Grace, patience and perseverance

Every night as I'm rocking Isaac before putting him to bed, I think of all the things we did that day. I worry about whether I let him watch too much tv, fed him enough vegetables, read enough books or played on the floor with him long enough. Each night, good day or bad, I question how well I have done, prepare a list in my head of how I can be better, and promise my son that tomorrow, I will get things more right than I did today. I know I'll never be a perfect mom but I so badly want to be a very very very good one. Sadly, dishes, laundry, cooking and sometimes a book get in my way (it's more likely I put them there...).

Tonight as I rocked Isaac, I didn't even have to think back on the day to know it was bad. I was sick and running on a lack of sleep and my patience was pretty much at a level zero. Isaac woke up in the middle of my quiet time and I really wanted to finish... Like, I knew I was going to need prayer to make it through this day. But i didn't get to finish. Isaac wasn't bad today, he was just fussier than my headache would have liked him to be. So we watched Tangled... Twice today. He had a muffin for breakfast with a side of muffin. For lunch we ate leftover dinner and I didn't even try to force feed him his green beans. He napped and I tried to nap but couldn't due to my pounding head. Instead of cleaning, I laid on the couch. He did eat veggies at dinner :). All these things add up to me feeling like a failure (I know I'm not... Completely... But I felt like it).

After some time in prayer and quiet time that I missed out on this morning, I feel a little wiser. I guess God will do that to you.

I pray that one day when Isaac wakes up in the middle of my quiet time, I'll be thankful that he sees me spending time with my father and will learn to do the same. I hope that tomorrow, if I'm still sick, I'll enjoy the cuddle time watching Tangled and not worry over one movie and whether it will ruin my kid for life. I pray that tomorrow I will be productive in my work and won't be idle. But I also pray that God will give me the rest I need to feel better. I pray I will sit on the floor and play and giggle with my son, not because I'm worried I'm not doing it enough but because I simply enjoy his company. I pray he will know the love of the Father and how he wants that time as well. I pray I can learn from my mistakes and press on toward the future. I pray God will show me where I fail as a parent and give me the grace I need to be a mother after my Father's heart. I pray that tomorrow I will do better than I did today.

Christmas Christmas time is here...

Maybe not quite yet but the fabric is :) I'm starting Christmas aprons and pot holders to put in my store tonight. I'm also hoping to accumulate lots of scraps in the next few weeks so I can start a Christmas quilt!

I've challenged myself to hand make all Christmas gifts (apart from the few toys and electronics going to kids and Matt). I'm hoping it will be more cost effective but mostly hoping the gifts are personal and make each one feel just how much I appreciate and love them.

Okay, Christmas is 3 months away so I'll stop talking about it and leave you with this ...

:)

Ummm........Mmmmmmmmmmmmm

Umm... I should post more. Sorry.

And Mmm.... I have a tasty treat to make up for my lack of writing.

If any of you follow me on pintrest then you saw me post this from here

Totally amazing, right?! Well I loved this but I don't have a handy little cakeball cooker. But, I put my thinking cap on and made these... (Disclaimer: I know I need to start using a camera other than my phone)

Yummy polka dot cupcakes that were sooooo easy! 

Here's how I did it. This will make 48 cupcakes. If you want to make 24, split the cake ball cake in half and freeze the other half, use half a container of icing and only use one batch of cake batter for the cupcakes.

1) Made 48 Bakerella Cake Balls

If you don't know what that is...

Buy 1 box of cake mix (yes, use the box and don't bother making this from scratch) and 1 container of coordinating frosting. Bake the cake according to directions (add food coloring if wanted) and let cool. Cut into fourths then use your hands to crumble them all up. Once crumbled finely, mix in the container of icing until you can't see the color of the icing. I use a cookie scoop to scoop out 48 drops onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Put them in the freezer for about 20 minutes then take out and form into round balls. 

2) Freeze the cake balls overnight. 

3) Either double a cake recipe of your choice or buy two boxes... they both work fine. Fill your cupcake liners only half full and drop one frozen cake ball into the center of each one. Don't push it to the bottom as it will sink on its own during the baking.

4) Bake and let cool. Ice with your choice of frosting but I'd advise going light since the centers are so sweet.

5) Serve and scarf... Seriously... My husband ate about 3. :)

BusyBusyBusy!

I've finally had time to sew!!! Yay! I'm so ready to have my own craft table and space in our office. For now I've been sewing at the kitchen table. It drives me nuts and I'm sure it's been driving my husband nuts as well! I made two "pillowcase dresses". I originally made them as the original pillowcase style but they were sooooo big! I ended up giving them a little shape. I'll show you the difference on the pink one...

Here is the original one... It was supposed to fit a 5T but like I said... huge!

This is it after making it a more Triangle shape. I think it looks and will fit so much better!

And the 18 month...

I love the colors :) I made these for my best friend's daughters. Hope they like them!

I've also been doing more baking. Woot!!! I made a rose cake but was disappointed in the cake's taste (though the consistency was spot on) and also in the buttercream. The buttercream icing I made was way too creamy and had a grainy texture. :( But the roses held up okay so that's good. It was a good test run for sure.

And BTW... I broke my hand mixer (wooden spoons and mixers don't MIX well). My husband says I can get the kitchen aid stand mixer I've been lusting after for so long!!! I love him. It might have something to do with the fact that I just "let" him get a motorcycle but I'll take it however I can get it. <3

In other news... Isaac is officially a sitter and a wannabe crawler! He just started sitting one day. And he wants to crawl... He can't quite figure out the mechanics in the arm area. Matt is doing great in school and I'm keeping busy at home. Good times :)

Monster Cookie for a Cookie Monster

My husband has a problem. It involves chocolaty chip goodness. He'll take it in dough or baked cookie form but this time we went for the baked :) I made two giant cookies (mine is gone, except for the third of it that my son knocked out of my hands this afternoon, and the husband forgot his so it's still here). I think next time I'll split this recipe into 4 cookies (to ward off over indulgence).

