Better

Prince Charming was nice enough to let me sleep in while he got up this morning (after I had been up several times with our little Prince).  It was nice to catch a few extra minutes of sleep and it gave me energy enough to get some housework done. 

I am going out to the vegetable market tomorrow and I am so excited to be getting some nice fresh fruits and veggies.  I am really considering counting points as a part of my weight loss plan.  I am just worried about how obsessed I can become.  I NEED to lose weight, I just don't want to teach my girls an unhealthy attitude about food either.

Short note

I am completely exhausted due to children who think mommy is not allowed to sleep, so this is a short note.

I am have been experimenting with doing more things on of my own.  My latest was making my own chili powder.  I had some ground chiles that I got from a store so I gave it a shot.  it is really good!  I am going to take it a step further and buy some chiles to dry and grind on my own.  That should be fun.  If I can get that down, I am going to make my own taco seasoning too!  I keep them in mason jars in my pantry.  I have some ideas about my pantry too, but I will share those another time.  For now, I am going to go get some sleep before one of the kids decides it is time to wake me up.

Here is a pic of Little Prince when he was first born and when he turned 4 months old.

Six things I would like to know how to do

There are so many things I would like to know how to do, but that I don't have the knowledge and confidence in doing.  I am sure I would like to do these things.  I just don't know how.

Here are six of them:

1. grow a vegetable garden or even a flower garden. (this year for the first I planted a few herbs and things in a couple of planters but I have no idea what to do with them once the cold weather comes)
2. make my own soap
3. try canning food for myself
4. make candles for myself
5. sew things for the house (this one I may give a shot one day!)
6. make my own baby wipes.

And just cause he's cute and I can't resist

Friday favorite things

 

Here are some of my favorite things today:

The way Princess Belle is always so quick to help her sisters.

Princess Magpie joy and imagination.  Here she is running imaginary races and never failing to jump up and down at the end of each race because she won against her imaginary opponents!  I love her joy.

The way she does things her own way even if it is harder, like going up the slide backwards.

How even when he is tired or teething, Little Prince  always has a smile for anyone who smiles at him

I love this face, it is so expressive.

even when she is terrified of the evil swings!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things about my day:

1. Princess Magpie is still not going potty on the potty.  She is waiting until bedtime and using her pull-up.  She has tremendous bladder control, I have to tell you.  I am giving her time.  She likes the potty, but one of the things about her that makes me wonder if she is on the autism scale like her sister is her insistence on routine.  She is convinced that a pull-up or a diaper is where that goes.  I am working on making her feel better and letting her spend as much time as she likes on the potty and hopefully she will go one day by accident and then I can celebrate and she can get it.  
2. On the other hand, Princess Snifflefritz has seen us working with (just turned 4 year old) Princess Magpie and asked us for underwear and asked if she could go potty too.  I figured she is only 2 1/2 but what the heck, I gave it a shot and she DID IT!!!  First try she did it!!  She doesn't have the bladder control her sister does but she has managed to go every time she sat on the potty.
3. I made a roast chicken dinner for my family.  With my guest still staying with us, I had to make 2 chickens but it was a HUGE hit and everybody loved it.  It was worth heating up the house.
4. I get a kick out of seeing all the cloth diapers on the clothes line.  It makes me happy to see them out there every morning shining in the morning sun.
5. I love my guest, he is great and so helpful with Little Prince but I do miss alone time with Prince Charming.  I miss our evenings alone watching our shows and chatting.  
6. I LOVE this house.  I wish we could stay here forever!  But I know that at some point Little Prince is going to need a bedroom and that sucks.  I didn't know that he wouldn't be able to share with the little girls because Princess Magpie will be at least five or six by the time he is old enough to be in the room with them.   And while Princess Snifflefritz would be young enough, Princess Magpie likes sharing with her little sister and Princess Belle likes having a room of her own. 
7. I am glad to be putting my diet back on the list again.  I need to do that.  I even went out and bought scales.
8. I bought some earings at the dollar store!  I know it is silly but they look nice, I won't be heartbroken if they break and I LIKE wearing earings again.
9. There is a nice kid in our neighbourhood.  He has said to Princess Belle that he doesn't care if she is a little odd he knows she has autism and that isn't her fault so he likes her anyway.  He isn't judgmental and it makes my life easier to see her happier.
10. I did discover that the one little hoodlum that loves to make her miserable, loves to make a LOT of kids miserable.  I think he actually likes Princess Belle but he is only 8 and doesn't know how to show it, so he makes her feel bad.  
11. I am still on top of housework in this place.  Or at least I am better on top of it than I was elsewhere.  I have off days when the kids have tag-teamed me all night and I haven't had much sleep but for the most part an organized house is easier to keep tidy.
12. I put pictures up on the walls!!  It looks great.  
13. I can't wait to get a stud-finder so that we can hang the curtains.  

