eat sleep and farm

Last Monday we went to the bottom of Mt. Reinier to a park called NW Trek. We happened to go on a day with perfect weather, which was nice. It was cold {not so much for what we're used to though} but beautifully sunny. The best part of this field trip was, it was Jason's day off anyway, so he got to come with us! I realized after sifting through all the pictures, we need to start handing our camera to people and asking them to take shots of our whole family. {Kara was so proud to be able to stand on that rock} Nicola, we thought of you and your husband's passion for hunting when we saw these big guys :)  Rachel, with a boy she met on the tram.  Kara decided it was naptime on the tram ride and fell fast asleep.  About 45 minutes after the ride, I was sitting on a bench {still holding her while she slept}  and suddenly felt something really warm on my stomach and legs.  You know the saying, "when you've gotta go, you've gotta go!"  We had a change

you know how people say "weather permitting" when they're making plans with someone?  Well, around here, you learn to say that A LOT.  Otherwise you'd be in for quite the disappointment, quite often :)  We enjoyed almost 2 weeks of full sun and what looked like the beginnings of Spring  {though the temps remained pretty low} and I think some famous groundhog saw his shadow  whatever that even means, since it never seems to bring Spring any sooner.  but you'd never know it this week. Snow , snow , snow !!   this is what the blizzard looked like. The wind was blowing so hard, the snow was coming directly at our windows. I got a kick out of seeing the BIG snowflakes! from my bedroom window... literally minutes after the blizzard.  skies got blue, sun came out....  and kids went out to play!  we ended up getting quite a bit more snow over the next couple of days, but I was too much of a wimp to go out and take pictures.  {taken through the family room window}

Every so often I run across something online that just catches my eye.  It doesn't happen very often {mostly because the time to 'browse' online is quite limited}  but when it does, it makes me very happy.  The other day I found this website and I'm loving it!  I keep going back for new inspiration and fun baking ideas.  What really caught my attention though?  This...  Is that the best cupcake wrapper you've ever seen?! I loved it.  And if you look here  there are SO many more to chose from!  Holiday specific and everything.  I have a thing for cupcakes, so you can see why this thrilled me ;-)  I just had to share. This fun find isn't food, but it sure is cute! Aren't those cute bag clips?! I thought they were quite overpriced, but made for a super cute idea. I found them here . If you're a music-around-the-house person {like I am} you might love these.... I found them here . 

getting to sleep in until 9:30 am  funky music on while I cleaned my room.  God's mercies. Because they're new and amazing each morning!  nice, long emails from friends.  a trip to Seattle with my kiddos.  the beautiful {and I mean gorgeous-o} sunshiny  weather we've been having lately.  the hope of light snow fall in the future weather forecast!!  meeting up with a good friend in Seattle; enjoying time with her and her baby .  yummy lunch at a new crepe place. Divine crepes.  the most delicious mocha , ever.  finding shoes for Ethan at Stride - Rite for under $15!! Huge WIN.  remembering why I love the store Pumpkin Patch ... found a awesome down winter coat for Kara {regular price: $46.50} {sale price: $8.50} ice cream cones.  getting presents in the mail from family back home.  a hubby who doesn't mind dinner being cooked at 7:30 at night. fun fact about this picture on the right: when we visited Seattle 5 years ago, the building on the far left was j

I used to get asked "how do you handle having 3 small kids all the time?!" - which I thought was a funny question, because to me, 3 kids doesn't seem like that many. The new question is "you homeschool 2 of your kids? AND you have a toddler?! are you crazy?!" I'd love to feel totally sane when I answer this question, but I often have to be 100% honest and tell them "yeah, somedays I feel totally crazy." Mostly because those are the days I try to do too much, or I forget my kids are only in Kindergarten/ 1st grade, pre-K and barely pre-school age. I have days where I forget college isn't just around the corner and we can actually enjoy the benefits of home schooling and just bake all day and play educational board games. Or play store; my 3 kids love to play store. Ethan is the cashier, because it helps him with addition and subtraction, Rachel is learning how to add and subtract by putting items into her cart - adding them all up, then taking

they wake up all nice and cuddly; rosy cheeks, with cute "good morning, Mommy!" voices.  We enjoy cuddle time in bed, talking about our dreams we had in the night.  Ethan's are becoming very interesting, the older he gets.  Rachel's are always about a monster trying to get her, but Daddy saves her.  Kara's always have Tinker Bell and Hello Kitty in them.  Oh, and Curious George .  moments later, they're "starving"- sure to die soon if food isn't made for them.  Pancakes cure a starving body. If you add chocolate chips, its miracle food.  turkey bacon makes them strong.  so do smoothies, apparently.  especially if you add whipped cream.  they laugh and giggle at the breakfast table, with one {at least} of them often spilling their drink.  I almost feel bad telling them to settle down, because it sounds like bliss.  moments later.....  the bliss turns to screams , shouts , sobs  and  blame.  what felt like perfect loving order quickly turns into

I've been experimenting with lots of new ingredients in the kitchen. Mostly because its fun, not necessarily because I think my old ways are bad and we're only going to eat the new stuff. I'm learning that I like moderation and variety in all areas. So I don't plan on cutting out regular flour and only using things like coconut flour, or cutting out regular sugar to only use organic cane sugar... though I think our family has successfully cut out processed food, which has been nice. Right now I'm focusing mainly on getting higher GOOD fats into my kid's diets. Not because I want them to be fat, but I think they need those higher, whole fats in their diets as growing kiddies; finding more foods that are "brain foods". That's sort of my disclaimer, because I don't want anyone to think I think coconut flour is holy and making food for your kids with regular flour is child abuse. I don't at all. As I've been experimenting with new thi

Every once in a while I get all giddy about writing stuff on my blog. Almost like the feelings I got when I was younger and I'd buy a new journal, excited to go home and fill its empty pages with all the details of my life. Its like when I go to a store like Target or Marshall's and find great deals on stuff for the house, or for the kids, I can't wait to come home and start enjoying my new finds. The other day I found a dress for Kara; super cute and such a great deal. I wanted to let her sleep in it that night, because I wasn't sure I could wait until morning to see it on her and watch her twirl in it. She loves to twirl. ** I'm still not sure what this post will be titled, mostly because its just me, typing. Just think of it as me having a conversation with you. That means it will be random and in the end you might wonder what we were even talking about. Its been a c-a-l-m couple of weeks. Some of that is due to sickness and I'll tell ya, I'm a fan

This is a great sign that winter is leaving us and Spring is in the air :)  This is the park, right behind our house. Super nice to have so close on these sunnier days.  Our old house was below it, our new house is right above it.  And there are BBQ's with a covered picnic table area, so I'm envisioning lots of park  BBQ's here this spring/summer/fall!  The girls love the swings. Rachel is learning how to swing really high, just like Kara.  Up until now, Rachel liked to just 'sway' on the swing.  But on this day, she decided she was going to try and be brave, like her little sister .  Kara likes to swing high. So high that it scares me. She says "weee!" the whole time and laughs.  I still like swings too. I love the way they make me feel young again. I love swinging super high  and at some point, feeling like I'm gonna go so high, I land in outer space.  I'm afraid I act more like a kid at the park than my kids do.  The other day Ethan said