Healthy Homemade Granola

My husband LOVES granola. I mean, he really loves it. I have tried buying almost every single kind of granola that is sold in stores and they're just 'okay' by his standards. It works because it's food and if he puts enough yogurt on it, who can tell? But as a wife, I wanted to have a granola for him that he just couldn't get enough of. And that's where my latest endeavor came in.

Homemade granola. 

And it wasn't even that hard. It took about 30mins to make and then I set it out to cool. And the best part: he loves it! I think my problem was that he grew up on homemade everything and store bought granola just isn't the same.

I started with a recipe I found from Kevin's grandma that she gave me at my bridal shower. And then I tweaked it. Here's what I ended up putting in:

6 C.       Gluten Free Oats
1 1/2 C. Chopped Pecans
1/2 C.    Sunflour Seeds
1/4 C.    Flax Seeds
1/4 C.    Sesame Seeds
1 C.       Shredded Coconut
2/3 C.    Honey
2/3 C.    Olive Oil
1 Tb.     Cinnamon
1 Tsp.    Vanilla
1 1/2 C. Raisins

First I put the oats and all the nuts and seeds in a large pan and baked them in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Then added the coconut, cinnamon, and liquid ingredients. Mixed it up really good and then put it back in the oven for another 15mins stirring it every 5mins. After that, I spread it out on parchment paper and left it to cool. Then added the raisins and put it in a jar. And voila! It's ready to eat.

It's not quite as crunchy as some granolas because I used honey instead of sugar, but it still tastes awesome. I think Kevin is secretly waiting for the yogurt I made to get done this afternoon before he really dives in, but I keep catching him pulling handfuls out of the jar and eating it.

Success as a wife = priceless!

Gender Reveal Party

Back in January, we announced that we are expecting our 3rd baby by posting this photo on Facebook.

We just reached the halfway point and had decided that we wanted to know the gender of this baby before it's born.  Since we are using a midwife and doing a home birth, I had to find a place to perform the ultrasound.  I found a place about a mile from our house that would do it for a very reasonable price.  So, we decided to have the technician find out the gender and write it on a piece of paper.  Then we brought the paper (inside a sealed security envelope) to my mom who made a cake the color (pink or blue) that the baby is going to be.  Then frosted it over and brought it to our party.

We had about 25 people (not including kids) that made it to share the special moment with us.

There were pink and blue snacks.

Everyone casted their vote.  Boy was leading in the polls.

The cake.

The plan was to have Evelyn call out the color of the cake after we cut it, but for whatever reason, she kept saying the wrong color.  Here's the video of our cake cutting.

So, we are having another girl!  That was my feeling all along, but it is nice to know for sure.  Getting ready for her will be pretty easy as Elsie was born in June so we have the right sizes in the right seasons.  We're over half way there to meeting her and I know the time will fly and before we know it, she will be here.  I can't wait to meet her, but I am cherishing these moments with just my older two.  Being a mommy is so wonderful!

Christmas Projects (A Little Late)

How is it February already?  Wow time is flying.  I meant to post about this way back in January, but never got around to it.

This Christmas I decided to 'save' some money by making many homemade gifts.  The problem with this idea is that most of the time, the homemade gift ends up costing more in the end.  But most of the time it's also worth it because it turns out exactly like I wanted and it's super cute.  Here are some pictures of the things I made this year.  I forgot to take pictures of everything I made, so some of them are the pinterest picture of my inspiration.

For Kevin, I made this chalkboard to hang in our bedroom.  I started with a piece of plywood I found in our garage and went to town.  I love how it turned out and we use it all the time to write little love notes back and forth to each other.  Every married couple should have one!

I made a few things for some children in my life.

The apron I made is this exact apron, but with cupcake fabric.

Burp cloths out of prefold diapers.

The headband I made was bright pink, but I learned how to do this cool knot.

I also made this style apron, but in an adorable grey and pink polka-dot pattern.

And a basket made out of paper grocery bags.

I also made our girls each their own rice bag that you can warm up and snuggle with.  I can't find the cover right now to Elsie's, so there's no picture.

Whew!  Kevin informed me that if I don't have the homemade gifts done by Thanksgiving next year, we will just be buying something.  It took a lot of time and energy to do it all, but I enjoyed every minute. Making something by hand for the ones you love is something I love to do!