multi-tasking

watching Playschool, doing today's chicken worksheets while in dress-ups

look what we made!!

This week for homeschool we are focusing on a different animal from the show each day. Today was cows. So we made a cow hand puppet, did some cow worksheets and explored the -ow word family. And then we made butter by shaking a jar full of cream. Good fun!! The girls have already had a piece of bread and butter and then I'll use the buttermilk when making dinner tonight. And we'll put some of the butter on our mashed potatoes too.

Tomorrow we will focus on chickens. And thanks to Grandma's chickens we have enough eggs to make an angel food cake to take to a friends' house for dinner.

I made these!!

Had some help with the children! =) But made the dresses all by myself!!

Nesting updated

two cheap clocks from Big W. We might add more as we think of places. Right now it is Hervey Bay and Flower Mound. And yes, I put it on the left of the mirror because the more I sat and looked at that wall (more time than you'd think) the more I realized that the wallhanging would be too big for that side so I'll go with the original idea of hanging it on the right.

$25 cheapie side table from Sam's Warehouse (not the same as the one in the States)

Sign I already had painted by yours truly (don't look too close)

Sign for the front door that makes me laugh. (again painted by me so don't look too closely) it's resting in my pink toolbox as it dries.

This grasshopper is nesting in my flower!! I couldn't resist taking a picture.

I found a quilt cover that I like but am unsure how brown the brown is and what it would look like with the black. What do you think?

And Sarah, that swirly photo thing in the previous post was sent to me by Mom. I think it was from Terry's Village or something similar. She bought it in 2006.

still nesting

So, today I'm asking for help in my bedroom. I love my bedroom. Well, I love parts of it. I still love the wall colour (although I think it looks more tan than how green it shows here. I think it actually matches the sheets that are on the bed.) and all my black accents. The girls tore up the heart banner and the plant died and I've added a black dresser for the baby's stuff and a black mirror. But it needs some colour. I'm thinking of something like this.found here

But is that too much of a solid colour? They also have it in blue and green. They have brown too but that isn't what I'm looking for. I like the green in the close-up picture but not in the other one. Same with the blue. What if they aren't the colour I want? But they aren't as bold a choice as the red so might be a better option. I wouldn't mind something dark and then a nice bright blanket/throw across the bottom but seriously?? we wouldn't ever put it on there. I do have cute blue and green scrapbooking paper that I was thinking about putting on the top of the baby's dresser so maybe blue or green would be better? I just love red.

I need to do something with the window treatments too. I really want thick wooden blinds/shutters/whatever. But they cost so much. So we're waiting to see what we do.

just remembered

two other ideas I love but not sure would go (I like the wreath over the old window in the bottom one. Actually I've seen lots of ideas with old windows that I really really like.)

Nesting??

I've been moving a few things around in the front room. I moved the 12x12 wall frames all into one corner instead of around the room like I had them before. I didn't have room for the baby's frame if I kept them the same. They are Wedding-top left, Catie-top right, Emma-bottom left and Beka-bottom right. The baby's will go under Emma's. I need to get a new frame for Beka and the baby to match Catie and Emma's frames. I also re-did Emma's frame. I like it better but still don't love it. This is the 3rd time I've done it. I really like the background paper this time but maybe I need to redo the paper I used to frame the pics/wording?? oh well. By the way, there are normally quilts/blankets on my quilt/towel frame but the girls have been playing in there this morning. And I decided not to clean up for these photos. Notice there are no shots of the floor. =) I think I'll use the other wall space next to the window (far left) for all our name plaques. But I don't know what to do with the spaces beside the mirror. (and yes, I'm still looking for nice white and/or red flowers to put in the vase on the right side of the piano at the moment it just has a few yellow roses and some bluebonnets and the tall swirly stuff.) I am still working on my bluebonnet trail wall hanging but sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. I'm thinking I'll hang it on the left of the mirror. But what to do with the right hand side? Barn stars are almost unheard of here and if you do chance to find one it'll be expensive. More family photos? Maybe 2 rows of 12x14 frames with 8x10 photos in them? I don't know. I went through all my magazines and through a lot of pics online but can't find something to copy. FRUSTRATING!! oh well. it'll come to me. =) I thought about moving this from the dining area and putting it beside the mirror but then what do I put in it's place?

