One Fish, Two Fish birthday party

#2's birthday just passed, and she wanted a fishy birthday party.  One of her favorite books right now is One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and when I saw an idea in Family Fun for fish cupcakes, it was final!  Here is a link to the directions.  Cute, right?  #1 and #2 love helping me in the kitchen, but since M&M's were involved, I set aside a few for them to decorate for the house.  Think "one for the cupcake, a few for me."  

#2's birthday cupcakes!  

This is what ours came out like.  Not as pretty as the ones from the magazine, and we didn't have the fruit slices, but it was still fun making them.

One of my friends is a graphic designer, and she designed me the perfect birthday invitation!  She's amazingly talented and we would go back to her in a heartbeat!  

Birthday cupcakes in our house are always tricky because #2 has an egg intolerance.  She gets rashy and itchy, so we do egg free in our house.  It's tough when baking, but there is a WONDERFUL mix made by Cherrybrook Kitchen (click here to see it) that is dairy, egg and nut free!!!  We found out about it a few years ago when my niece was coming to one of our birthday party's. She has a tree nut allergy, so we wanted to make something safe for her.  This was perfect.  Quite frankly, it's better than any other chocolate cake I've ever had.  Very rich, and it has chocolate chips inside too.  Scrumptious! 

The Golden Rule

Something I am always trying to teach my little ones is how to be kind and thoughtful.  I got The Berenstain Bears and the Golden Rule (Berenstain Bears/Living Lights).  #1 is very much a rule follower and LOVES books, so I felt this was perfect for her.  We haven't made much progress with it, because lets face it... all children are selfish little beings and only learn by actions... but I always make reference to "The Golden Rule." 

So, I guess #1 would like to get flowers more often because she picks them everywhere and brings them home to me.  I love it! 

#1 picking flowers from a little patch

Although she's going through a bit of a bad behavioral patch, she can be the sweetest little thing (she should have been an only child!).  She also walks up to me at random times throughout the day and says "Mommy, I just love you."  Enough to melt my heart!

As most of you parents out there know, you don't see much "product" from your parenting efforts until the children are much older.  I used to believe that 100%.  Now, I believe that you see little glimpses of who they are going to be throughout their childhood.  My little #1 can add thoughtful to her list!

Day one: Circuit Endurance

About six years ago, I came across a run/walk routine that, if followed, should get you to running for 30 minutes in 10 weeks.  I made it all the way to week 5 and it all went downhill. My husband and I went to a wedding and everyone got food poisoning, so when I got back, I was weak and gave up on it.  The thing with running is, you have to keep up with it, or it's harder than anything to step back into it. 
This week (which I started today) it's run 2 minutes, walk 4 and repeat 5 times.  Since I started today, tomorrow is a rest day.  I won't do the run/walking.  I will probably do some strength training instead. 

I am very excited about this because it worked well before, and it gave me a lot of energy.  Stay tuned! 

Exhaustion

I'm exhausted, to say the least.  I find that the weeks are exhausting, but the weekends are even more exhausting.  Thinking back, it doesn't seem like we did much today, but just taking care of the three kids is enough to suck the life out of me! 

The last few months #1 was in school, I joined the local fitness club and it did wonders for my energy level.  I was in quite a groove.  First, we would drop off #1, then I would walk over to the club with the other two.  Once I checked them into the childcare room, I would spend 45 minutes on the elliptical machine.  She was in school 3 days a week, so I would only go three times a week.  Surprisingly, that was enough.  I started sleeping better, my energy was up, my moods were evening out.  It was wondering. 

Lately, I've been all over the place.  I have been itching to get back into an exercise machine, but our treadmill was broken, and with the three kids, I couldn't figure out how to get a good workout in with all three of them.  We have a Double Bob Revolution, but I can't run/walk with it without wearing #3 on my back in the Ergo... The Ergo is not really meant to jog with. 

