Snow!

Imagine our surprise last night when Pete went out to the garage and found our walkway covered in snow!  October 27th and there's snow on the ground?!!!  Personally, I think that's a bit too early!  The kids however were ECSTATIC!  Olivia was still awake when we saw it, so we let her get out of bed and see it.  She wanted to wake Naomi up to show her, which we of course did not allow!  They woke up at 5:30 this morning and when Olivia told Naomi about it, that's all we heard about coming from their bedroom.  I have been wished a Happy Christmas multiple times this morning; we have had a Santa and an elf running around; we've already discussed whose boots are whose.  There have been many joyful shreeks and exclamations.  Naomi informed me that not only was there snow in the front yard, but there was snow in the back yard too!  Imagine that!

Staying Healthy This Winter

I found a great article this morning on natural ways to boost your family's immune systems during the cold and flu seasons.  We have been doing pretty good with keeping sugar and processed foods to a minimum and substituting whole grains when we can.  I've been buying 100% whole wheat bread, crackers and pasta and substituting at least half if not the whole measure of flour in a recipe with whole wheat and trying to use honey or raw sugar instead of white sugar.  So far so good!  We've been managing to avoid the cold that is going around (knock on wood!)  After being sick almost the entire winter with colds, bronchitis, ear infections etc last year, I'll do whatever I can to keep us healthier this year!  I have no intentions of lugging all three/four kids in and out of the doctors office this year!

Here's to a healthier winter!!!

The Attic

This might not be very exciting for the rest of you, but I was beyond excited when my attic was emptied into the living room:

And organized to this when it was complete!  I wish I had taken a before picture, but just picture this....collapsing cardboard boxes stacked very non-neatly, misc. clothes and bags of clothes all over...every cardboard box had a mouse nest of birdseed and popcorn kernels in it!  We freecycled 15 garbage bags full of stuff!  WOHOOO!!!!  Now ALL clothes and shoes are stored in mousesafe plastic totes...labeled appropriately (with girl clothes in pink and boys in blue!), stacked in numerical order!  It only took 4 LONG days to do it, but it was worth it!!!  So if you stop by and find me sitting staring at my attic, you'll know why!

Recipes

I stumbled upon a few delicious recipes lately and thought I would share them!  I also found a new website (new to me anyway!) called Ziplist where I can save recipes to my recipe box.  I haven't organized it or really explored it yet and if someone has a better way to organize recipes online, please let me know!  I was using Delicious, but we switched back to Internet Explorer and it doesn't work with IE as well as it did with Firefox. 

Anyway, on to the recipes:

Carmalized Butternut Squash (I also used sweet potatoes instead one time and it turned out delicious!)

Serves: 6

2	butternut squash (4 to 5 pounds total)
6-8 tbsp	unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
14 cup	light brown sugar (packed)
112 tsp	kosher salt
12-1 tsp	black pepper (fresh ground)

Method

1	Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2	Cut off the ends of each butternut squash and discard.
3	Peel the squash and cut in half lengthwise.
4	Using a spoon, remove the seeds.
5	Cut the squash into 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" cubes (large and uniform is best), and place them on a baking sheet.
6	Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt and pepper.
7	With clean hands, toss all of the ingredients together and spread out in a single layer on the baking sheet.
8	Roast for 45 minutes to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize.
9	Turn the squash while roasting a few times with a spatula to be sure it browns evenly.
10	Adjust seasonings if needed.
11	Serve hot.
12	Enjoy!

Ham and Cheddar Chowder

6-8 ServingsPrep: 20 min. Cook: 25 min.

Ingredients

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups cubed peeled potatoes
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 can (15-3/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1-1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham

Directions

• In a large saucepan, bring the water, potatoes, carrots, celery,
• onion, salt and pepper to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for
• 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Remove from the
• heat; do not drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in flour until
• smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2
• minutes or until thickened.
• Add cheese and stir until melted. Stir into the undrained vegetables;
• return large saucepan to the heat. Add corn and ham; heat through,

Overnight Pumpkin French Toast Casserole (This was yummy, and will be going on our favorites list, but next time I plan to add some chopped apples into it to add some flavor!)
1/2 C Butter
12 slices White Bread
1/2 C Brown Sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 – 1/2 c.  pumpkin
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
5 eggs
1 1/2 c Milk
Melt the margarine and pour into a 9×13 pan. Mix the brown sugar and the pumpkin spice seasoning. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, milk & vanilla together.
Spread a thin layer of pumpkin (as if you were buttering a piece of bread) on six of the slices of bread. Layer the bottom of the 9×13 pan with all six pieces. Next, sprinkle half of the brown sugar and pumpkin spice mixture over the top of the pumpkin that is spread on the bread. Spread a thin layer of the pumpkin over the next six pieces of bread the same way. Pour the egg mixture over the top of all of it and then sprinkle the remaining brown sugar/pumpkin spice mixture over the top.
Cover & refrigerate overnight or at least 6-8 hours. Honestly, the longer the better. In the morning, cover the dish with tinfoil and bake in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, uncover the dish and bake an additional 15 more minutes. It should be golden and set.
Remove from oven and serve hot. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar if you want. This can also be served with syrup, butter, whipped cream or just eaten plain. It is delicious!
P.S. We are going to try it with some other “flavors” and I will let you know what we come up with, that actually works and tastes good.

