The Easter Bunny left some candy and toys for Spencer & Jacob and a board book and baby food for Luke.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Easter Baskets
The Easter Bunny left some candy and toys for Spencer & Jacob and a board book and baby food for Luke.
Coloring Eggs
On Saturday we colored eggs. Everyone had a great time. But, as always, when all the eggs were colored the question was asked, "Can we color more?" I love that the kits come with stickers now, the boys love putting the stickers on.
Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma's house
Saturday, March 30, 2013
The hat cape
Here is the link from a cool crafty blog on how to make children's capes; http://www.craftbuds.com/childs-cape-pattern-free/. She gives a quick tutorial and also has the free pattern to print out. I had to order the magnetic snaps online; (I went to two stores and couldn't find them.) I will be sure and post when I get the project done. . . I am hoping this week. We'll see when the snaps get here. Hurray for capes, every boy needs a cape.
Here's a cute bonus photo:
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
China Update
Slowly but surely we are making our way to China.
Yesterday we got our fingerprint appointments in the mail! Yippy! Our local USCIS office allows you to come in before your appointment (if you have the appointment letter) to get printed. So this morning I kissed Spencer goodbye as he headed off to kindergarten and I headed downtown.
I arrived at the USCIS office and got a prime parking place. Me and the two younger boys headed to the 4th floor and life was good. But, getting through security was kind of a hassle; me, two boys, a stroller, a car seat/infant carrier, my purse, a diaper bag and of course my belt and iPhone that needed to be put in a separate container to x-ray.
When I handed my letter and Driver's license to the security guard he looked at me and said, "This appointment isn't until April 12. Is there a reason you can't make that time?" I wanted to flick him on the side of the head and say something snarky. . . but I didn't. I said, looking at all my gear and kids I had just hauled to the 4th floor. . . "I was just hoping to get it done earlier, if it isn't too busy." Then I looked through the glass wall to the fingerprint area. . . crickets were chirping. Not a soul in sight, only two workers sitting behind desks.
"Okay, let me check."
A few minutes later I was checking in at the main desk and in less the 3 minutes I was being fingerprinted. Nice.
So, where does this put our timeline you ask?
Dave plans to get his fingerprints taken tomorrow and that will hopefully complete the USCIS portion.
Our agency said if we are getting fingerprints now we should get approval "mid-April". If we get approval April 15, I will state certify all documents on April 16, then Fed-Ex them to the Chinese Consulate. I think the consulate is taking about 2 weeks to authenticate. It is possible the first week in May we could have a completed dossier to go to China. Then we wait 1-4 weeks for an LID.
This almost puts us in "Wildly Optimistic" territory.
I arrived at the USCIS office and got a prime parking place. Me and the two younger boys headed to the 4th floor and life was good. But, getting through security was kind of a hassle; me, two boys, a stroller, a car seat/infant carrier, my purse, a diaper bag and of course my belt and iPhone that needed to be put in a separate container to x-ray.
When I handed my letter and Driver's license to the security guard he looked at me and said, "This appointment isn't until April 12. Is there a reason you can't make that time?" I wanted to flick him on the side of the head and say something snarky. . . but I didn't. I said, looking at all my gear and kids I had just hauled to the 4th floor. . . "I was just hoping to get it done earlier, if it isn't too busy." Then I looked through the glass wall to the fingerprint area. . . crickets were chirping. Not a soul in sight, only two workers sitting behind desks.
"Okay, let me check."
A few minutes later I was checking in at the main desk and in less the 3 minutes I was being fingerprinted. Nice.
So, where does this put our timeline you ask?
Dave plans to get his fingerprints taken tomorrow and that will hopefully complete the USCIS portion.
Our agency said if we are getting fingerprints now we should get approval "mid-April". If we get approval April 15, I will state certify all documents on April 16, then Fed-Ex them to the Chinese Consulate. I think the consulate is taking about 2 weeks to authenticate. It is possible the first week in May we could have a completed dossier to go to China. Then we wait 1-4 weeks for an LID.
This almost puts us in "Wildly Optimistic" territory.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Ta-Ta Google Reader
Well,
Google Reader is going away July 1, 2013. I have been looking into what to replace it with. I think I found a winner.
I have had seen two contenders: Bloglovin' and Feedly.
