Halloween is almost here!

I can't believe how quickly time is going by! Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner! I have had so much fun with pumpkins this last month. I think I ended up with 13 pumpkins this year.. Most of which are just for decorating our front porch! I even put stocks of corn up! Those I stopped at some random ladies home and asked if I could take her left overs from her garden. She probably thinks I'm a weirdo! Oh well they were like $4 for 3 stocks at walmart! I think I like free better!

 Anyways, the last few days I have been sick so I have been dragging myself from my bed to the couch and back. I woke up this morning feeling a bit better so I decided to be adventurous and do some baking. Last Saturday I pureed a pie pumpkin and had it in my fridge to make a pie with.. I however am kinda sick of pie since I have already made some this year. I decided to try something new with my extra delicious pumpkin pie recipe! I made pumpkin muffins! and I still have enough pie filling for a pie! Kinda neat! I also begged Jordon to go get me some apples last night and like the amazing husband that he is, he went to the grocery store just for my apples :) I'm so blessed to have such a great hubby! Back to the apples-- I made homemade applesauce! It is to die for! 

Austin and I- Baking cookies! ( LOVE my new apron! & not sure why austin has fingernail clippers ha)

Tonight we are taking little Austin to Boo at the Zoo and then we are going to carve our pumpkins :) It should be fun! Pictures to follow! Hope everyone is having a great Tuesday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy!

Happy first birthday Austin! We love you so much!

BIG update!

It has been so long since I have been on my blog! What can I say.. Life got hectic and busy! Things are finally getting into a steady routine! I never thought I would say this but I LOVE routine! I guess I'll do a little update. Since I was on here last we had A LOT happen! 

Austin Dean Jay

Austin Dean Jay blessed us with his presence on October 24th 2011 at 3:47 PM. He was immediately rushed to the NICU where he stayed for 7 days. Talk about heart break!! I'm so glad we made it through! 

Our first time seeing the house!

Just as we were starting to get use to our new life with a baby we had another whirl wind come at us! Jordon decided to quit his job at the elk ranch which meant we would have to find a new place to live. We had been looking for a house since I found out I was pregnant. Let me tell you there was NOTHING out there! Well nothing up to our standards and in our price range. Jordon was planning to quit at the beginning of February and we still hadn't found what we wanted! It was stressful. So one day I was scrolling through a price range WAY above ours I found a beautiful home in Rigby. I saw the pictures and thought to myself  "Awhhh why not take a look!", So I scheduled a meeting with out realtor.  When we went in the house we immediately saw that the people were hoarders. It was weird. I couldn't even see the carpet since there was so much stuff everywhere! We used that to our advantage and offered the bank $80,000 under their asking price, they responded with $30,000 under asking price! We did this a few times back and forth and ended up getting the house for $45,000 under asking price! We were shocked to say the least! We quickly cleaned the house, painted, bought all new appliances, and moved in!
 

Our family August 2012

Such a big boy. 10 months old. Aug 2012

Jordon then quit his job and started our new "adventure" at  the family company Jay Transport. Meanwhile our little Austin has grown into a little boy! It seems as if it happened over night! It makes me sad but also very happy to have a healthy active little boy! We also had our 2nd anniversary this year. Crazy how time flies!

Beauty

 

A mark for every breath you took, every blink, every sleepy yawn. One for every time you sucked your thumb, waved hello, closed your eyes, and slept in the most perfect darkness. One for every time you had the hiccups. One for every dream you dreamed within me. It isn't very pretty anymore. Some may even think it's ugly. That's OK. It was your home. It held you until my arms could, and for that, I will always find something beautiful in it. ~ Cassie Fox

I saw this somewhere on the internet and it just spoke to me :]

Belly cast!

35 weeks and 6 days!! (Oct.15th 2011)

 Today I got sooo much done! I am really proud of myself! I went to the grocery store, put away all my groceries, picked up the kitchen, visited Jordon at work, visited the In-laws, and last... me and Jordon did a cast of my belly!  We weren't going to do the cast at first but then we were just sitting here watching TV so I told him we had to get it done. I mean how hard could it be right? Well just so everyone knows casting is extremely messy, time consuming, and I was just about ready to pass out by the time I got it off of me. haha! It is really neat to look at though. The reason we wanted to do a cast is so we can show Austin how big my belly was when he was inside it. I would like to do this for everyone of our children. It is just so neat!!

Update on my life and an easy dinner that is delicious.

Jordon and I. (35 weeks and 4 days)

Okay so I have been put on bed rest from the doctor and so far everything has been going good with the baby. Although I have been unusually tired and have very little energy/drive to do anything. But then yesterday Jordon had the day off so we went to Pocatello and visited my family. It was really nice to get out of the house! Unfortunately while we were out and about I must have picked up some sort of cold. I woke up this morning with horrible ear aches, a cough, and a sore throat. Needless to say I am bummed out.  I haven't made dinner in a week and my cupboards are in serious need of a trip to the grocery store.

  I've decided that this weekend I am going to make a dinner that is really easy and delicious. The first time I tried this was at my aunt's house. It was so yummy and I begged for her to give me the recipe so now I'm going to share it with you!

Mango Peach Salsa Pork Roast!

You can buy this salsa at winco. I use the small one seen in the picture.

What You will need:

1 Pork roast (thawed)

1 thing of Mango Peach Salsa

and Your crock pot!

Place the thawed Pork Roast in the center of your crock pot then pour the entire thing of Mango Peach Salsa on top of the roast and around it. (focus more on the top). Do not add any water, the roast will make enough broth by the end. Put the crock pot on low and leave to cook for 5 hours. I typically put the roast in at 1 and then it is ready by 6 when my hubby gets home. When the roast is done, Cut it into 1/2 inch slices and top with the salsa.  (I make Rice a roni to go with this dinner and usually some sort of veggie) This dinner is super easy! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Pumpkin Pie with fresh pumpkin and a homemade crust!!

• 1 cup sugar
• 1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• one half teaspoon ground ginger
• one half teaspoon salt (optional, I don't use any)
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups cooked pumpkin (the stuff we made earlier)
• 1.5 cans (12oz each) of evaporated milk

Mix well using a hand blender or mixer.

Notes: The vast majority of people tell me this is the best pumpkin pie they've ever had. It's light and fluffy - however... if you want a heavy, more dense pie, use 3 eggs instead of 4 and 1 can of evaporated milk instead of 1.5)

Step 11 - Pour into the pie crust

I like a deep, full pie, so I fill it right up to about one quarter to one half inch from the very top.Don't be surprised if the mixture is very runny!  It may start as a soupy liquid, but it will firm up nicely in the oven! * I place my pie pan on a cookie sheet before pouring mixture into crust so it is easier to move from the counter top to the oven.

 

 

Step 12 - Bake the pie

Bake at 425 F (210 C ) for the first 15 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350 F  ( 175 C ) and bake another 45 to 60 minutes, until a clean knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Here is the finished pie, right out of the oven.

I use a blunt table knife to test the pie. It should come out pretty clean when the pie is done.

Step 13 - Cool the pie

And enjoy! Warm or chilled, with whipped cream , ice cream or nothing at all - it's great!