Zoo Day

Our last day together we went to the zoo and of course we took our neighbors daughter since our kids just can not live with out spending at least one day a week together.
Saturday morning Mid sis went back home and this morning (Sunday) Big sis went home :( boo hoo.
We had a great time but I am exhausted so today is going to be very quite - nap & then shopping for a plant.
Wil is also buying me the Twilight series Big and Mid sis are both fans and after watching the movies I am very confused hence the books.
I feel bad that I am joining the crazy people craze - but since I am a HUGE Harry Potter fan why not another kid series?
Now all I need to do is finish shopping (kids presents) and then we will be ready for Christmas.
Hubby and I are mostly taken care of minus my Christmas Eve Chinese dinner :) and a ton of Christmas present wrapping.

See you tomorrow

Soup Night

Big Sis
Mid sis and hubby (in back ground)
the kids
Dad and my step mom
Big sis's hubby and my little girl

Dad and Gideon having fun reading a book. Today was fun we woke up hit our favorite store got some things, and then watched "New Moon" - I have not read the books however both older sis's are fan's.
So now I am watching twilight for first time trying to make sense of this weird world.
However this is just not going to become my favorite but I will give it a try.


TJ - I will post and email the recipe sunday or monday when the family is out of town but I won't forget you.

Thanksgiving Day!

The dastardly due are really big helpers and such great cooks!


(cracked wheat rolls)


(weight watchers pumpkin cheesecake)





Today's menu

Appetizers:

Veggie tray
baked pita chips and spinach dip

Salad:

Romain lettuce
dried cherries
walnuts
dried cranberries
with home made oriental dressing

Main Menu:

Smoked Turkey
dressing (with celery, apple, dried cranberries & walnuts)
baked yams (butter and cinnamon)
relish (oranges & cranberries)
cajun broccoli
cracked wheat rolls

Desert:

weight watchers pumpkin cheesecake (with whipped cream)

For the last several years our goal was to eat healthier with out losing flavor, we stick to keeping the food as pure as possible - less ingredients = purer healthier.

I can tell you dinner was great! Good food, times and the family all together. The pictures are of our day at grandma and grandpa's home.
Of course the whole day could not be just fairy tale wonderful - Gideon got very hyper playing with grandpa and broke his glasses then because he was over tired - over stimulated so after minor chastisement (very minor) and he started crying so hard that he threw up all over the floor, himself and then several times in the toilet after that of course we packed everything up and headed home.
I am just glad I always bring extra cloths for the kids when ever we go out for a long day.

So tomorrow we are ready for a big big day! While I really hate going shopping on "black friday" we have limited time for all of us to be together so we are planning on going to our favorite cooking store "Spoons and Spice" first thing in the morning. I really am hoping that they are not having any huge sales and that there will not be a huge crowd of people outside waiting to get in.
Here's hoping as this will be my first time shopping on black friday :)

Family!!

Big Sis!


Hubby of Big Sis



The dastardly duo having a crazy day Big Sis and Mid Sis all came over today for family time! Sorry I forgot to get pictures of Mid Sis and kids will do that Friday when we all get together for soup night.
Tomorrow I will try to post late night pictures and menu for our Thanksgiving day meal.
Happy Thanksgiving every one!

Ready for my Big Sis

Our guest bathroom is all ready


Gideon's room all ready for Big sis and hubby


What can I say? Its a small room - I have a small house as well


My girls room is clean as well :)

What a cutie putie!!


So every one here is excited about the family getting together. Mid sis came in on Sunday but I will see her tomorrow - she is staying with her grandma. Did I mention that mid sis is adopted and has two families?
Big sis comes in early tomorrow morning -- when I mean early I mean in about 3 hours from now :).
Yeah!!! Then our holidays begin! Hubby is still whisper perfect and is barely able to eat soft breads.

Snow, Exersise and Shopping

I think today I will let the pictures talk. :)

Kids, Toys and Christmas

Ok its Christmas time again and once again as a mother I hit the stores trying to find the one cool toy that will make my children's heart's soar.
However after several days of looking both in stores and online I have more questions then answers

1) will any of these toys last a year?
2) will any of these toys be played with and loved for more then a month?
3) why am I thinking of buying them toys when they would rather play with my laundry basket?