After checking out both sites and uploading my stuff to both (65 blogs), I think Feedly has an interface that I like the best.
So, I am moving all my stuff to Feedly.com and let's hope it is as good as Google Reader.
Google Reader is going away July 1, 2013. I have been looking into what to replace it with. I think I found a winner.
I have had seen two contenders: Bloglovin' and Feedly.
After checking out both sites and uploading my stuff to both (65 blogs), I think Feedly has an interface that I like the best.
So, I am moving all my stuff to Feedly.com and let's hope it is as good as Google Reader.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Sugar Cookie House
Today we had fun. Dave's sister (& family) is here visiting from Arizona. They have 3 kids and our boys love their cousins. We got to spend some time on Monday night with them at Grandma's house, but it was great to see them today.
This year for Jacob's birthday, I wanted to do a fun activity. I have seen some Sugar Cookie Easter Houses and wanted to try it. Jacob loves candy (I cannot fully express this love, it goes beyond words.) So making the sugar cookie house seemed the perfect way to celebrate his birthday.
I thought it would be better to have some fun memories tied to it and thought. . . What could be better then cousins? Why not celebrate a week early?
I searched for a sugar cookie recipe that was designed for building. It would be too bad if houses fell in or cracked before we ever started. I found a great one that was from Domino Sugar for building houses. I doubled the recipe and was able to make 5 modest sized houses. But let me tell you, there wasn't a scrap of dough left.
The fun part was going to the store to choose candy, since it was Jacob's birthday I let him choose the candy. We got a good assortment. I love Easter candy because the shades are so soft. I love pastels. I also whipped up some pastel frosting; white, green, blue and yellow. (I was out of red food coloring or would have had pink too.)
After 1 hour; we had 5 lovely houses, no left over candy and several future tummy aches.
I had so much fun. I think the kids did too. Jacob was quite independent and when I offered to squeeze on some frosting a resounding, "No, I do it!" could be heard. . . Welcome to the world of a 3 year old. But, I feel blessed to be his mom, so blessed. This was a wonderful way to celebrate his birthday.
I will certainly do this again in the future. Fun. Fun. Fun!
=======================
Sugar Cookie House
1 cup - butter softened
1 cup - Granulated Sugar
2 - eggs
2 teaspoons – vanilla extract
3 cups – all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon - baking powder
1/2 teaspoon – salt
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. With mixer on low, add eggs and vanilla, until just blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture, mixing until well blended. Divide dough in half, and shape each section into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 to 5 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Dust work surface with flour. Take one disk of dough at a time; use a rolling pin to roll dough out to an even 1/4 inch thickness. If dough sticks, dust lightly with flour.
Place pattern pieces on rolled out dough, and cut around edges using a small, sharp knife or pizza cutter, wiping blade after each cut.
Bake cookies until edges are just beginning to darken, and cookies looks dry. Large pieces will take approximately 14 to 16 minutes, medium pieces about 12 to 14 minutes, and smaller pieces 6 to 8 minutes. While cookies are still slightly warm, lay pattern pieces on top and use a large, sharp knife or pizza cutter to trim any parts that have spread beyond the pattern during baking.
Cool cookie pieces on cookie sheets for 10 to 15 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely.
(Tip: Once you have trimmed your finished cookie pieces, you can tape your paper pieces together to see how the finished house will look. This is a great tool to use for planning your decorations.)
Royal Icing Recipe
1 pound sifted confectioners' sugar or more as needed
1/2 cup pasteurized egg whites (3 large egg whites)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine. Scrape down sides. Turn the mixer to high and beat until thick and very white. Mixture will hold a peak. This should take at least 7-10 minutes.
When finished, cover with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the royal icing so a crust doesn't form. Royal icing dries out quickly, so make sure it is covered all the time. Otherwise there will be lumps in the icing and they will never pass through an icing tip.
I prefer white icing, but you may tint it by using a small amount of paste food color. For 1/4 cup tinted icing, dip the tip of a toothpick into desired color, then into the icing, and stir well. Repeat until desired color is achieved. For strong colors, such as red, royal blue and dark purple, use 1/8 teaspoon color to 1/4 cup icing.
