Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope that you were able to spend this most important day with your family and friends, celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus! The real reason we celebrate this time of year! I LOVE Christmas time...truly LOVE Christmas! I love the music, the twinkling lights, the celebrations, the weather (even though we're unseasonably warm!), the food, the parties, the gifts, and helping teach my children about Jesus' birth!

We spent Christmas Eve doing some baking here at home as a family! The morning was a bit chaotic, but it turned out okay. Mom got a case of the grumpies, which eventually made total sense! We baked Red Velvet cupcakes, gingerbread cookies, and sugar cookies. The boys had a blast decorating with frosting and sprinkles! :) They were on sugar highs for the rest of the day! Heehee! We spent the evening at my parents house with an extended family get together. It was great. Peaceful, quiet, and relaxing. The boys got spoiled and it was just great being with our family!

Today started like all other Christmas mornings...the parents waiting for the kids to find the presents under the trees! I put some oatmeal in the crockpot the evening before, popped in some cinnamon rolls and put on a pot of coffee! The boys finally woke up and it was a great mix of controlled chaos! We started by reading the true Christmas story and a Christmas devotion from their devotional book. The boys got right to gift opening! We did a new thing this year where the boys were given 3 gifts, representing the 3 gifts that Baby Jesus got from the 3 kings! While explaining this to the boys, BP was not sure he'd enjoy "frankensins"! This was definitely a great idea, and something we will continue to do! It cuts down on a lot, and it makes things a little more meaningful for the boys! We figure if we start something like this early, then it will just be the "normal" when they get older.

We, of course, packed up our little family and headed to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus in His house! What a wonderful day to show our love and honor to the greatest gift giver, then to worship Him in his home! It was an all age worship, so the boys were super excited to be sitting with us! One of the things that really caught my attention was something Pastor Hooker said during his message. "Santa gives us the gifts we deserve, but Jesus gives us the gifts that we do not deserve." How true! Thank you Jesus for offering me the BEST gift that I am so unworthy of! Your gift of salvation is the most precious gift I have ever been given! The kiddos were all called up to the front to hear a "kid" sized version of the Christmas message and was topped off with yummy cupcakes to take home!

We prepared a big turkey dinner, complete with all the fixins for my whole family. They came over, we did MORE gifts and ate a delicious dinner! Tip: Cook your turkey upside down! SO SO tender and juicy! We spent the rest of the evening playing with the boys toys...my favorite of their toys is a keyboard, mixer, microphone, recording device that I got BP! M's, I'm sure is the basketball hoop he decided to set up downstairs through the winter! So great! BP's favorite was  Cars racetrack that he asked for, a soccer/hockey/baseball net for the yard/basement, his motorcycle racer, and his sound bingo! LP's favorite would be his Cranky crane and train set and take apart car that his daddy picked up for him! J hasn't really shown a ton of interest in his gifts yet...I think he was pretty overwhelmed! He did get some great gifts though!

Well, I again hope that your Christmas was filled with love, joy and family!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Cocoa Crinkles

Cocoa Crinkle Cookies

Source: Adapted from Hershey's Kitchens

2 cups granulated sugar
¾ cup canola oil
¾ cup baking cocoa
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt

powdered sugar

Combine granulated sugar and oil in large bowl; add cocoa, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to cocoa mixture, beating well.

Cover; freeze until dough is firm enough to handle, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Working with one batch at a time, shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in powdered sugar to coat. Place about 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Put remaining dough back in freezer while first batch bakes.

Bake 13 minutes or until almost no indentation remains when touched lightly and tops are crackled. Cool slightly. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Prepare next batch of cookies.

Makes 4 to 5 dozen cookies

Fast Forward

I started blogging some of my recipes on a separate blog, so I wouldn't clutter up this blog and then I end up neglecting this poor blog. I was doing so good too! :(

Here's what's on my mind tonight: This blog is driving me NUTS! I feel like it has no specific purpose of posts. It drives me crazy reading blogs that pertain to one certain thing...coupons, recipes, school stuff, etc., because I just can't seem to keep myself disciplined to do that. I was starting to feel like my blog has just been a hurricane of "stuff". Nothing seems to flow, or relate with the previous post. Yeah, I know I blog a lot about my munchkins, but...it still feels all over the board. Then I realized that my life is less then ordinary. I have no "set" plan of anything. I go with the flow. I roll with the punches. No matter how organized I try to be, I just am not! My life is scattered and crazy! It's nonstop. I'm just along for the ride! I've decided that I will cut myself some slack and just go with the flow in my blog as well! One day..when my life slows down...which I pray to God happens soon, I will be more organized because my mind will calm down and I will have time to remain more organized here!

Well, we have a crawler! J just took off the other day! No real warning, just off and crawling with the best of 'em! He's so cute! We've caught him a couple of times with one of his legs sticking out to the side! He is so proud of his new ability too, with giggles and smiles all the while! He, however, is now into EVERYTHING! It's been a new challenge to re-baby proof the house! He just keeps showing us all the new things he does and gets into and we just baby proof right behind his little disaster creating booty! :) He also pulled himself up to a stand the same day he started crawling!

BP is doing well in school. He's had some issues with bullying at school/church, and it just makes me dread what public school will be like. I pray to God that we have the exact desire of His heart spoken so clearly on what to do with him when the time comes. I've been hearing some stores about mommy's and their babies being bullied at elementary school. My heart just aches for those kids...the bullied and the bully's. It's just so sad, and unacceptable. It makes me want to find a way to keep my kids under my little shelter for the rest of their lives, but I know, one day, they will have to experience hurt, sadness and the crud of the world. I can just do my best to impart God's Word in them, trust God, step back, and let God be God!

LP is...well... a handful now! He is going through growth spurts like crazy and is wanting to eat constantly! He's been such a joy in the mornings when BP is at school. His mind is growing so much and watching his imagination come to life is so fun!

We're all getting excited for the upcoming Christmas time! We have visited Santa, and tonight drove through Bethlehem. Making sure my kids really understand the true meaning for Christmas is my most important goal! We're doing an un-traditional advent calender this year. I put slips of paper in a calender and they pull one every day. We do something different every day....unwrap and read new Christmas books, make a Gingerbread nativity scene. different crafts, snack, watch a movie, the minivan express..etc! They are having so much fun pulling the slips every day and getting something new to do!

Chicken Caccitore

Chicken Caccitore

4 bls/skls chicken breasts cut in chunks
1 jar favorite red sauce
1 T chopped garlic
1 T Italian dried Seasoning
1 Red Pepper Sliced (you could use green or orange or yellow)
1 Onion Sliced

Throw in bottom 3 ingredients 1st on bottom, top with chicken, add seasoning, pour on red sauce. Cook on low 8 hours (about 1/2 an hour before done take a serving spoon and shread chicken and stir pot) When done Serve over pasta (any kind)

Sausage and Lentil Stew

Sausage and Lentil Stew

Ingredients:
16 oz dried lentil beans (rinsed)
1 can diced tomato's
2 (14oz) cans beef broth
3 cups water
3 carrots sliced
3 celery stalked sliced
1 package polish kielbasa/polish sausage

Mix all ingredients in a large crock pot. Cook on Low for 6-7 hours or on High for 4 hours.