I'm also wanting something different here by the door. I'm thinking a small shelf with keyhooks above the light switch. but not sure as that may be a little much since it is beside the shelves Dad made for me above the couch. And I need to replace the dresser. Maybe a book shelf? That way we can even keep our shoes on it instead of just laying on the floor. Probably just a table though. But my main reason is because this cute little black dresser is a cockroach magnet. I won't even tell you how disgusting it is to open the drawers. (oh and just in case you think how reddish the couch looks--my hammer that is laying on it is the one that Mom gave to us girls so many years back and it is hot pink!!)

Yum...

So, a couple weeks ago I found the blog Mennonite Girls can Cook. It's over on the right on my list of blogs if you want to check it out. And, you know what? they can cook. I love looking through their recipes. A couple weeks ago I made my first lemon meringue pie and a chocolate meringue pie. I didn't quite use their recipe for chocolate meringue pie because I already had a chocolate pie mix but I did use that meringue recipe for both pies. Yesterday I made another lemon meringue pie and their chocolate chocolate chip cookies. I baked 24 cookies and made two cookie dough logs to freeze for slice and bake cookies. They'll come in handy sometime I'm sure. The girls LOVE the cookies but to be honest I found them a little TOO chocolatey. I think this little boy is seriously messing with my love for chocolate. I don't really like lemon but I did like the lemon meringue pie last night. I think the sweet meringue balanced out the slightly tart lemon filling. We have half the pie still in the fridge so we might have to finish that off today. =) Anyway, thought I'd share a really yummy site to check out. Just beware that by the time you get finished browsing through it you will probably be hungry.

GRRR!!!!

So, every single name I come up with for the baby Josh seriously dislikes. The other night I threw out a few more names and one of them Josh didn't say no to. But he didn't say he liked it. Well, last night while eating with his parents the subject of names came up and he says "I liked that one you said the other night." Cool....if I could remember what name it was!!! Neither of us can remember what name it was that we agreed on. Why can't he just like Levi?? =)

Wednesday

Hmmm....it's one of those days. Had ladies' fellowship meeting over here this morning. It went well and the ladies left around noon. Then I fed the girls lunch and took a nap with Beka. Now, I just can't get moving again. =)

I've started sorting out my patterns and fabrics to use them up. I have two heavy weight fabrics and not enough of either to make something (grrr!!) and the rest of my fabric is lightweight cotton. Not really the best for winter. But I've decided to use the cotton and make springy/summery clothes for the girls and they can just wear tights or leggings and long sleeved shirts under them. And then I don't have to make their summer clothes while snuggling with a newborn. I did grab one of the long sleeved shirts that got too short for Catie, cut off the bottom and added a fabric skirt. Turned out really well and super easy so might try that again. Of course we'll have to see if she'll wear it. Yesterday she loved it but today she wouldn't wear it.

Been experimenting with making meal time easier. When I bought 3 kg of mince (hamburger) last week I split it up and made 3 batches of meatballs and cooked two of them in the oven then froze them for mostacioli (and used one batch for mostacioli that night) and then browned the rest of the mince and bagged it up to freeze as well. Already made spaghetti with the frozen meat making it an even faster meal. And then Monday I bought 3 kg of boneless skinless chicken breast when it was on sale. Stuck it all in the crockpot and cooked it. Then bagged it up and froze it except for one bag which I used last night for chicken enchiladas. So now I have 9 bags of meat in the freezer ready to throw in a meal. And haven't spent much extra time on it either. So in a couple weeks when we get our 1/4 or 1/3 of a cow that we've ordered I'm going to cook up most of the mince before freezing it. And I'll probably do some more meatballs too. If I'm gonna get my hands messy making meatballs might as well make a bunch of them. This time I'll remember to use a REALLY big bowl. =) But I will freeze some as is for hamburgers or meatloaf. I wonder if you can mix up meatloaf and then freeze it?? Anyway...

