Friday Five

1. I think I have gotten all my shopping for the kids done for this year. I am sure it will be a good Christmas for them and that is what matters to me.
2. I plan to decorate for christmas tomorrow after i clean the girl's rooms. Princess Belle asked why clean first and I said I didn't see making parts of the house look pretty when parts of it were a disaster.
   
3. I have gotten used to drinking percolated decaf coffee. As long as I have one cup of regular coffee in the mornings, decaf will do it for me the rest of the time.
4. I have to admit that I am not always great on my diabetic diet these days. When those pregnancy cravings kick in, it is hard to stand strong and say NO.
5. I have no idea why my children will put their pillows and blankets on the floor and sleep on there beside their bed??? I feel like such a bad mommy when I walk in and see my little girls sleeping on the floor!
   

Friday Five

1. Well, my headache has eased up. That is definitely a good thing!
   
2. I even got out of the house to meet with a group of pregnant moms. It was kind of fun. I like any opportunity to get out of the house.
   
3. I seem to be doing okay with my diabetes control right now. At least the diet has stopped making me sick.
4. The girls are doing really well. They like to play in their rooms when they are supposed to be sleeping, but once they go to sleep, they tend to stay that way and sleep in enough in the mornings for me to have a nice cup of coffee and breakfast in quiet.
   
5. I have taken to giving the girls a bath most mornings. They like it so much that it is a cheerful way to wake them up. And they are just so cute playing in the bathtub together. I have to laugh because Princess Snifflefritz is so small that a lot of times, she starts to float when she is trying to sit. She is just too cute.
   

Friday Five

1. I can't wait until the snow goes away and I can take my girls to the park. I can't wait to set them free running in the open grass and then set me free with a camera capturing the glorious freedom of summer.
2. I am slowly getting things done for the move. It is stressful beyond belief and doing it with sick babies is horrible.
   
3. At this moment, I am making bread, making muffins, and making coffee. I am NOT however packing. I should be and I will be, but I am TIRED.
4. I will be so glad when this move is over. I can't wait to get to town. There are so many things I am looking forward to.
5. This will be the first time I lived in St. John's with my own vehicle. The freedom is going to be amazing!!!!
   

Mexi-style Hash Brown Casserole

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 pkg mushrooms (optional)
2 cloves garlic
chili powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste
2 cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/4 cup sour cream
1 package Hash Browns (I used a little less than one full pack)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Combine the ground beef, mushrooms, garlic and onion in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until beef is no longer pink, and the onion is translucent. Drain off excess grease, and add seasonings.
3. Return to the heat, and stir in the cheese soups, until well blended. Heat through, and remove from stove and stir in sour cream. Transfer the mixture to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Combine ground beef mixture with a layer of Hash Browns.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven. When the fries are golden brown, remove the casserole from the oven, and sprinkle cheese over the top. Return to the oven, and bake just until cheese has melted.

Friday Five

1. The girls were really quiet and so I went in to check on them. When I got there, I discovered them both in the playpen, playing together. Princess Magpie had dragged her little sister in the playpen with her so that they could play in there. Pretty amazing for a 15 month old and a 2 1/2 year old.
   
2. There are times when Princess Magpie just seems to need a time out. She will be playing and having fun with everyone and then when she is overwhelmed she heads off into her room and locks herself in. She knows she can't get out but she insists on locking herself in there by herself until she knocks that she is ready to get out.
3. Yesterday morning, I looked around and there was a machine making bread (I was too busy with sick babies to do it by hand), a machine washing clothes, a machine making coffee, a machine washing dishes, and I sitting down to drink a cup of coffee and use another machine to talk to people. It made me laugh, thinking about how machines are doing a lot of the hard work for me these days.
4. Things are looking good for this move. We are getting organized and getting things planned. I am really hopeful this move will be less stressful that some of the past have been. There is a possibility that I will have a place to live by the end of the day. (keep your fingers crossed)
   
5. I have one baby is almost better and one baby who is just getting sick. They both need cuddling and loving and now mommy is starting to feel sick. I looked around at the chaos they create when they were playing and I was feeling too yucky to fix it, I just laughed at how they tear everything apart and then play among the chaos, reading books amidst the pillows, sitting on couch cushions to take a moment to watch a show.
   