Serve with warm rolls.

Easy Mini Cinnamon Rolls

These are super easy, ooey, gooey, somewhat homemade cinnamon rolls! We made them this morning, so fast and so easy! Also, very easy to make it MSPI friendly

Cinnamon Rolls

1 Package Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough (I used Pillsbury...store brands use Soy Flour)
2 TBSP melted butter
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar

Icing:
2/3 c Powdered Sugar
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2-2 tsp water/milk

Unroll dough and pinch together seams to make a rectangular shape with the two sections. Brush with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar....use as much as you like! Roll the dough, and cut into 1/2 inch rolls (or really whatever thickness you wish). Place in greased mini muffin tins, and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place powdered sugar and syrup in a small bowl and add water 1/2 tsp at a time. Mix until desired thickness.

Drizzle icing on the cinnamon rolls after removed from the oven! Enjoy!!

We drizzled the icing all over the plate (it was pretty) and made for a great "dip" for the boys rolls!

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos

1lb of frozen chicken breasts
1 large jar of salsa (any flavor my favorite is black bean and corn from Walmart)

Cook for a long time then shred. So yummy!

Garlic Lime Chicken

Garlic Lime Chicken
5 chicken breast halves
1/2 C soy sauce (I used chicken broth to make it MSPI friendly)
1/4 C. lime juice
1 Tbs. Worchestershire sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
cook on high 4-6 hours or on low 6-8 hours.
(fix it and forget it recipes)

We served over rice, with steamed veggies.

Tattling...Good or Bad??

I used to think that parents who complained about their kids tattling were nuts! I always thought what better way to be sure that people are following the rules when I just can't be everywhere, right?! I had just saw a friend looking for suggestions on Facebook on how to curb her sons tattling, and was very surprised to see how many people responded with help for her! No thank you, I thought. That was until this morning!

Matt had to run an errand and so it left me with the boys to get ready for church. No biggie...we get ready, the 4 of us every day. On a "normal" morning though, it entails me getting a shower before everyone is awake, so that was the curve ball. I laid Joshua down for a nap, set the boys up with a game, explained to them I needed them to be quiet for 10 minutes, get along and not fight. "Okay, mommy, we'll be good!" That was too good to be true!

I was in the shower not more then a few minutes when I heard my bedroom door opening, and the first little tattler was walking in telling me something the other little one did. After a hush and a look, he escorted himself out of the room quietly and shut the door. Two seconds later, I hear the second little tattler come in. Same story...over and over and over and over. I lost count of the amount of times these little heathens had come in! "Mom, Parker is taking the stockings off the hooks on the fireplace." "Mom, Peyton won't talk (answer) me." "Mom, Parker won't give me my car." "Mom, Peyton won't play volleyball with me." "Mom, he hit me!" "Mom he touched me!" "MOMOMOMOMOMOMOM!"

I think since this morning, I'll definitely have a different view on tattling! Can someone send me the tips on how to curb it! :)

Overnight Oatmeal

Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal

1 cup steel cut or regular oats (NOT Quick Oats!)
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk ****adjusted to 1 cup
1/4 cup brown sugar ****adjusted to 1/8 cup
1 TBS butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract ****adjusted to to 1/4 tsp
1 tsp cinnamon **** adjusted to 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine all in crockpot and cook on low for 8hrs.  ****adjusted to 6 hours

I put out all sorts of things for the boys to add on their own....brown sugar (hence why I decreased the amount in the ingredients), rasins, crasins, honey, milk, cinnamon and sugar.

****I adjusted the original recipe because when made the original way, I had oatmeal stuck to my crockpot and I felt it was too dry. The new adjustments made it PERFECT! My kiddos ate it up!

Variations
Add up to 1 C raisins/dried fruit before cooking.
Add 1 chopped fresh apple before cooking.
Top with fresh fruit (in season) or canned fruit (drained).
Add a pat of butter or a dollop of jam/preserves.

Homemade Butter...Fun with the kiddos!

BP was telling me how he made butter at school one day for snack! I would have never thought of trying to do this with my kids, and then a recipe came along in a magazine the other day.


Homemade Butter in Minutes

Measure 1 cup heavy cream and pour it into a jar that holds at least 24 ounces. Put on the lid-and make sure it's tight.

Shake, Rattle and Roll: Take turns with your kid shaking the jar an rolling it around on the floor. After 2-3 minutes, the heavy cream will turn into whipped cream. Let the jar rest for about 10 minutes as the cream deflates.

Shake for another minute or so until it separates and voila...butter! Strain any excess buttermilk and get the bread ready!

No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie

So I was just getting off the computer, satisfied with my menu for Thanksgiving and I found this recipe! Pretty sure I'll be making this too...maybe no brownies!? Maybe we'll do it all!

No-Bake Chocolate Pumpkin Pie
Recipe inspired by this pie.

• 15 oz pureed pumpkin (or 1 can)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp cocoa powder
• level 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• optional: sweetener (Taste first. I thought it was sweet enough without additional sweetener.)

Melt the chocolate (either on the stove or in the microwave), then throw everything into a food processor and blend until it is super-smooth. Pour into a pie crust and fridge until chilled. This pie gets firmer and firmer, the longer it sits.

****This recipe proved a little challenging for me! I don't have a food processor, so I used my blender. That didn't do much of anything other then make a mess. I then transferred it all to my Bullet, which rendered the same results. I then found an old, small food processor handed down to me from my mom in the back of the cupboard. This didn't do much either. I ended up using my hand mixer, and got much better results. I, did however, want a more smooth consistency, but it'll work for now! I now know what to put on my Christmas list! :) I also ended up having to make an additional 1/2 batch because it only filled up the premade graham cracker crust 2/3 full, and it just didn't look right. I'm sure I lost quite a bit of filling transferring it to and from all the appliances. The filling tasted great, before it was even chilled. It would make for a fine mousse! I'm so excited to try this out tomorrow especially once it's been chilled for a bit!

Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatos

Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatos

8-10 potatos
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/2- 1 1/2 cup rice milk
1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper
2-3 TBSP italian seasoning
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp onion powder
1-2 tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper

Boil potatoes until they are soft. Drain and mash potatos.
Add the rest of the ingredients to taste.

**These were interesting! They were kind of "sticky", and I'm thinking that was from the mayo. I did put the recommended amount of cayenne pepper, and it was too spicy for me! Aside from the spicy kick these were so yummy!!

Brownies

Brownies

½ cup canola oil

1 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs
½ cup all-purpose flour
⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9-inch baking pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and vanilla. Beat in the eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake pan for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the brownies begin to pull away from the edges of the pan. Let cool completely on a wire rack then place in refrigerator to cool down even more. The brownies are best when they've had time to cool and develop their flavor!

