Our 'Nursery' is Finished!

We have threaded our baby boys into our home, take a look:

This is where our baby boys will be sleeping the first couple of months of their lives...

Notice the frames with their names above... 

Their pacifiers and teething toys are in the buckets made by my mom. Their little library is also here and the brown basket has the diaper stuff in it...

The top drawer of our dresser has their newborn onsies, burp rags, bibs, socks, mittens, beanies, lotion and hair brushes....

Above Andrews side of the closet We have their collection of adorable and variously textured blankets...

In between our clothes we have their tiny hangable outfits, these are from my grandma...

Below, we just bought these containers. We anticipate putting them in the boys room for toys and such when we get an apartment with their own bedroom....

In the bathroom we have their bathing unit...

Taken at my baby shower, this is me and an old friends older sister. She is due the same time as I...

New Project

I have decided to make my best friend a scrapbook. She has been a really great friend lately, and I think she deserves a heartfelt gift. I noticed a lot of cute pictures on her facebook account, so I am going to print them out and scrapbook them for her. I will post pictures of my progress. I don't know how long it will take. I think I have mentioned in the previous posts that my mom scrapbooks. She has agreed to help me get started. Scrapbooking is kind of an expensive hobby, in my opinion, but very fun. It is definitely a challenge of your creativity, my favorite kind of challenge. I have done a few pages myself, but mostly I have used my moms things for cards and such. This also can be fun. Anyway, this was just a quick post before I forgot to mention it. 

Valentines Day Cupcakes

I did make those cupcakes I've been talking about. I used Betty Crocker cake mix and frosting. In total this fun cost me about $5.00. YAY!

 I made the cupcakes last night while watching Kingdom of Heaven [great movie!] with my husband. I refrigerated them over night for easier frosting. [I have this common problem of frosting too soon and cake bits getting mixed with the frosting on top.] Then Andrew and I frosted them this morning after breakfast [I found out Andrew had never frosted cupcakes before and it was very entertaining to watch] and put them on cute plates and put plastic wrap on top. We gave a few to our neighbors and then went to lovely Shaunas house and received an adorable smile as a thank you. We also took some to my family. I really should have made two boxes but oh well.

Shauna's family has a cold so we feel good that we made a few miserable sickies smile. I was able to see her new baby girl and saw the pack n play with a bassinet in action and I thank her for that. I feel more comfortable putting my babies in the one we bought. it is a totally, 100% practical item to purchase. I wish I could have gotten a picture of her set up to show you all but I think that would have been kinda weird ha ha ha! I'm grateful I decided to do this because of my husband. He was great and I could see he enjoyed doing something new for someone else. Shauna's daughters' beautiful smile made it all worth it for him. 

I can't wait to make cupcakes for my son's school class on their birthday. It will be so much fun. When I told my baby brother I was making them cupcakes he asked if I could make him a Link cupcake. Link is the main character in a video game that is popular at my parents house called The Legend of Zelda. I love my brother enough to attempt to oblige his request. This is Link

I don't know where I would start ha ha ha! I'm pretty sure it would require food coloring and candies to create this character. Maybe I could just make a green frosted cupcake with the symbol on the shield made with red sprinkles or icing. I don't know, but I will definitely post a picture of the product. Of course I will need to make a few other characters since a box of cake mix makes 19 cupcakes. My mom bought a giant cupcake maker though....

Maybe I could use that. Anyway, his birthday is in October so I have plenty of time to figure this project out. 

My baby shower is this Thursday. I already bought some thank you notes. I am not sure how many people are going to be there so I have 3 packages of 8 cards. I have never been to a baby shower or had one [of course] but I have learned the art of sending thank you notes well. So I am prepared. I need to remember to get a list of the guests and the gifts they brought in order for this to be easy. I also need to get postage stamps....which are very expensive. If you don't want to purchase these notes you can make them. I think that is going to be my next post. Keep an eye out!

Cutting Board 101

O.K.! So, this is going to be a guide to a very common kitchen gadget for new house wives. This idea came to me today because I was cutting some strawberries for my husbands breakfast (@5:30 am!) and I noticed how gross my cutting board looked. My cutting boards were a gift from my mom, they are plastic. Now they have cuts all over them and they are starting to get stained with vegetables. So I want to buy a new one with our income tax this month. Well, I realized I have no idea what kind to buy! Now there are millions of items that are pure personal preference, and I think your cutting board is one of them. So I did some research. Here is what I found:

Cutting boards come in three materials and they range in cost from dollar store to higher end kitchen specialty store prices.  They come in a variety of sizes and colors. Cutting boards can be built into the counter or they can be fully portable. The current recommendations are you should have at least 3 cutting boards to avoid cross contamination - one for fruits and vegetables and bread, one for red meats and one for poultry. Remember to select the largest size that will fit in your work area, but it should also fit into your sink for easy cleaning. 

