoons into a mug of hot water.

Makes about 36 servings.

Strawberry lovin'

Drew is my strawberry jam lover. Actually we all are when it's homemade. I grew up with homemade freezer jam. My mom would make batches and batches with fresh strawberries we'd all help pick. The last few years I've just been buying frozen strawberries and making it one batch at a time throughout the year. Drew eats a tablespoon in his oatmeal almost every morning. It's also great in plain yogurt and of course in a PB&J sandwich. It tastes sooo much better than what you get in the store (very fresh), it's cheaper, and very easy to make!! It takes 4 cups of crushed berries and I end up with 3 mason jars and a yogurt container full. Here is my stash, now in the freezer, that I made Thursday morning.

We follow the recipe from the Sure-jell box. We get the the pink one because it uses less sugar.

Randomness for your enjoyment...

Drew entertained us while we waited for Trent's basketball game to start. And let me tell you, I think he found his calling ;)




AND Mike's experiment over New Year's...a BEARD.

Did he just say that?!

So I'm sitting on the couch checking my email and looking up a new egg casserole recipe, and Drew peaks out of the bathroom and asks, "Mom, can we have something to eat."

"Sure, what would you like to have for lunch?"

He turns back around to his brother and says, "She's awake so we can't steal anything."

Did he really just say that? Now there have been many days when I've walked into the "play room" and almost stepped on a bag of tortillas, Cheerios, Cheeze-its, and various other snacks that Drew snuck out of the pantry while I'm otherwise distracted. Each time this occurs, mind you, they have a consequence. We have a talk about how we ONLY EAT AT THE TABLE. If we take food to the other rooms and make crumbs then we get little ants that like to come and help polish them off for us. They know all this by heart and can repeat it back to me, but it doesn't deter their attempts to sneak in the pantry, hide food behind their back, and run as fast as they can to the play room. I do catch them on occasion and make them put the food back. They also enjoy an nice reminder (the above said conversation) and after an apology and a hug they're off to play again.

Not 5 min. after Drew's comment the phone rang and out of the corner of my eye I catch Drew running down the hall. It hits me as I hear the sound of plastic slamming down onto the table...the OREO's!! I tell Drew to come bring back what he had just taken and sure enough it was the package of OREO's.

Will they ever learn?? Any suggestions, besides feeding them 3 meals a day (ha ha)??

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

I wanted to write quick note before I head to bed. Jen and I just finalized some thoughts for our speaking engagement tomorrow. It is Sanctity of Life Sunday and Jen and I were asked to share our stories at Hope Missionary Church in Bluffton, IN. Please pray for us to be calm despite our nerves. We are so glad to be able to share our boys with these new friends, but it can also be emotionally draining. Our prayer is that in our sharing hearts will be challenged and moved to compassion, and that God would be praised in the peaks and the valleys. There is joy along this journey!

Blessings friends...

Feelin' crafty

I've made a couple nursing covers for friends, and they are so neat. I first saw them here. My friends have said they are very handy. I googled some instructions and they were fairly easy to follow. I just finished another one. I know some of my far away friends are expecting and I wanted to pass on the instructions I found from another blog in case you might feel inspired, but when I went to place the link it must have been deleted from the archives...AHHH! I'll work on it! For now here's what mine looks like.

I also tried my hand at felting. I picked up an old wool sweater from Goodwill and felted it. (I did find out that it needs to be at least 80% wool to felt. Wash it on hot with a couple of tablespoons of dish soap - not laundry detergent!) I found the basic idea here, and sewed on a few pockets, a couple free hand flowers, and a cute button. Here's how it turned out.