Sweet and Smoky Grilled Cheese -THM S

Okay so I haven't blogged in quite a while but I HAVE to share this recipe.  This was inspired by something my husband had ordered at a restaurant. This has my two favorite things in the world to eat. Bacon, pecans and cheese. Okay that was my three favorite things. I first made this sandwich a week or so ago when my good friend Chrissy Benoit (Visit her blog here, she has lots of yummy recipes) was visiting with her family and when my hubby said she had left her smoked cheddar in my fridge when they left, I knew she was a friend for life. (Visit her blog here, she has lots of yummy recipes)

This sandwich is sweet and smoky. Since I did as I usually do when I cook, throw things in, I don't have actual measurements. So you are going to have to wing it. 

First thing to do is cook up some slices of bacon. However many you think you can stuff in. 

Then you melt a 1/2 tablespoon of butter in a clean skillet and throw a handful of pecans in. To sweeten them up I sprinkled on two packets of Sugar Twin Stevia. Let those toast quickly and set aside. As you can see I let mine get a little too toasty. New stove and I'm not used to how fast it cooks. 

Then you take a pita. I use Joesph's low carb pitas.   Cut it in half and open it up so you can get all that goodness in. 

Slice your cheese. I used two wedges of laughing cow cheese, some slices of smoked cheddar and some smoked Gouda. (Can you tell I love smoked cheese? I was in love when I was in the cheese factory we went to in Amsterdam. Smoked goat cheese is amazing!)

Now it's time to assemble. First spread one wedge of laughing cow on the inside of the half pita, then half the Gouda, then half the pecans, then half the bacon and then half the cheddar. Repeat with the other half of the pita. You have to make sure that you have cheese on either side of the pecans and bacon because that's what holds them in. 

After you have it all assembled, melt some butter on your skillet and carefully place both half of your sandwich onto it. Cook on both sides until toasty and the cheese is melted. 

You will not regret making this sandwich. It is absolute to die for!  I might just make another one tomorrow. 

Healthy bacon wrapped smokies? THM -S

So we started a family tradition last year for New Years Eve. As the kids got older, and we parents got older we found that it was more fun to let the kids invite some friends over, have appetizers and play games until midnight.

Appetizers.....mmmmm my favorite. My problem being on the Trim Healthy Mama plan is that I have to find new or modify my favorite appies. I must confess something here. I totally went off plan for three days over Christmas. And in the process gained a whopping 10 pounds in those three days. Now I hunkered down and managed to lose those 10 pounds in between Christmas and New Years so I was determined not to let New Years derail me again. One of my all time favorite appetizers are bacon wrapped smokies. My kids love them too and they were requested by all four of them in the weeks leading up to Christmas. So inset about trying to figure out how to make some so I could eat them. And that's how I came up with this recipe. 

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Smokies THM-S

1 package of cocktail wieners

1 package of bacon

2 TBSP THM Super Sweet Blend 

2 packets of Truvia

1-2 tsp of your favorite spicey blend (I use a homemade blackening spice blend)

Instructions:

1. Cut your package of bacon in half. Wrap each half piece of bacon around the cocktail wiener and secure with a toothpick. Place them all into a 13x9 baking dish. 

2. Mix the sweeteners and blackening spice together. Sprinkle evenly over the smokies and bake at 325 for 40-50 mins or at 350 for 30 mins or until bacon is crisp. 

I was so excited when I tasted them to find that they tasted just like the sugar filled version I had made the rest of the family . I even remembered to take a picture right before I devoured them. (Don't worry I did share) after I took the picture I had realized that they needed to head back to the oven to crisp up that bacon a bit more. 

Thanks so much for reading and just a reminder. J and I are still fundraising for our trip to Mozambique. We have done pretty good with various projects but still need a bit more to reach our goal. If you would like to learn more about our trip Click Here.  If you would like to donate you can click  on the right hand side of the blog. You could also send a cheque with a note saying who it is for (Natasha) to Summerside Community Church. Please make your cheque payable to:

Summerside Community Church
150 Industrial CrescentSummerside PE C1N 5N6

Thank you so much for your support! Please continue to pray for us as we move forward towards this goal.

Africa 2016!

This little girls name is Maria.  I don't know if I will see her again as she did not live in the orphanage but was one of the village kids.  She had a spirit that would light up the night sky.  I pray for her often.  

We have some exciting news to share with you. Julianna and I have been given the privilege of being part of the 2016 Africa Mission team to Mozambique, Africa. As most of you know I had this awesome experience back in November of 2012. It would be impossible to describe how that trip has changed how I view life and how I love other people. I am absolutely ecstatic that I get to share this adventure with Julianna.

