Green Thumb!

I am so excited! I have a green thumb this year. Or at least it looks that way so far. My little garden starts that I planted have really taken off. All except the bell peppers and onions. I haven't seen them at all. I think my seeds were too old. But the florescent light that we set up has really done the trick for everything else. I have also started putting a fan on the plants for a little bit during the day so that when they have to take on the real wind outside they'll be able to keep standing (thanks momma Shellie for the tip).  They are already getting stronger. When I first started they all just flopped over, but now they hold up just fine.
I can't wait to plant these babies outside. I think I'll wait a couple more weeks. I also need to go and get some more dirt to fill the raised garden spot with. Then I'll actually have something to plant them in.

Our Pictures are Finished!

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that we had our family pictures taken. Well, those pictures are finally done and I am soooo excited! Our photographer did a really really really good job on them. I love how they turned out! If anyone is interested or wants to see them you are welcome to. Go to shurtzphotography.com and scroll down. Our family's icon is on the bottom left. Now I just have to decide which ones I want prints of. So many to choose from! If anyone is in this area I highly recommend using this photographer. He was great and his wife was great too. She took the kids for a walk and played with them while Dan and I had our couple shots taken. It was a lot of fun and I am sure we'll use them again.

Time for a change

If you noticed I changed the blog header today. I figured it was time for a change since snow is definitely not the scenery around here anymore. It hasn't been for quite some time. For some reason though I can't get my image to fit perfectly inside the blog layout lines so it is a bit off center. Oh well, I  will just have to ignore it. You probably didn't even notice anyway. So its my fault for pointing it out.

I've been working on Mother's Day gifts this week. They are turning out soooo darn cute! I am going to have to make some for myself! Wish I could show you but I know the other women in my life read this blog and it would spoil the surprise. I'll have to make a post on my projects after Mother's Day instead.

Boring To Chic Doll Bed

So I told you about the doll bed I was redoing the other day. The above picture is what it looked like after 2 coats of paint. Remember I told you I had other plans for it? Well, I have been really excited about my idea and couldn't wait any longer to get it done. Today while the kids were busy making "dinner" out of grass and dried up flowers in the back yard, I sat at my kitchen table in the sunshine and worked my magic on this baby (baby doll bed that is).

I designed some scrolly flower and vines to cut with my vinyl cutter and cut it out. I peeled away the image instead of the outline so I could use it as a stencil. This is what I ended up with.

*If you do something like this make sure you don't press the vinyl on too much. Just press along the graphic edges enough to keep paint from seeping underneath. pressing too much creates the risk of peeling off the background paint. Not fun!

After I got my stencils on I grabbed some leftover wall touch up paint that came with the house (FREE!) and painted two coats.

Before letting the paint dry completely (again I didn't want to risk peeling) I gently peeled the vinyl away leaving this beauty!

I have a little touch-up to do and I think I want to do some sort of scrolly font to match the vines and write "baby" on the siderails. What do you think?

 

I love it!

Making an Old Toy New

I got this baby cradle as a gift from my Grandpa Lazenby when I was very little. It has been around awhile. On a previous trip home I picked it up with plans to fix it up and give to Kiera for Christmas. Well that was the plan; however that didn't happen. Instead it has been sitting in the garage waiting for me to do something with it. This week I decided to get to work.
First, I sanded it a little to rough it up so the new paint would stick.  Then I did a couple layers with my Barn Red paint while the kids were riding bikes and coloring with sidewalk chalk. (The leftover bunk bed paint is being put to good use). Here's a picture of it with one coat.

I have since done another coat and it is being played with now but I still have more plans in store for this baby bed of mine. Can't wait to show you!

Spring is Here or At Least I Hope So.

Saturday was a busy day this past weekend. The morning I spent it building an A-frame stand for a florescent light to start garden seeds in my kitchen. Dan and I had bought an 18" tube light fixture from home depot on Friday and found an aquarium/plant bulb to go with it. To make the A-frame I just cut two 1X4's (scrap from other projects) about 19-20" long for the top and back of my light and then used some scrap ply wood and made the A-shaped pieces for the sides. I screwed the pieces together with 6 countersunk screws and then used more of my leftover red bunk bed paint to make it match my artwork clipboards and calendar holder I already have in my kitchen. It turned out really cute.

We also spent the morning thatching our lawn. We had put moss killer on it earlier and needed to remove all the black ugliness before putting on some weed n' feed. Now we are just hoping the chemicals we put on the grass don't kill it and make it worse than it was.

Later that evening we had scheduled to have our family pictures taken over at Flower World. It is something that I have been wanting to have done for awhile. I can take pretty good pictures but when it come to family portraits I prefer being in the shot and not having to deal with running back and forth with a timer and a tripod; especially when the kids don't sit still anyway. Plus I don't consider myself a professional yet. The location was at a beautiful nursery. Around the grounds was a huge park with fountains, bridges, benches, and water. Just lovely. I am so excited to see how they turned out!

Carrot? Bread Rolls

The other day I decided to try a new recipe that I found online. I was looking for something to help me use up the plethora of carrots that are taking up space in my entire chest freezer. I came across a recipe for "Golden Carrot Buns". I thought it sounded interesting and the reviews for it were complimentary so I decided to give it a go. The dough reminded me of yellow/orange play-dough. It was a really bright color! They turned out wonderful though and the recipe made it to my "keeper" pile. I just wanted to share it with you.

