5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

For school Matt loves to have things he can eat on the way in the morning. I made some blueberry muffins for him. I will put them in little zip locks and freeze them, then we can take a few out at a time. It works great! I love recipes the use sour cream. For some reason I find them to be the most moist. These were VERY good!

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sour cream
• 2 cups blueberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In large bowl beat eggs, gradually add sugar while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, salt and baking soda.
3. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Homemade Pizza night!

{{{best part, it's for the bread machine. Makes it real but easy}}}

NY Style Pizza Crust

2/3 Cup warm water (put it into machine), add:

1 Tbls olive oil

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 1/4 cup flour

put 2 tsp yeast on top of the flour

Set machine on dough setting.

About an hour and a half later this is what you'll have!

I put olive oil on a baking sheet and then sprinkle some cornmeal on top of that.

Dump dough onto the pan

Pat it out like this. I put it in the oven for a little bit before I put any toppings on it. Otherwise its very hard to get the crust done and the toppings not burned.

I did sliced tomatoes and feta cheese

Put a little sauce on top, then feta..

Then tomatoes..

Then mozzarella on top of that

And it's done! It was so good! Loved the feta because of the little bit of bite that it gives it. We love feta on anything:)

We had been looking at ways to repel bugs (mainly mosquitos) from Mylah w/o having to put actual bug spray on her. Also looked into those clip on ones but read that they shouldn't be inhaled, especially by young children. So, then Matt started looking at some natural ways to deal w/ bugs. He bought three citronella plants! These are the flowers from them. We haven't really had much of a chance to use them or see if they work. We've only gone out for walks in the dark or rain and the mosquitos aren't really out then.

Russian Sage

Hollyhocks. They were so, so pretty this year. Matt and I decided we will need more of them next year. The only ones we have, I believe, are the ones that were here when we bought the house and we just moved some into the full sun and they took off! They were the some funny back spot that was all shade. We are planning on getting many different colors for next year. They last a long time, too, because they have to bloom working their way up the whole stalk.

Phlox. We really only have this shade of purple. They are very pretty, though!

This is Summer! I am so thrilled that it's SUMMER. I don't do all that well in the Winter months. And I have a very hard time loving and appreciating things around me other then heat, headed mattress pads and blankets. And those aren't that fun to take pictures of;-)

Hen & Chicks

This might not seem like a very big deal to some...

But I have Hen and Chicks that are living! Not only living, but growing, thriving and looking so good! I have never been able to grow them, not anywhere, not in anything and not for any amount of time. I finally found a spot they like I guess and I'm so thrilled!

Kisses, kisses & more kisses

WHY MOTHERS KISS THEIR BABIES

BY: Judie Rall

After a baby is born, it is natural to see the mother kissing the baby. One would think this is simply because of the emotional bond that has formed between mother and child. While this is true, there are also other very compelling biochemical reasons why it occurs. These reasons reinforce the understanding that our bodies have inner wisdom which we seldom recognize or trust. Just as our bodies know how to give birth even if we don’t have intellectual knowledge of the process, our bodies’ biological systems also have reasons for the complex social interplay between mother and baby. It just goes to show that, more than ever, we should trust our mothering instincts.

Five Senses

When an animal gives birth, you will notice that the mother spends a lot of time licking her young. This exposes her five senses to the young so that she knows the taste, smell, feel, sound and sight of her new baby. In this way, a mother claims her child as her own.

When a human mother births a baby in an environment which allows her immediate and free access to her child, you will notice that over a period of time she performs certain behaviours called “claiming behaviours.” She will caress the child, explore the softness of the baby’s skin, and probably count and fondle the unique little fingers and toes.

She probably marvels visually over how much the baby looks like her or her husband or another family member. She will notice the colour of the hair and eyes and other physical features. She hears the baby’s cries and learns to distinguish them from all other cries. As she leans down to kiss the child, she undoubtedly smells the scent of her new baby and through the actual act of kissing; she comes to know the taste of him or her.

Just like an animal mother, she has now exposed her five senses to the baby so she attaches to him or her. She now feels he or she is her own. It is not unusual to find that women who are deprived of the privacy required to create this immediate bonding right after birth often say they feel a distance between them and their baby.

Health Benefits

Claiming behaviours such as kissing provide not only emotional, but biological attachment. There is a very real health benefit for the baby who is kissed.

“When a mother kisses her baby, she ‘samples’ those pathogens that are on the baby’s face. Those are ones that the baby is about to ingest. These samples are taken up by the mother’s secondary lymphoid organs like the tonsils, and memory B cells specific for those pathogens are re-stimulated. These B cells then migrate to the mother’s breasts where they produce just those antibodies that the baby needs.” says Lauren Sompayrac, author of How The Immune System Works.

We talk a lot about breast milk and how it conveys antibodies to the infant helping to prevent illness. However antibodies made for the mother while pregnant are not what the baby needs. He or she needs antibodies for the environment around them that they are in constant contact with now. Kissing her baby is a very important activity beyond its obvious pleasurable and attachment- promoting value. It helps mother claim baby, and helps her body determine the antibodies baby needs in the breast milk.

So mothers, kiss away on those babies!

Copyright 2001 by Judie Rall of Unhindered Living. Reprinted with permission in the Winter 2007 issue of Birthing Magazine.

This fun article is from here.

Isn't it amazing how God designed us and how our bodies work?!

How great is our God??

Favorite carriers and wraps so far:)

I love the Moby. It's like she's still inside me really, only much more still because she's usually sleeping in there. She LOVES the movement and noise of me moving around. The other day I was at the store and there was a couple a few checkout lanes over. The man went to get something they forgot and when he was coming up to pass the lane I was in he stopped and said he thought it was just a shirt I was wearing until I leaned over and he saw Mylah's head!

Matt has yet to try the Moby but he loves the Ergo. I always tease him a little because of how he wears it. Like he's all hunched over or like he has to keep his shoulders up or something. I guess he is new to this whole extra weight of carrying a baby in front of you thing. Me, I've been doing it a while and it's a natural thing for me to put my hand on her like I've still got her floating around inside me. Matt wears her well and she loves her daddy! Here we're shopping at Farm and Fleet - checking out their great kids clearance stuff:)

I have some other wraps/sings that I want to try but think they'll be easier when she can hold her own head up for longer then she does now.

Speaking of the wee one, she's up from a nap so I had better go relieve Oliver from her fussing:)

Me, getting big!

This is me at about three months pregnant..

And here we are a few days before Mylah Jane was born!

I LOVED being pregnant. I could do it again and again! If they are all this easy anyway;-) I still miss being pregnant at times. I just really enjoyed it a lot! I also LOVE being a mommy to this baby girl too, though!

Day at the pool

Mylah and I went to the pool with some

friends yesterday. She ate and

then did this the whole time

we were there:) Looks like

she's doing a face plant

in this picture:) Hey,

she was happy!

All four of the adults that were there

got burned. Got the kids all sun

screened up and didn't do any on us.

The sun was HOT yesterday.

I have to say, though, it felt

great! It means summer is here:)

Had to at least try it...

A mango avocado salsa

It wasn't that great

It wasn't bad, just not what I'd make again

I did get some pretty pictures:)

First time I tasted mango I thought maybe I was eating pine needles:)

Books = Love

I have found some good reads lately and that always makes me happy

I love it when a book is just plain good. No (or very little) sex and unnecessary bad language.

Veil of Roses was probably my favorite of the two. It was a great book to read right before the 4th. Such a good reminder of how blessed we are to live in the US and be FREE!

What are you reading this summer? Have any good suggestions? I an always up for trying something new!

PURE JOY IS IN MY HEART!

I am so blessed to call this precious little girl mine! I am so thankful the God gave her to US to raise, love, protect and share a life with. We are having a lot of fun being parents:)

Matt's "senior" photos:) Glad he's 28 though!

Our family! I still can't believe it sometimes. I am loving motherhood. I could go on and on about all the things I love about it. I know there'll be days and there have already been tough moments. As they get bigger/older I hear the troubles get bigger as well. But, we're going to deal w/ one day at a time. I do sometimes still miss being pregnant. I'm glad she's here w/ me and I know who was bouncing around in there but I also loved being pregnant w/ this little girl. I am overwhelmed by my very blessed life!

We had a big day on May 17th, 2011!

We became a FAMILY OF THREE!

And it was the happiest day of our lives:)

Mylah Jane Nelson

8lbs 8oz 21in long

amazing sugar cookie recipe!

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), preferably Pillsbury or Gold Medal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still firm (60 to 65 degrees)
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces), for rolling dough
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.

2. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with hand mixer, beat butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.

3. Place sugar for rolling in shallow bowl. Fill medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip hands in water and shake off excess (this will prevent dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that sugar sticks to dough). Roll heaping tablespoon dough into 1 1/2-inch ball between moistened palms; roll ball in sugar, then place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, moistening hands after forming each ball and spacing balls about 2 inches apart on baking sheet (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet). Using butter wrapper, butter bottom of drinking glass; dip bottom of glass in remaining sugar and flatten dough balls with bottom of glass until dough is about 3/4 inch thick.

4. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges and just set and very lightly colored in center, 15 to 18 minutes, reversing position of cookie sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on baking sheet about 3 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.