and the girl

I did McKinley's spring updated pictures too. Now I will take them to get them printed and take down the old 2008 pictures. Next up is a family picture...with all of us. I don't know how that will go.

Spring boys

boys March 2010

Now that the weather will start warming up (hopefully) I feel the photography bug biting again. I took the boys out to try to get a couple of shots of them to replace the 2008 pictures I have in my family room. I don't know why Sawyer can't keep his mouth normal, he kept squinching it like this or cheesing it wide and making his eyes disappear into slits!





I'm glad it's March. I love Spring, it's so inspiring!

Spring Gardening

veggie signs by McKinley

I always get the gardening itch in the spring. I was hoping to do yard work last Saturday, but the severe winter storm got in the way. So this week is spring-y and I am all caught up with spring yard work! We'll start the lawn stuff this weekend.

For FHE last night we planted our early spring garden. Last year I was late in starting a garden and ended up with 8 tomato bushes and one sad little watermelon bud. So I bought some seeds yesterday so I could have more variety this year. Sawyer is in charge of the carrots, Hayden is in charge of the spinach, McKinley is in charge of the peas, and Hayden helped Kent plant the broccoli.

I want to get an herb garden going. I think now is the time for that too.

Spring Snow

Yesterday we woke up to a lot of beautiful, fluffy snow. Hopefully the last one of the season! It looked really pretty all over the trees and grass though. So in the afternoon the kids went out to play in the snow. McKinley went sledding with a friends and the boys went in the backyard.

The snow quickly turned into a slushy, melty mess. The kids snow suits were soaking.

And Sawyer did not listen to my pleas to not play in the mud.

Tea and crumpets

photo by me

I have always wondered what crumpets were. Yesterday I hosted book club at my house (The Guernsey literary and Potato Peel Society---say that 10 times fast!) and decided to make some British refreshments in honor of the setting of the book.

Turns out they're not bad. So I made a batch of crumpets, toasted them, and served them with some homemade butter, and honey. The butter was really fun to make too (probably because I don't have to churn it by hand) and now I have fresh buttermilk too!

I've thought about getting a milk cow someday, doesn't fresh milk, cream, butter and buttermilk sound so rustic? But I cringed at the thought of waking up one morning to find Bessie had passed on and trying to remove the bloated carcass from my back yard. Oh well.

Here's the crumpet recipe that worked for me. The first internet recipe I tried was a pitiful mess!

And the recipe to make your own butter! Yum!

From allrecipes.com

Crumpets

1 (.25 oz) pkg active dry yeast

1/4 c warm water

1 tsp sugar

1/3 c warm milk

1 Tablespoon butter melted

1 egg

1 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar, let stand for five minutes. Add milk, butter and egg. Mix well. Add flour and salt; beat until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until double (about 45 minutes). Brush griddle and 3 in. metal rings or open-topped metal cookie cutters with some more melted butter. Place rings on griddle; heat over low heat. Pour about 3 Tablespoons of batter into each ring. Cook for about 7 minutes or until bubbles appear on top and it appears dry on top (like when you cook pancakes). Remove rings, turn crumpets over and cook an additional 1-2 minutes or until the other side is golden brown. Serve warm or let cool on a wire rack then cut in half and toast the crumpet. Serve with butter and honey or jam.

Recipe from Nicole Gerulat

Homemade butter and buttermilk

6 c heavy cream

1 teaspoon salt

In a standing mixer, pour the heavy cream and salt into the bowl. Use plastic wrap to cover the area between the bowl and the mixer. Turn to the highest speed. Over the next 10 minutes as it mixes it will first look like heavy cream, then it will separate into chunks and turn more yellow. You will know it is finished when water splashes against the plastic wrap. Over a bowl strain the liquids from the solids. You should have about 2 cups of buttermilk. The solids if kneaded will yield 2 cups of butter. Store in wax paper or parchment paper in a sealed container. Butter will last up to two weeks in the refrigerator.

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

Summary: Every month a new teenage boy gets dropped off at the Glade which is surrounded by the Maze. They have no memory of who they were or why they're here. They just try to survive and figure out the maze that the Creators made to escape back home. The day after Thomas gets dropped off, the first girl ever is dropped off and nothing will ever be the same.

My thoughts: This recommendation popped up in association with books you'll like if you like The Hunger Games. I liked it a lot (how very eloquent). It was very mysterious. And although I knew it would happen, I was still exasperated when I found out it's only Book ONE!

Add that to the list of sequels I have to wait for....I hate waiting.

Happy curtains and happy kid

I finally finished my curtains! Well, the hem needs to be stitched on one pair of panels, but I'm waiting for my new sewing machine. I put them up anyway. Now my rooms feel much less gloomy.

And I think we are finally on the track to getting this kid better: 1 1/2 weeks, two doctors visits, and three different meds a day later.