Earth day!

A couple of days ago was earth day, and while I try to impart on my children that God gave us this earth to take care of and we should do just that every day, Faith had been bugging me to make a bird feeder thing she had seen on TV. I figured it was the perfect day for it! I sent Faith out into the rain with her umbrella to find a pine cone for Emmy, Gavin and her. After they dried off for a while I set them up at the table with their pine cone and a butter knife covered in peanut butter and let them go at it. Faith did pretty well, Emmy and Gavin though it was time for a snack and kept trying to eat their peanut butter. After all three cones were sufficiently smeared I sprinkled birdseed on them and we waited for the rain to stop so we could hang them up outside.

In the mean time I started a chili in the crock-pot. It was cold and raining and seemed like the perfect day for a pot of chili, plus, chili is low and fat and high in fiber and we all know how I am trying to looses a few lbs before Mexico. To go with the chili I made some cinnamon rolls, which are not helping with the weight loss, but Andy had a stressful week, and when he was little at school they usto serve chili and cinnamon rolls together. I know, weird, right? He almost always took a bag lunch to school, but his mom always let him get school lunch when it was chili and cinnamon roll day. I figured it would make his day a little bit better to come home to a hot bowl of chili and fresh baked cinnamon rolls, and because I rock like that.



One more thing. We have a new addition to our family. A fish. A betta fish to be exact. I'm not sure why I had the urge to get a fish, but I did, so we did. His name is Emo. You know, like the kids who wear the skinny jeans with the bright pink high tops and the hair over their face. Emmy has dumped out his vase once already, but I saved him. Andy said he feels bad for the fish, like coming to our house is a death sentence. I am determined to prove him wrong!

Yogurt and Jam

I love the sound of canning lids popping in the background. It is so fulfilling to know that it worked! It's funny, when I met Andy I told him I would never can, just wasn't my thing, no fricken way, and now I find it fulfilling? Wow, how the times have changed! Seriously though, canning is hard work, it takes allot of prep time, it's hot, it's messy, but in the end you come out with a jar of something you grew, you washed, you trimmed and then preserved to eat later. There was one day last fall where it really hit me how cool it was, for dinner that night I made green beans that I had canned a few months before, a roast from an elk that Andy had hunted and whole wheat rolls that I had kneaded and let rise all day, it was very cool to be able to say that we had produced the entire meal. The girls are at the stage where they still love to help me, and I take advantage of that, even though it is a ginormous pain in my butt to let them help, I know that in the long run it is so awesome, and I try to remember that the day will come when they will help me because they have to, not because they want to, someday they won't fight over who's stool is closer to me. Last summer we pitted and froze tons of cherries, and now that the cherry trees are starting to bloom again I figured I should use up whats left of them out of the freezer before this years come in, and since we were short on jam I thought that would be perfect. Cherry Jam might be the most delicious stuff ever! and the girls enjoyed watching the jars boil, simple pleasures.
































Another thing I made today was yogurt! I found an awesome crockpot blog that had a recipe for crockpot yogurt!! I know, sounds weird, but it works! It took all day but I now have a gallon of organic yogurt in my fridge!!

















Those were my two exciting things today, the weather was beautiful, I took the kids to the park, met a friend for lunch, went grocery shopping and squeezed in a quick workout after dinner. Oh, dinner tonight was Turkey on the BBQ with lemon pepper seasoning, Veggies and Quinoa!

New dipers, diets and hair!

So maybe it's a little sad when you get excited about new cloth dipers for your baby. Anyway, I was excited. They came on friday and I wanted to talk about them THEN, but a bout of sickness came through our house and the weekend has been a bit busy with all the fevers and puking and such. So here I am to tell you I ordered 4 of the Gro Baby cloth diapers and I LOVE them, in fact they are the only diapers I can put Weston in overnight, with a doubler they sent and a BG doubler,(I know right?) and he doesn't wake up soaked. I love the versatility in them and the fact I don't have to change the cover at every diaper change, and DH likes them too, which is always a bonus. I ordered a box of the disposable inserts too which a biodegradable, compostable, flushable, or throw away. I have yet to use one, but I though the poeple at the Gym daycare might appreciate them. Not to mention how handy they would be for long car trips, like to Seattle. So far I give them an A+, I like them better than my Happy Heineys, about the same as my Jam Tot's Berry plush, more than my BG OS. One of my friends is sending me a couple BG organics and a couple GoodMamas too, they should be here any day now and then I think my stash will be complete...... that's not true, I still want to get him a camo diaper and a Steelers diaper if I can find one!

