A Pinterest Frenzy

I love, love Pinterest.  Like everything, it took me a while to sign up, check it out, and really get into it, but now I'm pretty much addicted.  It's still a time sucker like Facebook, but there are so many more benefits, which is the whole reason for this post.  Here are a whole bunch of things I've been making and doing which all came from Pinterest:

Sausage and Lentil Stew:

It was really delicious (Mike said one of his all time favorite crock pot recipes!) but I have no idea where it came from.  I was on pinterest reading crock pot recipes and clicking from one link to the next and all of a sudden I was like "where am I??"  So here's the recipe if you're interested, super easy and tasty:  

1 c washed lentils
2 c Beef broth
1 (12oz) package sausage, sliced
1 c chopped carrots (I used baby carrots)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package (6 oz or so) spinach
Place lentils in crock pot. Add broth and sausage.  Add tomatoes with juice and carrots.
Cover and cook on low 5 hours then stir in spinach.  Cover and let cook 15 more minutes.  Serve with your favorite bread (see below!).  I do remember the recipe says that no other spices or flavors were needed since the flavor of the sausage and the beef broth were enough.  Definitely right, don't think it needed anything else!

Something else I've been wanting to tackle is pretzel rolls.  Mike and I both love pretzel rolls and I found this recipe, of course on Pinterest, and decided to give it a shot.  And since I am lucky enough to own a bread machine, I just let my machine to the whole first part!  But since this was my first time making these, I had to document the process.  So above is step one: making the dough and letting it rise once.

Step two: making the rolls and letting them rise again (Love my new counter tops for this!!)

Step three: boiling them in a special solution (it's in the recipe)

Step four: sprinkling them with salt and baking them up!

They were delicious with that stew!  (A lot of work for 12 rolls, but I never turn down a good bread product, so these will probably be made again, maybe bigger next time for hamburger buns!)

Then I made this dessert recipe.  Anything with Oreo's in it peaks my interest so these were definitely on my to-make list.  They are a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, a layer of oreos (or Joe Joe's!) and then a layer of brownie batter.  

To die for!

Since we would have eaten the whole pan, we took some over to our next door neighbors on this cute paper plate idea I saw here.

And I've been pretty sick of spending five dollars a box for granola bars that are sans-high fructose corn syrup, etc. so I saw this recipe for granola bars and had just about everything to make them already on hand.  They are even better than store bought and next time I make them I'll probably add some nuts as well.

I wrapped them in plastic wrap and they store great in the pantry.  We even got in a little counting practice!

I saw this post on fine motor skill development so on a trip to Michael's we picked up a two dollar bag of pom poms and Wes went to town.  This game wasn't difficult for Wes at all, but he loves playing with the tongs and now asks for them anytime we pick up toys. (Not much in this post for Cora, but she had fun watching the pom pom action.)

And this idea I kind of stole from my friend Nadine after being at her house over the holidays.  So I searched Pinterest for ways to save my Christmas cards (which I have been saving since 2007 in hopes of one day doing something with them) and found this template!  

Check out Pinterest if you're not already on it, so much fun stuff!

Monster Jam!

On Saturday January 28th, Mike took Wes to his first Monster Jam at Angel Stadium!  It was a boys and daddy's night out because they went with Uncle Kevin and Cody, Jason and Slayder and one of Cody's friend and his daddy.  They went out to dinner beforehand and then headed to the stadium for some LOUD fun!

Ear plugs were definitely necessary for the kids and these ones Mike had in his work bench at home were perfect for Wes.  Mike said he kept them in the whole time. 

Cody's cousin Tyler and his dad Ryan were supposed to come too, but Tyler got sick so Cody's Grampy and Poppy came along.  Mike said Cody wanted to sit with his Grandpas and Wes wanted to sit with Uncle Kevin. 

Here's the treat Wes picked-Cracker Jacks.  (I know it's just Cracker Jack, but I think saying it without the "s" sounds funny)

I thought this shirt was appropriate to wear for the evening.  Thanks for the hand-me-down Auntie Chrissy!

I can't believe my little guy is old enough for monster jam!  But the boys had a great time (and mommy had a nice evening alone with Cora!)

A Month of Proverbs

At our church, Calvary Chapel Pacific Hills, Pastor Dave is going through the whole Bible in one year.  Which is really super fast considering his last trip through the Bible took about nine years.  But last week he was teaching in Proverbs and since I now sit in the nursing mother's room with Cora and four or five other moms and little ones I don't hear the message all the way through anymore.  But I did hear Dave say he likes to read one chapter of Proverbs a day for the whole month since there are 31 chapters.  He also encouraged us to do the same, so I figured I'd go for it.  And since I picked February to start, I'll be a little short of days (but it is leap year, so that helps).  Anyway, I'm going to blog about my favorite verses from the chapter I read just to keep myself accountable.  I'm really praying I don't miss a day...last night I was even in bed at 10pm, but forgot to read chapter three so I got up and sat on the landing to read and was of course blessed (despite my droopy eyes!).  Like always, my blog posts are late, but I'm reading on time :)

Proverbs Chapter 1: The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:

v3) For acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair 4)for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young-
What a task at hand! "Knowledge and discretion to the young"- an important reminder of my duty as a mother


v8) Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
What a blessing to be raised with Godly instruction and teaching.  I pray I do as a good a job as my parents did.


v23) If you had responded to my (wisdom's) rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.
Followed by all sorts of bad things that can happen if you ignore wisdom -calamity, disaster, distress and trouble.  No thank you. 


