May 04, 2008
Crunchy Granola
Life is unscheduled and unpredictable with a newborn. This is hard for both Kirk and my personalities. One area of our little scheduled life that Samuel has thrown into some confusion is our morning routine. We like to eat oatmeal for breakfast but it takes time to make and thus Kirk is late for work. But something that my mom got us back into is granola. Quick, easy, delicious (especially if we have fresh strawberries to throw on top. So here's a recipe that I grew up on from the More With Less Cookbook. I have a batch baking right now and time to blog the recipe thanks to a WONDERFUL husband who has taken Joanna to the store. It's been a long, hard day and I'm tired of my job as Mommy.
Preheat oven to 325.
Mix together in large bowl:
- 1/2 - 1 C. coconut (I only use 1/2 C.)
- 4 C. rolled oats (I just use oatmeal)
- 1 C. sunflower seed
- 1 C. wheat germ (sold in the cereal part of the store, not the flour part)
- 1/4 - 1/2 c. sesame seed (I use 1/4 C.)
- 1 C. peanuts or chopped walnuts (I use 1 1/2 C. peanuts)
Bring to a boil:
- 1 C. honey or brown sugar (use 3/4 C. oil of you use brown sugar)
- 1/2 C oil
- 1 T cinnamon
Pour honey mixture over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Spread on 2 greased cookie sheets (with sides). Bake about 30 minutes, stirring often. Watch closely at the last, not allowing granola to become too dark. Allow to cool undisturbed, then break into chunks.
Recipe | By sarahward | 05:16 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
April 22, 2008
Butterfly Onsie
My niece LOVES butterflies and so my Mom asked me to make her a butterfly shirt for her birthday. It turned out so cute I decided to make a onsie version. This is nothing like what her shirt looked like but I'm happy with the results. This onsie is now listed on my Little Knots website and also on my Etsy website. I haven't been using Etsy in a long time because I felt like it wasn't bringing in any sales. But in an attempt to try to get my business more out there I'm putting more work into getting my stuff out there. Check out the easy links on my right sidebar.
| By sarahward | 03:02 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
April 15, 2008
Journal Entry
I keep a journal for each of my kids...how strange it is to say, "kids." I thought I'd share a bit about why the name Samuel is so special to me. It's a family name from Kirk's dad's side of the family which I think is awesome but that's a different story that maybe Kirk will tell sometime. I'm going to talk about the other reason I love the name Samuel. Actually, I'm just going to copy out what I wrote in Samuel's journal b/c I'm in a rush and need to straighten up my house before my in-laws arrive. :)
Samuel means more to me than just following family tradition. I had a pretty hard pregnancy with you. I was really nauseous at the beginning, and a little nauseous the rest of the time. I also struggled a lot emotionally. During my pregnancy I was in a women's Bible study. Some of what we studied was about how God provided for the Israelites on a day-by-day basis (while in the desert). And in the "Lord's Prayer," Jesus taught us to pray and ask God for our "daily bread." God taught me, through your hard pregnancy, to rely on Him for what I needed one day at a time. And that God promised to always give me what I needed for each day...and He was/is faithful. I learned to pray so much more. This is why I love the name Samuel because it means "heard by God." God hears our prayers - what a privilege to be reminded of that by my son's name!
So my grammar is not perfect and the flow is non-existent...that's how journals are supposed to be. But you get the point, God is so amazing that He listens to the prayers of these tiny, insignificant, selfish people.
Samuel | By sarahward | 03:28 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
March 30, 2008
Samuel Paul
Samuel Paul Ward arrived at 1:42 am on Wednesday, March 26th. He weighed 8 lb 2 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. We went into the hospital around 2:00 pm on Tuesday to be induced. After a long boring day of "laboring," boring because I decided to get an epidural earlier than I did with Joanna (I waited until I was in excruciating pain). Around 1:00 a.m. we (Kirk, my mom, and me) were sleepy so turned off Fellowship of the Ring and took a nap. Fifteen minutes later the nurses came in to check on me because the baby monitor had slipped and wasn't picking up Samuel's heartbeat. Then put one on his head and the nurse decided to check my progress...I was fully dilated. So they wheeled in all the delivery stuff (I labored, delivered, and recovered in the same room), called the OB and I did a "practice push." My OB arrived, got herself ready and we did a real push which welcomed Samuel's head into the world and on the next contraction welcomed his body. I guess those kegels really do work. :)
Our recovery is going well. I hardly tore at all. My mom is here to do all the work she can and give Joanna all the attention she can. Samuel's doing awesome. He sleeps a TON! The first night home was rough, the next night he woke up twice and last night he woke up once. Who knows what tonight will bring.
Thanks for all your prayers.
Samuel | By sarahward | 11:15 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
March 25, 2008
Baby Boy Come Out
I'm heading out to the hospital to induce this baby out of me!!! Pray for safety, health, strength, wise caregivers, endurance, etc.
| By sarahward | 11:52 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
February 25, 2008
Life in the Fast Lane
As long promised...a personal blog entry. I'd like to say that life in the fast lane is slowing down. Last week was my last week of watching Maddie Eisenbraun one day a week. Next week will be my last week of Monday night girls' Bible study (anyone interested in taking my place?). Although with these things coming to a close I have increased my OBGYN appointments to once a week. Kirk's life is also slowing down. His responsibilities in South City are slowing down and choir season is slowing down.
Today I went to my doctor and she said that I'm 2 cm dilated (that's 2 of the 10 you have to be when you begin the "pushing" phase of labor). So that was a good shock to get me moving to get ready for the birth of this baby. He's not due for another 4 weeks but will be considered full term on Friday. I'm trying not to get my hopes up for an early delivery, I could be dilated at 2 cm for 5 more weeks before going into labor. But it's definitely given me a kick in the maternity pants to register myself at the hospital and figure out exactly what we'll do with Joanna when I go to the hospital...who would like to be called in the middle of the night for "Joanna duty?" My labor was induced with Joanna so I have this fear that I won't have any idea when I'm going into labor. Any tips from fellow moms?
I'd also like to write some more about things I've been thinking through: What should worship look like for me with a toddler? What should I expect Joanna to behave like in church? What's acceptable and what's not? When Joanna gets older, what are the pros and cons to children's church? I hope to write more on this later and would love some feedback.
Mommy Life | By sarahward | 05:01 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