So I had this realization.....We are leaving for Mexico in exactly one month and there is no way in hell I am taking this 10 extra pounds with me. My number one reason, at this weight none of my shorts fit me......... and that's kinda a problem since I am not going to buy new shorts. So I started watching my diet yesterday, which means no more wine and chocolate at night .....booooo! Today I am sitting at 139lbs, I need to get to 130 to ensure my clothes fit, but I will take less! Wish me luck. I hate loosing weight, I have no problem maintaining, but I hate the loosing part.

And I chopped off all my hair, from midway down my back to chin length. I love it!

Wish upon a star

Last night, after I went to the gym the girls and I stopped by the store to fill a prescription. We wandered around while we waited and were looking at shoes. Faith found these Skechers light up glitter shoes and fell in love. Now these shoes are 40 bucks! and I would have to buy two pairs since if I got them for Faith then Emmy would have a meltdown if she didn't get the sparkle light up shoes too! So now we are looking at 80.00 that is just not in the budget right now. Especially since that's what I spend on my shoes and I don't outgrow mine in 2 months. So I tell her no on the shoes and meltdown ensues. After a crying walk to the car she tries a new tactic and informs me that I am not the best anymore. That one doesn't work either so it's on to method number 3, when she decides that she will just buy the shoes herself since she has a piggy bank and MUST have enough money for the sparkle shoes. I tell her that I don't think she has enough just yet. She doesn't say anything till we are almost home, then she asks me if I see the star in the sky. I tell her yes, and she replies with, "I wished upon that star that I can have those shoes........." Oh geeze...that girl!

Bowling and such

Faith showing off her mad bowling skills


It's snowing today........It's frigging April....and we have had no snow all winter......and yet today it's snowing. It's not sticking, but it still makes me angry. So my plan was to go to the gym....then I talked to my mom and she said she was taking my siblings bowling, that sounded more fun, so I decided to drag my brood out for some wholesome family fun!

Ready for your back story? I am the oldest of 6. I have a sister, who is 20, recently married and expecting her first baby in Sept, I have a brother who is 19, I have twin brothers who are 10 and a sister who just turned 6. My youngest sister and my oldest daughter are BFF's, it's cute, and a little strange, but it works for us.



So the morning started off pretty standard, Gavin showed up around 7:40, BTW, Gavin is my extra kiddo, he is 6 wees younger than Emmy and I watch him during the week while his mom works, he's a good kid. Breakfast was smoothies, banana, blueberries, strawberries and oats blended with milk. My girls loved it, Gavin wouldn't touch it, this happens often since apparently we eat strange food. So I bundle everyone up because remember it's SNOWING!!!! and we head to Triple Play. We let the little kids duck pin bowl with bumpers and they had a blast. We ordered a couple pizzas, veggie and a cheese and then let the kids play in the indoor play structure and a few arcade games....okay and I totally whooped my 10 year old brothers butt in dance dance revolution.....Small victories I tell you! Now everyone is in bed napping, and I am folding my never ending load of laundry, washing diapers and catching up on shows I have recorded. Andy should be home soon and I have a Dr's appt for my broken va-jay-jay. Seriously,(ready for the TMI?) I have had 8 yeast infections since Weston was born 7 months ago, Something is not right. I am not dreading the appt, because I need to figure this out, but I am dreading having to step on the damn scale. I want to know who's brilliant idea it was to have women get on the scale fully dressed with shoes on in the afternoon! And I am going to try to stop at a local mothering store in town on my way to the gyno and pick up a couple of cloth doublers for my pee pot son. I know, exciting, right? Oh and dinner I am making brown rice, teriaki shrimp and asian slaw all together in a bowl, like the ones from Noodle Express, but better for you and minus all the hormones in the factory farmed meat.

alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456759985929693842" />
Emmy Bowling

Weston chillin'




Ciao for now!

My Life, My kids and food

Three things I love. My life, which includes my wonderful hubby Andy, My kids, Faith, Emmy and Weston, and Food, preferably homemade and organic. I often feel life life is flying by so quickly that I don't take the proper steps to document things that are funny, touching and sentimental. The things I don't want to forget, but know that I will unless I write them all down in one place. This is that place. This may be a boring blog, but it's my life, and really, with so many littles running around, how could it be boring?