Family Fix

It was so much fun to have Grammie and Grandpa Childs in town this last week! Asher took a while to warm up but once he did it was cuddles and kisses all around. It was fun to try a couple new restaurants, check out the Wal-Mart museum, have s'mores around a fire and to just play all week. I also enjoyed a wonderful birthday, with the best burger from Smokin' Joe's, a great yoga pants/dessert/shopping date with Nathan (babysitting courtesy of Grandpa) a pedicure AND I'm going to get my sewing machine cleaned and tuned up! I can't wait! I also received some beautiful cards, cupcakes and a package from people who love me so thank you all!

We went to lunch with some birthday money! Asher very much enjoys his Chick-fil-a!

This last week Asher And Gabe became good friends. It was amazing to watch them interact and learn from each other.

We left Tucker's leash in Fayetteville so Nathan, being smart, made one out of duct tape! That actually works really well.

I also had my baby shower this week! (It was very eventful.) Two of my wonderful friends here in Bentonville threw it for me and they did a beautiful job. It was perfectly country chic which is just what I wanted.

Being around Nathan's family always makes me think of the crazy circumstances that surround us meeting, dating, and finally getting married and how insanely lucky I am. I was talking to Liz, mom, and Kayleigh about it after the baby shower on Saturday and remembered the video that gave Nathan the opportunity to get my number, (THANK YOU JASON) and I have searched my computer high and low for it and finally found it!! So here is a lovely blast from the past.

Heart, Quiche, and Asher

Last time we went in for an ultrasound on Rue they said there was extra fluid in her heart so we went in again a week later (10/2)to get more pictures for a radiologist to look at. We haven't heard anything back which they say is a good thing but its only been a day so we are praying we wont hear anything. The tech who was looking at her kept printing pictures of everything cute, which I don't mind. So here are a couple more: 33 weeks and counting

The bright white spot in the middle is her nose, which from the profile view looks just like Asher's! 

 You can see her foot at the top, her toes are touching her forehead. 

On a lighter note Asher got his first bad goose egg by tripping on his toy and hitting his forehead on the corner of the wall! He was really brave about it and this picture is from the next morning, it looks a lot better, and the picture doesn't do it justice but you can sort of see the bruise above his left eye.

I have come to realize that is it okay to be a little sick after eating something healthy, and that sometimes it is okay to avoid a healthy food to not be sick! Lately Nathan's favorite dish is a veggie quiche I found and modified to the vegetables that we use. He asked for it at least once a week which makes me feel great! And most of the time makes the stomach ache from the eggs worth it :)

So, I decided to share the recipe because it is easy and inexpensive and healthy and really good the next day, it also freezes well pre-cooked. 

This picture shows it pre-cooked with the crust recipe doubled with eight eggs and a few extra veggies and cheese, I don't know what would happen if you doubled the whole recipe.

This pie pastry I am about to share is unique in that there is no fridge time, no crisco, no pastry cutter, and it turns out flaky every time. So try it before you judge :) Nathan loves it.

Pie Crust:

(makes one 9" pie crust)

1 1/2 c all purpose flour

2 tsp white sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 oil

2 tbs milk

place all ingredients in a 9" pie pan, mix with a fork until just combined. 

Pat down until pan is covered evenly. Poke holes with fork in bottom and sides.

Bake at 400 for 10-15 min or until light brown.

Quiche: 

1/2 lb cooked sausage (or cooked crumbled bacon)

1/4 c onion

1/4 c red or green pepper

1 c spinach

1 can artichoke hearts

1/4 c mushrooms

6 eggs

1/2 c cottage cheese

1/4 c shredded cheese (Parmesan, cheddar, montery jack, mozzarella, doesn't matter)

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp parsley

1/4 tsp each salt, pepper, paprika

---1-9" pie pastry

Finely chop all veggies, saute onion, pepper, artichokes until soft, 

add mushrooms and spinach until well mixed, pull off heat. 

In a bowel whisk eggs until fluffy then add cottage cheese, shredded cheese, meat (make sure its cold so it doesn't cook the eggs) and seasonings. 

Place all vegetables in your pastry lined pie tin and then cover with egg mixture.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until it is firm when wiggled :)

Serve with salsa and sour cream.

I should have taken an after cooked picture, but it was eaten too fast! 

Let me know if you try it and what you think.

Asher loves toddler story and singing time at the library and he has recently discovered their fish tank and that he can climb up the stools to look at it all by himself! 

He watched those fish for a good ten minutes. 

 New favorite thing: the spice rack. 

32 weeks encounting, Police and a 4 wheeler

This is really soon after the last update, but we were able to go get and ultrasound of Rue. She was being shy and hiding her face with her hand but she seems mostly healthy (we are going back in a couple weeks to check somethings to make sure) and the tech said she is probably close to 4.5 lbs!

