Easy DIY Men's Crocheted Hat

Happy New Year's Eve everyone! In all my crafting for Christmas, I didn't make my husband anything. Needless to say, he felt a bit left out. He wanted me to make him a beanie style hat, or toboggan as he refers to them (weird! I know!). Here is a super easy men's hat that I made using a tutorial on YouTube. I'll link you to it at the bottom.

You'll need an H or I size crochet hook and a small weighted yarn. It would be helpful to know how to make a chain and a single crochet stitch before beginning. The whole hat is done with a single crochet stitch which makes it a great simply project if you're a beginner. All in all it only took about 2 1/2 hours and I'm not a quick crochet-er ;).

The hubs was kind enough to let me take his picture while wearing it.

Here's the link: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KobDydvvmmU&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKobDydvvmmU

Happy crafting and Happy New Year!

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Healthy Toddler Bran Muffins

Welcome back winter, where have you been hiding? Saturday it was 50F and today (Monday) the high is 25F. Nothing like a cold day to make a baker out of anyone. Today I made bran muffins. I made this recipe with my toddler's breakfast in mind but they are delicious for my whole family! A friend of mine told me about this muffin recipe. They turned out great... but you know me, I have to experiment. ;) 

Here's the link to the original recipe: 

http://impressiveengineering.com/the-evolution-of-superman

Now I'll share the recipe as we make it in our house. I found it to be a really great base recipe and it made 6 dozen mini muffins! Step 1 - Make coffee ;)

Here is what you'll need:

1 c hot water

2 c bran cereal

1/4 c butter 

1/4 c applesauce

3/4 c sugar (1/4 c less than original recipe)

2 eggs

2 c buttermilk (or whole milk with 2 TSB of vinegar- more on this later)

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1 c all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

2 tsp vanilla (optional)

1/2 tsp banana extract (optional)

Addition 1 c bran cereal (you'll see why)

How She Does It:

Preheat your oven to 400F

Mix hot water and 2 c bran cereal together and set aside. If you don't have buttermilk then mix 2 c milk and 2 TBS vinegar and set aside for 5 minutes. 

Cream together butter, applesauce, vanilla, sugar, & eggs.

Mix in the buttermilk.

Add flour, salt, cinnamon, & baking soda and mix until fully incorporated.

Add water bran cereal and combine. 

Lastly add the dry 1 c bran cereal.

Fill greased mini muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 10-12 minutes.

I froze 4 dozen. Start with 10 minutes on a plate in the freezer then transfer to a freezer bag. It's not the quickest recipe but definitely an easy one and my freezer is now well stocked with a healthy breakfast option. I hope y'all enjoy.

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Working outside and enjoying the warm day

It's a beautiful day here in Northeast Ohio. 54F on December 28th to be exact! We are out and enjoying the weather with a bike ride, chicken coop clean out, and yard work! My poor chickens are molting and so they are looking awfully ratty!

Soon enough spring will be here and their feathers will be back in. Having animals has been a fun experience. It's great knowing where our food comes from and the organic eggs are delicious!

I don't even mind cleaning the coop and the girls are happy to have fresh bedding. 

Update!

The finger paint was a huge hit and didn't leave any stain on her hands or body. She really enjoyed it!

Well time to get back outside! The car isn't going to wash itself ;)

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DIY Toddler Finger Paint

I like to think of myself as a play at home mom. I plan outings, projects, and games... Who wouldn't want to stay home and play? Tonight I've been preparing our art activity for tomorrow, finger paint! As the good little Pinterest junkie I am, I saved a boat load of glass baby food jars for just such a project (yes I'll take my cookie now). My 20 month old loves to make a mess, squish, squash, and create. So here is my one jar recipe for finger paint!

The Cast:

1/3 c flour

1/4 c water

1 tsp sugar

1 pinch salt

1 small squirt of food color gel or drops

The Story Line:

Mix all but the food coloring with a whisk until smooth. Stir in the color of choice and pour into small container. This recipe fills a 3.5 oz jar & couldn't be easier.

