Frames of Purpose

The Gallery Wall is up and running! I have been wanting to get a wall of dedicated pieces up for over a year now. I had the two shelves just waiting to be put up, getting quite dusty in a corner. And I'd pinned so many examples and ideas of these walls on Pinterest.

This week my Mister James helped me get it all up. He was my awesome floating shelf master! I've never hung one of those and would've done it completely wrong had it not been for him. I'm so grateful for my dear husband who has so much on his plate with work, side jobs, school, being a dad and my companion. That he took the time to print and purchase photos and a few frames, help me arrange them, and then hang them up with me meant a great deal. We only have so much time in a day and it truly does show great love to give some of that time away to another. I love my mister and my new gallery wall! 

I can't wait to add and change it up over the years with new photos and decor. Having a wall to display family is so important to me. Showing love and dedication to each other is a strong part of being Tight like into a Dish (if you don't know where our family motto is from check out the side bar on the blog!). The things we hang up and focus on in our home should have meaning. Whether that's a fun family photo, or a painting you did, or a place you want to go, or a piece you bought on a family trip...it should serve a purpose. Hang things with a purpose!

Ionic

My wife is awesome. Tonight was the first Idaho Falls Ionic Meetup and she made sure it was a proper gathering. Despite having a very sick daughter and a quite fussy infant and a packed schedule, she prepped yummy vegatable delights and spoiled us with cheese cake! She came with me to setup and then whisked away to walk the kids and put them to bed. How wonderfully blessed I am to have Carolyn be my eternal companion!

About two months ago I got the crazy idea to start a meetup about web development. I was curious to see who would show up. To my surprise 18 people found it interesting enough to join the group and 7 actually made it to the first meeting.

 It was a refresher course in public speaking, something that I usually avoid. It was fun to talk shop with other developers in the area though.

Ionic is a web developers tool box for creating iPhone and Android apps. I have had the opportunity to work with it for almost a year now and love what it can do. 

The Great TP!

I have yearned to have a play TP for quite some time. The hard thing was all of them cost so much and I couldn't justify it. So I started planning and trying to figure out how to make this dream come true without breaking the bank. I went on trusty Pinterest to get some ideas and found lots. Most were small versions of the one I envisioned. Then I finally fell upon one that I thought would work.

While my mom was here for helping with the new little man the dream finally got sewed. We had planned earlier in the year to work on it but it didn't happen, so I was pretty bound and determined we needed to get it done this time. My sweet mom made a pattern and the work began.

I had bought the wood poles at Lowes for super cheap and then we used old sheets that I had gathered to use for the fabric. So it literally cost just the poles which were like $10. Wahoo!

We have loved playing, eating and having FHE in this great TP. And I think I pretty much made it more for me than the kids ;). I love having a special place to get away and dream. And a TP is the perfect place to do so! 

Banana Nutella Cookies

Mmmmm! Go bananas go go bananas! We were headed up last minute to my brother and sister in laws last night and I quickly whipped up this batch of cookies to share. I combined banana bread style cookies with my favorite chocolate spread: Nutella. They were a yummy surprise, and a new recipe we'll be keeping on the shelf for all those ripe brown bananas. Try it out with some of yours!!

The Recipe is as follows;

Ingredients:

3/4 cup shortening or butter 

3/4 cup white sugar 

1 egg 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

2 mashed bananas (3 if they are small)

1/4 tsp salt 

1 tsp baking soda 

2 cups of flour

A sprinkle of chocolate chips if you desire

Nutella

Walnuts

Instructions:

Cream the shortening and sugar, add egg, vanilla and mashed bananas. Make sure that it is creamed very well. Add in salt, soda and flour slowly so it will be homogeneous. Add your sprinkle of chocolate chips here! The badder will be more like the consistency of brownie batter (don’t worry, they will hold their shape). Bake them in an oven heated to 350 degree for 8-9 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown.

Then smear delicious Nutella on top and sprinkle some walnuts to add a yummy crunch. They are so scrumptious and will have you going bananas for more!!