At this point I have found several really cool very pricey toys but after thinking of the questions above they just don't cut it.
At this moment we are thinking of getting the kids musical items (drum set, guitars, key board ect) or cloths for Christmas and while this may sound boring at least my kids would have items that they would use and love for the whole year.
Of course they will still get a sock full of fun little toys but those are cheap and I don't expect the kids to play with them for a long period of time.
My question is when did it become so hard to find a quality toy for a decent price?

Our family is small and with out any support ( my husband only has a twin sister and we pay her phone and internet bills - my mother passed away and my father and step mother are good for 2 outfits a year) I am a stay at home mama in a mobile home and we have one car.
While we live with in our means finding decent toys that will last is becoming like the game hide and seek.
Yes I am ranting but seriously what happened to well made quality toys? I found in the store today several boy toys price ranged from 25-40$$ all of which looked like they would break into a hundred pieces if my son held one for more then 5 min.

So while I love Christmas time and the winter holidays this year is not one I am looking forward to.

Abacus and Homeschool

This year has been a first in so many ways this is our first official year homeschooling - last year I schooled her in Kindergarten work just to see how well we could work together. In Utah they would not place her in school until this year and now we are officially homeschooling her in first grade work.
To help with her math we wanted her to be able to use an abacus but have you ever tried to buy an abacus?
$30.00 for a bunch of beads and some wood hahahaha yeah right we went to our local hard ware store got some small wood and dowels along with some beads spent about $5.00 and now have an extra supply of beads for crafting and my little girl has a nice abacus that will last for several years. (pictured above)
And I don't care how smart someone's first grader is they will not need to count past one thousand for any of their homework :)

Still walking 5 days a week still losing weight a little bit at a time, however I have more energy and drive then I have in years.
It feels good to be able to play and chase the kids and not feel like a bloated blimp that needs to rest all the time.

Sorry so short but time is money and I have lots to do. Everyone have a great night!

Wassil or Russian Tea

Ok this is a long story but when I was growing up my Mama was given a Wassil mix from our neighbor as a Christmas gift. We loved it so much that Mama asked for the recipe our neighbor then explained she had bought it from a co-worker who had since then quit. After that both mama and our neighbor started trying out different recipes for this fabulous drink.
Several years and many recipes later they both fell in love with this recipe.
Which is made using easy to get American ingredients (nice for me since this is very popular in Sweden, Russia ect) the first couple of recipes they tried had harder to get ingrediants.



When its almost done but not mixed it looks like this!


Helpers are a must!


My math when I make more then my normal recipe :) I try to make enough to last me one full year or enough for me to gift away to others for Christmas along with the recipe of course.


When its all mixed up it looks like this!

Then add around 2 tbls to a large cup of hot water.


Stir and enjoy!
Yummmmm

Wassil or Russian Tea Recipe

Mix together in a large container
2 cups Tang
1 1/2 cups Sugar
3/4 cups Instant Tea
1 pkg Jello (any flavor) I prefer the new tropical fusion however orange or lemon work well too)
3 Tbls Lemonade drink mix
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Allspice
1 tsp Cloves

The hubby is doing well after his surgery, while his pain is increasing and he still can't talk above a whisper he is very happy its over and that he is home; and I am very happy that I have some time with my hubby and family for the holidays.
Just a couple more days and Mid sis will be in then a couple days after that Big sis comes in!!
My home is almost all put together and clean - decorations are up and now the Wassil is ready!!

Surgery!!

Early this morning before I took the kids next door and Wil to the hospital the kids gave papa a last hug (Gideon crying the whole time)


Started on page one 3 hours later around page 112 or for those who follow clocks around noon surgery was over successful and they just wanted observe him and if there were any complications.


By 4 o'clock or page 241 & 3 magazines later he was discharged, we ran by a pharmacy and picked up his meds then came home and grabbed our babies!!
I am just so happy that Wil was able to come home tonight and not stay at the hospital, as well as happy that everything went well.
So my husband no longer has tonsils or his uvula weird right? I think so but then again I loved it every time Wil's oxygen level dropped under 90 (whenever he tried to rest/sleep) the machine would beep and wake him up. I could not stop laughing -- he was not to thrilled.

One Day Until Wil's Surgery

Our house all decked out and ready for Christmas! Along with my little cheeky girl that loves to be the center of attention. Thankfully we have such great neighbors that they are willing to watch the kids while Wil and I are at the hospital tomorrow.


