Number 1 & Number 2

This has been a focus
for two days in our house
my little man
was 3 in July
I have not pushed
just discussed
it has had some random use
nothing note worthy
then at dinner on Wednesday
there is a declaration
'Mom, I need to pee'
I wasn't going to pass it up
so off we went
and low and behold
he really did


I decided to stop avoiding it
the next day
no diaper
he did well
3 accidents
he has a #2 aversion
that night
his sister
she decided if he could
so could she
no urging
no discussing it with her
she just sat down
and used it


so today
I changed no diapers
both kids did amazing
girly does not have a #2 aversion
this I hope has encouraged her brother
my little man
has declared
he no longer wears diapers
he did not have any accidents today
my girly
had 2 accidents
not really a big deal


my fingers are crossed
for what tomorrow will bring

Sausage Lentil Soup

What can I say
but
YUM
seriously
this was so good

Sausage Lentil Soup
I found the recipe
on Tasty Kitchen
if you have not searched
on that site
I highly recommend that you do

Here is my version
3 Tbs of grapeseed oil
1 pkg of basil Italian sausage
-casing removed
1 onion - diced
4 cloves of garlic
-finely chopped
2 stalks of celery
- diced
2 cups chopped spinach
1 Tbs of FRESH rosemary
- finely chopped
1 Tbs of FRESH oregano
- finely chopped
1 Tbs of dried Basil
(I would have used fresh
but couldn't find any)
1 lrg can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups dried lentils
1 carton of beef broth
shredded Parmesan cheese for topping


I broke up the sausage
while I cooked it with
the onion, garlic and oil
once it started to brown up
I added the herbs
mixed it around
then the rest of the ingredients
stirred it up
brought it to a boil
then simmered it for 2 hours
this looks wonderful


I served this
topped with the parm cheese
and my fluffy buns


this soup tasted
A M A Z I N G
I'm sure it's from
the FRESH herbs
I didn't add
any other seasoning
nothing
no salt
no pepper
nothing
go forth
and make this soup


my little man
is forever asking
for me to take his picture
so here it today's


my girly
her hair is a source
of comments and questions
whenever we go out
most often people
want to know what it looks
like if it's wet
and not so 'large'
here she is after her bath today
it stayed this 'small'
for about 15 minutes

AppleSauce in the Slow Cooker

I had planned
to make the applesauce the day before
but it worked out for last night

I received an apple peeler
from a good friend
7 years ago for my wedding
I have been grateful for it
on many occasions
last night was one of them

most mom's have
an apple cutter
if you don't
go
get one
just be sure to
spend the money
for a good one
or it will break on you
just saying
I might have experience
in that area

I used 12 apples
compared to the 8 called for in the recipe
I used just short of 1/2 a cup of brown sugar
I used a healthy amount of cinnamon
I didn't measure it
I used 1/2 a cup of water

I turned on my slow cooker
for 8 hours
I woke up during the night
and could smell the apples cooking
here are the apples
they shrunk down while cooking

I used a potato masher
and mashed them all up
I served them on oatmeal
with a bit of milk
the kids loved it

I do not have any
applesauce left
it was all eaten today
I always struggle
with what to serve
for lunch
I try so hard to stay healthy
and feed my kids healthy thing
but I often fall down at lunch
today I served them
left over roast beef
on my homemade buns
with apple sauce
and homemade pickles

PLEASE give me your
lunch ideas!!

I think my kids hit the peak
for their colds today
my little man
disappeared
I found him
in his room
on his bed
asleep
still with his
coat and boots on
he doesn't normally nap
not with out a fight
he really wasn't feeling well

girly
she was not a happy camper today
but she still has smiles

Fluffy Dinner Rolls

I was going to call this post
Fluffy Buns
it made me giggle
but I thought I should be
Politically Correct
for once anyway

I used the recipe from
Jamie Cooks It Up!
I was going to document it
like I normally do
but I'm tired
and sick
and did I say tired
Jamie has it documented
and written clearly for you
I actually followed her directions
completely
really, I didn't make any changes
I'm so proud of myself
however, mine did not look
as neat and nice as hers
but they tasted
FANTASTIC


these really are as easy
as they seem from Jamie's post
I'll be sure to make them again
but I normally don't feed
my family white bread
so I might play with it
and add some wheat flour
and a bit less sugar

my kids
they know
that they are funny
today
they decided
to wear our shoes


they are also
both sick
girly has double streamers


my little man
he's doing well
just a few
bats in his caves
he still made it to preschool


due to being tired
I have yet to make it
to the grocery store
so my menu plan isn't
totally in effect
so I made some spaghetti
to go with the
fluffy buns
it was good

Tuesday Tag Along

Wow, what a way to wake up

I logged onto blogger

and there were 23 comments!

Twee Poppets choose my blog

to be the feature blog this week!

What an honour.



Click on the button or click Twee Poppets

and head over there

to check out some other fantastic bloggers

I have come across

many interesting and great blogs this way

and increased readers on my blog at the same time!



