Baked Oatmeal

I know I have already professed my love with Heidi Swanson's recipes but here is another one I wanted to pass along to all of you.  I have company staying with us this week and since weekday mornings tend to be a bit busy, you know with school and work and carpools and everything, I wanted to have something ready made for breakfast and everyone could grab a bite as they got hungry.  I also wanted it to be healthy so the kids could have some before school and if I do nothing else that day at least I know they had a good breakfast :)
First you need some oats....

Then some fruit

Put it all together and add some milk ( I used half almond milk and half regular)

Then bake.  When served I melted some butter in maple syrup and drizzled it over the top.

Here is a link to the recipe  http://www.lottieanddoof.com/2011/04/baked-oatmeal .  And if you click on Heidi's website the oatmeal muffins she just posted about look great too!  I think I might be making some for this weekend to take camping.  I'll let you know how it goes.

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A Simple Woman's Daybook 2

A super fun crazy busy May is finally coming to a close.  I am really shocked at how swiftly this year is going by.  My May was full and busy, we went to San Francisco last weekend for a cousins wedding and some sightseeing with the kids.  They loved Fisherman's Wharf and the sea lions there.

We had family staying with us as soon as we got home that left on Friday so we finally just relaxed in a lump this weekend.

Since I haven't checked in for awhile I thought another edition of A Simple Woman's Daybook would get me jump started. So...

Outside my window...blue skies and no wind or rain for the first time in a long time.

I am thinking...how much better I want to get at photography, the area that really holds me back in blogging is the elusive good picture to truly capture what I am working on.  If I can't get a good shot, no posting, then I am kicking myself for not posting anything at all and a whole month goes by.  So instead of focusing on where I can improve I find myself comparing my photos to the beautiful ones I see on all of your blogs.  I definitely need to shift my thinking and just keep practicing (which is what I always tell my kids to do when they complain about not being good at something).  Apparently my parenting style is leaning towards the "do as I say and not as I do" theory...need to work on that.

I am thankful for...a very relaxing weekend with my family....lots of movies and games and dinner with friends.  My kids are finally at an age where they will allow me to wallow for a whole day, provided a good portion of that wallowing includes kid movies and kid card games.  As long as I can read a book I want and maybe watch part of a movie I want I can work with that compromise :)
From the learning rooms...yes a lot of photography reading on the Internet.  I have been looking here and here  any suggestions for other places I should check out?

From the kitchen....we made these rolls cinnamon rolls this weekend, because what else is there to do when it has been raining for the last few days accompanied by gale force winds?  Cinnamon rolls all!  Who says they are only for breakfast.  I did cut down the recipe and made two pans instead of eight, we cooked one Saturday afternoon and the other one Monday morning.....soooo good!!

I am creating... the seeds hat from Chris over at Doodles in String.  I won a giveaway on her blog and got her beautiful seeds hat pattern along with the yarn to knit it up. 

I am going...to a baseball game with my family and some friends this afternoon.  The weather looks to be clearing so hopefully we won't have to bring blankets and coats and gloves and well as much stuff as we have been due to the wonky weather.

I am reading... Cutting for Stone.....still :)  I have read some other books this last month but none worth mentioning.

I am hoping...to find the balance in my week that I really need between mommy stuff, work stuff, wife stuff, typical family admin stuff and just some time for myself.

I am hearing...My husband upstairs making breakfast, the dogs playing on the deck, and my kids doing some art projects next to me on the sofa.

Around the house...making my lists for the week, you know the drill.  I call it family admin. planning my cleaning schedule to get everything done, planning our menu list for the week for grocery shopping, and trying to plan some time for me to workout because this next weekend is going to be a busy one and I doubt I'll have much time.

Here's to wishing you all a nice balanced week!

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Pedicure Socks

Happy Monday everyone!  Finally some knitting.  Here are my pedicure socks.  I won this yarn from Suzanne forever ago and it has been calling me from my knitting basket ever since.  I haven't really knit socks in my short knitting career.  I don't know where my hesitation stemmed from because these socks came together so quickly and were perfect for some evening TV time with my family. 

The perfect knit for spring/summer in my opinion.  Fast, easy, and perfect if you are an at home pedicurist. 

My feet get so dry when the weather changes but I really am not a fan of wearing socks so this is kind of the perfect solution.  Slather my tootsies up with creamy lotion put on my new socks and my feet don't get hot or suffocated.  I can do my toes and not mess up the polish (something I mess up all the time).

