January

I've heard so many complaints about winter lately.  Enough already!  I don't know exactly what it is about this season, but I'm not anxious for spring to arrive too soon.  By April, okay, but really people enjoy it while it's here.  Funny because I'm usually cold no matter the season, so winter shouldn't be my favorite.....but it is.  I love being out on the snow machine even on a cold day (last week it was a bitter -28 before the wind chill and I was the one convincing hubby to take a ride.). Then again I love the coziness of sitting in front of the fire or napping in front of it on Sundays (another reason I love our house!  Thought I would hate a stove in the living room but it's actually pretty awesome.). This season is also such a good excuse to cook up special hot treats or work on those DIY projects from Pinterest.  Actually I'd say we nailed all my favorite aspects of winter in January!! So here they are.

   Having gotten the bathroom mostly finished, and new office furniture I was inspired to reorganize and spruce up both rooms.  We attempted some modge podge signs.  It took a few tries before we got it right.

  Attempt #1 was a fail.  First step was to have the kids paint canvases.  Next, I mirror printed on matte photo paper.  I'm not sure if it was the paper's finish or the fact that I bought regular modge podge, not photo (there must have been 15 kinds in Michaels).  Paper went onto the canvas, ink side down and modge podge between the two layers.  Once the modge podge was dry the instruction was to use a damp sponge and rub the paper off.  Needless to say paper, ink, all of it was coming off.  So we quit trying, reprinted it in the usual method (not reverse) and put the modge podge back on as a finish.  

  We ended up with this one for the laundry:

And this one for the kids room:

On to our treats!  I made these yummy Oreo cheesecake treats.  They had a whole Oreo as the base and I loved how it stayed crunchy despite the cooking so that the top cheesecake layer would set.

Having said winter is my favorite season, we still attempted our own little project to welcome spring.   Clear glass vases with rocks, water (just up to the top of the rocks), and tulip bulbs.

Tulip bulbs via Rebekah's Pinterest via Off the Wall (Not sure about that link.  It looked like a dead end when I checked it just now?!  I literally used the instructions that were already in the pin when I pinned it.)

  
Another recipe I used for dessert came recommended by a friend.  Chocolate Chip Stuffed Cheesecake Bars were a quick one to throw together, because they use premade cookie dough (Pillsbury, etc.)  The most time consuming was smooshing the dough into the bottom and top layer.  I was worried the cheesecake in the middle was going to ooze everywhere when I got to the top layer, so I pre-smooshed (yes, I realize that's probably a made up word) that layer on aluminum foil and then flipped it over the top of the cheesecake.  Aluminum foil made it stick a little bit, so I'd try my pie sheet next time.

Chocolate Chip Stuffed Cheesecake Bars via Rebekah's Pinterest via Hugs and Cookies

I also made a few of these sweet blankets last month.  At Black Friday sales I got four different soft flannel fabrics to make up some no-sew tie blankets for a few new babies that would be making their appearance within the next few months.  The first two were boys, and since I only have girly fabric left I'm hoping the next to arrive is a girl or else I'll just have to do some more shopping.  Scratch that, maybe I'll just go fabric shopping no matter what!  I just love the chevrons!  And the animal print on the other side that I also cut initials out of is pretty sweet too!

2014

Can't quite believe, and I feel a little old every time I say this, another year has passed.  It's 2014 already?

  I'm not sure exactly what the best approach to a new year is...a set of .new resolutions?  All the fun of imagining what the new year will bring us?  Right now I'm still feeling a little like I imagined too much for 2013 and I'm going to try to keep it simpler or at least plan a little less what this year will be.
 

  I've been thinking a lot about choices...saw some sayings and quotes on Pinterest recently that sparked my interest.  One was something to the effect of how we want to be measured by our choice not by chance.  Since 2013 seemed to be my year for the chance, I'm not sure how much I agree with that.  And yet, I'm still hoping that it is true, to a degree.  There is chance, but even when we factor in that unknown variable we still must choose.
 

  Anyways...a little time off and I start musing too much again!  We had a pretty great break.  Just the right amount of relaxing and work and family and friends.  I'm feeling ALMOST ready to get back to schedule, although I'm already dreading the alarm ringing tomorrow morning!

