A City Life For Me

I have recently enjoyed a couple of new recipes, and I thought I would share the yummy goodness with you all. The first I found through Money Saving Mom , from the blog Life As Mom .  The link is here if you want to print this recipe.  This is for the best lasagna!  I should let you know that I am not a big fan of Italian food, and I despise making lasagna because of the work involved.  But this recipe is worth it.  I divide the ingredients into two 1 1/2 quart baking dishes.  We eat one and freeze one.  If I didn’t divide it, Ben would eat it all in one sitting! {“Fish Mama’s Lasagna”} Serves 6 to 8 Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey (or cooked chicken, Italian sausage, seafood, etc.) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 26 to 28 ounces (about 3 cups) pasta sauce Salt and pepper ...

On Monday I loaded Elaine into the car and headed for Pittsfield, Mass. to visit Ben’s family for a couple of days.  We had our share of difficulties getting out of town (snow, turning around because I had both sets of keys, missing our exit, etc.) but we finally made it.  We enjoyed our brief visit which consisted of swimming at the YMCA, thrift store shopping, church (they have a Tuesday night service), and good fellowship.  Elaine loved the cat, Barthomew, who wasn’t thrilled with her constant attention.  She was afraid of Fezzik, a “giant” dog to her with a scary bark.  Eventually she warmed up to Fezzi and was able to be in the same room as he was. Playtime with Auntie Meredith Dishes with Grandma Hamilton…they’re almost the same height!(JJJKJT to Mom H.!) My favorite captured moment…Elaine is obsessed with her toothbrush.  She saw Auntie Mere brushing and went crazy until I gave her a toothbrush also.  So all three Hamilton ladi...

After sleeping in yesterday, Ben decided to avail himself of the opportunity to fix my clothesline.  It broke just before Christmas, and we have had several feet of snow in the backyard ever since.  There are still about six inches, but he thought it was manageable.  Elaine saw Ben getting ready and became very excited about the prospect of going outside…so Ben took her along.  When I peeked out the window this is what I saw… Elaine was enjoying the snow…and trying, and probably succeeding in eating it.  Dirty snow.  Yuck!  She tried to go for the mud close by, but Daddy rescued her! We had a late dinner because Elaine took a long afternoon nap.  The menu?  Fish and green beans.  Elaine has never cared for green beans, and she has never had fish before, so I didn’t expect her to be a good eater. To my surprise, she went straight for the green beans!  She even had seconds, enjoying the fact that her fork could be used as a sp...

This little girl of mine never ceases to amaze me!  Here are a few of her antics and activities lately… Elaine loves to dress up.  She is constantly going through the laundry baskets and putting on Mommy & Daddy’s clothes.  Most times she has multiple layers on and usually trips because she can’t walk properly.  This week she started going through her own drawers for dress up.  She walked into me wearing three jumpers (which she had put on upside down), and wanted me to put on her little baby bib (which barely fits around her neck anymore).  Grams sent me a few tops and jackets this week.  Elaine hijacked the shirts before I got to them, and walked around in her “dress.”  She also likes to wear my nursing cover as a cape! She is wearing a shirt, a sweat shirt, leggings, no diaper, and a “dress”. I can’t believe how much she understands!  I say, “Go put your clothes in the laundry,” and she does!  Everyday, she toddles into my...

I’ve been absent here for a little bit.  I’m enjoying the peace of naptime, some beautiful music playing in the background, and warm chocolate chip cookies with a mug o’ milk, so I thought I would take the time to write a little post. Andrea Nothing is really new with me.  I still chase Elaine around, do the laundry, buy milk (at a rate of every day, it seems), and I’m still pregnant!  My busyness lately has consisted of preparing for a card making “class” that I am “teaching” tonight at our church.  I’ve been collecting ideas, writing instructions, designing examples, and putting together beginner “kits.”  I’ll write more about that later. I am increasingly grateful for public transportation in the City.  Yesterday Elaine and I took advantage of the warm sunny weather to go on an excursion.  We took the train to Target and hit some other stores along the way.  This time I left the stroller at home.  It is now too heavy for me to carry ...

This week I took the train into Manhattan to meet a lady and show her some cloth diapers.  She had a six day old little girl with her!  We met halfway between her home and mine, which happened to be Union Square.  Ben recently completed some work on a shop just a couple of blocks from there, so Elaine and I popped over to take a look. The store is called Fishs Eddy, and they sell really nice dishes.  Ben stripped and refinished these four main doors into the store.  The doors were done offsite, but the entryway was done onsite. They just wanted a paint job on these doors.  Ben painted them in the snow because the owners were so anxious to have the project done.  Ben thinks the paint job looks terrible!  He also built the upper part of the door frame which sticks out. These doors lead to the residence apartments over the store.  Ben worked on the outer doors, the set of inner doors, and all of the wood in the hallway leading up to ...

Today marks the halfway point in my pregnancy.  That’s right – 20 weeks!  Whoo hoo! I don’t have any news to share, and I’m not planning to tell you the baby’s gender.  I just thought you might want to celebrate with me…  I’m thinking of heading to Starbucks.  (Don’t worry Ben, I have a gift card).  Or maybe a little shopping?  And I’m not really quite this big…yet!

I mentioned before that Elaine is turning into quite the bookworm.  Before you think of having a seat on our couch, you should consider that you may not get up for some time.  Let me warn you that Elaine will spot your relaxed position and peaceful moment out of the corner of her eye.  Then, before you know what is happening, in a flash she will be in your lap with a story to read.  And you can never read just one! Last week I walked into the kitchen to find this: Yes…that is Elaine.  She is reading my cookbook!  She just can’t stand to leave any books alone! This morning I returned from the kitchen to find this: Elaine loves this bouncy seat.  She considers it her own personal recliner, I think.  She has several Dr. Seuss (by far her favorite author!) books in her lap. But wait!  Let me zoom out a little bit! She had been doing quite  a lot of reading in my absence! Let this be a warning to the grandparents…st...

Our pastor made this statement: The Spirit of God without the Word of God is delusion . The Word of God without the Spirit of God is deadness . But the Spirit of God with the Word of God is dynamic . Happy weekend, and have a blessed day tomorrow as you worship the Lord at your church!

I am finally out of my laundry detergent “stash” that I built up before leaving Virginia.  The best place to get more would probably be Target, or BJ’s Wholesale, but I don’t go to either one very frequently.  My friend Carrissa had mentioned that she was saving a lot of money by making her own detergent.  I asked for the recipe a while back, and then procrastinated. Carrissa’s recipe is for a liquid variety of detergent, which I usually prefer.  However, it makes a {very} big batch and requires a 5 gallon bucket.  I neither had a bucket, nor do I have a place to store the bucket full of detergent.  I searched online and came up with a powdered version. I made it, I used it, I like it!  It works out to about 4 cents per load, and it took me all of about five minutes to make. Here’s the recipe: 1 cup of Arm & Hammer washing soda ( not baking soda, and not Arm & Hammer detergent) 1 cup borax 1 bar of soa...

These pics needed an explanation… posing for the camera she thinks teeth are great, and won’t relinquish either sippy cup she makes this funny face when sucking on her sippy cup Elaine was jealous of the cat in Ben’s lap, so she brought a book and sat on top of the cat! Elaine Cristin…15 months on Saturday