Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Amazing Scones and Dr's Appointments

We are beginning the countdown at the West House today! Only 5 days til Bubba comes home :) YAY! Colin and I have had LOADS of fun the past 2 1/2 weeks, but we are very ready to see Bubba and have him back in the house.


Thankfully this week we are going to be pretty busy again. Yesterday, I had some wonderful ladies come over for coffee and scones. They were DELICIOUS and so easy to make :) I'll give you the recipe at the bottom of this post.

Today on the other hand was not so fun. Now, I know some people have some very strong feelings about vaccinations. I feel that it is necessary for our children to be safe and healthy. I'm not tying to start a debate, but I do feel every time the subject comes up, a debate starts. Bubba and I have discussed many different times about how we are going to raise our children, this includes the fact that our children will receive their vaccinations according to the suggested time. That being said Colin got 5 shots today. I felt like I was going to cry when he started crying but he is such a trooper and soon forgot that anything was done. It only lasted a little bit because he then had to get his finger stuck for some blood work. Next time Bubba is SOOOO doing the shots and blood work!!! For his appointment, he definitely did not like having to sit still and get his ears looked at but he is growing and developing right on track. He is 19 lbs 5 oz (which puts him between 15 and 20%) and is 26.6 inches (which puts him a little over 50%). Even when he doesn't feel 100% he gets into EVERYTHING :)


On a lighter note though, I have been LOVING my homemade wipes... well for the most part. They are extremely wet and I tend to have to squeeze them out a little before using them. With the next batch... which is going to be awhile, I'm going to figure out how to tweak the liquid amounts. When I figure this out and feel like I have the "perfect solution" I will be sure to post it on here.


For now I will leave you with the recipe for Orange Cranberry Scones. Not really sure where the recipe came from, but it was given to me by a friend.

For 10 Scones
2 cups all-purpose flour
10 tsp sugar, divided
1 TBS grated orange peel
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup cold butter or margarine
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

In a bowl, combine flour, 7 tsp sugar, orange peel, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine cranberries, orange juice, cream and egg. Add to the flour mixture and stir until a soft dough forms.

On a floured surface, gently knead 6-8 times. Pat dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut into 10 wedges. Separate wedges and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

Brush with milk, sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 400 degrees (F) for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown.

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 TBS orange juice

Combine the glaze ingredients and drizzle over scones. (I had to add a little more orange juice, approx 1 TBS more)

Orange Butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-3 TBS orange marmalade

Mix the ingredients and serve with warm scones

ENJOY and thanks for stopping by :)




 

Friday, September 23, 2011

Busy week, hats and baby wipes


So I was supposed to be able to sit down earlier this week and write, BUT that didn’t happen. This week got busier and busier as the week went along. I had a least one meeting everyday if not two. Colin was such a trooper too! He loves to be in his stroller walking around base, even though I know he loves to be at home walking more

In what little free time I had one evening I decided that I was going to FINALLY make Colin an upcycled hat from I AM MOMMA HEAR ME ROAR. It’s super cute and really easy, but I forgot to do things like, make a seam allowance, so it didn’t turn out. It was so cute too… but I couldn’t let Colin wear it out in public. LOL… I will hopefully get to make another soon, but want to go find a fabric store so that I can hopefully get it right.

I also took 5 minutes out my schedule and made some homemade baby wipes. I’ve gotten some weird looks from some of my friends, but I’m looking for ways to save money and making my own wipes is one of them. Wipes are NOT cheap… The wipes I made only cost me $1.70!!! YAY! They work really well too… so I’ve decided that I will post the recipe that I’m using. There are lots out there, but I decided I had the ingredients for this already so it would save even more money.

Baby Wipes
2 ½ cups of hot water
2 TBSP baby bath
2 TBSP baby oil or vegetable oil
4 QT container (make sure it has a good seal)

Cut the paper towels in half and place one half in the container. Pour the water, baby bath and oil mixture over the paper towel. Close the container and flip upside down. Wait 5 minutes and remove the cardboard middle from the container.

Thanks for stopping by! 


Thursday, September 15, 2011

Happy Birthday Colin


This time last year I was sitting in the hospital holding my sweet baby boy.



I CANNOT believe how fast this year has gone. Where did it go?  I have a 1 year old boy who has 6 teeth, is walking, gets into EVERYTHING and babbles at me all day (as if I know what he is saying). As frustrating as it can be at times, I wouldn’t trade a second of it. I love everything about that little boy. Everyday is a new adventure and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to stay home and watch him grow.

I really believe that one of the greatest things in life is being a parent. It scares me to death everyday… but my promise to my son is that I will be the best mom I can be. I can’t wait to see who Colin grows to be! But for now I will cherish every night that I get to read him a story, every hug, every smile, every snuggle, every kiss (no matter how slobbery it may be). So Happy Birthday to Colin!!! Just remember the words from one of my favorite children’s books Love You Forever by Robert Munsch

“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
My baby you’ll be”


Saturday, September 10, 2011

Another week gone by



I can’t believe a week went by and I didn’t blog! Compared to the week before Colin’s party, this past week was WONDERFUL! Bubba had Labor Day off, which meant we could just relax as a family. It was great just sitting at home and not doing anything.

This week was filled with a spending the afternoon with a friend, a spouses social, a 9/11 Memorial Ceremony and helping some friends move. Gotta love the England weather though, it was cold all week and then on Friday it was back up to 70 degrees… which I never thought I would say is hot, but I guess I’m becoming acclimatized.

Now we are into day one of Bubba being at rescue school. I know he is going to have a BLAST… only because I know he has wanted to attend this class since we got here. It will be an interesting 3 weeks to say the least. While he is gone, we will be busy getting ready for the Firefighters Ball in October, and Colin’s 1 year appointments… yay more shots K He is a trooper though.

I’m going to leave you with some pictures and a video from the 9/11 Memorial Ceremony that Bubba participated in. It was a really neat thing to be a part of.


 This is the video from the ceremony, that was put together by PR.
In formation

The stage

Saluting during the National Anthem

This isn't from the ceremony... it's from the back porch of our friends new house :)


Monday, September 5, 2011

Birthday Party :)

I AM SO STINKING TIRED!!! but... I had a birthday party yesterday. This week has been crazy. I had a meeting or something to attend everyday this week and Colin was a TROOPER! He has "helped" bake cupcakes, sale cupcakes, and bake more cupcakes :)

Yesterday we celebrated Colin's birthday, with lots of friends. We had everything planned... and then I was reminded we live in England... it started to rain. Thankfully, we have lots of room in our house :) It was lots of fun, and I'm so glad that our friends shared in celebrating the last year of Colin's life with up. We have LOTS of memories, and stories to tell. Here are some pictures from yesterday :)

All the kiddos... It's so hard to get a good picture of this many kids :)

Colin's cake

Cat in the Hat Cupcakes


Yummy :)

Bath time after cake