Our high chair is ready for arts & crafts tomorrow! So let loose mommies (&dads) and allow the mess to happen! We will likely turn up the thermostat and do this in just a diaper. Good thing she's already getting a bath tomorrow morning! Happy crafting! -Jenn xo

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Easy Pizza Pinwheel Recipe

Anything pizza related gets devoured in this house. I try to make some kind of pizza from scratch, once every two weeks or so. Tonight we had pizza pinwheels! Please please please do make the dough! It is so much more delicious this way!

Here's what you'll need:

3/4 c warm water

4 tsp yeast

1/3 c sugar

1 tsp salt

1/2 c shortening

1/2 c egg beaters (or 2 eggs)

4 c flour

*

1 c sauce

2 3.5 oz jars of baby food (Optional- but don't skip your veggies! I used carrots and garden vegetables.)

1 c Shredded cheese (roughly)

How She Does It:

Put the yeast in warm water with sugar and allow to get bubbly (5 minutes). In a mixer with a paddle attachment, add salt, shortening, egg beaters, and 2 c flour and mix until incorporated. Add additional 2 c flour and mix well. Place dough in a warm place until it doubles in size (1 1/2hr). 

Preheat oven to 350F

Cut dough in half. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. It should be about 12x16 inches or so. Mix the baby food and sauce and spread 1/2 onto the dough. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll the dough tightly into a long log. With a floured knife, cut 12 slices and arrange on a greased cookie sheet. 

Repeat with the other ball of dough. Bake for 18-24 minutes or until golden brown.  

Allow to cool and enjoy! 

I really love these because they are so versatile. You can serve them hot, room temp, or cold. You can make them with ham & cheese, sausage & cheese, or anything you like in the middle. Sneaky mommy snuck the veggies in today! 

And they were a huge hit! I hope you enjoy them as much as we do! -Jenn xo

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A couple who sweats together, stays together

The hubs and I are at it again. We have begun the "zero" week of our 12 week couples health challenge together. Week 1 begins on Dec 30th and the last day of week 12 will be March 21st. We are doing several programs and I will link you to them below:

http://hundredpushups.com

http://www.twohundredsitups.com

http://www.coolrunning.com

My husband spent 8 years as an active duty marine and continues to serve in the Air Force reserve. He can run many miles and do plenty of sit-ups and push-ups but he is doing this programs with me as my partner and also to improve his form. He has gained a bit of a belly since we had our daughter and he'd like to get back to a size 34 waist. I can run about 1/2 of a mile before I'm toast. I can't do more than 5 sit-ups and lets not even talk about push-ups, ugh! 

So this week we are getting aquatinted with the programs so that next week (week 1) will go smoothly. During our 12 week challenge we will only eat at home or Subway, drink water, juice, or coffee, and eat more green food!

Jenn's (my) Goals for 12 weeks:

50 push-ups

100 sit-ups

Run 5k

Go down a pants size

Eric's Goals for 12 weeks:

100 push-ups

200 sit-ups 

Run less than a 12 minute mile and a half

(To get a better USAF pt test score)

Lose 2 inches off waist measurement

I'll be doing the push-up & sit-up challenge with Eric. He will be running 3-4 miles on his run days while I'll be using the C25K program. All the links are above. Join us for a better you in the next 12 weeks. Because you can do anything for 12 weeks!

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Oh Christmas Tree

Have you heard the song, "Oh Christmas Tree"? I'm sure most of you have. Well, I love Christmas trees. If there was only one decoration I could have in my home, it's that tree. Here in the Baker home, we chop down our tree Thanksgiving weekend. It's a family tradition that has begun this year with in our new home. It's kind of magical to me. When you turn out the lights, the tree just looks so pretty; and every year (for more if us) the tree is a little different. Whether you have a fake tree or real tree, (I dearly hope that you all have a tree) the ornaments will be placed differently and the lights may be hung in another way as well. Every year I cherish the unique tree and the unique memories we make around it. Every year I am reminded of how abundantly blessed we are.

Merry Christmas, enjoy the day our Savior came, let us rejoice and be glad!

xoxo Jenn

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