Jeremiah's Frog Baby Shower

With so many baby boys being born at church, we celebrated with another baby shower! Jeremiah was born March 23. His baby shower theme was frogs!

I decorated in green, with some blue. I found some awesome chevron fabric for cheap at Walmart for the backdrop and plan on using them again as curtains for Ben's room when we get a house. 

The reeds were dry decorating flowers and grass. 

I used scrapbook paper to make Jeremiah's name and taped it to a frame with ribbons. 

The decor hanging off the table was the clear plastic toys kids can paint. Those were also a gift for Jeremiah's older brother and sister. 

It's kinda hard to see the ceiling but I hubg two stuffed animal frogs upside down and looped green crepe paper behind them to look like they were hopping. The table decor was a big hit with the kids and men! Some even had frog races. I bought green kool aid mix to look like pond water but the taste was awful! It tasted like liquid jolly ranchers...way too sweet! 

I love having potlucks because there are so many different types of food and I can focus on dessert. (I don't like cooking...but I love baking sweets!) 

Since Jeremiah is the fourth child, his mom said all she needed were diapers. We had a diaper raffle and prizes! 

For the kids, I bought bubbles and set up a game where they threw "flies" at the frogs. If a raisin landed on a frog, they got to eat it! Both activities kept the kids entertained, but there were raisins and bubble juice 😋 everywhere! 

Lastly are the desserts! The cupcakes are chocolate with mint buttercream frosting and chocolate flies. I don't like mint but these cupcakes turned out delicious! Sadly the Swedish fish in the green jello list all it's color but the kids still ate them! My favorite part was the cake!!

I knew I wanted to make a small cake baby Jeremiah's family could take home but I didn't have the right cake pan. But guess what works? A glass Pyrex dish! 

The cake is chocolate with lemonade buttercream tinted with blue food coloring. The grass, flowers, and lily pad are chocolate. The hardest part was making the baby frog. I used Wilton's 3D Edible Modeling Clay. It starts off really really hard but I had to knead it for half an hour to get it to mold right. After added green food coloring, I molded the body, arms, legs and head separately and then stuck them on by moistening the ends with little bit of water. 

🎂 I would like to end this post with a delicious cake announcement! Since I love baking...and decorating...I am considering starting a hobby business making baked goods. I don't know if this is just a phase that will fade out or if it is something I would enjoy doing as a real business. So, for friends on the Kenai Peninsula, just let me know if you would like me to make a cake or cupcakes for any event you have! Please let me know at least a week before you need it and what flavor & filling you would like. The only cost will be for the supplies. (We'll see who actually reads my blog, lol!) 🍰

Adriana's Wedding Quilt!

Woah!! It's been a long time since I posted! I've been super busy but I can finally present:

Adriana's Wedding Quilt!!

This is the big surprise I've been working on since February and it's finally done (Hallelujah chorus)!! When I saw the final product, I really debated giving it as a gift or keeping it for myself, lol! 

But...I did the right thing and gave it to her. She loves it! Everything about it is her style: colors, pattern, fabric, binding, top stitching...everything says Adriana!! I hope Raul likes it too. 😋

This chevron pattern is simple (if you follow quilting rules). After buying (and washing) 1/2 a yard of each color for my chevron and 1 yard of the cream (I had to go back and buy more for the border later), I cut 7 3/4" squares. Using a handy dandy ruler thing that showed me the exact middle, I sewed the cream face down with a color piece 1/4" from the center line, in both sides of the line. (When you cut right down the line, you should have a new square piece made of two right triangles: a cream and color piece.) Then I squared them to 7 1/2" pieces. 

I pressed (not ironed!) the seams and tested out several different patterns. I was torn between Herringbone and Chevron. (Raul told me that Adriana would like the chevron, so that's what I did!)

I really liked how it turned out and would like to make one for me in the future. But for now, I am taking a break from quilting for awhile. I need to focus on completing a classroom update at church, summer fun and keeping up with my blog posts! 

 

Blog posts to look forward to:

-3 baby showers: pink, hunting and frog themes!

-delicious cake recipe I'm going to try this week!
-classroom update

-traveling with a toddler

 

Have a great week and enjoy your summer! 

To my California friends: stay cool in that awful heat!

