Maine Fiber Frolic 2012

This is the second year we attended the Maine Fiber Frolic. I have left both times feeling inspired and re-energized. It was cool and damp this year so the boys didn't seem to have as much fun but the animals were a huge hit.

We watched Border Collie dogs heard sheep and goats around a field. The dogs were amazing, I could have watched them all day.
















This sheep "Baaaaaa'd" loudly in Declan's face scaring the crap out of him. Poor kid was pouring crocodile tears and shaking for a few minutes afterwards. Maybe the sheep got excited...you know....when he noticed Declan was also wearing wool. :)


My mom holding an adorable angora bunny.


The beautiful skein of yarn my mother bought me. It's a gorgeous deep red which will be one of these someday: Zuzu's Petals


Maybe next year I'll have it together enough to be a vendor.

No Fuss Apple Pie

I don't know what was better, how this dessert tasted...or the smell of my house while it was baking. Both were amazing. The boys ate theirs in seconds. After they licked their plates they begged for more. Puff pasty is one of my absolute favorite things in the entire world though...so I may be biased.


Link to recipe: http://www.puffpastry.com/recipe/24047/no-fuss-fruit-pie#
Link to topping recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Puff-Pastry-Apple-Turnovers

My notes: I omitted the egg wash as Declan is allergic to egg whites. I still wanted something sweet on top so I used a butter/sugar/cinnamon topping from another recipe, and doubled it. I dumped it on this time and the extra burnt on a bit around the "pie", I'll probably just brush it carefully on next time. We're on a "no high fructose corn syrup" kick so we used Premium Apple Pie filling which had nothing but apples, sugar and spices in it. A scoop of vanilla ice cream would have worked with it nicely.

Not the most beautiful dessert ever, but it got 5 thumbs up from the boys = WIN

Cinnamon Rolls, Baked Beans, & Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes,

I've been busy learning how to cook. I mean really cook. Dishes from scratch with no pre-made crap that contains a million ingredients. I'm fairly certain MSG is causing me to have horrific migraines so I'm slowly purging all boxed crap from our lives/pantry.

Cinnamon Rolls 
Ben's requested birthday breakfast. 

Link to recipe: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cinnamon-rolls-recipe

My modifications: I doubled the amount of "cinnamon filling" and also doubled the amount of "vanilla glaze" and they were perfection. I don't like dry cinnamon rolls...the gooey stick to your fingers kind is what I was going for and got.

I did not get a finished photo of these...only because they were gone so quickly. Like the second the frosting hit them the boys devoured them.

Baked Beans
I've made them in the crockpot and although they are okay that way...they take forever to make. This recipe was much faster and tasted delicious. My molasses were a bit strong as we used blackstrap molasses but otherwise they came out perfect. 

Link to recipie: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/boston-baked-beans/detail.aspx
Modifications: I had to triple the recipe because I soaked our beans before reading that I only needed 2 cups of them. I obmitted the bacon and added a little extra onion. Since I took out the bacon I added a splash of olive oil to make up for the loss of fat/grease. As they cooked I added water as I prefer runny beans.

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Link to recipe:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/pasta-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-recipe/index.html
Modifications: I ran our of mozarella so we added about 1/2lb, Shaun doesn't like olives at all so I only halved them so they would be easy for him to pick out. We are going to make this again but I'd probably double the dressing next time. I loved the flavor and wanted more (I actually added a splash of Kraft Zesty Italian to mine...Shaun didn't). Oh and we used Wacky Mac instead of real fusilli.

Riley Family Update

A little update, we've been busy with life and all the things that keep our household running (cleaning/laundry/working/school) and I've been working quite a bit.

Ben turned 6 years old on May 10th. I know it's said much too often but time really does fly. It really seems like just a year or two we brought him home from the hospital. That tiny baby who screamed and screamed and threw up constantly.

He's come a long way in the past six years. Today he's a thriving little boy who has an incredibly giving heart and is hands down the most agile child I've ever seen. He's learning to read and loves to draw. A few pieces of blank paper and a pen will keep him busy for hours. He's an amazing artist and has nearly perfect handwriting.

