Where oh where art thou sun........

thy needth shine it's rays of warmth upon my weary soul................

Six months of winter is more than enough for me.....I'm done! I want green grass and sunshine. I want to have my windows open with warm breezes dancing around my curtains. I want to see and smell flowers. That's not too much to ask, is it?
Gosh, I think at this point I would even settle with temps being, oh I don't know......ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK!!!!!lol Hopefully the weather dudes are correct with their forecast.....warmth is on the way!

On the agenda today, other than the typical stuff, grocery shopping tonight. Which means I need to get the rest of my list/menu's done and the fridge cleaned out! This will be the first time we have purposely started grocery shopping weekly. Believe it or not, but it's going to take a bit of getting used to! My brain is wired to buying enough of everything for two weeks and even still, some of the stuff is cheaper to purchase in bulk despite the initial cost (which may increase my weekly amount). I will however, enjoy have regular fresh produce! I'm hoping that the weekly sales will also help with saving money in the month. (I will hit all four sales rather than just 2 per month).
For example, this trip there is a coupon for a free $25 gift card for spending $250. Since I will be spending $500, I will receive 2 gift cards to use towards my next trip. So, next week I will be able to use whatever coupon they have PLUS my gift cards. (sometimes they offer $30 when you spend $250 as well or free items like a ham) We'll see how it goes!

In other news, Mariah has mastered the art of writing her name! Which is awesome because now I know it's her who's writing on the walls since she wrote her name all over!!!lol Ooooops!!hehe Too funny.

Breanna has mastered rotating herself around in circles....she resembles a clock!!lol!! Her head stays put and her body rotates around in a circle, it's hilarious!!

Blessings!

Works For Me Wednesday

Favourite Blogging Tools........
I'm saving my 'frugal tip' for next week!!

Anyways, I have been blogging for just over 5years (Gosh!!) I self taught myself how to do basic html so I could add things to my blog and make it look all purty. I still know such a small amount, and I so wish I had the time to learn more and buy my own domain and design a fancy webpage since I really enjoy web design(or more so the idea of codes turning into actual pictures or designs on the screen)...maybe one day!
I started with Blogger and have stayed with blogger and I most likely always will. They are so easy to work with and very reliable.
One of my favourites is Flickr for adding pics as well as photobucket although photobucket has gone and deleted some of pics and left a note for me instead........I have never uploaded any pics on there that were offensive, yet for some reason, photobucket has thought so!! Anyways, they usually have it back after a short time, so no hard feelings.
I like sitemeter for keeping track of the happenings on my blog. I have to admit though, the novelty of seeing 'who' visited and when wore off quite awhile ago!!lol I guess for now I like it just in case I had a blog stalker or someone leaving me weird and creepy comments.........but I like that Blogger helped that a lot when they added the option to have word verification.
Then there are all the fun and free sites for graphics and blinkies....I love me some blinkies!!! A quick google search for free stuff, gives me a plethora of sites to visit. I do still have a few sites listed at the bottom of my site where I got some of my blinkies. The other new fav I have found is The Cutest Blog on the Blog it's simplicity is awesome and it works perfectly with Blogger.....I really love that I can go and grab a new code whenever the mood strikes me and have an awesome looking template...FOR FREE!!!
I am a sucker for cool widgets too!!


I guess if I had to choose a fav, it would have to be Google search!!lol
There I can search for anything I need to jazz up this site!!



Blessings!

Fly me Away...................................

We had an awesome weekend! Our flight on Saturday was amazing and such a cool experience. I thought for sure since I am terrified of heights, that I would hate flying....I LOVED it! It was such a thrill when the pilot would turn and the plane would tip to one side and our tummies would feel alive and full of butterflies!
Here's our plane and the fabulous pilot we had:


*Pilot Tom in the background*


*Out our Window*


*so cool!!*




Then we had a guided tour of the museum and learned some pretty neat stuff about aerotechnology (hmmm, is that a word?!?!) Here's some pics too:


*Houston, we have a SERIOUS problem...my kids have taken over!!!!*



*Alex in space*


*Bwhahahahah!!!*


*Job well done!*


*this could be handy around here after a Chili dinner*


*good we thing we got better with technology....well, with some things anyways!*


It was a really fun time. Both Breanna and Matthew did fine with their ears and stuff. Breanna seemed a little bit uncomfortable during the pressurizing of the cabin, but then was fine.