We will be working with Iris Ministries (www.irismin.org) in providing assistance to an area of Africa which has been ravaged by AIDS. Nearly 50% of the young adults are dying of AIDS and leaving large numbers of orphans behind with no one to care for them. Our church members now sponsor more than eighty children in the village of Meize. We will be involved in projects such as much needed medical care, health training, and construction of homes for our sponsored children as well as some other village children so they can attend high school in the city of Pemba, and possibly other projects intended to improve the economic opportunities for the villagers, blessing and being blessed by some of the poorest of the poor. We have committed to returning to the village of Meize every two years to maintain our relationship and support for these orphans and their village.

As a team member we are responsible for raising our own travel costs in addition to collecting clothes, tools and medical supplies to be given to the people in the village we have adopted.

Part of the commitment to the mission is the requirement to enlist the support of others in funding and praying for our participation and the success of the mission. We would love for you to be part of our team, either by donating and/or with your prayers. The total cost of the trip is $ 3,000.00 for each of us. That's a total of $6000.00 for the both of us. This covers everything….plane fare, food, lodging, in-country travel and supplies.

If you would like to support us in this effort we would appreciate it if you would respond immediately as we must have my funds in place as soon as possible so that our flights can be booked. You can click on the donate button below or on the right hand side of the blog. 

You could also send a cheque to Summerside Community Church. Please make your cheque payable to:

Summerside Community Church
150 Industrial Crescent
Summerside PE C1N 5N6

Thank you so much for your support! Please continue to pray for us as we move forward towards this goal.

Here are some pictures from the orphanage we will be visiting.  

Many of the kids wear rags and are so dirty.  This little ones name is Anna and had a gorgeous smile when she smiled. 

Many kids walked around with younger siblings on their backs.

After the feeding program where each child gets a dish of rice and beans, this sister of five took all their dishes, emptied them in to a tupperware type dish and then gave each of them a handful and took the rest home to their family.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes! (S)

Trim Healthy Mama has a fantastic recipe for pancakes.  They are so delicious with a bit of greek yogurt and fruit on top.  The only problem with them is that they are an "E" meal and so I need to limit my fats with it.  You know what that means?  NO bacon!  I know! It's so sad!  Breakfast would not be complete without bacon.   I've looked for pancakes that I could have with bacon but all the recipes I found seemed so complicated.  So I set out to make an S pancake on my own.  Here's what I came up with. I use a baking blend that I make from another website.   Click on the word baking blend to see the recipe. Or THM has their own baking blend but I haven't been able to try it yet.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Pancakes 
servings=1 
time=10 mins 
difficulty=easy

• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp peanut flour
• 2 tbsp low carb baking blend  
• 2-3 packets of Truvia
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp almond milk
• 2-3 frozen strawberries chopped

Directions: Mix all ingredients together.  Fry pancakes with butter in a pan.  Serve with sweetened greek yogurt and strawberries.  

Berry Crisp for One (S)

 So I've been following Trim Healthy Mama now for over a year and a half and I have just finally started to write down some of my recipes.  Now I will share.  This recipe is classified as a "S" for satisfying.   This would be a good dessert to have after a nice steak dinner.  It's classified as an S because of the almond flour and the amount of butter used.  It could be easily converted to an "E" (Energizing) by switching out the almond flour for oat flour and only using 1 tsp of butter.  That way you could use apples or peaches.

Last night I was totally craving a crisp.  So I made this last night for a snack and served it with one spoonful of So Delicious Coconut Milk sugar free ice cream.

Anyway here is the recipe.

Berry Crisp for One

1/2 cup frozen berries
4 packets truvia
Sprinkle of glucomannan
2 tbsp rolled oats
2 tbsp almond flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1tbsp butter, melted


Place berries in ramekin and sprinkle 2 packs of truvia and a sprinkle of gluccie. In separate bowl mix oats, almond flour, cinnamon, and 2 packs of truvia.  Mix in the melted butter and place on top of the berries.   Bake at 350 for 20-22 mins.

Net carbs work out to be 9.9 grams so just under the allowed 10 carbs for a S snack.


Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 241 g 

Calories  462 Calories from Fat  362

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  40.2g 62%

Saturated Fat  9.4g 47%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  31mg 10%

Sodium  102mg 4%

Potassium  43mg 1%

Total Carbohydrates  40.7g 14%

Dietary Fiber  7.3g 29%

Sugars  23.5g

Protein  13.5g

The day's meals.

