We have a 6 year old!

On September 8th our little girl turned 6 years old!  Un-be-liev-able!  It was the day after a huge yard sale we had so it was very low key.  She had a couple of friends over to play, open gifts and have cake and ice cream.  I didn't take pictures because my phone was messed up but a friend sent me a couple that she took. 

Spring has Sprung

My New Room

After reading my friend Sarah's blog about the cool things that she is sewing for her girls I realized that I really am such a lover of fabric. That being said, I don't sew.  Not. At. All.  One day when the kids are bigger I am sure I will get to it but for now I will just admire Sarah's projects from afar.

Recently, I found some fabric that was just my style and went perfect in my bedroom .  My friend Julie, who just happened to be staying with us for a few months, turned them into pillows for our bed.  In about a two day period we painted my whole bedroom and made pillows for my bed.  This room went from a catch all place that we didn't like being in to a warm, comfortable, relaxing space that everyone likes to be in now.

Of course I didn't think to do true before and after pictures.  I found this one on my phone that shows the color of the wall (that I hated) and our old bedding (that I did like but was worn out) and some of the random things leaning against the wall plus furniture that I didn't like before we painted (i actually like our furniture now that we have a new wall color).  Also notice the adorable girls.

 The picture above is in the midst of our painting.

 The pic below is the finished walls.  Ignore the mess please.

 The blue and white pillows that Julie made.  The material cost five dollars and we just tore apart old pillows for the stuffing.

We even had some leftover fabric that we put on top of our old dresser. 

Julie and Telia taking a break from painting.

Looking Back-Celebrating

Caius celebrated both his sisters birthdays this year with our family & friends.  Here he is holding the balloons down.

Meal Plan

Chorizo Balls with Roasted Whipped Carrots and Sour Kraut

Butternut Squash Soup

Sweet Potato Jalepeno Chowder (my friend gave me this recipe)

Pumpkin Cocoa Chili

Beef Taco Salad with Avocado Dressing (this is on pinterest and I made it yesterday with our fish tacos...soooo good!  I subbed coconut milk instead of yogurt).


I made truffles this weekend too.  I sort of used this recipe:
http://lowcarboneday.com/2012/12/chocolate-almond-butter-truffles-low.html
I had to add some honey & coconut milk because the chocolate I had was not sweetened at all.  They were a delicious treat and definitely confirmed that I still have little to no self control with chocolate.  That is why I don't keep it in the house.

I also made some muffins for the kids that they actually liked.  I kind of used this recipe
 http://www.thelittlefoodie.com/2013/01/sunshine-paleo-muffins.html

Telia Turns 3!

At the beginning of November we celebrated Telia Abigail turning 3 years old. We had a great time with about 10 of her friends at her Minnie Mouse themed party.

Lots of sweet little girls 

We ate Minnie Mouse cupcakes and played pin the bow on Minnie Mouse. The girls played outside and all over the house.  It was great to shower Telia with attention this day.

Farmyard Party

Ruby turned 5 years old in September and when I asked her what she wanted to do for her birthday she said she wanted to go to the farm.  My mom has a friend who actually has a farm with animals which is what she was referring to but I figured hey, lets just run with this idea.  So, we had a farmyard party.  We had a lot of fun and a lot of people.  Here are some pictures of that Friday night.

We had fun with the food.  

Below you will see Chicken Feed, Pig Tails, Straw and Wagon Wheels

 I think this cake was really cute and really easy.  Actually, icing an eggless cake was not easy but since they were supposed to be in the farmyard I figured it was ok if it was messy.

 The Dessert Table

 I put farm animals throughout the house for decorations

 It was really hot until the sun went down but the kids didn't care and played in our backyard the whole time.  

So thankful to have a backyard and a fence

 This is seriously not even all the kids that were there.  We are missing a couple of kids and lots of babies. 

 Instead of a pinata we filled balloons with one piece of candy and then made a little pointer that the kids used to pop the balloons.  They loved it and I think the parents did too since the kids only got like 2 pieces of candy.

