February, 2010
14
Feb 10
Happy Valentines
Today we celebrated a quiet Valentine’s Day at home with the new baby. Gunner and I made Bo’s favorite cookies for a surprise. Gunner was such a great helper! I was quite impressed. I didn’t know how I was going to package the cookies in Valentine form, I didn’t just want to put them in a gift bag, but luckily we used up the last of an oatmeal container and decorated for Daddy’s Valentine. It was a lot of fun!
The Valentines that I received were extra special, too. Gunner’s grandma helped him make the Valentine for me, which says “SMBTE LV YOU MAMAM” and translates: “Somebody loves you, Mama.” He sounded it out and wrote it himself! Bo’s Valentine was a hilarious poem that he wrote, which I will not repeat here as it is kinda dirty, lol. I love the part on the front that says “Here’s your card. I made it with my hands. Here it is.”
14
Feb 10
Recipe: Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
My mother got this recipe many years ago from a childhood family friend of my father’s named Mina Newton (one of those “like an Aunt, but not really” situations). I’ve never been a big fan of oatmeal raisin cookies, but these are so soft and chewy and tasty that I can’t resist! These are my husband’s favorite, so I usually double the recipe to make enough to last a while.
Mina Newton Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
30 minutes prep time. Makes approx. 2 dozen cookies.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raisins
- 1-1/4 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup raisin juice (from simmering)
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
- 1-1/2 cup flour
- 1-1/2 cup oatmeal
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Simmer raisins in water over high heat until plump (5-10 minutes); drain, SAVE JUICE, set raisins aside to cool.
- Cream together shortening and sugar.
- Add baking soda to 1/2 cup of the raisin juice, add to shortening/sugar along with eggs; beat until well mixed.
- Combine baking powder, salt, spices and flour; mix well and add to liquid mixture.
- Stir in oatmeal, then stir in the raisins.
- Drop by generous tablespoon onto cookie sheet and bake at 350°F for 10-12 minutes (until edges just begin to brown).
Enjoy!
11
Feb 10
The New Addition
A short introduction to the newest member of our family: baby Nola (my little Aquarius).
Born Saturday, February 6, 2010, 3:28 pm, 9 lbs 12 oz, 21 in.
Healthy and awesome.
1
Feb 10
Gunner’s New Room
Last year, we began remodeling the back room to move Gunner into that larger room. A long, long time ago, it was a roommate’s room, then when the new baby (namely Gunner) came along, it became the “junk room” because there was no way I was putting a baby in that room with the nightmarish electric-puke-chartreuse walls. But as Gunner grew and accumulated more and more stuff, he quickly outgrew the smaller “baby” room and really needed more space. The decision was 100% cemented with the beginnings of baby number two, and months of procrastination was quickly becoming regrettable! But with the help of our wonderful families we were able to finish it up relatively quickly. Thank goodness! As you can see from the before photos in this archive entry and the after photos below, it turned out beautifully.
Gunner’s new loft bed was crafted by his grandfather (my father-in-law) years ago, originally for our nephew but he outgrew it a few years ago and we inherited it when my sister-in-law cleaned out her storage garage. It was perfect timing, and it’s such a cool bed! I was worried about him sleeping so high off the ground, but he’s been doing just fine (settle down, mom) and it’s nice to have the extra room underneath. I really like that the organization drawers for toys and his clothing worked out so well, and I got to sort and put labels on everything! I’m hoping that the labels will help him with some “sight” reading and he will be able to keep track of where everything is and clean up after himself more easily. He’s also got a brand new bookcase so that all of his books are now in his room! I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time in order to clear out some space on the livingroom bookshelves for our growing collection of books.
Now it’s just a matter of getting the new baby’s room more settled and figured out. It shouldn’t be too difficult, the crib and changing table/dresser and all the other good stuff is already set up. I’m just waiting on some Alphabet wall cards to spiff up the plain white walls. Then I’ll throw some pink sheets and blankets on things and see where it needs to go from there. *sigh* Always a work in progress.