Hey everyone. 

So I've been doing the Trim Healthy mama plan now for 19 months tomorrow. I have not lost a pound since January but I have gone down in pant sizes and inches since then. This is a hugely successful plan and a way of life for me. I can't believe I get to eat such yummy food that is actually healthy for me. 

Lots of people have asked me what I do and I've explained that on the blog before so today I want to give you an idea on what I eat. I woke up later than usual this morning and I didn't feel like having my regular eggs or oatmeal for breakfast. So I booted up my computer and searched for a pancake recipe that I could have bacon with.  I finally found one that was low carb so I managed to have pancakes and bacon.  The recipe I found had a recipe for a maple butter that was super good. I didn't even need syrup or anything like that. I did put a dollop of greek yogurt on top of each pancake for some extra protein.   Here's where I found the recipe. http://rohndasue.com/2014/05/01/pancakes-grain-free-dairy-free-low-carb/

Because I woke up late and had breakfast late I didn't have time in my day to be able to have a snack. (Since I eat every three to four hours.) So my next meal was lunch!  This was leftover cheeseburger salad from last nights supper. It was so delicious. This recipe is from the pioneer woman website. (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/cheeseburger-salad/). Her cheeseburger salad, only I omit the croutons. I added a spoonful of chipotle ceasar dressing as well. 

I love adding pickles to this salad!

I added dessert to this meal. Yesterday I made a flourless chocolate cake (http://thehomesteaderswife.com/flour-less-chocolate-cake/) and it is delicious!  So dark and rich!  I had it with some sugar free So Delicious coconut milk ice cream. 

No snack again since I had a later lunch so supper is next. I put a small chicken in the oven to roast and served it with green beans and potato wedges for the rest of the family, I had pureed cauliflower with mine. So yummy!  I gulped it down quick as I had some chauffeuring to do with kids activities so I barely got to taste it. Lol. But it was good. 

My evening snack was another slice of cake. This time I sweetened some cream cheese and spread it on top. So yum!  I was so eager to taste that I forgot to take a picture. So there you have it. My day of meals. 

The bright side

Wow, I didn't realize how long it's been since my last post.  It's been almost a year!  To be fair, my life has not changed a whole lot so you haven't missed much.  In a nut shell in the last 8 months, the kids finished up another year of homeschool (grades 7, 4, 2 and kindergarten respectively) we had a slow start to our summer since it was still cold in July! That meant we didn't get to the beach as much as we would have liked but Augusts and Septembers weather made up for a cold June and July. We even managed a beach day or two in September which is usually unheard of.  August was an extremely busy month with the girls taking part in the two week Spotlight Theatre Company's musical theatre camp as well as "T" going away to camp for the first time, then little miss Sweet Pea's 6th birthday, a conference "J" and I worked at for our church and J going away for camp following that. By the time September came around, I was ready to return to the routine of school and fall activities.  This meant though that we had to say goodbye during the days to our sweet T who decided he wanted to try grade five in public school. We as parents decided that if he wanted to do that then that is what we will let him do even though in my heart I hated the fact that he would be away for so much of the day each day.  So we slid into routine, T fit very well in school as we knew he would because he is just such a likeable kid and the other three started their homeschool year. I found with one less child to teach, it was easier to focus on my little grade 1 student and getting her to learn how to read. We decided to skip a grade with "I" who is now doing primarily grade 4 work (and some grade 5) and he is moving along smoothly as long as I can make sure he focuses.  "J" is plodding along in grade 8, not particularly enjoying school but glad to be able to stay home and do school in her pjs if she wants.

So here we are. I'm going to try and fill this post with bright sides... you know those silver linings that are hard to see when we are having  a miserable day/week.  We just began our fourth week of school. Let me tell you about how our week has gone so far. Let's start with Friday night.  What a fun night. We had friends over for supper. A supper that has been long overdue considering our busy summer.  After supper we got a phone call from other friends of ours who were in town. We were just about to play a new game we just got called The Resistance (get it, try it, it's a blast and you may not ever trust anyone again lol) so we invited them over too. This meant even more kids to play with for our own. I think with all the families combined plus neighbor kids we had 11-12 running around. So the adults sat down to play the game and the kids ran outside to play at the cul de sac behind our house.  We adults were having fun mistrusting each other when our friends 8 year old daughter came in the house saying someone was hurt.  After trying to figure out which kid she was talking about hubby jumped up and looked out the back door. He comes in and says "It's "J" and the boys are carrying her home."

