Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sibling Love


My little ones
are 20 months apart
but I'm sure
no matter the age gap
all siblings fight
I know my sisters and I did
often


so my heart
just melts
when they actually
get along
for more than 5 minutes


no fights to breakup
no timeouts to distribute
no yelling and screaming
just
LOVE
for a few minutes


right after this picture
she pushed him of the chair
and then the fighting started

*hmmm*
we had a few minutes
of peace

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Randomcity

My little man
is a train conductor
my kitchen
a train station
the kitchen chairs
train cars
destination
DINOSAUR ISLAND
do you have your ticket?


I've been MIA
Missing in Action
my folks are staying
at our place
and my dad
has accosted my computer
to play frontierville
on facebook

I haven't even
put together a menu
for the week
I have a long
to do list for this week
I'm taking advantage
of my parents being here
so we are throwing
meals together as we go
tonight was spaghetti
tomorrow, spaghetti bake
you get the idea I'm sure

I'll be back
to regular blogging
soon I would hope!

Saturday, December 25, 2010


From my family to yours! Blessings this glorious day!

Luke 2
The Birth of Jesus
1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Jesse Tree


This was my first year
attempting the Jesse Tree
with my kidlets
I can't say it
wasn't successful
I believe
the word of God
has power
and reading them
to my kids
even if they don't
listen or if they
fight the entire time
over who gets to use
the yellow felt
is never a waste


I hope to do the
Jesse Tree
with them next year
maybe it won't end up
being a test of
mommy's patience
the kids however
did look forward
to the craft time
and enjoyed coloring
and putting them
on their trees


Thursday, December 23, 2010

BBQ Steak and Potatoes in December




What is better than
BBQ in December?
This steak was fantastic
and BBQ Potatoes
always good


I cut them up
with onions
well, I only had
1/4 of an onion today
I'm running low on veggies
and need to make
a run to Neufelds tomorrow


then I lay out
two pieces of aluminum foil
shinny side in
I double it because
if I don't
it always seems
to get a hole in it
I then liberally
add chunks of butter
and some seasoning salt


the steak
oh my
yum
make sure it's
room temperature
I added steak seasoning
then threw it on the BBQ
and left it alone
once the steak
no longer sticks to the grill
it's time to turn it over
don't mess with steak
don't stab it with a fork
use tongs, be nice
don't flip it more than once
my list of rules is long
but you will thank me
and it's worth it to
buy a good cut
so now that I'm done my speech
when it's the desired doneness
remove it
and let it sit for a bit
before you cut into it


complete goodness
the entire family
ate dinner
without anyone
being in a time out
Praise the Lord


girly may not
have eaten much
but she ate
and sat
for dinner
this is good
we were all in shock

I know
her pigtails are super cute
however
they involve lots
of screaming
and crying
I tell her
vanity is pain

of course
our dinner conversation
was centered
around dinosaurs
little man
is very intent
he likes his dinos


BBQ
it's always good

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Decorating after House Reno

I know
You're thinking
House Reno?
it was back in April/May
I'm slow in getting
things back together
after redoing my
kitchen and bathroom
yesterday I was motivated
here is my hallway
I'm happy with how it turned out



I'll slowly be finishing
decorating at somepoint
but for now,
I'm happy with this one wall!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Spaghetti Squash Throw Together


I had received
a Spaghetti Squash
from my sister
we enjoy spaghetti squash
but I wasn't sure
what I wanted to do with it
so I threw somethings together
and had an amazing meal
AMAZING

I started with
2 carrots
small head of broccoli
one onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of grapeseed oil
pepper
roasted for 30 min at 400
stirring once or twice
if you have
never roasted vegetables
you really must try it
they are so good


I cooked up some hamburger
added a 398ml can of diced tomatoes
one teaspoon-ish curry powder
a few large tablespoons of Ricotta cheese


I decided to add
a few handfuls of spinach
to wilt down


cooked 1/2 a spaghetti squash
in the microwave
for about 8 minutes
use a fork
to remove the squash
add the the roast veggies


then add the meat mixture
and about a cup of
shredded mozzarella cheese
mix it all up
dump it into
a casserole dish



then add some more cheese
mozzarella and Parmesan
it's extra yummy
girly thought it
might need more carrots


bake in the already hot oven
basically just until
the cheese melts
I turned it to broil
for just a few minutes
to brown it up a bit


this was so so YUMMY
it didn't need any
extra seasoning
and it was easy


we all loved it
well, I say all
as in those of us
who actually tried it
girly
she wouldn't try it
but she's been
on a dinner strike
for about 2 weeks
she ends up spending
most of dinner
in a timeout


the little girl's dinner
is waiting in the fridge
we'll see how she
likes it for breakfast
I purposely gave them
a small lunch
of just popcorn
and no afternoon snack
I'm really not worried
just annoyed
it's good food!