   
   

Friday Five

I have been waffling a bit about the coming homeschool year, trying to make the best decisions regarding Princess Belle's curriculum, but I made some final decisions and I am very confident in them. I am even excited about the coming year.

Prince Charming has a job interview this week. Wish him luck! It will mean great things for us and I am really hopeful that he will get it.

Princess Magpie seems to be getting a little less jealous of Princess Snifflefritz lately. She hates to hear her cry and is quicker to help her out and give her things instead of taking things from her all the time. It is sweet to see.



I have come up with a cute solution regarding the carpet in the living room and kids snacks. I get out a blanket and they have a picnic in the living room. they get a kick out of it and it protects the carpet. I only wish I had come up with this idea when we first moved here! (ignore the mess you see creeping in on the edge of this pic, I haven't had a chance to clean up their other messy bits yet)



I made a fun supper for my family yesterday that was a big hit. When I made bread, I made one loaf on a round cookie sheet and made it a big round loaf. After it was cooked, I cut it in two, scooped out some of the center (saved for bread crumbs) and filled the center with pizza type fillings, a little tomato sauce, some deli meats, some cheese and some cooked ground beef. Then I heated it up. When I was done it looked a little like a giant hamburger, but Prince Charming said it tasted like a homemade oven-sub. They only managed to eat half of it and ate the rest of it for breakfast and lunch today! I have a pic of it (notice the teaspoon to compare size)

Friday Five

1. I actually got to sleep in until 7 am this morning. I was so excited to wake up and see the time on the clock. It is so much nicer than waking up at 5 am after having gotten up several times at night!
2. I got energetic and moved the couches and vacuumed underneath them today. I also let the girls bring a blanket in the living room and have a picnic for lunch. It was cute and they had fun.
3. I made muffins yesterday. The girls loved them and they were actually healthy.
   
4. Due to Prince Charming's job situation, we had the hassle adventure of trying to shop for groceries with half our usual money to last twice as usual. So, it made for an interesting trip to the grocery store. I think I did okay. I was very frugal and bought things that I could make into things instead of buying premade things.
   
5. We did well in homeschool today. After we were done, Princess Belle kept reading the books because she was enjoying them so much.
   

Healthy Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cups instant oats
* 1/2 cup oatbran cereal
* 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 3/4 tsp baking soda
* pinch of salt
* 1 cup applesauce
* 2/3 cup water
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 tbsp oil
* 1 egg
* 1 cup finely chopped apple
* 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

How to make it

* Mix dry ingredients, add remaining. Batter should be lumpy.
* Fill greased (I use cooking spray) muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.
* Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Friday Five - My Girls Together

I am feeling a little tired today so I thought I would share a friday five of five pics of my girls spending time together. I just enjoy them together so much!

Friday Five

1. I took Princess Magpie to see a speech specialist today. She said that most of her speech is just fine, however she was concerned about her ability to comprehend some things. So she is going to see her again. She is also going to get her in to see a pediatrician regarding her obsessiveness.
2. I got my best Christmas present of the year early! I got a new camera! I can't wait to give it a try. And it's cord should work with my old broken camera to get the pics off.
3. How does anyone with three kids ever keep their house tidy??? I am constantly trying to keep on top of the carpet and the living room. I swear, I really need to come up with some solutions to try to fix this up a bit.
4. Until after Christmas, I have given up on finishing my little pile of boxes in the basement that were in storage in our previous houses.
   
5. I have yet to wrap even one present for the year. How do you feel about gift bags? I have LOTS of bags and lots of wrapping paper.
   

Friday Five - My Girls Together

After a full day of watching my girls playing together, I thought I would share some pics of them together.

