Quick Update

We are in Billings now. I don't have any pictures to post, but just thought I would do a quick update of our comings and goings.
Friday, Kathleen went with Jason to Kalispell to pick up her grandmother. We met her grandmother on Sat, and she spent a little time at our house. She speaks very broken English, but we were able to talk some. We were hoping to spend some more time with her on Sunday before we had to leave. I'm not sure if it was just a language barrier, or if she wasn't feeling well enough, but we didn't see her at all on Sunday. Jason dropped Kathleen off to go to church with us, and then we didn't see any more of him or his mom. I didn't think to take any picture on Saturday, and I was hoping to take some on Sunday. I am glad that Kathleen had a chance to spend some time with her grandmother.
We left Sunday afternoon for Great Falls. We had a chance to swim in the hotel pool before supper. This morning we drove the rest of the way to Billings for the CMA district conference. We had one meeting tonight, and there are more the next 3 days. They have a nursery which is nice. By the time we spent 3 1/2-4 hrs in the car, and then time in the hotel room, I was ready for the kids to be in the nursery for a little while!
The meetings go from 7:00 in the morning until late in the evening, so we will only go to some of them. We have had a chance to see a few friends, and meet some people who we had only e-mailed or talked to over the phone.
When we got the schedule today, we saw that our names were down for the luncheon. I finally had a chance to ask someone about it at the end of the night. We are each speaking for 5 minutes before the main speaker. (The person in charge forgot to tell us-- oops!) It's probably better, or I would have been stressed out about it. Now I am too tired to worry. I will be speaking at the woman's luncheon to about 60 people. Good thing it is only 5 minutes!
The kids are all having a great time on the trip, especially the swimming. Isabelle is really looking forward to seeing Reina. She is counting down the days. They were all pretty wiped out by the end of the day.
I will try to remember to take more pictures tomorrow.

My little helpers

We have been very busy this past week. Tonight Kathleen's grandmother will be in town for a visit, Sunday we leave for a week, and house inspection will take place while we are gone. I have been trying to get things ready for our trip plus clean up the house. Most of the cleaning is done. The challenge is to keep it that way until we leave. We spend Sunday night in Great Falls, and then continue on Monday to Billings for the CMA Rocky Mountain District conference. Thursday, the conference ends, and we will go to Cody, WY to spend some time with the Hines family.
It has still been snowing here (everyday except yesterday), so I am hoping for some warmer weather on our trip!
The pictures of Kathleen and Caleb washing dishes on Tuesday. We had quite a few to wash. Kathleen helped after breakfast, Caleb after snacks, and Isabelle after lunch. (She didn't want me to take her picture, though). We have to do them in small loads, because after a certain amount of "help" I get a little stressed. I appreciate their willingness to help me, and it is a good way to spend some one on one time with each of them.
At the end of the post is the Master Cookie Mix recipe. It is hard to make cookies that Ian can have, but this one works (except the peanut butter.) I substitute oatmeal for the nuts in the banana cookies.
I have also made a Versatile Oat Mix that makes Oatmeal Pancakes, Oatmeal Muffins, and Peach Crisp, and a Snack Cake Mix that makes Applesauce or Banana Snack Cake. I have never been able to find pre-made mixes that Ian can eat, and I was really glad to discover these recipes. They save time, and are healthier than the store bought mixes.
Now I am off to make an Applesauce Snack Cake with one of my lovely assistants. :)

Master Cookie Mix

4 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups shortening

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugars, salt, and baking soda. Cut in the shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months.
Yield: 10 cups

For Cinnamon Raisin Cookies:
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 1/2 cups Master Cookie Mix
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, cinnamon, extract and cookie mix; mix well. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by rounded TBSP 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until set, and edges are lightly browned. Cool for 1- 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen

For Peanut Butter Cookies
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups Master Cookie Mix

n a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients; mix well. Drop by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten slightly with a glass dipped in sugar if desired. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until set and edges are lightly browned. Cool for 1-2 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
Yield about 2 1/2 dozen.

