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!