The End Of Blogtober...

So it's October 31st. This marks the end of Blogtober. 31 days, 31 posts.

It's also Hallowe'en.

Boy2 noticed I was eating some Reese's Peices and asked 'Why are you eating more candy mom?'

My response [trying to be funny, take no offense please] 'I'm fat so I have to eat candy to keep up with my fat-ness!' as I put two more pieces into my mouth...

What does boy2 say? 'Mom... I'm fat so I have to keep up with my fatness too!'

Husband and I could not help but laugh!!  I promptly emptied the rest of my tiny bag of Reese's Pieces and put them all in boy2's mouth :) 

Thanks for joining me on the 31 Blogtober journey!

TheEND

my list...

my list of 1000+ gifts continues...

... grace from God

... a warm house to stay in when it is windy and blustery outside

... even warmer blankets to lounge under

... a fully stocked pantry

... a well-lit main living area even on a cloudy day (so no lights need to be turned on!)

... sleeping in on a saturday morning, even if it is just until 830

... God's word to read - anytime, anywhere

... and the freedom to do so

... hot coffee in my starbucks mug [keeps it warmer longer than a regular mug & I am less likely to spill too]

... costume party with a few of boy2&3's little friends - UBER cute!

... pizza night to come with new&old friends

... dreaming&praying of different plans for our life & how GOD will actually make that happen

... text messaging

... the ability to help those who need it, whether they think so or not

... watching boy2's love of hockey grow more&more when he spends hours each day in the basement, stick in hand, shooting around

those are #43 to #58

Poll Question

So here is UglyChair as we will call her. She is one of four in her posse.  There are endless possibilities with these chairs and I have already felt on more than one occasion that they should be gifted to MCC to someone who needs them. But then we have company over, or decide to put away little one's high chair & put the booster on a chair then we find a use for them pretty quick... we need them.

Fabric.com has a HUGE selection of fabrics at decent prices and so many many options for what could be done with them. I am partial to blue and so chose that as a color I wanted in one of my fabrics. Below are a few options. On the back is: Vintage Suede Celery, the seat is Waverly Leaf Garland Spa. We will call this Option A.



The Waverly Leaf Garland Spa is NOT an option with the original seat fabric... just sayin & provin a point...

Here is the Waverly Garland Leaf Spa on the back with Waverly Loops & Swirls Spa on the seat. I call this Option B.

Here is the Garland Leaf on the back, Vintage Suede on the seat. Option C.

Swirls on the back, Vintage Suede on the seat. Option D.

I forgo to snap a picture with Vintage Suede on the back and Swirls on the seat, that shall be Option E.

So there are four chairs. I would like to do two chairs the same, and the other two the same, yet differing from the first two. Comprende? Problem is, not sure if I want print on back, solid on seat, or solid on back, print on seat, or different print on each. Help!  Answer the poll on the side with your fave look, then I will choose the top two and do that to the chairs!! Feel free to discuss in the comments with your opinions as well, thanks :) 

After deciding the fabric, I need help doing the BACK of the chair. That is the hardest part... stink.

Tater do?

In the environmentalist's eyes this is a BIG tater DON'T. But, since my husband likes his taters this way, and needs to eat when I am not around to cook for him, it is a Tater DO in our house.

Wash two potatoes.

Dry those potatoes good.

This good ole baked potato bag was purchased at a craft sale last year and a great stuffed in his stuffing for Christmas :)  Directions are below.

Pop those taters into the bag. There are two, so I miked them for 5 minutes.

Can you tell they are in there?

Here is the lovely result. Evenly cooked potatoes. These are smothered in sour cream.

And there you have it! A quick potato fix. When husband was single he would have this, corn right out of the can and some scrumptious farmer sausage :)

Enjoy!

See more at Prairie Story's Recipe Swap Thursday

wordless wednesday

 one...

HUGE

fire.

wordless wednesday

praying

boy2 praying at dinner - "god is good, how i wonder what you are... amen"

boy

SK8R Skooter boy.

1000 and more gifts...

#29-#42

of 1000 gifts...

sweet sweet kisses from boy3 that now sound like 'mwaah!'

a partner to work out with on a sunday evening (thanks hubby)

motivation to work out after a long sunday

clean dishes

HUGE pot of soup ready for us to eat when we got home from church this morning... (time for morning prep!)

fuel for our bonfire last night [oil to start AND scrap wood to burn]

great company enjoying said bonfire

a blog post for every day of october so far... [not sure they are all labelled properly though ;)  ]

boy1's first hockey game of the year, ending in victory 11-3

two goals in boy1's first game, and he plays defense!

holding a newborn, week old baby in my arms

time with extended family in the city

snow in the forecast :)

Hello Ugly

Hello Ugly Chair. My mission is to make you beautiful. The fabric is ready, now to get my post up for all to vote for how we are going to transform you!