At this point I jump up because if she needs to be carried home then it must be serious. Just as I get to the door, I hear them coming and her saying "ok I'm good". I relax.  She wasn't crying as she hobbled in so it must not have been too bad. She just said she twisted her ankle.  So we get her ice, everyone starts packing heir kids up ready to start home. Hubby had plans with other friends later in the evening so he left as our friends left. As soon as everyone was gone, I look at "J" and she burst in to tears saying how much her ankle hurt. The little stinker downplayed her injury while everyone was still there.  So since both boys left with our friends for sleepovers, I put Sweet Pea to bed and "J" and I cuddled in my bed watching a movie.  As she went to bed later that night, I hoped that by morning, the pain would have subsided.  It didn't..  the next morning, she complained that it hurt more and that she didn't sleep much of the night because of it.  Sooo I made arrangements for Hubby to cart Sweet pea and our neice to their dance class and took 'J' to the ER.  Seven hours of waiting in the waiting room ensued.  Finally we are called in, see the dr for all of 1 minute, get some xrays and get a diagnoses of a sprained ligament and instructions to stay off it for a week.  On the bright side..... my sweet aunt let us borrow some crutches that she had so we didn't have to rent them.

Fast forward to Monday... yesterday... I wake up to get the boy off to school and get my day started.  Hubby is just about to walk out the door for work when a full bottle of vanilla (big bottle from costco) jumps out of the cupboard and falls on the tile breaking the cap off.  On the bright side.... I managed to grab it before we lost too much of it.  Hubby helps to clean it up as much as he can before rushing off to work.  I end up getting the mop out and mopping the kitchen floor and since I had it out, I may as well mop the living room floor as well. The bright side now?  The house smells like delicious vanilla!  As I am doing that, I send "T" up to the attic to retrieve some little people toys for the little girls I was babysitting later on that morning.  So there we were, mopping the floor and rummaging in the attic.  As he comes back down, we happen to look at the time..  What do you know.. it's 8:19 and his bus comes at 8:25.  He scrambles out the door and I watch as he makes it to the bus stop.  I look at my watch, whew he made it and it was only 8:20.
Ahh.. as the other kids start straggling out of their beds, I realize I hadn't had time to eat breakfast so I start my daily routine of making oatmeal.  Just as I am about to get it into the microwave to cook, "T" comes into the house saying, "I think you need to drive me to school"  I look at my watch... 8:33. CRAP!  School bell rang 3 minutes ago and we had 2 minutes to get there before school started.  The bright side is we literally live a one minute drive from his school and 'J' is old enough to stay with the other kids while I ran out so I didn't have to pile everyone in the car.

So I got T to school, got the other kids started on their schoolwork, welcomed my little 21 month old nephew in who I babysit on Monday mornings and the two other little girls that I babysit on Mondays as well and went on with our day.  It was a fairly easy day.. The baby (9 month old) was super easy and had two naps for me. Even the other little girl (2 years) napped in the afternoon.  Things finally seemed to be running smoothly.  Until I started to feel dizzy, scratchy throat and my nose started filling up.  Ugh.. I had finally caught the cold that had run it's course through our household and so had 'J'   The bright side is I had gotten paid for babysitting so I had a little extra money and it was half off day at Greco so I ordered pizza for supper and didn't have to cook.  Hubby even took "I" to karate for me.

That evening as we started to wind down, three kids were in bed and I was watching a tv show with J when I heard  what I thought was hubby coughing.  Then a weak little "MOM" came from the bathroom.  Yup, it was 'T' throwing up.   After he was done though, he was convinced it was that he had ate too much junk that day and that he felt perfectly fine.. Since he sleeps on the top bunk, we decided it would be safer if he slept on the couch anyway just in case.  Boy was I glad he did.  Now normally, all our kids do very well getting to the toilet in time when having a stomach bug.. it's very rare to have any mess to clean up.  Last night was one of those rare times.  At about 11:00, I see him run past our bedroom to the bathroom.  I go to check on him and what a mess.  There were literally piles of puke from the couch to the bathroom.. probably a good 10-15 feet worth.  Here's the bright side.... my hubby has always been one to get in there and help clean up these kinds of messes.  If he weren't, I think I would have cried.  As we got 'T' into the shower and started to clean, we realized that I still had the steam mop out from that morning.  Perfect!  It took probably 20 minutes to get everything clean but the bright side is my living room, hallway and bathroom floors all are very clean and mopped.  We got 'T' settled in again this time on our "sick mat" on the floor with a nice big bucket.  He continued to throw up all night long and into the morning.  The bright side is we got to keep him home from school and enjoy him for the day and he is starting to feel much better.

