My Favorite Things: February

So I recently decided to start doing do a wrap-up of sorts at the end of every month.

Just a way for me to fill in the blanks during the times I was too lazy busy to blog and to mention some of my favorite things and happenings of the month.

Kind of fun, right?

(Maybe not.)

(...I don't know...)

(This might not work out...)

(We'll see.)

1.) At the beginning of the month, we took a trip to The Farm.

(for past and future reference, The Farm is where Luke's grandparents live and where Luke spent most of his summers growing up. It's in Rochester, 2 hours south of where we live.)

Remember when I wrote about The Deans?

Well Luke's dad was in town visiting, so we finally had all 4 generations together for a photo shoot.

From oldest to youngest : Delwyn Dean, Russel Dean, Lucas Dean, and Boaz Dean.

My two thoughts on this picture:

1.) Too bad my kid doesn't have any parents to put some flippin' clothes on him. 

2.) My smokin' hot husband looks like a lumber jack. 

(Like the kind that lives in the woods by himself and eats nothing but squirrel meat.)

GOOD!

(He shaved his beard off that week, by the way. It was getting out of hand towards the end there..)

At one point during the day Vienna was out of sight for a few minutes, and we soon found her in the corner of one of the bedrooms taking a nap in A ROCKING CHAIR.

How exhausted does a toddler have to be to voluntarily find a quiet place in a house to get a little shut-eye? 

In an uncomfortable wooden chair, no less!

It was super precious though. So we took lots of pictures.

2.) We've been reading The Explicit Gospel.

Luke and I have been reading Matt Chandler's book with our small group from church, and while I typically don't mention the books we read on here, it has honestly been one of my favorite things that we've done this month. 

Probably being the most powerful book I've ever read, it's straight-forward, balanced, scandalous, offensive, hilarious, and raw. It will comfort you and make you sweat at the same time.

And whatever I say about it, really isn't going to do it justice AT ALL.

It's a game changer, people.

And you need to read it.

Because it will BLOW YOUR MIND.

And then call me when you're done, so we can gab about it over coffee and fattening baked goods.

3.) The kids got to hang out with their cousin Gavin!

Luke's sister and our ridiculously cute nephew were able to come up and hang out, and babysit for us on Valentines Day. 

We got a hot date night AND this adorable picture out of the whole thing.

Pretty sweet deal.

4.) We started up our renovation again.

Remember how we started renovating our bedroom? 

...BACK IN NOVEMBER.

Well we had to put it on the back burner for a while, due to having company, the holidays, being sick, having more company, and being sick again.

So 2 months later, we are back in business and getting it finished!

This is how it looks right now. 

All of that yummy wood paneling has been torn down, new sheet rock has been laid, the walls have been plastered, most of them have been sanded down, and the windows have been painted.

And half of the walls are painted, but we decided that the shade we picked is a just a tad too peachy for us, so we picked out a different color, which we'll apply once the rest of the walls are done.

All we have left to do (when I say 'we', I obviously mean Luke) is sand the remaining walls down, texture all of the walls, paint (this is the part I'll help with), then install carpet and new base boards.

Easy peasy, right?

Were hoping to be done by the end of march so that we can have company in town for Easter.

And so we don't have to keep sleeping on a mattress in the middle of the living room.

I mean, ok...it's actually been kind of fun.

Like a slumber party.

Every. Single. Night.

It'll be nice to have our own room back though.

5.) I made soap!

I have been wanting to make soap since last year, and I finally did it! 

Luke uses bar soap, but we both hate how most of the inexpensive stuff is so perfumey and makes him smell like he just walked out of a brothel.

(Delightful.)

So we decided it would be beneficial, and cheaper, to just start making our own soap for him.

I have a few friends that make their own and I asked one of them last summer if I could crash her party by coming over and watching her make a batch. It was so cool, and it really helped that I got to see first hand the process of it all, before I tried it myself.

And then a couple weekends ago, I had finally collected all of the tools and ingredients I needed, and set out to make some during the kid's naptime. Everything went well and I ended up with roughly 20 huge bars of Cinnamon Clove soap, using clove bud essential oil and ground cinnamon. 

It looks awesome and smells like christmas! 

And it will be done curing in just another couple of weeks and we'll be able to use it.

And I'm trying to decided which kind to make next... Rosemary Mint? Sweet Basil Mint? Lemon Tea Tree? 

Your thoughts?

6.) My happy camper is 5 months old!

Question... When the HECK did this happen?

Just a second ago, he was being forced out of my lady parts, covered in cheese whiz, and didn't want to do anything but sleep. 

Ever.

Now he smiles and laughs and talks and drools and eats cereal and plays with his toes and is ALMOST HALF A YEAR OLD.

Plus he weighs like 50 pounds.

