Merry Christmas!

Love, Daniel, Emily & Dane

Christmas Crafting

I felted an old wool sweater and made Dane a new tie.

We have to make our own snow around these parts.

Gingerbread houses (or sleighs) are a must during Christmas time.  Maybe next year I'll try to make actual gingerbread...or maybe not.

Some fabric wrapped Christmas cones I made.  They were so fun and easy to make.  Well, the one on the left was more labor intensive because I cut the fabric in strips and ruffled it before gluing it around the cone.

I made Daniel an Advent Calendar.  Not only is it fun, but functional as it decorates our very long and blank entry way wall.

Sneak Peak

The amazingly talented Lanay, at Lanay Swanson Photography, took our family pictures at Thanksgiving.  Here's a sneak peak of our Christmas Card with some of the photos.

I won 25 Christmas Cards from Shutterfly from Nike at Choose to Thrive. She has an awesome blog, go check it out!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Thanksgiving and a Ball of Yarn

Thanksgiving

We went to Allen / Princeton, TX for Thanksgiving and had a lovely time celebrating with my sister and Daniel's aunt, uncle, and cousins.  I think there were 14 adults and 7 children in all; it was great to be surrounded by so much love!  Here is a very short video clip Daniel took.

And the Yarn

I bought some yarn at Hobby Lobby and decided to get crafty.  Here's project one (I used the yarn to wrap around the wreath form):

And here is project two, a baby hat I crocheted for a friend of ours who is having a baby in a couple weeks.  Since the baby isn't here yet, the monkey had to model the hat....

Date Night!

So, we aren't the best at having Date Night, but every once in a while we manage something.  Several weeks ago we had some plants that needed re-potting so I decided to turn the task into a themed date night.

1.The Invitation, which I left on Daniel's dash board in the morning

2. Dinner - Dirty Rice

3. The Activity - some gardening in the dirt

4. The Movie - Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

5. Dessert - "Dirt"

He's 18!

Months that is, but still!  Last Sunday Dane went to Nursery for the first time at church and he was a pro; now it's to be seen if he'll remain so.

(Just a funny pic)

At his 18 month check-up he weighed in at 21.3 lbs and 30 inches high.  Yes, he's still small (3%), but what he lacks in stature he makes up for in intellect :P 

(I'm not really the bragging type, but this would be a pretty short post if I didn't do a little bragging.)

Dane is still the cutest little boy ever!  He's so smart and is constantly surprising us with stuff we didn't even know he knew.   He relishes every opportunity he gets to play outside and loves his daily walks to the mailbox with daddy.  His favorite book is Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?  His favorite song is Itsy Bitsy Spider.  His favorite things to watch are home videos of himself (he points to the computer and says "baby" - which means he wants to watch videos of himself).  His favorite words are "outside" and "let's go."  His favorite toys are a football, a phone (there are several objects that can become phones), and a wooden stick that switches between being a baseball bat and a horse.  His favorite foods are cheese, yogurt, oatmeal, grapes, and any kind of sugary treat :S.  His best new trick (according to mommy) is putting garbage in the trash can when asked to; (according to daddy) he can work the iPad and get to what he wants; and (according to himself) climbing the back of the couch to stand on the counter.

Here's a video of recent pictures and videos.  I have more that I may or may not get around to posting.  Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween!

~From Grapes, Apple and Banana

Feed Me! Chili's Eggrolls

A friend linked to this recipe on Facebook and it just sounded so good I had to try it out.  I did make slight modifications (when don't I?), nothing major but you can see what I changed in the small print below.

(In place of fresh red pepper I used jarred fire roasted peppers because it was more economincal.  In place of fresh jalapeno I used jarred, because I already had some.  I used fresh spinach and just let it wilt in the heat-up process.  I used dried parsely instead of fresh.)

I also made the dipping sauce (with no modifications) and it was very good.  We had these twice and the second time I did change up the sauce.  In place of all of the spices it calls for I just added 1/2 Tbsp of ranch dressing powder.  We liked it our way better, but as I said the sauce recipe as written was very good.

Oh, and the most important modification was that I did NOT deep fry them.  I just can't bring myself to fry things.  For one thing, it's messy; secondly, it's not very healthy; and lastly, it's a waste of a lot of oil.  So, I just lightly brushed some oil all over the rolls with a pastry brush and baked them at 450 for about 20 mins, flipping the rolls over every 5 mins.