Carrot Bread Rolls
What you'll need:
-4 cups of sliced carrots (I used frozen medallion cut ones from my MIL's garden)
-2 eggs
-1 cup of warm water (110 degrees F-115 degrees F so you don't kill the yeast)
-2 tbsp of active dry yeast ( I use RED STAR from Costco)
-3/4 cup vegetable oil
-1/2 cup sugar
-1Tbsp of honey (the recipe called for molasses but I didn't have any. You could probably use pancake syrup too if you wanted)
-2 tsp salt
-8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I ended up only needing around 7 cups)

Directions:
1. Put your carrots in a saucepan and cover with water, cook until tender. Drain and place in a blender or food processor. Add eggs and 1/2 cup water, puree until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in remaining water. Add carrot mixture. Stir in oil, sugar, honey, salt and 5 cups flour, beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.

2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes (I just used my knock off "kitchen aid" with a bread hook attachment). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down.
Here's what mine looked like all raised...

3. Shape into 48 balls (I made about 20 balls to cook right away, 18 balls to freeze and use for future dinners and the rest I used to make a bread loaf). Place 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour. (*If you use plastic wrap make sure you spray your dough with PAM or something first. I use plastic wrap because it holds in heat better than a towel and rising time goes quicker).

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until browned on the top.


They turned out very yummy and I was so happy to find another use for all those carrots in the freezer.

Show and Tell

So I have had this project done for awhile now but with the busy Easter weekend I didn't have the chance to post about it. I made another project from my favorite site Knock off Wood. It was a MUCH simpler project from our last bunk bed build, but it was still fun! I took a 2X2 that we had ripped on the table saw (which now gave me two 1X2's) and painted them with one coat of left over paint from the bunk beds. Sanded the edges, and hammered on some framing brackets for hanging.

For the clothes pins, I took them apart, modge podged some cute striped scrapbook paper to one side, let it dry and then put the clothespins back together. I then took my trusty hot glue gun and glued the pins on every 6 inches and wha la! I love the way they turned out and now have a cute place to put up the kid's artwork. Love it!

Sorry its not the best picture. The table is still a mess from putting it all together, it's dark and a little far away, but you get the idea.

1/4 of a Century?

 Easter Weekend was not only Easter and General Conference but it was also my birthday weekend! I hit a landmark...sniffle sniffle. I am now officially 1/4 of a century old. WOW! I feel so old! But hey there's a few perks of reaching this age aren't there? Hmmm... I can't think of any right now except for maybe lower insurance costs, but if I think of any more I'll let you know. Thanks Momma and Papa Glenn for the nail/staple gun! It was perfect and I wouldn't have finished the recliner without it. Thanks Grandma "Tutu" (aka my mom) for the fun gifts. The picture frame is beautiful and I love the new swimsuit! And thank you to my WONDERFUL husband who even though we had decided our upcoming getaway trip to Seattle would count as my birthday gift, still brought home two pots of flowers for me to plant in the yard. Thanks for remembering that Shasta Daisies are my favorite. I love you!

Here are a couple of not the most flattering pictures of myself but fun nonetheless.

This is how we feel about cake around here especially when it is strawberry ice cream cake with whipped cream as the frosting!

Look at all those candles!

My favorite flower! Now remember this one because there might be a quiz later...

Just kidding.

Easter Egg Hunt

 Easter Weekend is a great weekend! I love seeing my children's utter joy with the simplest reward of candy, I love coloring eggs the night before with my little family, I love their excited looks when they search around the yard for the lost eggs hidden by the Easter bunny, and I love the excuse to make yummy food. (This year however we didn't have the traditional honey baked ham. Instead, I made a pork roast in the crock pot and we had it with potatoes carrots and garlic bread). It is such a fun time. I didn't take too many pictures of the Easter festivities but I did get some fun ones of the Egg Hunt. Just wanted to share.

Pressing On

We had a great Easter weekend! It was my birthday, Easter, General Conference, and a visit from my mom all wrapped up in one. A great combination if I do say so myself. I have a lot of posts to catch up on! But today I decided to share something close to my heart. I know I say it a lot but its because it is true. I love my kids! They make me smile and teach me little lessons everyday.

This morning after breakfast I got on to check e-mails and turn on some Pandora music. A few minutes later the kids finished their cereal and came into the room. I didn't pay too much attention and then I heard some chattering behind me. This is what I found...

They were reading together! How precious! These two are so cute together. They teach me so much and I just love how they adore each other. Last night I was looking for a specific file on my computer and found myself going through pictures from the past two years. It pulls at my heart to see how much my babies have changed in a year. I see so much change in them in just 6 months time. They grow so fast!

More than that has changed in 6 months as well. Did you notice what the kids are sitting on? Yes that's right! The recliner. Can you believe it? I finished it!!!!!! Shout out loud and dance all night! She's done! I wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't for my mom's help while she was here. She helped me figure out how to take apart the rest of the chair and helped me cut out the rest of the pieces. Then watched the kids while I spent all day sewing and putting things back together. Thanks mom!

So here's another recap to show you what it looked like before I started work on this project.

YUCK!

A few repairs...some minor injuries...and 6+ months later...

DELISH!

It was much harder than I anticipated, and took me WAY longer than I wanted it to, However, in the end, well worth the effort. This project taught me a lot. I learned a new skill and was able to create something that I have tremendous pride in. I feel as though this chair has become like one of my children. It was definently a process. I believe much like that of raising children.

You take something good and try to mold it into something beautiful. Sometimes it is painful to do and you get hurt in the process. However, you still press on. At times in the process you feel lost and scared that you aren't doing it right. That someone else could do a much better job. However you still press on. It takes lots and lots of work and patience, and there are days you want to give up. However you still press on. But there are also days that you are blessed with sparks of happiness and joy and see some of your efforts paid off. And then you blink and you find a beautiful masterpiece in front of you. And you still press on.

Now I just need to build a frame for my Old Jerusalem painting, redo the computer desk, and start planting the garden.But right now I think I will go and enjoy the two little masterpieces who are playing in the other room.