Carving pumpkins

Waiting to buy pumpkins and carve them was torture for my kids this year. But we really didn't want to move pumpkins, so we waited until we moved in to get them. Luckily we still found some great ones to carve. I was so proud of Hannah and Zach this year. They didn't even need a grown ups help. It was a really nice day on Halloween, so we sent them outside to carve them.

I think Zach and Mark helped Ethan a little bit, but he designed his himself too.

Moving in

The day we moved and the day we moved in were some of the coldest so far that we have had this fall. The people who we bought our house from had only gotten out 30 minutes before we were able to take possession of it. Because it was so late in the day already, we didn't move in until the next day. So, we moved out of our old house on Wednesday, closed on Thursday and moved into our new house on Friday. All of these days were cold and rainy.

The kids had a snack that Hannah and her friend made the day before. Chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. Notice that Ashlyn and Zach still have their coats on. The doors were open all day since the movers were moving things in. It took several days before our new house finally warmed up.

This is the view out of my kitchen window. We have lived for several years without much trees, it has been so fun to enjoy them again. I can't wait to see what all the seasons will bring.

Sold!

It was a long summer and early fall, but we finally sold our house and found a new one within a couple weeks. It was not a fun process. If anything could go wrong, it did and then some. But hidden among the trials were great blessings. We love this house and will miss it and our neighbors dearly. We have many memories here that are dear to our hearts. With that said though, we are excited to create new memories in a new house. We are excited to have a home that will finally fit our family of 6 and that will bring new adventures.

Saying goodbye, was hardest for our sweet Hannah. She laid in the doorway and refused to leave. We pretty much had to drag her out. She cried all the way to Grandma's house (so did I).

Fall Birthdays

We have several birthdays in the fall and winter months at our house. My birthday came first. Mark took the day off and we went to Lawrence for lunch and to look at some shops. Mark made me this awesome cake that I found here. It was so yummy that Ashlyn had to have a taste before everyone else. It was such a great day!

Mark's birthday was next. We spent the day at the apple orchard. I made him a yummy key lime pie that I didn't even try.

Hannah turned 12 this year. I know I say it with each birthday, but I can't believe how fast my children are growing up. Hannah had a fun birthday party with her friends. My friend Colleen made her this fabulous cake.

Isn't she beautiful! She has been such a great help to me while preparing to move. She has been a little mother to Ashlyn. She loves having a baby sister so much! Her favorite person right now is Taylor Swift. She loves her music and her hair. :)

Hannah's 12th birthday

Hannah wanted to have a sleepover for her 12th birthday party. She invited her bestest friends and had a ball! We picked up some party supplies at the store. They ended up being red, black and white and lime green. We just rolled with the color scheme.

The girls first played Spin the Bottle. This isn't your typical spin the bottle game. The girls would spin the bottle to a color square. Whatever color they landed on they then had to paint a nail that color. It was pretty fun! I got to help paint nails.

We also sprayed bleach onto black pillow cases. Don't you love the protective garbage bags!!

My friend told me about the game Skittles. All of the skittles are placed in a bowl, and then passed around the circle. The girls pick two skittles out of the bowl without looking. If the colors match, they could eat them. If not they had to put them in their mouth and store them until they finally got a match. It was so much fun. We had some good mouths full of skittles.

Beautiful girls! They were all so much fun to have in our home. I was laughing all night long at conversations they were having.

Oatmeal masks and cucmbers on the eyes to help relax them. They were also listening to music. The oatmeal was quite messy and kept sliding down their faces.

The finished pillowcases. I sewed on the ribbon and ric rac and then ironed on their names. This was the girls party favor to take home. The next morning before the girls went home, they had donughnuts and chocolate milk. It was a fabulous party!

Apple Orchard 2009

We've been to this apple orchard before, but it has been awhile. I think Ethan might have been around Ashlyn's age the last time we came. I think there were a couple years where they didn't have any apples because of a late spring frost and then a couple years where we planned to go too late and the apples were done. We spent Mark's birthday at the orchard. The kids had a good time looking for good apples to pick. We had a lot of rain and so it was muddy. Ashlyn's shoes kept coming off (they were too big). Ethan also fell out of a tree b/c his shoes were slippery on the branches. Luckily he wasn't really hurt. Just muddy. It was a great day!

School starts.... 2009

The kids started back to school last week. I really enjoy having them home and wasn't ready for them to go back at all. I also enjoy the relaxed feeling of summer. No homework, no rushing out the door early in the morning, no paper clutter...just time to be together. No worries though, I am a normal mom, I do enjoy time away from my children as well. It makes me a better momma to have some time to myself.

