35 and My Life

Well, another year has rolled around for me and I am 35. Wow! Does that sound weird. It's like I'm an adult or something. Here's some photos of things I've celebrated lately.

Gwen has been working on writing her name for a while and I've been really making sure she forms the letters the right way so she doesn't have to relearn it later. I've recently cut shapes out of foam and let her put letters together like a puzzle. That has been our breakthrough. Here is the first time she wrote her name. I have it on the wall. I am working with Zeke on learning colors and being able to count from 1-10. He thinks everything is either yellow or purple. :)

I got tired of my mitten garland so I made another one to hang photos on from the past year.

Of all the things the kids got for Christmas, I guess their favorite would be the pillow pets. They sleep with them every night and during the day "ride" them and sing She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain. It makes me laugh.


Is it me or is her face changing to a little girl face instead of baby?

Yesterday was a fine day. Actually warm for once in January. We went over to our neighbor's house and jumped on the trampoline. Here is Zeke with his hair all stuck up from the static electricity and he is attempting to smile. :) In a few days he will turn 2. He is becoming very silly and also stubborn at the same time. He is now sleeping on a mattress on the floor. We took down the crib. I felt like he was ready and he hasn't figured out he can get out of his bed yet, so it's good. At dinner time he likes to sing the "go go poopy" song that Ben sang one time and he just cackles like he told a fantastic joke. Ah hem... we're working on that.

Star of Bethlehem

The other day I bought myself some flowers. The white ones are called "star of Bethlehem" and the purple are heather. Love it!

Craft Area and Family Fun

First off, I wanted to show you all my new "thing". I'm attempting to make paper flowers. My goal is to learn how to make several varieties and possibly make some stuff for Beki's wedding. I've got some time, so that's good. :) Here's my first paper flower.

Zeke bumped heads with Gwen yesterday. Look at this goose egg! That head of his gets it very often. Thank goodness for skulls.


We took the kids to the mall and here is Gwen riding on a mechanical car. Does she look happy or what?

On the carousel.

Here are my blue jars that Ben's Grandparents gave to me. I think they are lovely and I will treasure them forever. I'll put craft supplies in them.

I got a calligraphy pen set for Christmas. This was my first project using the calligraphy pen. This is a quote from Gwen that is particularly poignant to me. :)

Well, here it is so far. We got a pegboard up and I think it's not half bad considering I have concrete to work with.

Mystery of the Scooter Revealed- thanks to Beki

Beki, you are brilliant. This is one of the songs the scooter plays... now for the other one!

On a Quest

I'm on a quest to find out what the music on Gwen's scooter is. It's driving me crazy. Here is some nice Mendelssohn to keep you entertained. LOVE his Italian symphony!

Balloons and a bit of Kingsville

I have been feeling like I do this blog just for myself (which is actually some of why I go to the trouble of it... to remember) and then someone today told me they look at it and enjoy the photos. (hi Suzanne!) So... I was inspired to do my post today and let you see some exciting things happening around here. We were in Hy-Vee yesterday (a grocery store) and a person there asked if we wanted these balloons for free. We could not believe our good fortune! I mean... who has a balloon this size of a reindeer?



We spent the day at Ben's Grandparent's home in Kingsville. Ben and I were discussing the landscape in Missouri vs the landscape in British countryside and I was saying that in Missouri you have to look for its special beauty unique to the Midwest. Then we happened upon this car beside the road and I told him to look through the spoiler to see the unique beauty. We had a chuckle over that. Maybe you had to be there... :)

Oh, and Ben's Grandparents gave me many blue canning jars with the metal lids today. I love them and will be putting them to use in my craft area. :)

Christmas 2011

Many exciting things have been happening around the Barreth home. We got siding recently on our home so NO PAINTING! You know you are getting older when siding makes you want to dance a jig.

We had some wonderful food this Christmas. This is an appetizer I made for our Christmas Eve celebration. It has a basil leaf (from my basil plant I brought inside), a tomato and a little mozzarella ball with some balsamic vinaigrette on there. YUM!

Our family before going to the Christmas Eve service.

The kids. They were a handful at the Christmas Eve service. Let's just say Gwen relieved herself in the church's elevator while throwing a fit and Zeke let everyone know he was there too. Merry Christmas!

But, things settled down and we came home to a nice dinner with family. Here are the kids at the kids' table.

Then we put the kids to bed and we adults opened gifts.

This is Gwen this morning with her scooter.

This is Zeke and his new trike.

Gwen and a Cinderella dress I found at the thrift store.

Zeke opening gifts.

Christmas Pictures

Some photos I took of the kids this morning before dawn. Yes, we are always up before dawn! Merry Christmas!

Veggie Stamping

Yesterday my friend Piper came over and we did vegetable stamping with the kids.  We used paint with the kids, but I found out later it works better with stamp pads if you have that instead.  I made some cards for myself.  We used the bottom of a head of romaine lettuce, lemons, celery and potatoes with shapes cut out of them.  It was a lot of fun.  I tried a frozen broccoli floret too but wasn't impressed with its performance. :)

Lessons from a Three Year Old

Gwen has been saying astonishing things to me lately. It still surprises me that she has a thought of her own that didn't originate with me. She is growing up after all... it shouldn't surprise me so.