Friday Five - Great Things

1. My headache is gone today. I am so glad.
   
2. I actually got things done today. I have officially gotten all my unbroken pictures on the walls. I can see how many more pictures I want get to put up too.
3. Slowly but surely I am getting more organized, but piles of boxes in the basement and in my bedroom are really calling out to me. I want to go through them and sort and get rid f a good portion of what is in them.
4. I didn't give in to the caffeine fairy yesterday but I have to say, if I keep getting headaches, i am going to wonder if this is worth it.
5. I think that the fact that Princess Belle is so tall and so helpful and so into teenage things makes us forget that she is only an 8 year old child. She really is just a little girl. No matter how old she wants to be, she isn't.
   

Friday Five - Feeling Great

There are so many things that I am feeling great about right now. Here are five that are making me smile right now:

1. The way Two Year old Princess Magpie waves and says, "Bye" everytime she leaves the room.
2. How helpful Princess Belle is with her sisters. She really is my right hand girl.
3. I am through the caffeine withdrawals!!! I have no headache and I feel absolutely great!!


4. The more I unpack and get organized, the more I love my house. This just feels like home. I have unpacked things that I haven't unpacked in my last two homes, I am throwing away boxes as I unpack them, not saving them for a future move. My neighbor offered to plow our driveway all winter long! Out of the goodness of his heart! I LOVE it here.


5. The fact that Princess Snifflefritz slept until 7 am today! After a week of getting up anytime from 5 - 6 am in the morning, today was a luxury!!
   

Friday Five

I decided to post some pics of why I hate my new place. I took pics the day I moved in and I loved it that day, before actually living here and realizing how inconvenient it really is here.

So here are some pics of some of the reasons I want a new place here in town.

First of all, my bedroom. It is lovely. It is huge. It houses Prince Charming and I, our computer and our baby girl. That means that when I want to get on the computer, I have to try to sneak on at some point when the baby doesn't need me, because when she is sleeping, the computer wakes her up. It also means that I have to almost hold my breath all night because she is a LIGHT sleeper and turning over in bed, moving too much, snoring, etc all wake her up. I HATE IT. We need a place where she can have her own room.

Second, my laundry room. Or rather my laundry closet. It is that little place behind Prince Charming in this picture. Notice there is nowhere to put a table or some shelves or anything at all to help me spread out and organize. It is also in Princess Belle's room which again limits my access somewhat. I HATE IT. I need a place with an actual laundry room.

Thirdly, my kitchen. Isn't this a lovely room? It is, but that is the entirety of my kitchen. This tiny little space is where I get to create my culinary masterpieces for my family. It is too small!!! Also, notice that lovely fancy tap on the sink? That little tap means I can't use my dishwasher!! It won't hook to that tap. I HATE IT. I need a bigger kitchen with more space for two people to be in the kitchen at once and a normal tap on the sink.

Fourthly, my dining room, or the lack thereof. This little cubby hole is the entirety of my dining room it is too small but the fact that there is nowhere else in this house that my freezer will fit means that I can't even get use of this space. I have to put my kitchen table in living room and my freezer here. I HATE IT. I need a basement for storage and my freezer and a proper dining room.

Number five is a double whammy, this door that you see and this beautiful floor. This lovely shiny black floor smudges when you walk on it, and scratches when you look at it. It is awful! This door you see leads to our neighbours half of this house. It is NOT soundproof and when we are in our living room, we play games to figure out what they are watching or wondering how long it will take them to get their dog to stop barking. I HATE IT. I want a nice normal floor I am not scared to ruin that looks clean when I clean it and neighbours I don't have to listen to all the time.

The thing is, it is a beautiful home and if we were a smaller family, it would probably suit us just fine, but right now? For us? I HATE IT.

Friday Five

Pics of Princess Belle in her nightdress and a layout about that nightdress these were taken somewhere around 2004.

Friday Five

Since I am away, I thought I would prepare this in advance and schedule it to post. Here are some of my favorite pics from a busker's festival I went to with Notsosnowwhite and Prince Charming:

Friday Five

I just developed some film that was about 7 years old! I have been having a lot of fun going through pics of Princess Belle when she was just a little baby and a toddler a little younger than Princess Magpie is now. It's funny, I don't remember her hair being that curly. Here are five of the pics of her as a toddler that I really enjoyed: