My little team of artists

Few things in life make me happier than seeing my family get creative. Over the last few weeks, little D's creative juices have flowed over into coloring books in addition to drawing things in sketchbooks. My favorite thing is that it keeps him happier than when he draws things because he is less likely to "mess up" and seems to find something very therapeutic in the process of coloring.

 His latest trend is putting in as many colors into each character, making them little rainbows at times, which is so lovely. Also, this is coming from a boy who hated coloring with a passion for years! Right up until the last month he would never do it voluntarily, and the few times we have colored together over the years I end up with scribbles on my furniture... Oh how much has changed!!! I do love that I can do this (as opposed to Legos) with him during our pre-nap portion of quiet time.

We went to a book signing for an illustrator friend who goes to our church and we learned to draw hippos and giraffes, neither of which I would have ever tried on my own! (Elmo, on the other hand, little a makes sure I get plenty of practice drawing him!)

The best view ever?

The coloring book that has gotten the most use is the ninja turtle one Anna got little d a few months back (with 1000 stickers!) and he loves tearing out the pages when he is done and gifting them to a family member. Kevin loved his pic obviously.

Getting creative in the kitchen after the littles finally went to bed... Basically Buckeyes sandwiched in pretzels. My new favorite pb-chocolate dish.

Since everyone else was getting creative I finally did my jamberrys for the second time since I got them. It's been too long since I last did them but It took me about 45 minutes...compared to the literally 4 minutes I can do to paint my toenails and fingernails. I have been painting my own nails since I was 7, and it is something I enjoy doing but to do little details that look so cute like this? I have to remember at least once a month to give myself this luxury "manicure". :)

Also seeing my kids reactions to my jamberrys is pretty priceless. They are both jamberry obsessed!

Pinterest wins Christmas edition

This As someone who frequently makes a lot of what she pins, I don't often blog about it because most of it is food, or I just forget. Since I was gifting a lot of things I made (some I have pinned over two years ago!), I made a point to take pictures. And no, I don't really make it a point to document pinterest fails but rest assured that when they fail they fail pretty hard.

This first was is Anna's so I didn't actually make it but it had to be documented. Hot cocoa and chocolate ganache in a cookie "mug" with frosting glued pretzel and baby marshmallows. I can't tell you how many times I have bombed the making of a cookie as a container.

This dinosaur serving platter for Anna was deceptively easy looking. I had to saw in half a dinosaur, spray paint it and then perfectly balance it while the glue dried. Took approximately 45 attempts, and lesson learned to use superglue the first time, and hold it together till it dries. Turned out pretty awesome though.

This was one of those "mine will never look so good but at least it worked and smelled amazing" moments. Drews cousin posted this so here was her lovely potpourri:

And mine:

I made hot glue (no sew) bow ties for th grandkids and animals on the Dowling side. Adorable but I think I'll stick to sewing for better quality.

Last minute idea I got from baby making mama... But I made my handprint snowmen into turtles for his teacher obviously.

Then they were filled with hot cocoa, sprinkles and mini marshmallows. Lesson learned: buy a funnel, don't buy the cocoa with marshmallows already in them because it only makes it more difficult.

These pillows I saw on Mindy (from the mindy project, obviously) Instagram like a year ago...well, just the one with the gym.

Made everything about these pillows from scratch. Including hand stitching the  letters. My crowning pinsta-glory right there.

My first attempt at homemade lanyards with bottle cap keychains. Each Dowling brother got one with pics of the kids silly faces.

Door snowman. Classic.

So that was my first real creative binge since these lovelies at the start of my pregnancy... Hopefully now I can fuel this creativity into the nursery and also some real (not ramen or hot dog) meal planning in the future....

Who needs to buy a 90$ comic canvas when you have an artist mama?

Two bachelors, two biggest losers, and one Nashville later and it is finished! Hope  my little superhero likes it :)

So.... This is happening.

One of my favorite past times I have not indulged in in way too long, probably since I left Utah in 2011... Half watching a show (the bachelor, what else?) while painting. The First of what I have planned as many paintings for our new home. 

One of the finishing touches in the Playroom, commissioned by little d himself. Now where to hide it while it's drying....

Copycat

It may not be perfect...But it is a Ruth Dowling original!

meatless monday: black bean and butternut squash burritos/salad topper

Unrelated picture:

I bought a butternut squash last week with the intent of recreating the delicious seasonal soup panera has going on right now (autumn butternut squash soup?) but looking up recipes I found something from this random blog that sidetracked me...and may just be the best thing I've ever made. We put ours in tortillas with guacamole, sour cream and salsa and its supposed to be vegan so that daiya cheese we subbed with good old regular cheese. The best part about this recipe is there are so many things you can sub in for most main ingredients... I am making it again for the second time this week, but replacing the black beans with great northern and red pepper with an orange one (i know, all kinds of craziness but you work with what you have, right?). Both husband and child liked it (even with all the veggies!!) burrito style, and I like mine on a salad.

Black Bean and Butternut Squash Burritos

The best burritos I’ve ever made. Also, the only burritos I’ve ever made. But quite possibly the best I’ve tasted! These burritos have a kick of heat to them (that you can control yourself) and a light sweetness thanks to the butternut squash. The filling is so good I found myself eating it on its own. Use it to sprinkle on salads or as a dip for crackers in addition to making burritos. You could also try using sweet potato or pumpkin as a way to change up the butternut filling.

Yield: 4 burritos or 3.5 cups of filling

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cubed, & roasted
• 1/2 cup uncooked short grain brown rice (yields: 1.5 cups cooked)
• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 tsp ground cumin, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, or to taste
• One 15-oz can black beans (about 1.5-2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup Daiya cheese
• 4 tortilla wraps (large or x-large)
• Toppings of choice: (avocado, salsa, vegan sour cream, spinach/lettuce, cilantro, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 425F and line a large glass dish with tinfoil. Drizzle olive oil on squash and give a shake of salt and pepper. Coat with hands. Roast chopped butternut squash for 45 mins. or until tender.

2. Cook brown rice (for directions, see here)

3. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add oil, onion, and minced garlic. Sautee for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Now add in salt and seasonings and stir well.

4.  Add chopped red pepper, black beans, and cooked rice and sauté for another 10 mins. on low.

5. When b’nut squash is tender remove from oven and cool slightly. Add 1.5 cups of the cooked butternut squash to the skillet and stir well. You can mash the squash with a fork if some pieces are too large. Add Daiya cheese and heat another couple minutes.

6. Add bean filling to tortilla along with desired toppings. Wrap and serve. Leftover filling can be reheated the next day for lunch in a wrap or as a salad topper.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/10/24/black-bean-and-butternut-squash-burritos/#ixzz2hLv9Wzij

Good housekeeping peanut butter cup cheesecake

Hands down this is the best cake I have made in my entire life. Like it didn't even last 48 hours at our house. And I've made a lot of cakes. Little A was pretty devastated she could not eat some so she drank herself into an oblivion. Special thanks to my mom for passing along the recipe to me from Good Housekeeping!

Crust
6 tablespoon(s) butter, melted, plus more for pan
1.50 cup(s) graham cracker crumbs
0.25 cup(s) finely crushed chocolate sandwich-cookie crumbs
0.25 cup(s) sugar
0.75 cup(s) creamy peanut butter
Cheesecake
3 package(s) (8 ounces each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup(s) sugar
1 cup(s) sour cream
1.50 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
3 (large) eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup(s) hot fudge ice cream topping
Peanut butter cups, cut into halves, for garnish

Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush 9-inch springform pan with melted butter. In large bowl, mix all crumbs, sugar, and 6 tablespoons butter. Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake 10 minutes or until crust has set. Cool completely on wire rack. In small bowl, microwave peanut butter on high 30 seconds or until melted. Brush onto bottom crust.
Cheesecake: In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Beat in eggs until just combined. Remove 1 cup batter; set aside. Pour remaining batter into prepared crust.
In small bowl, microwave 1/4 cup hot fudge topping on high 30 seconds or until pourable; fold into reserved 1 cup batter. Carefully pour chocolate filling over batter in pan; swirl with knife.
Place springform pan, inside roasting pan, on rack in oven; carefully fill roasting pan with boiling water to come halfway up side of springform pan. Bake until set around edges but slightly wobbly in center, about 55 minutes. Turn oven off. Remove pan from water bath. Return cake to oven and let cool inside, with door propped open slightly, 2 hours. Transfer pan to wire rack.
In small bowl, microwave remaining 3/4 cup hot fudge topping on high 30 seconds or until pourable. Spread over top of cake with offset (angled) spatula; let cool. Garnish with peanut butter cups. Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or until well-chilled, up to 3 days. To serve, remove side of pan.

Cookie ice cream bowls and yummy necklaces

The cookie bowls were a Pinterest find which we decided last minute to experiment with on the missionaries. It probably takes a little practice to look nice but all i did was turn a muffin tin upside down, wrap each tin in foil and then smash a store bought cookie dough ball on top, baking like usual. looked a little funky but with the ice cream It was a hit! The necklace was my moms idea... I guess all the toddlers in her ward have Cheerios and fruit loops strung on yarn or twine around their necks, and it has turned out to be pretty awesome not just for church but also waiting at the car dealership.

Also awesome? We saw a man in a turban in the waiting room and little d loudly an excitedly exclaims, "look mom a REAL pirate! See his pirate hat?" I nearly spit out my cocoa I was laughing so hard.

