August 2010

It's been a while since I've been able to make any new posts, so there is plenty to write about!

Jelly Time

(5 lbs. of Muscadine Grapes)

     August 25, 2010 Craig brought home a slat of Muscadine Grapes. Muscadines are a wild grape that many people convert into a jelly, which was exactly what Craig had in mind for these Muscadines! So that is exactly what we did! I found a recipe online and we turned 5 pounds of grapes into 11 jars of jelly!  For those of you who are considering making your own at-home jelly, I would suggest being extremely careful because when you add the sugar to the boiling brew, it tends to overflow very quickly! We STILL have some Jelly on one of our burners that I can't seem to get to go away! Also we mounded the dirty dishes in the sink and without a dishwasher, this was a feat of its own! (Which I saved for the following day)

(5 lbs. of Muscadine Grapes all mushed up)

(Mommy mushing grapes!)

(Mommy mushing grapes with style!)

(Daddy is organizing all the jelly jars)

(11 jars of homemade jelly)

The Jelly was quite a success and we still have a couple of jars left. This is something I think Craig and I could do for fun every once in a while - provided clean up was a bit easier!

(Jelly spilled over and made a big sticky mess)

(There were lots of dirty dishes, but it was fun!)

Walking

Charlotte has been walking for more than a month now, but she's added a few fun twists to her adventures. She climbs, and she has learned to unzip her diaper bag and open caps on shampoo - which led to my most recent adventure. Charlotte drank a half of a bottle of baby shampoo I keep in my diaper bag in case, and she spent a whole morning vomiting. Poor baby, hopefully she'll learn never to do that again!

(Charlotte, 10 months, climbed on top of the coffee table)

(Charlotte, 11 months)

My sweet girl has also got 7 teeth now which you can see in a few of the photo's.

(Charlotte loves being outside!)

(Daddy lets his little girl man the wheel!)

Charlotte loves being outside. One day Craig came home briefly from having been gone on business and had to leave abruptly again. Once he was out the door, Charlotte brought me her shoes. I put the shoes on her feet and then she wanted to go outside. When we got outside she started looking around and then started saying "Da-da?" And when she realized he was gone, she broke down on the side walk. She loves her daddy!

(She says "MUSH!")

(She loves her doggy!)

She really loves going on morning walks/runs with me and Shiner and has gotten into the habit of "walking" Shiner herself. She'll lean over and grab his leash and start bossing him around. It's really cute to watch, less cute when she offers him her sippy cup! She's also started to say "Dog" along with "Apple", "Mama", "Dada", "Book" and she tries for "Butterfly" but she's not quite there yet!

Craig

(This one for the benefit of the camera!)

(This one to practice his aim!)

Hunting season is right around the corner, so Craig has been running out to the nearby woods when he gets the chance (which isn't often) and practices with his bow. His aim is still really good despite how little he's been able to practice and he's really excited about "putting some meat on the ground." I don't much care for venison, but I'd like him to get a few hogs!