Pumpkin Bars

I'm going to post all my Thanksgiving recipes so I'm not searching all over on Thanksgiving morning! Here's another great recipe from MSPI Mama! LP insists that a party just isn't a party unless you have cake! We had a Husker party a few weeks ago, and thank God I had some leftover chocolate cake...it would have been a nightmare otherwise! I'm planning on trying my hand at decorating the cake! We'll see how that works out! :)


Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1-2 cans MSPI-friendly cream cheese frosting, such as Pillsbury

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased jelly roll baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars

***OH MY GOODNESS!! These were SO good, and they are SO gone already! So moist and had the perfect pumpkin taste! I can't wait to make another batch!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's pizza night at our house...nothing fancy...just frozen! :) I've had a darn cold this week so I'm sacrificing my dinner (I can't eat frozen pizza) for convenience tonight! I'm too tired to bake a pizza, but not tired to bake pumpkin chocolate chip cookies! :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

                   

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.           
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.         
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm

I got this recipe on Allrecipes.com. From the reviews they are a more "cakey" cookie! Fine by me...it's chocolate and pumpkin...my two favorite foods right now!!

Chili Mac

I found this recipe on MSPImama.com. She's got some great recipes for my particular diet with Joshua. We've made this a few times before and LOVED it! Aside for the first time when I didn't have chili powder, so I used cayenne pepper! :)

Chili Mac

½ lb. lean ground beef or turkey

½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp. canola oil
8 oz. elbow macaroni
1 16-oz. can kidney or pinto beans, undrained
1 cup frozen corn
1 16-oz. can plain tomato sauce
1 cup water, plus more as needed
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt


In a large skillet coated with the oil, brown ground meat, onion and garlic. Drain off any extra fat and return pan to the burner. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Once boiling, turn heat down, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid noodles sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add additional water, ½ cup at a time, until macaroni is properly cooked and to make sauce thinner, as needed. Adjust seasonings to taste.


I love her extra tip! At first I thought this recipe would never be enough for my meat loving family! So to make a full pound and freeze half for next time was a little scary! It worked perfect and the pasta helped fill our bellies!! Here's her tip:

Tip: Do yourself a favor and go ahead and cook a full pound of ground beef/turkey and double the onions and garlic. Once cooked, set aside half the mixture to cool while you continue with the rest of the recipe. Once the extra meat mixture has cooled, package it, label it, and pop it in the freezer. Next time you go to make Chili Mac, half the work will already be done!

Apple Pie

9-inch pastry shell, unbaked, chilled

6 cups peeled, sliced cooking apples

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Crumb Topping:

1 cup sifted flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup soft butter

Combine flour, brown sugar, salt, and butter; blend until crumbly then set aside.

 Combine apples, granulated sugar, and cinnamon; mix gently to coat apple slices.

Pack apple mixture into chilled crust.

Sprinkle crumb topping over apples.

Bake in 375° oven until apples are tender, about 50 minutes.

Green Bean Casserole MSPI Friendly

2 cups chicken broth
2 cups rice milk
1 Tbsp margarine
2-3 Tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2-3 Tbsp cold water before added to warmed milk/broth mixture)

All spices to taste:
garlic powder
salt
pepper
thyme
sage
rosemary

4 cans cut green beans
3 cups french fried onions

Boil ingredients together in sauce pan. Stir until creamy. Add mushrooms if desired. Adjust spices as needed to your taste preference. Add sauce to a 3 quart dish, add 4 cans of drained green beans and stir. Add 2 cups french fried onions and stir. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Top with remaining french fried onions and bake an additional 15 minutes.


**I am a huge fan of the traditional GBC, but the MSPI diet is going to dash that dream this year. BOOHOO! I had to do quite a bit of adding spices, but am satisfied enough with the outcome. Still not as great as the traditional GBC!

Autumn Harvest Pork Loin

1 cup apple juice/cider
1 1/2-2 pound pork loin (I used a 2 1/2 pound pork roast)
salt
pepper
2 large apples (I used honeycrisp), peeled and sliced
1 whole butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage

Heat juice in hot skillet. Sear pork on all sides.
Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper on all sides and place in slow cooker with juices.
Combine apples and squash. Sprinkle with herbs. Stir. Place around pork.
Cover. Cook on low for 5-6 hours (for the pork roast, I did more like 8-10).
Remove pork from cooker. Let stand 10-15 minutes.
Slice and serve with apples and squash.

Herb Roasted Potato's

5-6 med sized Red Potato's, cut into chunks
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp Cayenne powder
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix potato's and seasonings in a bowl to coat. Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer.
Bake 15-20 minutes, checking and flipping potato's frequently to avoid sticking to the pan.

Slow Cooker Meatloaf

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk (I used Ricemilk and noticed no problems)
2/3 cup quick oats (recipe called for breadcrumbs)
2 Tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sage
2 cloves garlic
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2-3 Tbsp ketchup

Combine everything but ketchup. Shape into a 6" loaf and place in a greased cooker.

Cover and cook for 6 hours or until done.

Spoon ketchup over meatloaf, cover, and cook on high for 30 minutes.


I served this with herb roasted potato's and organic green beans.
Such a great comfort food!! So delicious! Enjoy!

There is sunshine after the rain.

I'm just amazed by God! His blessings to me are ever abundent! When my life seems like it's spiraling out of control, He always finds a way to shower me with blessings. Matt's job has been in limbo for about a month or so now. He's just not been content or happy with his company and their direction. He's hated being so far away from his family during the day, and working crazy hours to manage an office. He's talked about moving on with his life, as far as his job is concerned, but that has scared my pants off. Witht he way the economy is, and especially the construction industry, I just felt that Matt should stay put and count his blessings. He was laying people off on a regular basis and here he was complaining that he wanted a new job. We'd pray and ask God to keep him content and help him to find joy in his job. The market picked up and Matt was so busy, there was no time for him to complain. It hasn't been until recently that he's become unsettled again. We've just prayed that God would have His will, and He has opened so many doors for us with this whole situation. I can't help but sit back and be totally amazed and bask in God's blessings!

It's definitally been a crazy few weeks, with the final decision making to the actually letting the company know, that we are just ready for the next phase in this. God has had his hand in this the whole way through and we know that He has our best intrest at heart. I know Matt is feeling antsy to get today done and over with, (he has one final last meeting with the old company), and then he should be golden to start with the other company. (He's been off for what seems like two weeks now!)I, however, am savoring every second that I have my husband home with me. I'm sitting here watching him play outside with P, and just blessed by his imense love for his son! P is eating it up as his daddy is the most important man in his life! It's also been a blessing that we've gotten a lot of much needed stuff done, and most importantly quality time together as a family!

Thank you, Jesus, for showering us with blessings during this time in our lives! Help us to continue to see your hand at work in all things!

AHHHHHMAZING APPLE PIE!!

Apple Pie

Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust
6 cups peeled and cored apples
1/2 cup sugar
1tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Pour sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over apples and mix to coat evenly. Place apples in uncooked pie crust. Arrange as best you can and cram those apples in there! Cover with another pie crust or crumb topping.

Crumb Topping
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened

Mix ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs. Place on top of pie.

Place foil around the outer edge of the pie. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes, remove foil and continue baking for 15 minutes, or until crumb topping is browned and apples are softened.

Where did this rolling baby come from?

I would like to know how Joshua just got from one point of the living room to the other?! AHHH! Where did this rolling baby come from? Help Me Jesus! I'm not sure I'm ready for a mobile baby quite yet! I suppose I should be thankful that my almost (tomorrow) 8 month old son isn't rolling/crawling  yet! Got knew that I wasn't ready for it to happen early! He's just blessing my socks off everyday!