Thanks again everyone!
I'll be over to everyone who left me a comment
and follow you back
I'm excited to explore all these new blogs

Linklove

I had a nice post all planned
written in my head
some great pictures
and some cute things to say
my wonderful husband
helped me clean up today
and I don't know where he put my camera
so I can't blog about my cute post
I'll have to keep you waiting

in other news
my son now refers
to himself in the 3rd person
it cracks me up
I don't have a clue
where he came up with that

I'll leave you with some links today
I'm new at blogging
and I really have no clue
most of the time
what I'm doing
over at Crystal & Co.
she is sharing some good info
from a conference she attended
check her out
she has a fun blog
I enjoy reading

We are all sick over here
coughs colds
it's that time of year
I make this strange concoction
a homemade cough and cold syrup
I found it over at
The Keeper of the Home
a wonderful site with some
good natural remedies
and other natural resources
I have learned a lot from her
and she lives in
my neck of the woods
oh, ya, my kids
love the cough syrup
and it does seem to help them

and finally
my last link for you
I'm trying this tonight
I hope anyway
to have with our breakfast
I'll take pictures
if I can locate my camera

Menu Plan Monday

We had a great week last week
meal wise that is
I have to say that the best meal
was the tofu fajitas
they were so good
and I thought a great result
for my first time cooking with tofu

I will be trying to use Tofu
more often in my menu planning
not only does my son love it
and I want to encourage that
but it's not very expensive either

Today we are all feeling
under the weather
in fact it's not even 830pm
and my husband is in bed

Here we go
I hope to try a few new things
this week
I hope I'm not taking on to much

Monday - left over roast beef
mashed potatoes
and salad

Tuesday - Cacio e Pepe (Pasta with Black Pepper)
baked chicken marinated (not sure in what yet)
and salad

Wednesday - Sausage Lentil Soup
fluffy dinner rolls
cut veggies

Thursday - I'm going to try a tofu stir fry
left over dinner rolls

Friday - Tuna Melts
salad

Saturday - left overs or eggs
cut veggies

Sunday - pancakes

God has poured blessings on me
when my husband came into my life
God knew what he was doing
marriage isn't easy
parenthood isn't easy
but with the right
person to walk with you
to support you
to hold you
and to comfort you
all I can say is
God knew what I needed

My husband is quiet
my husband is caring
my husband completes me
he is amazing with the kids
and he is amazing at
stepping up when asked
and helping out where needed

Thank you Lord
for knowing my needs
and preparing and providing
this amazing man for me
I can't wait to see
what the years hold
I know with my partner by my side
and God with us
all things are possible

About a Boy

He's 3
he's cute
he loves dinosaurs
he leaves snacks out for the dinosaurs
that live under his bed

he goes to preschool
he plays with his sister
he fights with his sister
during the day he is
a regular 3 year old

BUT after dinner
he turns into plunger boy
he fights for dessert
after every meal

we wait for plunger boy
to decide on his next move
to advocate for dessert after dinner

he shares his wealth of experience
showing his young follower
the art of pretend flying

and the art of soaring
all while he shares
the benefits of dessert after dinner

he takes his plunger
looking for the person
who is saying no dessert today
he searches him out

plunger boy avoids
his nemesis' kick
the fight is on
will there be dessert tonight?

Plunger boy looks
to be in trouble
his nemesis has the upper hand

but plunger boy fights back
he is determined to fight
to have dessert after dinner

he surprises his nemesis
with a new move
that is unexpected

but his nemesis
is quick to react
and seems to have the upper hand
over plunger boy

at the end of the fight
there is no dessert
but plunger boy and his nemesis
are again friends

The winner of the Hair Clips was Esther. I'll be sending them out to you shortly Esther!! I hope your girlies will love them.

Tofu Fajitas, Pica de Gallo, Guacamole and Vegan Carob Pie

A vegetarian feast
tonight was so yummy
I made Guacamole
we love Guacamole
5 mashed avocados
2 diced tomatoes
1/2 a diced onion
a bunch of chopped cilantro

I also made Pica de Gallo
the recipe is from
the Pioneer Women
a great site to check out
I did remove the seeds
but left most of the ribs
this was pretty spicy
but good

next came the Tofu
I have never cooked with tofu before
but we have had it before
and all enjoy it
in fact my little man
he loves loves loves it
he was pretty miffed
when he knew it was in the fridge
and he couldn't have any

here is what I did
Firm Tofu
peppers
onions
grapeseed oil
taco seasoning

so here is the tofu
I cut the block into strips
then marinated it
in the grapeseed oil
and taco seasoning

remember how I told you
my little man loves tofu
I had to hide it
he kept sneaking pieces

so I cut all the peppers
and the onions
and sauteed them in grapeseed oil
and taco seasoning
look at the color
so yummy..oh ah beautiful

in a different pan
I sauteed the marinated tofu

I threw the peppers and tofu together
to serve it up
fajita style

these were so good
we layed the wraps
with the tofu and peppers
cheese and sour cream
and the pico de gallo
and guacamole
we all really enjoyed them
as did everyone else
seriously, really very good

for dessert
our friends brought
a vegan carob pie
it was yummy and chocolaty
Yummy
Chocolate
but healthy?
oh yes, it's true
this....amazing!
she will be giving me the recipe
fingers crossed

after dinner it was so sweet
our friends read bible stories
to the kidlets
they all loved it

it seems my girly
has figured out how to climb
down from the trampoline on her own now
she's way too smart