To my Alaska friends: watch out for the mosquitoes!

Deep Dish Pizza & Nutella Bread

I wrote this whole blog post...but forgot to save it! Ahh!! So now I have to rewrite it. This is an example of my thinking the past two weeks! I have been busy with several things that I will post later, including painting a classroom at church and a super secret surprise I'm working on! 

With everything I've been doing, making fancy homemade meals was not my top priority so we ate a lot of leftovers and random stuff. I felt like a terrible wife, since I've been focused mostly on Ben while he was sick. So I took a day to stay home, relax and make one of Jon's favorite dinners: deep dish pizza! The dough recipe I found on Pinterest actually makes enough for two regular pizzas, but instead of doing that, I made Nutella bread for dessert! They were both delicious and I had a happy husband! 

Here's the dough recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction blog:(http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/11/20/homemade-pizza-crust-recipe/) She goes into more detail with each step. 

~Dough Recipe~

Ingredients:

-2 and 1/4 ts Red Star Platinum yeast (1 packet)

-1 and 1/3 Cups warm water

-3 and 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour (+more as needed)

-2 Tablespoons Olive oil (+more for brushing crust) 

-3/4 teaspoon salt

-1 Tablespoon sugar

-Cornmeal, for dusting 

1. Sprinkle yeast on warm water in a small bowl and mix a little bit. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. 

2. In a separate large bowl mix flour, salt and sugar. Add olive oil and water/yeast mixture and mix with a dough goon on low. When everything is mixed together, knead on medium low for 5-8 minutes. (A stand mixer is awesome for this but you can also do it by hand.) 

3. Roll dough into a ball and place in a bowl that has been brushed inside with Olive oil. Make sure both sides of dough have olive oil in it. 

4. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 2 hours at room temperature. 

5. When done rising, knead again and separate into two equal pieces. 

~Deep Dish Pizza~

1. Spray baking dish, a 9" round or 6x8" rectangle with 2-3" of depth is perfect, and sprinkle some cornmeal. 

2. Roll out dough and place inside. Press it in, including the edges, until it fits the way you want. (We like ours deeper so we can pack as much cheese as possible!)

3. Pack the inside with Mozarella cheese and press it down. 

4. Spoon a layer of pizza or pasta sauce over the cheese and add your toppings. (We're simple, we just like pepperoni, olives and, of course, a little more cheese.)

5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350'. 

~Nutella Bread~

1. Roll out dough into a big rectangle until it's 1/3-1/2" thick. 

2. Spread on the Nutella! 

3. Roll into a cylinder. 

4. Cut lengthwise, top to bottom. 

5. Twist the two pieces together with the Nutella on top. (Lick any Nutella off your fingers and wash your hands, lol!) 

6. Bake for 30 minutes at 350'. (Best served warm or that day.) 

Have a great dinner! 

Adriana's Bridal Shower

I am SO excited and happy for my older sister Adriana! She is getting married in May to Raul!

Adriana & Raul

As one of her bridesmaids (and favorite sister), I organized her bridal shower! We had several plot twists starting from the beginning of planning, which I started in November, til the end, when everyone was cleaning up. But it turned out great and it was a beautiful day! Most importantly, Adriana absolutely enjoyed it! 

(With the bride-to-be Adriana, sister Christine and best friend Elizabeth)

Since this was a rather significant party with an extensive guest list (we do BIG parties because we have A LOT of relatives + church family), Christine and Claudia, our cousin, worked together with me. The mothers made the meal and guests brought side dishes and desserts. My cousin Jessica made a beautiful cake! 

(Tables, centerpieces and place settings with party favors: blue & pink swirl lollipops with "I Do" tag) 

Claudia was in charge of the centerpieces for the tables. She painted mason jars gold, and some with pink, and made flowers out of coffee filters. She dyed the coffee filters in water with food coloring, let them air dry til damp, then finished drying them in the dryer. The mason jars were hot glued to small candlestick holders (also painted gold) for added height. 
Also on the tables there were hymnals tied with lace, a last minute addition by Claudia. I added tea lights and small wooden embellishments. 

(Hymnals with lace, birdcage, hanging decor, coffe filter flowers & gold mason jars with accents)

The two tables nearest the bride-to-be's table were decorated with birdcages instead of mason jars. (Adriana really likes the bird/garden theme!) 

