Christmas in Regina

This year we're spending Christmas in Saskatchewan!  The last time we did this was in 2007 - quite a lot time ago now.  Because we had to cancel our trip this past summer because of my back we told the kids that we'd come out here now, and well, my back didn't act up and we're hear!!!  YAY!!!  Although the kids were hoping that there would be more snow . . .

We arrive the morning of Christmas Eve and went to the Christmas Eve service at Dad's church with Dad, Jesse and Helen.  It was kinda cool to see the kids all dressed up in the Christmas best!

Garrett was working the night shift so we decided that we could only open stocking on Christmas morning and wait until he came home at around 4pm before we opened gifts . . . and the kids were really good about it - asked one time when we were opening gifts and then just waited without hinting or anything.  I'd say we have some amazing kids!!!

When it was time to open presents the kids were happy as anything.  We had a lot of fun joking around and there were many a paper ball thrown at someone's head - hehehe!  And yes, I tried to stop them, but Garrett is just an instigator, what can I say!

We all pitched in and had an amazing Christmas dinner - sangria ham, sweet potato casserole, green-bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet sangria gravy, butternut squash, stuffing, Mom's 7-Layer salad, buns, corn, and your choice of 4 home-made pies or a made by Jenna cheesecake.  Mom would have been proud of us!  Oh, and we planned on eating at 7 and I think we made it all to the table a few minutes before - WOW!!!  We're good!  There were so many cooks, but 'many hands make light work' - and we had many hands!!!  Cooking were Jenna, Carrie, Braden, Jesse and Helen and pretty much everyone helped in the clean up - we're a pretty good team!

On Boxing Day we did a little bit of shopping while Auntie Jenna took Emma out to shoot at Darren's with the bow he made and a pellet gun.  Our not-so-little girl sure had a lot of fun!!!  Thank you Darren and Jenna!

So it's been a great start to our holidays!  We've had 2 Christmas' so far and are off to Christmas number 3 tomorrow.  Guess I'd better go and get things ready for that one!  See you in a few more days!!!

Christmas Traditions . . .

Every year we decorate a Gingerbread house and this year we added a tree to the mix. The kids had a blast except we had a small problem . . . the first of it's kinda ever . . . can you spot it???

Emma and Navia decorating the house together

Here it goes . . .

"Okay, hurray, let me take a picture of you guys before it . . . oh no. . . "

Not willing to give up so quickly

Ta-da!!! I guess hard work does pay off!!!

And what was Kaleb doing during this entire house episode . . .

Patiently decorating his tree while singing and whistling Christmas carols . . . he is one of a kind!!!

That night Emma decided to help Navia with her reading and writing, which Daddy just had to grab a picture of. Kaleb and Emma have been taking turns reading to her and helping her with her letter recognition - just because they want to. Doesn't that make your heart smile?!?

For teacher and neighbor gifts I decided instead of buying something I would make something, and it was actually really easy and they turned out great! I made Cinnamon Honey Butter (yummy!!!), Cinnamon Loaf (thanks Coralie for the recipe!) and Gingersnaps. I also made Pecan Rolo Pretzels after receiving them as a gift from a student and wow - are they delicious (and I don't like pecans or pretzels!)

I can't take the credit for the ideas though. I found the Cinnamon Honey Butter recipe on this great blog, Tidy Mom, that I've just found.

Cinnamon Honey Butter Recipe

yields 3 half pint jars

Ingredients:

1 cup Honey

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 half pint canning jars

• Combine all ingredients in bowl. Using whisk attachment on mixer blend until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

• Use rubber spatula to pour mixture in to a large pastry bag (or Ziploc®bag), cut off tip and squeeze into half pint jars. (tip: place bag in tall glass for support, or have someone hold the bag while you pour)
• Keep refrigerated. Serve room temperature.

Coralie gave me a super easy recipe for the Cinnamon Loaf and I made them into little tiny (and oh so cute) loaves to give with the butter. In case you're interested in the recipe it is:

Cinnamon Loaf Recipe

yields 1 regular loaf

Loaf:

2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. white sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

1 c. sour milk

1/4 c. cooking oil

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

Topping:

2 Tbsp. white sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp. softened margarine

In a large bowl combine the top 10 ingredients and beat for approx. 3 minutes. Pour into a grease loaf pan and smooth the surface.

Combine the 3 ingredients for the topping, making it crumbly and sprinkle on top of the loaf batter in the pan. Cut in with a knife to slightly mix the topping into the loaf, giving it a marbled effect.

Bake for 50 minutes at 350C. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan before removing and ta-da . . . yum, yum!

