Happy February!

Wow! Can you believe it's already February 1st? I am amazed that we are already in the second month of 2010!

I am super happy today as it is Chris' first day back at work! YIPPEE! He has been out of work since November 2009. I know, not that long compared to some people, but for us it was really hard. We are excited because this job is actually different than his usual profession (auto/marine mechanic), he will be working on a certified organic farm. I guess I will get more details when he gets home tonight. :)

For the month of February Maggie and I are going to really focus on reading/sounding out words and writing. She is just so ready for this now. She is constantly coming up to me, "Mommy, what's this word?", "Mommy, how do you spell xxxx?"
We are also going to do a lot of math manipulative's. She has really picked up on adding, which I am pretty pleased about. I have found some great games that we are going to start as well as some fun workpages as well.
I can see such a change in her lately with how she wants to school. She is really eager to learn, and I am ready and willing to teach her. It seems like she has been in a "school slump" for the last few months. I haven't pushed her, have just eased up on it and waited for her to come back around. Looks like she has and is super ready to get started again! I can't wait to see what we learn over the next few months.

Another thing we are working on is sowing our seeds so they will be ready for planting when it comes time to plant our garden. I don't know who is more excited about this project, me or Maggie.

I am trying, as usual to figure out ways for our family to save money. So my project I am starting now is homemade dog food. I will write more tomorrow about this, as well as the recipe. I am so pleased with how easy it was, how inexpensive it is and how much our dogs loved it!
Agador, our male dog was barking at his bowl when he was done. When I went to tell him to stop barking, Starina was just starring into her bowl as if she was willing more food in there. I would have to say it is a big thumbs up all the way around!

Homemade Pizza Night!

We love pizza in our house. Only thing is Maggie does not like cheese. She used to. She used to LOVE cheese. But for some reason, the last couple months she protests and says she doesn't like it. So that makes pizza hard if you want to order it in. If she sees cheese on the pizza at all, she wont eat it. So, we have been making our own. Which is WAY more fun anyway!

I found a great recipe for dough on AllRecipes. It's super easy and super quick for those nights when you don't have a lot of time!

Pizza Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package
active dry yeast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110
degrees F/45 degrees C)

Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired.
2. Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes

A great thing about this dough is once you make it, it's done. You don't need to let it rise. You can if you want to, but you don't have to. We did let ours sit for about 20-30 minutes though.

Maggie had a great time putting on our homemade sauce.

She strategically placed her pepperoni, bell pepper and tomatoes.


And, the finished project


Daddy made a yummy calzone


Although we have a small kitchen we still had fun being together creating our meal. Everyone got to make their own meal their own way.

Please help find this missing person

Before I got pregnant with Maggie I worked for the company that Bryan Scobey worked for. I worked in the Termite Dept and he was in Pest Control. I didn't stay at the job long as I was put on strict bedrest and never returned to work, so I never got to know Bryan well. But what I do know is he was always smiling, always seemed happy and was an all around nice guy. Sadly he went missing on January 13th. Nobody has seen him or his work truck. He has just vanished.

Even if you don't live in our immediate area, please take a look at his picture and what his truck looks like. You just never know what you might see.

If you click here you can see a little more information as well as a truck that is very similar to the one Bryan was driving. Help bring this man back to his wife and children safely.

Bring Bryan Home


Thank you!

A is for Apple

Chris had gone to the gas station and I was getting ready so we could go meet Maggie's friend to go bowling. It was pretty quiet in the living room. That could mean one of two things. So I walked down the hallway wondering what I was going to see and I was pleasantly surprised. My baby girl was sitting on the floor practicing her alphabet writing and drawing!

She makes pretty good "A's" but I was surprised at how well her apple came out, leaves and all.



-Bobbi

She's official!

Maggie finally made it to her first official "big" 4-H meeting yesterday. I was so proud of her to sit thru the hour long meeting, which I am sure was totally boring to her. But, she sat there, quiet and patient, watching and taking in what was going on around her. I honestly thought sitting there for so long would be hard for her, but she was a trooper! Plus she was thrilled that her friend Clara was there, sitting right next to her. Clara is an older girl, I think she is 11. They made friends at the chicken meeting last month.

Maggie got her hat and T-shirt yesterday. She looks so stinkin' cute in them. She tried them on and had specific orders that she wanted her hair in two braids. Last night she was laying in bed and she told her dad that she wont be "ficial" (official) until she gets a gold pin on her hat. So she clearly has a goal set for herself already!

So far she is signed up for the Cloverbud class as well as Chickens and Rabbits. I think she is going to absolutely love this, she seems so excited.
Right now she is in her "uniform" she has a notebook in front of her and she is practicing a "presentation" in front of her mirror. This kid is so cute. I'm so proud of her!