Playing with fabrics and celebrating St. Patricks Day

Over the last week, some projects I've been working on lately: a baby blanket for baby girl (not shown but it looks just like the car seat canopy I made last week), sewing a baseball patch to cover the well-worn hole on little d's "sliding pants"

More felt flowers for bows for baby girl

Practicing making "easy" skirts

Sewing coordinating PJ pants and skirt for my kiddos... who will be ready for the playoffs come June!

Making my first (no-sew) tulle tutu skirt and washing all the bottles I haven't looked at in almost two years.

And for St. Patrick's day, we did a color/rainbow project a few weeks ago with Fruit Loopies, marshmellows and coins (that has finally taken the place of that Grinch I actually convinced him to take down).

We made Lucky Charms treats for the YW (and may have snuck a few ourselves)

And for dinner we had "Green eggs and ham" (or bacon since I don't like ham) with Green Smoothie

Green eggs and smoothie were both made that color by my favorite most versatile veggie/food dye...spinach! Eggs were scrambled/cooked until 1/2 way done then added a few handfuls of the food-processed spinach (I buy bags of prewashed fresh spinach then freeze them), and our green smoothie was a cup of water, three heaping handfuls of spinach (one for each family member), two bananas (one fresh, one frozen), a few handfuls of frozen mixed fruit, a handful of fresh pineapple, and a few spoonfuls of strawberry chobani. I don't usually add the second banana or the pineapple but I knew Mr. D doesn't really like my spinach smoothies so I wanted to be sure I would drown out any possibility of there being a spinachy taste. I think it worked.

Baby projects and such

Finished the newborn onesies, redid the backing of the frames with the same fabric from the car seat canopy, and made a wreath for the Littles room (A's side of course) as well as a spring themes one for the front of the house.

I also may have had like my first dream last night in months about baby a... Her delivery was so fast I didn't even remember it and she had dark hair in pigtails like auntie bananas ;) probably because little d keeps telling me she will have brown hair like me and brown eyes like curious George...

Making my first car seat canopy

Well it wasn't a pretty process and took a lot longer than I thought it would but I finally finished baby girls car seat canopy, with a huge relief that I didn't decide to take apart my entire car seat fabric (voiding the warranty) in order to make little d's car seat a little more feminine.

I didn't use any instructions or tutorials, I just had the canopy Rach made me for little d and basically tried to do a copycat version of hers. Hers was much better and sized a bit more proportionally (mine brushes the ground) but I think I did an okay job for a first timer.

It was pretty basic to make. I found 2 yards each of black minky and this floral yellow/back/grey fabric I am so in love with, and some buttons from a skirt my aunt gave me really added to the little bit of girly flair without going overkill.

The best part is, I have fabric to spare so I plan on making a few more things in the next few weeks. These canopies usually sell around $35-50, but The fabric cost me $15 and it took me about two naptimes (4ish hours) to complete, so i would say it was worth my time to make and not too difficult for a superbeginner seamstress. and yes I did use my seam ripper plenty of times. I know to Measure twice cut once, but I get so excited with my sewing machine that sometimes I forget to check if the fabric is going in the right direction or not.

to do before #2

Also known as "I think I'm going crazy for the next 5.5 weeks", not to be done in any particular order.

I am hoping for a VBAC (as long as A is doing okay and we don't have a repeat of little d's trauma), but planning (just in case) for a c-section and being basically MIA from life for 6 weeks. Okay, so really only 4 (since I was back at work last time around at 4 weeks). My hospital is an hour away from our current home, and my inlaws is the convenient halfway point, so that is where little d will be staying for the 2-5 days I have to stay at the hospital, depending on what happens.

1. Make 20 freezer meals (for crockpot) in ziplock bags
2. Stash of my favorite recipes/meals in an easy to manage organization
3. Pack my hospital bag
4. Pack little d's overnight bag
5. Get a catsitter for KG
6. Come up with a basic grocery list
7. Buy little d more pants
8. Buy a changing table
9. Deep clean my car's interior
10. Deep clean my house
11. Dreft all the 0-6 month clothes and baby blankets
12. Read "Wicked"
13. Finish reading "Articles of Faith"
14. Work on some sewing projects to become better acquainted and more comfortable with my sewing machine
15. Make little d a "Big Brother" kit (gifts from his sister)
16. Buy a Belly Bandit
17. Organize the shoes in our closet
18. Recover the infant car seat
19. Make a stash of elastic band skirts (to match the bazillion onesies I have for her)
20. Deep clean all baby bottles and pump parts.

If I do 4 a week it shouldn't be too bad, right?

Weekend recap

Remaking mr. D's birthday cake (this time with the proper ratio of Reese's to everything else), attending a beautiful baptism, catching up on the Friend and with some friends, and the view from here. I felt super productive Friday since we had a lot going on this weekend and as a result I'm exhausted today.

I'm Counting my blessings it's already naptime. I only have six more weeks to catch up on all the sleep I missed while sick, so I'm on a bit of a tight schedule. Maybe my energy will return when I stop eating coco puffs for lunch?