Valentine's Baking

Posted by: WoodElves / Category:


What, you seriously didn't think I was the only domestic person with a blog to not cook something heart-shaped today, did you? ha! I made David some peanut butter cookies since I'm too poor this year to get his usual gift... that and I never really got around to looking for sales/deals on it.

I used the peanut butter cookie recipe from Laurie at Cookin Up North. The Crisco gives it a nice crispy edge but they aren't hard.



I just rolled the dough into a U and pressed into shape with the usual fork dipped in sugar and then pinched the tip with my fingers.

Then I added chocolate chips on top of some for me. David couldn't eat all those cookies by himself, anyway! I've only tested one slightly burnt one but am looking forward to attacking the pile tonight after dinner of Thai Chicken Bites & rice.


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Posted by: WoodElves / Category:

I can't believe how big my boy is already! He seems huge lying on my lap feeding. Feeding times have GREATLY improved and hopefully soon will be completely painless. Praise God! Those first weeks of feeding were the hardest thing I've ever done.

Mac hasn't been one for much of a sleeping schedule. He's starving about every 2-2.5 hours but naps are a lot less predictable. These days, carrying him in the Moby is the best way to get him to sleep & stay asleep, but that could change next week. He also has greatly improved in attitude - we are having much more happy time and smiles and are soaking every second up. He still has grumpy times, but so do I. In a split second, he can change from blissfully happy to miserable and vice versa. Also he's doing better in the number of times I can put him down and he not start crying right away, making for a very happy mama. I can do almost everything one-handed, but not everything!


Anyway, all this to tell you that last night after I fed him about 9pm, he was awake and happy and it would have been a great time to play with him. The problem was that David and I were exhausted. David is still recovering from his sore throat & cough and needs extra rest so he can get better all the way. I actually put my wide awake, happy little boy in the bassinet and went to bed... holding my breath because eventually he would start crying and I'd have to get up again to help him get to sleep. I like to take opportunities to let him try to achieve
sleep on his own but only to an extent! Well he kicked and flailed his little arms and made little noises and I reached over a few times to put his pacifier back in his mouth. But do you know, he never did cry, and eventually he went to sleep on his own.

I'm a very proud mom today. I know lots of moms have babies who go to sleep by themselves all the time but this is Mac's moment and I'm going to brag on him because it's my boy and my blog and I can. :D



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Mac!

Posted by: WoodElves / Category:


Our lives went through a huge change this past month! Our son, Robert MacArthur Wood, decided that he actually did want to be born on Christmas day. We had a smooth, unmedicated birth and a great hospital experience; we actually got released the next day! My mom and then sister came after Mac was born and were a huge help to us. Mac's generous & doting Wood grandparents also visited us twice. Now he is almost a month old and we are still trying to find our new normal and get adjusted to it. Mac doesn't seem to be one for schedules, though. Some days he loves napping and some days he just won't go to sleep for anything!

Here are a few of the things going on with me as I start the crazy, messy world of mothering:

- This week is the first week that David's working full time, and I'm on my own with Mac. I've been working on some goals to accomplish each week in addition to taking care of Mac and getting dressed each day. ha! For one, I want to start blogging and journaling each week so I don't forget anything! And I feel sorry for our neglected blog - but what was I supposed to talk about when I was pregnant: "Hey it's me again, still uncomfortable & crabby!" (oh wait, that's what Rachel does!) Also I've divided up my main chores for the week so each day I want to get done at least my big chore for the day & hopefully the dishes too. Here's my list:
Monday: Laundry/change bedsheets
Tuesday: Cut & organize coupons, hopefully also meal plan. Maybe.
Wednesday: Grocery shop
Thursday: Clean bathrooms
Friday: Vacuum & sweep (I also usually do another load of laundry on Fridays)
Now David knew when he married me that I don't dust, and if he wanted a dusted house, that would be his chore. Something about moving all the little knick knacks that's sooo tedious! But I do have a little Swiffer duster that's kind of fun to dust with, so when I'm in the mood for that particular kind of fun, I might dust.
That's my starting-out list. I'm also looking forward to being able to do more things like go to the library and thrift stores more! But I'm finding that I'm doing hands on things like knitting less - I've discovered it's impossible to knit in the round while nursing.

- Reading! I'm loving that nursing has given me more time to read. My mom used to read aloud to us when she was nursing the little ones. I just started reading the Anne series again, which is one my mom read to us. I think she wasn't nursing when she read us those ones but it's still cool to me to carry on the tradition. I also get more time to spend reading the Bible, which I'm really excited about.

- These are some of the things I can do with Mac in the Moby: Empty the dishwasher, blow dry my hair, brush my teeth, put on makeup, vacuum, laundry, and now, blog. He usually falls asleep in the Moby eventually, though it took a little longer when I was putting away dishes and clanging around.

- Feeding has been very difficult since the beginning. Thankfully, Mac has been getting enough to eat but it has been incredibly challenging and painful for me. It has added a huge amount of stress in our lives in addition to being sleep deprived and getting used to a screaming infant. It's been very challenging to deal with that much pain and being very needy when I have a needy infant to take care of. Sometimes it's overwhelming to think about doing this day after day and making sure that all three of us are taken care of. However it's so encouraging to me whenever I think about God's mercies being new every morning. I just have to live today right now and when I get to tomorrow there will be new mercies so I don't have to feel overwhelmed about it.

- The church has an awesome nursing mothers room with comfy seats & streaming the service. I never knew about it before the Sunday after Mac was born and I went looking for a place to throw away a dirty diaper. It's so comfy, it's tempting to go there during the week to nurse. But they probably wouldn't have the heat on.