Opening a few gifts on the morning of his birthday:

We had a cookout and cake and ice cream for him on the Saturday following his real birthday:









Being the event photographer and hostess does not work well.
So there are only a few photos...but the food was good.

In other news...we moved Declan to a "big boy bed" at the end of April.


I've been working on my cooking skills. That's a whole 'nother blog post though. :) Oh!! AND there'll be a post about knitting, flowers, and chickens too.

Knitting Update 4/19/12

Recent projects...

Goldfish shorties for Declan:






A few soakers:






And a pair of capris:


I have a medium soaker and a newborn sized pair of longies on the needles right now. I'm itching to cast on a scrappy project so Declan may get scrappy shorties this weekend.

Felted Easter Basket

I started this project the day before Easter thinking I would be able to get it done in time to use as decor for Easter Dinner. It didn't happen. Ha ha! I actually finished it up on the Tuesday after Easter.

Knit from all scraps in singly ply merino, 3 ply merino, BFL, and Licorice Twist.

Finished project:


Before felting:


After felting:


Modeled by a dirty-outside-playing Garrett:


Modeled by a dirty-outside-playing Declan:


Link to pattern used:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/a-petite-felted-bag

Link to Ravelry project:
http://www.ravelry.com/projects/melissalaurel/a-petite-felted-bag

Ben

Knitting Update 3/27/12

We've had such beautiful weather the past two weeks. I watched the boys play outside and knit most of these items. They are all stocking at Bitty Fluff's "All Sizes" stocking on 3/30 @2PM
Project details can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/melissalaurel

MacLir Soaker


Norway "Fish" Shorties


Scrappy Shorties


And I finished these earlier this month but just got around to taking a final photo of them.


I cast on a vest for Ben which is going to be frogged until I find yarn he likes. Apparently light blue is not *him*. RED is what he wants (biggest brother Logan's favorite color...).

Knitting Update 3/18/12

This week, I finished Declan's romper. Which means I didn't get anything done to sell.

But seeing Declan in his romper makes my heart sing.

He came in from playing outside (in the MUD!!) and I gave him a quick wash down with some baby wipes and tossed it on him. I love it. I think he loves it. I see a few more of these in our future.

Since it's short sleeved and short legged it didn't take nearly as much yarn as I assumed it would. I have not weighed it yet, but my guess is (from looking at the scraps) that it took 6.5oz of colorway and 2oz of trim. I went up a needle size from what I usually knit mountain meadow worsted with and I think that helped me get more mileage. He wears a 3T in store bought clothing, I believe the romper is closer to a 4T as it also fits Garrett (and Ben!).

I did not wash or block it before taking photos and putting it on Declan...so the yarn is still puffy and nothing lays flat/straight...but here are the final pics...












What most photos of Declan actually look like:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

While at the post office today a lady walks out and gets in her truck wearing a "cat in the hat" style hat in green and white. Every other day this year we would have pointed and laughed at the silly hat...but today it was normal.

I love St.Patricks Day. It's time to gather with family with no expectations but a good home cooked meal and some together time. No gifts. Just fun and togetherness.

We started the day with the little boys finding the gold coins a Leprechaun left for us. Ben came home from school (LOVE his teacher!!) with a Leprechaun ladder and Lucky Charms to bait it with in hopes of catching a Leprechaun.
I'm glad all we "caught" was chocolate. :)



We hit the parade in Bath.








The parade crew...Shaun, the boys, & my parents


Grandpa and Niece Maggie


Irish Fire Chief Billy


The boys enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine, and played outside while Shaun and I cleaned house and cooked dinner.

We did a traditional corned beef, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage boiled dinner. It was so good. Meals that cook all day are the best.

It was my second time in the past 6 months eating red meat. I'm stuffed and for sure going to suffer for it tomorrow, but I am certain it was worth it.

For dessert I made these adorable rainbow cupcakes. I saw some like this on pinterest and knew I had to make them when I saw the "airheads extreme" candy at Wallgreens the other day.



Of course I had to make two batches, some with eggs and some using Declan's egg replacer. I tinted Declan's orange and the egg version green so we could easily tell the difference.



"May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you
In the palm of his hand."