Simple Inspirations

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet jesus  *la la la la la*…..should I quit my day job…oh wait.  I don’t have a day job….BWAHAHAHAHA!

On the 18th was our 9th Anniversary, which we celebrated with lobster and shrimp and video games. It was nice.

Christmas came and went with much hurrah.  Christmas was great this year, the girls got spoiled silly….polly, pet shop, crafts, clothes, hulk gloves (for Freedom of course) and Ds’s all around.  Asher even opened his own gifts this year (and several others gifts as well, he loves to be helpful), Abby was so excited it was adorable.  I bought video tapes to video tape it and forgot.  My Grandma who is not doing to well (although she is feisty so put nothing past her) and was hospitalized over Christmas….we missed her. 

We celebrated Christmas at my Mom in laws first, and had a yummy dinner (of which I ate mostly mixed nuts and chocolates before dinner) and we watched a great movie (a Will Smith one, can’t recall the name..pursuit of happiness perhaps??).  The kids went sledding in the backyard onto the little lake and came in red cheeked and hungry.

Xmas eve we greeted at church, and then came home and watched a movie with the kids and had hot cholocate and snacks. The girls each opened a gift before bed.  In the morning we read the nativity story together before opening Mom and Dad gifts.  My Mom and brother came for more gift opening and Christmas Dinner.  Which I said I would supply minus a turkey.  My awesome Mom showed up with everything but potatoes.  It was yummy (especially the dressing, she makes great dressing it is one of the reasons I love her so much). We played, we ate, we cleaned.  We also realized that by this time we had outgrown our house.  We collectively bought Asher and Abby a collection of tunnels and tents (they are climbers, crawlers and buriers) and although they love them they take up the front entryway, the hallway and part of the dining room.  But they do love them.  I will have to post a picture of it all up one day with them in it.

Yesterday the boys went shopping and me and the four girls (yes Abbykins too) went to see High School Musical 3.  Its a great movie and the girls loved it.  Abby even loved it, sat on my knee through the whole thing eatting her twizzlers and popcorn.  She didn’t even ask to pee (and neither did Freedom!!).  Me and Daddy followed the day out with a Spyro night.  Yes, I play video games until 2 or 4 in the morning when I get the chance.  Once my new term starts the party is over so I try to fit it all in in a few days!

Anyhoo, supper time and I should probably quit yakking away.  Its a weakness.  I could talk the ear off an elephant. I apologize in advance for typo’s I forgot to spell check this one (and my fingers are faster than my brain )  )

this happens

Yup, my little man turned one, and he is the cutest one year old ever (although I admit I may be prejudiced, a bit).  I have included in this post something I find relevant to him turning one, his developing personality.  He is NAUGHTY!  Not bad naughty, but into everything watch out here I some hide the valuables naughty.  The first two pictures tell a common (every five minutes) story, making a mess..and happy about it.

The second pics are from his birthday, he had his own little lemon pie (find a cake without milk, butter, applesauce) which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Yup, another great giveaway from an AWESOME girl.  Leah (lou) is giving away $150 worth of Cosmo Cicket goodies on her blog. You will totally want to check it out and leave a comment to make sure you get your name in the drawing, not to mention check out her amazing mini album she is posting as an ongoing class!

http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/

Every year I am so moved by the news..how many families do not lose everything around the holiday seasons, losing their homes, their christmas, thier precious belongings. It is so important to remember to be fire safe.  If you need some help check out Liberty Mututal’s Fire Smart Website.  They have a ton of tips and games to make sure that you do all you can do . 

Did you know children under 5 are more likely to die in a fire than anyone else?  That 80% of fires begin in the home usually in the kitchen, and over 50% are preventable! How sad is that!  More, over 80% of parents ADMIT that their families are less than prepared for a fire..simple things like a safe meeting place, a fire exit plan, reviewing drop low and go rules can SAVE LIVES.  It may seem, unimportant, or easy to put off, but will you ever really feel the need to go over these things until it is too late.  Be honest with yourselves, its like seatbelts…afterthought doesn’t bring back lives.  Do you really want your one regret to be you never took the 5 minutes it takes ot prepare your family for a fire? The site even has downloadable sheets outlining hazards and to make your own escape plan.

For the little ones the site has games they can play, coloring sheets to print off, and some little videos they can view! They can take home of hazard tour with you and together you can get fire safe.

Checking out this site will only take a few minutes, so make sue to make the time and do it today, before its too late!

I meant for this all to be in a about four posts, but I have been crazy busy and tidying up to get ready for the kids new toys.

A few shots of our favorite family tradition..cookies, even Chey still likes it!

The cutest elf ever!

Ashers new place to play..not the safest, but he likes it.  He climbs in every chance he gets, and gets MAD when you close the door if you see him coming! And his favorite past time…dedecorating the tree and seeing if the ornaments are edible )

And my creative project..I am SO out of the loop, but its alright, I had fun.

Through Mom Central I got try out this scrumptious little morsel..the ultimate party meatball.  Sounds enticing eh? 

What is most enticing is how SIMPLE they are to make, and how much easier they are to eat ( and even feed to the picky eaters!!).  Wanna know how easy it is…2 pounds frozen precooked meatballs (or if like me you prefer fresh, I used 1 pound of hamburger, an onion, some garlic salt, cracker crumbs and an egg to make my own) throw in a can of Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce and Heinz Chili Sauce.  Cook the two ingredients together until smooth then add meatballs and cook for about 15 minutes (until the meatballs are heated through).  I used the electric frying pan my FIL bought me (thanks!!!)  and cooked them for about 45 minutes while I was doing some other things, on about 250.  In a slow cooker throw it in and cook on high for about 4 hours on high. 

These little balls of joy are tangy, they have a pleasant bite and whats more they FIT THE BUDGET.  The two jars that it takes to make this sauce (which tastes like you have cooked it forever) are worth the investment. I you have someone to impress, a raise your looking for or just want to make sure that your inlaws know your an AWESOME cook, try em out.

Wanna check out some other yummy things…click HERE to visit the Ultimate Party Meatballs site, there are a ton of great entertaining suggestions and YUMMY recipes (baked brie and the chili are my faves) and don’t forget to enter the sweepstakes (my american friends). 

The van won’t start, minus 46 celcius..wonder why??

Today is the day I sit down and make myself about 10 batches of carmel corn, that is about 9 ice cream pails worth, or 16 coffee tins.  I make it for my family, the teachers and anyone else I think needs a boost.  This year I am also going to try and make two devotional journals for some special ladies ..that is my creative project.  I was also trying to make these tiles as a gift, Tilano Tiles..but they don’t work!  I followed the directions and my image won’t stick to the tiles so I need to come up with plan B!

I know I have put on SOME weight (ahem ahem) but it all fell into perspective when Wendell told me a little story from taking Abby out.  He was somewhere with her and there was a Madagascar 2 poster up on the wall, Wendell asks her several of the animals, to which she names most of them mostly right.  He gets to Gloria (the hippo) and asks her who that is and she says "MOMMY!" Really now?

that made me laugh…

"You can’t make footprints in the sands of time if you’re sitting on your butt. And who wants to make buttprints in the sands of time?"