Tried and True Cafe

My mom and I just started our very own cooking blog today! We are "souper" excited! I will be adding a link to my "side bar" so it'll be just one simple click away! I just made a recipe for a babyshower today that I've added the recipe for. It's absolutely delicious! What are you waiting for?! Go check it out!!!

Oh my!

Here is a picture of me 5 months pregnant. I just read this morning that babies usuallly at this point start growing about 6 ounces per week so I'm expecting my belly to get really big in a very short amount of time!

Jennifer and my mom had a baby shower for me this past weekend and it was a blast! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share. I set my camera down when guests started to arrive and it got left alone on a table until the cleanup afterwards. My mom has a few pictures up on her blog if you'd like to check them out. We got so many cute things for our little one and I'd take some pictures of those for you but I won't allow myself to take anything back out of their bags until I get all the thank yous in the mail. I am a huge procrastinator when it comes to things like those so this is my way of motivating myself to get them done. See why this helps motivate me?

It looks like a disaster in there doesn't it? The room really isn't all that big so having these gifts in there in bags really takes up a lot of space. The delay at this point is because I am making my own cards and it's been a slower process than I thought it would be. I only have 9 done so far and I need about 30 of them! I do have a picture though of the babyshower invitations. Aren't they adorable?!?!

I decided I'd take a picture of at least one of the gifts since it's not in the bag. I set it inside the crib so it'd be safe and because it's so darn cute!

I figure while I am at it I will show you some of the cute shoes we have for our little girl. She is going to be stylin'! Between my mom & I getting her shoes she already has several pairs. Here are a few.

I also wanted to show you a picture of the cloth diapers we are going to use, which, by the way, if you plan to use cloth diapers I highly recommend ordering from Two Little Whales. The owner is awesome!

I decided to go with a one size fits all diaper that I can use from newborn until potty training. I tell you what this thing is super adjustable! I can make the waist on this thing so teeny that you'd almost never guess that a baby could actually fit into it but yet it adjusts so big that it'd fit a giant teddy bear! I can't wait to get to try them out. I'm not really nervous about the whole cloth diaper experience. I've had a lot of people tell me I'm crazy but I think with the new style of cloth diapers this actually won't be so bad. Also, do you realize how much money this is going to save us?! In my opinion, that alone is totally worth it! Not to mention that we are doing our part to help the environment. :)

Too much

It snowed this weekend. Yesterday it didn't stick but something changed and today when we woke up there was snow covering the ground and it hasn't yet gone away. Bummer.

I have so many things requiring my time lately and yet I also have so much to write about. Unfortunately the other things take priority over writing. I wish I could just say the magic words and they would be done for me so I could spend my time doing the things I really want to do. I'm letting you know this because I may not be posting for a while as a result of it but hopefully it really will not be long at all. I also wanted to share the news:

We are having a girl!!!!

We had our ultrasound on Wednesday and it was the most amazing thing! We recorded it onto a VHS tape and I have watched it so many times already. It's so precious, at the very end of the video we caught her sucking her thumb (we all gasped then ahhhed when we saw it)! We got to watch for a little while but then she pulled it out which was really precious to watch too. After seeing the ultrasound though makes me even more anxious for February to arrive when I can actually hold her in my arms!

Apple Walnut Caramel Syrup

I made this recipe for my parents when Brandon was in Iraq and we all loved it but then it got put away and forgotten about until today. It is great over pancakes, which is the only way I have ever eaten it but I'm sure it'd be delicious over ice cream too or even to eat by itself.

Apple Walnut Caramel Syrup

2 or 3 medium apples (I prefer to use three)

4 Tbsp butter

1 heaping tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbsp cornstarch

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

1/3 - 1/2 cup walnut pieces (can be omitted but I don't recommend it)

1. Peel, core and thinly slice apples; set aside

2. In a large saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in the cinnamon, cornstarch, and brown sugar all at once. Immediately add the water and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

3. Add the apples and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the apples are nearly tender and the syrup is bubbly. While apples are cooking make pancakes.

Privacy at last!

We tore down the fence that was around our backyard quite some time ago because it was beginning to fall over in some places. So needless to say, we have been exposed! I do not like the lack of privacy! I have a garden in the yard and whenever I tend to it the whole world can see me! AND the bunnies come in and eat my veggies! I did not once get to eat lettuce out of my garden this year. We have been wanting to put a new fence up but had to wait until the garage was done being built and concrete poured between it and the house for a patio area. The time has finally come for our fence to go up! We ordered a six foot vinyl privacy fence and they began putting it up on Friday! When I got home from work I went out and stood next to one of the posts smiling because I am so excited! Next year when Baby is here we can play out in the yard without a care in the world.

Painting is done, once and for all!

My dad finished painting the baby's room! We still need to go buy the molding and get it on the walls but that is pretty much the last of those "big" details. I have started moving the crib and changing table and such into the room and it's been a blast! I will be posting pictures of Step 2 soon. AND, best of all, only 1 1/2 weeks until we have our ultrasound!!!! Then I can really start decorating!

Decorating the Laundry Room

Our laundry room is also the entry way as you come in our back door. We hadn't really done anything with the area yet and it really needed something. We got to work hanging things and cleaning the room up and it looks so much more comforting when you walk into our house. It's funny how hanging two things on the wall can cozy a room up as much as these did. I feel much better about people coming in through that door.

This one here I ordered at an Uppercase Living party my friend Katie back in April or May. Once I saw it in the catalog I knew the perfect place in my house and I HAD to have it. Ha! It took us until this past weekend to get it up. How long is that? Five months?! But just like I thought, it's perfect in that spot right above the washer & dryer.

We hung this one right above the stairs and it's pretty much the first thing you see as you walk in the door. This was a gift from Brandon for Valentine's Day about three years ago. He is absolutely the best at picking out gifts! Here is a close up so you can see the pictures better.

It feels so cozy in there now! I love it!

The Room!

We got the walls in the baby's room painted. It looks AMAZING!! I am so happy with it; the color turned out exactly what I wanted. We just have to get the trim and the closet painted white. I'm going to be doing a step by step display as we get things done.

I can't wait until we find out what we are having so we can start getting things to decorate for either boy or girl. Our ultrasound is October 8th! We are so thrilled! I am able to bring two people with me so of course Brandon is coming but we have also invited my mom along. She is probably about as excited as we are, because you know, back in the day when she was pregnant with my sister and I they didn't do routine ultrasounds like they do now; they only did them if they knew something was wrong. We are counting down the days...three and a half weeks left!!

More to come...

I just wanted to put a quick thing on here to let you all know that I will be posting some pictures of the baby's room in a day or so. My dad came over this past weekend and painted for us and it looks fantastic! So stay tuned there is MUCH more to come!

My parents got me us a plant last year around Christmas time. It was beautiful! But it is one of those winter plants that is hard to keep going throughout the year and I just about lost it. It actually had three plants coming out of the one pot and two of the three died. I pulled those out of there to give the partially living one plenty of room and I started trimming so that it could exert all it's energy to the live stuff. I've been watching it struggle ever since just hoping it'd come out of it. Well I am proud to announce that it has grown buds and those buds have turned into beautiful flowers. Isn't it just gorgeous?! This is the first time I have brought a plant back to life. All the other times they sadly die. I'm so glad it is with us for another year!