handmade holiday: hot cocoa jars

i wish i could make everyone's Christmas present, but time (and ideas) are often lacking. i did find some time to make a few handmade gifts this year, though. the first are these hot cocoa jars. they were fun and easy! i started with some mason jars i had bought this fall at the local hardware store, knowing they would come in handy for something.



i used alton brown's recipe, which includes a secret ingredient: cayenne pepper.



mix mix mix.



even making a double batch, i didn't end up with enough to fill the jars, so i added some chocolate chips and marshmallows. (thank you, pinterest, for the help!)



i decorated the jars with doilies, Christmas labels, and string. i tried to add a candy cane but it didn't look right.







my sister and i hosted a table again for our church's annual women's Christmas brunch, and we put one of these at each place setting as a favor. the rest will go to friends.

like i said, fun and easy!

sources and inspiration from here, here, and here. (see above for hot cocoa mix recipe.)

jane: four months

behind again! jane's doting aunt kristen gets on my case when i am late in posting these. :) i took these shots last week when jane was 4.5 months old.



and with lambie! she's definitely more interested in her feet these days, so this picture is rather spot on.

in the kitchen: baked oatmeal

i looooove breakfast food. my husband knows that if he wants to make me swoon he just has to take me out for a breakfast date on a saturday morning. bacon, eggs, sausage, waffles, pancakes . . . i don't discriminate. with a cup of steaming coffee and a good portion of cream i am a happy camper.

i am currently into baked oatmeal, which was introduced to me by my friend lorna beth. hers had chunks of apple in it and it was tasty tasty. i'm a huge fan of cinnamon and brown sugar, so i hunted and found a recipe from taste of home (here it is). i served it when we had some friends over for breakfast and i loved it——it is fantastic with milk poured over it, which i forgot to do when they were over (sorry, bert and beki, i know it was a touch dry). as an added bonus, it smells so delicious baking it makes my mouth water!



i fiddled with the recipe a bit by substituting applesauce for half the butter and lowering the amount of brown sugar (i've made it both ways, and i won't lie——it is definitely better with more butter and sugar, but isn't everything? :) some of us still have some baby weight to lose!). i bake up a batch of this and can heat up portions for a hot breakfast each morning. it sticks with me until lunchtime and it is so much better than packets. i have a batch in the oven now and i can't wait to dive in.

give it a try! it is delish!

into the Christmas season

good morning, friends!

i hope each of you had a truly wonderful thanksgiving. ours was filled with family, friends, and food . . . notable favorites in the last category were corn casserole and pumpkin pie. multiple pieces may or may not have been consumed.



this morning, we woke up to jane "talking" and a dusting of white snow on the ground. we are cranking up the Christmas tunes and taking it slow. i am putting together an exersaucer before tackling the Christmas decorations. :) so glad to have ben home with us!

stay warm and cozy!

grumbles vs. gratitude

a lot can happen in four months. babies grow from seven pounders to thirteen pounders (at least ours did). they sprout a little more hair, yet sport a nice bald spot in the back where it rubs off in the crib. they learn they can do more with their voices than just cry. and parents endure their child's first illness, which is probably harder on the mommies and daddies than the bambini. in our house, we have a few ailments under our belts, including pink eye. poor girl.

at four months,jane actually likes being on her tummy, grabs anything within an arm's reach (and pulls it into her mouth), and wears baby jeans like the best of 'em! the last one definitely takes the most effort. definitely.

sleep has been a tricky thing with jane. naps are short and nighttime sleep has gone backward, but these tired days keep me relying on the strength that only comes from God. as a woman in my bsf group said, "it's hard to grumble when you are grateful!"

in other news, ben kindly let me know that the nickname i have been calling jane——which i thought was a nonsense word——is actually a bad word. oh my, amy. glad i hadn't been using it in public!