Greg's New Ride, and Tree Trimming

We spent part of Monday at Mom and Dad's. Greg reloaded with my dad then he pruned their Walnut tree. It became a family affair. Even James was trying to help throw the branches away.

I spent most of my time keeping James out of the neighbor's yard.

Fifeco does it again!



Here's Greg's new motorcycle. He refers to it as a Nova.... ugly on the outside but all the right parts under the hood. He just can't help but smile everytime he rides it. Of course it's a little cold to be riding right now. He went to Target for me a couple of days ago and was frozen by the time he got home.

Make it with Powdered Milk

We had the best enrichment last week. I learned how to make just about anything with powdered milk. I decided to try a recipe this morning. I had some milk that was past it's expiration so I made some cottage cheese. Not to shabby for my first attempt. but it tastes like the lemon juice. I need to buy some white vinegar.

Here's the recipe.

Cottage Cheese (Recipe from Mary Ann Wilcox)
2 c water
3 T lemon juice or white vinegar
3/4 c dry milk powder or 1 1/2 c instant
*Walmart 1 qt $2.66, Viva $3.00, Country Cream $3.00
If using dry milk powder (non-instant), blend water and dry milk together and heat in a saucepan until it starts to steam stirring constantly, then remove from heat; or place in microwave and heat until it foams and rises to top of bowl. If using instant milk, bring water to a boil and remove from heat then stir in milk with a wire wisk. Drip juice around the edge of the pan and gently stir, milk will immediately start to curdle, separating into curds and whey. Let rest 1 minute. Pour into a colander, rinse with hot then cold water, then drain until no whey drips, about 1 minute. Makes about 1 1/2 c curds. Add sour cream or yogurt to cream. Use non-instant dry milk powder for ricotta (it is more sour) and instant for table use or when you are in a hurry.

Late Valentine's Fun

We had a few friends visiting before Valentine's day. Noah, Drew, and Jonah came over and we had lots of fun playing and decorating sugar cookies.

Here is my latest project. I found a superhero cape pattern @http://pukingpastilles.com/?p=57 I modified the pattern because I wanted a little more cape to hang. I think they turned out pretty cute. James isn't sure that he wants to wear his yet but when Warren puts his on there is no stopping him. Not a traditional Valentine gift but I think the boys liked them!

Now if I can just finish my levi quilt project:~)

Scrapbooking is hazardous to my health

Today I was trying to finish up a gift and wasn't paying close enough attention to my children. Thank heaven James found Warren's markers and not mine.

You know you've really moved into motherhood when you grab the camera when things like this happen. But Warren decided that James was getting all of the attention so he tried to color himself while I was taking pictures of James. Hee Hee I guess I'm teaching a few lessons I didn't mean to today.

James managed to color the inside of his nose and mouth too. Oh the fun:)

I'm so glad I invested in a spotbot while I was pregnant with James. He had managed to get it in my carpet too.

Nuts and Honey

Do I need to say more?

Let it Snow!

Old man winter finally sent us wet snow today. Greg helped Warren make a huge snowman in the backyard today. Frosty is so big I had to help Greg lift the center ball on. Of course Greg is sick so that is why he didn't do it himself. But it's one big Frosty.

We took a few pictures after family home evening last night. Warren had so much fun decorating his I am a Child of God crown.

The Confession of a Chocoholic

While working on primary items yesterday I sort of lost track of my children. It all started with Warren finding the box of chocolate pudding. Well you can see how it ended. First I smelled poopy diapers, so I came out to investigate. For once I laughed and found a camera. Have I been a mother for a while or what?

It sure feels good to have Christmas put away. Saturday we spent most of the day taking down the tree and lights and then we cleaned the garage. Glad we got it done then because we woke up to a white winter wonderland this morning. I just love it when it snows and covers up the world. Everything looks clean and pretty for a while.