I tried making extra banana muffins and chocolate chip cookie dough to freeze but that didn't work. We ended up cooking all the dough and eating the cookies and banana muffins just don't last very long around here. Might have to try that again sometime though.

Well, the girls are playing outside and my house is mostly tidy (all the areas the ladies could see are tidy but my bedroom and the school room could use some help) so I should probably make dinner and hang out some laundry. Seriously behind on laundry (as usual) due to the weekend and then two days of rain. But oh, the last two days have been rainy and gray and chilly. It's been beautiful!! Josh reckons it is time to put the flannel sheets on the bed. So there's another load of laundry to do. =)

Hopefully we'll have a nice quiet day at home tomorrow and play some catch up with homeschool. We had friends drop by on Monday, went to Maryborough with friends on Tuesday, had ladies' meeting today and will have play group on Friday. Here's to a quiet tomorrow. =)

Happy Birthday, Brandon

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Mother's Day

Make a Smilebox slideshow

DONE!!

Beka's quilt

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I sat down to work on the squares for Beka's quilt yesterday while the girls rested and then watched Playschool. Beka wandered in while I was doing this and decided she wanted to help decide which squares went where. I had been trying to do this randomly but found myself reaching for my favourite fabrics. Turns out my least favourite fabric is her favourite!! Anyway, after awhile (after I turned the tv off) the other two girls wandered in as well. Soon all three were engrossed in putting the squares together. They laughed and chatted and discussed colours and patterns and turns out their favourite is my least favourite as well. Oh well, they like the alphabet part of it and I hate the colours, it just doesn't seem to go with the others. Catie wanted the whole blanket out of it "or at least a pillow, Mama. It would be SOOOO cute." Anyway, with the ones Beka did by herself and the ones they all worked on they put together probably 3/4 of the squares. All I had to do was pin and sew them. (I'll spare you a pic of my horribly swollen feet and ankles after that job) A couple of the squares aren't quite what I'd put together but knowing that they all helped make Beka's quilt and they loved it...I wouldn't change a thing.

Now, I'm off to sew the rows together and then put the layers together and decide how to quilt and bind it. I'd like to finish it today. Beka keeps coming in our room during the night and two nights ago she woke me up at 3:30 saying "Mama, I'm so cold!" I knew I had to get in my fresh clean craft room and get it messy. But, you should be proud of me, Mom. I threw all the strings away as I sewed and even though the machine is out and the quilt is laid out on the floor, my room looks neat. =)

Stories part 2

See these two innocent looking little girls? Well, they gave their parents quite a scare on Sunday. We had a full morning at church with Sunday school and then a service that included communion and a missionary guest speaker. We went up to the Sauvageot's for lunch and the girls and Ben went outside to play after we ate. Trevor, Andy and Jake play basketball in a league and their games are on Sunday afternoons. so they left to go play. We told the girls that they could go watch basketball with Josh and Steve in a little bit. After a little while Ben and Catie came inside and said they couldn't find Emma and Beka. We told them to keep looking because they had been playing hide and seek earlier. Steve and Josh got ready to go and Ben, Catie and Emma got in the van. Emma told us that Beka was going down to the school. We didn't believe her but couldn't find Beka when we had a look. The guys left and soon we got a phone call saying that they had found Beka about half way down the driveway. I was relieved at the thought that she hadn't made it to the road. I left after a little while and picked up a few groceries as Monday the shops would be closed. Then I picked up Josh and the girls from the basketball game. We started asking Beka why she was going down to the school. Josh asked Emma if she had gone down there too. Come to find out Beka was on her way back UP the hill/driveway when they picked her up. Emma had decided that the boys played basketball down at the school and she wanted to go play/watch. So she and Beka walked down the hill (Beka was barefoot!!) across the road (70km/50mph speed limit) past the church and on to the school basketball court. After they found it empty they came back up by the church, across the road and back up the hill. Emma came all the way up but Beka stopped and was sitting on the side of the driveway. I didn't even know what to think when this all came out. I kept trying to impress on them how dangerous it was and how it scared me. I think they finally got that point when Daddy took them in their rooms and had another talk with them and used the wooden spoon to make sure the point was well taken. =)

