I'm making homemade yogurt today for the second time ever. I made 3 quarts a couple weeks ago, and it was so easy, and came out great! I used Trina Holden's recipe found here. I'm also trying a new granola recipe. I tried a molasses granola a few weeks ago which was pretty good (Jim and I both liked it, but the kids didn't), and then a friend shared a chocolate almond granola recipe which is what I'm making today. It smells really yummy! I actually didn't have any almonds on hand, so I threw in a bunch of coconut instead. And I used coconut oil instead of canola, and substituted brown sugar for some of the honey to make it cheaper. Granola and yogurt is a nice, fairly healthy breakfast or snack, and I used to make granola all the time, but got out of the habit in the past year or so. I really need to get back to it!
Another thing I need to get back to is menu planning. Can you believe I haven't menu planned consistently since mid-April? Oops! Now that I have more energy again and actually feel like cooking more often, I need to make a plan. :)
We had 3 new baby chicks hatch this week, so that was the big excitement around here! Our Henny Penny is such a good mama. This was her third time going broody, and her second successful hatch. Last fall she hatched 6 chicks (only 5 survived). This time she hatched 2 on Memorial Day, then the third egg hatched sometime between Tues. night and Weds. morning. The babies are sooo cute, and we enjoy the fluffiness while it lasts (because it doesn't last long!!). Here are a few pics. No names yet, but I'm sure the kids will come up with some soon. :)
These are the first two hatched:
Then after we moved them all to the little coop for extra protection, this little guy hatched:
Jim is finally done with the work on his truck!! It's put back together, repainted, and it looks like we might even have a working air conditioner soon (which would be awesome, since we plan to drive it to Ohio later this summer)! Anyway, Monday was the day he painted it. Our garage is under our house, so I spent a lot of time outside so I wouldn't breathe in too many of those nasty fumes. With the way the timing worked out, he was going to need to put the clear coat on around 3 am the next day . . . so we decided that the kids and I would sleep in the camper that night. The kids slept great, but it was a short night because none of us went to sleep till after 10:30, and Sam woke up (and consequently woke the rest of us up, except Josiah) sometime between 4-5 am. YAWN . . . But at least we weren't breathing in paint fumes. :) And after the two older kids got up and out of the camper, I went back to sleep for a while . . . until I was awakened again by Jim and Julia sweetly delivering breakfast in bed! Meanwhile, Josiah (our champion sleeper) kept snoozing till sometime between 7-8 am, I think. By afternoon, the rest of us were pretty tired and Julia actually fell asleep on the couch . . . and we got everyone to bed early that night!
Last weekend was a busy one, too, as I was working on sewing reversible aprons for graduation gifts for two sisters, whose party was on Saturday. Here's how they turned out (some of you long time readers might remember that I made aprons from the same pattern for gifts about 4 years ago, too)! The only "problem" is that I have always made these for gifts, but so far haven't made any for me! I think I need to change that this summer, since some of my old faithful aprons are starting to fall apart. :)
The blue one is my favorite . . .
But I also love how bright and cheery the pink is!
Julia will be getting some cute new skirts out of the leftover fabric from these, too! :)
One more link before I go . . . I think I raved in my last post about the Read Aloud Revival podcast, a brand new one that I am loving! Through that podcast and site, I heard about this summer reading program, Traveling Through the Pages, that I am thinking about having my kids do. It looks like a lot of fun--I just need to get organized and think of some rewards/incentives I could use. :)
Well, gotta run and put leftovers in the oven soon for supper . . . so happy I don't have to cook tonight. :) Hope you are all having a great week!
4 comments:
Oh, I love your aprons ... they are both so bright and pretty. Your chicks are adorable. I can't remember the last time I really menu planned :(. That is one of my summer projects, though I think I said that last year.
Glad you were feeling chatty :). Love catching up with both of your blogs. Have a great weekend!
Oh I loved seeing what you have been up to. My children and I plan to sleep in our camper tonight. I LOVED sleeping in there last summer while waiting for Joshua to be born and then again after he was born for about a month or so.
I LOVE your aprons. Would you mind sharing what pattern you use?
Oh, your aprons are so beautiful! How cheery! The children and chicks are sweet. This was a great post.
Thanks for the comments on the aprons, everyone!! I can't wait to make one for myself this summer. I've had the fabric for several years--just gotta set aside time to make it! I really need a new one, though! :)
Joey--I need to make menu planning one of my summer projects, too! Things go a lot smoother when I actually have a plan... :)
Nikki--your camper bed must be a lot more comfy than ours if you could sleep on it in the last stages of pregnancy!! Either that or you are a lot tougher than me. ;) I do love being out there in the fresh air, though, and I hope we can actually take a camping trip or two this summer.
Mrs. V--thanks for stopping by! I always love hearing from you. :)
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