I will try to get menu monday up here soon!!

Blessings!

It's Friday! *incase you didn't know!!!

I'm drawing a blank for Frugal Friday......*crickets chirping*
I have an idea that I want to share, but it seems to fall more in line for a Works for me Wednesday feature that just happens to be Frugal!

I had so many goals for this Friday and sadly I haven't accomplished much. Alyssa is feeling a bit better, but Matthew is still a very grumpy guy....which in turn causes the rest of the house to feel the pain. I still don't know whether I should take him and Breanna up for the plane ride. Bill thinks I am over reacting, but I'm sure it can't feel to good to be up in a plane (not at the same altitude as a jet, think just enough to view the city below...like a weather helicopter) when you have a stuffy head...especially if you're a toddler or a baby. Anyone any ideas??? I have never even set foot in an airplane in my life, so I am clueless. I would absolutely feel like the worst parent if we took off and they started crying in pain or discomfort. Breanna I would be able to nurse, but what about Matthew? Get him to drink? Chew gum?


In my plight to save money and make grocery shopping easier in general, we decided we're going to give shopping once a week a try. I've always just gone every two weeks and it hasn't been too bad, but I'm finding that at this stage in the game (the last days before the next trip) that we have produce going bad and running really low on things. So, I am hoping that by going once a week I can accomplish a few things
*spend less time in the grocery store
*saving money since I'll be able to catch two extra sales per month
*have fresher food, mainly produce
*not have to over cram my fridge and make it work so hard!!lol
So we shall see!

Well I suppose I've dilly daddled enough and really should get going on the dough for pizza....and laundry......and cleaning in general............

Blessings!

Happy Be-lated Earth Day and other chatter...

It's been hectic.....again. I am left wondering if this is a new bug or the original one? We have yet to have a stretch of days where we are all not sick since we moved. Now Alyssa has an ear infection, Matthew is absolutely miserable with his stuff/runny nose, the others all see to have various random symptoms that are inflicting them, including Breanna. Although, I do have to point out that even though they have been sick forever the last 6-7weeks, they do seem to get over the illness a bit more quickly than before. Not only that, it's good for their immune systems to get a workout. I'm just speaking from a very whiny tired mama standpoint.

I received a call on Tuesday from the radiology dept to 'remind' me of Breanna's ultrasound appt scheduled for the following afternoon. Ummmm, she has an appointment??? Turns out the pediatricians office 'forgot' to call and notify me of the appointment! Grrrrr, that place annoys me sometimes. I ask that if we could change it so we could better plan for it. No, of course not, they're now booking into AUGUST. *sigh* This ultrasound was for the lump READ HERE in her armpit, so not something I really want to wait on.
Of course, yesterday our city decides that JUST BEFORE WE LEAVE is a fabulous time to, oh I dunno....HAVE A SNOWSTORM!!!!lol

Breanna did really good...well I think she did....she screamed her head off during the procedure! I don't blame her! She does not like to be held against her will (who does? Nevermind!) but she really freaks out when her arms are being held (I truly believe this stems back to her NICU experience) she was crying like I have only ever heard maybe once (I think when a doll was dropped beside her, there is still controversy over whether or not the doll actually hit her or not). I hate that as a mama, at least I was able to hold her during it all (and the distinct buzzing sound in my left ear was a reminder) and offer her some bit of comfort.
Now I wait for the results. I believe everything is fine, once I read more about Lipomas and their characteristics, it all seems to fit. So we shall see.

I had to change up last nights dinner due to the change of plans (and grumpy sick kids) so I will post an update in the FOOD BLOG.


Well time to get breakfast on the go....french toast is on the menu!! We had blueberry pancakes yesterday and they were sooooo yummy!!

Blessings!