Plum Fruit Leather

Plum fruit leather....we finally tried to make some. Our yard is blessed with a very fruitful plum tree that produces far more than we can keep up with. Last year we attempted canning and made jam and syrup. So this year we are attempting the world of dried fruits. The process is really easy, it just takes a looooooooooong time. Basically we washed, pitted and cooked the fruit at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Then we put hem all into the blender and added a teeny bit of sugar. Gooey liquid should be the result, and this you pour into a prepared jelly roll pan (we just bought a Silpat to use and it is awesome!!). This pan is then put into an oven heated at its low setting of 150 for 6-8 hours. Ours seemed to take longer but it was it wasn't quite thinned properly. There were thicker areas then some making it cook a little unevenly. So making sure it's roughly flat and all even is pretty important. It turned out pretty yummy and was a fun way to use up plenty of plums!

Yummies help the Grumpies

This weeks been full of yummy foods and special moments with each other, despite the chaos going on. It's been another rough week with no sleep and getting on edge with one another more than usual. Jane's getting 4 teeth, William's got lots of gas, Mister James has lots of work and school duties, and I'm writing my next batch of Cook'n articles, getting a RS Activity planned and am running on steam. So needles to say we're all a little stressed and capooped. But that doesn't mean we don't enjoy life still and each other!

We went out as a family for an ice-cream date with some birthday coupons my sweet family gave me. I had not been to 31 Flavors / Baskin Robins in forever. And it did not disappoint :), soooo yummy! I got a "snickers" and Mister enjoyed a "moms cookie dough." Oh I love ice-cream way too much and wish I could just eat it all the time and never gain a pound.

Other adventures and yummies have included our chickens. Jane loves "feeding them" rocks and collecting their eggs with me. She's so funny and adorable with them. We've been enjoying lots of mountains and scrambled eggs in the mornings! Thanks chickens!

Then tonight after a really rough day for mommy here, we had one of my favorite dinners! Chiabata bread with fresh mozzarella cheese, amazing home grown tomatoes, a dash of fresh basil and drizzled with balsamic. Oh it is heaven in every bite! The savory and delicious moments of life help us to get through the bitter or hungry times. How grateful I am to be blessed with good food to eat and a beautiful family to eat it with.

Happy Motherhood

Becoming a mother of two has been quite the adjustment and whirlwind. The first month has flown by with all the crazy happenings of our little family, and now that we aren't traveling, aren't entertaining others, my bee stings almost healed and life is just us it has hit me that I have two kids!!! I have such a great respect for mothers, with each child I think that respect just grows and grows! The amount of energy it takes to take care of a newborn is astounding and then add a teething and very active toddler to the mix and it's exhausting. My days seem to just mesh into one another with spit up, nursing, diaper changing, laundry, dishes, entertaining and running after baby girl, making meals, reading books, wiping boogers...and all else that comes with motherhood. There are moments where I feel I am the worst qualified, or times I want to quit, or run away for a week long vacation with free massages. But then I realize this is the best job I could've asked for and the greatest dream come true.

I AM a mother of two and I love it! I may not look sane (ever), I don't look put together hardly ever, I don't have a perfectly clean and organized home, paper plates have been my friend, and I don't have all my ducks in a row. However, I have a little family that I care for every day and that I love endlessly. They are my world. When you look at the endless lists of don'ts as a mother you realize you're doing lots of do's. I do read to my children every day, I make sure my family is fed, I keep a home running, I take the time to thank others sincerely, I make sure family prayer is said...these are the things that matter most.

I have felt pretty inadequate up to this point at knowing how on earth I'd keep up with these two active kiddos and then today had a tender moment. I took the kids outside and after I nursed William I laid him down on the blanket and started blowing bubbles with Jane. In this sweet tender moment there was a great peace that came over me. The thought of "This is so fun. You are a good mom." and "These two love you and each other!" came into my mind. It was the first time I really felt like "YES, you can do this!" The first time my confidence rose to the challenge and joy of my life right now.

We all have changes in our lives, hardships we must face, and roads we must travel. How we think, act and live them out makes a big difference in how life turns out. I'm grateful, so grateful, for my little outdoor moment of joy today. It reminded me of the happiness I have and the capabilities I am blessed with. I love being a mother and am grateful for all it has me do. Each day is long, and each day is a blessing! Long live happy motherhood!