whatchabuildin

spooky treats

Today we spent the day preparing for Halloween. As usual, my little helper spearheaded each project we did.

:: Ginger cats, bats and owls. I used a regular gingerbread cookie recipe, and we cut them into scary Halloween shapes.

...Oh yeah, made a loaf of Banana Bread too! That recipe later.

:: Silly pumpkin head. This was a free download over at Angry Chicken, so much fun!

:: Yummy "gourmet" pumpkin seeds. At least I think they're gourmet, nobody else in the house likes them. But I'm OK with that, more for me! 

-wash seeds and place in bowl. Drizzle olive oil over them, about 2 TBS. 

-spread onto a baking sheet.

-sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

-Bake 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then change temp. to 300 degrees for another 15 minutes or until golden, and crunchy. So very addictive!

:: And finally at the end of the day, the pumpkin!

If you look close, you can see that Colin signs our "names" to the pumpkin. You'll notice my name is "Mom", he said that's my "other" name. Cracks me up! 

Hope your having a spooky start to your week! 

bunting, birthday and just busy!

Wow! Well, where have I been? Sorry for the long absence. I meant to post over the past few weeks...um months, ...but my time has been devoted to family stuff lately, and that has taken me away from my blog world! And I have to say, I really miss it!

My mom visited us for almost a month back in March and early April. We sewed, baked, went fabric shopping, laughed and just caught up on "things". Also, Colin turned three at that time and we were preparing for that monumental event. Three. I can't believe sometimes that he has already been on this earth for three years! I've discovered that motherhood is a very bittersweet journey.

So, I have lots to post about. Hang on, here we go!

First, the bunting. I've wanted to make a "happy birthday" banner for a long time now. So I finally decided to make one for Colin's birthday. I still have to machine stitch around the letters so they stand out more, but basically it is done.

The background fabric is vintage paisley that my mom gave me a long time ago. She said that Grandma was going to use it for a duvet cover and never did. That was back in 1955! Wow, this fabric has been in our family for a long time! I had to use it for something special. I think I did.

 

And the birthday. I made these really cute "car cakes" for my special boy. He really loved them. The car cake molds are from William Sonoma, but I am afraid to say they don't seem to be available anymore!

These were a couple gift bags that I made for Colin's birthday. The friend that came for his birthday has the same initial as Colin! What fun to watch them open the goody bags at the same time!

Fabric, fabric and more fabric! When mom is here she goes a little overboard (oh, in a very good way) in buying fabric for me. She helped me buy the rest of the fabric that I need for the quilt I am making for our bed (more on that later)

And books! My mom also bought me some really great books that I had on my "to buy someday" list. Now to find the time to read through them all!

Well, I think I am caught up now! Whew! I feel better! Now back to my regular programmed scheduling of busy...busy and busy!

I'm back to the garden...planting that is. Have a great day!

friday night is pizza night

Friday night is pizza night around here! One of our family traditions we started years ago. Gathered in the kitchen, we discuss our plans for the weekend while I start a batch of homemade pizza dough. Oh, wait! Back up. First I pour myself a glass of wine, then I start the pizza dough. Better. Yes, much better.

Ok. So, pizza night around here has turned into quite an event now that I have a little helper. He loves pizza dough. Not just the eewy gooey-ness of it, but he actually eats it. Raw. I know, I know. Yuck-o! 

Anyway, pizza night with an almost three year old is well, yes exciting and fun! This is how it we do it.

The recipe that I use is from the Martha Stewart's "Comfort Food" cookbook. You can find a similar one on her website, here. The main thing I do differently is that I just make it up in a bowl by hand and not in the food processor. Saves washing the food processor, and lugging it out of it's place in the bottom cabinet, way in back. I also just let it rise once for 30 minutes, not twice.

So, as I am making up the dough along comes Colin...

"Mommy I want to help too! Get my apron, pease (please) I want to tir (stir), I want to tir! Pease, pease mommy...mommy can I pat it up? Pat it up mommy! Should I tir it now? Can I pease? I want to pat it too, pat it up mama, mommy whasdat? Is that your grape juice? Can I have grape juice too? Oooh, Mommy das ticky (sticky), das ticky mama. Can I cut too? Mama what are you doing? Whasdat?..." he says with demanding excitement.

Yes, that was one continuous dialog from Colin. In between I interjected a few "Yes, honey", "no, not yet, not yet. Wait. Wait. Wait honey, ok now you can do it. Wait. OK. Now you can. OK." **sip** "No, that is wine. It is adult grape juice. No, but can have some of your grape juice."

Phew!! Are you exhausted yet? Were not done yet! So tonight we made our basic cheese, spinach and sauce pizza.

The easy way to wilt spinach is to put a bunch in a bowl with a tablespoon of water and put it in the microwave for a minute on high. But if you get weirded out sometimes like I do about putting things in the microwave, you can just steam it for about a minute on the stovetop.

So after I pat the dough into the pan, put the sauce, spinach, and oregano on, Colin's job is to put the cheese on. And, what a good job he does! We stick that baby (the pizza, not the child) in the oven for 22 minutes, exactly. Yes. Then sip a little more wine and wait for pizza goodness.

Notes:  We used sharp cheddar for this recipe. The Greek Oregano was harvested from my garden last summer, it is so nice to have this time of year! I highly recommend having an oregano plant in your yard or garden. One plant dried and harvested will last all winter.

There you go! This is how our pizza night goes. Good pizza, good family time. Yes, always good family times!

morning time

Our weekday mornings are quite busy before we head to work and school, but we always make time for a good breakfast. One of our favorites is fast, yummy and healthy oatmeal with peanut butter and maple syrup. Add a glass of orange juice and you have a wholesome easy breakfast to help start your day right.

This is my recipe for the oatmeal:

3/4 c. whole oats (not instant)

1 1/2 c. water

Place water and oats in large bowl together. Cook on stove top or in the microwave, following box directions. When done cooking stir in one large dollop (a healthy tablespoon) of peanut butter and drizzle maple syrup on top. I love the "B grade" maple syrup on my oatmeal. It is becoming more common these days and should be easy to find.

There you go! Have a great day!

++ yes, that is an icecube in Colin's oatmeal! He likes to cool his down that way!