We are very thankful that it was Sunday and the traffic was very light on the road and that God kept those little girls safe. Emma had quite an eventful weekend what with the bead in the throat incident and this one!!

Stories part 1

So...Josh and the mouse...

Once upon a time (last week) in a land far far away (Hervey Bay, AUS) there lived a little girl. One night her mama went to check on her and she was still awake. So her mama laid down with her. As they laid there the mama saw a dark shape run from the window towards the closet. So she called for the big strong daddy. =) He chased the mouse a bit and it escaped out the door and ran down the hall to the laundry room and hid behind the washing machine. So they left the mouse alone and the little girl went to sleep. Several nights later as the mama headed to bed she checked on her little girl. As she opened the door the mouse ran from the foot of the bed up to the hole between the head of the bed and the wall. The mama called for the big strong daddy to come help. He carried the little girl into the mama's bedroom. (a nappy change was in order as well) Then he got prepared for warfare. =) After finding an ice cream bucket he went into the little girl's room and shut the door. The little girl and the mama heard bangs and shuffles and more bangs. At one point they heard a big bang against the door and then some tiny squeaking and then the big strong daddy laughing. Soon after they heard the patter of tiny mouse feet running down the hallway and the big strong daddy came barging out the door in hot pursuit. The mouse was so frightened and confused that it missed the laundry room doorway. He turned around to run back in and that's when the big strong daddy pounced and covered the mouse with the ice cream bucket. There were LOTS of tiny squeaks after that. The mama found some poster board and cardboard and brought it to the big strong daddy. First using the posterboard and then the cardboard the big strong daddy was able to pick up the ice cream bucket with the mouse safely captured inside. The mama and the big strong daddy kept laughing all through this. Then there was the debate over what to do with the mouse. The big strong daddy showed his tender side when he stated that he didn't think he could kill the mouse. So the mama said that he should take the mouse outside away from the house and let it go. Then she would go get some traps the next day but at least she wouldn't have to worry about the mouse for the night. So the big strong daddy took the mouse outside and (because it was very chilly) ran down the street. He caused the mama to laugh and laugh because he just kept running farther and farther down the street. He finally stopped over halfway down the street and released the mouse then ran back home. The big strong daddy and the mama went back to the little girl's room and put the curtains back down and the mattress back down and then the big strong daddy carried the little girl back to bed. The mama gave the big strong daddy a big kiss to say thank you for saving the day...errr..night.
The End.

p.s. old photo of Josh, he now has contacts and facial hair. =)
p.p.s. Beka tells people that she has a pet mouse in her bedroom.

YAY!!!

okay, had to share the photos. No before photos because that would've been beyond embarrassing. Just imagine not being able to see the floor because of stuff. So, here is the new improved, SIMPLIFIED craft room. You can't see it but there is a tall dresser to the left of the second picture. It is completely empty for the moment and will stay that way until some special guests have visited. =) That way I won't have to figure out where to put that stuff when clearing space for them. And all we have to do is move a bed into that blank corner. There are no plastic containers of stuff out in the room and only 1 medium sized one with project stuff in it and one small one with scrapping stuff in it in the closet. The boxes of pictures, some Christmas ornaments, a small 5 drawer dresser, and 4 basket stacker thingy are also in the closet. (But there is still room for Mom and Dad's hanging stuff.) HEAPS of stuff given away and thrown away. YAY!!! I love it. I need some sort of lighting on the desk as the light in the room isn't very good and I'll need a power strip thingy for all the cords, but it's definitely way better than it was. Now on to finish the nappy bag, dummy clips and Beka's quilt. Oh yeah, and the bluebonnet trail hanging for the front room.