Each table was set with a blue dinner plate, a flowered dessert plate, a game card, ring necklace (for a game), silverware, cup and a lollipop/candy stick favor. I had the most amazing crew help me set the tables: Joy, Eva, Elijah, and JJ (my younger siblings and cousins). 

(Wonderful table of desserts and Jessica's beautiful cake!)

The center table, where Adriana and the mothers sat, also had flowery tags I made for them to wear. They said "Bride", "Mather of the Bride", and "Mother of the Groom". 

(Brides Table with centerpieces and place setting) 

Claudia also provided two gold frames for the background of the guest table, one with ribbons and lace tied to it. 

(Gift & Games table with decor and card luggage box) 

One of the problems for me during the shower was my baby Ben got sick and threw up all over the front of my dress! Luckily it didn't show but I smelled like feta cheese for the rest of the day. 😕 My best friend, Elizabeth, helped clean up after Ben while I took care of him and tried to clean myself off. 

(A few random pics from the day) 

After this drama, I had to lead the games. We played Guess Who: Bride or Groom, bridal shower scattergories, and a ring-necklace game in which you can't say "bride" or "wedding". The Guess Who game was easily the most popular an the scattergories took longer than planned.

(I'll try to figure out how to attach a PDF of the games to this blog post.)

Finally the bride thanked all the guests and opened her gifts. It was a beautiful shower and I am so excited for Adriana! I can't wait to go back to California for the wedding! 

Special Thanks to Christine, Adrian & Rodica, Marioara, Claudia, Jessica, Elizabeth, Emmanuela, Simona, Yasmine, Joy, Eva, Elijah, JJ, and all the other ladies & girls who helped! Also, thanks to Raul for carrying all the heavy boxes!

Ben's Birthday Bash!

My baby is turning 1!!!! It's hard, and crazy, to believe I've been a mom of the most adorable boy for a year!! 

To those who don't know the events surrounding Ben's early birth, this picture pretty much sums it up! 

Back at the end of 2012, when we found out I was expecting Ben, Jon started looking for a job so I could stay home with the baby. He found an associate pastor position in Kenai, Alaska. We went up to visit and candidate at the church during my spring break from school. We flew in Saturday, Jon preached Sunday, my water broke Monday, and Ben was born Tuesday, April 16! (One month before his due date!) Praise God, Ben was healthy and strong! He weighed 4 lbs 8 oz. 

We flew back to Colorado when Ben was 9 days old. 

Two months later, we moved to Alaska. The church we candidated at, Calvary Baptist Church, became family the week Ben was born. So many brothers and sisters in Christ came around us, supporting us. When Ben was born, I had Nothing for him! But everyone provided us with clothes, diapers, blankets, everything we needed for Ben! We were even blessed to have a couple from the church, Nathan & Monica, fly down to CO and drive our Uhaul up. (They are our now some of our best friends, our adopted family!) 

Being the first year of Ben's life, he's already had so many adventures! One month living in CO and meeting all my wonderful students, trips to California to see relatives, and living in Alaska! 

Since we are in California for two weeks, we decided to celebrate Ben's birthday early (cause he likes early!) and because we want to celebrate it with family. I got to throw a Mustache Bash for my Little Man! 

Thank you to Mark & Jera for preparing burgers for lunch! We also had chips & dip, baked beans, and a yummy shrimp/spaghetti salad. 

It was fun eating lunch with family and friends and hanging out. Then we sang Happy Birthday to Ben and gave him his birthday cake! 

He loved stuffing his face with his chocolate Nutella mustache cake! For the frosting, I wanted something that wasn't too sweet, since this would be Ben's first BIG sugar splurge. I mixed cool whip and Nutella and placed blue sprinkles along the side for some color. 

It was so funny when he tried to eat it because he just stuck his face in it and took bites! He got frosting ALL over his face! But he absolutely LOVED it! 

After Ben gobbled down his cake, my mom washed him clean and changed his outfit while I opened up the dessert table. 

I placed pictures of Ben from his first year, one for every month, along the picture frame. It was neat seeing how he's grown! 

For the dessert table, I bought blueberry chocolate covered pretzels and blueberry jelly beans, made sugar cookies with chocolate mustaches, and chocolate Nutella mini cakes. (There's no such thing as too much chocolate!)