My lack of sleep + cold symptoms has turned into a massive sinus headache but the  bright side is I am here... I'm alive and it's just a cold.  I will survive.

Based on how my week has started I could be miserable and complain but I choose to look at the bright side of things and know that tomorrow is a new day full of new silver linings!

Beauty

Hey Everyone,

I know that I don't post on this blog very often but sometimes I am just inspired.   As some of you know, I've been doing this eating right thing for going on 11 months now. In the beginning, I was reluctant to mention it to anyone... Just in case I failed. So I promised myself that once I hit 50 lbs lost, I would blog about it.  Well, I am blogging a bit late, because 50 lbs has come and gone.. This morning I stepped on the scale and I realized that I had met my second short term goal... that is to be the same weight as I was before I got pregnant with my oldest almost 13 years ago.   57 pounds gone....  So for those who are curious, I am going to explain how I am doing it and then I want to tell you a few stories of what I have experienced since I started this journey.  

In order to tell this story, I will have to go back to a year ago.  I was on Facebook and noticed a picture of a lady that I knew.  They were kind of before and after pictures of her after losing some weight.   She inspired me.  At that same time, Hubby took some pictures of me and this is what I saw...  

That picture was taken a year ago.. when I saw it, I was shocked.  You see I am one of those people that when I look in the mirror, I don't see how big I am.  Not sure why.  I always look smaller in mirrors. haha.  So to see a picture of myself was a big shock.   

So I did some digging into how my friend on facebook had lost so much weight.  I found out that she was doing a plan called Trim Healthy Mama.  

 It just so happened that I had gotten some money for Christmas so I ordered the book right away.   While I waited for the book to arrive, I slowly starting cutting out refined sugar from my diet.  I couldn't wait.   Change had to happen NOW.  

My book arrived and I officially started the Trim Healthy Mama plan on March 2nd.  The basics of the plan (and I mean basics, to really grasp the concept you would have to read the book) are separating your fuels.  Fats vs Carbs. That keeps your blood sugar balanced. There different meal types.  S (Satisfying) meals are meals that are full of good fats (butter, coconut oil, meats) and no more than 10 grams of carbs. An example of an S meal would be my lunch today, I had leftover beef spaghetti sauce over baked spaghetti squash and topped with some mozza and parmesan cheese.  E (Energizing) meals are meals that have between 20-45 grams of good carbs (brown rice, sweet potatoes, sprouted grain breads, oatmeal), lean protein (chicken breast, tuna etc) and no more than 5 grams of fat. An example of an E meal would be baked oatmeal with berries and greek yogurt or maybe chicken breast served with rice or maybe even on some sprouted bread. This meal is where you would get your fruits as well.   Fuel pull meals have 5 grams or less of fat and 10 grams or less of carbs,  Don't be deceived.  Fuel pull meals can be very filling, for example the other day I sauteed chicken breast with peppers and mushrooms but instead of using oil, I used fat free chicken broth. I was able to eat a heap of food and be under my limits for a fuel pull meal.  The main thing is to always have protein, especially with meals that have carbs in them.   It's really an easy plan to follow but like most eating plans, there are things to avoid.  I've had to give up all sugar, white potatoes, white bread, corn.  (That last one was no loss to me though, I hate corn! haha)  

Now you might think that not having sugar means I don't get to have any sweets.  Not so.. Just yesterday I had chocolate pie.   There are alternatives to sugar that are just as good although a little more expensive.  I mainly use a Stevia/Erythritol mix.  You have to be careful when buying this because sometimes it will say Stevia on the box but in the ingredients they have maltodextrin in it which is derived from corn which will spike your blood sugar.  I use this mostly...  

You can also use Xylitol which can be bought at the Bulk Barn in Canada.  I am very very careful when I use Xylitol because it is very toxic to dogs and I would hate my little pup to ingest it.  So I only use it in drinks and never use it in sweets that my kids might want and drop on the floor.  

 Don't go thinking that I am constantly counting my carbs and fats either.  For one thing, you don't count the carbs in non starchy veggies and you don't count the fat in your lean protein (as long as it is a lean protein, you wouldn't eat red meat or bacon with a carb laden meal)  I've done this long enough now that I know what foods fall in what category.  So that's the basic premise of the plan.  Now I want to share some stories of my experience.   But first some pictures.  I did take pictures in the last 10.5 months so I could see for myself the change.   I have a lot more to go but I will say this, I am proud of myself. 

