christmas decorating idea #1

Last year I framed a picture of Aiden and hung on our front door wreath. I loved the personal touch it lent to our front door. So this year a quick picture change and I have a sweet reminder of my beautiful kids every time I open the front door. I've just started the holiday decorating around here. Hopefully the tree will go up tomorrow! When we returned from our trip it felt like Christmas had opened overnight so many people have their trees and outdoor lights displayed. I hate to feel behind so this week end I'll be playing catch up!

little fishy

here's a short video and some pictures of Amelia's first dip in a swimming pool at the hotel!

we're back!

It was an exhausting ten days but we made it! Travelling with young children is hard work! I definitely feel like I need a vacation after our vacation! It was great to see Dale's family and watch our children interact with their cousins. We celebrated Thanksgiving with 50 of Dale's family members. It's so different back there - tables set up all over the house and sitting and visiting for hours. We headed to Minnesota last week end for Dale's brother's wedding reception and I'll try to post some pics. Our computer crashed a few days before we left and I am slowly trying to get everything working again (I'm starting to feel a little bit like a techie!) Making picture cd's was at the top of my list when we were back home. My advice now is back up your pictures always!The first picture is Aiden and Dale enjoying some ND snow! The rest are from the wedding reception. We took some family pictures with the photographer that night! Hoping something will turn out. The last picture is Aiden after the a long night of boogeying and eating wedding cake!

happy thanksgiving

wishing everyone a happy thanksgiving. We are headed to the in laws. Introducing Amelia to everyone and meeting our new nephew! Hoping we survive the plane ride with two kids and a houseful of kids under 5 for 10 days!

christmas wish

I did some Christmas toy shopping at Fountain Drug this morning (they have Christmas wrapping paper and free wrapping, love it!)When I picked Aiden up from school he saw the wrapped presents in the car and was upset when I explained they were for his cousins. I asked him what he would like for Christmas and he replied "a firetruck and a dinosaur that gives you cookies when you get near it. " Really? That sounds like a super cool toy!

fresh apple cookies

These are really yummy cookies if you eat them within a few hours of baking otherwise they get soggy!
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups backed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup apple juice or milk
1 cup chopped peeled apples
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins (optional)

preheat oven to 350
, combine flour and baking soda in medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and egg. Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and blend well. Mix in juice or milk. Add the apples, nuts and raisins to the remaining flour. Add this apple mixture to the butter mixture. Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheets and bake 10 minute or until cookies are firm. Makes approx 30 cookies!

bath toy storage

I bought this last week at Target and love it! I put it high up on the wall so Amelia can't reach it. (she's at the always trying to stand in the tub stage) It has a removable scoop so you "scoop" up the toys from the tub and it has holes to drain the water. The frog also has a shelf to store soap and shampoo. Just wanted to share my great find!

just cruisin'

Amelia and Aiden cruising on Amelia's car!

bagel baby

week end update

It's been a busy one! My Mom came down on Thursday night and we headed to Seattle on Friday morning for Aiden's app't. The ortho doctor measured his legs and the left leg is 2cm longer which isn't cause for concern.We will return in 6 months to monitor his leg growth. Next was the ultrasounds of his kidney and back. The doctor will call us with those results but nothing seemed abnormal during the scan. (I am a horrible reader of ultrasounds) I could never figure out which body part we were looking at during my prenatal ultrasounds. The kidneys and eyes looked a lot alike to me! We stopped in Marysville for a little shopping and were home for dinner.
Dale and I went out on a little movie date that night. We saw "Dan in Real Life" and loved it! I would highly recommend it! We tried to find a place to go out for a drink after but we couldn't find the right type of place for our old, lame, married selves so we just headed home.
Saturday I did a little Christmas shopping with my mom at the mall. I'm about a quarter done on my list which it was more. Oh well!
This morning 20 minutes after we said goodbye to my mom we said hello to some mom friends and 11 of their beautiful children for a holiday photo shoot! We enjoyed a delicious potluck brunch and the kids had a great time playing. Now we have a brief time to runs some eraands before my sister and her husband arrive for dinner. Whew!