The cookie recipe is the best ginger molasses cookies I've ever tasted! (and Kaleb can't get enough so I have to hide them as he's sneaking them like crazy!!!) I found it on a food blog created by a 17 year old girl - I wasn't that great of a cook then, but she's pretty good. Her blog is call 17 and Baking and her recipe is the following:

Perfect Gingersnaps

yield: 5 dozen 2″ cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
3/4 cup canola oil
1 large egg
Sugar for rolling (I like evaporated cane juice or raw sugar)

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt in a medium bowl. In another bowl, combine together the brown sugar, molasses, canola oil, and egg until smooth. Mix the flour mixture into the brown mixture, stirring until dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop up bits of dough by the heaping teaspoonful and roll into balls between your palms, about the size of a quarter. Roll the balls in sugar and place on the baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake 8 minutes – if you like crispy gingersnaps, try 9-10 minutes.

Cookies will be very soft but will firm up. Leave on the baking sheet several minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely

The pecan rolo pretzel recipe is super fast and easy to make - and tastes oh so good . . . dare you to just eat one!!!

Pecan Rolo Pretzels
50 pieces rollo candies50 small pretzels (squares or twists)50 pieces whole or halved pecans

• Place pretzels on baking sheet
• Top with one rollo candy
• Place in a warm (250 degrees) oven to just let the Rollo candy melt on top of the pretzel (about 3 - 4 minutes)
• Remove from oven and place a pecan piece on top
• Let cool and harden (takes longer than you think - and try not to eat one while you're waiting!)

Bet you never thought that I'd be giving you recipes here?!? I think I'm growing up!!!

Happy April Fool's Day

Well, April Fool's Day jokes are now officially over, but I thought I'd share a few that made their way into our house today. . .

The day started off early with Braden getting up to get to work earlier than normal. After his shower he went to get new underwear (yes, my husband changes his underwear - hehehe!) and found that his underwear drawer was full of my underwear! He asked ME what I did with his and I didn't know what he was talking about so he had to go ask the kids. Seems like those sneaky little kids got out of bed last night and switched Brade's underwear to Navia's drawer, Navia's to mine and mine to Brade's. Yep - they got us good (and the best part - it wasn't destructive and didn't take long to switch back!!!)

Before they headed off to school I sat the kids down and told them that we had signed them up for a summer camp and handed them this brouchure.

If you look closely at the writing you'll see that it is for "Adventure Getaway CHORE Camp" - you can learn how to make beds, wash dishes without getting water spots and more!!! I thought it would be fun for them, they didn't all agree and not everyone wanted to go. After I told them it was just a joke Kaleb got a bit upset because he said that it kinda sounded like fun!!! Hmmmm? Does this mean that he has fun cleaning his room?

Then I made their snack - cheese squares and corn - not too interesting . . . but it you look closer you might notice something . . .

Yep - it's not real cheese OR real corn - they're made from Starburst candy! Emma (who stayed home today because she's not feeling well) and Navia thought it was a fun trick . . . I have no idea what Kaleb will say when he goes to eat his snack - hopefully he'll like it though!

But it now is after 12 so the tricks must stop - until next year!!!

Breakfast at Our House

Our kids LOVE instant oatmeal for breakfast - but the cost just isn't worth it. We've made it with instant oats, etc but it is a bit of a pain and the kids end up doing it wrong without help - and without help equals a huge mess!!!

So, my mom was here this month and came up with a GREAT way to make instant oatmeal - she took snack bags and put individual servings in each bag and then put the bags in the box of instant oatmeal with directions on the side - now the kids just need to add water and put it in the microwave . . . brilliant idea!!! No mess, no extra work and the kids LOVE making their own breakfasts - we've changed it up with adding raisins sometimes, brown sugar, cinnamon and we might even try a chocolate one. . . the possibilities are endless (and cheap!!!)

So, from my mom to me to you - here's an easy way to have your kids eat healthy breakfasts for less. Thanks Mom!!!

Coolest Cake!!!

Tonight Emma had a sleep-over with Katrina and Victoria and because we were in Saskatchewan for their 10th Birthday Emma wanted to make a cake for them and do something special. So . . . we took all the kids to "G-Force", the 3D movie about special agent guinea pigs - and it was really cute! The kids love going to 3D movies - there really isn't anything like it!

Navia in the special 3D glasses

Then when we got home we ate the rainbow cake that Emma had made for them - soooo cool and soooo easy to make! I found the idea from a blog called the Idea Room and the icing was so light and fluffy. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the top of the cake (which was a rainbow made of smarties) but it was cute too.

This cake will definately be happening again because it looks great and was so easy to make!

Disgusting Food!

I found this a link to these really cool hot dog creations that the kids thought would be so cool for supper, so we made ourselves some "hot dog aliens" or "hot dogs with worms" or "octopuses". 

 

They look disgusting and I'm not really one for combining it to eat, but the kids seemed to have fun making them and eating them :)  They are a really neat thing to make if you don't feel like making a "real" meal and want something fun for the kids - better than KD!

All you have to do in put the raw spaghetti noodles in the cut hot dogs and then boil them.

There are many different techniques to eat them though, as you can tell from the kids.  Some put ketchup over the entire plate, some put ketchup just in a pile.  Then there are the actually eating methods:

Shovelling the entire thing in your mouth at one time . . .

Slurping it all up . . . 

Or fishing for them with your mouth!