• glass - They are resistant to heat, very durable, easy to clean, dishwasher safe, non-staining and they are very sanitary. However glass boards will dull the edges of your knifes very quickly and can even damage them. These boards also pose a danger as they can become very slippery during use creating a cutting hazard to you. They are also very heavy and more expensive than wooden cutting boards. Glass cutting boards are generally pebbled on the cutting surface.

• wood - Wooden boards are made a couple of ways, end grain boards are thicker heavy duty boards made for heavy chopping and edge grain boards are thinner and lighter for everyday use. The different patterns and wood spices are a personal and décor choice for you to choose, what looks best in your kitchen. But if you are the professional chef that uses your board every day under heavy use an end grain maple board will be your best choice. Also any end grain board will be easier on your knifes edges. Some disadvantages of wooden boards, they do require hand cleaning and sanitizing, no dishwashers, then treating with cutting board oil. If cared for properly they will last a very long time. The bottom line is wood is safe, simple and looks great.

• plastic - All are dishwasher safe with the biggest complaint being they do stain. Some plastic compositions stain considerably less than others though. Plastic cutting boards are generally the most affordable and you can find them in a large variety of different designs, sizes and colors. The plastic boards also come thick or thin, hard or flexible. The flexible ones are great for transferring food into pots and containers and they are also easy to store. The downside to the flexible ones is the fact that they will not last as long as the thicker boards. This is because sharp knives will eventually cut through the thin material. The hard thicker plastic boards are very durable. Plastic boards are thought of as being the safest board to use as they are easy to sanitize and clean. But just because they are plastic doesn’t mean you don’t have to sanitize, these boards can harbor bacteria in the cuts on the board therefore needing to be sanitized.  Plastic boards do have the capabilities of being put into a dishwasher as long as they fit.

• bamboo - a well known cutting board that is actually grass. These boards have a natural anti-bacterial action and resist staining with no need for maintenance other than hand washing.They have become popular in kitchens today because of their inexpensive cost. The best feature of these boards is that they take it easy on the edges of your knife but they do scar, but you can sand them down in order to create a smooth surface. They can easily catch bacteria growth in the cuts, so you need to make sure you sanitize them each time you use them. One big disadvantage is the vast majority of these boards come from China and there has been a lot of controversy over the resin holding these boards together being safe or not.

I also found this stuff, which was interestingly contradicting, and some helpful.

Regardless of the material, regular maintenance of a cutting board is important.

• Sanitation with cutting boards is a delicate process, because bacteria can reside in grooves produced by cutting, or in liquids left on the board. For this reason, it is often advised to cut raw meat on separate cutting boards from cooked meat, vegetables or other foods.

• A very dilute bleach solution is best for disinfecting cutting boards.

• To remove odors, rinse the board and then rub with coarse salt and let stand for several minutes. Wipe board and then rinse clean. This procedure will also smooth out minor imperfections in the wood.

• Wood boards should never be placed in the dishwasher, or left immersed for long periods, as the wood or glue may be affected.

• A light food grade mineral oil is a good preservative for wooden cutting boards as it helps keep water from seeping into the grain. Alternatively, one may also use a food grade drying oil such as poppyseed oil, tung oil or linseed oil. The first two dry much faster than linseed. Note that most commercially available linseed and tung oil are not “food grade” as they contain metallic driers. In general, edible savory vegetable or olive oils are not recommended because they tend to go rancid, causing the board to smell and your food to pick up the rancid taste.

• Cutting boards should be treated when they start looking dry to prevent cracking. A standard recommendation is 5-7 times a year, or as needed.

• When heavily or deeply scored, wood or plastic cutting boards should be resurfaced as scoring can harbor bacteria, or mildew in the case of plastic boards. Wood can be easily resurfaced with various woodworking tools, such as scrapers or planes. Sandpaper is to be avoided, as it leaves residual abrasives in the surface which will dull knives. Resurfacing a plastic cutting board is more difficult and replacing it is recommended instead.

I am looking for something that will be easy to clean, wont stain easily, and just plain sanitary. I use my cutting board several  times a day. For fruits in the morning, more fruits or vegetables in the afternoon, and meats, breads, and vegetables in the evening. So after reading my findings ...I still don't know! Ha ha ha!!! But I hope this has helped some of you.