Mommy my ear/throat/tummy huuuuuuurrrrrrrrrtttttt-ah

Yes, this has been the spoken language of the house, yet again. I don't understand why every sentence requires an 'ah' at the end though. For example, "Mommy, her is bugging me-ah" or "stop doing that-ah" or even better "Mommy-ah, I'm hungry-ah, when are you making supper-ah?!?!" With an illness floating through the house, this new lingo becomes much more prevalent. *sigh* Hopefully this little bug makes it's way through the house quickly, we are supposed to be going on a fun little family excursion on Saturday where we will be going on a small plane trip around our city. However, with all this sinus/ear stuff, I'm not so sure I want to be taking the kids up in a plane.

We had a good weekend though, Alyssa and I got our haircut and are both really happy with the results. We went to Bass Pro Shops oh-my-word!! That place is awesome!! We just had one built near our city and with Bill getting back into hunting/fishing, we thought we should check it out. Well, now the boys want to get in on hunting/fishing!!Whoohoo!! I think they will all have an awesome time with that.



We've taken on a challenge this week and so far, it's going really well. No cereal for the week. The kids are really on-board with it (I think the rat study was the turning point) and, well, Bill is not-so-much. We've also decided that the portions of the grocery budget that would normally go towards Instant Oatmeal and cereal, will now go towards breakfast things like more eggs and bacon stuff. (amazingly that will allow for almost $60 every two weeks in that area alone!!) However, the produce bill is steadily rising (right now it's $150-$160 every two weeks and $100-$110 for frozen). I'm thinking I am going to start a list on a sidebar of my goals (food/budget/eco-friendly/sewing projects etc) that I can cross off as I accomplish them. For me, if I see it writing or print, I see it as something that I MUST accomplish. I am totally a type of person that HAS to complete things....which can be a difficult task when you have ADHD (or Hyperactivity disorder as I was diagnosed back in the day!) I wander from project to project and then grump at myself when I go back to a room and see that it is not complete because I went into another room and got distracted. At the same time, it is a huge blessing because I love to multi-task...which is kinda a prerequisite to having a large family!!lol

Hmmm, where was I?!?!? Oh yeah, so we have been working hard on seeing what things we can eliminate from the budget to make funds available for much more health conscious choices without having to actually ADD finds to the budget (I already cringe at what it is now and we haven't even entered teenagedom yet!!)


Onto a completely different subject....lol...Robbie LOVES Lego (actually all my children do and I mean LOVE it) their most favourite thing to do is come up with their own designs and build them. Well, they came up with a dog....and this dog also eats and ummmm...poops.

Too funny!! They crack me up!!

Well, I'm off to do up Menu Plan Monday (hehe!! ETA:When I first checked this over, I realaized I forgot to add a 'U' at the end of 'MENU' making it Men Plan Monday!!Bwhahahahah....yeah, don't think so!!!lol) over on the Food blog (that I will of course be changing the date on because Mondays are typically the day I clean try to clean the house!

Blessings!!

Noteworthy

As I've said a million times before, we are trying desperately to change our ways, including our diets. I've decided that rather than pulling a *cold turkey* approach, we would gradually eliminate things. (well, for me it was cold turkey!!lol)
This hasn't been too bad so far, it kind of weird because your body almost goes through a withdrawal period....that can't be a good thing.
It angers me to the core that advertisements tell us that cereal is a part of a complete breakfast. Complete of what? Fortified with vitamins that your body cannot digest and utilize properly or other chemicals to make it palatable and desired for human consumption. Or how about yogurt commercials loaded with all this prebiotic and probiotic chatter....uh, hello!! Yogurt has ALWAYS been made with the *good* bacteria to help sustain a healthy digestive tract. There is nothing new about that nugget of info, yet companies are capitalizing on it. Cereal has to a big one that drives me crazy though, probably because marketing is typically aimed at children. Disgusting. My good friend Amy over at ~Muddy Boots~ wrote an excellent post all about cereal. Go and check it out HERE, I'll wait.

So, what did you think? Are you a little disgusted? In all honesty it makes me want to go an a rampage and toss EVERY.SINGLE.ITEM in my pantry that is processed. I am so fed up with that junk being available. (and at myself for buying it!)