This year for Jacob's birthday, I wanted to do a fun activity. I have seen some Sugar Cookie Easter Houses and wanted to try it. Jacob loves candy (I cannot fully express this love, it goes beyond words.) So making the sugar cookie house seemed the perfect way to celebrate his birthday.
I thought it would be better to have some fun memories tied to it and thought. . . What could be better then cousins? Why not celebrate a week early?
I searched for a sugar cookie recipe that was designed for building. It would be too bad if houses fell in or cracked before we ever started. I found a great one that was from Domino Sugar for building houses. I doubled the recipe and was able to make 5 modest sized houses. But let me tell you, there wasn't a scrap of dough left.
The fun part was going to the store to choose candy, since it was Jacob's birthday I let him choose the candy. We got a good assortment. I love Easter candy because the shades are so soft. I love pastels. I also whipped up some pastel frosting; white, green, blue and yellow. (I was out of red food coloring or would have had pink too.)
After 1 hour; we had 5 lovely houses, no left over candy and several future tummy aches.
I had so much fun. I think the kids did too. Jacob was quite independent and when I offered to squeeze on some frosting a resounding, "No, I do it!" could be heard. . . Welcome to the world of a 3 year old. But, I feel blessed to be his mom, so blessed. This was a wonderful way to celebrate his birthday.
I will certainly do this again in the future. Fun. Fun. Fun!
=======================
Sugar Cookie House
1 cup - butter softened
1 cup - Granulated Sugar
2 - eggs
2 teaspoons – vanilla extract
3 cups – all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon - baking powder
1/2 teaspoon – salt
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until creamy. With mixer on low, add eggs and vanilla, until just blended. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture, mixing until well blended. Divide dough in half, and shape each section into a disk. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap, and chill 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Line 2 to 5 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Dust work surface with flour. Take one disk of dough at a time; use a rolling pin to roll dough out to an even 1/4 inch thickness. If dough sticks, dust lightly with flour.
Place pattern pieces on rolled out dough, and cut around edges using a small, sharp knife or pizza cutter, wiping blade after each cut.
Bake cookies until edges are just beginning to darken, and cookies looks dry. Large pieces will take approximately 14 to 16 minutes, medium pieces about 12 to 14 minutes, and smaller pieces 6 to 8 minutes. While cookies are still slightly warm, lay pattern pieces on top and use a large, sharp knife or pizza cutter to trim any parts that have spread beyond the pattern during baking.
Cool cookie pieces on cookie sheets for 10 to 15 minutes before removing to cooling racks to cool completely.
(Tip: Once you have trimmed your finished cookie pieces, you can tape your paper pieces together to see how the finished house will look. This is a great tool to use for planning your decorations.)
Royal Icing Recipe
1 pound sifted confectioners' sugar or more as needed
1/2 cup pasteurized egg whites (3 large egg whites)
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and combine. Scrape down sides. Turn the mixer to high and beat until thick and very white. Mixture will hold a peak. This should take at least 7-10 minutes.
When finished, cover with plastic wrap, making sure it touches the royal icing so a crust doesn't form. Royal icing dries out quickly, so make sure it is covered all the time. Otherwise there will be lumps in the icing and they will never pass through an icing tip.
I prefer white icing, but you may tint it by using a small amount of paste food color. For 1/4 cup tinted icing, dip the tip of a toothpick into desired color, then into the icing, and stir well. Repeat until desired color is achieved. For strong colors, such as red, royal blue and dark purple, use 1/8 teaspoon color to 1/4 cup icing.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Tuesday
How I adore these boys! Spencer was reading in the office and all of us were enjoying the story. Spencer is reading well beyond his kindergarten level. Jacob has a ready smile and is so happy (except when he's not.) Luke is "army crawling" all over creation. These boys keep me on my toes.
On the "little sister" front, we got a receipt from USCIS. They have our application and are working on it. I have my Wyoming letter state certified. Waiting for a "fresh" birth certificate for me (must be less then 6 months old.) So, moving forward :)
Monday, March 18, 2013
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Crock Pot Challenge: Complete
You may remember last month I posted about the "Crock Pot Cooking Challenge". The idea is to take one day and prepare 40 freezer meals to make in the crock pot. I finally was able to do it yesterday. Here's the report.
