Where does the time go?????
Here are a few picture from when it was a bit warmer outside. It's amazing how cold it is now. It's only been getting up into the 50's for the past few weeks. I found the jump rope that I had as a kid and Anna has been having a blast with it.

Both the kids relaxing in the backyard and enjoying a snack.

The day wore Gabe out and he fell asleep on daddies lap.

I'll have some pictures of our visit to grandma & grandpa's house pretty soon.

I'm Back.....

I got back from visiting my family today. The kids had a great time and I'll post pictures sometime soon, but for now I need to get some rest.

What a day.......

So far to has been a lot of running around and cleaning up, which I guess is most days in general. Anyway today it has been about Noah's messes. I found him up in the bathroom with his bath tub cups taking water out of the toilet and pouring it on the floor. I then took all his clothes and diaper off, so I could put him in the tub for a bath. Unfortunately, I hadn't notice that he had poops in his diaper, which had fallen on the floor and then I stepped in it. It was a smelly mess to clean up.

Then later on Anna came to tell me that Noah was in trouble. I came down to the kitchen to find Noah had pulled the egg carton out of the refrigerator and there were broken eggs all over the floor. Lets just say I now have really clean floors. I wished I had taken photos, but I didn't.

Heading for a Visit.....
I'm planning on visiting my parents over the weekend. My aunt from California will be visiting my dad and so I decided to load the kids up on Saturday and spend a few days. Brandon will be staying home, since he has two big test on Monday to study for. I sure will miss my hubby's help with the kids, but at least he will have a nice quiet weekend, so he can study in the comfort of his own home.

The garden is winding down. There are a few more tomatoes to ripen, green peppers growing, broccoli that never ends and a few zucchini here and there. It's been a good year with plenty of broccoli, string beans, corn & zucchini in the freezer. I also canned about 50 quarts of tomatoes, which is a record for me. I actually had a neighbor give me some canning jars and we also bought a few because I thought I might run out. It is a blessing to have a freezer full and to not have to buy very much at the grocery store.

Well it's quiet in our house early tonight. Noah was in bed at 6:30 p.m. and the other two have tired themselves out and are sleeping. I hope to take some good pictures over the weekend or maybe I will just let my daughter take control of the camera. Have a great weekend!

Anna Portraits.....
She has such fun taking pictures with the came and here are a few she took of herself.

5 Star Brownies......

To read more and find the recipe go here.

Monday: Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole

Tuesday: Tacos with Guacamole

Wednesday: Hamburgers, French Fries & String Beans

Thursday: Potato, Asparagus & Leek Soup

Friday: Baked Chicken, Vegetables & Rice

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Breakfast of Choice

To find more menu ideas visit here.

German Apple Pie Recipe

Today ended up being an apple day. The kids had there class time at the library and the letter of the day was "A". The kids got to make apple baskets, watch a video about Spot the dog and listen to a few stories about apples. They had a great time and so we decided to make an apple pie when we got home. What a fun project, since the end product is delicious.
To find out more about the makings of this and recipe go here.

Photo Shoot of Noah by Anna

One nice afternoon Anna asked me if she could take some pictures. It's amazing what kids learn from just watching us. Anna knows how to turn the camera on, take the pictures and flip the switch to look at the pictures she took. I have to say she took some really great pictures. Also the new flower picture on the top of my blog is also one that she took. I'll be sharing more picture that she took in some other posts.

Weekend Activities.....

This past week & weekend was busy. I'm sure you could tell from my lack of posting. We headed to the farmer's market on Saturday to buy some corn to freeze. We purchased about 10 dozen and got about 2 dozen free. Then that afternoon we worked on corn and we still have half of it to do. I also have been working on canning tomatoes and so far have canned 33 quarts and still have a lot of tomatoes to work on. I think I many even run out of jars this year. I've also frozen many packages of broccoli & string beans.

The kids enjoyed helping mom & dad. This is a picture of just half of the corn we purchased.

Laundry Soap Recipes.....