As you can see, there is quite a difference. Now I want to share something.  I have had so many people come up to me and tell me how great I am looking.  In church, at the grocery stores and even in restaurants.  Everyone wants to tell me to keep up the good work and how I inspire them.  It has been great.  It has been encouraging to me that people notice.  I had several people tell me even today.  It makes you feel good when someone notices your hard work and says something.   It certainly boosts the self esteem.   I have noticed even within myself that I am bolder, more confident as if my weight had somehow squashed down a part of me.   

A couple weeks ago, I was on stage at church on the worship team and after church while talking with my friends, several of them told me how beautiful I was.  I was certainly flattered but later in my own quiet time as I reflected on my day I realized that that was the first time that I could remember that anyone besides my husband had told me that I was beautiful.  Today after getting another encouraging compliment from someone, I started reflecting on that again.  A year ago, no one told me I was beautiful, no one told me that I was glowing, no one told me how great I looked that day.   

This is my biggest revelation from this journey.  Beauty is not how we look.  Beauty is not how much we weigh.  Beauty is who we are, how we treat others and how we treat ourselves.   We love our loved ones not because of what they look like, we love them for who they are so why wouldn't we tell them they are beautiful ALL THE TIME?  Comments like "you look great today" or "You are just sparkling!" lift people up.  People need to be lifted up always.  

That's my challenge to you.  Look past weight, look past looks.  Tell someone they are beautiful.  Tell someone how much you appreciate them. 

Room makeover

When we moved in this house six years ago, "J" got to pick the colours for her room.  She was 6 at the time and picked a pink and purple room.  Because she didn't have to share, she got the smallest room.  Her sister came along a year later and ten months after that it was time for them to share a room.  Because she had the smallest room, we decided to give her our master bedroom while we took her room.  So we used some leftover paint and painted her beautiful pink and purple room to suite our needs (well truth is, I don't think hubby would like having a pink and purple room)  Our master bedroom was painted a lovely caramel colour.  Lovely when I was in that room.  Not so lovely to my 7 year old daughter.  We promised her that we would change her room colour as soon as we could.  To make it a bit more girly, we did paint a beautiful tree in there.  

Over the years, we have tried many things to keep the room organized so they could share comfortably.  Unfortunately as "J" gets older, she is needing more and more privacy.  A place to call her own.   Recently I came up with the idea of building "J"  her own private bed complete with a curtain.  So I enlisted my wonderful father's help and so began the bedroom makeover.

Her last bed was mounted up on the wall to give space for Sweet Pea's bed underneath but even still we had two dressers in the room and it just felt so crowded.    Here's a picture of their previous beds..

"J" was tired of having a bed so close to the ceiling and I didn't blame her. As you can see, she didn't have a ladder, just a dresser to climb up with.  In order to take out the dressers, we needed to build the bed with a dresser built in.  Let me tell you, my dad is a genius!  I scoured the internet looking for ideas.  All I had to do is present these ideas to him and he starts building.   What he came up with was beyond my imagination!

 To "J's" delight, because we were going to be taking down her previous bed, we were going to have to do some crack filling and repaint the room.    When she told me what her colour choice was going to be (And yes she convinced Sweet Pea to want that same colour) I wasn't so sure about it, but I got some colour swatches and with a little compromise, we came up with something we both loved.

And now without further ado,.... The pictures....  (p.s. I tried to find a picture of the other side of the room but couldn't so just imagine it.. it's basically a wall and a closet hehe)  Also I didn't get many pictures of the bed building in progress but I did take pictures of the installation when I could.

Bed is in, enclosed, the end wall is drywalled and it is primed.  The hole at the end of the bed is the access point to some storage space we made sure to have.

We decided on this purple for the accent colour since it matches well with her comforter.

Dad built some beautiful shelves to put all her treasures on.

Got colour on the interior wall.  Excuse the mess.. We didn't have a place to put the girls while we made over their room and goodness it's hard to have a workspace and girls living in that same place.

We liked the bookshelf on the other end of the bed so much, we decided to build another one for above her head.  Also found these perfect curtains for cheap and got them up.

Oh and like I said, my dad is a genius so he went ahead and added a pot light to the shelf as well as an electrical outlet so she could charge her ipod on her shelf.

another picture of the shelf at the end of her bed already filled with stuff.  Oh notice that little lap desk?  My dad found it at value village for her!  Isn't it great?  It opens up and dad built a little box under where it opens to store paper and her pencils.

After a LOT of painting and lots of days since I took on this project on my own, I finally got the room completed.  Now you may notice that Sweet Pea's matteress is on the floor.  That's because dad is working on a captains bed for her so we can completely get rid of the dressers all together. It will come probably for not a few more weeks though as time seems to be not in my favor these days.

