First hair cut!

It seems this is quite the year for first hair cuts!  First Miss J got hers (and gave to locks of love), then Mr. K had all of his sweet curls cut off, this week it was Miss C's turn.  We were not quite ready to cut her hair, but she asked so sweetly....

"I want my hair cut, but only if you do it mom.  I want my hair just like Mommy, Miss E and Miss J"

I cut off about two inches and sent her to look in the mirror.  The verdict was "its not as short as Miss J's, it needs to be shorter"  so I took another inch or so off.  I had fun layering it too since her hair is so fine and feathers out a bit, it is much more forgiving.

Jammie drill!

We like to do jammie drills from time to time, but tend to do more around Christmas.  The other night as the kids were just about to head for bed Daddy said "5 minutes, Jammie Drill!" at which point all of the kids quickly scrambled to not only get their own shoes on, but the little one's shoes as well and scramble into the van in 5 minutes.

Daddy ordered all sorts of goodies like chicken strips, fries, fish 'n chips, soup and pancakes.

 

No Jammie Drill would be complete without dessert.  We got a whole candy cane pie to share!

These are not just fun activities to do with the kids, but a way to tie the heart strings of our children and build bonds and memories that we hope will last their lifetimes.

shooting rubber bands

Mr. K has been watching his brothers closely.  He loves playing with them, wrestling with them (they lay on the floor while he tackles) and wants to do everything they are doing.  He recently walked out with a rubber band. Positioned a rubber band.  Released and said "bang!"

Yep.  He has started trying to shoot rubber bands.  He rarely gets one off, but when he does it just falls right down.  Its so cute to see him trying, but we're also remembering that in no time at all he will really figure this out and it may not be so much fun, so we're working on teaching him not to shoot at people.

 

I can't believe how quickly this sweet little guy is growing up!  We're all having so much fun with him.

December cupcakes

This is our last batch of cupcakes this year!  I've had so much fun doing these, and I've enjoyed sharing the fun with Miss E who has gotten more and more involved as the year has progressed.  This month I wanted to do the ones from my calendar. Miss E wanted to do another set.  We did two sets.

Miss E did a GREAT job on these ornaments.  She had fun putting these together with a little help from Mr. M.   These cupcake carriers really helped pull off the look since they looked like they were in an ornament storage boxes!

I made these gluten free dairy free cupcakes.  These tasted so good, I don't think a single child realized they were "messed with" except the ones that were happy I managed to work around their allergies.

*I forgot to post November's cupcakes.  We didn't get pictures before heading off to church and managed to snap one really quickly during the potluck.  Miss E made the ones that looked like a cooked up turkey with stuffing in it.  I made s'more cupcakes (gluten and dairy free as well).

Miss E also made these cute pumpkin and corn cupcakes for Thanksgiving.  She was thrilled when our hosts suggested that cupcakes would be a fun addition to the dessert table.  They were a big hit with all of the kids.  

Decorating!

We've been having fun putting up the Tree and other Decorations this past week.  The boys put up our christmas lights while Daddy supervised this year.  Way to go boys!  We all enjoyed getting the tree up and decorated.  Miss C put the star on the tree this year.

Chickens!

Our kids have been wanting Chickens for a LONG time.  They've been reading up on how to care for them and clearing a spot in the yard for them.  The last couple of weeks we kicked our preparations into high gear when we acquired a hen house from friends who are moving.

A friend has raised some great hens from eggs, and they just started laying.  She was willing to sell a few to us.  We just picked them up last week and have been thrilled to be enjoying eggs from them right away.

The kids are enjoying letting them out of the hen house in the morning, feeding them, checking for eggs and locking them up in the evening.  When we first brought them home they were a bit shy as they adjusted, but they are getting used to us and our new home.  The kids are enjoying getting to interact with the hens a bit more now that they are settling in.

 

*We are getting 3-4 eggs a day right now though that number may go up to 4-5.  These hens do not provide all the eggs we need, but they supplement us nicely and are a great experience for all of us.  We also love knowing that the eggs we are eating are from healthy happy hens.  The eggs from our chickens (and every other home raised chicken egg we've had) have BRIGHT yellow/orange yolks, as compared to the dull yellow from store bought.

Non dairy peppermint Mocha

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For over a year now I've been mostly dairy free as an act of love for my dear Mr. K who has a nasty dairy intolerance.  It's been a struggle for me, but it has also helped me lose the "baby weight" that has stuck around for the last 5 years.  I'm also finding that my body is not liking dairy when I do have small amounts now. :/  That reality means I have to find new favorites.  This week I thought I'd try to make a dairy free, soy free, sugar free peppermint mocha (yea, thats a tall order after taking all of the good stuff away!).  After looking around on the web and playing around a bit this is what I made up.....

Dairy free Mock Peppermint Mocha

About 5 cups of water

3 Starbucks via single serve packets

3 peppermint tea bags

1 cup Coco nut milk

Combine in a pot and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes.  Remove tea bags then stir in.

3 Tbsp honey (I use raw)

about 1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I use enjoy life brand)

Yes, this is way more than I can drink in one sitting (and I'm not sharing with the kiddos right now).  I put the left overs in a pitcher and I'm keeping it in the fridge.  I can warm some up whenever I want some!  

FYI, since I've been dairy free for so long and really try to avoid processed sugars this tastes great to me, though it really is not as creamy as the dairy alternative.  Rob and Mr. M were not so sure about it so don't try to pass it off as the "real thing" ;)  Maybe I'll give Eggnog Lattes a try next?