An excellent book, and I mean EXCELLENT book is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It challenges our current "Diet Dictocrates" recommendations and explains why they are false. It takes us back to our roots and to a previous generation of eating...a generation that despite lack of sanitation and immunizations(now that we have gone overboard with those) were healthier and wise beyond their years. Sally is thorough in how she presents this knowledge and even supplies us with recipes. This book has been in valuable since I purchased it last year and I read it almost daily.
Even Vegans and Raw Foodists can take some info from here, there is something for everyone.

I also STRONGLY encourage you to read what is HERE
Ewwww! How many commercials have you seen that actually PROMOTE these foods?!?!? Do you see how twisted the *experts* are?!?!?

So, honey...if you happen to be reading this, don't be mad at me if there is no longer cereal in the cupboards...it's for everyone's well being!!

Next on my list to purchase is Kombucha....that ought to be quite the conversational piece sitting in the fridge!!lol Batter soaking on the counter for bread and muffins, seeds sprouting beside, grains and beans soaking, teas steeping and now this in the fridge!!lol


This weekend we are planning on heading out to a massive hunting store!!!!WHOOHOO!!! Bill is going to get back into it, I'm soooooo excited!! Of course we will have to budget and save up for his equipment again, but it is so worth it. I'm also hoping he'll do some fishing this year too. Yummy!!

Also on the agenda is haircuts tomorrow for Alyssa and I! I still don't know exactly what I am going to do...I just know I am fed up with it in it's current state!


Have a wonderful weekend and do me a favor: make one or two meals this weekend, from scratch, using wholesome ingredients. Your family or friends will thankyou for it!
God bless!

Frugal Friday

Re-Fashioning Clothing is my tip this week.

I know a lot of this most of us all ready do, but it's well worth reminding. I rarely and I mean rarely buy the kids brand new clothing. Truthfully, I see it as a waste of money and really not eco-friendly at all. Second hand is a perfectly good thing and an excellent resource to make use of. Whether you purchase through a thrift store or consignment. Another even more cost effective is to get in touch with other mama's who have children in similar age groups and get together twice a year with all the clothing your own children have outgrown and have a clothing swap!
(this is my own personal goal as well)

Here's what we do (and why I don't EVER turn down clothing despite it's condition)
-turn pants into skirts for the girls
-take the long sleeves off of stained shirts and sew them into the short sleeves of a good top...instant long sleeve top!
-use pillowcases for sun dresses for the girls...the bottom is already hemmed and if I need length, just sew a few inches of contrasting material to the bottom. Plain colored or white pillowcases work the best. Make the top with cute little ties at the the shoulders or shirred straps.
-remove the picture of a childs favorite top that has become too small (cut it out as best you can) and carefully attach it to a different shirt that fits. This looks so neat because if you just sew it on, it kind of frays around the edges and looks really cool.
-take the sleeves from mens shirts and make pants or shorts for the kids.


I'm sure there are more that we've done, including making pillows from sweaters and t-shirts, bags from jeans and blankets out of scraps.

Sometimes a totally new outfit is right there in your closet, just use your imagination! Check out the sewing section of my blog to find a ton of links to other Mama's who have blogs that have tutorials available on how to make some wonderful things!



Blessings!!

Grocery Shopping Results

Shopping for 9 on a tight budget AND buying as much as I can sustainable and/or organic is very difficult. I already knew that though. Since I don't drive, I'm really limited to where I can go and basically need to do all my shopping at one place. At least they have quite a few options and are easy on the budget...for the most part. Of course there are quite a few things that I REALLY hope to eliminate from the grocery budget in exchange for a much healthier option (see the post above)
Until then, it is what is and I am super happy that we have at least come a long way!
I think it will make a huge difference over the next year when I can get a good garden going.

Here's the fridge:




So here's what I want to completely eliminate from the lineup:
-granola bars
-cereal
-fluorescent foods
-store bought bread
-foods with artificial flavourings/colors
and anything else that I may have missed that has been processed and is so far off from it's natural state!lol
A few of these will require some convincing on Bill's part and the kids. Mac 'n' Cheese is probably the easiest right now and next would be the granola bars. The hardest ones will be the bread and the cereal.

