Carlyn

We love ethnic foods at the Layton house.  I remember the first time I ever had hummus.  I was in downtown Charlton, SC with James and his dad the spring break of our senior year of college.  We went to this great Greek restaurant and ordered it as our appetizer.  It came with cucumbers, tomatoes & pitas.  I thought it was the best thing I had ever eaten!! Since them I have tried lots of different types and flavor of hummus.  For Valentine’s Day this year, James and I tried a local family owned Greek restaurant.  We got a hummus and grilled chicken platter as an appetizer.  They had slices of grilled chicken breasts over a bed of warm hummus, drizzled in olive oil and served with veggies and pitas.  We were in heaven!!   It wasn’t long before I decided to recreate this yummy dish with my own twist using my black bean hummus.  We have now had it for dinner several times, and it is a huge hit around here!!  Black B...

some of my favorite quotes by Luther over the last several months:   luther was playing with calvin while i was making dinner. james called and luther was talking to him.   i heard  luther  tell him "i'm babysitting calivn. taking care of a baby is hard work. i can hardly do it. but i think i could be a daddy." interesting lunch conversations: i dropped a cookie and luther said "i'll sweep that up for you, mam." then i was saying something about kindergarten and luther says to pearl "i am going to have to look that up on the internet. it sounds like fun." luther and pearl were both in her crib when i went to get them up. luther asked to hold calvin and announced "pearl's a princess and i'm a king, but we can't do it without scrumptious calvin." luther: i'm giving you grace, pearl.   me: what are you giving pearl grace for??   luther: she left me downstairs by myself and she moved my blanket off the vent. that's...

my happy boy!!  if there is one word for Calvin, it is SWEET!!! Calvin's favorite thing to do besides eat, is to play with cars!! so, a car themed party for my car lover :)  Aunt vanna made this cute sign for calvin at the layton house we love homemade decorations and homemade cakes!! Luther and pearl worked for days coloring cars to hang all around the house. loving his cake(he actually had 2 bday parties and this was the first one)

now an experienced cake-eater, Calvin devoured his cake at his second party

my one year old!!!  Calivn James turned one on Saturday bday party pics coming soon

Our garden is doing to so well this year.  James has put lots of work into it and it shows.  This is one of our favorite recipes when the tomatoes are abundant.  Garden Fresh Tomato Soup Ingredients 8 cups chopped fresh tomatoes 2 onions, chopped 8 garlic cloves, minced  Olive oil 3 cups chicken broth 4 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2  tablespoons of basil pesto 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 cup of heavy cream 1  teaspoon salt  ½ teaspoons white sugar, or to taste Pepper to taste Directions Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil until tender.  Add chopped tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil.  Then add the chicken stock and simmer for about 20 minutes.  For an even thicker & richer soup, you can add less chicken stock.  I have left it out and used this as a tomato cream sauce over ravioli.  Remove from heat and puree ...

we love quick snacks around our house that are good to go.  here are 2 of our favorites.   i tried to hit the gym early some mornings, so these bars, plus a cheese stick and/or piece of fruit make a nice breakfast that the kids and eat in the car on our way there. Granola Bars 2 1/2 cups brown rice puffs(or you could use rice crispy) 2 cups old fashion oatmeal 1/2 cup packed brown sugar  1/2 cup honey  1/2 cup peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  ½ teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup chocolate chips DIRECTIONS In a large bowl, stir together the rice cereal and oats & cinnamon. Set aside. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Combine the brown sugar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring sugar mixture to a boil while you are stirring constantly.  Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth. Pour over the cereal and oat mixture, ...

my stair steps!! luther and pearl are still telling me happy mother's day everyday :) luther knows how much i love pictures so they sat still and smiled(with lots of help from aunt catherine) while i tooks these pictures of them at the botanical gardends today. luther told me it was for mother's day. man, i love these kids!! they bring me as much joy as they bring me work and that is a whole lot!!

I get lots of questions about how we do family worship at our house.  So, I thought I would just describe what we do.  We do family worship mostly every evening, unless the kids are up way past their bedtime(7pm) for some good reason (like prayer group on Wednesday nights).   We have tried different locations and times, but what we have found that works best is right before bed in Luther and Pearl’s room. We(typically James) reads the kids a Bible story, discussing it and asking them questions along the way to make sure they understand the main principles. They must sit and listen to the story.  They are not allowed to have any toys or get up and play.  Calvin sits in my lap and the kids sit on either side of James so they can see the book.   We ask them more questions and answer any questions they have at the end of the story.   Then we pray.  James first and then kids usually pray too.  We don’t make them pray if they don’t ...

Breastfeeding has been a huge part of my life for almost 5 years(14 months with Luther, 15 months with Pearl and I am on the 10th month with Calvin and still counting).  With Luther, I had a lot of problems in the beginning and that caused me to do a ton research on breastfeeding.  I read lots of books and info on the web, talked with many of other mommies about their experiences (including my own mommy), and worked with several different lactation consultants. Armed with knowledge, I was actually able to see what info was helpful using trial and error.  With Pearl and then Calvin, I was able to prevent all of the problems I had had with Luther and resolve new challenges my own. I have friends come to me with questions on the subject often and I have realized that I have a lot of help to offer.  So, I have sorted through all of the info and come up with what I think you really need to know in the beginning.  The first few days and weeks really make or break...