easy cooking + decorating.

well, my life has obviously drastically changed.

my world now revolves around a 10 pound (probably more like 11 pound...) human who can't talk to me or interact, but somehow commands all my actions.

thus, i need things to be more simple.

until i figure out how to be more productive.

so, first: a simple and delicious meal. 

have i mentioned that i now love frozen bread dough? 

because i do. 

cheap. simple. easy to use.

matt and i have discussed me trying to use it for as many meals as possible.

i wouldn't hate that.

check this out: a mix of calzone and stromboli and made up meal.

 oh yum. 

all you do is thaw the bread dough in the fridge overnight, then roll it out, add pepperoni, salami, sauce and cheese.  

seal it back up, put it seal down on a greased pan, egg wash the top, slit it and sprinkle parmesan.  

cook it at 350 for about 35 minutes and it's delicious--and huge!

more easy... christmas decor!

 i'm loving the merry. 

and it was so simple to make. painted letters? thanks pinterest.

and this is the stocking that i splurged on from pottery barn. whoops!

 oh, and this is our christmas tree. 

in front of a big window at the front of the house. 

that's always been a dream of mine--i love trees in front of windows so we can see the tree from the road!

i have to add the matt addition to decorating... lights up the stairs.

i love it when matt adds his touches. 

check out where it's plugged in...ha!

 

more super easy... micah's room decor!

i didn't want to poke holes in the wall, since it's not our house, so i made these to match his bedding and just used command strips to attach them!

(it's just foam core covered in fabric that's hot glued on, then i painted letters and hot glued them to the fabric!)

oh, and some simple things i'm going to make tomorrow/wednesday/thursday?

simple monkey bread. recipe to come. (thanks pinterest)

simple andes mint cookies. recipe to come. (thanks matt buying andes mints)

huge thanksgiving sugar cookie. recipe's already on my dessert page!

side note: we got micah's newborn shots. crazy cute.

check them out (feel free to judge for how many i put up. i couldn't choose.):

happy thanksgiving, all!

scrapbooking it.

well, i'm going to make a scrapbook.

but i am thinking it would be fun to make it more graphic-designer-y.

so, here's a sample of the template i'm going to use.

that matt helped me make.

the blank space is where i'll put a picture of him.

not too shabby, right?

yeah, buddy.

life with child.

life with a child is a lot different than life without, that's for sure.

some things i've realized...

1. i miss being pregnant in no way. being able to sleep on my back is a joy that i previously underrated. being huge and getting stares and comments everywhere is also something i can live without for a while.

2. while babies are predictable, needing very simple things, it's incredible how much time it takes to get those things done. i literally feel that i spend my days feeding him, changing him, and attempting to get him to sleep or keep him awake. 

3. showering + coffee = survival.

4. even though it's tiring and a weird life change, i sure do love him. to the point that thinking about it makes me tear up. oh, which makes me think of another thing i've realized...

5. HORMONES. out of control. yikes for matt... and my parents. whoops.

6. i've come to love ellen.

7. i wish starbucks delivered.

in other news,

i have super fun christmas crafting ideas. but i can't share them. but here are some i'm not using that are awesome!

painted wooden blocks from here

cinnamon stick christmas wreath from here

or a gift i made last year and was my favorite ever...

(look back here to find the tutorial on this sucker...)

and for meals, well, i haven't been cooking a ton, but i have been watching sports with matt. and a commercial had a great recipe!

BBQ chicken crescent rolls

basically, you just make barbeque chicken and roll it up in a crescent roll with a little cheese. cook for 10 minutes at 375, and holy delicious! it's a great cold night meal.

and i have to put up some pictures of the one who i spend all my time with...

 halloween!

 bathtime... hooded towel style. 

(right after we put him in this, he peed all over the place. for the 19538015938 time.)

next blog, i'm going to put up pictures of micah's room. finally.

as if you care. just pretend for me.

also, i'll hopefully make some fun things--baking, cooking, and hopefully crafting!

oh, and one more thing. i've been reading this book on my kindle. and i love it. and you should read it.

jim cymbala is awesome.

micah james ebright.

much more to come eventually... but here is a snapshot of our past 5 days.

welcome to the world, micah james!

pin-nesting.

welp... still no baby.

i'm getting impatient.

but, to help me get through this waiting game (10 more days until this baby is due, in case anyone's counting...), i've been crafting!

some simple things i've made...

(excuse the terrible picture quality... the good camera is packed and ready for the hospital and i was too lazy to get it out!)

this is a simple craft that turns

 any blanket into a breastfeeding cover. 

it cost me next to nothing to make and then i can just use whatever blanket is around, much less to worry about! i followed a tutorial from here, but you pretty much just do this:

1. cut a random piece of fabric into about 18 inches by 4-5 inches.

2. iron in half and iron under a 1/4" edge, so that the edges look nice once sewn. i tapered in on both ends about 3 inches from the end.

3. sew all the way around.

4. feed a drapery ring through each end and sew it on.

i bought drapery rings from target for $7, used spare fabric, and made three of these straps! not too shabby. 

pinterest craft, anyone? 

super simple and great--wooden letters, painted, hot glued to ribbon... ridiculously easy, and once they're actually sitting as they should be (these are clearly not spaced... i just put them up there to show what they will eventually look like), very merry.

i bought the letters from just over $1 each, ribbon for about $3, total of $8 (minus my teacher discount at michaels!)

other dream crafts i'm getting to?

-scrapbooking for baby.

-lots and lots of diy christmas gifts.

-a christmas wreath.

fall finally fell!

adios summer.

fall is here!

pumpkin picking with first graders!

a first grader picked out the teeny pumpkin for baby e.

 cider mill with high school girls... holy yum.

(except no cider for this preggo.)

nature center with the first graders... feeding birds, spreading mulch, trying to be helpful to the community!

 and fall cookies. these beauties are 

spiced pumpkin-oatmeal cookies.

they taste and have the consistency of cake.

you should try them.

i got the recipe from here, and the only change was i didn't add ginger 

(i didn't have any...)

happy fall, all!

turning into rachel.

i feel myself slowly turning into rachel...

(watch this.)

The one where Rachel is late.

and i'm not even late yet.

yikes.

i'm exaggerating. but really... let's do this thing.

also, that clip is good stuff.

baby things from lately?

our final baby showers...

and an in-class surprise baby shower, complete with a game for the students to play while i opened presents:

we are so thankful!

the baby room is done, but i can't share it until after baby e is born (the room incorporates his name, which is a surprise!)

i made a pack of Bible verse encouragement cards to get myself through labor.

basically, verses about peace and overcoming adversity.

haa.

we're all ready, including cloth diapers all good to go. they're just crazy cute. it's out of control.

now i just have to figure out how to get this child out of me.

if anyone would like to do that for me, i'd gladly take it.