So I feel like we've finally hit a "normal" point for Joshua! Woo hoo! It's about time! Poor little guy. You can just tell that he feels better. He has so much more spirit. He wants to do things. He chit chats, sings, lays on his tummy a bit more, is interested in playing, and just has a sparkle! He giggles at people when they talk to him (as long as mommy's holding him), and he's starting to be silly! It's amazing to think that the simple thing of cutting out the food I was eating the most of would help his belly out. Ugh...so sorry little man, that I just kept eating what made you so sick. His diapers are MUCH better. Barely any mucous, has consistency, and the amount has decreased by 90%! He's finally over 16 pounds too, which is an amazing thing in and of itself!

The weather is changing and I LOVE IT! I love the fall weather. The crispness of a cool morning, the leaves changing colors, the spiders dying, pumpkins, the smell of bonfires, sweatshirts and sweatpants, warm soup, and football! I am so excited to be taking the boys to our annual trip to Vala's pumpkin patch! They're so excited too, and have come to rely on that trip!

Peyton's doing great in school, and you can tell he really enjoys it! He's made very good friends with some of the boys in his class and has already been asking about a sleep over! Parker is enjoying his time with just mommy and Joshua, but we're still keeping busy in that time too! We're doing the library at least once a week, if not twice, for story time and singing! He really enjoys the challenge and learning new things. It's kind of like a mini preschool for him!

Until next time...

So Yummy In My Tummy

All the cool weather last week put me in the mood for some warm, hearty beef stew! Here's the recipe I used for today. Even though the weather turned a bit warmer then it was supposed to, it was DELICIOUS!!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (a little spicy, so maybe cut down to 1/4 tsp)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups beef broth
• 3 potatoes, diced
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 cup water as needed towards the end of the cooking time

 

1. Place meat in slow cooker. In a small bowl mix together the flour, salt, and pepper; pour over meat, and stir to coat meat with flour mixture. Stir in the garlic, bay leaf, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, onion, beef broth, potatoes, carrots, and celery.
2. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 10 to 12 hours, or on High setting for 4 to 6 hours.

Perfect with a nice slice of warm bread and a glass of chilled wine!

Home Made Applesauce

The other day I went apple picking (10 pounds worth!) with the boys, and thought I should use this chilly day to put them to good use. The boys really wanted apple pie, but I couldn't help it but make some applesauce! Something we all can enjoy! The boys had a blast helping me peel the apples with the apple peeling machine grandma gave us. It's from when I was a kid, so it's neat to be using it with my kiddos now! I've been thinking a lot about how I come up with all these creative recipes, never write them down and then can never remember what I put in or what I made. Hence, what is going to follow. I'm going to try to put recipes in my blog, as I make them and enjoy them! Quick reference for me when I need them!

Home Made Applesauce

4 pounds of peeled and cored apples (I used Cortland, but I've heard using a variety of different apples is a good idea too!)
1 lemon- I cut 4 peels from the one lemon to add to the boiling process
               I also juiced the one lemon right into the pot

Put about 1 inch of water in a big pot and bring to a boil
Put all the apples, lemon slices and lemon juice in and simmer for about 15-30 minutes. You'll know when they're done. I kept checking on my apples to make sure they didn't burn, because they weren't too full of water (which some apples release a lot of water). I had to add about an additional 1 1/2 cup of water. I've also read that when you're done boiling the water you can ladle off some of the juice for your own, home made apple juice! Remove the lemon peel slices.

Place the apple mix into a blender and blend until desired consistency.
Place back in kettle and add seasoning as needed. (I pulled out a bit of unseasoned for Joshua as he doesn't need the sugar stuff).

I added:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
a dash of salt
3 tsp sugar

Keep applesauce warm until ready to can/freeze!

This made only 1 pint sized jar to freeze, I kept about 1/2 of one in some tupperware to eat now, and I stored away about 1 pint sized jar's worth for Joshua.

ENJOY!!

BSF Miracle with a Dentist Disaster!

This morning was our first morning of the new year of Bible Study Fellowship. Our mornings went great, and we were actually on time! The boys enjoyed seeing their teachers (Peyton had Parkers teacher from last year, and Parker had Peyton's from last year!), and meeting new friends. This was really the first time I've ever left Joshua, but I think he did fine. He got knocked down a few times by some bigger kids, but I never got called to get him early! Thank you, Jesus, for helping answer prayers for my children to have a good morning, learning about you! Continuing to pray that we all make lasting friendships with some great people who love Jesus as much as we do!

The boys had their first dental appointment today. I did some research on the best local pediatric dentist in town. I chose one that was the most recommended and, of course, the furthest away! They were both so excited, because of the fact that there was going to be trains all over the building. I really thought we'd have no issues, until they took us back. I started talking to the assistant about Parkers gagging/puking, and then got a little panicked! She just started cleaning his teeth and Parker started to pull away, and push her away. It went from not so good to really bad quickly! We decided to try for "pictures" and retry the cleaning later. No go on the pictures, and a no go on anymore cleaning. At one point he looked at me, said "I'm not coming back here ever again!" and walked out the door! Haha!

It was time for the Dr to check their teeth. We did Peyton's first and boy was he a champ! He was so enthralled with the TV in the ceiling, he wouldn't even answer any questions and could care less about what anyone did in his mouth! This still did not help parker relax at all. The dentist did everything to try to loosen Parker up, but it just wasn't working. We decided to try laying him in our laps and holding him down a bit so he could look at his teeth. This was where bad went to THE WORST! He was screaming and crying, and all of a sudden I saw it! Yellow noodles and brown pop coming straight at me! We made the poor guy so upset he threw up his whole lunch. The doc was great and was catching the puke in his hands. Parker was trying to nuzzle up to me, while I was pushing him away to keep the puke off me! It was madness! I remember looking over at Peyton who was just staring at me absolutely dumbfounded!

We got him all cleaned up, they gave him a brand new shirt, some toys and he was fine. He wouldn't let anyone touch him again, but did comply to show the doc the crack in his front tooth! I guess we'll just try this again in another 6 months or so! I'll have to pray, pray, pray until the next time we have to go in!!!!

First Day of School! First Day of School!

Today was Peyton's first day of preschool for this year! He was a little indifferent about the whole issue! We had an open house yesterday, where I went with him. It was nice, in the fact that I got to meet some of the parents and he got to meet the teachers and his friends with Mommy still being close by! His school is awesome! There's 9 kids in the class, 5 boys and 4 girls! It's going to be a great year, and I pray that he makes great friendships and learns about Got and everything that he needs to know for kindergarten next year!

He woke up okay and had a good breakfast! He was very excited, and eager to show off his new outfit he picked out! We were on time to school and even had some time to do pictures before we went off to school! He did great! He went right up to his class, hung up his backpack and went in without even looking back!

We picked him up and couldn't wait to hear all about his day! Parker does a great job holding the pick up number for the teacher to see, to let him go out the door, and Peyton came running out! He was so excited to tell us all about his day and all that he learned! We spent a great lunch with grandma eating pizza to celebrate such a great first day of school!

Vaca!!