So, we started looking in the classifide ads for an elliptical machine!  A wonderful way to shop, if you ask me.  You can find the perfect stuff that way.  We have gotten our two Trek jogger/bike trailers that way, and have sold a number of items that way too. 

So, we found an elliptical.  It is a perfectly good machine... only used a handful of times.  The couple we bought it from were moving and had to get rid of it fast.  It was perfect!!! 

So, my plan is to go on it for at least 30 minutes 3x a week to start.  Maybe I will just walk on the treadmill on the off days.  The funny thing is, when we rearranged the basement to make room for the elliptical, my husband did something to the treadmill, and it works now!  Awesome!!!

Strawberry season

Our friends have had a farm share at local organic farm for a few years now, and I have always wanted to join.  Until this year, I would find myself looking into it too late and would miss the opportunity.  The thing with a farm share is, you have to give the money months before the food is ready to buy.  You are investing in them.  They take the money you give them and buy things to start producing the crop.  It's perfect, really.  This year, I remembered early and got to it in plenty of time!  Now that we're in, the owner will send us emails every year when it's time to buy shares again for the next year.  

This time of year, they have fresh strawberries coming out the wazoo!  Today, I planned a trip up to pick up some lettuce, herbs, tomatoes and strawberries.  The two little ones passed out in their car seats.  Ever since #2 started getting lots of attention for using the potty (1 in diapers feels so nice!!!), #1 has been starving for attention.  I saw this as an opportunity, so the two of us sat in the back and had a strawberry snack tailgate party.

They were so delicious.  This batch was extremely juicy.  #1 loved it.  I enjoyed slowing time down just a little bit to watch her little face as she ate strawberry after strawberry.  She won't be little forever!

Hanging out the laundry

There is nothing I enjoy doing more on a lazy summer day than hanging out my laundry. 

When my husband first installed the clothesline, I enjoyed doing laundry again.  The way clothes, towels and sheets smell after they have been drying outside all day is amazing.  I especially love the smell of wind blown sheets as I drift away to dreamland.  It's perfect!

I enjoyed it a little too much.  Finding any reason to throw a load in on a sunny day.  Then, I noticed our electric bill start to decline.  BONUS!  

 

This year, I started playing a little game with myself.  See how low you can get the electric bill to go.  So far, our lowest is about $77... which isn't bad for a family of 5.  We are very conscious of our energy usage and try our best not to be wasteful.  We are very conservative with the light usage and all of our appliances are Energy Star rated. 

The electric company just came today to do a reading.  I can't wait to see how much the bill is going to be.

Father's Day

There's something about Father's Day and this farm! 

We have been to this farm countless times, so you would think we would all be bored with it.  Not the case.  We go here and while the kids enjoy visiting the horses, cows and sheep, my husband and I enjoy the beautiful scenery and peaceful nature of the place.  

Yesterday was a great day.  We walked around and had lunch at a festival, then stopped here on the way home.  It was a relaxing day.  A happy day!  #1 and #2 ran up and down a walkway for an hour while I sat in the grass with #3 and while Daddy sat on a park bench and watched the animals walk around.  Life seems to slow down when we are here.

I <3 lazy Sunday's!

Fabric

One of my good friends has a hope chest in the middle of her living room that she uses as a trunk for kid toys.  Saying it that way makes it sound like a toy box, but it's the most organized "toy box" I've ever seen.  She has everything in there nice and neat, and when the kids are board with what they are playing with, she rotates.  Genius!  

I just hosted a Tupperware party and got a nice chunk of change... SO.... my husband found me a Lane cedar chest that will enable me to do just as my friend does.  The only downside to the one he found was that it had this awful upholstered cushion on top.  I have been eager to take on little projects in the house, so I took off to Joann's Fabric to see what I could find.  My hope is to eventually have a modern beach house feel in that room.  With the wall color in mind, I found this fabric.

It is a nice canvas material (not outdoor canvas... that's more expensive).  There was only about a yard and a quarter left at the store, but I really liked it, so I got it and hoped it was enough. 

It was!!!  Imagine how excited I was!!! 
I've never re-upholstered anything before, but I have had it explained to me in the past, so I was confident about it!  I unscrewed the cushion from inside the chest, grabbed the staple gun and went to town!  :o)

The picture is a little dark, but it came out wonderful!  A new window bench for #1 and #2 to sit at and watch the turkey's that frequent our yard.  #1 loves to read Highlights on it.  :o)

I found another fabric that I loved.  Time for another project!



New outdoor sitting area

My mother comes up once every other week to see the kids and so I can get some errands done.  She stays at my house and hangs out with them, and I take off to do things.  It's nice because I can do them ten times faster without little people to lug in and out of a car 17 times. 

We have been talking about my garden a lot on the phone, and I was telling her how I was trying to figure out some kind of seating for my back porch.  I'm always looking to spend more time out there, but with limited seating, we don't do it that often.  When she showed up this morning, she had my early birthday present in the back of her car.  These two chairs, the table and orange pot.  I LOVE IT!!!  And now, I can enjoy my iced tea on the porch overlooking where the kids play.  Ahh... speaking of which... I'm on my way there now.  :o)

Planted our garden

We put our garden in, and so far, it looks like this will be our best year yet! 

The first year, we started small.  We didn't want to put a ton of time and effort into it until we got the swing of things.  We planted a varitety of vegetables... pumpkins, cucumbers, peas, tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and some other things.  Peas and some cucumbers were all that produced, so I'm glad we didn't put much into it.

Last year, we planted a ton, but we didn't get much out of it.  The problem was that our cucumbers/squash/pumpkins all flowered, but nothing produced fruit.  After talking to some friends and my garden-savy sister in law about it, we decided the problem was due to a lack of bees/bugs cross polinating!  Ah-hah!  Makes sense.

This year, we went all out.  We changed the location to somewhere with more sun and already, it looks amazing!  Well... for the begining stages, it looks great!

We started cucumbers, delicata and zucchini in paper pots, which is what you see in this picture.  They are in the process of being planted (I was out all day today, otherwise they would have been in the ground today).  This garden is about 4 times the size... actually, probably closer to 5 or 6 times.  I am pretty confident that the problems from the past won't revisit... but if they do, I'm on to it and will be ready! 

Tomatoes and Broccoli

To get the kids a little more into it this year, I let them help me pick out some starter plants.  #1 picked out purple cabbage because she LOVES purple, and actually likes it... just like mommy!  She also picked out broccoli.  #2 picked out cherry tomatoes (she LOVES tomatoes... also like mommy) and yellow peppers.  #3 didn't pick anything because he slept through our trip to the farm stand. 

We are eager to see how it goes this year.  We had a few cucumbers last year and made some sweet pickles out of a few.  The kids also liked drinking cucumber water with the cucumbers we got.  I really hope we are able to do more this year!  Maybe I'll be a little more ambitions with the canning.  

Pumpkin patch with #1 and #2's colorful garden stakes

This is where our pumpkins will hopefully grow.

Minimalist wanna-be!

I have always been an organized person, but for the past year, I have been fighting it.  #1 has always been very good about keeping things "just so"... she's a perfectionist, but once #2 was mobile, that all went out the window!  She has always been a messy kid.  It drives #1 crazy.  Who knows what #3 will be like, but as of now, he's all boy.  He takes toys and just throws them to see what happens.  It's pretty funny actually, because he has this devilish laugh that makes me wonder what's going on in his little head. 

Anyhow - when #3 arrived, I decided to put my organized nature aside and just go with it.  To make a long story short, I've had a few episodes of feeling overwhelmed, and the root of it was disorganization and the fact that we have too much stuff!!!  As soon as I started organizing the toys... figuring out what to sell, donate, and put away to rotate with what is out now... just that little task (which actually took a few hours) made me feel like I was gaining control again. 

There is something to say about the minimalist lifestyle.  That's something I would like to work on because the less you have, the less you have to organize. 

These little freak-outs happen every once in a while, and most often, what makes me feel better is to get out of the house and take a nature walk with the kids.  They get so much enjoyment out of being outside, in nature... #1 with her fancy shoes and dress on leading us down the safest path, #2 with her shades on upside down, a song playing in her head and a strut in her step... and #3 in the Ergo on my back with his little legs sticking out the side probably passed out.  Just writing that gives me so much comfort.  It makes me happy to know that they each have their own little personalities... already so strong.  Instead of worrying about how it's going to potentially hurt them in the future, embrase it and make them confident in who they are.  They are my perfect, sweet, little people.  I love each and every bit of them.   

#1 leading the way and #2 dancing up the street!

So, I am going to try simplifying. 

Oprah and becoming a vegetarian...

If you watch Oprah, you probably saw the episode where she and a large portion of her staff went vegan for one week.  I'm always flirting with thoughts of cutting meat out of my diet, so the title of this episode interested me.  I've done the vegetarian thing on and off for years, but vegan?  I've never tried it, and I was curious.  


Well, after watching the episode, there is no way I could go vegan... I love cheese entirely too much, and I can buy cheese from farmers that treat animals the way I am comfortable with... but after watching this Oprah episode, I am going vegetarian!  I'm not going into detail, but it showed the process a cow goes through before, during and after slaughter.  Correction.  The only thing they did not show is the actual "kill shot", but they showed the face of the reporter as it was done, and she looked horrified!  The poor cows.  


Now, I fully understand that eating meat is natural... and that, without it, we would not have evolved to be what we are today.  But, animals are treated much differently these days.  


Since there is much more demand for meat, the "business" has become more about "business" than the raising of an animal.  The whole thing is sad, really.  As a country, we don't need to be eating as much meat as we are.  There would be less heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc., that's for sure... and the health insurance might not cost as much because there wouldn't be as much demand for that either.  Of course, this is just my opinion.  ;o)  


So, you part of my blog now will be to document some of my favorite vegetarian meals.  And with gardening season right around the corner, I just might include some of that too!  :o)  If nothing else, we'll save money on our bill because there won't be any meat in the bill!

Witching hour... how I survive!

Witching hour... Ahhhhh!!!  It's when everything goes from manageable to out of freeking control!!!   After having #3, it only got worse.  Trying to juggle the needs of two toddlers and an infant.  What was I thinking???  Here is how I do it.   


#3 has always been into books, so if I come up with something to distract #'s 2 and 3, she will keep herself entertained in another room doing the book thing.

#2 is into pretend play right now.  We were lucky enough to get a play kitchen as a Christmas gift two years ago, and I'm telling you... if you have the space, it is WELL worth it.  She will spend hours in front of this kitchen pretending to wash dishes, cook breakfast/lunch/dinner, or feed her baby doll in the highchair (not pictured).    

#1 is still a little one, so all I have to do to prevent cries is stick toys on the tray to his high chair and he'll entertain himself until dinner is ready.  Right now, he likes to bang things.  It doesn't matter what it is.  A spoon, cup, toy car... or just his fists.  He is a total boy!  Bang bang bang is all he does! 

Tonight, I made a fairly simple dish.  One that should have taken about 15 minutes.  All I had to do is boil pasta and make a sauce for it with spinach, tomato, cheese and cream.  The longest part about it was boiling the water and letting it cook.  While that was happening, I would make the sauce, and we were good to go!  Ding dong!!!  I was wrong!  It took me a good 45 minutes.  I was lucky the pasta didn't turn to mush... 

My life is chaotic to say the least, but the most important lesson I have to remind myself of daily is this.  Do your best to nourished your children with heatlhy food, keep them warm and make sure they are happy (generally speaking... ha ha).  If you can do that, you are doing fine!  


My kids are warm,  happy, and I made a meal that was 1) edible, 2) colorful and 3) packed with vitamins and nutrients for my growing family.  Oh... and 4) we ate at the table together and talked about our day.  Food to nourish our bodies and conversation to nourish our souls! 

Cheers!

Artistic expression in a toddler

Our family loves taking pictures.  Ever since I was little, I've always enjoyed taking what was in my brain and splattering it on paper, sculpting it with clay, creating a miniature model, or taking pictures of the beauty I see.  I guess that's why I enjoy this blog so much.  I find pictures that explain a lot about our life.  It's another creative outlet that helps me appreciate and reflect on my life.  

Anyhow, while taking pictures for the blog, #1 asked if I would take this picture... 

I wonder if she is going to love artistic expression like I do.  Her imagination could certainly support it.  She has already made a sample wedding dress, and her newest thing is to scrape crayons with her fingernails and display them on a piece of white paper.  She calls it color snow.  


As I sit here looking at her work of art above, I am thinking about the perfect place to display if it were in a frame.  The front hall has a lot of empty wall space, so maybe that will be our creation wall.  It would surely make her proud!  :o) 


Now I want to go brush something...  :o)

Creative outlet... cake decorating!

Since having  kids, my scrapbooking days are non existent to say the least!  This is very sad because it used to be one of my favorite stress relieving activities.  On a bad day, I would go home and start creating pages with some of my favorite memories on film.  I loved arranging the pictures perfectly on a 12x12 page and embellishing them with stickers, cutouts, magazine clippings, etc.  Two of my most cherished items in the entire house are my wedding scrapbook and the one I started of the kids.  Writing down the details of specific pictures that will disappear from memory with time.  Ahh... there will come a time where scrapbooking will be easy again. 


For now, my creative outlet is CAKE DECORATING!!  


#1 loves to help me when I bake, and I use it as a reward for not hitting, talking back, etc.  Recently, we (more like I) was in the mood for something sweet, so we decided on cupcakes.    

This was supposed to be a lady bug cupcake.  Ha ha ha!  You would never know by looking at it.  We were thinking it looked more like a pig, but my uncle mentioned "bat", and I couldn't agree more.   


This monkey cake is one of my favorites, and possibly one of the easiest cakes I've ever made. 

#1 helped me with this one too.  I pulled this one from Parenting magazine.  They have such awesome ideas.  I was thinking of making a train cake for #3's birthday, but it looks a little complicated.  We are thinking of hosting it at a local park, so these frog cupcakes instead.  #3's tong is always sticking out, so it fits!  :o)  


Now I want cake!!!

Out with the old, in with the new

Old sink

This is our old sink.  I don't want to sound ungrateful, so let me begin this blog by saying that it has been a wonderful and perfectly functional sink up to this point.  We have washed dishes that came from a number of birthday parties, a baby shower, several cook-outs, etc.  #'s 2 and 3 have had baths in the left basin.  The first Thanksgiving turkey we served as hosts was defrosted in the right basin.  When it's clean, it has a nice shine to it. 


While it served our family well over the years, there are a number of things I didn't like about it.  For one, it is entirely too shallow for this family of five.  Even with a working dishwasher, our dishes pile up.  For some reason, they piled up higher in this sink!  DH makes pancakes every Sunday morning before church, and dishes from that meal alone take up every square inch in each side.  


Another problem is the size of each basin.  What isn't shown here is my little compost bucket.  To keep things as neat as possible (I have OCD), I keep it in the sink.  It takes up about 1/3 of the basin on the right, which made that side practically unusable.  

THIS IS MY  NEW SINK!!!  I LOVE IT!!!

It's a Kohler sink and Kohler faucet and I LOVE IT!!!  The right basin is double the depth of the stainless sink.  I can fit the pancake breakfast dishes in it, can wash my pots and pans in it without hitting the faucet head, and all three children have had several baths in it already!  That might sound gross, but I assure you... it is thoroughly cleaned after each bath session!!!  The kids love playing in it, and I can put them in there and clean up the kitchen after dinner much easier!  Plus, they are at my level and my back doesn't hurt after washing three little people in a regular bath tub.  :o)  


The left basin is as shallow as the stainless sink, but believe it or not, I like that part of it being shallow.  This is where the compost bucket sits, but it's the "splash zone" when the kids take baths.  They like to measure and pour on that side.  


It sounds silly to love a sink as much as I do, but that's what happens when you get married and start a family.  You take pleasure in the "simple" things.  Like giving your kids a bath in the sink!!!  Happy washing!

When it's freezing out, make tea!!!

It is freezing outside today, but school day equals errand day in our house!!!  While #1 is in school, #2, #3 and I do tons of errands.  It is much easier to do this with two kids than three.  We had to hit the supermarket, post office, bank, sporting good store and the co-op... all in 2.5 hours.  Surprisingly, we were able to do it, but not without freezing our keisters off!!!  

When we got home, we were all freezing... all the way to our bones.  I walked in the door, turned the kettle on for tea and let it boil while I got the kids settled and in for a nap.  By the time they were all tucked in, the whistle was blowing!  I went back to the kitchen, poured the water in the teapot and viola!  Rosehip lemon mint tea!  It is the perfect way to start my afternoon down time!!! 

I made this out of rose hips picked from DH's family summer cottage this summer, some dried lemon rind and some organic mint tea from the local co-op.  

Pardon me while I go enjoy my down time... :o)

Frosty and snow!!!

January means snow if you live where we do!  We spent our New Years weekend building the biggest Frosty ever!  We guesstimate it to be about 9 feet tall!  :o)  

9' Frosty

The pole in the back was used to get his mid section to where it is.  We took a piece of plywood and shimmied it up.  Quite a process considering I am not that strong.  The kids were so funny.  #1 kept saying... "I can't wait to see him come to wife wike in the movie."  I had to think fast... think of a reason why this wouldn't happen.  Yes!  That's it... I explained to her that this was not Christmas snow.  Frosty will only come to life if it is Christmas snow.  This will work for now, until next years questions begin.  But, there is time!


We made him in the morning, and unfortunately, he didn't last the day.  As the temperatures climbed, Frosty began to get smaller and smaller... until he fell flat on his face.  He was a beautiful Frosty, so I will not show you his current state.  He deserves more than that!


Here is a picture of him getting his nose though.  Such a handsome guy...

Resolutions

A friend of mine said they wouldn't be making any resolutions this year because they never end up sticking past the first few weeks.  While I see the point in that statement, I figure there has to be a way to be somewhat successful.  So, instead of saying "get in shape" or "lose 10 pounds", I will try to set up smaller goals.  Here is what I would like for the year 2011:

Blog once a week.  As I sit here and think about that, it seems like I should be able to do more than that, but the proof is in the pudding.  Don't look at my blog history please!!  :o)

Eat less red meat (once a week at the most)!  Every time I eat it, it drags me down!  I have less energy and it makes me feel like my thoughts aren't as clear.  Could be psychological, but red meat is not good for the heart, so it can't hurt to cut back!

Make healthier choices for food: Soups are a fantastic option for lunches, and this has to be one of my favorites... for boxes soups anyways. 

  

Date night!  Go out on a date once a month with my husband.  Another requirement would be to get ready like I did before we had kids.  It's pretty evident that I've let myself go since having kids, so to blow dry my hair and apply make up would be a requirement!  

Save $$!!  More specifically, try to save up 1/12th of our monthly expenses each month, so that by the end of the year, we will have one month of expenses in the bank! 

That is all I have for now.  There isn't anything regarding the kids because I already do a lot with them.  They aren't lacking, that's for sure!!!  :o)