school book

I can't stand paper clutter! With Aiden starting preschool this year I was aware that I would need a paper control system or all his precious schoolwork would get dumped in the recycling bin in a fit of decluttering. Solution! I dressed up 3 ring binder with his name and school year. When he brings home schoolwork I 3 hole punch the paper and place it in his binder ( that' sitting on a shelf in the family room ) Very easy, very quick. What to do with all the big pieces of artwork? Well I have a boy that doesn't do a lot of artwork so the few pieces we get are proudly displayed above the kitchen window.

costco list

Recently, I have been really interested in what other people spend on groceries and where they shop. I borrowed this idea from a friend. I made a large master shopping list for costco and saved it on my computer. Now when I go to costco once a month I will print off the list and highlight what we need to buy. My goal is $250 month at costco, wish me luck!

African Peanut Soup

I made my own version yesterday trying to use up some coconut milk. I tried calling it peanut butter soup but it still didn't fly with Aiden. Both Aiden and Dale don't like soup. Well, Dale will eat canned soup but not home made soup. Crazy!
1 chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 green and red pepper chopped
2 carrots chopped
sautee vegetables until soft approx 10 minutes. Add:
4 cups chkn broth
1 cup coconut milk (optional)
2/3 cup peanut butter (I used chunky)
2 cans chick peas drained
salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp chili pepper flakes
Cook approx 15 minutes, remove from heat, use a hand blender to blenderize soup. Add chopped peanuts and cilantro to top of soup when serving if desired!
I served the soup with tortilla wedges sprayed with olive oil and garlic powder baked in the oven for 5 minutes. I cut the tortillas with a pizza cutter and discovered it chops peanuts pretty well too!

amelia aka "paper hunter"

mission:locate,destroy and ingest as much paper product as possible in a 24 hour period.

cute story

When I dropped Aiden off at school today his Christmas pageant newsletter was in his cubby. It was a list of the songs they will be singing - one is spelling Jesus to the rhyme of B-I-N-G-O but that's another story. It asked to please talk with your child about who they want to dress up as for the pageant. It really emphasized having your child pick out which character they wanted to be. The choices are : Mary, Joseph, shepherd, sheep, donkey, or a wise man. After school I asked Aiden who he wanted to be listing these choices and he stated "a fireman" I explained that wasn't a choice. "Okay, a shark" also not a choice. I really started talking up the characters trying to get him excited. "I'll be a shepherd. " I was getting excited thinking about creating my first school concert costume and then he added " a German shepherd, Mom" Ahhh! I again tried to explain there isn't a dog in the Christmas story and he replied "Okay, I'll be a hippo." Stay tuned to find out what he'll be!

seriously good hand cream!

Awhile back ( my girls week end in Canada) I discovered this hand cream. It's great - good smell , not greasy and lasts a long time! A little spendy but definitely worth the splurge!http://usa.loccitane.com/FO/Catalog/Product.aspx?prod=01MA150KA&cat=usg_BodyHands

halloween pics

Here's some pictures of the kids in their costumes! The pictures were taken today because Amelia is finally acting like herself!

the laundry room

I have a very narrow room that is called our laundry room. It's the first room you enter from the garage so it's definitely a source of clutter! I have figured out a few solutions that I wanted to share. One of my favorite is the over the door shoe hanger - it's a super efficient cheap way to be organized for the comings and goings of the house. In the summer it's a great place to store sunscreen and sunglasses and the winter for gloves and hats. I also use it for our keys and border info. I find labeling some pockets is helpful in gently reminding certain members of my household where things go. I'd like to say it has stopped the " honey, have you seen my keys?" but it hasn't. Some things are beyond help and I have accepted this when it comes to Dale and keys! I am fortunate to have cupboard storage space in this room as well. So of course I've labelled the shelves and divided into categories ie household, cleaning, laundry etc. One last thing http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/web/forms/stain.pdf I printed off and posted inside the cupboard door for quick reference.

before and after

Awhile back Dale painted our breakfast nook and changed the light fixture. I remembered to take a before and after picture so here they are! The red is before. I like how the green blends in with the outdoors and makes the little nook feel roomier.h

favorites

Aiden:
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
mac n cheese
sharks
dinosaurs
zooboomafoo
playing fireman


Amelia:
paper - to crinkle and eat!
bananas
sweet potatoes
baby bjorn
her brother
standing at the baby gate and rattling
cheerios