Hannah's Quilt

It's done! It's really and truly done!
I determined I would make a small quilt for each of my children long before I ever had any. Heidi's was completed while I was pregnant with her. After that the time for sewing wasn't quite so abundant as it had once been and Baby#2 didn't have her quilt started until she was nearly three. It was, however, completed last night, and happily Hannah still sleeps in a toddler bed so she can use it there for a couple of years before it becomes a lap blanket.

My little girl is thrilled with all the butterflies,

and I was thrilled that when I went to the store to buy material for the outer edge I also came across this delightful butterfly print I could use for the back. Other than those two fabrics I used all scraps I had on hand, so now Karl's thrilled that I used up a bit of my stash.

Now it's time to start Levi's!

He Cooks Too!

There's A New Member On Our Dish Crew

What I see when I look down these days

Adorable view, isn't it?

Who says we don't have lots of room for company?

Stacked this way we can fit another 15 on the stairs alone!

Come and stay family and friends,we'll find a way to squeeze you in.

I conquered an item on my "Too Hard" list

Do you have one of those?
A list of things that seem too hard to accomplish so you can't muster courage to even attempt them?

Well I do. And my husband frequently encourages me overcome and try.
On that list was something my family loves. Something reserved for a special treat because I found buying it expensive and not-so-very-healthy.

That something was crackers.

Notice I say was.
I tried making them. And you know what? they're not so hard after all. In fact, I liken them to making biscuits, and I do that all the time!
I tried a couple of recipes and tweaked them around until they met my criteria for food fit for my family to consume.
Consume them they do, it seems I can't keep enough of them on hand.

Without further ado, here's the recipes I use:

Wheat-Thin Like Crackers
3 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup butter
2 TBSP each: ground flax seed, oat bran, wheat germ
mix together well (I've heard a food processor works well, but I don't have one so I use my pastry blender).
Then add:
1 tsp honey
1/3 cup milk
2/3 cup water
Mix with hands to make a stiff dough.
Allow to rest for about 15 minutes.
Roll out very thin, sprinkle with sea salt, roll lightly to adhere salt.
Transfer to a cookie sheet and cut into squares. Alternately, you can hand small cookie cutters to your children and let them go to town, allowing them to think you're the coolest mom ever.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until golden brown -watch closely toward the end, you want them crisp, but not burnt!


Cheddar Crackers
8 ounces sharp or old cheddar cheese
1/4 cup butter
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 TBSP each: ground flax seed, oat bran, wheat germ
3/4 tsp salt
Mix well with pastry blender, then add:
2 TBSP water (more if needed)
Mix with hands to form a stiff dough.
Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes
Roll out thin, transfer to cookie sheet and cut into squares, or, you know, cookie cutters.
Sometimes these stick so I use parchment paper on the cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes or until crispy.

If you try these I'd love to know about it, I hope your family enjoys them as much as mine does!

Look Who's Walking!

It may have taken him awhile, but at sixteen and a half months he figured it out, and now he's off to the races. Go Levi!