I will attempt to get caught up, but right now, I need to hide my proverbs notebook, or Wes will not be happy.  Is taking your child's Buzz Lightyear notebook without asking him wise??  Maybe I need these proverbs more than I know!

Wesley Says

Wesley is constantly says things that crack me up but the other day I was thinking about the things he says that are a glimpse into his little personality.  Despite all my ranting recently about his attitude and all around two-ness (yes, that's a word in mom world) he is such a sweet boy and very loving,  And sometimes I'm just too caught up in attempting to survive the situation (grocery store trip, birthday party, park play date) to stop and really think about what he is saying.  Here's my example:
Michael has recently started taking Wes to "The Fruit Store" (a Grower's Direct that is down the street from us) and buying lots of yummy fruits to satisfy my child's insatiable appetite for berries, melons, and stone fruit.  (By the way, I love how much he loves fruit, I just don't love the fact that we've tipped the balance of his digestion and are paying the price of a diet high in fiber).  Anyway, the store is pretty small and crammed with precariously perched fruit.  It's also ALWAYS packed with people.  So the other day after getting Wes a haircut, we headed over to "The Fruit Store" to restock our fridge.  And Wes was like a kid in a candy store but I saw a bull in a china shop.  Plus I was pushing Cora in a stroller and carrying a basket on top of trying to corral Wes.  He was nabbing baskets of berries, trying to grab apples from the bottom of the stack and pick up 10 pound watermelons the whole while saying:  " I want to get his for Daddy" and "Grandma Susie needs these cherries."  There were plenty of "I want these for me" in there, especially for the basket of currants (??), but it made me think how often he wants to save or give things to others.  He is always saving bites of his meals for Daddy when he is at work (he doesn't quite understand what happens to leftover food after 48 hours) or giving his favorite toys to Cora.  And he is constantly asking us "Are you happy Mom?" or "Are you happy Dad?"  I think my little guy definitely has a heart for others and I am praying that the Lord with help me teach him how to grow that wonderful personality trait.  I'm also praying He helps me slow down, listen and appreciate that little voice more.

Christmas Card/Announcement 2011

This post is more for posterity and equality since some day my children will be forced to may want to read all my hard work of documenting their childhood.  I did this post with Wesley's announcement so I wanted to include Cora's.  And since I did double duty with a combo Christmas Card/Announcement I'm also doing double duty with this post.  I'm afraid to say it out loud, but I might be getting caught up!

Two Months and Disneyland

On January 24th we all headed to Disneyland with Auntie Chrissy, Uncle Kevin, Cody and Eva to spend the day at the Mouse House and celebrate Cora's 2nd month birthday.  This was Cora's first trip to Disneyland and since we all have annual passes, I'm sure she'll be a Disney regular :)

Waiting for the tram.

 A lady in line next to us touched my shoulder and told me I was very brave.  To which I replied, "I might just make the loop in the tram and call it a day."  But we actually stayed the whole day, from about 10:30 to 4:00.

Wes loves maps!  I have to say he gets it from me and my days as a Geography major.  He's quite the navigator since he comes to Disneyland with Grammy and Auntie MoMo often too.

We headed to Fantasyland and the boys went on the Teacups while the girls waited in line for the Storybook Canal ride.  Mike and Wes heading into Monstro's mouth.

After that, we went to Autopia.  It's pretty tough to get a good picture of a two and a half year old driving a car, but Daddy tried his best!

Here's a video of the driving fun!

The nice worker at the entrance gave Chrissy and I "swap passes" so we could ride with the boys too.  We handed off the girls and went straight to the front of the line.  Pretty cool!

Next up was the Submarines.  This was Wes' first time on them and my and Michael's first time since they've been revamped with a Nemo theme.  Cora looks a little unsure about our sea voyage, and unfortunately she was a little fussy so I didn't get to see much out of my porthole, but everyone said it was pretty cool.  (I'm a hard sell though, since I'm so nostalgic and want everything to remain the way it was when I was a kid, but you probably aren't surprised by that at all!)

Everyone was hungry for lunch, so we walked over to Pizza Port for some pretty good pizza and a salad.  (The food we've chosen at Disneyland has been really tasty recently)

Cora got to ride in the big girl stroller for the first time.  Check out those fingers, I'm telling you, I'm cursed!

She loved the stroller!

Since today was Cora's two month birthday, we brought along her sticker.

My little princess!

After lunch the Rausch's headed home and we hit a few more rides...

...the Jungle Cruise...

...and Astro Blasters.  

Then we took the Monorail to Downtown Disney and picked up a bag of the world's best kettle corn (it's cooked in coconut oil) and then called it a day.  (We put a batch of chili in the crockpot before we left, and it was so wonderful to come home to a finished meal!  Love it when we plan ahead!)  I do have to say, we are pretty lucky to live right down the street from Disneyland!