Blueberry - Lemon Pancakes

A recipe found in San Bernardino 4th ward cookbook Cooking With Love from 1989.


Blueberry - Lemon Pancakes from Marilyn Willis
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda

Combine above, then add:
1 beaten egg
1/2c. milk
1/2c. yogurt
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbsp. oil
Use 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons blueberries on each.

Dan and I used Fage greek yogurt for the yogurt and used the blueberry compote that comes with the Fage yogurt on top of our pancakes. These pancakes were so fluffy and tasted so good.

We even subsituted soy milk for milk and raspberry soy yogurt for yogurt in the recipe for Jake who has a milk allergy and they were just as yummy.

Monster Party Preview

Jake's 3rd birthday party. Jake requested a monster party weeks ago before we knew we were buying a house and moving. We thought about not doing it since we just moved two weeks ago but we didn't want to disappoint him. Here's a preview of the party.

Moving box - we cut a hole in the mouth for a Monster bean bag toss. (Drawing done by Grandma Black while visiting a few weeks ago. Painted by Jake and mom)

Oriental trading - Monster Mask Kits
Michael's - Monster 3D puzzles. Party favor with note Thanks for coming.

Storytime - Tickle Monster and Go Away Big Green Monster

Oriental trading - cheapy pinata with monster taped on front.
Firehouse Subs, chips, Oreo's, Red vines, and apple juice boxes for lunch
Diary free cupcakes made for Jake by a good friend, Tiffany Hodson.

"Mustn't Spoil Your Frock Smock" Pattern

How could I pass up a toddler smock pattern when I have two little boys that love to eat and seriously the name itself drew me in - "Mustn't Spoil Your Frock Smock"?

Danielle of "mysparkle" was kind enough to e-mail me a pdf copy of the pattern. I quickly scanned the pattern for needed supplies. I had heard of oilcloth but never seen or used it before. I picked some up at a quaint fabric shop in Dallas called City Craft. They have a variety of types and prints. The "boyish" options were very limited. I asked Jake to pick which color and he chose the blue check.

The pdf pattern was easy to print off and assembled perfectly. The instructions are well written and extremely easy to follow. I decided to just make the pattern in the original sizing. My little guy is almost three and he is tall for his age and the smock still covered his torso. The sleeves were a tad short. I'll lengthen it next time as the instructions recommended for older children. I deviated slightly from the pattern in that I used cotton double fold biased tape instead of creating my own from the oilcloth. I have only used biased tape three times in my short sewing career and I find it extremely difficult to keep the tape smooth around curved edges. I had to unpick it several times and redo it. In the end I really liked the way the biased tape gave the smock a nice finished look. Next time I will try using the oilcloth for the trim because I fear the cotton will stain easily.

This smock is very versatile. I imagine we will use the smock for painting and other such art projects as well as for messy spaghetti dinners. Looking forward to less laundry with this full coverage smock. Thanks Danielle!

To get your own copy of the pattern shop Danielle's Etsy shop here.

Fried Zucchini

The other night we had a summer vegetable dinner. One of the items on the menu was fried zucchini. The recipe is found here. It was easy and delicious. We dipped them in homemade Ranch Dressing. Hmmm

A few favorite baby items

Miracle Blanket
Aden + Anais
Sophie Giraffe

Pom Poms

Helping out with a bridal shower. These cute pom poms plus many more will be used over the food table, etc. Thanks Martha...

Blankets for Baby Boy

I've been sewing like crazy to get some things made for our "Baby Boy" due within the next month. Here are two blankets. I used this tutorial here to learn how to do Satin binding for the first blanket and the idea of the second blanket pattern.

I Spy Bags

I jumped on the band wagon and made some "I Spy" bags. There are a lot of tutorials on the internet. I found this one helpful. I modified the measurements a bit and used cotton fabric instead of fleece. I am still trying to figure out bias tape...tricky stuff.

Random notions from around the house to fill the first bag.

This one has only the letters of the alphabet in it.

Quilt Top for Baby Boy

I love being married to a math wiz. He did all the measurements for this quilt top. He busted out the trig to make sure the seam allowances would be correct. (The triangles had his brain humming.) Who knew that baby boy#2 would have his quilt done before Jacob's. I never did finish Jake's and now I hate the fabric I chose. Someday I might pull it out and finish it. I've learned my lesson... use large squares and a simple pattern design. (Blanket made from leftover scrap pieces.)

Seat Cushion

Why I ever thought this project was a good one... it was very difficult. It took me three days because I kept stopping in fits of frustration. I measured very carefully and made templates but still had issues. First the side band was too short for the seat top and bottom pieces. I let out the band but it was still too shortl. So, I cut some fabric off the top and bottom cushion pieces and redid the band piece but then the band was too long. By this point I didn't care anymore so there is a ripple in the back of the cushion because the band was still slightly too long. I'm hoping the next three cushions turn out better than the first.

Hobo Sack

There is a great tutorial here for this hobo sack. I changed it up a bit by using two fabrics and stenciling on the front. I plan to make other bags for other toys. It should be a great way to help Jake learn to spell words and organize his toys. Don't look to close at the top stitch at the top of the bag, my bobbin was giving me fits and I had already picked the stitch out once and I wasn't going to do it again today. Maybe tomorrow I'll fix it so it looks better. Until then here it is...

Giraffe Book Tote

I decided to make Jake a library book bag. I whipped up a canvas tote and stenciled a giraffe on it using the freezer paper technique. Super easy and fun to pass the time when Jake sleeps.

Freezer Paper Stencil

Months ago my sister-in-law posted about freezer paper stencils. I've been wanting to try it and I finally did. This was a fun and easy project. There is a great tutorial here.

In Preparation for Valentine's Day

While eating my cereal this morning I saw this cute card idea here. I had all the materials so I decided to make cards that Jake could color and send out to family. He was very excited to color.

Zipper Pouch

In my quest to learn to sew better and add more variety to my projects I attempted to make a zipper pouch. Zippers have always intimidated me. I found this tutorial here very helpful. I am happy to report I did it! Now I have a place to put wipes, diapers and a changing pad for our little guy coming.



Dan built me a sewing station in our family room so I don't have to use the kitchen table anymore. Yay!

Neglecto Swing

One baby item that we did not get when Jake was born was a swing or better know as the "neglecto" swing by my older brother Mike. We have since been given a nice swing however, the cover was pretty gross and lets be honest, ugly. So, I decided to try my hand at making a new cover. I was inspired by two tutorials. One on making a highchair cover here and one on sewing with biased tape here.

Boy Burp Cloths

A few years ago I made my sister some decorative edged handtowels from Amy Butler's sewing book. Later I saw my friend Danielle had used this same concept on cloth diapers for burp cloths... ingenious!