For those of you who don't know I have been making my own laundry soap for well over 6 months. It has been working very well and saves us a lot of money. I came across I link a week or so ago that has several different laundry soap recipes. The recipe that I use can be found at The Simple Dollar. This other site called the Tip Nut has 10 different laundry soap recipes. It is so easy to make up. I also use Oxi Clean with my whites and let them soak a while because with 3 kids I do get some pretty dirty clothes. I would encourage you to give it a try.

End of the Summer Fun.....

Last week I went in to get my hair cut and the lady asked me if I wanted some tickets to Waterworld and I said sure. They were awesome tickets with FREE admission. The kids had a blast.

Here is a picture of them after all the fun. I think they are ready to go again next summer.

The dog cage is so much fun.....

Well it has been a while since I have planned a menu. I am hoping to get back into it because I really did enjoy knowing what I would be making for the week. Now that the weather is getting cooler I think I will be in the mood to make more hearty meals. So here is what will be cooking for supper at our house this week.

Monday: Cheesy Broccoli & Rice with Chicken

Tuesday: Split Pea & Ham Soup & Homemade Bread

Wednesday: Sloppy Joes, French Fries, String Beans

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Zucchini Pizza Casserole

Saturday: Tacos - kids favorite

Sunday: Belgium Waffles & Sausage

Here is a picture of the new hair cut. I really like it a lot!

A week went by????
Oh how time flies by so quickly. The kids are all better, which has been good. I also canned my first 8 quarts of tomatoes. I think I will be canning a record number of tomatoes this year. I am going to have to keep count. Let see what else have we been up to???? I've been trying to catch up on going through pictures and ordering them. I decided to start ordering print from Walgreen's because they have lots of great sales, which helps cut the cost. I was able to make up a digital scrapbook page and collage for free and just this week they have buy 25 and get 25 free. Also today Brandon had his first day of clinical. He is so happy for school to be starting. This is is last year of school and I know it's going to go by quickly. Oh and lastly I went in and chopped my hair off. I really needed a change and the hubby said I would love to see your hair shorter, so I did it and absolutely love it. I was tired of wearing my hair in a pony tail, which I did most days. Well I need to get off to bed, so that I can be well rested to keep up with my kids tomorrow.

Water Fun.....
The kids have been swimming as much as possible before all the warm weather is gone. The slide sure makes it fun for them and then add in the spinkler and they have a blast.

I found this cool tent and tunnel at a garage sale last weekend for $5. What a deal and the kids have been having lots of fun with it.

Last week Noah was so tired from being sick that he just fell a sleep on the chair. What a cutie:)

Zucchini Fritters....

I posted a new recipe that we tried out the other night on my recipe blog. They were yummy and we will definitely be making them again very soon. To see more about these go here. There are also a couple other zucchini recipes to take a look at.

Change in the Temp......

Today the weather was finally not humid. It was a great day and I enjoyed having the window's open and the air conditioner off. The kids also tried to swim, but decided that it was a bit cold. All last week they spent a lot of time in the swimming pool, since it was really hot & humid. I figured they better get as much swimming in as possible before the hot summer days run out. Wow it's amazing that the summer is about over and fall is just around the corner.

The kids have been working in their school workbooks every morning for the several weeks. Anna has almost finished 2 of the 4 work books that Grandma Kara got her for her B-day. Even Gabriel has been working through books of his own. It's so nice to have the kids ask to do school every morning. I even went to the library with Gabriel and we check out some fun learning books on bugs, sharks and big machine equipment - that ones for Gabe. The kids have been showing special interest in animals lately. Today we caught a really big moth. We thought it was dead for a while and then realized it wasn't. Then this evening it started making a lots of noise and flew away. Anna was sad about that.

The kids have finally recovered from Hand Foot & Mouth Disease. It was a ruff 3 weeks or so, but it is finally over and they are all back to themselves and playing like crazy. I hope to get some pictures up sometime soon. Until then have a great week:)

Ruby......
This is a nice shot of our beagle dog. We use to have two beagles, but it got to be to much with living in town. We actually had some friends that really wanted our Charlie girl, so they have her now. It's works out great because we still get to see you and she also gets to spend more time outside at there house, which I know Charlie loves.

