Busy Bags for Busy Toddlers

Sometimes while taking care of this little sweetie...

I need something to entertain my big sweetie.

One of the ladies in our church recently suggested we do a "busy bag" exchange. If you haven't heard about this, it is a great idea. Each mom picks a self-contained project appropriate for young children and makes enough for the group of ladies participating. Once you exchange bags, you have a bunch of fun little activities to pull out at just the right time.

I enjoyed making my "button snakes" and can't wait to see all the other projects.

I just had to share my latest faves from the kitchen

I feel like baking is becoming a little bit of a hobby. I never thought I would say that, but I'm getting a little addicted. I know part of that addiction is the great bread-maker I received from my sister-in-law (thanks Tracy!). The other part is my love for yummy food (had to be honest). Maybe another part is that look on Rob's face when he likes one of my experiments. Either way, I thought I would pass on a couple awesome recipes.

These two come from allrecipes.com. "Bread Machine Bagels" and "Bread Machine Honey-Oat-Wheat Bread" are awesome! Neither one is time consuming because of the dough cycle on the bread-machine.

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls from moneysavingmom.com has cured me of my cinnamon roll fear. Let's just say my first "from scratch" experience left something to be desired. I brought them to share with my high school Sunday school class and they politely asked "what are these?".

Cinnamon Honey Butter and Oreo Layer Dessert I found on, you guessed it, pinterest.com. I had to bring it up. If you have some serious weight loss resolutions, don't look these up.

Last but not least, I found this goodie in the newspaper yesterday. These were glorious with a cup of coffee this morning!

Apple and Oat Scones with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

Makes 12

1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling

1 and 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, plus more for topping

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (I just used it from the pantry)

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 and 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 and 1/2 cups diced Granny Smith apples (I used what I had on hand)

2/3 cup cold buttermilk, plus more for brushing

Raw turbinado sugar, for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers.

Add apples and buttermilk, stirring until dough just comes together.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured work surface. Pat dough into a rectangle and cute into 12 squares with a floured knife.

Place 2 inches apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with buttermilk, and sprinkle with raw turbinado sugar and oats.

Happy Baking!

I'm a Princess

I just cannot get over this picture from Christmas. My parents rented a beach house in Sandbridge and our whole clan piled in there. Brynne and Cousin Cade LOVED the dress-up clothes in the "kids" room. They pranced around saying "I'm a princess". Now where did they learn that?

My favorite flea find and other signs of Christmas

Yesterday was another lovely flea market day. I had been wanting a countdown calendar for December and was so pleased to find this at one of the booths. You place an ornament on the "tree" each day of the month.

I just love this time of year! It is so fun to experience Christmas with Brynne this time around. We decorated the tree Friday night and Saturday morning she kept asking to decorate again. It's hard to explain to a 2-year old that you just look at the tree for the rest of the month.

What award are we going for?

Brynne: best deadpan smile, Brooke: craziest hair

I love these girls!

By the way, I wore this pink sweater as a baby. It was fun to pull it out for Brooke.

Welcome Home, Baby Brooke

I cannot believe Baby Brooke is already 13 days old. We have been on a little bit of a roller coaster ride lately, but are truly enjoying our sweetie so much! We have not closed on our old home, but it should happen any day now. We did, however, decide to go ahead and move to a temporary house in the meantime so we wouldn't have to get out right after we had the baby. Our friends Mike and Virginia have sweetly allowed us to stay in their apartment until our old house closes and our new house opens up. The crazy thing is that we moved THE DAY before I went into labor. God's timing is amazing.

My labor was very fast. I started to feel strong contractions at 2:30 pm on Sunday, the 25th. At 3:30 pm, we took off for the hospital. And by 7:00 pm, I was holding our second beautiful girl. I was so thankful that she was healthy and the delivery went so smoothly.

Nana arrived and took awesome care of us. Both my girls have loved taking naps with Nana.
I can't get over this ruffled butt :) It's so fun to dress a girl...again. Of course I am using a lot of Brynne's things, but I had to get a couple new things.

We have had some drama since then. I went into the hospital a couple days ago to be checked for appendicitis. That was crazy and scary. I was so thankful to be cleared and sent home to my girls the same day. We are still recovering a little from the experience, but God has been faithful and our church family has been such a blessing to us. I just have to learn to be better about being constantly on the receiving end and the "thank you" end. In my pride, I much prefer to be "doing" for others. God is teaching me to rest in Him and His care in new ways.

Little did I know...

what my August would bring

This month has been pretty amazing. When I started to catalog the events in my brain the other day, I thought maybe I would just share them.

~We began the month with the first offer on our house since it has been for sale since November. We are waiting to get all the approvals from the bank right now, but if all goes well, we will close September 30th. In case you are wondering, yes that is three days after I am due. We will see what happens.

~Not so important, but slightly life changing: my stone-age phone died, and I finally broke down and got a new phone. My new phone has a full keyboard which is totally revolutionizing my texting. Oh yes, I love it.

~Rob turned big number 30, and we had a surprise birthday party for him and Jordan Heijermans. It was a blast. If you know Rob and Jordan, it won't surprise you at all that their birthdays are one day apart and they were both turning 30.

~The next day my sister and her family took off for South Carolina. We are surviving so far although it is a little heart-breaking to hear Brynne saying "Cade far away in South Carolina". She is still figuring out why she can't see her cousin any old time.

~We experienced an earthquake. I was taking a nap, and it shook me awake. It was pretty crazy.

~We rounded out the month with a hurricane. The best part about the weather, is that it gave us an excuse to flee to Charlottesville - one of our favorite places. We are trying to keep track of what is going on at home, but are glad to be away from the craziness.

Did I mention I only have four weeks until Brooke Aran arrives? We cannot wait!

I'm so glad God is in charge and not me. He is a sweet Father to us in all situations.