Cute Sayings from the Kids

Thought I'd give this week's installment of cute kid sayings...not a day goes by without something funny coming out of at least one of them!  Wish I could remember them all!

Olivia: We went to Davis Farmland the other day and they have a section with adorable playhouses all set up in a little village.  They have houses, a tool shed, a market, a vet, etc.  Olivia spent most of the time in the vet house.  I went in and asked her how she was doing and she said: "This is my cat Laura.  She's very sick.  She has very bad cavities in her ears and her belly!"  Later on she told me the cat died! 

Naomi:  Upon asking her what we should name the baby if it is a girl, she replied "Butterfly Island" and continues to say so day after day!  Needless to say, she will not be naming this child!

The girls "get married" on a daily basis now.  Some days it's an elaborate occasion...like today when they danced to George Winston music.  Some days, it's very matter of fact...they "have the marriage", "pop out a baby" and get on with life!

I wish I could think of the other things they've said and done over the last few days!  If I remember them, I'll post again!

Cute Sayings from the Kids

A couple cute little saying from the kids over the last few days:

Naomi calls her corn flakes "snow flakes", her sparkly shoes "sprinkly shoes"; wants to be a "mail box" when she grows up, thinks that Nana "has hips" since she had her hip surgery.  Ang was sitting in Nana's wheelchair the other day and Naomi got all concerned and asked GeeGee if she "had hips" too!  Her balloon was deflated, so she said it was "out of breath".

Timmy refers to his new pumpkin as his "meeka".  He also points to himself and says his name when he wants something.  Like tonight, the girls each said their Hail Mary's during the Rosary and he started pointing to himself saying his name.  He wanted a turn! 

After the Rosary at night, Pete told the kids to line up next to each other so they all could blow the candle out at the same time.  The following night, as soon as the Rosary was finished, Timmy climbed down, put his feet right on the line of the rug and said "next, next" wanting to blow out the candle!  We told Olivia to hold her hair back when she blows the candle out and now Timmy holds his hair back!

He also appeared out of nowhere shortly after I put him in his playpen the other day...sure enough, he's learned how to climb out of it!  He's also learned how to climb out of his crib now.  Now there's no safe place for him! 

Olivia said something funny the other day, but naturally now I can't remember.  Pregnancy sure does mess with your memory!  As soon as you think of something, it's already gone! 

In other news, you should see my living room right now!  It is piled HIGH in boxes and boxes and boxes of clothes!  We emptied the entire attic into the living room and are transferring all the kids clothes into organized, labeled, storage totes...that won't break and tumble all over...that won't allow mice to create nests of popcorn kernels and birdseed in them...that will stack nicely...AND that are color coded- pink for girls, blue for boys!  WOOOHOOO!!!  I can't wait to get it done!  I have about half of it done.  In the process, I am getting rid of anything excessive or ruined or that we just won't need.  I freecycled 7 bags already!  Our attic is going to breath again!

Time to go take a breather before I hit the other half tomorrow!  I'd better get this done soon before my belly gets too big to bend!  I struggled with tying my shoes for the first time yesterday...blech!  Oh well!  Comes with the territory!

Happy Feast of St. Francis of Assisi!

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

---

Happy Feast of St. Francis of Assisi!  St. Francis is a favorite of Pete's, so of course we had to celebrate today!  We started the day by reciting the above prayer at breakfast with the kids.  The girls colored a coloring page of him and watched the CCC movie Francis: Knight of Assisi.  We had animal crackers in honor of his love of animals and leftover cake for dessert!  We also had a Tuscan Chicken Stew in honor of his Italian Heritage!

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us and please restore our Church once more!

Happy Feast of St. Therese of the Little Flower!

Today is the feast of St. Therese of the Little Flower on the Traditional calendar.  Being that St. Therese is such a wonderful saint and Naomi's patron saint (her middle name is Therese), we had to celebrate!

~We colored these paper dolls and their accessories and glued the accessories onto the dolls.
~We cut out this picture from this assortment of beautiful pictures of St. Therese and the girls decided to glue it to the back of their dolls.
~Of course we had to have dessert tonight!  We ended up having a delicious caramel pecan chocolate cake.

I tried to take a picture of the girls and their paper dolls, but couldn't find my camera of course!  I know I have it here because I took a picture of Timmy with sunglasses on upside down playing with a mini guitar!  Hopefully I'll find it soon!

On to the feast of St. Francis of Assisi tomorrow!  We have more plans for that feast!