And of course, we had chocolate Nutella cupcakes topped with chocolate mustaches. 

After dessert, the kids (and some adults) played Pin the Mustache on Ben! 

The kids loved it so much, they played several times! I think, for some of them, their favorite part was getting spin around! 

Ben had fun with his presents, especially the big yellow ball from the Shippy's that all the kids loved! Ben also received lots of new clothes, superhero plastic people, a rocking horse, toy cars, and lots of other toys! 

Before everyone left, we took some family pictures! I want to print out and frame these pictures as late birthday gifts for My mom, Jon's mom, and Jon's grandma (all March bdays!). 

And, finally, a few pictures from his birthday photo shoot! Happy Birthday Benny boy!!

...and a few cute pictures I just wanted to share, including a family photo! 

Birthday Parties!

It's my mom's and mother-in-law's birthdays this week so we flew down to California to celebrate with them and give them what they really want...snuggle time with Ben! 

Everyone, not just the grandmas, enjoy playing with Benny boy! He is going to be so spoiled by the time we leave! I blame them entirely! Lol! 

For my mom's birthday, we went out to eat at her favorite restaurant, a Thai food place called Siam Garden! It was delicious!!

Then we went back home for dessert!

I made a chocolate cake with strawberry and banana filling. The frosting was mixed cool whip and Nutella! I decorated the top with white melting chocolate. 

The 2nd dessert was my version of Strawberry Shortcake, except I used strawberry cake mix instead of Angel Food cake (which I regret, but I didn't want to go to the store for a box of cake mix so I used what we had at the house. I know, I'm lazy.) I also used some of the extra chocolate hearts leftover from the cake. 

To make the best Strawberry Shortcake:

1. Make Angel Food Cake cupcakes!

2. Chop fresh strawberries and mix with cool whip/whip cream in a bowl. 

3. Layer strawberry/whip cream mixture, cupcake, a swirl of whip cream, and a heart-shaped strawberry in a clear cup. 4. Yummy! 

After dessert, my mom opened her presents and Ben tried to help! 

It was a great evening! Happy Birthday Mom! 

On Saturday we celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday! For lunch we had pizza at my in-laws favorite place, then we went to the beach and had a relaxing time! 

Ben did better than I expected with the sand and loved walking on the beach (as long as the water wasn't higher than his itty-bitty ankles)!

 We collected shells and fed the sea gulls then had a delicious but, oh so unhealthy, fish 'n chips dinner! Before we left, grandpa bought 2 Shark Attack slices. It's a delicious 7-layer chocolate cake. It's one of Jon's and Jera's favorite desserts. (Someday I'll get the recipe right and share it!)

Have a great day!!! And enjoy the sun and outdoors (if you live somewhere that you can)!

Christine's Quilt

I finished my first quilt! 

I made this quilt as a gift for my awesome sister Christine! She picked the colors: orange and blue, and a pattern she liked: chevron. Well, it started out chevron but adventures have a way of finding me and the quilt took on a new design! 

I found the pattern for a chevron quilt online here: http://www.unitednotions.com/fp_bella-solids-zz.pdf. I had started the quilt using the pattern to make my zig-zags horizontal, but then...I lost my printed out copy. Not thinking, I just used the instructions for a vertical quilt. Not The Same!! Good thing was I had almost half and half, so instead of taking out half of my small squares, I went with it! And Christine loves it! 

 After working on it for 5 months (on and off, only at CBC's Ladies Sewing Group), it is finally finished and delivered! (Christine visited me in Alaska and picked it up herself!) 

All of this to say: Never Give Up (Never Surrender!!! My geek side is showing through). Embrace the adventures along the way and enjoy life. Things don't always turn out the way you planned but you'll have a one-of-a-kind quilt!

Here are some more pictures! 

Front and back view. 

Fabric on back. 

Instead of quilting over the top, we tied it with embroidery thread. (Christine actually did this part when she visited me.)

I'm excited to show off the quilt I'm working on now...but that will have to wait because it's a gift. Oh, and it's not done...but it WILL take LESS than 5 months! I'm actually almost halfway done in just 2 weeks! 

Love you, Chrsitine!