Matt and I decied to take a last minute, late summer vacation! We had a great offer we couldn't pass up! My parents rented a great cabin in Okoboji, and offered us a room for free! That was a no-brainer!
We got up there late on Wednesday night, so we wouldn't have to rush up on Thursday morning. It was a great ride until we stopped for dinner. We ended up stopping for dinner at a Subway in a Walmart at 8:30. Dinner was fine, but we had two major issues that kind of put a damper on the beginning of the trip. We got up to the cabin around 10ish, unpacked and got in bed!

The cabin was great. It had a loft with a bunk bed, 2 twin beds, and a full sized bed. It even had it's own bathroom! Perfect for our little family. There were huge windows and we were woken up every morning by the bright sun shining in! We got to watch the most beautiful sunrises from our beds!

The first morning (Thursday) was an early one! Everyone was excited to get going. The guys went off for an early round of golf and mom and I took the kids to the grocery store to get donuts and some food. The guys ended up meeting us to help finish up! We unpacked the food and headed off to the pool with the boys, while mom and dad went and got the boat in the water. We met them at the dock, put on the life vest and off we went! The boys all did great in their life jackets, which was an answered prayer! The guys did some swimming in the lake, some tubing, and some skiing! We ended the evening with a grill out at the cabin.

The next morning (Friday) was Parkers birthday! Happy 3rd Birthday Little Man!! He was very decided that he needed to swim at the water park and then take a trip on the boat! After the water park we met mom and dad at Bracco (a resort restraunt) for some chips and dip and to let the boys play in the sand! Then we got into the boat for some boating. I convinced Parker that tubing would be a great thing to do on his birthday and that little boy just melted my heart! He was so brave, was laughing and telling me to go "super fast". We ended up going a lot faster then I thought he'd want to go. He was laughing so hard! We then went to grill out dinner for his birthday! His request "Snake" with peanut butter and jelly! Guess what he got?! Presents and cake followed, and it was a great birthday!!

Saturday we woke up and had yet again a relaxing morning! We took our time, hung out and enjoyed eachother's company. The boys had made friends with the neighbors in the cabin next to us. It's kind of a funny story too! My kids are so so friendly, it sometimes drives me nuts! It ended up that this family lives in the neighborhood next to us, and then it got even funnier when I realized that they live next door to our coach pitch coach! Small world! I had to laugh about how when you go on vacation, it's nice to run outside in your pj's, not wear makeup or do your hair and you just think "Well, I'll never see these people again! Well....ummm not so much here! :) Anyway, there was  a little pond stocked with fish right in the backyard of the cabin, so the boys fished (pretty much every morning). We did a little shopping on Saturday morning, then had some lunch and headed to the lake! It was much busier, and the water much choppier! I took my hand at captaining the boat, while the kids slept under tents made from towels! We stopped the boat for a bit and floated around. Very relaxing. Then we doced the boat to do some shopping and eat! THe night got very crazy when we docked at Bracco for dinner. The place was nuts, and we ended up getting our food to go and eating it up by the pool. I took the boys for swimming, while my dad and Matt got the boat all put back together.

Today we got up and packed slowly to go home. There was a great thunder/lightning storm that completed my vacation! We stopped for lunch at Pizza Hut, where my parents were given the senior discount (without being asked!). That was a great laugh! We all arrived home safe, and were able to watch some of the airshow!

Great vacation and even better memories!!

6 Months Come and Gone!

Happy Little Camper trying out a big boy car seat!

Heh Heh!! ;)

I <3 This!!

Sitting up like such a Big Boy!

Joshua had his 6 month check up this morning. I can't believe how fast  the time has gone! He's been such a joy and the perfect addition to our household! The boys just goo and gah over him all day long, and Matt and I are just in love with this perfect little boy! He's finally sitting up on his own, but still teeters and falls on occasion! His face is so funny once he lands backwards, as if he's completely offended by his own body for failing to keep him upright! He's become quite the chatterer! He love to join in a conversation, and you'll hear him join in to singing as well (just like his big brothers did at this age!). He's not much of a roller, but when he wants something he'll get it! He's definitely one of those kids that knows what he wants, and knows how to push mommy's buttons to get it! He spends the majority of his days being held by mommy, or snuggled up with someone (mostly his bros)! I think Josh is as smitten with Peyton and Parker as they are with him! He loves to just watch them (I'm sure this is not a good thing...picking up on all the naughty things they do!) and just smiles away at them, even if they aren't paying attention to him! He's been our little medical mystery. He's technically and MSPI baby, but not a typical one. He shows different symptoms that most babys don't show. A late symptoms starter (3 months), he's not a puker, and he's not too bad on the weight loss side. He refuses solid foods at this point...no matter what it is! His weight goes up and down. For the most part he's a very happy little guy, especially if mama's holding him! ;) Here's his stats from the appointment today: Weight 15 lbs 11 oz (9.86% :( ) Height: 26.75" (45.76%) HC 44.8cm (69.05%)

Yes She Does!

Such A Happy Guy!

Best Buds!

Can you tell how much they love him?!

This is what I wake up to every day! Aren't I blessed?!

Picking cucumbers from our garden!

Our parsley black swallowtail caterpillar!

Singing in the Rain!

Well, Mr Parker, is definitely becoming his own little person! He's starting to show more independence from his big brother. I'm not too sure Peyton's very fond of this whole idea! He's always been the leader and "controller" of what they do and how they do it! Parker's not too fond of that anymore! :) I can't wait to continue to watch that little guy blossom into the boy God has planned for him to become! He's a feisty little one, who's always hungry! The first thing he says to me EVERY morning when he comes in my room is "I'm Hungry!" He's always ready for the next meal or snack the second he finishes a meal! :) He's becoming quite a sports enthusiast like his brother! He loves soccer and basketball though. When you ask him what sport he wants to play (when he turns 3 he's able to play on a team sport) he says how much he can't wait to "play bowling"! He cracks me up! He'll be turning 3 in a week and he's so excited! He's telling everyone about it, and what he's doing for his birthday. We'll be taking a family vacation with gma and gpa for boating, water parks, fishing, and camping! He's SO excited!

I love this face!

At the StormChasers Game!

So Silly!

Baseball Star

Peyton is still obsessed as ever with baseball! He had a great first season of coach pitch with most of his tball team from last year! It's been nice for him to continue his friendships! This boy has more personality then anyone I know! He LOVES life and every day is a party for him! He's quite a joker and loves making people laugh! I'm so blessed to have him in my life as he puts the laughter in my days, every day! He just turned 5 last week, and let me tell you....this turning 5 thing has made him the most independent little booger out there! Every day I hear "Mom, I'm 5 now so I can..." wipe my butt, get dressed all by myself, make my lunch, put my toothpaste on, brush my hair, put on a band aid, pour my cereal, get my own water, etc...... I love it! He's excited to be starting at a new preschool here next month! We've gotten him a new backpack and some new shoes and clothes! It took a lot of investigating, but we feel this new preschool is going to be great for him and that this is exactly where God wants him! I'm excited for him to make new friends and for all the things he's going to learn this upcoming school year!

Their Favorite Mascot Stormy!

Congrats Baseball Star!

Happy Birthday to My Boys!!

Hot Air Balloon Glow

Happy Birthday To Peyton!

A fight with the concrete!

