I've been toying with the thought of getting Viggo a mobile for the changing table since he was born. When I started looking around, I found that most manufacturers were aiming more for matching and coordinating with nursery decor than for babies entertainment! Those that are, supposedly, for babies viewing pleasure are so over stimulating, so over priced, so battery operated, and SO plastic, that they would never be allowed in my home! :) So I decided I'd make him one... eventually. I was just waiting for that "Aha!" moment. It happened today as I was throwing away the empty cereal box. So, I got to work and came up with "Viggo's New Toy" as Serenity calls it. I cut out three 2.5" circles and two 5x5" squares from the cardboard box. I painted the fronts and backs black. When that was dry they were kind of warped, so I set books over them to straighten the pieces out. When they were pretty flat, I started painting them with different bright colors. I did polka dots and stripes on the squares and swirls and bulls eyes on the circles. I took care not to measure. I wanted it to look a little abstract and "off". Then I measured to find the centers of each piece. From there I threaded an embroidery needle with embroidery thread and poked a hole through each piece. On some I poked the hole straight through the middle, others I poked it a little to the side so that piece would hang a little crooked. Then I tied a knot on the decorated side of the shape and attached the other end of the thread to the shelves above the changing pad. On one of the circles I poked a larger hole and threaded a few pieces of thin, colorful ribbon to hang down. I hung the pieces 12-18 inches above his face because that's this distance where his focus is the best. I also used contrasting colors since that's what will catch his eye. I love this because you can get really creative with colors and shapes and they're really versatile. When left alone, they'll gently sway, wobble, and spin, but when I shoot a strong breath at them, they start moving so fast and Viggo gets so excited! They can hang anywhere... I'm even thinking about making some for the car! Nothing about these comes close to being fashionable or decorative, that's for sure, but my Viggo loves them. And isn't that what it's supposed to be about, anyway?


Here are two different pictures of the pieces from Viggo perspective:







And here are two pictures of my little man enjoying his view!

Granola Recipe

I love granola, but it's so expensive to buy at the store! That's why we started making our own and I'm so glad we did. Like most things, you just can't beat that homemade taste. I've had to start making this in a double batch because we go through it so fast! Add some milk to it for cereal, throw some on top of your yogurt, or just eat it buy itself for a quick snack. It's relatively simple to make, really flexible, and packed full of nutrition.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
A few twists of the salt grinder (Probably about 1/4 teaspoon.)
4 cups rolled oats (This is really where you can get creative. Substitute part of this for dried fruits, seeds, nuts, chocolate chips... the possibilities are endless.)
Palm full of cinnamon (About 1 teaspoon.)

Start off by melting your butter in a large saucepan. Add your brown sugar and water and stir together. Let this simmer for a couple minutes then add the salt and cinnamon. Give it a quick stir, remove from the burner, and stir in your oats, seeds, nuts, etc. but DO NOT add your dried fruit or candy just yet. Make sure your keep stirring until all of the dry ingredients are coated with the butter/sugar mixture. Spread this out in a cake pan as thin as you can and cook it for 10-15 minutes in a 375 degree oven. When your edges start to get brown, take it out. Let it cool in the pan and then break the granola into smaller pieces, add in your dried fruit and/or candy if you choose to, and store away. This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.