(Just kidding)

(I think...)

~~~

Well February was a fun and productive month, but I am kind of glad that it's over.

Only because it means were that much closer to spring, which in turn means the end of this ATROCIOUS case of cabin fever we all have is coming soon...

Gourmet a la Rice Cereal: Round Two

Heeeeey..

Remember when, almost a year and a half ago, Vienna had rice cereal for the first time?

How she hated it? And gave me her best please put me up for adoption face the entire time?

Yeah...that was fun.

Anywho, last week was my little man's first time trying it and, as if my two children aren't already different enough in their personalities, much to my surprise...Boaz LOVED it.

I am always so floored at how easy-going this kid is.

I mean, who in their right mind would like this stuff?

It tastes like cardboard.

And it dries like cement.

(Which I guess is actually more of my problem than his..)

Plus it's obviously impossible to consume without half of it ending up smeared all over your face, making the person eating it look like a rabid animal.

Ok, well in this picture it's more like an old, happy asian man.

...who is foaming at the mouth.

(Which is weirdly enough still kind of cute..)

But he's a good sized boy, and seems to appreciate the extra carbs.

Plus I think his vigorous attempts at grabbing that spoon has become the best part of his day.

Chili

Why I love Chili:

1.) It's usually always made in large quantities, so it feeds tons of people.

(Perfect for a party. Or the population of Rhode Island.)

2.) It's warm, hearty, and filling.

3.) It can easily be made gluten and dairy free, so those of you with food allergies can enjoy it in all of it's flavorful glory. 

(Just omit the butter. And don't tell Paula Dean.)

4.) You can serve it/change it quite a few different ways:

-Serve it over Hot Dogs.

-Serve it over Fritos or with Cornbread.

-Add corn, bell peppers, and/or white beans.

-Substitute beef for ground turkey, ground pork, ground bison, ground venison, or shredded chicken.

-You can add cayenne pepper or chipotle peppers to give it a spicy kick.

5.) It freezes beautifully.

After we eat a few bowls of this, I double bag the rest of it in gallon-sized freezer Ziploc bags, and then unthaw it whenever I need a magically easy-to-prepare dinner. 

6.) It's positively SCRUMPTIOUS.

This is such a fabulous and simple chili recipe that is easy to make and always a crowd-pleaser.

I hope you enjoy it!

Chili 

Ingredients

• butter/olive oil
• 1-2 Tbls minced garlic
• 2-3 onions, chopped
• 2 lbs ground beef or ground turkey
• 2 large cans crushed tomatoes
• 6 cans kidney beans
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 4 Tbls Chili Powder
• 1-2 tsp each dried basil and oregano
• crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper

Directions 

1. Over medium-high heat, saute butter/olive oil, garlic, and onions in large stockpot. 
2. Add ground beef and brown.
3. Meanwhile, drain and rinse beans.
4. Add crushed tomatoes and beans to stock pot.
5. Once it’s reached a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, add all of your spices (to taste).
6. Simmer for at least 30 min to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Then and Now. Amen.

When I was pregnant with Vienna, Luke would read The Jesus Storybook Bible out loud to my belly.

And then when Vienna was just a tiny little thing, he would read it to her and show her the pretty pictures.

And now he still reads it to her every night, which she loves and depends on as part of her bedtime routine. 

He prays with her and for her and then she says 'Amen'.

(Which turns out more like 'Yum-Yum'.)

I totally recommend:

1. Getting The Jesus Storybook Bible for your kids. Really. It's beautiful.

and

2.) Marrying a smokin' hot man who will read it to them.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I really can't even begin to describe how perfect these cookies are. 

Thick. 

Chewy. 

And they look as delicious as they are.

For years, I tried and tried to perfect my chocolate chip cookie recipe, but they always tended to turn out flat and crispy. 

(Don't get me started on flat and crispy cookies.. they represent all that is wrong and corrupt in this world.)

But then I found this recipe.

And the secret ingredient that I had been missing out on all of these years?

CORNSTARCH.

Who would have thought?

Make these for your friends and family and you will be KNOWN as the Person That Makes The Best Crack-Filled Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

(Downside: You might not get invited places unless you promise to bring these. ..Sorry..)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients: 

• 3/4 c. butter, softened 
• 3/4 c. brown sugar 
• 1/4 c. granulated sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract 
• 2 c. all purpose flour 
• 2 tsp. cornstarch 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp. salt 
• 1 c. chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until fluffy and light in color. Add egg and vanilla.
3. In another bowl mix flour, cornstarch, baking soda and salt. Slowly mix into the butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto a prepared baking sheet.  
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely golden brown around the edges.  (The tops will not brown, but do NOT cook longer than ten minutes.)
6. Let cool, on the sheet, on a wire rack for five minutes.  Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely.  

Makes approximately 2 dozen.