we do things, we make things, we plant things, we bake things

I'm been reading too much Dr. Suess, obviously.  This post will be a bit scattered, but we've been busy taking care of so many odds and ends around here, that I feel it may be best to just get it all out there at once.  So here are a few of the things we've been working on in the past few days.

First of all, we had gotten pretty used to having a nice sized entry way at the back door in our old house.  But in this bigger house, the entry way from our garage into the house is tiny.  As you can see.

Shoes were getting piled up all over in this tiny entry way.  So I asked Brian to make a shoe shelf, and he whipped one out in about a half an hour.

It fits about 2 pairs of shoes for each of us, so it's the perfect size.  Brian made it out of those white melamine shelves you can get at Home Depot.  So he didn't use a plan, but just kind of made it up himself.  Not too bad!  I may paint it at some point, but for now, white is just fine with me.  Speaking of painting, I finally got around to painting the jewelry cabinet my mom gave me.  I've been meaning to do it forever since the faux-cherry finish didn't really match or blend with our bedroom furniture. 

Now it's a gold-yellow color that matches our bedding.  Perfect!  Oh, and I started a plate wall.  Have you seen these walls where people just pack decorative plates?  I really like that look, and I already had a few plates that we hanging seperately in our old house, so I got started.

Some of these plates have special meaning, and some of them I picked up at thrift stores.  But this is just the beginning.  My parents are visiting, and my mom dug this nice sized stack out of her basement.

And they are pretty much all passed down through both sides of my family, so I'll have a nice little history right on my kitchen wall.  I love. 

I got Brian a new pancake maker and he made fun pancakes over the weekend.  A pig for the girl (her nickname is pigoletta) and a rocket for the boy.

And speaking of food, I made up these banana-pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins over the weekend, along with other recipes I will blog. 

They were pretty tasty.  Would you like the recipe?  I can blog it, I took pictures.  But I did already do a pumpkin muffin recently.  Let me know.

I was working on getting my goddaughter a pretty headband for Thanksgiving.  But the first one I made was way too small.  So I had to start from scratch, and I'm new at these, so I finally finished last night.  It may not get there in time for Thanksgiving, but hopefully she'll still wear it.  Pretend like you didn't see this, Jo.

And Fletcher and I have been checking on the paperwhite bulbs we planted.  They're on their way!  They should be blooming by Christmas. 

It's a busy time now during the holidays.  I sometimes feel like we barely catch our breath in the Fall leading up to Christmas.  I find myself wishing I could get more done, and oh my goodness, you should see my to-do list before Christmas.  Oh my.  But I try to stop and take some time with the littles as much as possible.  And now we're enjoying the company of my parents, too! 

Cheers to a happy start to the holiday season.  Enjoy your projects and enjoy your family.  Blink and it will be January!



no noodle vegetable lasagna

Alrighty, if you're still here, then the title didn't turn you away.  So it's not a carbivore or carnivore's dream, but it's still pretty delish. You will need:

sauce
1 29 oz can tomato sauce OR crushed tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic
fresh or dried basil
fresh or dried rosemary
fresh or dried oregano
1 t nutmeg
1 t cayanne pepper
2 t sugar
1 T olive oil

the rest
1 medium eggplant
1- 2 zucchinis
2-3 cups ricotta
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
fresh or dried basil
1 egg
pepper
salt

First of all, let me say you can definitely use a jarred sauce.  But it is so much better to make yer own.  Saute up your garlic with the onions and peppers. I like a rough chop on my veggies, but feel free to chop them smaller. 

While those are sauteing, grab your eggplant and zucchini and slice thinly lengthwise.

Sprinkle the eggplant and zucchini lightly with salt.

Then layer between paper towels to suck out the moisture.  I stacked mine.

Now that your onions, peppers, and garlic are nice and browned, it's time to make the sauce.  Pour in your can of tomato sauce/crushed tomatoes.  Add your basil.  Please excuse the way this basil looks out of the squeeze tube.  It is a lot better than it looks.

Add your oregano and rosemary.  I'm guessing I did 2 t of each.