Always goofing around!



The Sweet Sound of Nothing

I think I enjoy the peace and quiet that night time brings to our house! I keep finding myself sitting on the couch doing nothing more then enjoying the calm for all hours of the night! I also keep finding myself cleaning the aftermath of the two tornado's that blow through my house every day until 2 or 3 am.
No wonder I'm so exhausted all the time!

I took the boys to the zoo today. It was the first break of the heat wave that I felt like we could get out and not fry! It was Josh's first ride on a train, and he LOVED it! He was all smiles! The boys got to watch some animal enrichments since it was members day. A paper mache zebra was put into one of the tiger cages and it was filled with bloody beef! The kids were shouting as the tiger attached this poor zebra! "Rip his head off!" "Look, mommy, he's ripping all the zebra's legs off!" Oh the joy of little boys!

Poor Josh just can't catch a break, and neither can mommy for that matter. He's losing weight, and having bad diapers again. I'm scheduled to see a specialist next week, and praying I get the answers I need to get a happy baby!

Our summer is coming to a close, and school will be starting soon! I can't believe it, but I can't wait! This summer flew by! Here's to the last few weeks of summer, the last few weeks of Peyton being 4 and Parker being 2!

Tonight...

Tonight it's just me and Joshua! Daddy took Peyton and Parker to some sprint car races. We started our evening cooking a gourmet dinner of taco salads. Josh, in his finest attire- a naked little body showing off his newest diaper), sat in his Bumbo while I sliced, chopped, and diced fresh veggies for our salads! I also gave him my finest rendition of some good 'ole mommy, home cookin' opera! He rewarded my efforts with a toothless grin!
We then moved our party to the living room, where he politely watched me eat until the last few bites where he allowed me to eat while feeding him. His poor dipe is now covered in taco seasoning. :(
We are bringing our evening to a close with a bubble bath for him and I am enjoying a glass of wine and dreaming of a bubble bath. I may, however, decide to jump in with him!
His little chub rolls are begging to be removed from the water now...a little too water logged from the day (a pool party earlier)! Off for a little baby massage!
Sleep tight little one! <3

Another Year Older

Well, I'm another year older! Yikes...30 is creeping up on me! I spent my birthday with my wonderful family! We went to church and then spent a very hot morning at the farmer's market! I don't think I can explain how HOT it was! We bought fresh produce, had some frozen yogurt (not me, of course :) MSPI diet still in full effect!), took some silly pictures, and relaxed! We spent the evening dining at my favorite restraunt! The evening took a turn when we got home for gifts though! No need to post the details, so if you must know...ask! :) The night was topped off with MSPI safe cupcakes, made and decorated by me!

Matt's birthday has passed as well, since my last post! It was fantastic! We packed up and headed to Mahoney State Park for a night of camping! We decided since it was going to be hot and with how young Joshua is, that we would camp in a cabin. We met my parents for an afternoon of swimming, grilled out at the cabin, and our little family stayed the night in a cozy little cabin. It was so memorable! We played games until late, cooked smore's, made pancakes, and enjoyed our family!

We are quickly approaching the boys' birthdays, and boy oh boy, do they know it! They cannot wait! They are going to a VBS program this week, so for two days Josh and I are going to have some alone time! We're also talking about the preschool decisions for the fall! I can't believe that it's just right around the corner! Soon, I'll be planning their graduations!

Our garden is AMAZING! The tomato plant is now as tall as me with huge bunches of tomatos on them! We've also harvested some cucumbers, that have proven to be delicious! We should be able to harvest carrots here soon, and the tomato's should start turning red here soon! Our pepper plants that we thought were failing have all of a sudden started to pop out some good looking green peppers! Our herbs are doing well too.

About a week ago, I noticed one of our Swallow tail butterflies return and fly around our backyard. It was so exciting to see her. She landed on the parsley, which made me think that maybe she had laid some eggs there again! Sure enough, Matt just noticed 2 caterpillars there the other day! They've already grown so much since we first saw them. So excited to watch yet again another miracle of God!

Nature Nature All Around!

Well, it's been a while yet again! We've just been so busy and the next few weeks are going to be super busy as well. The boys and I have been keeping busy with our nature filled back yard! We have baby bunnies that are living under the boy's fort and our shed. They're so funny and very brave. They run all around our backyard, which we enjoy so much, but Zoe has come to believe that they are leaving her little cocoa puffs all throughout the yard! YUCK!
I bought the boys a butterfly house, and ordered some caterpillars a while ago. We got these super teeny tiny caterpillars, that turned into fat caterpillars within a week. Then they formed their cocoons. It was an amazing site to experience, and truly makes you appreciate how much God paid attention to the little things in His wonderful creation! After a week our butterflies started coming out of their cocoons! It was so beautiful watching them flap their wings for the first time, and begin to fly! We had to buy flowers for the habitat and feed them sugar water! So fun! After a week and a half we decided to let the butterflies go (on Father's Day). It was the greatest part of the whole adventure. The butterflies were very friendly, and let the boys hold them. We got some great pictures and a video of one little butterfly, who, for some reason, was very attracted to the boys. It kept landing on poor Parker who wasn't all that sure of the whole thing to begin with! We're happy to say though that all 5 of our caterpillars flew away that day!
Our garden is going great! We are shocked at how well everything is going! We found out what we thought were white onions, were truly green onions! :) We've harvested all the green onions, most of the radishes, some parsley and basil. The day I harvested some parsley I noticed some little black and yellow caterpillars. They were beautiful, and when I went to look them up I found out they are "Black Swallowtail" caterpillars, and they are very attracted to parsley. For the next week we watched those little guys get super fat and turn into a green and black color! They were so so beautiful! I found out the hard way that before they go into the pupal stage, they migrate and travel around. One morning when I went to check on them, one was missing. :( Then I decided that I would bring in the other one, and we'd watch him from the inside. By the next morning, it was hanging in its position on the underside of the stick ready to molt for the last time and become his cocoon! Within a day he was hard and now is in the process of becoming a beautiful butterfly! :)

We also have a morning dove nest! That has been an adventure! In the spring a pair of robins kept attempting to make themselves a nest, to no avail. We had this pesky little finch, Steve, who would not let them be. He would sit on my fan on my patio and squawk and squawk and squawk! It was truly a beautiful song though. I loved waking up to his chirps, and would leave all the window's open just to hear him. He was so naughty though. As soon as the robins would leave the nest, you would find Steve up there demolishing what they had just put together! This went on for weeks, until finally the robins just gave up. The nest sat empty for about a week, but Steve still came by to sing for me in the mornings! I loved it!
 One day I noticed a morning dove on my patio, just walking around and plopping him/herself down on the concrete! It was strange! A few days later I noticed the bird up in the nest! It was a pair of morning doves doing their best to fix the broken home! It is the perfect location for a nest, covered and shielded from the elements in all directions! Prime nest property, I guess! Steve was still around, singing, and doing his demolishing. However, the persistence of the morning doves paid off, or Steve got tired of singing to me! Steve left and the morning doves remained. We watched them take turns sitting on the nest, and find new and creative ways to get into the nest when we were on the patio. They really aren't as skittish as any other bird, and get pretty close to you! About 5 days ago, I noticed that mama bird was sitting pretty high up in the nest, and thought that she had just laid the eggs. A little further investigating proved that the babies had indeed hatched! There are 2 little babies in the nest! I find ways almost every day to get my camera up there to snap a picture of their growing progress! The boys named the birds Parker's bird is a girl and her name is Girl. Peyton's bird is a boy and his name is Pocklet Wocklet! :)
I think that's all I have as far as our educational backyard is concerned!!! God, thank you so much for providing these wonderful miracles in our own backyard for us to enjoy! You so know my boys and I and our love for nature and Your beautiful creations!!
CDing is going well! :) Josh is a happy fluffy butt, and I'm a happy fluffy butt providing mommy! I'll update this all later!