I have most likely failed the challenge since I'm certain I went over my *budget*, however it did succeed in really making me concentrate on where the stuff I buy comes from even more so than before.

So, I will keep trying and keep working at it. We have come a long way and to see just how far we've come makes me keep at it!!(and the positive health benefits that have followed is convincing too!!)

Here's a breakdown of choices I made and/or regularly make:
-fair trade tea
-organic sugar
-organic produce (except for some pre-packaged salad and broccoli)
-eggs are free range and organic (I budget $30 every two weeks for that...yup, I wish raising chickens was legal here too!)
-99% percent of my stuff is organic or local
probably more, but I can't think of it right off the top of my head since I have had to come back to this post 989 356 times!lol

I will update this whole challenge near the end of the month with totals spent.

Be blessed!

April Sustainable Food Budget Challenge

So I am going to try my hardest to follow through with this Challenge with my upcoming trip. My budget allotment is $1445.88 converted into CAD. I'm not sure what my last bill was since this is based strictly on food and my bill shows everything I bought....and well, I am too lazy to really sit down and figure out what the food parts were. (I will though!!) I normally try VERY hard to buy things that are sustainable and organic. However, I don't shop at Farmers Markets or the Organic Speciality shops....there is noway I can afford to feed 6 kids an all organic diet. I wish I could, but it's not possible. A 4l jug of Organic milk is $10.59 where a jug of regular milk is $4.28...we go through two jugs every 3 days. I did however, pop into our local organic supermarket yesterday and got a huge bunch of bananas for $2.59!! (they were .59/lb) and some of my food and supplements. I dunno, does my Smoothie Mix count?

I will be so happy when Bill starts hunting again.......and if I can save up to buy 1/2 a cow....sigh....I'll be so happy when this way of living becomes mainstream again.......how on earth did we ever think the other was better?Ugh! No wonder my Grandma doesn't even shrug a shoulder when I tell her I can make laundry soap!!HA!



Okay, now I am REALLY going back to my grocery list!!

It's the Winter that won't end.....ever!

Ok, so yes, I am whining. We awoke to a blizzard of sorts this morning. BLOWING.SNOW....ewww. If someone such as myself, who normally loves winter and snow, is sick of the sight of white...then that has to say something. Not only has it been blowing flakes off and on thus far today, the wind is CRAZY!!! If I open my front door and don't turn my head quickly enough, I cannot get a breath. It's insane!

Alright, enough whining for now. I really do not want to hear about my southern friends and the nice warm temps they are having.....I.DON'T.WANT.TO.HEAR.IT!!!

I have been a busy bee this morning trying VERY hard to squeeze a meal plan and grocery list out of my budget. The flyers were pretty pathetic....not even a special offer! Most times my grocery store offers a coupon for either a free item or gift card or a discount on gas. (one time I got $175 worth of gift cards!!WHOOHOO!!) This time, there is nothing. Hmph!
Speaking of coupons, I have three coupons for $8.99 haircuts. Alyssa and I are going to use two this weekend. I made a decision to hack my hair off, I can't take it anymore, it is driving me batty. Alyssa needs a trim and some layers to, so we'll make a girls time of it....maybe sneak off to the Good Earth Cafefor a tea!


Breanna's appointment went good. We have to go for an x-ray on her hip since the original ultrasound showed 'mild' hip displaysia. *sigh* The doctor said he thought he felt a click on her hip, but that he wasn't overly concerned. The lump on her armpit requires a peek by a radiologist, since like me, he said no to a hemanginoma and referred to it as a Lipoma
Never a dull moment, I tell ya. The visit went very well and I have to say, that so far he is my favourite doctor so far. He truly trusts me as a mama and values my opinion.....oh yeah, and the Christian literature and the Juice Plus info all over the walls helps a bit too. He is also very up to speed with Vitamin D and seems pretty balanced when it comes to vaxxing (I say balanced because he is, after all, a pediatrician who works for the health region). I have no idea what her weight is, since her appointment was not booked as a *well baby checkup* instead it was booked as a *followup*...hmph, I guess it's different with an actual pediatrician!

