Gingerbread Pancakes

I have made these pancakes several times this year and they are delicious!! Bring on some Christmas spirit! Since there is only warmish rain here in Georgia, no hint of snow, "feeling Christmasy" requires some extra effort.

We love these topped with sliced peaches. Whipped cream or warm applesauce also sound delectable!

Gingerbread Pancakes

1 cup flour                                                            1 t. baking powder

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal                                       1/2 t. baking soda

2 T. sugar                                                             2 T. oil or melted butter

1/2 t. cinnamon                                                     1/4 c. molasses                   

3/4 t. ground ginger                                               1 c. buttermilk

1/8 t. ground cloves                                               1 lg. egg, lightly beaten

1/2 t. salt

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, spices, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In separate bowl, mix together the oil, molasses, buttermilk, and egg. Add wet ingredients to dry all at once, stirring only until just combined.

Preheat lightly greased griddle. Drop 1/4 c. batter onto griddle. Cook until edges look dry and some surface bubbles have broken. Turn pancake over until finished cooking and remove to warm serving dish.

Makes: 4 servings 

Recipe from King Arthur Baker's Companion

I took some enticing pictures but alas, my google account says that I do not have the memory to upload any more photos to my blog. I haven't had the time to figure out a solution to this problem....other than paying $5/month or whatever it is that they want to charge me. So you will have to make them to see them!

Enjoy!

Nate said his longest sentence ever while riding in the car today. He always pauses between each word to enunciate carefully. "Mom. And. Dad. Love. Nate."

Recovery Monday after Thanksgiving week

Mondays are frequently "recovery day" around here. Today we truly are taking it easy. We had a very busy, fun Thanksgiving week. 

Tuesday through Thursday morning we camped out at our friends the Lorts' house. Brett had a job up in TN near them so the kiddos and I went along for the ride. Since Brett was gone for the entire week the week before I was not letting him leave me again. =) The children did surprisingly well in the car and we had a great time visiting. Richie and Suzanne made us feel like family. It's nice to know that some things stay the same even after you get married and have kids. Our friendship looks very different in many ways but the old bond is unchanged. 

Thanksgiving day we had two meals! Well, three actually, but breakfast was not part of the Thanksgiving festivities and therefore does not count in these calculations. First we had lunch with the Hawkins extended family in Carnesville, GA. Then we had dinner at Brett's parents. If it is possible to have two Thanksgiving meals, I highly recommend it. 

Friday morning, as per the Hawkins family custom, all of us girls descended upon the stores. I bought a few things at various places, but the overall feeling at the end of the day was unsatisfying. The prices did not seem to be as good as they were last year. Also, I mostly bought clothes for myself, which were much-needed but still not as exciting as buying gifts for other people. I have not planned out my Christmas list yet so I did not get any Christmas presents but felt the entire day that that was what I really should be doing. I am very thankful for the clothes and shoes that I bought for myself, but wish I had been better prepared. Unless I go into a store with something particular in mind, I generally just end up overwhelmed by the onslaught of sale stickers and the internal price comparison and then buy nothing, or occasionally lots, but usually nothing.

The whole weekend we were all sick with a nasty cold. So far Evelyn has had it the worst. She and Nate have runny noses. Brett and I felt tired, achy, and had a sore throat. We took turns watching the children and sleeping. Thankfully we are feeling better today, but not 100% yet. 

I am hoping I can get some laundry done and work on my Christmas gifts for a while today. Time is running out and I still have lots to do! I wish I could talk about them in greater detail but that will have to wait until after Christmas so I don't ruin the surprise for the recipients. I am very excited about them though!! Ok, that's all I will say. =)

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Help this puppy find a good home!!

On Sunday, this puppy was wandering around outside our church, looking very lost, hungry, and scared. We picked her up and now are trying to find a good home for her! She is very sweet, fairly well house-trained, great with kids, and loves being part of a family. She is very eager to please and quick to learn. 

If you, or anyone you know, is interested in adopting her, please let me know! I think she will be a very loving, loyal, thankful, obedient dog! 

Family pics from Cape May

Getting everyone situated takes a while...

But finally almost everyone is smiling for the camera. Evelyn is hiding on my lap. In future years we will probably look at this picture and say, "Oh this must have been the year before Evelyn was born."

Several years ago we took a really cute picture like this of all of us kids. Now there are too many of us that are the same height. 

I accidentally uploaded the wrong one for this shot. There is a better one...just in case you were worried.

All the girls...

All the guys...

This last picture cracks me up every time I look at it. I suppose William decided it was his job to keep Michael quiet. I love how everyone else, except Dad, is still smiling determinedly at the camera. 

The many accomplishments of Nate and Evie

Just so I can later recall all of this...