These were some fun cookies we made for moose for library school.  I used my sugar cookie recipie and added the rest from this Pinterest link.  I do have to say I make good sugar cookies, but like a lot of cookies I think the thing to do is use lots of real butter.
Reindeer Cookie Inspiration via Rebekah's Pinterest
 

  We also made these grinch kabobs for M&M's class that were quickly devoured.  Always fun to sneak a little fruit into the party!
Grinch Kabobs via Rebekah's Pinterest
 

 I did this fun project with my mom while she was here, and the bow is thanks to her crafty skills.  We had a lot of trouble finding a good pinterest link for a burlap wreath that gave instructions, so we turned to good old Google and came up with this one from Life on Mars.

 

 My last project of the break was to get the bathroom done.  Well we are closer anyways.  Dad finished the drywall, so I was able to paint and I got a few new decor items as a reward!  I also had hubby and a brother-in-law do some trim on Boxing Day so I had fun starting the painting of that.  Of course they ran out of pieces before they could finish around the door and under the bathroom window, so my almost finished room is still a little lacking, but I take what I can get!

Hope your break was as enjoyable as ours and you are ready to face this New Year!

Boo to You!

Here in Canada we get to celebrate with two holidays in October, Thanksgiving and Halloween!

  Starting off the month with Thanksgiving really puts me on the mood to do some fall cooking, especially when it comes to baking goodies.  I tried a few pumpkin muffin recipes this month, including the pumpkin cake recipe that I first tried in September.  I also spiced it up a bit by adding a cream cheese surprise from these carrot cake muffins that I made earlier in the year.  They were a hit.

 Another muffin recipe from the month was this French toast muffins.  I loved the crunchy brown sugar butter layer they were rolled in, but these didn't disappear into the lunch boxes quite as fast as the pumpkin ones.
French Toast Muffins via Rebekah's Pinterest
 

  Halloween is a fun time for cooking up some ghoulish treats.  We've tried to do something fun for dinner for the past several years.  I'm still planning this years dinner and treats for the few parties (kindergarten class, library school, ect) that the kids are involved in, but I'll share last years with you.

 
 For our 2012 Halloween dinner we feasted on Mummy's, Pumpkin Cesear Salad, Rice Krispy Treat Pumpkins, and Bloody Fishbowl Drinks.   The Mummy's were:  hot dogs wrapped in crescent roll dough.  Our cesear salads were held in hollowed out orange skins that we made to look like mini Jack O Lanterns.  The pumpkin rice krispy treats only looked liked pumpkins, by shaping them into balls rather than squares and adding some frosting for a Jack O Lantern face.  I used some red cranberry juice and a bit of Sprite with fish and shark shaped gummies for the drinks.  The kids talk about Halloween dinner all year long!

  Thinking there would be a bunch of unhealthy treats brought into Emma's school(there wasn't), I did a platter that looked a bit like a Jack O Lantern for something fun and healthy.  This year we are going to give them some more sugar...why not?  We are making some cute rice krispy ghosts tonight.
Veggie Platter via Rebekah's Pinterest via Baby Center
Rice Krispy Ghosts via Rebekah's Pinterest via the Idea Room

Of course Jack O Lanterns is a must every year and this year was no exception.  We also had some friends give us a "white" pumpkin.  They had painted chevrons on one of theirs and M&M really wanted to make the same design on ours.  Feeling like chevrons were a little beyond us we decided to do some stripes with tape.  After much taping and painting we discovered that black tempura paint will not stick to pumpkins.  Emma had a blast painting the pumpkin, but in the end I had to flake all that hard work off and do some spray painting myself.  Not exactly the most kid friendly of projects, and our pumpkin had a few extra runs and smears from the trial and error process, but something fun and different, especially from a distance.

Another activity we usually get into during October is Halloween costumes.  The first few years I was able to find some cute costumes at yard sales during the summer. 

However, as M&M and Moose get older I have found the costumes too Disney and less and less cute factor.  Last year we began making our own costumes.  M&M was a peacock, which turned out simple enough by using felt to make a few peacock feathers for a shirt we had on hand and tying up a tulle skirt in peacock colors.  We found a mask at the dollar store and her outfit was complete.

Moose was even easier.  Being that his nickname is Moose and we were going for an animal theme, I made some Moose shaped antlers out of (again) felt and sewed them on a brown hoodie from the dresser.  Over it we put a red shirt that had a picture of a moose and the caption "Eh!"  Cute and simple for our little moose.

 And then of course we were all fed up and dressed up and set to take off for some "trick or treats!"  Happy Halloween!