Happy Father's Day!!

Our Father's Day gift to daddy was tickets to the second day of the CWS! They took Papa, and had a great time! Here is Peyton's post game interview after his time in the cage! I'm such a proud mommy!! :) Peyton you're a superstar!

MSPI and Me

* Warning~Poop Content* :) Since Joshua was born he's never had what I would consider a normal poo. Around 2 months he started getting green poo, and then flecks of blood. After some research on my own I narrowed it down to some type of allergy, most likely milk.

In the beginning I decided I would just cut out all milk and soy, but that was super overwhelming. I was getting so frustrated and more upset then anything. I would spend hours in the health food aisles reading label after label after label. There's also a hundred different names for milk and soy. Argh! After talking with some moms from a MSPI board, I decided it would be okay and better for me to just start with milk and dairy.

We had a bonfire over Memorial Day weekend, and, of course, the Smores were brought out! I was super bummed to find out that I wouldnt' be able to partake in the ooey-gooey goodness that is the staple of bonfires. I ended up finding that there's certain brands of chocolate chips that contain no dairy! SCORE!

Things are going better, I think. He's still super fussy, but his stools have become less frequent and the amount has decreased. However, he is still having mucousy, runny stools. :( I'm pretty sure that means that I need to cut out soy now too. Keep posted on our overcoming of this darn MSPI! Here's to real butter and a cold glass of milk...eventually.

So much to say...I'm not a good blogger!

I try to take pictures of important things that our family does. I'm quite an obsessive picture taker! However, I'm not as neurotic as I used to be. You used to never find me without my camera, but lately I'm finding myself mad because I left the camera at home! As I'm typing this, I'm wondering if it's because I have 3 kids to make sure I have in tow! My pictures prove to be helpful in things other then just looking back at the fun times we have, but they also are my backup when I forget to post things on calenders and they also help remind me of things to blog about!

So many things have happened recently! I'd love to blog about everything, but I'm tired so I'll just give a quick rundown of some things! We had some storms and got some good sized hail. We went to the zoo, and it was COLD! We got caterpillars, and are going to watch them grow into beautiful butterflies! Josh found his toes! We have a pair of nesting Morning Doves! I'll probably blog more about Rocky and Mommy Rocky (the doves) and Steve at a later date! It's a great piece of our lives right now.

Here's some updates about our natural living!
The garden is going great! I'll have to grab some updated pictures soon! Our radishes are coming up so big, carrots are just starting to poke though, peppers and tomato's are starting to flower, and onions are doing their thing too! Yay!! We had a bit of a pest problem, but found some organic pest killer!
The health and beauty aspect is hit and miss right now. I returned the stuff I bought for the boys, except the lotion. I'm waiting for their current stuff to run out, and then we'll try it again. My stuff, however, is not going well at all. I'm trying to do things and save money, but I'm finding that it isn't always worth it. I'll keep posting on what ends up working.
Laundry has been a pain in my tushie! I made a mix, equal parts of borax, washing soda, and oxyclean. I also have several other detergents. With the cloth diapers I ended up using so many different things, I think I gave them the stinkies. :( They started smelling like burnt plastic. The other night I had the load on the highest setting, and our whole house started smelling like burnt plastic. The next morning I called the store, and had them come deliver a new one. I'm not sure if it really was the washer, the fact that I added a ton of water, or what! I just felt a clean slate would be best!

Okay, enough of all that! It seems like lately we've had so much going on and I just can't keep up! Since Joshua was born, my life has become a whirlwind of coming and going and not a lot of sitting and relaxing. This weekend I really became just plain exhausted. I kept falling asleep, and it wasn't just a "oh, I dozed off" asleep. It was hardcore, I don't remember anything, waking up with a baby nursing!

The crazy thing is that summers tend to be when we get busier, with outings, sports, vacations, ect. If we're this crazy busy now, what will this summer bring? I was just looking at my calender for the next month and I'm already exhausted! Peyton has swimming lesson's in the morning, Parker has swimming lessons at night (and we have to get into the water with him), we're thinking about a VBS for Peyton, Peyton has a night of coach pitch practice, Saturday morning games, and I have several things planned for playgroups within the first few weeks of June. Gesh! What will I do when all my boys are in sports?!?!?!

I think looking at this calender, realizing how much we already have booked, it's making me want to cherish and try to take a slower approach on our lives right now! I hope that God helps me to SLOOOW down!

Okay, I'm rambling now! I did want to make sure that I posted about one very important thing that happened today! Today is Memorial Day, a day where we take time to honor our men and women who have, who will, and who are serving our country.  I hope that people don't just spend this day doing this though. I would hope that this comes as a natural, every day thing!

Well, my grandpa served and was a POW in WWII. My hubby wanted to make sure that we honored him, and my grandma today by visiting their grave. We haven't been to the cemetery since the day we buried my grandma. It's just been to hard. We put some flags around the headstone, tried explaining to the boys the best we could, shed some tears and paid our respect to my hero's!

Judgement Day

I just have another thought for today. Today was predicted by a religious group to be the end of the world. They said that God would be returning to rapture the believers, and that there would be death and destruction to all those left on the earth until October 21st when God would return and destroy the earth with a fire ball. My first initial thought when I heard this the other day was along the lines of "Great, another wacko group out there to give Christians a bad name."
Secondly, it really got me thinking about my own life. If it was going to be the day God came back to rapture his believers, was I ready. How have I been living my life? Is my life pleasing to God? It was really a wake up call for me to do a check of my personal relationship with Jesus and making sure that I'm all good!

It also made me get antsy to think that if God was coming back today, had I done everything I could have to bring others to Him? Was my life a reflection of Jesus, and drawing people to God's saving grace? One of my favorite comments I learned from my BSF class this year was...."You may be the only Bible someone reads." I want to make sure that my life is a reflection of Jesus and that people want what I have!

Strangely my heart went out to this man and his followers. I have such a soft spot for people when they are being the butt of someones jokes and made fun of for any reason. The jokes were everywhere....they were a perfect target for late night shows, and even atheists were offering their services (pet care, etc) for the people who would be raptured. They were bashing this poor old man, who truly truly believed what he was speaking! I always have a heart for people like that (Mormons, Jehovah's witness'). They are out there professing their faith to everyone! Nothing stops them. I think, we as Christian's, have a lot to learn when it comes to being outspoken like that for our beliefs. My heart also broke for the families and followers of this man. He had them so convinced that this was the day, that most left jobs, families, houses, drained life savings, etc. Now that the end hasn't come, what will happen to these people. I heard a story of a pastor who felt that there would be extreme depression, so he was planning on camping out by the headquarters of this group to be there for the broken people.

I've refrained from bashing these people and their beliefs. It's sad, just sad.  It's been a great thing for me to challenge me to examine my life...a spiritual check up if you will. It's also caused me to get on my knees to pray for the people who believed (and still do) and for the people who have no faith and need Jesus.

Matthew 24:36

But the exact day and hour?

No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

Is It Going to End.....YES IT IS!

I had a follow up appointment for Joshua on Thursday morning, because he just wasn't quite up to par all day on Wednesday. I was supposed to be tapering down his breathing treatments, but he was still needing them at his 4 hour mark. :(

Of course though, he actually started to finally be improving Thursday morning before the appointment, and I did contemplate canceling my appointment. I ended up deciding it best to just make sure everything was okay. His doctor looked him over and said that he would probably not start improving until early this upcoming week. He also said that he noticed an ear infection in one of his ears that just recently started. Ugh! He got prescribed an antibiotic and off we went.

I filled the prescription in the evening, and came home to give him his first dose. I was bawling as I was giving my precious baby this nasty med. I just didn't feel right giving it to him. I wasn't sure if it was because I never had to give Peyton or Parker anything until they were much older, or the fact that our family is trying to live more naturally. Either way, I was not a happy mommy at all.

I started doing some research on ear infections and posted for some help on a natural mommy board. Someone mentioned that I needed to go see a chiropractor for the ear infection. I had never heard of such a thing. Ironically, I had just found a very natural chiropractor and had an adjustment on Tuesday morning. She had mentioned something to me about adjusting Joshua for his breathing issues. I kind of brushed it too the side, because I knew Matt wouldn't be quite comfortable with that.

I immediately woke up on Friday morning after the diagnosis of the ear infection, and called Dr Kate Hansen with Essentials Chiropractor. Matt had the day off because it was Peyton's last day of school picnic! We had so much fun all day together!! :) Anyway, she got us in right away and looked Joshua over and adjusted him. She said that his L3 vertebra was out of place, and now with it back in place he should be breathing better! Amazingly, he has only had 3 breathing treatments in the past two days, which is so great compared to the every 4 hours previously. She also said that he had some swollen lymph nodes behind his left ear (ear infection ear). She massaged the area and did some more adjusting. She also mentioned garlic oil for his ear. I went home, researched how to make it, made it and used it! I love the smell of garlic, but holy moly!! That was pretty pungent!

Before we left the chiro on Friday she said that I could bring him in to get his ears checked to make sure that they looked okay, and that I was okay to remain off the antibiotic. I went in first thing this morning, and she did another adjustment and checked his ears to see that they looked much better!!!!!!!! Yay!! Thank you Jesus for leading us to a great chiropractor and healing our baby boy!!!

Congratulations....twice

Today was Peyton's preschool graduation! Even though he only went 1/2 a year and will be doing another year of preschool next year, it was still a big deal for us! I took him out to lunch after school today in celebration of his last day at school and the graduation in the evening. :)

The graduation was at the future location of the school, which just happens to be a newly remodeled 1/2 of a local bowling ally...(more on that later). It was packed! There was so many parents there, and it was hot. I happened to get up with Josh just when they were putting more chairs out so I ended up in the front row!!

My heart was beaming with pride when my son was handed the flag to hold while his class said the pledge of allegiance and sang God bless America. What an honor for him!! The class then sang their class songs, showed off some skills, and then we watched a slide show of the year that his teacher put together. They even made copies for everyone of the kids! How sweet!

We finished off our day of celebrating at home with chocolate cake (Peyton's request) and pink lemonade!

Our celebration also included a party for Parker being potty trained! WOO HOO!!

I'm such a proud mommy tonight!!! :) I love my little boys!!

Oh yea, back to the school issue. We're not 100% sure how we feel about the new location of the school. It's a remodel of the other 1/2 of a bowling ally. Right on the other side of that is a bar and a sand volleyball area. I'm not sure if that is very impressive to have to take my kids through a bar to drop them off for preschool. Hmmm...we'll just have to see. I love the teachers and their curriculum.

At your beckon call

Here's a great poem, that I'm sure at this point Joshua would agree with 101%! Poor little guy has been sick since Thursday, which landed us in the doc's office this am and then the hospital for a chest xray. No pneumonia, but part of his lung is collapsed, he has RSV, and bronchiolitis. So, enjoy this poem from little Joshua, and say a prayer for his health!

My trusty friend

You are always there for me.

Whether I’m sad or lonely

Hungry or thirsty

Hurt or tired.

You never judge me,

And you never expect anything in return.

When you’re near all my nightmares go away.

You make my dreams sweeter

And my days calmer.

You are warm,

Like a friend should be.

And when it’s cold outside

I know I can turn to you.

I love having a bosom-friend like you.

You always understand,

And listen without speaking.

You’re always there when I need you.

Boobie, I love you!
~ Michelle Abernathy

KiSS mY fAcE

So, I am going crazy with this crunchy thing. I joined all these mommy cloth diaper groups, and some other groups that are based out of the state and are related to natural living. Ahhh! They're converting every aspect of my life...and it's good!!! My really big thing right now is cosmetics and skin care. I've learned all sorts of things from these sites about chemicals and carcinogens that they put in our lotions, shampoos, cleaning supplies, baby wash, soap, and toothpaste. It makes me sick to think that I have just purchased supplies at the store without questioning what they are comprised of.

I did quite a bit of research as to the things I should be looking for. The main big things I was looking for was No Parabens, Sulfates, Pthalates, PEG's. I have been driving myself crazy with researching a good brand. I went to a local cosmetic/hair store, and bought some of the things from their "natural" lines. I was so disappointed that when I was reading the labels, they had all the things I was looking to avoid. I ended up purchasing some stuff, that after more research has landed them in the return pile! The next day I ended up with a cup of coffee, a brand new car cart to entertain Parker, a sleeping Joshua, and an aisle full of "natural" items at Hy-Vee.

I had every bottle of bodywash, shampoo, and lotion on the floor! I was reading over and over the ingredients. I decided on a line from kiss my face. I was sadly disappointed that their rating on SkinDeep wasn't all that great. It is free of Parabens, sulfates, pthalates and PEG's, but it's not the best out there. I've decided that in order to save money on gas and my sanity. I'm going to use what I purchased (except for the lotion that is making me want to gag at this moment....BLECH!) and do a bit better at my research when I need to stock up again!

I finally got my sunbaby's dipes in the mail today. They're currently in the dryer waiting for me to fold them! I pray that they work as awesome for me as they do for others. I also ordered a BG 4.0, a Blueberry Deluxe, and a WAHM pocket dipe from the swap! I'm so excited that I should be 100% CDing in a week or so!! I'll post our reviews with all the dipes as we go along! Fingers crossed!

Oh, I also, did some sewing today for the first time in FOREVER! Matt bought me a portable "Dressmaker-As Seen on TV" sewing machine at a thrift store! Better yet he found it on 1/2 off day! Ha! I sewed a few wipes today. Wowzers, I'm in desperate need of lessons! Let's just say, you won't be seeing any of my creations on Etsy any time soon!