My Favorite Things! Fall

Fall is my favorite season, so one of the hardest parts about living here in Houston is not having a fall season, at least not the kind that I'm used to - the wind getting brisk, the smell of cold in the air, the leaves changing color (they're changing here but only because they are dead from the drought). 

Here is one of my other favorite things.  It's a wind chime.  But not just any wind chime; a hand made by my brother Jared wind chime.  It's not much to look at (no offense Jared), but the sound is divine.  It's not your run of the mill whimsical tinkering chime (bleh, who needs those).  It's got guts, this wind chime; a deep, earthy, nautical quality.  And sometimes it even sounds eerie;  a "something wicked this way comes" vibe.  Perfect for the Halloween season.  This wind chime is my fall.



Maybe I'll try to record the sound sometime, but I fear the magic would be lost in the translation.  You'll just have to take my word for it.

It's Craft Time! Candy Monster

I saw this awesomely cute tutorial recently, and the other day during Dane's nap I had an itch to be crafty, and I had an empty tissue box (I never have empty tissue boxes because I never buy actual "facial" tissue).

So using only supplies on hand*, this is what was created...our Halloween Candy Monster (because I plan on putting candy in it's mouth instead of tattles).

This would be a great craft to do with the kiddos! (maybe using good ole Elmers instead of hot glue).

*Originally I used cotton balls for the eyes, but quickly found out that they don't hold up so well, especially at the hands of a toddler.  So I did go out and purchase some pom poms to replace the eyes.

Feed Me! Conference Breakfast

Since it's General Conference weekend and we are watching from the comfort of our home, I thought that I should at least make something special for breakfast.  I was going to make our favorite german pancakes with buttermilk syrup recipe, but I had some leftover banana oat muffins that were getting dry so I decided to make bread pudding instead.  I used this recipe here and substituted muffins for half the bread.  

This was the first time I've ever made bread pudding so I don't have anything to compare it to, but it was super simple and yummy - especially with the sauce drizzled on top.   Ok, forget the bread pudding, you just really need to try this buttermilk syrup recipe (aka carmel sauce).  We love it on the german pancakes and it was the star of the bread pudding too.  Daniel, who is not a fan of carmel anything, loves this stuff.

Oh, you noticed the lovely fish pitcher in the picture did you?  Well, that my friends is a GurglePot.  It's my new favorite thing, compliments of my sister, Elizabeth. 

Update

So, I know it has been almost two months since I've posted anything on here. I thought I'd let you know that we are all alive and well. We finally closed on our house and have moved in (hence, the blog absence - it's been a lot of work cleaning and painting and cleaning and painting and packing and painting and moving and cleaning and unpacking and organizing and cleaning). Hopefully soon I'll get back to posting regularly - if not for your enjoyment, for mine :)

Pick 'o the Month

Things that are addicting:

Electronic Handheld Yahtzee

Blue Bell "Cake and Ice cream"

Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam

Feed Me!

It's time to Rock the Crock. Summer is well under way and that means warmer weather (actually, our summer here has been slightly cooler than our spring was - thank goodness). And warmer weather means that no one wants to turn on the oven. Enter the beloved slow cooker.

Here are two fantastically easy and delicious slow cooker recipies, compliments of A Year of Slow Cooking.

1. Rotisserie-Style Chicken. I never would have thought to cook a whole chicken in a slow cooker, but it works; and it's delicious; and it's a great way to produce left-over cooked chicken to use in other recipies. Oh, and use the drippings to make an amazing gravy.
   



2. Pesto Spinach Lasagna. This one is also delicious and super easy. You don't have to pre-cook the noodles so it takes no time at all to throw everything together in the pot. I like to throw in extra vegetables like mushrooms or zuccini.

Let's Hear it For the Boy: Part 2

One of Dane's new favorite activities is climbing into the cabinets. But he has't figured out how to get back out of them yet... You can see here how in dire need of a hair cut he was.

So I bought some clippers and went to work. I think it turned out pretty good for my first hair cut. Auntie Elizabeth came down for a 4th of July visit and brought these fun sparkly stars.