Can you believe I have had these chairs for SIX years?!? My dad was gracious enough to get them for me since I already had a table.  And I am learning to make do with what I have so the chairs stay but pretty fabric will cover the ugliness :)

Stay tuned...

Where Am I?

I am lost.  I have NO idea where on Earth I am.  I am a mother, a wife, contractor, saleswoman, entrepreneur, friend, aunt, sister, daughter, cousin, niece, child of Christ, chef, maid.

As I said, I am lost.  Lost in all of those roles that I forget ME.  I don't even know who ME is.  When ME time occurs, I do things I think I may like.  Blog, facebook, email, watch tv, craft, read... But never satisfied.  All that is ME with kids.  ME as a wife.  Where is ME as ME?

What is the remedy?  Prayer about this, daily reading of the Bible to know how to response when it's time and obeying.  Yeah, not just one day here and one day there.  Like brushing your teeth two or three times a week instead of every day (or twice a day!), it's something that needs to be done every day and with flossing!  You reduce cavities that way :)

And what on earth am I doing sharing it with all of you?  I have no clue.  I want to get it out there, for all to hear.  Maybe someone is feeling somewhat like that ME syndrome.  Perhaps something else in my rants, raves and everything in between has peeked your curiosity! Perhaps someone feels a need to even pray for me and with me (that would be GREAT by the way!)

Whatever it may be, remember! We are more then just a mom, or sister or daughter. After the kids are grown up and out of the house, or even all in school... It is going to be more then just wiping bums and faces all day.  I'm excited and nervous for what God has planned for ME.

**this was sitting partially unfinished & unpublished since spring so i thought that it would be nice to finish it off and finally publish since it is something that means a lot to me. getting to know ME, without the other roles attached to the rest of it**

Recipe Swap Thursday

Thursday. Another Blogtober Day, another blog. I did blog over at the other blog already but I want to participate in Prairie Story's Recipe Swap #8.

WARNING: I didn't totally photograph this cooking throw down with intentions of blogging it & joining a recipe swap with it.  So keep that in mind when you notice the lack of professionalism AND measurements. ;)

We hosted Thanksgiving this year (Canadian October Thanksgiving!) and since I LOVE stuffing/dressing, there was a lot of it leftover.  Ok and I will admit that I was getting sick of eating it everyday and craved something different for it... hello to the throw down! I use what I have and will mention any substitutes possible as we go along...

First - the base...

I had 1-2 pounds of lean ground pork in the freezer, cooked it up with a chopped onion, some seasoning such as garlic (fresh or ground), basil, oregano, or cheater style Italian seasoning.  Chicken breasts, or ground beef would work well too.

Added 2 cups of frozen veggie mix. Add more if you are a veggie lover, any veggie will be fine!  Fresh works too!  Cook on medium until veggies are at least thawed... or soft.

Next - the saucy part:

Mr. Campbell, I can never get sick of you.  Cream of Mushroom soup. Plop it in a large bowl [or in my case HUGE measuring cup]

Next add 1/2 cup of sour cream. Totally optional and not a necessity, just add more milk later on if needed...

Add milk.

This came to 3 cups in TOTAL. See?

Whisk it up until there are no chunks.

I also had some leftover gravy that I was okay parting with. Again, totally optional. It did add a bit more flavor to the dish since it was made from some yummy stock...

Now you can either pour your wet mixture into the pan of meat & veggies and give it a good ole stir, (warm it up on the stove too if you are in a hurry and need to get the cookin process going!) or you can pour it into your baking dish... see mine?

and put the meat/veggie mix in the dish and stir it in there.

Can't forget the stuffing!

I had about 3-4 cups, enough to have a nice layer cover my baking dish. You can also use Stove Top stuffing or no stuffing at all and put your fave mashed potatoes on top!  Whatever you want. It's versatile.

Here it is!

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Delish! Great served with mashed potatoes or over rice...

Ingredients needed:
Meat - ground pork or beef, or chicken breasts.
Veggies - fresh or frozen, your choice.
Cream of Mushroom Soup
Sour Cream
Milk
Gravy
Stuffing

If you REALLY want, you can grate some mozza cheese to put in the base or sprinkle on top. I would have done this too because I LOVE cheese but didn't take out my block of cheese outta the freezer in time.