Um, what else is new and exciting.........yeah, got nothing. I have all these wonderful post ideas that I want to share and then I sit down and....suddenly everyone needs me at that exact moment. Well, back to menu planning and then hopefully I'll get it up on here...errrr...I mean the food blog.

Be blessed!

Happy Easter

Did everyone have a good weekend?
Ours was nice. It went by too fast, but that is always the case, isn't it?!?!?
Today we're off to the pediatricians office for Breanna's checkup, normally I don't do *well baby* visits, but since she was a preemie and I want the *thing* on her armpit looked at I figured it was a good plan. Dr.Google has MANY different diagnoses so I've decided it's best if he and I just communicate right now...we tend to have a love/hate relationship. He's good when I need him but then he tends to carried away with his wealth of information and has a tendancy to take me on long journies through cyberland!

Also on the tab this week, grocery shopping! I am behind on making my menus and list, so MenuPlanMonday will be posted tomorrow. Also, I want to give a Holla to two people who have been soooooo patiently awaiting an email from me....Lisa and Kandie!!! I am so sorry I have been so busy and at times lazy...I have not forgotten about you guys though!! Kandie, do you have your phone yet? Lisa can you send me another email and an invite to your blog?


Here's some pics from the weekend to share!!












Have a blessed day!

It's a New Day

Breanna seems to be doing much better, it usually takes about 3-4days before she shows improvement and we are on day 3. I know it takes about a week for my milk to get clear of the allergen (some experts say more or less). Poor thing. I feel awful, but it just goes show, time and time again, that I have to stick with certified foods. I'm nervous about her having table foods, but I suppose I'll cross that bridge when we get there. She is no where near being ready for table foods as of yet, so I have some time.

Matthew continued with his grumpiness throughout the day yesterday. I was truly begining to thiknk maybe an ear infection or something was to blame. Although he has no other symptoms. We decided to get everyone into bed a bit earlier last night and so far (I say this with some hesitation in the fear I may jinx myself) today has been much better. However, it is still only 10am.

Long weekend coming up! I love long weekends (really, who doesn't?!?!) it means that I get to have my hubby home for an extra day, which I love. We have Breanna's pediatrician appointment on mOnday afternoon...it will be interesting to see how much she weighs and to learn more about her possible
Hemanginoma on her armpit. It doesn't really look like the ones the link shows as it is not colored, just slightly blueish tinged. I'm praying that it isn't anything serious or anything that will require extensive tests. I had broguht her into a walk-in doctor back in Januaury to check it out since I had just noticed it while I was giving her a massage. He said that it most likely had been there since birth and I just didn't notice it. Uh, HELLO?!?!? I think I would've noticed a two dolloar coin sized LUMP on my teenyweenie preemie!!! Grrrrrr!! Doctors frustrate me sometimes. (okay, pretty frequently) Like the docotor who we had taken Kayla into see during this last illness (she was really crying over her ear hurting....I really need to get me a Otoscope!!lol) suggested we take her to McDonalds because it doesn't matter WHAT they eat when sick, just as long as they eat. *smacks my forehead* Okay, where do I even start with that?!?!!? *sigh*


On the topic of food....I am going to totally cheat and put my Menu Plan Monday up on the food blog TODAY, even though it's TUESDAY it will say it's MONDAY!!lol I love that I can edit dates......muhahahahaha!!!

Be blessed!

No Fabric for me......

Saturday morning started out well and good. I managed to get little ones dressed, hair done bag packed, pottying done etc and we were out the door!