The lizard was added by my "assistant"....because he is so cute.  Um...okay honey, thank you.   You can get the pattern here (free).

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Happy Easter Eve

Well I know I won't be checking in here tomorrow so I wanted to post tonight and wish you all a wonderful happy day tomorrow.  We will be celebrating Easter and today has been a busy one to prep for tomorrow.  I have 60 eggs all hard boiled up and waiting to dye later this evening.  A chicken cooking in the smoker along with a green salad and some french bread are on the menu tonight.  My parents are coming over tonight to dye eggs with the kids so we needed  a quick and healthy dinner, so tomorrow we can gorge enjoy brunch.

The house is clean and decorated and we have had many practice Easter egg hunts with plastic eggs in preparation.  Plates, napkins, and cutlery are all wrapped and ready for morning.

  We are doing a pot-luck brunch with friends and family.  I have pureed strawberries and peaches ready for bellinis.  A hash brown casserole that is always a huge crowd pleaser, especially with the menfolk.  Another contribution of mine are maple oatmeal scones from The Barefoot Contessa cookbook. 

A little tip from the cookbook states that you can make the scones up to a week in advance and keep covered in the fridge until ready to cook.  Now I haven't ever done them a whole week in advance but I usually make them a couple of days in advance, keep in the fridge and then just pop in the oven the morning I need them.  I have two trays for tomorrow and the third tray I am going to pop in the freezer to freeze.  These I will keep until I want to make a spontaneous yummy breakfast (I have cooked straight from freezer and they are still delicious).  There will be lots of good food and hopefully if I finish all my chores I won't have to much work tomorrow :).  Wishing you and yours much happiness!!

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Simple Woman's Day Book

I love reading Heather's Simple Woman's Day Book posts so I thought I would post one here for you.

Outside my window...A spring rainstorm is brewing

I am thinking...about all the things I need to shop for, cook, and plan for Easter this weekend

I am thankful for...my family, our health, and a rainy day to knit

From the learning rooms...reading about different vegetables to plant in our garden this year

From the kitchen... I am devouring this book and can't wait to make some things from it.

I am creating...some pedicure socks for myself

I am going...to a baseball game with my family tonight, so we are having a picnic dinner (if the rain lets up)

I am reading... Cutting For Stone, just picked it up so I hope I enjoy it

I am hoping... that I can get to bed early tonight because even though the week is just beginning I am not caught up on my sleep

I am hearing...My children laughing and talking as they create cards to leave for the Easter bunny

Around the house...a full day of cleaning and organizing to get ourselves ready for the week.

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The Power of Words

Good morning everyone,

I have been trying to get back to this space and so many things have kept me away (all good).  A trip to the zoo, a mom/child sleepover with my best girlfriend and her kids, movie excursions to go see this movie,  a trip to the mountains to play in the snow left from a recent snowstorm, picnics, and baseball season has officially begun here so we are headed to many games this weekend and in the coming weeks.  I have some knitting in the works but no pictures so I am going to leave this video for you to watch....so good!  I'll admit that I teared up watching it.  Enjoy and Happy Saturday!  Click here.

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Sorry for the time out

Hello all and hello spring.  When I was last in this space we had snow and quilts and lots of heavy knits....now we have spring with less blankets on the bed, coats being put away till next year and some smaller knits in the queue.

 I did not mean to take such a long break.  Avery goes to a year round school so instead of one long summer break she gets November off, March off and 6 weeks in the summer.  When she went off track in March I just kind of immersed myself in all things family and turned off my computer.  If I knew that I wouldn't be back for a month I would have checked in or something and left a message (I really appreciate everyone that checked in with me!) but it just kind of happened.  So here I am over a month later with many blogs to read and much to catch up on with all of you. 

I don't have much to share since along with blogging I also closed the door on any grown-up crafting and did all children crafting.  We made rainbows to hang up to try and attract some leprechauns.

We made leprechaun catchers complete with a trail of gold....

Sadly we didn't catch any leprechauns but they left cookies for the kids :)

Last but not least I did finish my slouchy cardigan finally!! 

 The whole sleeve cap issue was easily resolved when I went back and just followed the pattern to the letter.  I had read so many  notes on Ravelry and was all set to have my sleeve cap not fit so I went straight to Ravelry notes.  After many attempts I finally frogged them back completely and just went with the pattern.....they fit perfectly with not one extra stitch.  Finally a sweater that I love to wear all the time and it looks great with jeans or jammies!  I wish all of you a wonderful week and thanks for checking in with me here.  XOXOXO 

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