Last year, I spent an entire evening devoted to carving two pumpkins and making pumpkin seeds while Brent did some things for grad school. The pumpkin seeds turned out extremely bland and I wasn't sure if I'd end up trying again since it's such a tedious job. However, Brent gutted the pumpkins this year and I ended up trying again. It was a major success! :) Here's the recipe: You'll need 2 Cups Raw Pumpkin Seeds, 2 Tablespoons of Butter, 1/2 Cup Sugar (Divided), 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon (Divided). -Remove pulp and strings from seeds, then wash and dry the seeds. I soaked mine in a bowl of water and rinsed before laying them out to dry. -Preheat oven to 350 degrees. -Place butter in a bowl and melt, toss in seeds and stir until coated. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon over and stir. Spread seeds into single layer on baking sheet. -Bake for 5 minutes. -Remove seeds from oven and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar and t teaspoon cinnamon, mi...

Two posts in one day?? Crazy right? Well, Brent has gone to bed, Ella is now asleep for the night and I'm wide awake because I had a cup of coffee this evening that I shouldn't have indulged. Why not do another post? You know how I mentioned that I'd been so motivated and kept the apartment clean while Brent was in Pennsylvania on his business trip? Well, I seriously felt like superwoman those five days. I cleaned, I took care of Ella completely on my own, I cooked, I ate healthy, I went to the grocery store, I took Ella to the park, etc.  I also made several batches of haystacks to take to my MOPS gathering. I thought it was a good "fall-ish" dessert to share. Not to mention how much I LOVE how tasty they always turn out. It's a simple recipe and oh so yummy! You need 2-3 cans of Chow Mein Noodles (you can find these in the Chinese food section), 2 Packages of Nestle Butterscotch Morsels, Roasted Peanuts or Cashews (or you can opt out of the nuts if you...

*Started writing on October 13th and finished today: I've neglected to blog lately. For the past several days, we've been without internet. We're sitting at Starbucks right now. Brent is sitting in on his class via web and our baby girl is sleeping next to us while I update. :) Cute right? First, here are some Ella-facts: -Toward the end of August, Ella started to burrow her head in my chest or my shoulder after she'd nurse. It's so cute....she just rubs her head back and forth while she's still sleeping. -She also began "talking" a bit around the same time. She'd smile and jabber to us. It took us the longest time to catch it on video. It sounded like she was saying, "gee-gee." We like to think it was an effort to say Gigi. haha. -She's been sleeping through the night since she was a little over 6 weeks. -Ella likes to gnaw on her hands. -She smiles just about all the time-as long as she doesn't have gas. -She started to...