Monday, December 20, 2010

Menu Plan Monday


CHRISTMAS!
It has come up so fast
I don't have too busy
of a week going on
this weekend
we have 2 dinners

Last week
we ate at home
for all our dinners
not always what
was on the plan
but that is alright

This week

Monday

Farmer Sausage and Perogies
with salad

Tuesday

Spaghetti Squash throw together
with salad
throw together means
I don't know what
exactly I'm doing with it yet

Wednesday

Steak and Potatoes
with Salad

Thursday

Chicken Fajitas
with cut veggies

Friday *Christmas EVE*

Dad's Chili
from the freezer
with cut veggies

Saturday **Christmas**

Family Dinner at my aunts
I have to bring potatoes

Sunday *Boxing Day*

Family Dinner
at my In Laws


My husband and I
celebrated our
7th anniversary
God has so greatly
blessed us

For many more menu ideas
check out the Organizing Junkie

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Uninvited Guests

Last year, around this time
we had many uninvited guests
the mice were living
in our basement ceiling
it was very noisy
we had one adult cat
and one kitten
Blue the adult cat
caught his fair share
I killed my fair share
with a shoe
the traps caught their fair share
but the traps didn't always finish the job
that was left to me
not a job I signed up for
We found the problem
fixed the problem
and we had no more mice
UNTIL
last week
I heard the all to
familiar sound
we now have three cats
they all heard the mice too
Blue,



Tonka,



Little Lily girl




I waited with anticipation
to see which one
would make the first move
here is their stealthy response

Blue



Tonka



Little Lily girl



I held out hope
maybe just maybe
they were tricking me
it doesn't seem so

Blue



Tonka



Little Lily girl



HUH
it would seem
they have been living
the good life
a little too long

Time to get out
the traps
and keep a shoe close at hand

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Oh Christmas Tree


Let me just say
I'm not against
Christmas Trees
I just realize
that I'm the one
who will have to
clean it up
and put it all away
I have a hard enough time
cleaning my house
why would I purposely
make more work for myself?


In the past
we put a tree up
if we had a Christmas event
at our house
the past two years
we did not decorate for Christmas
one year I was pregnant
and as a result
hospitalized in the days
leading up to Christmas
and last year
I was in the midst
of post partum depression
the fact that I bought
presents was enough for me


This year
I was hoping
for one more year
with out the work
of a tree
but my kids
are catching on
so the tree is up
but the traditional decorations are not
I've let the kids have fun
and play with decorating the tree

I have enjoyed seeing
how much they are enjoying
decorating the tree with various things
the biggest decoration
as been elastic bands
and a few toys


we also have gone
and driven around
to enjoy Christmas lights
girly doesn't get it
but my little man
loves it
and will say from the back
wow, those are beautiful
it's so sweet


last night we were able
to go thru the live
nativity drive thru
that a local church puts on each year
the little man loved it
and it was pretty neat
for him to see the Christmas story
displayed that way
he really liked the angels

seeing the kids excitement
over various Christmas things
encourages me for next year
to possibly get more involved
in decorating things for them

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Randomcity



Today we had an incident
so dinner needed to
be easy and fast
enter
Cheater Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Always an easy dish
and always so good
no matter the vegetables
that you add in


dinner times at our house
have not been a happy event
girly
she is on a hunger strike
only at dinner time


she also feels the need
to get up out of her chair
as a result of not eating
and not sitting
she has been standing
in the corner
for the majority of dinner time
today however
it didn't seem to
bother her


my little man
had a run in
with our tonka cat
he closed the door
on tonka's tail
and mayhem ensued
the little man
has some scratches
but a big owie on his finger


the cat cut thru
his finger nail
into the flesh under it
and ripped across it
it is very sore
he's very sad
and it's still seeping blood
he's on bandaid number #2