Organization For Kid's Clean Laundry

It's a hang-up of mine for my kids to be in unmatched or messy clothes. Maybe it seems petty to some, but to me, it makes them look sloppy and unclean. I feel like it's important to teach the kids that, as Christians, we should always look our best to set an example. Besides that, studies have been done that show that your attitude and behaviour match your attire. I know if I'm sitting around in my pajamas, I will naturally feel lazy. But if I get up, get dressed, fix my hair, and get ready to start my day, even if I'm not going anywhere, I feel better about myself and I'm much more productive. That being said, every mother knows what a pain it is to pick out everybody's clothes every morning! Plus, when you have a child in the family like my Eli who thinks everytime he gets a drop of water on his pants they need to be changed, the end result is a dresser that's full of shirts, but no pants, 4 pair of unmatched socks, and that one odd glove! That makes it very hard to look your best! We also don't like to stifle their growing independence and individuality. Picking out their own clothes every morning is a big deal to little ones and makes them feel very grown up. We like for the kids to practice responsibility in all areas of life, including getting themselves ready for the day. So, where do you draw the line? How do you keep the kiddos looking sharp, but also allow them to be in charge of their own attire? Well, we've devised, what we think is a pretty good system in our house that allows the kids to get themselves dressed every morning, in clothes that actually match!! I thought I'd share our plan, using Eli as an example: When it's time to fold and put away his clean clothes, I match up the outfits: pants, a shirt, socks, and a pair underwear, and slip everything into a gallon zip lock bag. If I don't have enough bags, I use rubberbands, though we risk losing pieces that way, so I prefer the bags. Then we put his clothes into 3 drawers: The top drawer for "Day-time Clothes", the second drawer for "Outside Clothes", and the last drawer for pajamas. He knows which drawers are which (In the past we've added pictures to the drawers of the child who has a hard time remembering. Like a sun for daytime clothes, moon for pajamas, etc.). That way, every morning, he just goes to his top drawer, pulls out his bag, and he has everything he needs. Later, if he's going outside to help Daddy work on the car, I tell him to put on some of his outside clothes, and he knows just what to do. As the kids get older and start wanting to match up their own clothes, we sit together and match them up before they put them away. This may not seem like that big of a deal to some, but for me it saves so much time. With this plan and a few other simple routines to follow every morning, everything runs smoothly, allowing me to get up, get ready, and have breakfast done by the time everyone comes in. The kids know to wake up, make their beds, grab a bag of clothes to put on, brush their teeth, and meet at the table for breakfast. When the day starts out so smoothly, it sets the pace for the rest of the day. Now, if I could just find that match to that one odd glove...

Update on Baby Viggo!

I just wanted to post a few new pictures of Viggo. He's already changed so much! He's doing great. Sleeping good at night, nursing like a pro, spending a lot of time with wide eyes, learning all about his new family! Everyone else has adjusted well, too, and we are all thoroughly enjoying our new, soft little bundle!

Swaddling Blanket

Everyone knows that swaddling is the most effective way to calm and comfort a baby, but it wasn't until I received a set of extra large swaddling blankets from my aunt after Serenity was born that I realized how easy and snugly they could really be! I'm not sure just how big these blanket were, but they were much larger than your ordinary receiving blanket and made from super soft flannel. I used them so much with Serenity and she never out grew them, even though she was so chubby! I know, it sounds silly to be so in love with something as simple and ordinary as a receiving blanket, but once you've used an extra large one, you'll never go back! It makes it so much easier to swaddle and the wrap actually stays put! So, naturally, when Viggo was born, I started thinking about these blankets... how wonderful they are, how soft, and how they are so so PINK! Obviously, we can not wrap our sweet little bundle of boy in these pink blankets, even though I really was tempted to! So, since I can't do much of anything else right now anyway, I started the great on-line search for some larger swaddling blankets. I was in shock at what I found. A wide selection of fabric, all in to-die-for prints, with a very large price tag! I, personally, just cannot justify spending $40, or more, on a set of receiving blankets. I kept thinking there has to be another way. So I checked Ebay, Etsy, places like that, only to find that everyone was still charging much more than I was willing to pay. Finally it dawned on me, "I can sew!" Why I didn't think of this earlier, I do not know, we'll blame it on the postpartum Mommy brain! Jo Ann's happened to have their flannel on sale for $2.49 a yard this week. Add to that my teacher discount they give me (I'm a frequent shopper :)! ) and I was able to get super soft and funky flannel for a super-low cost! I cut each blanket to a perfect square: 44x44". From there I simply hemmed all four sides and Voila! I have extra large, super soft, and totally cute swaddling blankets that took me about 10-15 minutes per blanket to make (While wearing a baby in a sling!) and only cost about $2.50 each. It was simple enough that ANYONE could do it and the end result is fantastic! I get the tightest and best swaddle ever with these and Viggo drifts to sleep instantly. So, planning on attending a baby shower soon? These are a great gift idea!