The Ever Popular Dot Points of Randomness

*random photo for this random post

• Josh has been working like crazy this week. 10 and 12 hour days. Plus he's working today (Saturday) and Monday (a public holiday). I hope he takes a couple days off soon.
• The craft room was well on it's way to being organized, we even got shelves hung up, etc. AND THEN...Thursday was way busier than expected and a bunch of stuff got dumped back in there before guests came over. =(
• The school room and the girls' rooms have stayed clean most of the week. Impressive!!
• We had our first church playgroup on Friday. It was nice. We have a 4 month old, a 9 month old, a 12 month old, 2 3-year olds, a 5 year old and a 6 year old. Interesting mix, but nice to sit and chat and play.
  
• The girls spilled milk on our blue rug earlier this week and it wasn't discovered until the smell made me throw it out on the back porch. But the girls LOVE having it on the back porch. Soon we'll have a "roof" out there so I think we might leave it where it is. I wanted to get rid of it anyway as I couldn't get it completely clean and that's annoying.
  
• Emma just swallowed a bead. She came to me and said "I can still breathe Mama, but there's a bead in my throat." So she's drinking a bunch of water and it seems to have moved down. I'm guessing it's not in her windpipe.
• The flies have been REALLY bad this year. Because you can still smell the banana muffins I made this morning there are AT LEAST 15 flies at my kitchen window.
• Speaking of banana muffins, as I took the tray out of the oven I caught it on something and dumped all the muffins back in the oven. Thankfully, it was after they were cooked and not before. But seriously? I'm a klutz.
• Have I mentioned how much I love my dishwasher? I do. It's wonderful. I'm never not having one again. =)
• I got my Mother's Day gift. A new fry pan. Woo hoo! Exciting, hey? LOL Anyway, I mentioned to Josh that I needed a new fry pan and wanted to get away from Teflon. I LOVE my Scanpan copper/stainless steel pots he bought me for Christmas a couple years ago so thought I'd see if they sell fry pans. Well, Mr. Research Everything decided to check it all out. He bought me a 32cm (13 inch) Scanpan ceramic/titanium fry pan. That sucker is HEAVY!! and it came in a velvet bag! Weird. Anyway, it's awesome!! And I can use metal utensils in it.
• Planted my new plants in the garden. I can't figure out why one garden is doing SO MUCH better than the other one. Oh well. Last night we had a salad and the lettuce, tomatoes and snow peas were all from our garden. The girls had fun picking them.
  
• I took out two roses that weren't doing well in the front garden and planted two new ones. I also took out all my gerberas. I've decided to just have roses in that garden with strawberries planted across the front and then some sort of ground cover. Keep it simple. I'll keep my pansies and snapdragons in there for the fall/winter and then pull them out when they're done blooming.
• Homeschooling is going okay. Catie can recognize all the letters and knows all their sounds but for some reason just isn't getting the concept of blending them together into words. So, we're reviewing the sounds one by one and slowly blending them together. We're still using Five in a Row as well as working on Life Skills. There's a few A Beka courses I want to use but they are expensive here so I'm trying to find a cheaper alternative. I bought a series of books called the A-B-C Series by Rod and Staff. I thought they were Beka's level but they're more Emma's level and she is loving them. She does the Five in a Row with Catie and knows her letters and sounds as well but we haven't really worked on reading with her. I don't think she's quite ready. The B book of the A-B-C series is Bible stories to Read and has a companion book Bible stories to Colour so we use that for all 3 for our Bible time.
  
• Ummm...this post is probably quite long enough. I still need to post the story of Josh and the mouse. We haven't seen the mouse since so maybe he got rid of it. Anyway, a story for a different time.