Why hello blogger...

Ok, so I know, I know; it's been a while.  But I have a good excuse:

This was too funny not to post.

On our way to the beach!

So happy!

So cool!

 

He wasn't terribly impressed!  He got over his fears though after a while and played in the sand and water.

Date night!

Our patriotic little boy.  We stopped in Gettysburg on our way back and got stuck because the there was a parade.

We love the pool!

I think he was nursing his baby :-)

For a while, Rhea carried around toys in her mouth...I believe she was called Marzi a few times!

Yummy salad with strawberries

We got chickens!  Jack loves them and would not leave the poor things alone....I think we need a dog; or maybe a fish?

My babies playing piano

I found him with no shorts, rain boots, and a handwarmer I'm crocheting for my mom.  LOL

Good-bye old bathroom!

Good-bye pink bathtub with iron stains.

Good-bye disgusting vanity.

Good-bye to all of the tiles that were falling off the wall!

Good-bye rotten wall!

This picture was too funny not to post with her crazy hair and expression!

Mmmm...daddy's homemade yogurt is delish!

Jack and I made cookies one afternoon :-)

Mmm...yummy

Making cookies is very exhausting!  He fell asleep in the middle of the kitchen floor!

Well, lunch is almost over, and babes must be put to bed. I'll be back to give you more pictures and updates on the Luckie household!  I'm sure you would love to see my new bathroom and our trip to Hershey Park!

Delicious Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

I got a hankering for cookies, and I found this little gem of a recipe on Pinterest.  It only called for three ingredients, so I said, "Why not?!"   I took the recipe a step farther and made them into thumbprints.  It's like a pb & j (....oh how I miss you!)  Here they are:

1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of sugar
1 egg


Mix them together and make them into balls.  You can either press them with a fork to create those classic pb cookie lines or push your thumb into them and put a dab of jelly/jam in the center.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 8-10 min. 

The cookies were obviously tantrum worthy...haha!

Gluten Free Pancakes

Gluten Free Pancakes

I found all of these flours at Wegmans grocery store (just in case you were wondering.) I made fresh butter this morning (which is super simple!), and I used the leftover buttermilk in my pancakes. I have used milk substitutes as well with mostly success--soy and almond. I haven't tried rice milk.

3/4 cups buckwheat flour
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 cup amaranth flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1 tsp xantham gum
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 cup of fresh buttermilk
3/4 cup of milk
1 heaping T brown sugar
2 farm fresh eggs, beaten
2 T fresh butter, melted

Preheat the pan/skillet with oil on your stove over less than medium heat (you'll have to get a feel for your cooktop.) Mix all ingredients together lightly (you don't want to overmix pancakes!) I've found gluten free batters tend to "puff up" as they sit, so in between batches I will use equal parts oil/butter and milk to "water it down" as needed. Place a scoop on the pan and spread it out some. Let it cook until you see some bubbles or looks cooked around the edges (or smells burnt....haha.) Flip it over until it is done! You can serve it with fresh fruit, real maple syrup, or cinnamon and sugar. You can also add those things to the batter right in the pan or in the bowl. Enjoy!

I feel like I didn't really get to finish my last post.  You got to see about as far as my Spring Break, but we have some other great news (which I will save to the end).  Here's an update of each family member:

Rhea:
Rhea  has recently started working on her crawling moves.  She could do everything else before that!  She could pull herself up to standing, scooch her bottom, and get on her knees.  But I have seen her....she crawled!  Yay!  She is as adorable as ever and has come out of her cranky funk.  She also has two teeth which might explain her happy mood!  She has been eating two meals a day.  She has tried sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, oatmeal, applesauce, and blueberries.  She has loved everything I have given to her so far except the blueberries.  Up next: SPINACH!  From the farmer's market of course; very excited to find it!

Jack:
Jack speech continues to improve.  It is amazing how rapidly they grow!  Speaking of growing, he hasn't really grown in stature; same old Jack.  I have another post on Jack I am working on, so you'll get to see that later once I'm finished.

Stephen and I:
Stephen has been busy at work.  He says the work load keeps getting worse and worse!  He's hanging in there and hoping that it might lead to something better.  My work load has been crazy the past few weeks!  I have state testing this week, and last week I had Progress Reports to fill out.  Yikes!
Okay, so now for the good news.  And it is not what you think.....so just push that out of your mind!  So, we have decided to use my pay in order to do three things: 

1. Fix up the house.  We need a forced air furnace and all the fixings.  We also need a new bathroom, new kitchen, including a cooktop, and we need to redo all our trim.

2. Save.  I would love to have a large sum of money in the bank :-).

3. To pay off Stephen's college loans.  It's really the only debt we have apart from our mortgage.  By the way, he has four separate loans.

Okay....so for the good news!  We paid off one of his medium loans, already!  So since we were married, we have paid more than half of all his college loans.  It will feel so good to get rid of them :-).  And just so you know, we don't plan on having another baby until those loans are paid off, we have a new bathroom/kitchen, and a new furnace.  And of course, God might have other plans, but those are our goals for now ;-).

It's April already?!?!

Wow, where has the time gone??  It's been a month since my last post.  I found a little time this evening to type up this post.  Jack is busy cutting paper at the table with me, and Rhea is playing with her little kitchen.  They are so sweet to give Momma a little bit of time to blog.  (Of course, by now, they are both playing with the little kitchen and having a great time together!)  It has been a busy month for us.  My birthday was at the beginning of the month, and I also had my Spring Break!  Wahooo! Here is how we spent the latter half of our Spring Break (after we were finished the stomach bug that is!!) and the weeks after:

Jack got to paint a bird house!  Notice my awesome new (to me) piano in the background!

Rhea loves the Tulips!

I made her little headband.  Isn't it darling!?

While Jack painted, Rhea enjoyed the sponge brushes....in her mouth.

My Easter arrangement: I went outside and cut whatever I could find!

The set up.  I made a Greek Antipasto (basically marinated veggies), hummus, chunks of Mozzarella cheese, homemade whole wheat wraps, and Stephen made a leg of lamb!  De-lish!!!

Ahhhh.....my house was invaded by Luckie's...hehehe :)

Jack and Grandpa sharing a book.

Jack's Easter treat!  It was a peanut butter bunny on a pretzel rod.  He was pretty pumped!

He still talks about that bunny!

I got our carport door painted and made the wreath. I really like the color of the door; now I just need to paint the trim and the front door!

I catch him reading to her often.

It was gorgeous on Sunday!  So of course, we went on a 6 mile hike!  Daddy is of course posing for the camera for us :).

He just loves making silly faces.

Taking a break...I wonder where she got her ears....

a froggy

My first attempt at gluten free.  They were delicious!  Even better than with wheat flour.  And yes, that is my homemade blueberry syrup!

Well, I will leave you with a video.   Jack and Rhea have been playing together lately, and it is adorable.  I could say more, but I think the video speaks for itself :-).