Saturday, May 29, 2010

The Rolling Stones

We have been listening to the song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" a lot lately. The kids and I love to sing to it while we're in the van and it's good cleaning music.

We were sitting down to lunch and Finn was complaining and throwing a fit about something. Maeve started singing "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find you get what you need."

I love that girl.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Power Tools

I need to figure out power tools.

It was only recently that I discovered that I can flip a switch on the drill and make it unscrew a screw. That was a good day, although I'm still not the one to call when you need to hang a curtain rod. I am, however, wicked good at screwing together the kids' outdoor play house.

I would like to know how to use various saws. I have things to build and I'm getting antsy waiting for my projects to be important to my husband. I was even gracious enough to draw out plans and measurements for him. I want my rabbit cages built so we can buy two or three more rabbits. I also want to make blocks for the kids using tree branches from the trees we just took out of our yard. I think I can make them myself, but I need to know how to use a table saw without cutting off any my fingers.


Saturday, May 22, 2010

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

I make a big batch of this bread dough at least every other day. I love this recipe and find myself using it for just about everything. I've made:

Monkey bread
Cinnamon rolls
Pretzels
Pull apart rolls: I have no idea what these are called. I rolled up little balls of dough, put them all in a pan, covered them in melted butter and herbs and baked.
Pizza
Stromboli
Apple turnovers
Flat bread topped with caramelized onions, garlic and Parmesan cheese
Bagels
Doughnuts
Hamburger or hot dog buns
Tortillas: I fried these and they were okay, but real homemade tortillas are much better


And almost anything that calls for a yeast dough. I am still trying to find a great sandwich bread dough so if you know of something, please share.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

New Curtains

Two years ago we replaced our huge living room window with two regular sized double hung windows. We, and by "we" I mean my father-in-law and husband, put thick oak trim around the windows and added a shelf right below the windows. I think the shelf was intended for plants and various knick knacks, but the kids use it as more of a diving board.

When we replaced the windows, I did not replace the floor length curtains. This wasn't a big issue until we rearranged the living room and put the couch under the windows. Now when we close the curtains, they hang on the back of the couch. Annoying.

I looked online a bit for new curtains and decided that I am way too cheap to spend money on something I will have to alter to make work. All of the shorter curtains were too country bumpkin-ish for me. I was staring at my sewing machine and trying to come up with a solution when I remembered a huge piece of fabric I've been saving. I've had this fabric since college and it is absolutely perfect for my living room windows. It's from India and is red, black, tan and yellow. It's flowery without being obnoxious and will go great with our eclectic style.

My plan is to cut our current curtains in half vertically and to the correct length and use the Indian fabric as a sort of trim. I don't have it all figured out yet, but I know it will be fabulous.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

My 70 lb Baby

This is our annoying dog, Bridget. She is a beautiful and very hungry Labrador retriever. Bridget will eat anything, including:
-sticks of unopened butter
-an apple tree
-whole watermelons
-rabbit pellets

The one thing Bridget will not eat? Pretzels.


Saturday, May 15, 2010

Jaudice

I was going through old pictures and found this little gem. This was taken the day before Oren was admitted into the NICU. It's obvious now, but at the time we didn't notice how much he resembled a pumpkin.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Look


Do you see that look? The fire behind their eyes?

I am in trouble.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Garden

I carefully selected heirloom tomato seeds, ordered them, planted them and loved them for a few months. Then I killed them by putting them in the sun for too long. Lesson learned.

I probably should have looked a little harder to find replacements, but the home improvement store is close to our house and we were motivated to work in the garden. We need seven more tomato plants and still need to plant our green beans, onions, more carrots and more turnips. We also need to figure out where to put our herbs.

All in all, I am happy with the progress we've made so far this year. In the upcoming years we should have plums, pears, apples and cherries in addition to the vegetables. We have tried very hard to make our blueberry bush like our soil, but our efforts so far have been in vain.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

I am five months pregnant with our first baby in this picture. That strapping young lad next to me is my husband. We had no idea what we were in for with this whole baby thing, but it's been wonderful and I love being a mother.

Here's hoping that my kids don't poop on me today.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Keep Refrigerated

I had to take the rabbits to the vet recently and didn't realize until the last minute that we don't have a suitable portable carrier for them. I used an old egg box instead.

The kids were very amused at Rainbow's head peeking out and the writing on the box makes me laugh every time I see the picture.

Friday, May 7, 2010

The Chair

Have I shared my love for Craigslist?

I decided on a whim that we should get furniture that better fit our living room. I was able to find two vintage chairs and a couch for a reasonable price. I foolishly thought that by getting two chairs there wouldn't be any fighting, but this particular chair is highly desirable.