 

September

  I had a friend that we see infrequently ask me at the beginning of the month if we had a good year.  While I've always considered myself to be something of a pessimist, I had very little hesitation before I answered yes it was a good year.  It certainly hasn't been the year I've tried to plan, but I think I might be learning a little about how the cup can still be half full even through the rough experiences.

  On March 6, 2013, we lost the little sibling that we had been hoping to give Moose and M&M.  It had been a rough several weeks of not knowing what we were exactly facing before the Dr. Was finally able to decide that I required surgery for an ectopic pregnancy.  In case you are wondering what an ectopic pregnancy is...this happens when the pregnancy implants in some place other than the womb.  Mine ended up being in the left tube, which was subsequently removed. They were a scary few weeks and I emerged feeling very grateful for modern medicine (imagine the kind of death I would have succumbed to if it were 100years ago on the farm!), but also guilty that I was severely out of commission for several weeks (wasn't it a little selfish to even think about adding another to our family when we have so much already!).  I was also upset at the thought that we had no choice but for the pregnancy to end in order to save my life.  I felt the loss keenly, never before quite realizing what losing an unborn child was like.  There were alot of questions that remain unanswered, but above all I have been thankful for all the reminders of how fleeting life can be and for the trust that I have in a higher order where one day all will be answered.

  After waiting the allotted recovery period we decided that maybe it wasn't so selfish to think of adding another to our family and tried again.  Not being sure exactly what to expect we were pleased when the months didn't drag by, as I had been forewarned they might due to the surgery.  I had two fairly normal pregnancies with Emma and Tommy and since the issues I experienced with them never amounted to what my fears sometimes told me was happening, I tried to keep the worries at bay.  I was 2.5 months along, had the pregnancy confirmed by my Dr.  Went through, what I thought was a routine ultrasound, hoping I could announce to the family our hopes within the next few days.

  Instead, on September 13, 2013 I lost my fourth pregnancy.  Again there are many questions that remain unanswered and while I hope we will have some things laid out for us once the dust has settled and we get news from the Dr., I know that there will always be those pessimistic moments when I will have to make myself stop and see the good through the hurt.

  I decided to add this experience to my blog because I think it very much helps when we are going through some awful and unknown experience to be able to talk to others about it.  It was certainly my saving grace some days and I am still receiving calls and texts and messages that help me out alot.  It has helped me to talk through it all with others that have similar experiences and realize we aren't as crazy as we sometimes feel!
  Sympathy isn't what I or anyone else I know of are really looking for in a situation like this, but understanding that this hurts and that we might never get the happy ending we planned helps.  Your hugs help.  I've realized that I am often quick to jump to conclusions about others when I have no idea what battle they are facing that the rest of us can't see.  I hope I can have more understanding for others because I feel like I understand better how much our plans for the future are frail at best.  My sister wrote me a touching poem that describes a lot my feelings.  She published it on her blog and you can read that here.

  Having said that, I am going to finish this post with the usual, because despite our plans and hopes for the future I want to look at some of the good things this month gave us.  I found this quote on Pinterest in a printable form here.  It's from Whinnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne :

Sometimes the

Smallest things

Take up the most

Room in our

Hearts

 

I made these delicious chow mein noodle cookies early in the month...soo good and ridiculously easy!  I'd had them as a kid, but this was my first attempt and I was glad Pinterest let me find an old recipe.

Chow Mein Cookies via Rebekah's Pinterest via Brie's Bites

I also made this ridiculously good pumpkin cake.  It was supposed to be three layers with maple cream cheese frosting, but I ended up doing two layers and now have extra cream cheese frosting that I plan to use on some kind of fall cookies.  Also plan on making another batch of the cake again as it made really yummy muffins for a lunch snack for the guys to take and for me to add as a treat to M&M's lunch.  So moist for a from scratch cake!!  (and I somehow missed taking a picture : ()

Pumpkin Dream Cake via Rebekah's Pinterest via The Novice Chef
 

  My parents came up to visit and give me a boost and that's another thing I'm grateful for.  We got some more projects done, of course and it was good to have company around after feeling down!  The biggest project we tackled was getting the house painted.  Mom and I worked on that while dad did a bunch of endless, thankless tasks that were needing acomplishing.  Except they were not entirely thankless...I thanked him lots!  In the picture below, (after paint) you almost don't notice that the bottom brick is painted and doesn't look quite the same as the top.  Goodbye fire engine red!

