Coconut Raspberry Jam Rounds

3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1c. margarine
1c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1/2c. water
1 tsp. vanilla
2c. coconut
raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Cream wet ingredients.  Add dry ingredients. Mix in coconut.  Form mounds. Make a small impression in the center of each.  Fill impression with jam.  Bake for approx. 10 minutes.

Our 1st attempt at canning tuna.......

( Sterilizing Jars)

( Ric filleting the tuna)

( Ana taping Ric doing his own tutorial on how to carve a tuna)

( Ana & I packing the jars)

( loading the pressure canner)

( Penny figuring things out with her new toy)

( Ta Da !!!!)

Easy Peasy Meatballs

I'm very fortunate to have children who aren't really fussy.  For the most part their pretty good at giving most things a try.  Liam has had a difficult couple of weeks.  His colon is being difficult again, he hasn't been sleeping well which in turn has add to his teariness, lack of appetite & just plain bad mood !  In an effort to improve his situation I decided to make a dinner that was all about what " Liam LIKES".  Which = Pasta.  He requested tomatoes sauce & meatballs.  Since I only had frozen meat I decided to pull out an oldy but a goody from Nana.

All you need is some raw dinner sausages( honey garlic in this case), an onion, a can of crushed tomatoes, seasoning & wholewheat pasta.  I cut the sausages into about 1 inch pieces and give them a quick fry, add diced onions and continue cooking until onions are tender.  Add tomatoes & seasoning and allow to simmer for around a 30mins. or so.  In the summer I'll add all kinds of seasonal veggies.

Despite trying my best......all the pics are blurry !!  He LOVES this meal so much that he polished off another large bowl full this morning for breakfast !!!

Pick a recipe day !

Apple Pecan Bars

Wednesday Homeschooling Group

Heart

This morning my " bigs" are attending their first round of " babysitting training".  They are so excited !  As their Momma I know this is not going to be a direct line to a job.  Keisha & I have had several conversations about this class is just the beginning of many more to come.  I see this as the first of many opportunities to have first aid training & good safety practices reinforced.  They are both very caring people and they're love for " little" people as always warmed my heart.  I'm looking forward to hear all about their day !!

* Update - They both did GREAT. 29 out 30 on there exam. !!!

Our 1st Snow Day of 2011

The wind howled & the snow fell just enough to shut things down around here this morning.  To say that they were excited doesn't really cover it!  It was a fun day.  I'd have to say that even I was in to it.  Anthony's just come home...he's been out playing at friends for 8 Hours !!!  That's okay...it may been all gone when we wake tomorrow......

Piper LOVES the snow if you couldn't tell from this little movie !!!

Baked Beans & Ribs

A favorite of most of my tribe.  Being that it's not a meal I don't care for I thought it was about time to include some of them in the preparation today.  Maybe next time they'll be able to take the lead......

They did a great job !!

1.1.11

The sun is shining and the skies are clear...not a bad way to start a new year !  We're still working on shaking pesky sinus colds around here and have gone through more fire wood than expected but every things good.  Ana decided that she wanted to participate in this years Polar Bear swim.  I thought the whole idea was crazy and was hoping she'd change her mind...no such luck ! 

This years looking to be pretty good.  Our families school saga will be coming to a pretty firm end this June.  We're full of anticipation for the arrivals of Aunty Cheryl's & Aunty Manda's new babes.  The kids are looking forward to joining the soccer league this Spring, Missoula theatre camp and continuing on with Guides/Brownies, Rangers & gymnastics.

I'm not one for making New Years resolutions, however I am a big believer in affirmations & goals.  This year I'm seeing lots of positives.  Friendships that will grow stronger.  Bodies & hearts that will continue to heal and become more confident ! Many new adventures are in the works (details to be shared down the road).

Here's to 2011 !!!

New Years Luncheon

We hosted a lovely luncheon with some of our favorite families today ( The Wilson's, The Neilson's & The Janveau's).  The kids & I worked together to get everything ready.  We made an erray of reasonably healthy snacks, two main dishes( turkey vegetable soup & homemade mac & cheese) & one large pan of the yummiest cinnamon buns.  I was a great way to move into a new year !  Here's hoping 2011 will be a good one !!

I LOVE a good deal !!

4 - Winter coats

2 - nighties

1- bras

3 - shirts

1- pr. flannel jammie bottoms

3 - spool of ribbon

4 - gift boxes

3- candles

2 - pkgs sticker gift tags

3 - tree ornaments

1 - pkg ornament hooks

Grand Total $ 55.79

We went skating today........

and guess who put skates on too?  That's right this crazy momma.  My one & only goal was not to brake anything.  Which I'm happy to share I was successful at.  I was actually able to go around several times with letting go of the boards. Yahooh !!

We had great fun.  It was great getting to catch up with friends.  Liam was the first & last on & off the ice this time.  He did really well with managing the cold.  Ana is a self taught ice princess.  She's getting pretty good at spinning and is working on skating backwards.  Keish & Anthony give it their best....let's just say it's not their sport !  I took advantage of having Grandma's camera again and caught some of the action....hope you enjoy !

In this one my sweet boy is giving me a little advice to get me started......

It was a good way to spend a afternoon !!