Handmade Bible Cover.....
I have had this small Bible for probably about 12 year or so and the cover was in bad shape. I have been thinking for a while about what I could do and decided yesterday to make just a simple fabric slip cover. So I headed to my fabric stash and came across this pretty colorful fabric, which is heavy duty and will be durable.

I measured from the inside cover around the front, binding, back and inside back cover. I then measured the width and added 1 1/2" to the measurement to the length and width, so the seams would be 3/4". I then cut out two pieces of fabric and sewed up this nice little cover.

It sewed up easily and turned out great. I love it!

Landscaping Plants.....
I was able to get some plants from my mother the last time we went home for a visit. It took me a good week & a half to get them planted, but I finally got it done. Here are a few pictures of the small plants. I am looking forward to seeing how they look at the end of next summer.

I think I have done a pretty good job at keeping the weeds out. Whenever I see one I grab my weed killer and give it a good spray. I'm very happy with the way that it looks.

More Furniture Transformations.....
Here I took a end table and stripped the wood and then gave it a nice stain and a polyurethane finish. It looks a lot nicer and didn't cost me much at all.

Before:

After:

Here's also another stand that I had gotten from my parents, which was my Grandma's at one time. Unfortunately, I didn't take a before picture of it, but let me say it was in ruff shape, but stripping it did the trick. I then also stained it and gave it a polyurethane finish and it looks brand new.

Pictures to make you smile......

Furniture Transformation......

I got this end table from my mom and dad. It was just sitting out in there garage and I thought that I could use it, so I decided to bring it home and make it look nicer then it did. I first gave it a good coat of primer.

I then asked my hubby what color I should paint it and he said to use this green color. I actually got this can of paint for free because I had signed up at some paint website. So far the cost of this piece of furniture was pennies.

I think it turned out pretty good. I just need to find some handles for the doors that are on each end. It's not only a great stand that could be used for many things, but it has some great storage to.

More then a Minute Needed.....

I am going to need even more grace now because my 2nd child Gabriel is getting sick. I took Gabe's temperature earlier today and it was 102.8. This is only the beginning. I'm sure in a few days he will be getting sores in his mouth.

Anna's sore have been getting worse. Her breath smells so bad that it's hard to even talk to her. I have brushed her teeth a few times, but it's hard when her mouth hurts so bad. I sure hope she gets better soon. She did get to enjoy some very small bite size pieces of Monkey Bread today.

Taking a Minute.....

It has been a busy week. Anna has been sick with Hand, Foot & Mouth disease. Unfortunately her mouth is just covered in sores, which has made eating a challenge for her. She has also been running a low grade fever, which has also been making her tired. Poor Girl! Luckily the boys have not gotten it, which I hope they don't.

Then on Wednesday Morning my hubby hurt his lower back so he has been off of work all week. It is slowly getting better, but he still has a hard time getting around. It has been a week of doctor's appointments for him between his back and getting ready to go back for his last year of Nursing school.

For me I have been staying busy with stripping, priming, and painting some furniture that needed a little help in between taking care of the family. I will post some pictures of the projects as I get them done. Now that I'm on a roll I'm not sure anyone can stop me.

Weekend Fun.....

We just got back yesterday around lunch time. We had a nice time visiting family & friends. The kids got to go on lots of tractor rides, which they all enjoyed.

We went out to my brothers acreage and the kids had a blast playing with there cousins.

They jumped on a huge trampoline,

roasted marshmallow over a fire and ate some smores,

played with sand and Gabe's favorite part was probably the caterpillar digger & wagon.

What great times we all had.

Other things we did.....

We ate lots of red raspberries, which Gabe could not get enough of...

made chocolate chip cookies, which Noah finished up a bit of the dough.....

the kids got to go fishing with mommy and grandpa.....

and on the ride home they slept a bit because they were so tired from all the activity.