Behind the door 

Sweet pea's side of the room.  We are still looking for a perfect comforter for her but for now her sister's old rainbow bright quilt works.  Also if you look up in the previous pictures, that white shelf shaped like a house that was on the wall above J's bed, will be installed on the wall above Sweet Pea's bed so she can have a shelf of her own.  She is very excited about this.  I didn't want to put it up until we got her bed in there though just so we don't put any unnecessary holes in the wall. :)

Middle of the room.  That dresser will be gone as soon as Sweet Pea's bed is made. J is asking me to build her a desk in that spot but I may just enjoy the open space for a while.  

J's side of the room.  Can you tell she is just a tiny bit obsessed with zebra print?  My dad gave her the rug for her birthday this year and she was just over the moon.  The curtains are see through so she doesn't get as much privacy as she would like but I have some wonderful plum colored sheets that my dad found in his stash that I am going to sew into the backs of them to make them thicker.

End of J's bed and the closet is to the left.  

And there you have it, I know I had a few of you curious from the remarks I've made on facebook but I really wanted to wait until it was all finished before I shared pictures.  Like I said before, I wasn't crazy about the idea of mint green in the room but I have to say, I love how bright it has made the room.  I never realized how dark that wonderful caramel color made the room until now.  

Invisible....

I wrote a whole update on our life but it seemed trivial compared to what was really on my heart to share. What I really was writing this blog post about was what I feel as though God is speaking to me.  In the last few weeks and months I've been struggling. I feel sometimes as though my emotions are out of control. And before you go thinking the worst about me, I do have some valid reasons. However because my very being is so raw and hurt right now, things don't necessarily roll off my back as easily as they once did.  I find myself getting offended and hurt over the littlest things. I've been finding myself becoming resentful and bitter about things that wouldn't have bothered me before.  Anyway, when I am at church, during the worship time, that's when I feel Gods presence in my life the most. That's when He talks to me.  When He teaches me.  Last Sunday morning was not the best of Sunday's. Sweet pea our spirited one woke up with a scowl on her face. As soon as I saw it, I knew we were in for a rough morning and I was right. Getting her dressed for church was a nightmare. It actually required both of us to dress her. One to hold her while the other one dressed her as she kicked and flailed her arms.  It was so bad that she was actually still crying as we were walking into church. I didn't even bother trying to suggest she go to kids church.  Anyway, I was wiped out before church started and as the music started I closed my eyes and just rested in the words that were being sung. The worship team sang a new song but it was a song I had listened to over and over at my house in different times of my life.  Some of the words go like this "You know when I rise and when I fall. When I come or go, You see it all. You hung the stars and You move the sea, and still You know me". As those words washed over me, my mind saw the scene of this morning where we were struggling with our daughter. The scene was a bit different though. I felt as though God was there watching and seeing.  I felt as though he was saying "I see you, I see your struggles, I am here."  I pondered that all day and then promptly forgot about it as I went head first into a very busy, very stress filled week. Then today during the worship time at church, as my emotions rolled around inside me, I was feeling unimportant, even invisible. The instant that thought came into my head, another one crowded it right back out and it was this. "Even when I am feeling invisible, I am NOT invisible to the one who matters most."  And that's what I felt like I needed to share with the world.   We will have times where life isn't going as planned, where we feel as though we are not seen by anyone but I want everyone to know and remember God sees us. He knows us, He is there no matter what.  That brings me so much comfort in the hard times. I hope I don't forget it this week and remember His promises. I hope this message has reminded you too.  Even when you are feeling invisible, you are not invisible to the only one who matters. 

Books versus movies

Tonight my small son said something that made my heart sing.....

Wait let's go back. 

A long time ago, when I was first toying with the idea of homeschooling, I envisioned children settling in with their noses in books. I thought surely homeschooling will give me the opportunity to turn my children into lovers of the written word. After all, I love to read and their father loves it even more.  

I had heard that reading to your children from an early age helps to foster the love of reading.  We started collecting books and reading to that girl before she was even born. But as we started to teach our oldest how to read, it became apparent that this was not as easy as we thought. Much to my dismay, she struggled and struggled to learn to read. Although she was reading small words at an early age, it took her years to learn to read well.  By this time reading had become a chore to her.  

When it came time to teach the second child how to read, I changed my strategy and though he learned to read much quicker he still did not love to read. For these two children reading is not something that was fun for them, they only read when they are asked to.  Sometimes I can get "J" to read by finding something that interests her but it is not often that I succeed.  As time went on, I had to assign books and force them to read things just to keep their skills up. I came up with reward systems and incentives. These worked a bit,"T"was allowed to stay up after bedtime and read. This is when he started to really improve. 