And the nutmeg and cayanne.  I'm gonna go with 1 t each of these.  But you know.  I don't measure.  I just shake it in.  Add the sugar.

Now time for the part that makes lasagna oh so yummy.  The cheesy layer.  Toss your ricotta and egg in a bowl.

Add 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and set the other cup aside.

Grind some pepper over your mixture and add basil.  I also had some fresh sage in the fridge so I added that on a whim.  Improv in the kitchen around here.  Mix the cheese mixture up until all blended together.

Now it's assembly time!  But a thin layer of the sauce down first.

 Now add your layers of eggplant and zucchini.  I just overlapped them so that I couldn't see the sauce underneath.

Next up, cheesy layer. You're only using half your mixture here.

Now half of your sauce.

Repeat the last 3 steps.  Now top your lasagna with the other cup of shredded cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Then uncover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.

I normally would have put this under the broiler for about 5 minutes to really brown that cheese, but we were STARVING and the kitchen smelled so GOOD.  So we dished it up and ate it right away, instead.  Plus you already need about 10-15 minutes for it to set before you cut into it.

Happy eating!  Just be careful not to burn the roof of your mouth.  Cause it, uh, hurts.

something fun

This week's You Capture is something fun.  We're all about fun here.  Except when we're crying.  Or teething.  Or potty training.  Or whining.  Sigh.  BUT.  We do try and fit in the fun in between. 

Like blowing leaves.  Fletcher doesn't know better than to think this is just fun fun fun!

Of course after they're in a pile, he jumps in them, which is some real fun!

Sometimes it's fun to get a kiss from your big brother.  Sometimes.

It's fun to play dress up with papa's hat.

Eating left over Halloween candy = fun. 

And something fun that happened to this mama this past week?  A picture I took of Brian and Rowan ending up on the cover of msn.com.

18 months

This girl.

How did that happen?  I thought Rowan would be a baby forever.  But she's walking and talking and interacting with us like a big person, not a baby.  Please wait while I shed a tear *sniff*.  I realized that she turned 18 months over the weekend.  Well.  That was fast.

She blows and gives kisses, gives hugs, says "love you," and all sorts of lovey stuff that makes me feel good about being a mama.

But then she'll haul off and hit Fletcher, or say "MINE!!!" with an attitude, and then I feel slightly less awesome.

She loves to read books and will bring a book to me, say "hego" (here you go) and crawl into my lap, all ready for the book reading to commence.  This happens about 20 times a day.  Sometimes with the exact same book.  Oy.  But how do you say no to this face?

It's pretty much impossible.  So, yeah, sorry if we got a princess on our hands, cause she has us wrapped around her cute little finger.

She takes after Brian.  She looks like him, and has his mischievous sense of adventure.



She takes after me.  She has my smile and my love for Starbucks. 

She follows Fletcher around and thinks she can do anything he can do.  Mostly, she can.  It really annoys the shit outta Fletcher sometimes.

Rowan knows so many words and can practically have a conversation with you. I just found out yesterday that she can sing her ABC's.  And she can count to 10.  She knows where all her body parts are, like her eyes and her nose.

She loves to eat, and is pretty fastidious about checking those food labels.

Her favorite time of the day is bathtime.

And as you can see, she only has one curly lock of hair at the back of her head.  But Fletcher and I both had such modest beginnings, so I'm not worried. 

She has already had a brush with fame.  Sorry, she doesn't do autographs.  Yet.

She can make you feel like you've won the lottery when she looks at you with those big blues and says, "love you, mama."  She can make you feel like you've lost a deal with the devil when she screams or throws herself on the floor in a full on tantrum. 

But I'll keep her anyway. 

I just wish I knew how to slow it all down.



autumn splendor

Autumn splendor is the theme this week for i heart faces.  We took a long walk in the woods yesterday, and I had a hard time picking out my favorite.  This one is probably in my top 5 of the day.

You can't see it, but Brian is holding Rowan up high over his head.  And I love how it looks like she's trying to taste the leaves.  Our crazy little girl.

Head on over to i heart faces and bask in the autumn splendor!