However after our first stop to purchase a new carseat/booster seat for Mariah, Matthew decided he needed to go pee. No problem I thought, I'll just bring him in with me at Fabricland. So, I take Alyssa with me because she was dying to see the inside of Fabricland. I decided rather than trying to find a bathroom in the squishy store filled with fabric loveliness, I would just run into Winners. Lo and behold they're having a dress sale, so after taking him the bathroom I decided to take a peek in there and see what they had. Matthew was doing awesome and happily walking holding his sister's hand and chatting away to us. I found a dress that I loved but not in a size that would work for me. Apparently I took much longer than Matthew's attention span or rather, threshold, could take. He began to take things from shelves, rip the price tags off, run underneath the clothing racks, run away from his sister and I and whatever else he could manage to do. At first he was amused by my look of despair, but the rush of infuriating mommy quickly became stale and soon he replaced it with sheer anger and voiced it rather loudly. I decided that there was no way I could search any longer and had to get out of there NOW!

Matthew had found some Winnie the Pooh toy and I removed it from his hand (while telling him that we were not buying this today.....I scooped him up since he lost his ability to walk. The screams that followed were enough to shatter glass, I'm sure. As we walked into the mall area his shrill screams echoed. Every single person turned their head (well, who wouldn't?!?! Matthew can hit decibels that would make a dog run) He continued to scream as we marched ourselves out of the mall. He then decided that screaming just wasn't very effective and began kicking and arching his back all the while screaming right into my hear (it buzzed for awhile afterwards).
As I approached the van outside, Bill got out and was trying to figure out what exactly was going on. (I think the people standing at the restaurant beside the doors thought I was kidnapping him.......)Then Bill tried to help me get him into his carseat and literally had to pry him off of me as he had a grip on my jacket. Matthew then proceeded to scream the entire way home, much to everyones horror, for the 20min drive.

He then continued for another 45min once we got home. By this point my brain was seeping out of my eardrums (or what was left of it anyways)..... he then stopped long enough for a nap, which we were all very grateful for.

Needless to say, I never made into Fabricland, came home empty handed, all except for a screaming toddler.

To add insult to injury, at some point in time I must've ingested either wheat or dairy because Breanna has been absolutely miserable with tummy pain and spitting up. I'm not sure what it is, however I am suspecting these Asian noodles I got that are supposed to be just rice flour, however, I'm not wondering if there is un-declared wheat or dairy in them. It may be another new allergy, so I am keeping my guard up.
Very frustrating when things like this happen.

Yup, just another day!

~FRUGAL FRIDAY~

Holiday Dinner on a Dime

This is the majority of our holiday dinners!!lol Anyways, this Easter we are just having us (which is dinner for 9, technically 8 since Breanna won't be eating!!lol)
On the Menu is:
Honey Ham
Perogies
mashed potatoes
au gratin potatoes
mixed veggies (steamed and raw)
buns

Of course there will be versions for me to be able to enjoy. The decorations will be courtesy of the kids. A bed sheet with pretty flowers will be the table cloth.

My tip would be to find things around the house to use for decorating purposes. How about a bowl of fruit as the center piece or even just a basic plant?!? Cut out Easter Eggs and let the kid's decorate them and use them as placecards. I typically begin planning for Easter approx 1 month earlier so I can watch the sales and make sure I have everything.

I always try to fit a celebration into my budget, it's more about the people and the memories than having the most expensive cut of meat or hors d'orves. Simple and served with love should be the goal!!

Be blessed!

~T~G~I~F~

Hurray my favourite day of the week!!

Well we decided that today we would go through all the spring/summer stuff today since tomorrow may end up being a busy one.
So there will be one list done!lol

Tonight is movie/pizza night!! Oh how I treasure these nights, I hope that this is a tradition that we can carry on for many years to come. Tonight's viewing will be
Madagascar-2 we loved the first one, so we're hoping this one will be equally as funny.

I'm in the process of planning for our holiday as well (another list!!) and I can't decide whether I should buy/find two hockey bags or find/buy some large suitcases to use for packing. You can imagine which one Bill votes for!!lol I always pack everyones stuff in vacuum sealed bags to save on space. Last couple of times I had two large suitcases, but they had been given to us and fell apart (yes, we are very hard on things!!lol, but they served their time well. Thus, I was thinking hockey bags just might be more durable...hmmmmmmmmmm. I also need to find a couple of coolers (big sized) since I plan on making some meals ahead to bring with as well as some of the foods I know I can buy here and may not be able to find there.

