Something for the Road

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

You are quite the guy.  When we went around the dinner table and everyone mentioned what they loved about you, here’s what you got:  you’re extremely generous even when it puts you out a little, you are fun to play with, we can always count on a good laugh from you, and of course you’re handsome.  We are so glad you’re part of our family.

Dinner:  Sourdough French Toast with strawberries and Whipped Cream, Sausage, and Chocolate Milk

Cake:  Caleb’s first request was a Millenium Falcon . . . . what?!  My response was, “Who do you think I am?”  His response was, “Mom, you’re amazing – you can make anything out of cake.”  Hmmmm, how about putting some figures on some snow?  I lucked out and he loved his cake  . . . . win, win.  So, here it is:  Empyreal Snow Troopers vs. the Rebel Force.

 

Pinewood Derby:  Lucky guy got to race on his birthday. 

Home Improvement – Kitchen

Our kitchen isn’t huge, but I’ve always liked it.  We’ve slowly refined it to our taste, of course.  We cleaned up the walls by painting all of the tongue-and-groove a nice crisp white.  We did leave the natural look on the ceiling.  We replaced an obtrusive ceiling fan by putting in 5 beautiful recessed lights.  We added hardware to all of the cabinets, which really spruces them up.  Mike made a little nook for display which opened up the window between the dining room and the kitchen.  We traded out the peel-and-stick marble linoleum squares with nice Cherry Wood Laminate.  All of the appliances are new, energy-efficient, and stainless steel.  The nice and heavy cast iron sink has been under-mounted to a great slab of granite.  All of the trim has been replaced with chunky mdf.  A little bit country . . . . a little bit modern.  I’m happy here, especially when I’m making cinnamon rolls.

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Home Improvement – Living Room

What has been going on in here?  All of the walls have been painted to lighten everything up.  Of course, we left the natural, tongue-and-groove ceilings.  The chair rail was replaced with a chunkier one (mdf, again).  Thankfully, our only heat source at the time – the gas wall furnace – died and we installed duct work with a 93% efficiency furnace.  The commercial, green carpet was replaced with a neutral plush carpet.  And, the front door at the time was metal with one window and an attached metal mini-blind.  Now, it is a beautiful 5-panel glass door complete with ribbed glass – it might be my favorite thing in the house.  I’m proud to say that everyone who walks into our home, says it feels like home.  I love that.

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No School

I used to dread days that the kids were home from school, and now I absolutely love them.  Today was student-led conferences for our school only, and it was a treat.  It started off with the whole family sleeping in until 8:00.  That never happens.  And, I’m taking a small break from running, and so I was home to make breakfast.  Days off at our house usually start with my kids’ favorite breakfast . . . Pancake in the Oven.  I think some may call it German Pancake, but we have called it Pancake in the Oven since my mom made it when we were kids.

Doesn’t it look yummy?  You’ve gotta try it . . .

 Pancake in the Oven 

1/4 cup butter
3 cups milk
5 eggs
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. While it is preheating, place a 9x13 with the butter in it, inside the oven.

In a blender combine the remaining ingredients and blend well for about a minute.  When the oven is fully heated and the butter is sizzling, pour the contents of the blender into the pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.  Let it cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes and then top with warm syrup.

 

Mike and I usually pass on this breakfast (we’re trying), so my kids love that the 9x13 pan is divided into 4 and they eat like kings.

It was the perfect start to our day, followed by checking out oodles of books at the library, hand-picking the stepping stones for our new path, and baking chocolate chip cookies.  Can we do this again tomorrow?

Home Improvement – The Loft

We like to call it the loft – I’m not sure that’s the proper term.  It could be a “bonus area,” but we love the open look of the loft.  New carpet, new baseboards, lighting, a new and bigger window, and iron railings open everything up.  This is where the kids like to hang out.

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Together Again

Amelia, we have missed you.  Thanks for coming all the way from Texas to visit – it was good to see these girls laughing, playing hard, and working out disagreements together.  Nothing has changed – you are all still full of the spunk we love.

Thank You, Bloggers

I have been a little under water, a little under the weather, and a lot out of my mind.  I like blogging . . . I do, and when I do it regularly there’s something about it that helps me feel a little more organized and connected.  I don’t feel quite like myself when I don’t blog, and I haven’t been very regular about it regularly.  Needless to say, I’m feeling a little disconnected, so I took some time to sit down and read all of my favorite blogs, a lot of which are written by my close friends and family.  Thank you.  I feel re-inspired.  Tomorrow is a new day.

Resurrection

I absolutely loved this arrangement when I bought it.

I was able to make it last for about 6 months before it died.  I may have mentioned that I don’t have great luck with living things (unless they are kids).  But, I still love the container, and so I arranged something I could keep alive.

 

I found these cute little artichokes, and I had to have them . . . after all, they aren’t living.

I added little white pots with sand and filled in the rest of the container with some dyed moss.  It may not be as wonderful as my succulents were, but I know they will live as long as I want them, too.  And, I kind of like it . . . simple and maybe a little bit funky.

Home Improvement: Caleb’s Room

Caleb’s room has some really cool features like a little nook where the ceiling slants, and a wood paneled door into a walk-in closet.  We painted the closet door to match the room, which modernized it a little.  We replaced the carpet, re-textured the ceiling and walls, gave it a fresh coat of paint and changed the swing of the door (which, amazingly, made a huge difference).  He now also has a Queen-sized bed, which he absolutely loves.

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Home Improvement: Girls Bedroom

I love that we have 3 girls in this room, and there is still plenty of space.  Again, I didn’t do a great job with “before” pictures.  These were the ones taken during the inspection and the room was being used as a Master Bedroom.  We have re-textured and painted.  The carpet has been replaced to match the rest of the house.  We have replaced one of the windows with a larger window and raised it so that it looks better in the room, and we have added baseboards (which were missing all over).  This is a sweet little room, for sweet little girls – I love how it turned out.

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