We had a fun tourist excursion to Toronto to spend a much needed weekend away!  Took in a Jay's game with the family and freaked M&M out with the height of the CN Tower.

Another gem from pinterest:

...For the taxes that I pay because it means that I am employed.

 ...For the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

...For my shadow that watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.

...For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

...For all the complaining I hear about government because it means we have freedom of speech.

...For the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking.

...For my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.

...For the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means that I can hear.

...For the piles of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.

 ...For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means that I am alive.

2013---August

Our lazy days of summer (ie sleeping in until 9:30) are about to coming crashing to a brutal halt!  I always have good intentions of starting the routine a week early to get us used to getting up and going to bed earlier, but alas, that off button on the alarm, coupled with the knowing today is only practice is far too tempting.  Our only salvation will be that we are heading off for a last trip to one of our church conventions after only one day back and that will get us into a much earlier routine.  

Lemon Bundt Cake via Pinterest via Mommy I'm Hungry

 

Besides the sleeping in, we have had a fun, relaxing summer.  I've been doing a lot of baking to keep the hubby and my brother with plenty of snack foods.  We've had several versions of blueberry loaf or cake, but this loaf with a lemon frosting was a favourite.  Lots of blueberries, tangy lemon frosting, and moist cake made for a winner.
 

Another yummy treat were these peanut butter balls.  We especially liked the white chocolate dribbled on top.  I've actually made them twice this month, but the second time I tried it from memory and the consistency wasn't exactly the same as the first time.  The experience was fun for M&M who loved moulding the balls before we dipped them in chocolate.

Peanut Butter Balls via Pinterest via chikabaker

I've been  wanting to try these meatballs from Pinterest all summer.  The ingredients were a little out of the ordinary, but nothing hard to find and they definitely added extra flavour to our last batch of spaghetti from my canning last year.  The end of summer also heralds canning season, and spaghetti is next on my list.  (Peaches are today's job!)

Ricotta Cheese Meatballs via Pinterest via Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice (my link via pinterest appears dead, but I found the blog and recipe again through a simple Google search, so the CS&EN link I have posted here seems to still be working)
 

This was a quick project that I think adds simple curb appeal to the house, while making it easier for someone unfamiliar with our house to find there way to the address.  Plus my hubby was getting a bunch of stickers made up for his equipment so this got thrown in free!

Address via Pinterest via MalloryNikolaus Etsy Shop (means you can get your own for only 12.99!!)

I've also been very excited to see our siding arrive and start to make its way onto the house...progress!  Back deck will be next!

 

One final project I undertook in the last few days was some sewing.  My sister-in-law noticed this cute chevron material when we were at Fabricland and I picked up a 16x30 rectangle for 2.50.  It turned into a matching tie and headband for Moose and M&M.  I've made the tie using this site before and loved that I could match Tommy to Emma perfectly.  The headband was also super easy with clear directions and lots pictures.  Style! 

(M&M looks a little grumpy because she had just discovered that one of the girls we go to church with was off to Toronto for school and she wouldn't be able to see her twice a week anymore...it's only been coming all summer, but she just realized how permanent it was!  As for Moose...don't you love his rocking baseball shirt underneath?  He's worn it nonstop since I bought it.)

Headband via Pinterest via the Train to Crazy
Tie via Pinterest via Vanilla Joy
 

July Pinterest

Sob, sob...summer is halfway over!  I'm regretting a bit, now that we are at the midpoint, not doing another summer bucket list!  I felt like it made us remember to do something fun and a little-bit out of the ordinary, if not everyday, then every other day.  I could probably get one started now, but there is a bit of organizational work involved and being that I'm rather anal about organizing, I'm not feeling ambitious enough!  Regardless, our first month of summer went great!

 We started off by heading out to the US to visit with some cousins and other extended family that is scattered throughout, Michigan, Florida, Europe, and then us Ontarians.  It was a relaxing start to the summer! 

In celebration of Canada Day (July 1, for the un-Canadians) and all the yummy strawberries we had at our local u-pick patch I made this strawberry pie.  I've never actually made a plain strawberry pie, because I always thought it needed another berry to pair it with, but was super impressed with how delicious strawberry pie is!  I'd also like to add that we love white chocolate and since I was doing up some strawberry tarts at the same time I paired the strawberries with a white chocolate chunk to make them extra yummy.  When I cut into the pie I decided to melt some white chocolate and drizzle it over the top with whip cream....wouldn't eat it any other way now!

