G's Quilt, Finally.

Look who has been sleeping under her new quilt since Saturday :) Little Miss G has a long ways to grow before she'll outgrow this one :) 

The Vitamin Man :)

My boys had a blast making faces with my vitamins the other day :) Super cute little man don't ya think? 

Baking Days.

Thursday and Friday are my prep days, the days I try and make all the things we eat for the next weeks meals, and I rotate meals/buns/ goodies and make lots and freeze the extras. It's a system I just started and so far I love it. Here is the baking I did yesterday and today :) 

I made my baked oatmeal recipe times 9. No joke! One mix up of 5 and then one of 4.  Made 48 baked oatmeal muffins and put 3 large 9x13 pans in the freezer. Neat trick I just learned. Put bakers paper in the pan, than your stuff, cover with wrap and freeze, take out of pan, bag up and label, and put it back in the freezer...when it's time to eat just put it in the pan and bake! BONUS the pans just need a quick wash instead of a deep clean when your done :) 

Here's the recipe..

2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup brown sugar, I do less 
1 tsp cinnamon 
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup melted butter
2 tsp baking powder
3 cups oats
1/2 a cup raisins or craisins 

Mix it all up and bake for about 30 minutes at 350 

If you want a 9x13 pan full, double it! That's a meal for my crew :)

It can be a little hard to get the frozen stuff out of glass dishes. I placed mine upside down, inside the bag I was going to freeze it in and set it in the sun. About 20 minutes is all it took and the glass popped right off and I could take the pan out and label and freeze the meal. Part of the problem was I trimmed the bakers paper too short and couldn't get a good hold on it to pull out the meal. Leave it long and fold it over! This picture was before I trimmed it. Yes I made the lasagna with homemade cottage and cheddar cheese, only the Parmesan cheese was store bought.  I use little noodles so it's easier for the kids to eat, no cutting needed, and cheaper! These lasagnas need the cheese on top and they are done! 

Yesterday I put 3 lasagnas in the freezer and today 3 baked oatmeals using the same pans :) I've done this with 9x9 pans and 9x13 pans. Less waste than tinfoil pans and stack easy in the freezer. I learned this neat trick from a Momys on my Momys.com board! Oh and this can be THM too if you use a approved sugar :) 

Picture Wall Re Do.

I had a couple spare minutes a couple of days ago and I re did our photo wall. Looks good hey? Missing a few people though! 

Grandma and Grandpa Griggs, Grandma your picture fell behind the bookshelves and it didn't seem right to put Grandpa's up without yours. Please this time could we get one of you two together? :) (Don't worry about M I got ideas for her ;) ) 

Missing 3 nieces...pretty sure the two sisters are my fault. Their mom is really good about giving me pictures of them and I must have misplaced them. Please may I have a new one? :) Please! I looked and looked and I can't find them! 

Missing Niece M. I have a mission for you :) I would really like a picture of you and your mom together :) 

So you have my permission to nag your mom (and grandma and grandpa into taking them) and please get me a new picture? :) 

Several of my siblings and their loves are missing from my wall and I'd love updated pictures of you all! 

Moms I would also love a picture of Great Grandpa and Granny for the wall. I have a old one of Granny but I'd love a new one. 

Several aunts and uncles never responded to my first wall call... But we still love you and we'd love to have your pictures for our wall! 

There are numerous cousins who aren't present on my wall.....hint hint hint! :) 

There is a certain family of four in Montana that I need a new picture of :) Please :) Ours was very old and now I have none :( 

Also a H family of 5 in Alberta needs to send me one with their not so new baby included :) 

Oh and there is a lovely family of 4 in PG that have been slacking as I've not seen a single family picture of them yet! Get to it A and M and get one to me while your at it :) 

D, now that you'll see L for a bit would be the perfect time to take a new family picture and pass it along :) 

There is a wonderful mom raising 3 beautiful girls, L that's you!, who I need a picture from :) 

Oh and a certain M family of 8..... :) 

I think I lost the one from the C family, so if I could get another that would be wonderful :) 

The B family of 5 in B.L. is present on my wall but it's an old picture...hint hint! 