Here's the recipe. I'll write it out for two giant cookies but I'll give the instructions for 4 also.

Monster Cookie

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugars and butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a large (11X17-inch) baking pan with foil. Separate the cookie dough into two even balls. Press out onto baking pan into two circles about 2 inches apart. The cookie dough should be about 1/2-3/4 in thick. 

If desired, top the cookie with M&M’s or any other garnishes. Bake for 9-11  minutes until the cookies are lightly golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely on the baking pan – this helps the cookie stabilize and set so it can be easily lifted off the pan. Once cool, gently use the foil to lift the cookies off the pan.

*For 4 cookies, separate dough into 4 balls, press into 1/4-1/2 inch thick circles. Bake for 6-8 min. or until lightly golden brown

Empty plates and full tummies!

I was blog stalking the other day and my husband saw a picture of sesame chicken and requested I make it. I was kind of meh about it but decided to do a little research. I seriously never order this and have rarely found a sesame chicken dish that has left me with a longing to try more. But I love my husband. :) 


After reading about 10 different recipes on various websites and cookbooks, this is what I put together. (Thanks to reviews on some of the recipes, I was able to eliminate and add things until I found the right balance)

Sesame Chicken

• "Marinade"
• 2 tablespoons tobasco soy sauce (regular if you prefer)
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 dash sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 (5 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch cubes
•  
• 1 quart vegetable oil for frying
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• "Sauce"
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon red chile paste (or as my husband calls it, Rooster sauce)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
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• 1. Combine "marinade" ingredients and chicken, refrigerate in covered dish for 30 minutes.
• 2. Combine all "sauce" ingredients ,EXCEPT sesame seeds, in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. (It takes a minute to thicken up, but you'll know it's right when it's that perfect sesame sauce-y brown <3) Turn to low or off, stirring occasionally. 
• 3. Fry the marinaded chicken in small batches until golden brown, drain on paper towels.
• 4. Toss chicken in sauce, serve over rice and broccoli, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
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• Happy cooking!

Skillet/pan Hanging shelf

I mentioned in my last post that I've been wanting a place to hang my pans. I found a great shelf at Joann for half off and it's been sitting in our office on the floor for over a month. 

I painted it, added some garden hanging flower basket hooks, mounted it on the wall and...

So I've been working on this for a minute and am sooooo excited about the end product... and the fact that I'm done. I don't like projects that last this long. :) 

That's all for today, God Bless, friends!

This weeks projects...

So I decided that I was going to finish at least ONE project this week. I've been buying all kinds of supplies and some projects I've started and still not finished (apron) and some I have had lying around and haven't even taken them out of the bag. I've had both of these for about a month now... So here we go!

I've been waiting to get this artwork done for a while. I wanted something jungle like but not too crazy so I took a little trip to Michaels. I spent $1 per frame ($5), 50 cents per paper ($2.50), and 50 cents per animal and tree ($2.50). So all together this project cost me $10 and took about 30 minutes to work on.

I'm pretty satisfied with the final product. There weren't any hanging brackets on the back so I had to buy some but I haven't put them on yet so they're sitting a little crooked. 

The other project I've started but am still waiting to hang. The drill needs to charge :( I'm not patient enough for this. But, I'll give you the sneak peak and hopefully post the rest this afternoon. 

We don't have much cabinet space in our apartment here so I've been wanting a way to hang my pots and pans to clear out one of my really large drawers. I was browsing through Joann one day and saw this... 

I decided it was perfect for me to hang my pans on... It was $18 but I used my 50% off coupon and got it for $9. YAY!

So... I've painted it and gotten skinny S-like hooks (a total pain to find skinny ones!). I'll be back soon with the final results :)

I have Commitment Issues...

I've decided that I am soooooo not committed enough to record all of my new cooking experiences. I'm lame. I know. But... I've decided that I will jot down a bit of my life a few times a week. The new, improved and regularly updated blog will include Isaac (I know that's all the g-parents care about anyway. jkjk), Matt, Me, food, craftiness and Jesus. Yes, I said Jesus. I do like the guy.

Anywho... Matt and I are doing well here in Washington. It's been snowing off and on, though it only stuck for a few days. Matt's doing SO well in his class. I'm pretty amazed by him :) I've been keeping busy with the cooking and baking and, of course, taking care of little man. Isaac is trying to teach himself to crawl. So far, he just reaches in front of him while shimmying his hips until he scoots an inch or so. He can turn in circles and roll all over the places. He's so fun! He laughs more and is always talking. He makes me smile :)

I'm working on sewing an apron right now so, hopefully, I will finish soon so I can post a picture of that. I'm so stinking excited about the fabric! So pretty <3

Late but here...

Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

I really enjoyed this recipe! It was a new technique for me and super fun. My hubby loved it as well :) Luckily, I got the poached egg right the first time... I've heard it can be a bit tricky. I wasn't in my house when I made this as we have been moving for the past month and there was no whisk ( I know, right?!). The hollandaise sauce was interesting but I eventually figured out a spoon and an extra bit of muscle would suffice. All in all, it was tasty and fun to make. I would probably save it for a big breakfast rather than going through all the trouble for just two but I'll definitely be using it again.

In other news... My husband, Isaac and I are in our new apartment in Washington and are in the process of unpacking everything :( It is so nice to be in our OWN space though. Ahhh to have my own kitchen! So, posts should be way less sporadic now that I am in a more stable environment and we are all getting into the grove of things.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year :)