 Me and my sweet friend Kristyn with Anna and Ella

 Caius with his Aunt Heather

 In the side of our yard we have a dog run...perfect for pony races.  Brian ran the races with two kids at a time.  They had a blast and did not even care who won.

 On your mark...

 Gift opening time got a little crazy...we had to do some crowd control

Meal Plan

Okay, here is what is cookin this week here in So. Ind.  I am trying to use what I already have as much as possible.  I'm  also trying to add more vegetarian options to be healthy and to save money.

Sunday Crockpot Meatloaf (sort of following these directions ) with carrots, broccoli and wild rice.

Monday  Cobb Salad with Chicken Bacon, Avocado and Veggies (thanks to my friend Tessa for the inspiration).  I will probably check out Smitten Kitchen's Cobb Salad too.  I have had it saved for a long time but never used it.  We won't be adding the eggs, sadly, because of Brian's allergy and because I am staying away from them right now too. 

Tuesday Grilled Cheese/PB&J and Tomato Soup (Community Group night so we need to keep it simple)

Wednesday Vegetarian Tortilla Soup with Tortilla Chips (thanks for the heads up on this Laura)


Thursday  Taco Salad with Ground Beef

Friday Grilled Salmon with Baked or Grilled Sweet Potatos and Apples


Saturday  Kale and Goat Cheese Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms with Whatever Veggies are on Sale this Week

Sunday Pumpkin Pasta with Kale

I'm looking at this meal plan and not sure that it will pan out.  I will try and whatever I don't make will go on the next weeks plan.

Meal Plan...Last Week

I actually made a meal plan this past week and mostly stuck to it.  We were fortunate to get some very tasty heirloom tomatoes from Brian's parents and we also hit up the Bowling Green farmers market.  I am starting to trade meal plans with a couple of friends for inspiration and accountability so hopefully I will post here more often.

creamy broccoli soup with bread (this was really great and really healthy, no cream)
http://www.wholeliving.com/
130293/creamy-broccoli-white-bean-soup

crockpot chicken (chicken broth with heirloom tomatoes) and minty chickpea salad with couscous and tomatoes
http://www.realsimple.com/
food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/minty-chickpea-salad-couscous-10000001639803/index.html

Tostadas (fish (tilapia), refried beans, cheese, lettuce)

bean soup and cornbread & salad

cabbage and sausage with honey roasted sweet potatoes ( http://www.foodnetwork.com/
recipes/ellie-krieger/honey-roasted-sweet-potatoes-recipe/index.html)
 and roasted veggies (zucchini, tomato's, peppers and garlic).  This seems like a lot but it was basically leftover stuff from the farmers market that I threw together.  Brian loved the honey/olive oil/lemon mixture I put on the sweet potatoes.

We also made these the other day: Garlic Grilled Tomatoes
http://prouditaliancook.
blogspot.com/2012/05/let-grilling-begin.html

Blog Roll

I thought I would share some blogs (of friends) that I have been keeping up with lately.  Warning: They are not always happy reads.  Actually, a lot of the posts are downright heartbreaking but also a reminder to pray for these friends who at times are in the midst of deep suffering.  Thanks for checking them out.

Lindsy and William are in the process of adopting a little boy from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Read about their process and lots of good information on adopting at their blog which is Word From The Wallaces.  There are also ways to donate to their adoption fund on their site.

My friends from college, Molly and Kendrick, have a blog for their little girl.  They found out last month that their 4 year old daughter, Izzy, has stage 4 cancer.  Read more about her at Izzystory .

C.A.R.D.S

If you didn't already hear, the Cards made it to the final four.  Unfortunately, they lost...and more unfortunately it was to their biggest rivalry, UK. It was pretty predictable but we decided to party anyway and root on our school.  We went to the Bakers (a family full of Cats fans) to watch the game.  Actually, the men watched and the women chased the kids.  Oh well, we all got to dress in our favorite teams colors and take some pictures.

Brian teaching Caius early on the important things in life.

 The youngest fan

 The Cats fans in their blue

 Sweet girls.  Lilly was confused when we showed up in red.

 Friends

 I married into the love for the Cards and poor Hollie married into the love for the Cats.  Still great friends after 20 something years.