Oh yeah and a certain K family of 7 is missing :( I do have a very cute baby picture but I'd love a family picture. 

Hmm I'm sure there were more.....but I'll just put it this way... If you love us send us a picture :) We'd love to see you up on our wall :) 

You can send them by snail mail, email or even just tag me on fb :) See it's easy! Love to you all! 

Thanks in advance! ;) 

B

Thankful Thursday March 13th?

Hmm you know your busy when you remember the month, hey I've even been writing 2014 lately, but not the day! I know Monday was the 10th and today I'm writing a thankful Thursday post so I'm pretty sure it's Thursday but boy does it feel like Friday! Anyway I digress. 

Today I'm thankful for our thankful book. After family devotions Papa writes what we are thankful for in a black book that sits by the table. I love that we are thankful for something every day and we get to share it with each other. 

Mud. The snow is melting! 

Lard..

This is a midway done picture..30 quarts and 6 litres and 9 containers of cracklings. 

I'm thankful for sunshine and snuggles and baby smiles.

 

I'm thankful for little boys who love their sisters.

And green flannel jackets..

I'm also thankful for pencil crayons and projects...

I'm thankful for fun in the snow.

And that E wasn't hurt too badly..

And projects finished 

And that Papa has the month of April off :) 

For days out...G eating worms and dirt on our last city trip. She shared with J and they both got enough! Yum! 

Oh and the birthday girl!! 

But she gets her own post :) 

Happy Thursday all! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Gingerbread Smash :)

I know, I know this should have been done ages ago, but I thought better late then never :)

Uncle D and Auntie A and O and K joined us for our gingerbread smash this year!! 

G made a very half hearted attack... mostly she just liked the idea of hitting it. 

K knows how to do it!! I love the kids faces!! 

L about to hit it! The boy hit the boy house and the girls hit the girl house. 

O did most of the damage and J finished it off!! 

Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for:

Firewood, it keeps us warm, it keeps kids busy and helps with their energy energy energy, and we have enough of it. 

Sleep. I got 8 hours last night...with only one wake up at 2 am which I think I mostly slept thru.. Papa was sitting in granny's rocker and he said I was a bit asleep.. I was checking the fire if you must know and didn't know he was home. At least he has sense enough,now, to turn the lights on! 

Skinny chocolate. I'm doing the THM (Trim Healthy Mama) eating plan, lost 3 lbs so far (and I never lose while breast feeding!) and I made skinny chocolate for the first time last night! Yum! 

Homeschooling. I love having my kids home with me. 

R, C, A, L and S. Love you ladies! Roxanne and her reminder of the glad game! I'm glad I have wonderful people in my life who show me how to be godly by example.

Giggles, I stomped my feet at G today, boom boom, and she throws a look over her shoulder giggling like mad while I chase her through the house, catching her and tickling her when she flung herself on to the couch. S finished nursing just now and giggled at me in anticipation when I held my hand over his chest! Giggles abounded when I tickled him.  

What are you thankful for today? 

S's First Fry

What?? Is this a trick?? 

 I broke it? Hmm what kind of food is this?

Hmm the kids like them. Maybe I should try again. 

Well I don't know about this but I guess I'll eat it!! 

2 Am Random R Funny.

R just came to me, at 2 am, and asked me if she could have a long peice of firewood. She whispered it and I had to ask her what she said 3 times. I'm not 100% sure but I'm almost certain she said three different things. A different one each time I asked her. Finally I woke up and told her to just say it out loud and than she asked for a long piece of firewood. I asked her why she wanted it and she woke up and looked at me like I had two heads. Papa said he thought she was asleep. So I told her to go pee and go back to bed. After she went to the bathroom she came back to me so I told her to run off to bed. She smiled at me so I asked her if she remembered where her bed was? Of course she says, standing still. So I rubbed her head and told her to go to bed. She left. S is up now to nurse but when I put him back to bed I'll go make sure R found her bed. I very much doubt R will remember this at all in the morning. I wonder if Papa will? He was snoring when I came back to bed with S, who is snoring now. After putting S to bed I checked, she was in bed. 