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Wordless Wednesday: Birthday Ball Fun

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Back to cloth diapering

Now that I am in a house with a washer of my own that I don't have to pay to use, I am back to cloth diapering.  I am glad to be at it.  I love how cute all the little diapers are and I love that I am saving money!

And Princess Magpie is wearing only underpants during the day now.  She has been a challenge to potty train but we are getting there.  I am not sure whether she is just holding it until naptime and bedtime when we put on a pull-up but she is keeping her underwear dry.

So big things are happening with little hineys in my house.  LOL

I had to stop using my baby carrier as it was hurting Little Prince's legs.  So, we are looking into getting a maya wrap or something similar that will be more comfortable for us both.

I have to laugh at Prince Charming he is such a regular, fisherman's son type that he can't figure out he ended up with a cloth diapering, composting, recycling, baby wearing, homeschooling, vegetarian. LOL  I tell him, I don't know how I turned into one!

Four Months Old

Little Prince has turned four months old!  Can you believe it?  I guess it is time to share some pics of my little man.  He really is the sweetest baby ever.  I am so happy with my family.

Diet thoughts

I have been struggling with my diet, but my Biggest Loser contest starts today and that is big motivaation. So here are my thoughts.  I made a list of foods that I will try to stick to (It is from Weight Watchers Simply Filling List).  I will take this list with me when I get groceries next week.

Fruits

    All fresh, frozen, or canned without added sugar
    Fruit canned in its own juice (drained)
    Fruit salad — mixed fruits with no added sugar

All fruits, except dried fruits and fruit juices, are zero PointsPlus values!

Vegetables

    Most fresh, frozen or canned without added sugar or oil — whether or not it has PointsPlus values per serving
    Potatoes — white, red sweet

All vegetables have zero PointsPlus values, besides potatoes, peas, corn, and avocados. Avocados are not a Power Food.

Whole grains

    Brown and wild rice
    Hot cereals — without added sugar, dried fruits, or nuts
     Pasta, whole-wheat or other whole-grain varieties
    Popcorn, air-popped, or 94% fat-free microwave-popped
    Whole-grains such as:
        Barley
        Buckwheat
        Bulgur
        Cornmeal (polenta)
        Whole-wheat couscous
        Quinoa

Dairy

    Soy products, unflavored and plain, such as:
    Calcium-fortified soy milk
    Unflavored soy milk
    Soy cheese
    Plain soy yogurt


Lean proteins

    Dried peas, including black-eyed peas and split peas
    Lentils
    Meat substitutes, including tofu and vegetarian burgers

Breads

        Reduced-calorie (light) breads (whole grains are the best choice)
   
Soups
        Broth, onion, and some broth- and tomato-based vegetable soups

Desserts
        Sugar-free gelatin


Other categories:

Beverages

    Coffee (without sugar)
    Tea (without sugar)
    Diet soda (in limited amounts)
    Water

Seasonings and condiments

    Capers
    Extracts
    Fat-free salad dressings
    Flavorings
    Herbs
    Hot sauce (peppersauce)
    Ketchup
    Lemon juice
    Lime juice
    Mustard
    Nonstick cooking or baking spray
    Salsa (fat-free)
    Soy sauce (shoyu)
    Spices
    Steak sauce
    Sugar substitutes
    Taco sauce
    Teriyaki sauce
    Vinegar
    Worcestershire Sauce

Healthy oils

Include 2 tsp each day without counting PointsPlus values. Use your weeklyPointsPlus Allowance for any additional oil.