That's it!  Maybe next time it will

Swagbucks

I just added my swagbucks button to my sidebar in hopes of referring some of you to this system! You download a toolbar and search with it, then ta-da! You earn swagbucks to redeem later on for awesome prizes :)  It's pretty random and you won't win swag bucks every time, but since downloading it a few days ago, I already have 107 points ;)

vlog tuesday

vlog tuesday! snacks & jillian & the caribbean... oh yes! you'll have to watch it to see what i'm talkin about.



no, boy2 aka JJ didn't get me the triscuits. balsamic and basil, not vinaigrette! and yes. i am not a great vlogger but it comes with PRACTICE!

18 posts in 18 days oh my!

what is today's topic you might ask?

nothing.

coffee withdrawal is making my head pound and it's only gotten worse tonight!  so that's it :)

goodnight.

STUFF it...

in the stocking that is!!

I was watching TV tonight and a commercial popped up and I realized there is at LEAST one more thing I could add to that gift giving list... I will continue the series of GIFT it by adding THIS:

Lindt Lindor Chocolates. YUM yum yum...

more to come.

would this be on YOUR list?

GIFT it.

darling husband... this list is for you. to ease the stress of online shopping for myself and maybe for other husbands/friends out there who need ideas as well...

#1 - knit cowl. three words... to.die.for.
this gal is a cloth diaper addict [how we got to know her a bit] and is one of our great customers. super sweet. funny. genuine. she made this. and i drool.

red mobius handknit cowl. $50. also in cozy purple, cozy green and warm taupe. delish. one red, and one purple please!

#2&3 - from another local artistan & friend... jewelry!

creamy white freshwater pearl earrings. scrumptious. $16. great stocking stuffer!

don't forget the matching necklace! $22.

#4&5 - we'll saunter off the path of wear it pretty-ness here and lean towards some techie pretty-ness - twenty ten stuff... i am thinking for boy1 that a ...

re-furbed ipod touch 8gb is more than enough for him :) $169.

and for this mamma - i am willing to give dear husband my lg phone to upgrade...

to an iphone... please please please please?!? looks the same doesn't it? BUT it is a phone too ;) now at the price of $659, this isn't exactly in our budget, nor would it EVER be, but on a 3 year term with a cell company that price gets lowered ALOT. convince you yet dear hubby?

next!

#6&7 - now something that will not directly benefit me, except to make that warm fuzzy feeling inside...

a CHICKEN! $16. this gives one chicken to one family. meaning INCOME, EGGS, MANURE for the veggie gardens. compassion canada has more options too. not just chickens. but man oh man can you just imagine the look on that family's face when they are told they get a CHICKEN? ecstatic i'm sure.

what about a SOCCER BALL?

having three boys - this is all i know - kids LOVE balls. it can entertain them for hours. $10. they don't even know they are learning. they just know it's fun :)

there is so much more in compassion's catalog, go take a gander. there are cows, vaccinations, baking supplies and a computer, just to name a few...

#8 - some good quality MEC socks, that you KNOW will last more than one season. sad that this is lacking in my dresser drawer [more fortunate than some right? but still a very needed & appreciated gift...] but really, they are SOCKS. and these are not brand particular because i have no idea what these smart wool socks are like. note to men: if you're gonna buy socks, make sure they are GOOD ones!

#9 - some don't like to ask for household items, especially for the kitchen but i don't mind when it is something that makes my life 100% easier... hello pampered chef!

pastry mat, mix&chop

#10 - last but not least some good smelly stuff! my bff who moved a few provinces away is a Scentsy consultant. look at this!!

love love LOVE the trees :) and i bet the maple butter smells delish too!
can't wait till i get my own and can proudly put it on my counter (or in the stinky boys bathroom ;)

that's it for now!

vlog - first edition

so this is officially my first vlog. short & sweet. maybe there will be more, maybe there won't be. we'll see... the lighting is awful because i took it at night and only had a bit of light going on. the picture is a silly one too, and i still have my painting clothes on ;)

epic fail.

my status - take it as you will

"not gonna lie... you suck!"

true story...

have a vlog post to upload later today, watch for it!

thursday

I will have to look back but I am hoping that I didn't miss a day with my 'Blogtober Challenge.'  It has been a struggle getting them done on time, that's for sure! It is also a struggle keeping everything so positive because it is much easier for me to put the negative things going on in my brain/life into a blog post rather then the fuzzy feel good things :)  So here goes the 1000 gifts again: #23-#28.

