Evening rituals.
What’s more fun that snuggling and goofing around with Daddy?
Showing off your new glasses, of course!
After 2 years of doing 365 Project, I was well intentioned last year to continue blogging and posting photos without the project keeping me accountable. That fell flat pretty quickly. My desire to take pictures quickly waned, and with nothing to show, I had less to say. I was faced with two options: start another project, or stop blogging.
Start another project it is!
My sister Sherry did a 52 photography project last year, which is appealing to me. With the help of a weekly theme, I like that it still requires discipline in shooting, without the expectation of it being a daily post. I’m in!
I’m joining up with This Is Our Life, a Let’s Do 52 Project by Paint the Moon. Annie Manning from Paint The Moon is an incredibly talented photographer. I first ‘met’ her on 365 Project. Her photos always left me in awe. She has an amazing ability to capture everyday life and make it sparkle. This Is Our Life is a project centered on lifestyle photography. What does that mean? Essentially, lifestyle photography is about capturing the beauty in everyday life. The moments that shape your days that you don’t want to forget. It’s the type of photography I want to excel at, and I am really looking forward to being challenged by a photographer that I think so highly of. Stay tuned!
Well the new year is upon us, and we all know what that means. It’s time to get serious about everything. You ran 5K last year? This is your year for a marathon! You used your credit card too much last year? Time to snowball that debt and take charge of your money! You bought too much food through a window? Time to start cooking at home!
No, these are not my resolutions. Well, not all of them. I will let you guess which, if any, are true.
I baked muffins yesterday. Wholesome, honest-to-goodness good-for-you muffins. Because it’s 2013. And because I made a resolution to eat more vegetables. Vegetables in muffins? Oh yes! This recipe comes to you courtesy of a bunch of different recipes mashed together. I am always foggy on giving credit for recipes. If I take a Jamie Oliver dish, change one ingredient, do I get to call it my own? Apparently I technically do. I don’t get it. These are not Jamie Oliver’s muffins, for the record. They are (sort-of) my own brilliant concoction. The beets I used were a treasure I discovered in my freezer, leftover from the summer. You could swap 2 grated apples. Swap some different dried fruit. Throw in some nuts. Go crazy!
Carrot, Beet, and Chia Muffins
2 c whole grain spelt flour
3/4 c ground flax
3/4 c brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
Stir with a whisk to combine.
1/4 c chia seeds, soaked in 1/4 c water until gelled
2 grated carrots (about 2 cups)
2 c cooked beets, grated
3/4 c raisins
Blend together.
1/2 c Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c canola oil
Blend together, and combine with veggie concoction.
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and bake at 375F for 20 minutes.
This yielded me 12 regular sized muffins and 27 mini muffins. Sorry it doesn’t make a normal, even amount. That always annoys me. I’ll just say it should make 12 regular and 24 mini. That’s better.
My little peppernut muncher.
My little snugglebug. I tried getting a picture of this guy digging through my cupboard full of jars, but as soon as he saw me on the floor he abandoned ship and climbed on top of me for a snuggle.
Little Wyatt, always keen on a goofy photo.
I do love a little dish washing. There is something to be said for warm water and bubbles. I rarely get it in the form of a bubble bath, so I’ll take it in dish-washing form!
Bailey loves to be read to, and this time we enjoyed a new-to-us book from Auntie Jean.
Just taking it easy. I can’t remember, maybe she’s watching TV as she is so prone to want to. Deacon’s always ready to flash a grin.
It’s surprising to find this little guy on a chair at the table – usually he just climbs all the way up so he can really disrupt anything that his siblings are doing.
My dashingly handsome husband, sporting a new pair of glasses. This is one of two pairs, so I will try to get a photo of him in the other pair as well at some point. I think they really suit him!
To be honest, I don’t know what is going on here. Something important, I am sure.
Clay poured some egg nog & rum for us to sip while we watched a movie. This egg nog was so not good – it’s Clay’s favourite and I don’t know how he can drink it! With full fat cream, it’s far too rich for my taste! I prefer it with 2% milk.
Welcome to my Ten on 21! Better late than never, I suppose. We had a bit of a lazy day at home, then headed out to see our wonderful chiropractor.
Somewhat self explanatory, right?
Deacon, way to represent! Anytime hockey is not actually happening is my favourite time to put the kids in jerseys – it shows how much I actually don’t care about sports.
Bailey, showing off ‘her baby’.
Markus, the number master! This guy learned how to play Sudoku last week while he was staying with Grandma, and absolutely loves it! We had a game of Phase 10 today, and he totally whipped my butt.
If you know Wyatt, this makes complete sense.
Time for the grumpy mom to go have a rest on the couch. And by rest I mean I pouted about nothing in particular. Some days it is so much harder to battle the sinfulness of my flesh. I’m very thankful for the reminder last Sunday that real rest comes from being in Christ.
We are ready to roll! Let’s get these bodies back in line!
Ahhh. I love getting a chiropractic adjustment. Love my chiro too!
Supper at Tim Horton’s, before Markus heads to piano lessons with Clay. Bailey, why so grumpy?
There’s her beautiful smile! The little three all had a bath before bed. Now they sleep, and it’s my turn!
How do you use Facebook? Is there a certain part of your life that you put online for people to see, and keep the rest private, or do you put it all out there? I ask because after using Facebook for the past 5 years, I feel like I have no idea how to use it.
- I don’t want to use it to give you a play by play on my life. If it were pertinent information to you, you would likely be involved.
- I don’t want to use it to talk about the weather. Look out your damn window.
- I don’t want to use it to tell you what I cooked for supper. People who do that usually annoy me.
- I don’t want to use it to say that I’m tired and ponder why I haven’t gone to bed. No one cares and I should go to bed.
- I don’t want to use it to tell you that I’m sick. I don’t need you picturing me with kleenex shoved up my nostrils. Oh great, now you’re doing just that.
- I don’t want to use it to tell you that my kids are sick. Then I look like a negligent mom for not pumping them full of every superfood and vitamin known to man. Or you’ll know I let them eat their boogers.
All silliness aside, I’m serious. I don’t know how to use Facebook effectively. None of this information is really helpful at the end of the day.
Anything that might be helpful and fuel constructive discussion, Facebook tends to not be the platform to share it on. If you post anything political, you get hearty cheers of agreement, or ridiculous argument. Nobody’s opinion sways due to what you said. If you post anything spiritual, you get choruses of ‘amen’s, or defensive arguments from people who don’t see things as you do. Does anyone walk away from reading something on Facebook and say to themselves, “Wow, I see things so differently now!” I’m guessing I’m not the only proud person in the world who would answer ‘no’.
So why don’t I just delete my account? I don’t know. Sometimes I consider it. Then the creeper in me gets curious and I need to stick my nose into what people are doing. Business they want me to get into, because they put it online for all their friends to see. I’m not sure I’m much closer to you if I know you made pot roast for supper though. Should I pare down my friends list? If I unfriend you will you still speak to me in real life? Oh wait, we probably never see each other anyway.
There really is helpful online community to be had. I find a lot of encouragement in interacting with church family on Facebook. It’s nice to easily connect with far-away family with a quick message or photo. It’s also helpful for connecting with local homeschoolers.
So what’s a girl to do?
We made plans to go to Beaver Creek with some friends last Monday, and at the last minute they were not able to join us. Already on our way out the door, I decided we would go anyway. I am so glad we did. It was such a beautiful day. For me, this is the most glorious time of year: warm sunshine, cool breeze…oh Lord, my heart is full.
Look at the colour, look at the light. It was so beautiful. So quiet.
We were provided with sunflower seeds to feed the chickadees. At first it was a very bizarre feeling when they perch on your hand, but after a few times we got the hang of it. Well, to be more accurate, everyone except Bailey got the hang of it. She usually just squealed when she felt them touch her, but she did an awesome job being the keeper of the seeds!
What a great catch, getting this bird in flight!
Contemplating. Hmmm, which one looks the best?
The boys had a competition going to see whose pile of seeds was most appealing to the birds. Markus won.
Bailey’s pile was tempting as well, and here she is, squealing with delight.
This would have been a good time to have a longer lens on the camera, but I’m happy with the way this shot turned out with all the foliage framing the bird.
How have I lived in or around Saskatoon my entire life and only been here twice? This is going to be one of my new favourite places to hang out now!
I love these kids. I love ‘doing school’ with them. I am so thankful to have days like this, these glorious days of fall, to go exploring as a family and learn together. I’m of the opinion that this is a far more interesting classroom than any four walls you could find.
The temperature threatened to dip a little too low for comfort last night, so it was time to bring in the tomatoes. I cannot believe how many there are! This is one third of the bounty I found on my plants. My four plants. I did not expect to have this many tomatoes from four plants!
Two years ago I planted tomatoes and they had blight. I ended up with one ripe tomato worth eating. One. I was so discouraged that I didn’t even plant any last year. Oh yeah, and I had a baby. I didn’t want to grow anything slightly temperamental. Well, I am hoping for better luck this year!
So long as these guys ripen and stay looking good, I will have the lovely problem of figuring out what to do with all these tomatoes. Clay votes salsa. Now I just need a foolproof recipe. Who wants a pantry full of bland salsa? Not me.
It’s the tenth, and we all know what that means, don’t we? Ten on Ten!
10:00 a.m.: Just sending a butt load of emails, cleaning out my inbox, and thus clearing mental clutter.
Homeschooling registration is complete! What a load off my shoulders. I stressed about this particular issue for months. Not an active stress, just this naggling thing that I kept postponing. Experienced homeschooling friends told me it was nothing to worry about. They were right.
11:00 a.m.: Goofy boys. I just put the little ones down for a nap so these two were cornered for a photo.
12:00 p.m.: My cup is empty, and my energy levels are running dangerously low.
I am not speaking in riddles here. Look. My cup is literally empty.
1:00 p.m: Lunch is served. Lipton chicken noodle soup, catered for a little girl with an upset stomach.
She spent the entire night in our bed, which means Clay and I slept like…parents with a kid in the bed.
2:00 p.m.: Latte o’clock. You had to know this was coming. Time to refuel!
3:00 p.m.: Poor little Bailey. You know she’s not feeling well when you have to try to talk her into watching TV.
4:00 p.m.: Deacon’s helping with the dishes? This guy definitely keeps me on my toes!
5:00 p.m.: Time to take a dose of Vitamin I. My lack of sleep is manifesting in a serious headache.
6:00 p.m.: Clay’s home and posting his 365 photo for the day.
7:00 p.m.: I finish off the day at a meeting with a bunch of ladies. Chocolate is always welcome.
Check out Ten on Ten and join in: it’s heaps of fun!
This little lady is still sporting her long hair. She didn’t end up getting it cut on Friday because she threw up an hour before her appointment. So for now, we pull the short chunks back in a clip. She’s gorgeous no matter what.
I snuck up to get this shot of her. She was busy making up a scenario with this rope for a good 15 minutes. I could hear high pitched exclamations, “Oh no! Don’t get me!” Then the rope would move and another imagined character would talk in an equally high pitch. How is it she can hang off my limbs and whine all day, and the next she can contentedly sit and play with a rope with no encouragement to do so? Maybe I need to throw out all the toys and replace them with a rope and a few refrigerator boxes. The minimalist in me is all over that idea.