It was a super busy morning for me. I got up at 6:45 AM so I could be at the church for the "Missionary Academy." I was one of the presenters and held 4 workshops on how to improve interpersonal communication. It was a great experience. I did it last year as one of the presenters, and they asked me again this year. I had my PowerPoint slides all ready and tried to add some humor and of course I wanted to inspire them. It was fun, but draining. I was rather spent by the time I came home at 11AM.
When I got home Dave was being Super-Dad (as usual). We had some some things to do around the house and by the time I ran to the store with my long list it was after 1PM. It was good to have the master list compiled for me, but I had to change some of the items. (For instant the list calls for 48 chicken breast. . . I converted it to 25 pounds.) The list was good to have, when I got home I discovered a couple things were missing, mushrooms and salsa. Also I have some left over cans of tomatoes that I never used and ranch packets. When I do this again I will be sure and double check the list more carefully.
The grand total was $250. I was really pleased with that. It ends up being $6.25 for each meal that feeds a family of 4 with some left-overs. Thursday is left-over night and I know there will be left overs. All the boneless-skinless chicken (breasts & thighs) was on sale for $1.99/pound. The steak for the Fajitas (just one recipe) was the most expensive at $5.99/pound. I did use things I already had in my pantry (honey, balsamic vinegar, spices, cream of mushroom soup. . .) so if you need those things the price per meal would be more.
I made it home and rolled up my sleeves to go to work.
The first thing I did was write on the freezer bags, I wrote each recipe and also added any special instructions (ie, serve with rice, add cream cheese 30 min. before serving. . . ) The next thing I did was add all the meat to the bags. Some of the meat was already cubed (stew beef) but I seemed to spend a lot of time dicing chicken. Some chicken breasts I made into tenderloins, and others I just used the whole breast because it needs to shredded.
Now that the meat was done, I completed each recipe. I added the seasonings and veggies, sealed the bag and when I completed a page of recipes (about 8 recipes . . . 16 meals) I would put that group in the freezer. Then go on the next page.
The whole thing took me about 4 1/2 hours. I started at 3PM and ended at 7:30PM. I did take a small break for dinner but by the end, I was slow moving and stiff. I think I could do it in 4 hours if I had done it earlier in the day. I was tired of dicing veggies (especially onions!) by the end. But the final product is awesome! A freezer full of meals that are already prepared.
Today we are having the Hawaiian Chicken for dinner. I am looking forward to trying our meals and seeing which ones are keepers. Hurray for the simple life, I can't wait to have dinners already made and just waiting for me.
It was a super busy morning for me. I got up at 6:45 AM so I could be at the church for the "Missionary Academy." I was one of the presenters and held 4 workshops on how to improve interpersonal communication. It was a great experience. I did it last year as one of the presenters, and they asked me again this year. I had my PowerPoint slides all ready and tried to add some humor and of course I wanted to inspire them. It was fun, but draining. I was rather spent by the time I came home at 11AM.
When I got home Dave was being Super-Dad (as usual). We had some some things to do around the house and by the time I ran to the store with my long list it was after 1PM. It was good to have the master list compiled for me, but I had to change some of the items. (For instant the list calls for 48 chicken breast. . . I converted it to 25 pounds.) The list was good to have, when I got home I discovered a couple things were missing, mushrooms and salsa. Also I have some left over cans of tomatoes that I never used and ranch packets. When I do this again I will be sure and double check the list more carefully.
The grand total was $250. I was really pleased with that. It ends up being $6.25 for each meal that feeds a family of 4 with some left-overs. Thursday is left-over night and I know there will be left overs. All the boneless-skinless chicken (breasts & thighs) was on sale for $1.99/pound. The steak for the Fajitas (just one recipe) was the most expensive at $5.99/pound. I did use things I already had in my pantry (honey, balsamic vinegar, spices, cream of mushroom soup. . .) so if you need those things the price per meal would be more.
I made it home and rolled up my sleeves to go to work.
The first thing I did was write on the freezer bags, I wrote each recipe and also added any special instructions (ie, serve with rice, add cream cheese 30 min. before serving. . . ) The next thing I did was add all the meat to the bags. Some of the meat was already cubed (stew beef) but I seemed to spend a lot of time dicing chicken. Some chicken breasts I made into tenderloins, and others I just used the whole breast because it needs to shredded.
