Wonderful weekends!!

I have to say that I have a very pleasant but busy weekend. I started off Saturday morning doing the dishes and cleaning off our kitchen table (that is very rarely used as a table). I played with my Lily girl in between and we managed to get everything clean enough. I let Lily help me to mix and prepare some bread to bake. It was a very last minute decision to make bread, and I was lucky to be able to use things I had on hand (although I would have preferred to buy them fresh). We made the dough and let it move through the different stages of rising. We stopped at a garage sale to pass some of the time. Lily got a few baby's to play with a little box great for crayons or little toys on the go. We colored and had lunch...then some cuddles before nap time. By the time she was napping, the bread had completed it's 3 stages of rising and I was able to pop it in the oven and have a few quiet minutes to myself.


Pictured here is the 2nd rise:

Pictured here is after the 3rd rise:

Pictured here is fresh out of the oven: 

This is where I got the recipe for the bread: http://commonsensehome.com/french-bread-recipe/

Before Daniel left work for in the morning we went out and did a harvest of our veggies. This is the most we have brought in at one time this year. There's several kinds of peppers and two kinds of tomatoes. I am most excited for the Tomatoes! I've already eaten several this year...They just taste better when they are home grown!!!!





I ended up making some steak in the crockpot, corn on the cob, apples, the bread, and veggies from the garden for dinner. I was very please with how everything turned out!

Saturday/Sunday was considered to be the first of the three harvest holidays...so making bread and eating of our own garden really helped to pull that idea together for a great family meal...plus I mean, it's been ages since I made a nice family dinner. It really felt good to do that for my family. Lily helped when she could, and Daniel helped by staying out of the kitchen (which was pretty easy since he was at work most of the day). 

On a whim and out of a book I was reading from I decided that all this food wasn't enough and that we needed pie. Now there's something you need to know about me as a person. I don't eat pie, I've never had pie, I had to wish for pie...so the idea of me making a pie seemed a little bit crazy, but I went with it! I had my hubby bring home the freshest blackberries he could get his hands on and a pre-made crush. The bread baking went well, but I didn't want to push my luck trying to make a pie crust with out a clue of what I was doing. 

As soon as he got home I went to work mixing the ingredients and using a little bit of  "guess and check" which is my normal method of operation for most things. While I do admit I overfilled the pie....I'm sticking to the fact that I've never made a pie to get me through that one. Also, since there was so much filling I let it bake a little bit too long (in our crazy super hot, needs to be scrubbed clean oven). Daniel and his friend Bill both offered to eat some and both agreed it was a great first attempt, but less filling and a bit less cook time could be the improvements to make for next time.

I washed up all the dishes when everything was done and still got to bed at a good time. It was a really nice evening with the family and good food. I'm glad we were able to spend that time together celebrating the harvest.

Sunday was a bit slower paced for me. Lily was a very hands on player and wanted me sitting right next to her for most of the more. We had a lot of giggles and cuddles. I've been looking for TV shows that aren't well...stupid kids shows for her to watch. I was able to locate a show on Youtube called Mythic Warriors (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPJBovmveOA&list=PL2998z5ux8Zq7RgMo3AMR5Fw0apyP_xEH) We watched several episodes together. It's pretty amazing when my almost 2 yr old climbs up on my lap to snuggle and just watch TV. We don't let her watch too much TV right now because she's so young and we'd rather she play with toys. She already has a great imagination and takes very good care of her baby dolls. This show is fun and somewhat educational...and mommy liked it too. :)

We also found the series David the Gnome (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=navva7LA-0g&list=PLrEuz9dJQmAkIYkhcB4iZpoOlUDnMNDif ) 

I loved David the Gnome when I was a little girl....I watched 3 episodes while the baby was napping and honestly, I wasn't disappointed and it was exactly how I remember it. You can't say that much anymore...and it was a great comfort!

Other highlights from Sunday include a 45 min beautiful drive to take my car to the shop, stopping at not my usual Kroger and finding some great deals (and only spending $45) and coming home and making ANOTHER full meal for the family...not only did I make dinner again last night, but I also cooked turkey legs and pre-made chicken and noodles for my lunches this week....at one point I was cooking turkey, chicken, and hamburgers all at the same time. Daniel was quite impressed and confused by this. Love that guy.

I'm glad to be on this upward swing and I hope the feeling continues. I'm excited to be starting my cleanse soon. Honestly, I think the Spark! I was drinking hand something to do with me being able to accomplish so much in a short amount of time! It really does work!