Then it was the third child's turn to learn to read. After my first two experiences, I dreaded the thought of teaching him.  "I" was eager to learn to read like his siblings. I marvelled at how good his memory was and how quickly he understood concepts.  Reading clicked with him quickly and a month into first grade he was already reading well above his age level.  I would find him reading by himself nobody around. But still his brother and sisters influenced him. They thought reading was boring and so he must think that too.  He would much rather watch a tv show or play a video game than read.  Still, I would find him curled up on the couch reading his little sister a story or just reading to himself. Where ever he saw words, he would be reading them. Signs, cereal boxes, whatever. It got to the point where we had to be careful what we were reading around him because he was a quick reader and would read over your shoulder.   Phew. Finally a child who didn't think reading was the worse torture imaginable. 

So a couple months back, I decided that I would read "The Chronicles of Narnia" series to him. I had tried before to read to them but they didn't have the attention span. I wondered if we would be able get through them even now because he is a very active boy and gets distracted easily.   Low and behold, when we started the first book, (The Magicians Nephew) the story captivated him. We finished that book and moved on to the second book (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe). Now I have a rule and I declared that rule years ago in hopes it would get my older two reading that if there is a movie about a book, they were not allowed to watch that movie without reading the book.  So when we started reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, I told him at there was a movie about it. He was so excited because he just loves movies.   This book captured his imagination even more and we ended up reading the book in two days. (He would read until he got tired and then I would read for a while). So finally tonight was the night he has been waiting for.  TV night. (Another one of my rules, we only have so many nights where the tv goes on, I am a meanie I know). 

So after supper we settled down to watch the movie. We were three quarters through the movie when he said it.......

"You know Mom, I like books better than movies."  When I asked him why he thought that, he said "Books tell you what the people are thinking and movies don't." 

There you go. My heart sang.   I finally have a lover of the written word. Now that's not to say that he isn't going to grumble about having to read something or that he is better than my other two. I will still continue to encourage all my children to find things to read that interest them and I am open to suggestions. I gave "J" a list of books I would like her to read over the summer, she has already read one of them and has found a series at the library that she likes. My sister has also introduced Archie Comics to her and she is reading those.  We will be going to the library three times a week for reading clubs this summer and I have taught both "J" and "T" how to look up books in the library's online catalogue. Both of them have their own library card.  Reading will always be something that I encourage but I am glad that at least one of my children does not need to be prodded or nagged into reading. 

Aslan!

Summer Days....

Well, summer has finally arrived!  It's 30 degrees outside, the kids are playing with the hose and I'm sitting inside in the air conditioning!  We got our heat pump last fall so we never got to try out the air conditioning and on a day like today, oh it's nice to have!  Anyway, here I sit in the air conditioning and I thought I better up date my blog. It will mostly be pictures.  I've been trying harder to take pictures with my real camera more.  I found that I was only ever taking pictures with my phone and those were always blurry or pixelly.  So I've started pulling out my big camera and now I have to show them off!

Isn't this just the picture of summer?

A couple of weeks ago, poor "T" caught a virus that left the inside of his mouth and tongue covered in sores.  The poor guy didn't eat anything but pediasure for two weeks.

Last week, I decided to teach "J" how to make a spaghetti dinner.  She did a wonderful job with it.  I had her do all the steps while I documented the whole thing!  

This one was taken by my phone.. see the difference in quality?

She even cut her finger and kept on going!

She doesn't like mushrooms can ya tell?

Opening cans is hard!

Learning to cook is not a clean job!

Ready to eat!

Very pleased with her work!

She even made dessert!!  

Now for today's pictures!  I found an idea to make a sprinkler out of a pool noodle so we set to work.  The kids had a blast with it as well.  

"I" ready to start the hose!

 

 

Love the look she gives "I" after he throws the water in her face!

Lollypop wanted to have some fun chasing kids too.

"I" got knocked to the ground.

Lollypop saw her opportunity and "I" didn't suspect a thing!

AND IMPACT!  Not sure if that was what Lollypop meant to do or not but it was pretty funny!

They got thirsty.. haha no they were just trying to get Lollypop to come and take a drink again so I could get a picture of her.  I had missed it when she was drinking earlier.  

She's a pretty cute puppy all by herself anyway.  Anyway, all in all, it's been a pretty wonderful summer day! And that's all the pictures I have for now!