Recently she got in trouble for something and we put her in her room. She proceeded to throw a huge fit and when I went in there again she was totally naked and had peed on her bed out of spite. Let's just say I wasn't impressed. After I yelled "What are you doing!?" I tried to calm myself down by sitting on the bed. She came over and wanted to be held. Then she looked at me through her tears and said "sometimes mom, you just have to clean the sheets." I immediately burst into tears. I was so frustrated and amused at the same time that's the only reaction I had. I've decided I'm going to paint that quote somewhere, because it's so true... sometimes you just have to clean the sheets. Sometimes you act like a wild lunatic and do things you regret and "sometimes you just have to clean the sheets" and move on!

When Gwen prays she doesn't say "please heal so and so, or please heal me Lord". She says "thank you for healing me" as if it has already happened. This has challenged me to pray with a heart that expects good to come out of any situation.

The other day Gwen said "I want to die and go to Jesus." I told her, "well, being with Jesus would be great, but if you did die I would miss you very much." Lord, help me be that eager about going to see you! Maybe this is a glimpse of why Jesus said you have to be like a child. They aren't too tied to this earth.

Gwen has settled down a bit now and goes to bed without giant fits and is remarkably independent. She is thoughtful and remembers things very well and is very funny. She can now make the letters "G" and "W" in our recent quest to write her name. She also has learned "Silent Night" this year. She is a treasure to me and I'm so glad God entrusted her to me for this short while.

Wexford Carol

Excited For His Coming

We are excited for JESUS' coming around here... not a bearded man! Before I go on about that... I'd like to share some pictures of what's been going on.

I've shared that I'm working on a crafting area for me in my basement.  Well... I picked this little guy up from a thrift store this week to store my papers and such on.  I call it my baby hutch.  LOVE IT!


 


This is also going into my craft area.  It is a ziplock quilt using ziplocks and duct tape.  You just slide in your kid's artwork on the backside and viola!

We made edible gingerbread people this week too.  My favorite is this lady with the withered arm.

Winter Goings On

Today I had a friend over to make these gingerbread men/women wreaths.  They are so cute.  Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a go.  With the cinnamon added they really smell nice cooking.

Salt Dough

4 C all purpose flour
1 C salt
1 3/4 C warm water (I added more than that)
1/4 C cinnamon

300 degree oven.  Stir together flour, cinnamon and salt and gradually add water while mixing and kneading.  Roll out on floured surface and cut them out over lapping their arms and legs.  Use water to put their hands together and legs together.  (a dab)  I used egg white over them and then added sea salt so they looked sugared.  You could use sprinkles or anything else you wanted.  Bake for 1 hour and IMMEDIATELY take them off of the cookie sheet or pizza stone.  If you don't they will be like concrete on there.

Here's my wreath.

My friend Sarah. :)

Her wreath.

I had enough dough to make ornaments for Sunday School teachers or neighbors.

I've also been working on making a crafting area in my basement.  I've done some organization and it's getting there.


Before....ugh

after...so far...

I've also decorated my cabinets this year and have attached a thick ribbon onto the back of the cabinet doors to staple Christmas cards to.  I like it cause I get to look at the cards a lot.

I have done a little experiment for the past few days of absolutely no TV to see if the kids play with their toys more.  Lo and behold they do.  :)  Instead of TV we've been doing crafts and working on writing letters and playing and cooking together.  The quiet is refreshing.  I think it's a good exercise to do before Christmas.  It kind of gives you some quiet and you can listen to Christmas music or classical music and go about your business.

We Are Here

I've taken a break from blogging for a while... but I've been here all along. It's been busy here with siding going on our house. (pics to follow in another post) and visitors and Christmas preparations, cards going out, crafts, and whatnot. Jake came and visited at Thanksgiving. It was his birthday December 6th. We had cake at our house one night and the only candle we could find had to be taped. :)

As you can see, Zeke's head has healed nicely.

The Nest

Recipes

These are a couple of recipes I've tried recently that I have liked.  This first one I made for Thanksgiving and then again the next week.  It is something different to do with sweet potatoes and even my kids liked it.

Sweet Potato Spoon Bread

3 T unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 1/2 C milk
1 T fresh thyme
1 T light brown sugar
2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 C finely ground white or yellow cornmeal
4 large eggs, separated
2 tsp baking powder

Preheat to 350.  Butter up a casserole dish with some butter you haven't melted.  Bake sweet potatoes either in the oven on 400 degrees for 45 minutes or if you are like me, in the microwave for about 4 minutes.  Mash up potatoes.  In a saucepan bring milk, thyme, sugar, salt and pepper to a low boil over medium heat.  In a slow and steady stream, whisk cornmeal into milk mixture.  Cook, whisking constantly until it pulls away from the bottom of the pan.  Add potatoes, egg yolks, 3 T butter and baking powder.  Beat egg whites until soft peaks and fold in.  Swirls of egg whites are fine.

Bake 35-40 minutes until edges are golden.

This next one I will make again for sure... maybe even tonight.  LOVE IT! Another use for sweet potatoes. :)

Roasted Vegetables and Chickpeas

1 lb (2 big) carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 lb (2 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large red onion, peeled, halved and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb red or russet potatoes, cut into cubes
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 16oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (I made my chickpeas from dried ones and I threw a bunch in cause I like them.)
2 to 3 T olive oil
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1 tsp packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Put oven rack to center.  425 degrees.  Place all veggies, garlic and chickpeas in a large shallow roasting pan.  In small bowl combine oil, rosemary, brown sugar, salt and pepper.  Drizzle over vegetables and toss well to coat everything. 
Roast, uncovered, about 45 minutes or so until everything is slightly browned and tender, stirring the stuff a few times.  Makes 8 side dish servings. 

The Two

I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher and Gwen and Zeke, by themselves, turned on the keyboard and the amplifier and began playing what you see in this video.  They get in so much trouble it ain't even funny.