Saturday, October 25, 2008

What Merrick's loving RIGHT now

He loves, loves these face paints my mom bought him a few weeks ago.
He especially loves the pictures that came with the face paints their his inspiration.


Look at him deciding what character to be next, the bunny or the butterfly and let me tell you h totally looks at the picture as he's drawing on his face to make sure he's doing it right. Oh I love him soo much.
Such focus and determination. Down below is his version of the butterfly.


Oh and he's also loving his new best friend, Christopher Ramirez. A super cute family just moved in next door to us from New Mexico and they have a little boy who's almost 2 that Merrick just adores. We hang out with them every day.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Vote 2008

VOTE!Oh it's coming...and if you're not ready it'll pass you up and you won't have a say on who you'd rather have.
NOVEMBER 4th
is Election Day- McCain vs. Obama who's it going to be???
But before you can vote you have to make sure your registered. The deadline to register in California is Oct. 20th but to find out the registration deadline in your state click here.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Bum Genius Cloth Diapers

Extra, Extra read all about it!!!

Bum Genius Cloth Diapers are on sale at Amazon found here for $12 plus free shipping. Just a week ago they were $15 so if you've ever wanted to do cloth diapers here is a very inexpensive way to try it out. These are the best cloth diapers and I've got Memphis in full cloth diaper mode. And you know, it's really not that bad. I'm planning to lay it all out in another post but for now I just wanted to show that they're on sale.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Raspberry Jam

Okay as promised here is the tutorial for the Raspberry Jam. We got the recipe from the Ball Blue Book for Preserving. I made this batch with my good friend Johanna and you can find this recipe as well as others at her website found here.

Homemade Raspberry Jam


what you'll need:
1 quart (4 cups) mashed Raspberries
6 1/2 cups sugar
1 pouch liquid Pectin

7-8 (1/2 Pint) Mason Jars with lids

Wash the lids in hot soapy water. Let dry. Place the 1/2 pint jars and rings in a pot. Do not allow the water to boil. Simmer until ready to fill (this will help clean and disinfect the lids and jars).

In a sauce pan add 1 quart mashed raspberries. When the berries begin to bubble add 6 1/2 cups sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved add one pouch of liquid pectin. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil hard for one minute. Remove from heat. Scrape the foam off the top.

Remove jars from the water bath. Using a funnel ladle the jam into the jars. Fill to the first line from the bottom. As the jam cools it will expand. Wipe the rims clean. Top with the lids then screw on the ring.

Place the filled jars back into the water bath, making sure the jars do not touch. Add enough water to cover 1-2 inches.


Bring water to a rolling boil. Boil covered for 10 minutes. Remove from bath and let sit at least 24 hours. To determine if the lids are properly sealed, press down in the center of the lid. If it clicks or caves in under the pressure it is not sealed. You can repeat the water bath or store the jam in the refrigerator. Let me know if anyone tries this yummy jam.

Oh yeah and a super cute way to top off this great jam or any jam for that matter is to add a little bit of fabric on top. This is a special vintagy collection that I pickd up from my favorite quilting store in Carpinteria, California- The Treasure Hunt.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Happy Unbirthday to my little guy


Memphis is 6 months today and I just wanted to wish him a super I love you half-birthday. I feel so blessed to be his mama each and every time I hold him in my arms. How we got so lucky I'll never know but we sure are glad to have him as part of our family. Some things he's been up to lately:
rolling
smiling
giggling
reaching
cooing
tasting
feeling
observing
loving
hugging
holding
rocking
squishing
and
touching his toes



Saturday, September 27, 2008

Raspberry Scones

What do you do when you decide to go pick your own raspberries again with a really good girlfriend?

You make yummy raspberry scones of course.


I got the raspberry scones recipe here, but substituted whole milk for heavy cream and it was very good.

Friday, September 26, 2008

A Dragon, a Care Bear and a Tea Party

Merrick has really been loving itty bitty cups that he can drink his chocolate milk out of with a super long curvy straw of course.
So on Saturday after I went Garage Sale Hunting and found this cute Dragon costume for a dollar we had a tea party.




His cute little Care Bear had to have his own cup and a curvy straw too. So cute.