The whole thing took me about 4 1/2 hours. I started at 3PM and ended at 7:30PM. I did take a small break for dinner but by the end, I was slow moving and stiff. I think I could do it in 4 hours if I had done it earlier in the day. I was tired of dicing veggies (especially onions!) by the end. But the final product is awesome! A freezer full of meals that are already prepared.
Today we are having the Hawaiian Chicken for dinner. I am looking forward to trying our meals and seeing which ones are keepers. Hurray for the simple life, I can't wait to have dinners already made and just waiting for me.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Monday, March 11, 2013
China Timeline
Now that our homestudy is done and sent to USCIS, I thought I would share a more detailed timeline for our adoption.
Once we get our I800 approval (around May 1) we can get all the dossier state certified (this can be done by an in-person visit to the state capitol, same day).
Then we send the dossier to the Chinese Consulate to be authenticated. This takes about 2 weeks (around May 21).
Then our dossier goes to the agency to be sent to China. We will get our LID in 1-4 weeks, (around June 21.)
So, we should have a Log in date around the end of June. Then we can be matched anytime after that. Because we are requesting a girl under three our wait times will be longer. We waited about 2 months to be matched with Jacob, so I think our wait times might be closer to 4 months, maybe longer. But it is impossible to tell, our daughter might be matched with us sooner.
This is from the agency:
Once you are matched you can expect your dossier to take about 5-12 weeks to go through the processes until you receive your LSC (letter seeking confirmation.). That is your actual referral from China for the little girl you will be matched with. After LSC and the paperwork piece to accept this referral -way less paperwork then dossier.. don't worry:), you can expect to travel about 2-4 months after that.
So. . .about 8 months from referral to travel.
I am getting really excited! I really hope to have a referral by the end of year and travel next summer :) Sooner would be better, but it is important to have realistic expectations. Dave put together a little timeline based on all the numbers we have:
Can you see why I love Dave so much? Ahhh an excel spreadsheet. . . I am in love.
Once we get our I800 approval (around May 1) we can get all the dossier state certified (this can be done by an in-person visit to the state capitol, same day).
Then we send the dossier to the Chinese Consulate to be authenticated. This takes about 2 weeks (around May 21).
Then our dossier goes to the agency to be sent to China. We will get our LID in 1-4 weeks, (around June 21.)
So, we should have a Log in date around the end of June. Then we can be matched anytime after that. Because we are requesting a girl under three our wait times will be longer. We waited about 2 months to be matched with Jacob, so I think our wait times might be closer to 4 months, maybe longer. But it is impossible to tell, our daughter might be matched with us sooner.
This is from the agency:
Once you are matched you can expect your dossier to take about 5-12 weeks to go through the processes until you receive your LSC (letter seeking confirmation.). That is your actual referral from China for the little girl you will be matched with. After LSC and the paperwork piece to accept this referral -way less paperwork then dossier.. don't worry:), you can expect to travel about 2-4 months after that.
So. . .about 8 months from referral to travel.
I am getting really excited! I really hope to have a referral by the end of year and travel next summer :) Sooner would be better, but it is important to have realistic expectations. Dave put together a little timeline based on all the numbers we have:
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Photo and Adoption Update
I love Easter outfits. Love them. I had to get a photo of Luke in his new Sunday outfit to share. He is totally adorable. I wanted to get a couple more, but my camera battery died :( Dave said he looks like he is ready for a day on the golf course.
Also I wanted to share some good adoption news. We got our finalized homestudy in the mail Saturday. Since that was the last thing we were waiting on to file the I800, we dropped our application off in the Fed-Ex drop box and it will go out on Monday. At this rate could could have our Dossier to China around the first part of May!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Oops
So, I was at Hobby Lobby (boy-free) and saw this cute little rabbit. My mother in law loves rabbits and I couldn't resist getting it for her. My big plan was to drop it in the mail and send her a little surprise.
As soon as I got home the boys had to see it, touch it, maul it with love. The next you know, boys are running, boys are laughing. . . rabbits are flying.
Crash.
So, now Spencer and Jacob are doing chores to pay for the rabbit. We have a chore canister and they need to do 6 chores each (12 total) to earn the money for the rabbit. So far. . . they have cleaned all the baseboards in the bathrooms, organized the shoes and cleaned all the downstairs windows.
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