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I thought I’d give you my spin on pumpkin pie oatmeal. I am a huge fan of pumpkin and autumn in general. (Butternut squash, too. Amazing!) I made up this recipe, but I’m sure there are hundreds just like it if you google it. I’m not claiming this as an original idea or anything…
-Boil four cups of water in a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of old-fashioned oats and 3/4 tsp. of salt, reduce heat to medium, and cook for five minutes.
I think this would be a lot better if you used 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk when cooking the oats. I didn’t because Walter can’t have dairy products, so I can’t say for sure.
-Stir in two beaten eggs while still on the stove. (Pour them in really slowly and beat quickly with a whisk the whole time so they don’t curdle.) Let cook for 2 minutes to make sure the eggs get cooked completely, then add:
1 can of pumpkin puree
2/3 cup of brown sugar
and cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove to taste. (Or use pumpkin pie spice)
Cook and stir about 1 minute or until smooth and creamy and hot.
Serve with a little milk or cream on top.
(I bet it would be even better with toasted pecans. I can already tell I’m going to be making this again…)
My camera was very opposed to this exact color of red. I had to mess around with the saturation a little; hopefully it looks close to right. Anyway… Yay! I have finally seen for myself what this Wollmeise craze is all about. I have to say, I don’t really understand it. It’s nice yarn, but I definitely still like Cherry Tree Hill Supersock the best. It’s been my favorite sock yarn for a very long time.
There is also a new nightgown for Edda. I used this pattern, but left out the sleeve elastic. The fabric was some kind of stretch knit material that I found in my mom’s fabric bin. She’s wearing a 5T in this dress now! That’s the largest size. She has had so many of these dresses in the last 3 and a half years… It’s sad that we’ll have to move on to a more “big girl” style.
*sniff*
She had to take a milk break halfway through our photo shoot.
Maybe a new purse is in order. You know, now that she’s a big girl and all.
I’ve also been working on a new winter sweater for Walter. It’s almost done!
(Edited to add: I found out that there are more sizes for the “sweet little dress” patttern now! That makes things a little emotionally easier for me.)
Plum chopping, kitchen play, cake with peaches and blueberries, canning (and canning and canning), naps on the sofa, knitting, baking, knitting, puddle stomping.
I hope you have enjoyed your summer as much as I have enjoyed mine. I am usually a summer-hater, but I’ve found that having kids has changed my perspective quite a bit.
(I’m back thanks to my computer-genius husband. What a nice guy.)
I’m not so upset about spring this year. Usually, I dread spring because my body goes nuts in the presence of pollen. But I am so very tired of being cooped up inside with these stir-crazy kids… so… YAY (maybe?) for spring.
The Rae Scarf is still in progress. Except it’s not progressing currently because Edda accidentally broke one of the needles in half. Guess it’s time for a Knit Picks order! Haha. Here are some random photos:
I made a spring wreath that will die tomorrow. But it’s pretty today!
Lunch of peanut butter and pretzel sticks? Go for it.
My sweet, snuggly boy. He’s a big fan of homemade bread.
Now feel like I should go straighten the pictures on my wall…
Meet Mr. Dog and Mrs. Rabbit. I made them using instructions from Miyako Kanamori’s book Sock and Glove.
Edda LOVES these two. Technically, the dog is Walter’s and the Rabbit is Edda’s. But Edda has pretty much taken over ownership of both.
I made a little, toy Santa Claus for Edda. Actually, it’s for Christmas decorating but Edda doesn’t really understand that… So it is now Edda’s Santa. At least, until she forgets about it and I pack it into the Christmas decoration box while she’s not looking.
The pattern is from Itty Bitty Toys by Susan B. Anderson. I seem to be knitting a lot of things by her. I really do like her designs!
He’s a cutie. He was kind of tedious to make because of all the little details (beard embroidery?!), but I feel like without all the detail stuff he wouldn’t look so nice and “finished.” I wish there had been more picture of him to help with the sewing together, so I took a few for the benefit of others.
An up-close of the beard/face:
(Oops, I accidentally left off his mustache!)
His back:
His side and arm-join:
I’ve been working on this sweater for an embarrassingly long time. I seem to be experiencing a knitting lull right now. (sad… I know. I think it’s the heat.) In spite of how slowly it’s growing, I like this sweater a lot! The yarn is Knit Picks Swish Tonal in Queen Anne. The pattern is Tiny Tea Leaves from madelinetosh.
I knit a few more inches on the sleeve after taking the picture. Now I’m really almost done. I might just finish tonight.
I made a “horsie barn” for Edda out of another old diaper box. It was a huge hit, much like the diaper box dollhouse was in its day. (It’s getting a bit ragged these days.) I noticed that a lot of people have been arriving at my blog by using search terms like “what to do with an empty diaper box,” so I thought I would oblige them with another project.
It’s not very polished or fancy. Mostly because you have to hurry when you have a two-year-old helper that wants to play with her new horse barn ASAP. But you get the general idea.
Materials: diaper box, scissors, glue, tape, construction paper, black sharpie, yarn or string, darning needle (or any needle with a big, fat eye.)
Cut off the flaps.
Tape the short flaps in as seen in the photo and glue along the seams. (I put them against the edges of the box’s bottom flaps– now the back of the barn– to give a sort of ledge to help them stand up.) Stalls are created!
Poke some holes in the side of the barn and the short edge of one long flap as seen in the picture. Make sure they line up.
Use the darning needle to make some yarn or string “hinges.”
et voila.
Glue/tape on some construction paper “siding” and add details in sharpie marker.
Let the glue dry (or not) and start filling your barn up with horsies and all their friends.
The diaper box dollhouse was brought in as a second story of the barn.
And much playing ensued.
Happy times.
Chocolate-swirled espresso custard pudding pops, to be exact.
We made them.
Here’s how you can, too.
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gather the things:
about 2/3 cup of melted milk chocolate
1 package of jello custard pudding, prepared (I added the extra egg that was optional according to the box.)
1/2 teaspoon of espresso powder (not expresso….hahaha)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
If you haven’t already, go ahead and make the pudding. Silly face optional but recommended.
You’ll add the vanilla and espresso powder after the pudding is cooked.
Let the pudding cool for about 15-20 minutes, then fill your molds almost all the way. Drop a spoonful of chocolate on top and swirl it around with a skewer, drinking straw or fondue fork. Or anything else that’s long and skinny that you think will do the job.
Freeze for at least four hours before trying to remove them from the molds. It usually helps if you run the mold under warm water for a bit before trying to get the pops out.
Enjoy!!
A nice thing about making popsicles out of pudding or custard is that they don’t melt and run everywhere nearly as much as the juice-based popsicles. These attributes, I find, are most desirable when you know that a crazy two-year-old will be eating the popsicles, too.
Edda and I had fun making a dollhouse out of an empty diaper box yesterday. She always takes various boxes and containers and pretends they are dollhouses, so I thought it would be fun to actually make one. We weren’t very careful with the detail, obviously. One can’t be, you know, with an incredibly excited two year old urging you to HURRY.
Other than the box itself, I just used construction paper, tape and a sharpie marker. Oh, and an x-acto knife. (The knife was for mamas only, of course.) Edda actually did help quite a bit. She is surprisingly awesome at taping things.
The ladder and the bed were extremely important to Edda. The peaked roof was also a must. A house just isn’t a house without one.
She also requested that I put pictures of a baby and a dog on the wall.
Oh, and the three wise men seem to like their roof top lounge very much.
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