Viggo's Birth

There are many reasons people choose to have a homebirth. For us, a lot of aspects come into play, many of which are a matter of personal preference and opinion, and are worthy of their own post for another day. :) This post is simply about Viggo. I'm not posting this to try and educate or sway anybody's opinion on the subject of homebirthing, but to share the awesome experience we had bringing this little baby into the world.
Viggo finally arrived on December 16, eleven days past his due date! I started having contractions the day before when I woke up. They were pretty consistently 5 minutes apart and continued that way until that evening with no real pain. The house was full of excitement as we were getting things ready, knowing tonight was going to be the night. The kids were so involved in the whole process and were more than happy to keep me company as I tried to relax and prepare for the labor.

Everyone was so full of snuggles as we anxiously awaited Baby Viggo!



Serenity sat with me while I labored on the birthing ball and drew me pictures!


The kids even got to help Daddy with the birthing pool!

Finally at about 10:00 pm I started feeling some pain with the contractions. Kevin started filling up the birthing pool that was set up in the dining room and I was in it by 11:00. It offered so much relief!


But by midnight, I was really in a lot of pain and feeling pretty discouraged. My water still hadn't broken and I was thinking if my contractions already hurt that bad, what were they going to feel like after my water broke! It was then that I started my pity party. :) Knowing I still needed my water to break and thinking there would be a couple of hours to go after that, I hit my breaking point, something every laboring mother does. It was a really emotional and difficult time. It was a time that, looking back, I see will forever be a part of who I am and who Kevin is. There was a certain amount of strength added to our relationship at that moment as I clung, sobbing, to him and he did something I'll never forget. He didn't tell me that I could do this because I was strong enough or good enough, because he knew that's not what I needed or wanted to hear. Instead he started to pray. So quietly, so calmly, asking the Lord to be with me and to give me the strength I needed. And He did. Within a matter of a few minutes, I felt Viggo's head transcending. My water didn't break until just as his head emerged. Within 2, maybe 3 pushes, he was here! It's comical to me, now, thinking of how discouraged I was just "knowing" I still had hours and hours of laboring left to go... only to see that he was delivered within minutes! But, I know it was hitting that wall, that brink of hysteria that caused me to break and become an open vessel for God's plan and His timing.

Viggo Abram was born at 12:45 am and he was perfect! 20.5" long and weighing 9lb 4oz with curly, dark hair! We were able to move straight from the birthing pool to our nice cozy bed where he nursed with such ease, was snuggled, and given a little check-up. It was such a wonderful experience for our family. Again we look at this baby and find ourselves amazed at the miracle of childbirth. We are so thankful for another opportunity to raise up a child for the Lord!





Ava loves her new baby brother!


Eli is fascinated with Viggo! He has been waiting a long time for his baby brother and says he's going to teach him to play baseball and sword fight. I have no doubts he is going to be a great big brother!




Serenity is having a hard time learning to give Viggo space. She loves him so much and can hardly stand to walk within arms reach of him and not kiss and touch!



We thank God for baby Viggo and for his safe delivery. We are so looking forward to watching him grow!

Vegetable Soup on a Budget

Sometimes we really have to stretch a dollar. Making homemade soups can really help you do that. A small amount of meat will go a long way in a pot of soup and feed a lot of people. Plus soups can easily be frozen for a quick and healthy meal down the road.
We make a lot of soup, but one of my favorites is the vegetable soup recipe listed below. Sometimes even vegetable soup can be one of the pricier soups to make by the time you buy the stew meat, but this recipe uses ground beef so it really cuts the cost down. If you'd like to cut costs even more, ground turkey is a great alternative. It's cheaper, lower in fat, and there are no growth hormones used in poultry like in beef.
So, put on a big pot of The Ultimate Comfort Food during one of the upcoming chilly afternoons ahead, reflect on the bucks you saved, and watch that smile creep onto your face! Enjoy!

1 pound ground beef or turkey
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
2 (1 ounce) packages dry onion soup mix
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables
3/4 cup elbow macaroni

In a saute pan, brown ground beef, over medium heat.
In a large stock pot, combine broth, water, onion soup mix, tomato sauce, celery, onion, frozen vegetables and macaroni. Bring to a boil and then simmer until macaroni is done.
Add browned ground beef, mix and serve.