lil boy3 bringing his latest favorite book to sit on my lap to read,

or to just look at the pictures, telling me what he sees...

a dr that has an appointment available same day for boy2 after two days in a row waking up with hives...

benadryl that takes away those hives...

warm mid-october days that allow t-shirts to be worn...

the cool chilly wind that reminds me it really is fall [esp when the sun disappears behind the clouds!]

annual tradition

this annual tradition includes a chicken, beer and a bbq. YUM. i also got 22 cups of chicken stock out of it afterwards!
[the bbq beer contraption in a box helps too]

never quitting.

never quitting, just moving on.

there are many things in my life that i lose my passion for, lose the LOVE for.

it could take a day, a week, a month, a year or more...

i never know if it is my nature to find that hobby [or whatever] and then throw it to the side for the next up and coming thing. it just never LASTS.  and there are four things on my plate right now that i just want to say I'M DONE and move on.

God has placed these things very strategically on my lap knowing it will be exactly ---------->this<----------- long until it is put away and onto the next. He has made me this way and i am still not comfortable with it! 

is this something that i can work on? for sure.

is it something that SHOULD be prayed over more and more? YES YES YES.

does it affect anyone besides me? yes. it involves my family and depending on the situation, others too... this is the part that makes it even harder to step away sometimes...

i have had a headache all day today and not sure if it is stress related but it would sure be nice if the hot bath & tylonel i had would make it go away...

on with another day... 

#13 - 22

#1000 gifts continued...

medicine that takes away mysterious hives...

eating one end of another's toast because they don't like that side of the crust...

awaiting the packages that come from the fedex guy that include items to make me see a little better ;)

the crumbs that fall to the floor no matter how many times i sweep/vacuum...

friends that call requesting prayer...

my 1000gifts

the chills i get knowing that Christ is with me always! [this is often my sign when i feel him]

boy2 asking to get boy3 out of his room/crib then...

boy2 singing boy3's name back to him through the door after boy3 coos...

lazy mornings/days on a three day weekend... [four for boy1]

continual thanks...

I am thankful for the gifts of... [ #3-#12 of 1000 endless gifts...]

Indian summer - that lasts long after the beginning of fall...

Siblings that bicker, fight, scream, cry and play well together...

A home with enough room to host a Thanksgiving gathering...

Plenty of food to eat...

A God that gives me ALL I need...

boys who are intrigued by documentaries about bugs, and bears...

a love of hockey that lasts for hours upon hours each day in our basement...

cuddles in the early morning...

comforting tea that brings back memories of gramma & grampaF.

a three day weekend to spend that extra day with the husband...

rocking chair that is meant for one but can easily fit two, three or even four...

a nice summer day...

this is how we spent our saturday. a nice summer day in . . . October! so rare.

around this time last year husband took the kids outside to build a SNOWMAN with the freshly fallen snow.
Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for the gifts of being blessed with a wonderful family.  Thankful for the gift of this gorgeous weather to enjoy...

1000gifts. 1&2.

worn out...
8th day of Blogtober.

rewind

Ah yes, Sunday was the snotty noses and Mexican food that I neglected to blog about. Hopefully I can continue to re-read my previous posts to remember what I have promised to blog about since my memory resembles 'MOM-nesia'. True story.

Snotty noses - involved half a box of kleenex and tiny tots who are too young to wipe their own noses...Don't get me wrong, they are all pretty cute and I love hanging out with them and seeing their personalities develop!

Mexican food - a dear friend is about to have a baby [due yesterday actually] and invited a few ladies out for one last HURRA! before said baby comes. Mexican food = YUM! and the games afterwards was fun too!!

it will just BE...

as crazy as yesterday was it is REALLY nice to just be at home today and catch up on emails. new twitter peeps. dishes. inputting orders from saturday's trade show. avoiding facebook like the plague. reading my daily bible passages (maybe two since i am behind and want to start doing todays date as well...) 

and so even though today seems like a pretty lax day, it for sure isn't and has a mile long list attached to it. especially now that we have agreed to host thanksgiving this weekend!  i am excited yet nervous everytime i have people over for dinner... i know it will go over well though and will be even better if i start working on things TODAY. it would be really nice to have homemade buns so that is my aim for today. yum. homemade bread is divine and i REALLY love it fresh outta the oven with butter. it's getting to that point [and the dishes afterwards] that is the harder part... but worth it in the end! 

another goal i have is to have at least two of my 'new' chairs complete. i hope to post about them once they are done. new chairs then NEW table. but chairs come first. i can't wait!!

this is day six of 31 of Blogtober 2010. 

put faith in Him...

