Testing Something New

For some reason, I never blog from my laptop. I always blog from my phone. Do you know how much of a pain it is to type out a blog post on a touch screen? Yesterday, at the IDEA curriculum fair, I purchased a keyboard for my Ipad. I'm not sure how much I'll like it. The keys are small and I have man sized hands. I'm hoping I'll get used to it and it'll increase my blogging!!!

Belated Birthday

Mikayla was finally able to have her birthday party with her friends. It was a masquerade party. I love this picture I took of her. She's growing up to be a beautiful young lady with a tender heart.

Determination much?

Thursday was take your daughters/sons to work day. I worked a few hours in the floral department that day. I took Mikayla and Liberty, but only seem to have one picture on my phone. I'll have to get the pictures my friend took with her camera. Liberty was helping blow up balloons for an order, which can be a bit scary. Her face is hilarious...

Goats!!!

These baby goats came to live with us about a month ago. We are having a BLAST with them! They are still bottle fed, which is hilarious!!!!! They go absolutely crazy for their bottles. Their names are Sugar and Spice. They will be market projects for the fair. Currently, they both fit in an extra large dog crate, though they won't for much longer. We are working in their "barn" which is really an outdoor shed, but I think it'll work great. We are really enjoying these goats much more than we though we would.

Busy

There has been a lot going on around here these days. I've picked up a part time job, so we are all adjusting to that. Thankfully my hours are fairly flexible. This week I worked 4 days...surprisingly, we accomplished all of the school work that needed to be done!!! Praise The Lord! I should mention, when I say 4 days, that equated to 19 hours. Big whoop. Ha!
The girls have been helping me with some decorating projects. Katie painted the bathroom for me. They've both been working on painting the downstairs bathroom. I'll share that another day.
This bathroom is our upstairs bathroom. We painted it the same color yellow as my bathroom, which we painted last spring. I added new towel and toilet paper holders, as well as a new medicine cabinet, shower curtain and pictures. I also painted the light. I should have taken a before picture, but I didn't. It was an ugly silver that was rusting. I used a brown hammered metal paint. I LOVE how it came out!!!
We have no towel storage upstairs. I know, it's silly. We do have a linen closet downstairs, but it's a sorry excuse for a linen closet at this point. I found the idea using the crates on Pinterest, of course!!! I painted the crate the same color as the light. I am going to make another crate exactly the same and install it directly above this one. I also plan to get a new vanity and sink. Hopefully soon. :-).
We are having a blast finally decorating our house!!!

Granola

  

I've been looking for a tasty granola recipe for quite some time now. One that requires normal ingredients. This one fits the bill! Benjamin declared this my best granola yet! Thanks to a friend who posted the recipe on Facebook. I'm sharing it here so I know where to find it in case I misplace it. :-)

Spiced Vanilla Granola

4 cups thick rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 C freshly ground flax seed

1 C chopped nuts

1/3 C coconut oil

1/4 C maple syrup or agave

1 Tbsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In large bowl mix together dry ingredients. In saucepan, combine coconut oil, sugar and syrup. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring regularly. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture, stirring well.  Transfer to cookie sheets.  Bake, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Cool completely. I added a handful of chocolate chips. Yumm-o!!!!!

Isn't the glass jar I used cute? I got it for Christmas. I believe from Katie. I just love the chalkboard label!

There has been some decorating taking place. I'll share soon. Rumor has it my bathroom will be painted by the weekend!

Decorating...

Mike has left us for a fairly short period of time. He's enjoying the warmth of the South right now. The girls and I are planning to get some decorating done while he's gone. I'm ashamed to say, we've been in our house for more than a year, and I've done very little decorating. I painted the kitchen with the help of some friends. I did paint one bathroom, although that's as far as I got. So, I present to you decorating project number one of hopefully many more to come.

Frame: Ben Franklins - $35
Chalkboard Paint: Ben Franklins - $11

That's it, my friends! I've never worked with chalkboard paint before. Easy peasy!!!! The can says it adheres to glass, but I was hesitant to believe what it said. I'm here to say, it works!!! I haven't told my husband about this project yet. I'm hoping he will love it. When our girls first started taking piano lessons, he commented on their teachers chalkboard pantry door that she used to announce the dinner menu. I scoffed and told him to erase that thought from his mind, it wasnt happening. But a frame, a frame I can do. We shall see what he says. I will tell you a secret...I am worried about doodling. Am I the only one with doodling kids? I'll have to hide the chalk. I know I'll find doodling on it all the time!!! Oh, one Pinterest pin I read says you can use Bistro Markers on chalkboard. What in earth are Bistro Markers? I'll have to google.