Crafty

Levi is 8 months old now. He's crawling, and is getting into everything. We had to give up on the baby food with him...he just won't eat it. He'll eat everything else, though. It doesn't matter what you have, if you're eating, he wants it. He is my best eater by-far. Oh, and I got to give him his first hair cut, well trim, on Monday. His hair around his ears was driving me crazy with how long is was. I was brave enough to take the trimmers to it, and Levi did so good. He just laid his head down on my legs and let me work. That was new for me. Since he has four older sisters, I never had to worry about a hair cut on one his size before.

I was turned on to a website by a friend of mine late last year. It's http://www.etsy.com/ It's a website for crafters to sell their stuff, and a great place to find hand-made items. I've bought a few things on there, and have also sold some creations of my own. I'm not super talented, but I enjoy having something to do that's not "mom-related." Lately I've been able to sit and craft a few things. Here's a picture of some pacifier clips that I made and a hair clip (there's a link on my blog for my store). Speaking of making things, I was able to help a friend of mine put together a shower for a mutual friend. She had the idea of putting together a diaper cake. It was super easy to do, and I was very impressed with the outcome of the finished "cake." The girl that I helped is very talented and artistic, and I had a lot of fun doing the shower with her. Here's a couple of pictures from the shower.

Our oven went out on us on Valentine's day. So, I've been making the most of my stove top and microwave. I didn't realize how much I used my oven until I couldn't, so I've been trying to be more creative with meals. I have a handful of microwave recipes from my grandma, and I've found some online that have been good. I have to share one that I've made quite a few times since not having my oven. It's so easy and the family loves it. It's very versatile, too. If you try it out, I hope you like it.

Microwave Cake

1 (18.25 oz) box of cake mix*

3 eggs

1 (21 oz) can apple pie filling*

1/2 cup applesauce

1. Mix the box of cake mix, eggs, pie filling and applesauce until moist. Use a microwave safe bundt pan** or substitute a microwave safe bowl that has a microwave safe cup or cone placed in the middle of it (to mimic a bundt pan). Pour mixture into the bundt pan or into the bowl around the cup.

2. Bake on High for 6 minutes 30 seconds, turn and bake for another 6 minutes 30 seconds on High. After time is up, leave cake in oven and cover dish with a plate. Let stand for 5 minutes (this is important to finish the cooking process).

3. Remove from microwave. Turn cake over onto plate. Remove cup (if used). Great served at any temperature. Serve hot with ice cream or with whipped topping.

*Cake can be prepared many different ways just by changing the cake mix flavor and pie filling flavor. Some variations are: Chocolate cake with cherries, Spice cake with apples, Lemon cake with blueberries, Yellow cake with cherries, etc.

**I used a silicone bundt pan.