    Olive oil
    Canola oil
    Flaxseed oil

What's not included on the Power Foods List

    Dried fruits
    Fruit juices
    Vegetable juices
    French fries
    Avocados
    Sweet pickles
    Plantains
    Olives

Happy 4th Birthday Princess Magpie!

We had a wonderful day today.  We celebrated Princess Magpie's birthday at the park.  We brought cake and the presents, actually Prince Charming forgot the presents and had to be sent back to the glass castle to fetch them again but that's okay, they eventually made their way to the park with us and we had a LOT of fun.  The presents were all of the same theme of playing outside and it was a big hit!

Blowing out her candles

 Princess Snifflefritz "helping"

 Princess Belle helping Princess Magpie open her presents

 Princess Tori "helping" play with the presents while Princess Belle helps open the presents

 Playing with one of the balls, throwing it high in the sky

 Everyone enjoying the presents and cake

 Prince Charming even ordered Pizza to be delivered to the park!

 Playing with the presents in the sand, "Look, Mommy!  I am making flour!"

The Saturday PhotoHunt: ~ Song ~

The theme this week is ~ Song ~. And I have to admit it was harder than I thought. It seems there is rarely a day without song in my house, but I don't often catch it on film. But here are two pics that do.

First we have the Pirates singing in the play at the Tall Ships Festival on Thursday.  It was a big hit with all my girls who sang and clapped along with them.

There is also the buskers at the waterfront who always seem to have a song to share, this one was even willing to share hers with Princess Belle who was anxious to learn how to play and sing like she did.

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Friday Five

1. I joined a biggest loser type contest, so hopefully that motivates me to get back to losing weight properly and getting back to being healthy. 
2. I bought a new set of scales to that end. 
3. I bought some pants for Princess Belle, Zellers had a sale and I thought they were $5 each and it turned out that they were $2.50 each!!!  Score!
4. Princess Snifflefritz has taken to taking off her clothes every chance she gets.  I hope this little trend ends soon!
5. I bought a camera (to replace the one that was stolen) at a little pawn shop type place yesterday and it is exactly the same as my favorite camera that broke a year or so ago.  I am SOOO happy to have a camera again!

Fun at the Tall Ships Festival

We took the kids out to the Tall Ships Festival here in town.  It was a great day and by the time we got home everyone was exhausted.  We walked in the to door and Princess Magpie disappeared.  When we went to look to see where she went and she said, "My has gotta go to bed, okay?"  And at that Princess Snifflefritz piped up, "My wants go to bed too!" So they both went to bed and we never saw them again all night.

Looking out the window waiting to go see tall ships

 Fell asleep as soon as we left

Panning for Gold

 Digging for Buried Treasure

 Sitting for the Pirate Play, Princess Magpie kept holloring out to the Pirates that she wanted to be a pirate too and one pirate pulled her up on the stage.  She kept holloring out to them anda lot of the times they would respond to her.  It was really cute!

 I am not sure why this pic came out way down here, but I am too tired to move it, so this is us on our way to the Tall Ships Festival.

 Pirates sword fighting, she told the Captain that he had an umbrella not a sword and he looked down and said that she was right, he did.

 I loved that the girl in the play was just as tough as the others.

 The entire cast

 They called Princess Belle up on stage and she was ever so proud to be a puppy. 

 They called a bunch of kids up to be seagulls.  Princess Magpie wanted to be a seagull too and when we didn't let her get up, she decided to play her part right where she was sitting. 

 Singing in the play

 Dancing in the play

 The Pirate in the play who pulled up on stage

 On a ferry looking at a helicopter, the kids were thrilled that the soldiers on board waved at them.

 Meeting Spiderman.  I loved that he had an English Accent.  LOL

 One of the ships

 Theodore Tugboat

 Little Prince Sporting his very first tattoo.

 Again, I am not sure why this popped up way down here, this was on our way down to the Tall ships again.

 In the Haunted Pirates Adventure.  Princess Belle went in with Prince Charming and I.  She was TERRIFIED!

 One of the Pirates

 Eating kettle corn