This is our crazy Chinese Algae Eater we've had him 3 years I was on the phone today with my sick friend Margie when I noticed he was laying on three leaves about an inch off the bottom of the tank.
He looked so cute resting on his floating bed I decided to share it with every one in blog land.

Surgery -- Wil needs to be at the new hospital by 8:30 in the morning which I am kinda happy about since he can't eat the night before and waiting all day will start to test his will power. The surgery itself should be pretty short I can't imagine that it would go over an hour however we will see I am taking a very good book with me along with my trusty camera.

Funny Conversation with my 6 year old

"look mama Giddy can do the sign for green!"

Giddy then of course does the sign again to show me, papa gives him a green skittle for being a good boy.
Autumn then begs for a treat her papa of course hands her a different color, looking at the yellow skittle in her hand she of course does the right sign and then says " Thank you for the yeldoh one"
papa "what color?"
"yeldoh"
"say Yell OH"
"yell ohhh"
"now put them together"
"yelldohh"
I sigh and shake my head and say "keep at it".

Car inspections & Shopping

Today we got our car emission and inspected (taxes as well) so we are now legal again! Yipee and who hooo one less thing one my list to do; second thing on my list accomplished was grocery shopping getting lots of soups and broth for my hubby to eat after his surgery.
However my baby sitter for the kids during Wil's surgery called today to tell me the good news - she's sick so I now need to beg my neighbor to stand ready as a stand by to take the kids for the day.
I just love surgeries - NOT!! I do however love Verizon this will be our second surgery and their insurance is amazing!
Any way the rest of today has been quiet, we watched movies and had good papa time I made turkey dinner for Wil as his dr. thinks he might be able be able to eat by Thanksgiving but is in no way sure.
Tomorrow will be another quite day all I have to do is pack Wil's over night bag and spend lots and lots of time with my hubby.
Please remember to pray for Wil and that all goes well with no complications.

Quote of the day, "This turkey comes from really good chicken." - My little Autumn

Art & Dinner photos

So Wil is getting nervous about his up coming surgery, He will go in on Thursday and they will keep him til Friday. Since Autumn can tell when her Papa is nervous she colored these pictures to make him feel better.
Sweet right? The really sad part is I have to leave the kids with Margie for the day since kids aren't allowed in that area of the hospital.
I will have to take a really good book as I will just be sitting and waiting for hours on end - I really hate waiting rooms.




Just thought I would add some photos of dinner BBQ Chicken, macaroni salad and broccoli. While I do understand this is not the best of meals I had marinated the chicken for a full day so it was very juicy, with lots of flavor.
Well I am more exhausted then I can even explain so I will let this be a very short post and I will post again tomorrow :)
Good night to all

Decorations Are Up!!

What a happy looking kid right!



So my living room is all pretty and sparkly - where you see the Joy and Snowflake that is where we will hang the stockings I can not put them up right now because my cutie putie Gideon (above) will pull them down.
No tree this year as we got the treadmill and no longer have room for the tree. That's ok I think that I can live without a tree this year.
We are still preparing for Wil's surgery on Thursday and still have a pretty long list.

I am also trying to finish another Christmas house by Thanksgiving however I am having alot of trouble with the color scheme. If I get it done this year I will post a picture.

Guess what our snow from yesterday is still on the ground!!! Its very amazing that it did not melt I am a little worried about how many more days I will get to walk outside with my neighbor before I am forced inside due to extreme weather.

Snow, Bowling & Mcdonalds

Did I mention snow? Lots and lots of snow. I woke up this morning and raked all the leaves off my yard and with the help of my neighbor we put them all away into bags and took a short walk - short because it started snowing on us so we practically ran home.


Then we took the kids to Mcdonald's (yes neighbor kids included)


This was the big kids table where we had our double "date" with our friend Shayne and his girlfriend Sarah.



After that we moved on to a fun couple of hours bowling (hubby, myself, kids, Shayne and Sarah) at Fat Cats.
While I did manage to win we did have to complain about the music - I found it interesting that our table listed the rules of the establishment including watching the foul language while the music over head used words like B!tch, and junk. So upon leaving we mentioned to the management that we would have had a much better time if they had played more appropriate music so that my 6 year would not have to ask us what a b!itch was.
Needless to say it will be awhile before we spend another Saturday afternoon at that establishment.
So now we are back and ready for a much needed rest and I am sure that the rest of the evening will be spent just resting.
I will try to decorate tomorrow after church.