Picture vs. Reality

We've all seen the pictures of the mother in the kitchen with her children. Everyone is happy and helping and loving. Here's what the pictures don't show.

• The mother started letting the older two help because the baby was happy and the younger child was asleep
• The now crying baby is not shown in the picture
• The just woke up from sleeping child is now the third child you see in the picture.
• There is flour ALL over the floor
• The oldest child is just learning to use the peeler, slicer, corer. And most of the apples in the pie have peel on them.
• The second oldest child is using the sharpest biggest knife she could reach to cut the apples in half. So the mother is silently freaking out
• The no longer sleeping child wants to help roll out the pie crust.
• The never fail pie crust recipe is totally failing this time.
• There is fresh apple juice all over the floor and counter thanks to peeling, slicing and coring 2kg of apples.
• The baby is really screaming now.
• The mother gives up and turns on the tv so the children leave the kitchen without the mother yelling, "Leave me ALONE!!!"

Now this mother needs to get the kitchen cleaned up before we have visitors over for Josh's birthday. One pie is done, one pie is baking and the requested traditional homemade apple pie is waiting to be baked just before dinner as the birthday boy wants it still warm.

Happy Birthday, Honey!! We love you!!!

Josh bought a new toy...

and I'm thinking that this calls for some furniture rearranging.

Laundry

The girls started asking if they could help with the laundry. Help with one of my least favourite chores? Ummm...yes!! You don't have to ask me twice. Of course they can't reach the laundry line so I still have to hang clothes out and bring them in. And I normally do all the folding but they are getting really good at sorting and doing the machines and they've been putting the clean, folded laundry away for a long time now.

Update

Butterhorn dough may overflow in your breadmaker. =)

I split it into three this time and the rolls are a really nice size. (this is before the last rising.)

(flash freezing the rest.)

I didn't have butter in the house so made them with margarine. They are still good but not nearly as good as the first time. USE BUTTER!! and don't skip the step of putting butter on them just after the come out of the oven.

First Big Bath

Another craft project

t-shirts on sale at Target + a little bleach + a spray bottle + a few tutorials (found via Be Different ...Act Normal)= a quick craft that satisfies that need to create something

1:51 pm

Catie at swimmimg.
Emma is the child to the far left.
photo taken by Josh with his phone.

9:45am

heading out for Beka's swimming lesson

Haiku

rainy day today
blustery, windy and cool
oh, I love Autumn

Beka and Nathan

Look at me. My sisters stuck me here when they went outside to play.

yeah, I know I'm cute

look, Beka's giving me some water

I love my big sister

....except when she gets too close.

Save me, Mama!!!

Another recipe

Here's another recipe for ya. Make Ahead Butterhorns from Money Saving Mom. I halved it so I could throw it into my breadmaker on the dough setting. Since I halved it I split it in 2 instead of 4. I think next time I'll split it into 3 since it made 16 HUGE rolls. And they only took 3 hours or so to defrost and rise. of course it was a really warm, humid day here. But, oh, they were so yummy!! We all wanted more than 1 (I divided them into 3 bags and just pulled out one). I said something like "Can you believe I made these? They are so yummy!" To which Josh responded, "I can't. They taste like something from a bakery." To me they taste like the rolls that you can get from Golden Corral. The big soft fluffy ones with butter spread on top. YUM!!! If that isn't enough for you, Emma just asked if I could make them for lunch today. We LOVE them!

big boy

first time sitting up at the table in the high chair

want some toast...

with all that cinnamon and sugar?

Farmer Boy

who is that bearded man?

What do you keep in your bag?

Emma keeps

• a notebook
• bracelets and necklaces in a box she decorated
• a giraffe named Emily
• a turtle named Jasmine
• a torch/flashlight
• a green pen on loan from Ben
• a frisbee in the shape of a seal