Hannah started 6th grade this year....I can't believe how big she is. I have really noticed the changes in her this summer. She isn't my little girl anymore. Not too long before she is a true teenager. She is so much fun and definitely has her own style of doing things.

Zach started 4th grade this year. This is the first time since Hannah and Zach have gone to school together that he finally got a teacher that she already had. I really like the teacher and am happy to get to interact with her again. Zach is the best helper. He is always doing things for me. He is so polite too. He is just so easy going like his dad...but has this sweet sensitive side to him.

Ethan started kindergarten this year. He has the same teacher that Zach had in kindergarten. He has a big class...24 kids. I don't think any of my kids have ever had that many kids in their classes. We have been so blessed. Ethan is my little spitfire. He pushes buttons I didn't even know I had. haha! But he is so sweet and loving as well. He still loves to hug and kiss me. How lucky am I!!

I think Ashlyn will miss having the kids around. She has finally learned how to say all of their names. It is so cute. She is really talking a lot right now. It is so much fun to hear her little voice and see her personality shine.

I had really hoped to be moved and in a new house and possibly a new school before school started this year. I guess there must be a reason we are still here in this house and school. I am learning patience and lots of faith through this process. I truly do believe that when it is meant to happen, it will!

Main summer project!

Our summer has mostly consisted of getting our house ready to put on the market. Almost 21 months ago we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl. With that, our house became too small for 4 children. This has been a wonderful house for us. We fell in love with it 7 years ago and have loved living in it. It is home. We keep hoping that someone else will fall in love it with it as well. Until then, we will keep cleaning it up and mad dashing out the door when someone wants to visit it.

a change

I don't have a lot to blog about but wanted to change out the picture. This is a preview of my sweet baby girl in her Easter dress. I tried it on her when we got it. She has had a rough week and I am praying that we can figure out what is wrong and get her to the road to recovery.

Valentine's Day...just a little late

I know I am really late on posting about our Valentine's day..but better late than never. I know my mom and dad have been wanting some pictures. We love Valentine's day at our house. We don't really need a day to tell us to love each other, but why not let it be a good reminder of how we feel for each other? Ever since the kids were little, we made sure that Valentine's day was fun for our kids. We have had many treasure hunts at our house on this day. This year we did another one. Mark always does such a good job writing the clues. The presents ended up being on our bed this time. It is so much fun to watch them run around looking for new clues.

I let each of the kids pick something they wanted to eat. Ethan picked doughnuts and chocolate milk, Zach wanted a heart shaped pizza and Hannah wanted a heart shaped dessert(we had a yummy brownie desssert). They were easy to please!!

We had a great day and I loved spending the day with my family!

menu plan march 2

Baked french toast with orange julius and fruit smoothies. (We made this last night, it was so good. Make sure and have bacon or sausage to break up the sweetness)

Rigatoni with roasted vegetables I am still trying to decide if I can get away with this one.

Taco salad -a staple in our house. Some of us have soft/hard tacos and some have taco salad.

Beef Lo Mein

7up Chicken, green salad and some sort of potato. For 7up chicken, I marinate chicken breasts with 1/4 c oil, 1/2 soy sauce, 3/4 cup 7up. The longer you can marinate the better. Grill or bake.

Homemade pizza

Sorry I didn't get last week's menu up. I am going to try and still post it as I made something really yummy and I want to remember it. I wasn't motivated last week at all. We still did good of eating in every day but Saturday.

Menu Plan Monday 2-23-09

Grilled chicken with Avocado and Red Onion Salsa ... I added tomato to the salsa and put these in warm tortilla shells with a little cheese and sour cream. They were soo good! Ethan said, " What is this green stuff in my taco?" He wasn't a fan.


Stew and flaky biscuits(from a can) The stew recipe I use is from my MIL. I love it!!

2 lb. meat (I usually buy stew meat already cut)
2 C. sliced carrots (I use frozen)
3 C. cubed potatoes
1 can string beans with liquid
1 lg. can diced tomatoes with juice(I use the one that has onions and garlic in it)
1 C. diced celery (I never remember this)
1 chopped onion (see tomatoes..sometimes I add a little extra)
1 T. parsley
1 T. Kitchen Bouquet (in the ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce aisle)
1/4 tsp. Basil
1/3 C. tapioca (I never remember this either)
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients, stir, bake at 250F for 5-6 hours, or simmer in crock pot for 5-6 hours.

Buffalo Chicken sandwiches... I just bought frozen chicken patties and brushed on hot sauce and butter before baking. We had these on hard rolls with lettuce and either ranch dressing or blue cheese.

Made Baked Beans for Blue and Gold banquet

French Toast

Out to dinner

4th photo tag

My friend Angela tagged me. The rules are to go to your file folder and pick the 4th file and the 4th pictures and then tag 4 friends. I am thinking my photos are out of order as this picture is from last January. Ashlyn's blessing day. Hardly any of my pictures turned out. She is a sweetie though.