Nate is growing up so much! He is saying lots of new words, a few new ones are added to his vocabulary every day. I love how clearly he enunciates two-syllable words, like "crack-ker", with a significant pause between the syllables. We have been watching the "Your Baby can Read" dvds and he loves them. Just in the last couple days he clearly said several words when they appeared on the screen, but I'm not sure if he is actually remembering the word, or simply the order in which they appear. 

He adores Evelyn, and is so sweet and gentle with her. When she is sleeping, he will tip-toe around and whisper. He gets concerned if anyone makes a loud noise near her and will remind us that she is sleeping by whispering, "ssssss". 

Cars, trucks, tractors, bikes, bugs, dogs, cats, spiders, horses, and birds all fascinate him. Essentially, anything that moves. Recently there have been some really neat spider webs spun in our back yard and we have enjoyed finding them and talking about the spider in the middle. Now he sees them first and points them out to me. 

Yum...oranges!

Evelyn is now 6 months old!! She has recently become mobile and scoots faster and faster every day. I love seeing her personality develop. She is opinionated and attention-loving. She has a particular squeal that means, "Hello!! Remember me over here! Come play with me!" If I sing to her, she cracks up every time. 

She has also recently become interested in our food and dives at our plates while we are eating. I have been trying for several weeks to feed her baby-appropriate foods, all the typical ones that Nate ate for a while. Oatmeal, bananas, avocado, sweet potato, applesauce. But for the most part, she wants nothing to do with mashed baby food. She wants our food and makes that clear. After one bite of baby food, she tightly closes her mouth and refuses to eat another bite. But spicy potato soup, creamed spinach, or chili that mom is eating, she gobbles down! So now I am trying to cook things that she can eat too. 

Also, her first tooth just broke through her gum! Actually, I am thankful that it has taken her this long to get a tooth...the longer I can go without being bitten, the better! =) 

It is incredibly difficult to get a good picture of her because she never stops moving. When she smiles, her whole face contorts with joy and she launches herself backwards, waving her arms and kicking her legs. Almost all of my pictures are just a blur. At least they are blurs of adorableness. Here are a couple of the better ones. 

Knitting Evelyn's milo

Before I collapse into bed, here's a knitting update. I have really enjoyed making this little vest for Evelyn and cannot wait to finish it so she can be adorable in it! Actually, I have to admit that I cheated a bit and tried it on her yesterday while it was still on the needles. =) My excuse, to myself, was that I needed to see if it was long enough. 

Just a few more rows and then the binding left! This is my first sweater-like knit and first time knitting a cable as well. I did not have a cable needle, but there are some good you-tube tutorials explaining how to knit cables without one. 

I already have yarn to knit another Milo for Nate. This is quite a popular pattern on ravelry, and for good reason. Check it out! http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/milo-3

hurray for freezer meals!

Poor Evie developed a fever sometime in the wee hours of the morning today. As of this moment she is sleeping in her bed. Until now she had insisted that she sleep on my chest. Whew! My back is tired! On days like this I am particularly thankful when I have planned ahead and have a meal ready throw from the freezer into the crockpot. Not quite literally "throw", but almost. 

How does 8 crockpot meals in 1 hour sound?! I thought it sounded pretty good when I found this a couple weeks ago. I made the black bean taco soup, chicken broccoli alfredo, maple dijon glazed chicken, and the cilantro lime chicken with black beans and corn. The first three were quite tasty, especially the black bean taco soup, and though I cannot yet recommend the fourth recipe, it currently smells amazing cooking in my crockpot. These are very simple recipes that pretty much anyone would enjoy. I loved how handy it was to just print out the recipes and get it all done at once. It was also simple, though of course added to the time, to make them healthier by substituting such things as homemade alfredo sauce. 

I will definitely again make several crockpot freezer meals sometime in the near future. It saves valuable time! And money...on those days when somehow there is no food in the house, you would rather do anything than go grocery shopping (or maybe you don't hate grocery shopping like me), and then of course you end up eating out! 

While we are on this topic, I will mention that the pumpkin snickerdoodles, from the same website linked to above, six sister's stuff, are AMAZING! I made them last night=) 

CM in September

Sun...waves...laughing children...delicious food...old bikes...sand traipsed in by many little feet

Cape May was gorgeous the first week in September. Sunny and warm all day, but cold enough in the evening for bundling into sweatshirts. It was a nice relaxing time with family. Ella is talking more every day and listening to her encouraged Nate to try some new words too. Ella, and everyone else, loved squeezing Evelyn. 

I was able to knit with mom a little bit, but not nearly as much as I had envisioned. However, we spent time at the beach almost every day. I have many more pictures of beach fun coming soon! 

monday morning...

I have composed many blog posts over the last couple weeks, but they have never been grabbed from the swirling of my brain and typed out. I intended to post many pictures from our lovely vacation in Cape May, blog about my sorrow over Patience moving back home up north, and record other little stories or silly happenings. Nate is truly learning to talk!! And Evelyn does not want to be left behind for a minute so she is rapidly improving at scooting.