**While I specifically remember reading a blog the day I made this pie so I could do something with my leftover crusts I cannot find the pin on Pinterest or the blog, but if you search for strawberry pop tarts you can find something similar to what you see here!

On the last day of the u-pick strawberries being open for the season we snagged one final bag full that we ended up taking camping.  There are so many fun camping ideas on Pinterest.  This was the one I decided to try since it looked quick and easy.  (Dip strawberries in marshmallow fluff.)  Then you were to skewer the dipped strawberry and roast it over the fire.  It was a good combination, but I had problems with the strawberries staying on the stick as they were getting a bit on the juicy side.  As well, the marshmallow fluff wanted to slide off the strawberry as it heated up.  My sister decided to roast a regular marshmallow and then stuff the strawberry inside of that.  She also thought of adding the strawberry to a smore.  Also an awesome pair!  With the chocolate it was a little bit like a gourmet, albeit much messier, version of a chocolate covered strawberry.  (If you have a hard time finding the marshmallow fluff, it was by the ice-cream cones and toppings in our grocery store.) 

Marshmallow fluff strawberry via Rebekah's Pinterest via Cookie Cutter Frosting

My brother's birthday falls in July and since he has been staying with us it was up to me to make a birthday cake.  I made this yummy sounding lemonade cake.  I was told by the critics that it was not very lemony tasting, but I thought it was perfect.  The frosting really made it...but I'm kind-of a huge fan of cream-cheese frostings.  Aren't my decorating skills amazing?  The sprinkles are supposed to be his first initial, a "D" and he was turning 22, but since I didn't have quite that many candles we made do.

Lemonade Cake via Rebekah's Pinterest via My Recipes




Some days you just need an activity to keep the kids busy so you can finish up a project or make supper or clean up a houseful of disaster.  (Obviously trying to make another pitch for Pinterest here.)  I've had this activity (or the supplies for it) stuck in the cupboard since March, but had decided to wait until warmer weather hit when M&M and Moose could do it outside.  Using cornstarch and shaving cream, mixed, you were supposed to be able to make a kind of snow anytime of year.  However, it didn't work quite as I expected.  I think it would have been better if I had more shaving cream to add to the cornstarch as the "snow" didn't want to stick together enough to form into much of a ball.  The kids had fun running between the sprinkler and their bowls, so I guess the whole fun/occupied idea did work, if not exactly in the way I thought.  The recipe called for 2 boxes of cornstarch to 1 can shaving cream, but I would not dump the entire two boxes out before you start mixing in the shaving cream, or it will not be sticky enough.

Fluffy Snow via Rebekah's Pinterest, but no viable from there link :(

Cinnamon buns (from a can) are a tradition around our house on Saturday mornings.  However we have gotten a little picky and prefer the cheap kind over Pillsbury's version.  I'm forever the sale shopper tho and often pick up Pillsbury's version when they are on sale, thinking common these are Pillsbury, they have got to taste good.  Then after making a can I realize why they aren't so great and am left with a second can in the fridge.  I saw this idea of putting canned cinnamon buns in the waffle maker and decided to try it with the Pillsbury roll we'd had in the fridge for far too long.  They were a fun way to change up our Saturday morning staple and much easier than making a batch of waffles.  We added the icing sugar after cooking and a wee bit of maple syrup as well.

Cinnamon buns via Rebekah's Pinterest via Food Pics Go






We also had fun making these sweet sugar swirl cookies and rolling them in sprinkles.  They've also been a hit, although I prefer my own sugar cookie dough from my Better Home and Garden cookbook.  This dough is very chewy (in a good way).  Similar to those sugar cookies you buy in the store with frosting and sprinkles on top.  It might just be that they need the frosting to take a bit of the dryness out.  Some of my cookies ended up pretty big and while the kids love the big ones I preferred the small ones: you got more sprinkles per mouthful!

Swirled Sugar Cookies via Rebekah's Pinterest via Joysama Images





This was a chocolate chip crack cake that I made when we went to a last minute get-together with some family and friends.  It was yummy, quite sweet, but great with vanilla ice-cream.  It was also very quick to throw together at the last minute.

Chocolate Chip Crack Cake via Rebekah's Pinterest via The Cozy Little Kitchen

Enjoy the second half of your summer!