We decided last minute to go check out our city's fireworks display; they weren't too shabby. Despite getting eaten by fire ants and mosquitos (the last minuteness of our decision meant we forgot the repellent), we had fun and Dane really enjoyed oohing and ahhing at the fireworks.

Let's Hear it For the Boy

Last month we went to Utah for Mat and Pearl's wedding. It was great to escape to cooler weather and hang out with family. Here are a couple of Dane with Grandma and Grandpa.

We've decided that Dane's official first word was da-da, which he learned around his first birthday. But he started talking much earlier than that and really his first word was a phrase, "what is it?" - at least that's what it sounds like. Now he also says "where is it?" Seriously the cutest thing ever!

It's Craft Time

I came across this flip-flop tutorial from The Mother Huddle and I knew I had to try it. So, the other night when I was bored I pulled out some scrap fabric and my brown flips and went to work. Here is the result:



I think they turned out great!

Pick o' the Month

Such an important reminder:

Feed Me!

Ok, so I know I really need some lessons on taking food pictures - mine never look good - but what's a post without a picture?

Here are a couple recipies I've tried lately featuring: VEGETABLES! Dane isn't a big veggie eater, so I try to squeeze them into whatever I can.

1. Carrot Sticks from Weelicious - a fabulous website I recently discovered. I doubled the recipe and used a combination of shredded carrots and apples, a combination of white flour and wheat flour, and did it all in the food processor as some of the reviewers suggested. They turned out more biscuity than crackery - I think because the apple added extra moisture. Verdict: It was easy to make, it made a lot (I put half of it in the freezer), and best of all Dane ate them!
   


2. Bean "Meat"balls from Dr. Oz. This recipe uses kidney beans and mushrooms instead of ground meat. I mostly followed the recipe, except I added some herbs and spices since there really wasn't any in the recipe. I added fennel, red pepper flakes and garlic. Verdict: I've tried a couple other meatless recipies and these had the best flavor. The consistancy was much softer than normal meatballs, even after I ended up adding about 1 cup additional breadcrumbs. But we liked them and Dane even ate them! They are a bit labor intensive though.
   

Let's Hear it For the Boy

Yes, yes, we know how cute he is - and I don't know how we stand it!

Here's a video of him showcasing some of his musical skills:

It's Craft Time

There is a group of moms in our apartment complex that gets together and does stuff (kids crafts, moms crafts, play dates, moms night out etc). Last month we made cake stands/tiers out of repurposed plates and candelstick holders. I got my supplies at The Goodwill and simply cleaned them up and then glued together with some gorilla glue. I really like the way it turned out and it was super easy (especially since I didn't paint anything).

You can find how-to's all of the internet for these - super easy, super fun, and super addicting (I want to make more!)

Videos

Random Videos from our Ohio trip

Videos from Dane's Birthday

1 Year Stats

At Dane's 12 month check-up he weighed in at 15 lb 15 oz (we were so hoping he had broken 16 lbs....oh well); height was 26.5 inches; head was 17.3 inches. That means he's still off the charts on all accounts (on the bottom end), but he is getting closer at least.

Birthday Boy!

Dane turned 1 on the 6th. I can't believe he's been with us for a whole year - time sure flies! We love our Dane and are do blessed to have him in our family. We went to Ohio to visit Grandma Lynne. Here are some pictures of the birthday week.

We have some video as well that we will post soon.

The Picture

Read the very large paragraph below (sorry, I didn't feel like retyping that whole thing just so it would space properly) for the rest of the story.

Our Saturday Night

So, it was late - 10ish - and we had just finished reading our scriptures and were in the middle of prayer when we were ripped from our reverie by an ear-piercing shriek. There it was again, and again. It took me until the third or fourth shriek to realize what it was...the fire alarm. I was so confused; it wasn't our apartment alarm, it was the building alarm! At first Daniel was just annoyed that the noise would wake up Dane and he would surely start to cry. So, while Daniel ran in to get Dane I opened the front door to peak out and sure enough there was a smelly, smokey haze. That's when I started to panic. I yelled into the apartment that it was for real, slipped on some flip flops, grabbed a phone and my purse and followed Daniel and Dane out the door. We followed other residents down the stairs and onto level ground away from the building. Residents from both sides of our building as well as curious on-lookers from other buildings filled the parking lot. Daniel was barefoot and I realized that we didn't have any keys with us, hopefully we wouldn't need them. It took about 10 minutes for my heart to settle back down in my chest and start beating normally again. That's also about how long it took for the fire trucks (yes, that's plural) to arrive; one, two, three, four, five! Plus two SUVs and an ambulance. (I thought it was overkill) We watched as they pulled up, dequiped (it should be a word) their trucks, hooked up a hose to the firehydrant and went to work. Dane was absolutely fascinated by it all. He kept pointing to the flashing lights and watched intently as the firemen went back and forth. Fortunately the excitement lasted for only an hour and we were allowed back into our apartment to finally go to bed. It was a kitchen fire on the first floor that had been extinguished before the fire trucks even arrived, or so the occupant assured everyone. So I'm not entirely sure what all the goings-on was about. But it sure made for an eventful night. I'm just really grateful it wasn't a "real" emergency; and now I think we need to have a better plan of action in case something like this happens again.

A Bag Bag

Iwanted a project to work on, so I chose this quick one (well, it should have been quick but my machine was acting up and took me three times as long as it should have). Anywho, I'm pretty pleased with the outcome; and I used scrap fabric so the only expense was for the elastic.

I love cheap, easy, practical projects!

We have a Tooth!

Finally! I was feeding Dane some yogurt this afternoon and my eye caught sight of something on the bottom gum...upon a subsequent peek it was confirmed to be his first tooth!!! No pictures yet.

You Won't Believe It, Until You Do!

So, I found this video from a link to a link to a link.
I was amazed. And then I found this video here that explains slowly in english how you do it. I tried it and it worked. I think I'm converted.

mmmm, Food

Here are some recipies we've tried lately. In case you need inspiration.

• Peanut Butter Brownies This is an amazing recipe that we both loved. Think rich chocolate, chocolate-chip brownies with a peanut butter cheesecake filling. Yeah, heaven!


• Artichoke Pasta An easy and healthy slow cooker recipe that again we both liked. Despite neither one of us being green olive lovers, I added them anyway and we actually didn't mind them in this recipe.


• Carrot Soup I liked this soup, but Daniel did not - mostly because of the dill; he's not a huge fan of dill. This link is to a recipe very similar to the one I made, but not exactly the same. I think the only complaint I had was that it was a little too fluffy. I'm not sure if that's because I blended it too much (used an immersion blender) and got too much air in it, or what.

A Different Kind of Ham

Dane is so funny sometimes. When he's feeling particularly hammy, he likes to scrunch his whole face up into a squishy smile; like this:

Pass The Pig

Note to self: do not cook a ham unless company is coming for dinner. Two people can only eat so much ham in one week....I've had to get creative with the leftovers.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Calzones

Ingredients:
1 recipe calzone dough (I used this one)

2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1 cup milk (better if warm)
2-3 slices swiss cheese, torn into pieces
salt and pepper to taste

2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup cubed cooked ham

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter then whisk the flour into the butter and cook for a couple minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk until well blended. Bring the mixture to a low boil and cook until thickened (about 5 mins). Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Add the chicken and ham and stir until combined.

Roll out the dough and divide the filling evenly onto each piece. Fold over and seal well (pressing edges with a fork if necessary). Brush with an egg wash if desired (one beaten egg mixed with a couple tsp of water). Poke the tops a couple times with a fork to vent and bake for 18-20 minutes.

And the cutest 10 month old that there ever was!

Squeals of Delight

Dane is getting more and more mobile everyday. Last night he had a breakthrough in walking unaided and in falling down properly (he fell on his bum and hands instead of just towering over sideways).

He was so delighted with himself!

This, of course, is just bad news for me. Now I really won't be able to leave him out of my sight. (I mean, not that I did before, that would just make me a really bad parent ;)

My Valentines

This year I am lucky enough to have TWO Valentines!

Aren't they handsome?!

Since last year's pop-up card was such a huge hit, Daniel made me

another one this year! Love it!And another picture of Dane in his new suit - isn't that the

cutest thing ever?! He looks happy, but no, he's crying.

Happy Valentine's Day!