Here she is this morning, with no memory of the event at all! Papa did remember it. 

Shirley The Jersey. A Christmas Story.

Some friends of ours wanted to go on a trip, but they had a cow they needed taking care of . Papa said sure and told me later, but I was fine with that. They brought her over the 22nd of December. Her name is Shirley and she reminds me of a large happy dog. She is inquisitive and alert. She walked right over the wire fence to explore the pigs and right back in again when Papa put the fence down. She is easy to catch and lead and she seems to be, very much, a people cow. You know; instead of a people person? She's a people cow. Shirley is a purebred jersey cow with a rough coat. I'd never seen a Jersey with a rough coat. Looks neat. I knew she was in labour the night she got here so I put her in our new calf pen with Ivan, Isabel's calf, and watched her for a bit. Until 1am actually when my feet were frozen and my eyes kept closing all by themselves. I went inside to bed but resolved to wake up in a couple hours to check on her. I must have been tired because the next hour I saw was 8am!! I thought, for sure, there would be a calf but no! While I was still scratching my head over that she lay down and gave a little push and I saw feet!! I ran inside and woke up the kids, made them get jackets on and boots and we all went out to stare at the cow! Then we went back inside as nothing was happening..that friendly cow kept saying 'good morning' to everyone and wouldn't lay down again to push the calf out!!   I stayed outside and watched her and when she was down again and staying down I called the kids and they all came out and watched the calf being born! Papa stayed inside with S but the other 6 were all there. Wonderful experience! Shirley did so good and after the calf was out and she was up she shared the love and licked Ivan all over just the same as she did her calf! A Christmas Eve calf! What a wonderful reminder of life and love and Jesus! 

L hand milking Shirley. Norman is the red calf, Ivan the black calf. 

 What a busy day it was. A friend and two of her children came for breakfast, a wonderful lady dropped off a quilt, a couple of guys showed up to pick up a freezer full of old meat for bait (a very big pig that died a couple years ago in the bush that we were going to feed to the dogs and never did as it smelled so bad!), Papa took the oldest 4 kids skating with church family for two hours while I cleaned house and napped littles,  R and her 6 kids came to see the calf and have a quick visit. C's and their 4 boys stopped in to see their cow Shirley and name the new calf Norman (city slickers anyone?). At one point there were 17 children in the house! Papa and Mr. C went to pick up some hay. Everyone was visiting and having a great time! I totally forgot it was Christmas Eve! The dog barked, the kids yelled, Grandma and Grandpa are here! The families were introduced, the calves seen again, the snowsuits, gloves, hats and children packed up, hugs given, good byes said, Papa and Mr. C arrived. R and her children left, C's packed up their boys, checked and double checked for mittens and jackets and oh don't forget the babies boots! Than a moment of silence. Ahh. 

Children chattering excitedly, Christmas Eve! We've remembered! Gingerbread houses and snack night and Grandma and Grandpa and excitement reined! I remember Papa hugged me and I smiled at him and we went into the kitchen to set up for the gingerbread house decorating. We decorated, we chatted and ate, we even opened gifts and hugged and laughed and then we were saying good bye again to Grandpa and Grandma and yelling MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Then again the house had a moment of silence before the little excited voices. Reminding us. Another Tradition. A wonderful Tradition, the annual watching of 'The Nativity Story.'  

Later that night after the kids were in bed Papa and I took a couple deep breaths and finished a few surprises for the next days giving. When the house was ready for bed I went out once again in the dark cold night to check the calves and Shirley and marvel. Every birth is a gift but God becoming man, being birthed into this human world to save us from sin is the greatest gift of all! What a personal reminder of the magic of life, the God thing that opened my eyes and quiets my heart. Thank you Jesus! 

*Disclaimer. Our children close their eyes for several minutes several times in the movie 'The Nativity Story' we also fast forward the first part and both births.