We also had an intense experience I wasn't going to blog about since its a mom's worst nightmare and I'm incredibly embarrassed.  But it was also humbling, and its the first thing Nathan has ever said I should blog about so try not to judge to harshly :)

Asher and I really needed to get out of the house so we decided to go visit Nathan at work and switch cars so we could go through the car wash and use the vacuums since everyone enjoys a clean car and Asher likes the automatic wash. We got through it all no problem, the car looked great. As I went to put the vacuum away I had a sick feeling and I turned to the car as fast as I could but it was to late! The door slammed shut, (a bitter sweet feature of the Honda Civic: the doors are on spring hinges and close automatically.) I drop the vacuum and stare through the window at my phone, my keys, and my baby all locked inside.
I quickly walk to the car wash office. The guy grabs the phone and goes back to the car with me while dialing the Bentonville police number that he conveniently has memorized (he says keys get locked in cars all the time, babies are less common.) After he explains the situation he hangs up, runs his hands through his hair and laughs-seriously of all things to do-he says an officer was patrolling the street and would be there any minute, and that they were sending a tow truck, ambulance, and some other hopefully unnecessary giant city vehicles that I didn't want to process.
Asher thinks its funny all these people are starring at him through the window and he contentedly eats his snacks and drinks his water. When the officer gets there he calls to say the ambulance isn't needed, so it ended up just being the police chief, two officers, and the tow truck guy as well as all the gathered spectators since we were blocking the car wash exit. Asher really liked the police men.
It took about 15 minutes to get the doors unlocked and I got a good lecture on safety tips like rolling a window down, keeping my keys on me, using my parking brake, from at least three people. And we learned that Nathan's year of Civic is one of the hardest cars to get into because of the lock safety on the keys, how the buttons are placed on the door, and that the trunk pop button is under the seat when the driver is as short as me.
We are so grateful for the people who work to fix stupidity and for their ability to stay calm and collected when a hormonal woman is fighting back panic and tears. I am grateful for Nathan and his lack of judgment, and for Asher's sweet easy going demeanor that kept the ambulance away, everyone involved smiling. I am now recovered and triple check the locks and that I have the keys.

On a lighter note, here is the previously promised video of Asher on his 4 wheeler.

Hiking, sewing, growing

This last week has been amazing! We were able to go hiking in the Ozark National Forest,

 We couldn't get Asher to make a normal face, actually... this is his normal face :)

Asher figured out how to use the camelback.

Nathan was given a job offer from JB Hunt which was awesome, but we politely declined. Asher and I went garage selling and found him a little electric 4 wheeler that he loves (I'll put up a video later). He is also really enjoying all the infant stuff coming out so we took a now and then picture of his infant car seat! Five days old vs fifteen months. Love this kid!

Also, we are 32 weeks along baby-wise and are getting an ultrasound on Sept 25 so we'll have some pictures of sweet little Rue again.

And this is the biggest for me- I got my beautiful sewing machine fixed!
I have about 10,000 projects swirling in my head that I've been wanting to do the past couple years but I haven't had easy access to a machine, so hopefully I can control my urges and work on one at a time. Nathan has been so great letting me work in the evenings, and thank you Sarah for the super cute fabric :)

So, first project down and now I'm deciding what to do next!

Asher Walks!

This deserves a blog post all on its own but I've decided to combine a few updates to the Childs' (more Aher's) life in Arkansas this last week of August.

ASHER IS WALKING!! Thursday August 22nd he officially walked more than he crawled, Friday he walked more than crawled without any help or balancing off of anything and now he is walking, jabbering, picking things up, opening the baby gate, and helping unload the dishwasher, and all the cupboards.

He also had his first chocolate pudding, figured out how to open the gold fish, enjoys drawing with chalk outside, cuddling on the couch with music on, and his absolute favorite is meeting Dad for lunch at the park where Dad pushes him in the swings and plays with him on the playground. He especially enjoys it when we stop at Sonic and he gets a corndog which he eats, all by himself, clear down to the stick.

We also went to the temple last weekend and visited Liz and Johnny and little Sam. The new temple video is incredible, the drive was beautiful, and it was so fun to see family. 

We are loving it here, the weather, the trees, our new friends, all the parks and swimming places and the library give us lots to do. Asher is growing up so fast! We have a Dr apt next week for baby Rue where we'll find out how much she has grown and hopefully get to see her. 

From Old to New: part 2

I did it!
Babies, budget and all!

I am looking into a sewing class with a friend to brush up on my skills, but the machine works wonderfully, the bench is comfortable and sturdy again, the table is no longer dusty and gouged and the legs on both are tightened! I can't wait to make something for our sweet little girl and to be able to fix all the things that have torn in the past few years when I have been with out a place to set up a sewing station. 

 I modge modged fabric onto the upside of the desk to add color and keep pins and fabric and patterns from sliding off.

It made me want another project, and I'm thinking using it and making things will satisfy the urge quite nicely. I am so grateful for Nathan and how supportive he was and how willing he was to keep Asher away from all the mess that I scattered through the house, and to keep him happy while I was working on it.

From Old to New: part 1

I was really blessed and inherited this amazing sewing machine from my Grandma. The machine works well and it incredibly heavy duty but the table is wobbly, and the seat is about to come apart. So, with a baby handicapping my ankles, and another one shortening my arms and not allowing me to bend I decided I wanted to take on a DIY with things I already had around the house (which isn't much).
So here is what I am staring with :

The set.

The sewing desk when closed

 The bench side view

The bench top view

The sewing machine when out

From the top with the side desk up

 Basically, wish me luck!