I told you I had a list of lists!! I am working on the homeschool one (which is one of my favs!!)

Well, the kids are not-so-patiently waiting for me to get going on the clothing, guess I better get going!! :o)

Be blessed!

My Weapon of Choice..........My wheat/dairy free bread!!

Okay, so this whole wheatfree/dairyfree (to which I will refer to as WF/DF from this point on) has been quite the adventure for my culinary skills, but I have enjoyed it! Trying new things has been a lot of fun and I love to cook. However, there is one thing I cannot for the life of me figure out, and that is how to make a soft loaf of WF/DF bread. Each time I make it, it smells wonderful and I get teased with the thought of a nice PB&J sandwich only to be crushed (no pun intended) by this loaf of dense, rock hard weaponry bread! HELP!!!!

Any of my Mama friends out there know how to make a nice loaf of bread that is wheatfree (wheat and bulgar grain are the only issues we have seen thus far) and Dairyfree? It can definitely have eggs, as that doesn't seem to bother her and yeast is alright as well. I can make awesome muffins, pancakes, cookies, and cakes but my bread is the trouble!!! Which really frustrates me because I can make normal bread no problem. *sigh*

This weekend is going to be busy. Bill is taking me to fabricland (yes, voices sing and a glow of light shines down when I say that!!!)to get some cotton fabric to make myself and the girls some sundresses. We are also going to be going through the clothing stock and taking inventory of who needs what, at least with the next season being spring/summer, it gives me a little more room to make things work!
Breanna is taken care of in the clothing department. I met a lady online who just happened to give birth to twin girls at 32weeks....two months before Breanna!! Perfect!! So she puts together a small bundle to fit my budget (which was smaller this time since our dog had a skin infection develop because the move stressed her and we had a nice vet bill to pay!). The clothing is wonderful and in great condition to, so that works out great!!(not too mention it's super cute!!)

I just can't wait to break out the sewing machine, now that I have an actual sewing area to use!!Whoohoo.......now maybe I will actually get some projects done!!(maybe!!)

Be blessed!

April Fool.....NOT!

I am not much of a practical joker....anymore. I used to love the excuse of April Fool's day to be able to plot against someone (usually my poor mother) but since being a mama, the thought just doesn't occur to me anymore. Last year I did however get the kids, I told them that there was no longer going to be anymore weekends. That the government saw them as a waste of time and that a 5 day week would be much more efficient!!lol This year.......I have drawn a blank. At least I still have a few hours to plot...hmmmmmmmmm!!!

Grocery shopping was actually very smooth last night. I even came in $3 UNDER budget....sweet!!! Now today I will continue with the putting away of everything...I gave up when the clock struck midnight! Seeing all the spring themed stuff at the store just helped amplify my desire for this snow/wind/blizzard type weather to be ON IT'S WAY OUTTA HERE!!!! I am so ready to get up early in the morning, crack open my windows and smell that fresh air and hear some birds (although I'm not so sure I will hear any birds since there isn't a tree anywhere near me....waaaaaa!)


Is it a bad thing that I have made a list of things I need to make a list of? I thought about this after I looked at my list of errrrr........lists. I need to do a homeschool inventory and make up a list of stuff to get for 'next year' (we basically 'school' all year now) I need to go through everyone's clothes and see who needs what for spring/summer. I have to re-design the chore lists and re-design my laundry chart.......the list goes on!!lol The funny thing is that since we have evolved into an un-schooling family, I have actually become much more relaxed...scary, huh?!?!?
This is an area where Bill and I make the perfect match. You see, he is always the first to bring me down and remind me that hey, we have seven kids!! I totally need to hear that when I am freaking out because there are crumbs on the floor or fingerprints on the wall or spilled milk stuck to the table. In all honesty, it's not even going to be a thought in 20years.....but spending time with everyone and exploring new things certainly will be!

I am pretty excited about this summer after we get back from holidays, we are going to go to many places in our area.....it's been a LONG time since we have been able to go and enjoy a lot of activities. I am looking forward to picnics out in the country on the weekends.....trips to the zoo.....going to a few museums and what ever else we can find to do!!

Have a blessed day!