I Heart Dairy

A couple weekends ago I took a class at our milk farm on how to make your own diary products. The past couple weeks we have had extra milk from friends who were out of town, so I have been skimming and using up our cream like crazy.

We have already used up the first tub of butter and today I made those three little baby jars more. So far, I have been using a quart of cream for each time I make it and that is just enough. The easiest method is to just throw it into a food processor until it magically turns into butter. However, mine is much too small and also does not have an "on" button, but only a "pulse" button. Therefore, I have had to use my blender and have to do it in two steps, with a break in the middle to cool it all down in the fridge. For now it is working fine.

After making butter, there is a good two cups of buttermilk left over that I have used for banana bread and then pancakes this morning. Mmmm. I have two more cups ready for the next baking job.

Yesterday, I made up some yogurt and let it sit overnight with the yogurt cultures as they...cultured? Then today I threw in some strawberries so we have yummy strawberry yogurt!

And last, I made a big tub of sour cream that Andy used today on his burritos for lunch. I was hoping it would thicken a little more, but I think our kitchen is too cold for it to set up properly. It is pretty close, but next time I think I will leave it out in a warmer room.

Tomorrow, the plan is to make cream cheese and some peppermint ice cream. I wish I could make block cheeses, but I don't have all the equipment necessary to really do that well. For now, I will content myself with all the goodies that I can make and enjoy the fabulous milk we have been drinking!

Apparently, I have been feeling super domestic-y lately. Maybe it's the nesting phase, huh? I can't decorate or organize the nursery yet so I'm taking my time in the kitchen instead!

Attic Part 2

It's kind of long and not really all that exciting, but this is a little video of the attic with its new walls!

Attic Part 1 from Ada Bible Discovery Village on Vimeo.

The Magnificent Mudder will start on Monday. Along with many days of dusting. I think I am going to have to hire a cleaner when he's all done...

Day 1

Some before and afters from the first day of drywall.

Here is the main area coming up the stairs.

Walls in the same direction.

Looking at the dormer and my dressing area.

You can't see the dressing area here, just the dormer. This will be the sitting area and have a window seat as well.

This is looking into the bedroom area. Note the fab new skylights as well.

Walls! Real walls! They should be done hanging by tomorrow. Then Andy gets to take the scraps and put them up in one of the extra closets that we weren't going to drywall, but then decided we would. The joy of many closets!

The mudder comes next Monday and hopefully painting will begin the following week.

It's Almost Time

Tomorrow morning the dry-wallers are coming. Few things have had me more excited lately.

So, here it is tonight.

The drywall is stacked, the walls are leveled, floors have been swept, the electrical is finished and the insulation is all hung.

The room is about to take shape.

While the hubby was finishing up all the last minute details so it is ready for the guys tomorrow, I was busy making banana bread with homemade buttermilk and carrot/cranberry cookies with homemade butter and sweetened with honey. So good. And a nice reward for a hardworking hubby.

I have a Two-Year-Old?

Where has the time gone? It's one of those silly old cliches that everyone tells you, but you don't realize until all of a sudden you have a two-year-old. She's past being just a toddler and she's really a little kid.

For her birthday dinner we had a french toast brinner and it was a success for all. Though she only wore the birthday hat long enough for me to take a picture, she was very proud of it being her day. This girl loves to pose for pictures. In fact, she will bring the camera over to me so I can snap a shot and then she can look at it. We might be cultivating a diva here.

She loves to make silly faces and has started laughing at her own "jokes" though we don't get them yet. Randi is still hard to understand though she does seem to be getting a few more words. The kid knows her alphabet but is not articulate in the least. I'm not sure when I should be concerned about her verbal skills. As of yet, I know she's a smart cookie, but it would be nice for us to be able to comprehend what she wants.

She got her first Lego set from a friend this year and it has seriously been her most favorite toy ever. The first night she played for over an hour and a half by herself and then woke up the next morning and played some more. She brings the little people with her in the car and loves it when I "remodel" the house so it is new all the time.

Frankly, her father and I get plenty of fun out of the building and can't wait until she graduates to the big kid legos so we can play too!

We also made the switch into the toddler bed. Randi is so very proud that she can climb into her bed for bedtime and naps and snuggles up right away with her blanket and pillow. I bought a little travel pillow that I made a pink striped cover for so she would have a kid-sized pillow. She often brings it with her when she comes to snuggle in bed with us. The funniest part of our morning is when we hear a knock on her bedroom door. Instead of calling out to us that she is up, she gets out of bed and walks to her door and knocks. Waits. Knocks again until we come get her. Even if all she wants is her paci and to go back to sleep. Cracks me up every time.

Of course, the biggest achievement since reaching age two has been potty training. I took this week off from working (still working at home, of course) and we have spent a lot of time in the bathroom. It's amazing how exciting it is when your child finally gets the hang of the potty. Corny though it may be, I'll admit that I teared up the first time she did it on her own.

I just got a package of cloth pull-ups in the mail today. They look like her big girl panties, but have more absorbency and will hopefully work great for travel and night-time. She stayed dry for her nap yesterday but still wears plastic over her panties just in case.

People, I know I have raved about them before, but Blueberry Diapers comes through for me every time. I got these training pants at a great clearance price and they arrived literally two days later with regular shipping. As usual, I am wondering why they don't make grown up panties this comfy. I mean, really. My tush would love something this soft!

Way Behind

So, Christmas.

This year we thoroughly enjoyed a quiet Christmas. While Andy had 5 services at church for Christmas Eve, we attended one and then spent the rest of the evening with friends. The week had been busy beforehand with regular work to be done and late night rehearsals for the Christmas eve services. Therefore, Friday morning found us all in our jammies and sleeping in late. Randi has discovered the joy of snuggling in Mama & Daddy's bed for a little while when they aren't ready to get up yet.

We made the choice to stay in jammies for the entire day and after breakfast we started in on our stocking gifts. Not knowing what an almost two-year-old would think of opening presents, we found that she had to spend a good amount of time playing with whatever she opened. So we opened a couple little things, watched a Muppet Christmas movie and then opened a couple more. The presents under the tree weren't even touched until after her afternoon nap!

Baby Girl's favorite gift of the day was her new kitty pjs. A friend picked out the cutest pair of "old man" pjs with little pockets. As soon as Randi pulled them out of the box, she held them up to herself and asked that we put them on her. Then she ran to the mirror to check herself out. What a little goof. She also proceeded to spend most of the day playing with the cat toys instead of the new books or any of her little toys. Sigh.

I'm sure next year with a three-year-old and a baby will be plenty more insanity so it was nice this year to have some quiet and enjoy just the three of us.