I tag: Becky, Lynette, Vicki, and Kristi.

Menu Plan Monday 2-16-09

I have some Valentine pictures to share but wanted to get my menu up for the week first. Check out this blog for more ideas.

I have a boring dinner week. I haven't had a chance to look for something new to try this week yet.

Spaghetti, salad and homemade breadsticks.

Broccoli Cheese soup- (I got this recipe from my sister), probably have homemade rolls with it. or possibly leftover breadsticks?
2 T. butter
3/4 c. chopped onion
2 small package frozen broccoli (I usually put this in the blender after I saute it, with a little of the chickn broth)
6 c. chicken broth
1 quart of half & half
1 large jar cheese whiz...I sometimes use velveeta.
In large pan heat butter and saute onion for 3 minutes over medium heat. Add broccoli and cook until tender. Add chicken broth. Add half & half & cheese whiz.
If I have shredded cheddar, I put in the soup after I serve it.

Sunshine sandwiches- I found this in a magazine years ago, never made it before now. I am also planning on makin Orange Julius to go with.
1 can Pilsbury Grands buttermilk biscuits
8 slices ham or cooked bacon slices
1TB butter
1/4 c chopped green pepper
1/c chopped onion
8 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
8 slices cheese

Sloppy joes...I got a good deal on hamburger last week and Manwich. That's our favorite sloppy joe. I know...it comes from a can. Maybe someday I will experiment on a new one.

Honey Mustard Chicken
4 boneless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
Mix together:
1/2 c melted butter
1/3 c honey
2 T prepared mustard
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp salt...might need a little more?
1/4 tsp pepper
Pour over chicken and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

Menu Plan Monday

I meant to get this on here earlier. Been trying to declutter today. I think I just made a bigger mess. :) Check this site out for more menu ideas.

Meals for this week: I wanted to mention that even if I don't list it. We have a fruit and a vegetable with almost all of our meals. Usually raw carrots, cucumber, apples, kiwi, etc... whatever we have on hand. We all seem to love raw veggies more than cooked.

Leftovers tonight. We had lots leftover from the weekend.

Steak Diane and steamed cauliflower....recipe to come.

Crockpot Lasagna , and homemade bread. I haven't tried to make lasagna for a long time as it never turns out. I thought this looked good. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Quiche and homemade blueberry muffins...recipes to come

Out to eat to celebrate Valentines day....kids will have something easy like mac and cheese

For our family Valentines dinner we are having something that everyone wants.
Zach wants me to make a heart shaped pizza, Hannah wants a heart shaped dessert....and Ethan wants donuts and choc. milk. My kids are pretty easy to please!!

Chicken Fajita quesadillas....we never had these last week, so they are on the menu again.

Happy Birthday Dad and Grandpa!

We want to wish a very happy and FUN birthday from all of us. We love you and are so grateful for you in our lives. You're a wonderful Dad and Grandpa!!

Pucker up!

This little sweetheart is finally giving us kisses. She has been leaning her head in to get a kiss for the last several months, but wouldn't ever really give a kiss. Tonight she gave all of us lots of kisses. It was so sweet! We love the little personality that she is showing us she has.... a little bit each day. Her favorite thing to do right now is read books. She brings me books all day long to read to her. Sometimes it's the same book over and over. Her favorites are Karen Katz's, "Where is Baby's Mommy?" and "Big, Little" by Leslie Patricelli.

Happy Birthday to my mom!!

Happy birthday to you mom and Grandma!! We all love you so much. I am so incredibly blessed to have you for a mother!! Hope your day is special. I hope that one of these days I get to spend your birthday with you.

Menu Plan Monday

I have been reading some blogs where they post their menu for the week on Monday's. I've been doing really good at having all my meals planned for the last month. I thought I would share our menu for the week. I have also been trying some new recipes. We have been trying really hard to not eat out and so far so good!



Meals for the week. I don't plan the day...just whatever is convenient for us on that day. I also try to plan 2 meals that don't have any meat in them.



Roast, potatoes, carrots and lemon pudding dessert

Fettucine Alfredo, green salad, garlic bread. We had this tonight. It was really good. I used 1 cup cream and 2 cups milk. Next time I make it I am going to try it with all milk and no cream.

7up chicken, cornflake potatoes, green salad

Bagel pizzas

Fried Rice This recipe was okay. I had leftover roast and it didn't really work too good for fried rice.

Chicken Fajita quesadillas

Crockpot Potato soup, I've been wanting to try this one for a few weeks now.



And because, no post is complete without a picture. This is a flashback to one year ago. Isn't she so sweet!