april showers

april showers are starting a little early so we have been trying to find some constructive indoor activities. unfortunately crayons and play-dough are out because of their irresistible taste. watercolors work out much better. he was very proud of his painting and asked if i would take a picture. of course, how could i resist.





i think i am going to add some new side bar items and do some layout tweaking. so please, give me feedback if you love/dislike something.

dancing and sleeping

i took a little picture of eliot sleeping through his bedroom door. he is in a 'big boy bed' now. it is a captains style bed with lots of drawers for odds and ends and toys. it is a great space saver for us. he is so cute when he sleeps all cuddled up in flannel. a sweet little side note: out of all of his stuffed animals he has grown very fond of my old favorite, lamby. she is a haggard old lamb but he has connected with her. it makes me smile endlessly that she is receiving as much love now as she did when i was a wee babe.

our new 'front room' as we call it is our living room. it has bay windows that let in a ton of light. i hope i can get some seeds started in here (i bought seed starting mix and some awesome scented geraniums today). it is also very good for dancing and spinning.

a little party

we had a reunion of former residences of this apartment. it was a nice little gathering and all of the children played together amazingly well. we had a surprise visitor, a kitten from upstairs with no fear of children, that turned out to be the best babysitter for eliot. it was our first party since we have been here and despite only having one working burner on our stove the food came out great. once everything is put away i think we will have a proper housewarming.


i have been tweaking a recipe i found from Martha Stewart for pumpkin whoopie pies. a real maine treat! the recipe follows:

Pumpkin Whoopie Pie

3 cups pumpkin pure w/o spice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup veg. oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Frosting

3 cups conf. sugar
1/2 stick butter
8 oz cr. cheese
1tsp vanilla

Directions

350 degree oven
in a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients
in a separate bowl mix the wets including the pumpkin pure and sugar
add wets to dry

drop and shape on a cookie sheet and cook until spongy and slightly cracked
approx 15 min.

My Variations

I added at least another tablespoon of cinnamon and heaping measurements of the other spices. Use a larger bowl than you would think, it puffs up a lot while mixing it. Instead of brown sugar i used slightly less granular sugar and a few heaping tablespoons of molasses.

for the frosting - be sure to sift the powdered sugar or it will clump up. it helps to use an electric mixer and be sure the ingredients are room temp. i cut the sugar by quite a bit and it still makes a ton.

the original recipe was for either 6 or 8 massive ones but i cut it and made 12 or 13 big ones.

i found the cooking time to be more like 20-25 min. even when small.

getting back

trying to get back into the swing of things...

the apartment is nearly box free. i have one kitchen box left and a few odds and ends boxes filled with mostly framed artwork to still put away. i would like to do a little more painting but i am not sure that will actually happen, at least with me doing the work. There is quite a lot of yellow in here.. which is nice and sunny but a little much when it spreads through 3 rooms. a few little things are still getting worked out but all in all this is going to be a great place. i will be sharing some before and after photos of the yard as we get working on that especially. and several crafty projects i have in mind.

the weather is getting relatively warmer and hints of spring. i havent put away the shovel yet but im hoping the dwindling piles of snow keep doing so. we took a trip to the lighthouse where we got married last weekend and eliot had a good time running up and down the wheelchair ramp and watching someone fly a kite. he is starting to really turn into his own little person lately. the stories he tells me are absolutely hilarious. im thinking about doing a weekly video segment 'interviews with eliot' to capture some of the more silly speeches. he still is perfecting the whining and crying in front of the mirror.. it is becoming a true art form.

little pieces of green are popping up here and there, too. a few crocuses have reared their heads but the only picture i have is very blurry as i took it while trying to chase eliot down the street. sneakers are a must when going for a walk these days.


and i thought i would come back with something silly...my first encounter with an elvis impersonator was a hoot. i couldnt stop grinning.. it was about the funniest thing i have ever seen. he played a mean air guitar.