today was a crazy silly outta [my] control sorta day.

this was the plan: boy1 goes to school, then off to big city with boy2 and boy3, zoo, errands, go home in time for boy1 to get back from school.

ha! no such luck.  we had runny noses for the past three days and the coughs began yesterday for boy1 and boy2. well this morning, ALL the way to the big city boy3 coughs. and coughs. and coughs. ok, i thought. lets go to the walkin. so we go. this means no zoo. sorry playdate gals!

go in. doc tells us boy2 needs to go back on his orange inhaler twice a day for another week and see his ped in 7 days. ok. then boy3 is recommended to go to children's emergency because he is working pretty stinkin hard at breathing in and out. may need ventalin to open his airways.

ok God, i'm thinking. this is it! it's all you. i have complete faith that you are going to make my boys better. i will do anything i can right now to make that happen.  so boy2 goes off to grams and gramps while i take boy3 to children's. totally not freakin out since this is like deja vu when we did it two years ago with boy2.

i have linked facebook with my phone to text in status updates so i sent out a request for prayer because we needed it!!  and i am not afraid to ask for it once in a while.

so we go in, spend three hours there. two doses of ventalin [and a quick nap to go with it, made the mask better since he was sleepy already!], one dose of steroids, then another to take home for thursday.

he doesn't have it bad enough to be classified as brochiolitis as boy2 did at this age, apparently it's just wheezing and a cough/cold. he gets a blue inhaler for when he has coughing fits and needs help opening the airways again... 

on top of that, i was trying to arrange it so that someone to take boy1 after school or at least carpool could keep him till i got back. pressed for time we got out of the hospital, [$10 parking fee later!] picked up boy2, [thank you grams and gramps SO much!!] took prescription into pharmacy for husband to pick up after work... [not without boy2 saying he had to go pee while we were in line then making a puddle one minute later UGH!]  rush home to get boy1 [thank you wonderful carpool friend who was okay with boy1 being over till we got into town!] and attempt to make supper with a few cranky&sick&short napped children at my feet [not without creating a FIRE in the toaster oven from the cheese that had melted from last time we used it].

breathe breathe breathe.

needless to say i had a lil break outside to catch my breath and send a prayer up to God asking for a calm approach to the chaos that ensued inside!  and it worked. bedtime routine started earlier which meant kids were IN bed by/or before bedtime since it was totally needed...

phew! so glad the day is over. i was toast by 930 on the couch and can't even remember which pvr'd show i was watching when i zonked out... 

tomorrow will be SO much better...

tea granny

thank you grammaF for instilling in me a love of tea.  and thank you david's tea for bringing that tea to my mug & replacing the coffee once in a while ;)

now to stop drooling and longing for all the accessories and flavours...

day 4 of 31 in a row complete.

Blogtober «day three of 31»

This whirlwind weekend has me settled into another quick blog post - but this time more detail :)

Monday began day ONE of FIVE in a row for hockey practice/camp for boy1. By Thursday I was DONE with taking him and threatened to keep him home, well no, he wouldn't have any of it and practically begged to go... And this was not a good choice because by the time we got home he was Mr. Groucho - overtired - exhausted - worn out and decided tomorrow he would NOT go to practice. This time he didn't have a choice since we offered to bring another friend there as well...  Friday came, husband came home in time from work to bring both boys and boy2 too... phew! An evening at home so I can at least get the dishes done before we headed out to a friend's to help them celebrate their boys 2nd birthday...

Hello Saturday!  I was up bright and early to get ready to head to a Trade Show for my business... Now when your alarm clock's first digit is a 5, that is WAY too early to get up, showered and going...  I honestly haven't done that in a long time!  Leave before 7 to meet with friend and old 'bus buddy' to get to the trade show aka shopper's paradise in time. 10-3 was the show and we were on the road again back to the city and back home to attend a friend's lil ones birthday party. Oh yes, did I mention boy1 had a party from 12-4?!? Yes, three parties in two days. That better not become a habit around here!!

All partying aside it was REALLY nice to hang out with friends the last few days...  tomorrow I will blog about today's adventures.... snotty noses and mexican food along with a ticket to ride!

Ahha!  Post three of 31 completed before the clock struck midnight. To bed I go!

Blogtober «day two of 31»

These are the type of posts that occur when access is only available after the day is over...

[[short & sweet]]

happy saturday ;)

Blogtober - A Challenge!

31 posts in 31 days.  Pam is doing it and asked if anyone else would?  Tammy is doing it too. So... I am going to as well!! 

This is dAy OnE: