Christmas shopping...

or not.

I know I've changed in the last year when I try to go Christmas shopping for my family and I end up with PENS. That's right. Colored pens.

Shall I explain??

Everything targeted for two year olds is crap at the store!!

I got Addysen some nice pens to draw with and that was all I could come up with. Addysen (and all of us,) have everything we could ever need, (other than food...) so I had a hard time trying to find stuff to splurge on. This is definitely going to be a handmade Christmas. There are so many things I want to make her, (imagine that!) I want her things to be special, not just another stuffed animal, or another noise maker. I want her to be able to create and express herself! I've got lots to do!!

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More tutu

And now she has one for her hair!!

And my love...

ONE tutu!!

I had promised Addysen that I would make her a tutu last week but finally got around to it this morning. With Elliot on my lap, I cut strips and strips of tuling, (left over from our wedding,) and tied it to a big band of elastic. I've got more colors and lots left so she may get another one, (or two,) for Christmas. And Addy kept telling me, "You made ONE tutu, mama!!" I don't know why, but she kept stressing the ONE! crazy girl.


And little miss Elliot will be three weeks old on Wednesday! I cannot believe it. Here she is in all her squishy, cuteness.

Pumpkin bars

mmmm pumpkin bars........... No pictures with this post, just sharing. I made pumpkin bars today and finally just had some. They are delicious. This is the first time I've used real pumpkin, from the pumpkins I cooked yesterday. I found that pureeing them is super easy using the large freezer bags. Just measure how much you want to freeze, stick it in the bag, then mash the tar out of it. It was pretty fun, and Addysen wasn't even helping!!
So here is my recipe for pumpkin bars. It is tweaked from the better homes and garden cook book. (If you want that recipe just ask.)

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cloves
4 beaten eggs
1/2 cup olive oil*
1/2 cup water*
2 cups cooked pumpkin puree

*the original recipe called for 1 cup oil. To cut calories I only used half but I'm sure you could cut out the oil entirely and use 1 cup water. They will be a little less fluffy but just as tasty.

Mix all dry ingrediants in a big bowl. Add eggs, oil, water, and pumpkin and mix well. Pour in a 13 x 9 (metal) cake pan and cook for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. (I use a silicone cake pan and they take a bit longer to cook, about 40-45 minutes. Stick a toothpick in the middle to make sure it's done.)

Top with cream cheese frosting and eat up!!

What I've been up to lately

A little bit of this and that has been going on. I'm recovering a lot faster than I remember with Addysen and everything just seems to be falling into place. We'll see how this weekend goes, as Aaron returns to work on Saturday.

This is how painting ends up around here. I love it and she does too. At least it's finger paints :)

Yesterday I heard Addy clunking around the dining room and this is what I found:
I better be careful - this one wants to be just like mama.

And this little love is adjusting quite well to our little familia. She is very fond of nursing and sleeping, so I don't have many pictures of her with her eyes open. I forgot how mellow this newborn stage can be. She's so needy and I just love the fact that I am fully sustaining her right now with my milk. And boy is she a piggy!! I love her...

Yesterday, Aaron let me sneak away to the basement to get a little sewing done. I have a friend who's birthday is coming up this week who is also in college so this is what she is getting. A tote for school things:

A mousepad:

And a bookmark:

(If my computer had a mouse I would totally make one for myself. I used flannel for the top and it is so soft. The bag and mousepad were made using the book, Handmade Home, by Amanda Blake Soule, which Aaron gave me last week. There will be many more projects coming from it soon!! I love it because it focuses on reusing and repurposing material for all of the projects in it.)

And lastly, this is my latest endeavor:

I'm so glad I'm just freezing the puree when I'm done. I forgot how much work it is to cut pumpkins and bake them!! I will be making my most yummy favorite treat tomorrow though - pumpkin bars!!

A Hippopatamus!!

Happy (late) Halloween!!