- I'm so thankful for the support of my friends! Several of my friends have been willing to come over and watch Mac so I can rest (since he is so unpredictable & I need extra rest because of the feeding issues). I didn't know how difficult it would be to not be near family, but I'm not afraid to let people know when I need help and they have all been so kind with their offers.

- I'm loving mothering and having Mac. He is so cuddly and it's amazing to have another little person living in the house and a new personality to add to the makeup of our family. It hasn't been a walk in the park, but he is definitely worth it and we love him so much.



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Giveaway winners

Posted by: WoodElves / Category:

Time to announce the winners of the Purex Complete with Zout giveaway!

The winners are # 2 - the McKannas and #3 Anonymous (HeathersMamo). Congratulations! I am contacting the winners by email, and they'll have 48 hours to respond or I'll pick another winner.


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Purex Complete with Zout Giveaway

Posted by: WoodElves / Category:

** Entries are now closed**

I'm really excited that I get to be a member of Purex Insiders. Several months ago they sent me a bottle of Purex Complete with Zout to use for myself and 2 coupons for free bottles to give away on this blog! I thought it was a great opportunity to give some free things away and introduce you to a new product.
...Anyway, in the meantime, we moved and I lost the coupons, although I've been using my bottle all along. The good news is that David sorted through the right stuff yesterday and found the coupons so NOW I'm going to give them away. Don't worry, they don't expire any time soon.

First, a blurb about Purex with Zout from their website so you know what you're winning:
Purex Complete with Zout combines the proven performance of Purex detergent with the triple-enzyme stain-fighting power of Zout pretreater. This powerful combination works to get stains out the first time, even tough stains like grass, chocolate, and tomato sauce. Try it on your tough stains.

We've had good results with the Purex with Zout that we've been using. I'm not brand-loyal when it comes to laundry detergents, I use whatever works, and we've been happy with the way Purex with Zout cleans our clothes.

The best part of this giveaway is that Purex said I can do it however I want! Yippee!!

Here's the scoop:
Two readers will each win one FREE product coupon for Purex Complete with Zout. The winners will be selected using Random.org. I'll contact the winners by email, Facebook, or phone (however I can reach you) after the giveaway is closed, and you'll have 48 hours to respond or I'll choose a new winner. The giveaway will close Sunday, September 4 at 6pm EST.

How to enter: (1 entry per person)
Leave a comment on THIS post telling me your favorite joke. Or if it's not your favorite, make it a really good one. If I don't already have your email address, leave it in your comment so I can contact you if you win.

*I am a Purex Insider. I do receive samples from the Purex brand, but no other compensation was received & my opinions are my own. Now let's hear your jokes!


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mini peach cobblers

Posted by: WoodElves / Category:

This post is about a dish I made but no recipe. And no picture. So you may wonder why would I even post about it??

but.... it was soo easy & yummy! I mean super easy. In a couple minutes I whipped up what is usually a special dessert treat, just for the two of us. It's something I could make on any weeknight.

So here are my guidelines for quick Mini Peach Cobblers. Maybe you could take the idea and make something respectable out of it.

I took 1 can of peaches and cut the peaches up in little squares.

Then I dumped a couple spoonfulls of cut up peaches into muffin tins. 1 can of peaches made 6 muffin tins for me, but they were a little small. We each ate more than one. I won't say how many.

Ok this is where this becomes a non-recipe altogether:
Then, I poured some oats, brown sugar, melted butter and flour into a bowl and mixed them into a little streusel. I don't know how much I used. I used proportions that looked like normal streusel proportions to me. If that doesn't help you, just look up a streusel recipe & scale down. ;)

I dumped my little mix over the peaches and sprinkled cinnamon on top. Then I baked it. I think it was at 375 and it might have taken 15-20 minutes until I felt it was done and the streusel looked as baked as seemed right.

They were so yummy for an evening snack with milk, and see how easy they were?! I dare you to go try it and if you do, please leave comments letting me know if you made any additions or changes because I'd probably like to try them too!


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Trees

Posted by: WoodElves / Category:

Geneology is a topic that has always interested me.

Maybe it's because I've always liked history, and maybe it's because since before I was born, my family has had a pretty comprehensive knowledge of our family tree back to the 1500s in some areas. Both of my parents' sides have been in America for several centuries, my dad's side since the early 1600s. Both sides have been traced back to their roots in "old country" - England mostly, but all of the British Isles. I've known about relatives that came to America during the Revolutionary War and others that came on the Mayflower. I'll admit that I didn't always enjoy traipsing through cemetaries with my parents on family vacations, but I like knowing where I came from and the people who got me where I am today.

So when I got married, I was interested in learning what my childrens' geneology would be on their dad's side. The problem is, that David really didn't know. He didn't know what nationalities he came from or anything. He didn't know his great-grandparents' names. So, I asked his grandma. "Well, I guess we're all from Virginia," she said. I thought that was funny because Virginians had to have come from somewhere to begin with, but that was the best answer I had.

Now that we do have a little Wood on the way, I got back into trying to find out more. Well, it only takes a couple of hours on the internet to dig up the correct Wood pedigree. (Way easier than requesting old court records, yes?) I was amazed by what I found. First of all, his grandma was right. We traced his family - ALL branches - back to Virginia as early as the early 1600s. They pretty much HAVE been in Virginia forever, all of them. Before that, they were mostly from England.

So, in the marriage of David Wood to myself, we have merged two of the oldest families in America. Our children will have a very consistent geneology - both sides came from Britain to America in the very early stages of the country.

I still hope to find out more and be able to trace some branches that we don't have very much information on yet. Mostly, I wish I could find out stories about these people instead of just being names and dates. I'll enjoy telling my children the stories I do know, about their great-grandpa who parachuted into Germany in WWII and another great-grandpa who served in the Korean War, among others. They definitely have a strong family tree to be proud of.


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