I am battling the greyness of this Monday morning. Brett kissed me goodbye in the darkness and I am on my own for the week. Evelyn has decided she must nurse every couple hours all night. I feel like we have regressed back to the newborn sleeplessness stage.

So I am going to get up and make some waffles for breakfast....Nate's favorite. And turn on some encouraging music...and dance some with the kiddos. And enjoy this day that we have been graciously given together.

This is my resolution to blog every day this week. I want to get some pictures up from the last month. Brett being away gives me more time in the evenings for things like blogging. =)

I am feeling the need to be thankful

so here goes...

Thank you... for the incredible, gorgeous, cool, breezy, taste-of-fall weather today.

...for the mail lady arriving 3 minutes after I put the check in the mailbox.

...for a roast cooking slowly in the oven.

...for children who sweetly have allowed me to rush around all morning.

...for naps.

...for the way God uses the people around me to shape me more into His image.

...for phones, so my mom is only a few seconds away.

...for rich fall colors.

...for mums in rich fall colors. I realized today that mums smell similar to marigolds. I like that distinctive smell. 

...for fleas. *smile* If you have never read The Hiding Place, you should. 

Totally unrelated thoughts of the day

- Evelyn is always smiling! She brings such joy into our lives. She rolled over for the first time several weeks ago but now is beginning to roll over all the time. She flipped over in her crib a couple times last night and woke herself up. Nate is her absolute favorite person. She watches his every move with rapt attention.

- I am really, really enjoying not being pregnant. After I had Evelyn I felt like my old self, whom I had totally forgotten even existed, returned. I am constantly surprised at how much energy I have! Tackling projects and planning home repairs sound exciting rather than sadly overwhelming. I am incredibly thankful for my ability to be pregnant and for my babies, but I feel much better when not pregnant.

- Recently I have been craving okra and sweet potatoes. We are getting a good bit of okra from the garden, though not as much as I would like to eat every day. It is amazing roasted in the oven!! I am eating a plateful of it right now. Sweet potato fries are another food I think I could live on. Mmmm...maybe I should go make some!

- Rose is being half-leased by a lovely young girl and I am thrilled with how that is working out so far. Rose needs the extra work too!

- My dear childhood friend Kathryn visited with me for a week. I enjoyed our time together immensely. She also helped me paint our front living room, which was still white from when we moved in. The color is a peachy, orange tan that changes hues with the light. I love it! This week I have sat in there every morning, because the sun rises in front of our house, drinking my coffee.

- Nate and I laugh together all the time. I love doing silly things to make him crack up. He still does not talk much but he is growing up so fast! He can walk down the stairs without holding onto the wall. He always wants to "go" and frequently comes up and asks me, "Go? Go? Papa? Dad?" Translated, that means, "Can we please go in Dad's car to Papa and Gram's house?" Whenever we leave the house in the car, he wants to go to Papa and Grams. He knows all of the correct turns to take to get there and protests whenever we make a "wrong" turn.

- I miss Brett. Without him I never sleep well. Only 3 more nights and then he will be back! He has been in Austin for training for work since last Monday. These two-week-long trainings are miserable. Thankfully, this is the last one that he knows of in the near future.

-I have enjoyed having my sister Patience here so much. We have gotten closer and it's nice to have someone come home for dinner. Sadly she only has about 6 weeks left until she will be returning to Maryland. Sadly for me anyway. I will probably have a good cry when she leaves.

- Here I am, staying up late again because Brett is not here. It is amazing how much I can get done at night when I stay up late and am alone though! =) Ok I really am going to bed now.

Video evidence of the aforementioned love=)

Evelyn squealing and laughing at Nate! With a little extra hilarity from Nate. Please excuse us in advance=) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9KqnYFUbcg&feature=plcp

Love all around

Nate and Evelyn love each other so dearly. They are precious together! Just a few minutes ago, Nate went upstairs and woke Evelyn up. I came flying into the room a minute too late to save her nap. She was bleary eyed and slightly confused, but was smiling from ear to ear at him anyway. He was hanging blissfully on the side of her bed, laughing with glee that he had woken her up. Then he laid down on the floor, rolling some of his trucks back and forth, putting on a show for her.

When he comes down in the morning, he runs around looking for her. If she is still asleep, it is difficult to keep him from going upstairs to wake her. 

Nothing (except tickling) can make her laugh like he can. If he starts laughing, her whole face crinkles up and she laughs with him. Then of course, Brett and I start laughing too. So essentially, if Nate laughs around here, we all laugh. =) 

Having two babies is definitely more than double the fun! 

More of Fripp and the adorableness of Evelyn

I forgot that I had taken pictures on my phone as well as on my camera while we were in Fripp. So here are a few more photos from our trip. I LOVE this first picture of Evelyn!