It's fall...time for chilli

Brian is usually the chili maker in this house but I thought I would try my hand at it this week. Thanks to some friends I have now discovered that on allrecipes.com you can put in what ingredients you have and they will give you recipes that you can make! Brilliant! So, I made a turkey bean chili this week. Of course I didn't have all the ingredients but here is the recipe if you are curious. I did add one secret ingredient....

homebrew mmm

 

This was not staged. I actually walked into the living room tonight as we were waiting for people to show up for community group and found these two sitting like this. I was just excited that Ruby stayed there long enough for me to snap a photo.

Updates

-- We just finished a 6 week class at our church and read the book "Shepherding a Child's Heart." We learned a lot from the other parents in the class.--Ruby and her cousin Holden hung out today at a neighborhood chilli cookoff.

 

--Ruby went to her 1 year check up and was 18 pounds 11 oz and 28 inches long.  She got her first ear infection 2 weeks later and by that time was 19 pounds 8 oz!  That is a far cry from her birth weight of 5 pounds 1 oz.

--I started watching a friends 4 month old during the week on this past Tuesday.  This is why I haven't blogged very much lately.  Little Moses is a great baby and it has been good for Ruby to learn how to share and be kind to him.  She really likes having him around.  We will be hanging out with Moses until November.  

--Brian and I just started watching "Band of Brothers"  

--The weather here in Kentucky is getting a little cooler and I am super excited about the fall. I get to carry around the fall colored purse that my friend Sarah made for me a few months ago. She also made Ruby's dress that she wore to her birthday party.

Thankful Thursdays

 

 

This Thursday I am thankful for Fridays. Brian has had Friday's off since about June. Due to the high gas prices, his company has given the option of working four 10 hour days with Friday's off. Brian and I love that he is spending more time at home with the family, getting projects around the house done, having an extra "Saturday" and saving some money on gas.

The second picture is of Ruby with her new pj's from Aunt Kim and her new little car toy from Grandma and Grandpa Faith. I added this photo because she is starting to look like more of a little toddler these days rather than a little baby.

Birthday Cake

 

For Ruby's birthday I made her a number 1 carrot cake. I bought those sparkly letters at Michael's and just glued toothpicks on them. It has that homemade look to it but that is what I like about it. Here is the recipe if anyone is interested ( i went vegan to make it healthier; and because brian is allergic to eggs; and because we have vegan friends who then could eat it):

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups finely-shredded carrots
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 egg substitute (Ener-G)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Directions
1Grease and flour a 10" X 9" or square cake pan.
2Stir together dry ingredients.
3Mix in the carrots, egg subs, oil, apple sauce, and vanilla.
4Beat about 2-3 minutes , until well mixed.
5Stir in the nuts, if used.
6Bake at 325 F for about 40-50 minutes , or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7Cool on a wire rack.

Friends

 

 

We are so thankful to have lots of friends and family right now who have babies that Ruby can grow up with.

Birthday Crown

 

I made Ruby wear this crown when she ate her breakfast on her birthday. It didn't last long.

Thankful Thursdays

Today I am thankful that we have power. Sunday Hurricane Ike made it's way up to Louisville with 75 mph winds. Over 300,000 people in the metro area have been without power. The public schools have been closed all week and many people haven't gone to work. It isn't anywhere near the damage that Texas saw...only an inconvenience to us. We were without power on Tuesday for about 8 hours. We have given our leftover fridge/freezer space to a friend and offered our home to anyone that we think might need it. I tried to find a picture but only ended up finding some really lame youtube video with some 90's rock in the background.

Ruby's 1st Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated Ruby's birthday with friends and family at a park here in Louisville. She did really well and had a great time playing with everyone. I am a little overwhelmed with the amount of pictures I have so I may post a couple of days.

Here are a few of Ruby eating her little carrot cake. She was pretty dainty about it.

 

 

 

Thankful Thursdays

I am thankful for yard sales, thrift stores, and finding a good deal. It is always fun to see what treasures you can find but also I love to see how I can save my family money by finding things used instead of new.

This summer I found these awesome pictures for Ruby's room for just $8
and

Last weekend I found this 1924 Singer Sewing Machine at a yard sale for $20 and it works! Now I just need to learn how to sew!

Learning to communicate

From ruby and bananas

This is a video of Ruby eating a snack and doing some sign language.

This is for my bro...

whose birthday I forgot to post about which was September 5th. Happy Birthday! I will never forget again! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Ruby!

One year ago today Ruby came into this world. She was born at 5:51 am and weighed 5 pounds 1 oz and was 18 inches long. We celebrated on Friday by taking her out for her first taste of ice cream. As you can see by the picture she was pretty indifferent.

Thankful Thursdays

I am so thankful that I get to be a stay at home wife/mother. I love being at home with Ruby and being the person who teaches her and takes care of her. I am getting to enjoy keeping the house, cooking and learning to organize. I also love that I have a flexible schedule to spend time with friends and to go with Brian on business trips at the last minute. The daily sacrifices that we make are absolutely worth it to be able to be at home with Ruby. I wouldn't change it for the world.

I would love to hear what you are thankful for today

look what i discovered

Guess what Ruby discovered? Baby Einstein. We have definetly been more cautious and reserved parents to Ruby (not really letting her watch TV). However, this weekend in a mad rush to get our house clean before community group we popped in Baby Einstein and you see what happened in the pic. She couldn't take her eyes off the television...pretty crazy. Don't worry, we are not going to start using the tv as a babysitter.

Visit to Grandma and Grandpa Laffins

Brian picking berries in his parents garden. We love getting fresh veggies and berries from his parents garden. We have been making salsa and marina sauce this week with the fresh tomatos and peppers.

Ruby gets to play with her Daddy and Uncle John's toys from when they were little when she visits her grandparents.

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Ruby at 9 1/2 months hanging over her Daddy's shoulder. This is a common picture of Ruby. She loves it when Brian hangs her over his shoulder like this.