Banana Cookies
2 eggs
1/2 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups Master Cookie Mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans

n a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients; mix well. Stir in the pecans. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-11 minutes or until set adn edges are lightly browned. Cool for 1-2 minutes before removing to wire racks.
Yield about 3 dozen

Tackle It Tuesday

This weekend it snowed AGAIN! Saturday, I had planned to go with Mary Jo to meet up with Justine and spend the day shopping, crafting, and of course eating. The Scrapbooking store in Columbia Falls was having a big yard sale. We were going to start there, and then do lunch, more shopping, and stamp/craft at Justine's house in Whitefish.
Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate, and we stayed in Browning. The picture is one that Stephen took on Saturday through the living room window. The high on Saturday and Sunday was 19 degrees. I feel like it's January again. Yesterday warmed up a little more, but the snow continued (sporadically). The wind has kept the accumulation down somewhat, and it is supposed to warm up tomorrow. Eventually, we will get spring here.
Because of the snow, we skipped going to preschool. Since we were home, I thought I would do my tackle one day early. I have a few things on my "to do" list that I want to get done before our trip to Billings. (We leave on Sunday.)

My stamping cabinet is always a clutter collector. I put things up there to get them off of the table, or out of the kids' reach. When I do have some extra time, it always seems more important to stamp or scrapbook than to clean off the cabinet.
This is what the top of my stamping cabinet looked like when I started. There are bits and pieces of various projects, and the stamps and other tools that I used.

This is what it looks like now. The wall sconces are not really crooked. It is just where I was standing when I took the picture. I always enjoy when my cabinet is cleaned off, and I can light my candles. Now if I can just keep it that way!

I was hoping to get to the other counter clutter yesterday, but with the kids and supper, and making cookies, that never happened. Maybe today. :)

One of the kids from across the street came over yesterday afternoon, and he wanted peanut butter cookies. I have a soft spot for him, and I couldn't say no. I have been wanting to try out my Master Cookie Mix, so I put it to the test. I made Banana Cookies and Peanut Butter Cookies. I will try to post the recipe later this week.

For more Tackle It Tuesday projects, click on the link below.

Even more from the Children's Museum

Lewis and Clark Exhibit at the Museum

Wordless Wednesday

Field Trip... cont.

One of the favorite exhibits at the Children's Museum was the dinosaur dig. It is an area where the kids can take off their socks and shoes, get in the sand, and dig for fossils. Ian was in the exhibit too, but somehow we didn't get any pictures of him in there.

Field Trip

We went on our first field trip on Friday. Stephen had the day off, and we took the kids to the Children's Museum in Great Falls. As you can see in the pictures, they had a great time. We took tons of pictures. I will probably be posting them all week.
Ian and Caleb weren't quite over their colds, so I hope we didn't spread too many germs around. We spent about 3-3 1/2 hours at the museum. By the time we went to supper (at Tony Roma's) Ian and Caleb were wiped out! They both fell asleep before the food came.

Just Checking In

We had a nice visit with Steve and Kristi Diehl in Lewistown over the weekend. I took the camera, but we never took any pictures. You can see Steve and Kristi on their website. They have been such an encouragement to us in the process of applying to the CMA, etc. Stephen wrote more about the weekend on our missions blog, so I won't duplicate the effort.
While we were there, Ian started to get sick. He has a cold, which is making its way through the whole family. Needless to say we haven't done much at all this week.
I was glad that we were homeschooling Ian. At least Monday and Tuesday he would have been too sick to go to school (and possibly yesterday and today too.) I'm glad we didn't have to get into all of the issues with the school over him missing. We could do some reading and other work in little segments, and then he could rest when he needed too. I think getting rest is the best thing to do when you are sick so that your body has a chance to heal.
Anyway, that is what our week has been like. It may be next week before I get around to putting more on our blog.

Spring Planting

There is still snow on the ground, but we planted some plants indoors. Mary Jo bought little flower pots and seeds for the kids from Target. There were Marigolds, Sunflowers, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, and Chives. There was enough for each kid to do 3 little pots. They each had a little compacted dirt that expands when you add water.
After supper last night, we planted the seeds. All of the kids really enjoyed it. Ian said, "I never new planting could be this much fun!"
Caleb made a big mess with the dirt, but he was having a great time.
As soon as the seeds were in the pots, the kids were sure that they could see them growing! They checked on them quite a few times last night before they went to bed, and repeatedly this morning. Hopefully, something will grow soon!

Wordless Wednesday

Tackle It Tuesday

Today I tackled a section of the basement. Part of that was motivating the kids to pick up their toys. They have a play area there that was messy. I also straighted out the shelves where we store food. I moved some upstairs and better organized it, so that I would be able to see at a glance what we have.
The other thing that I worked on was ordering some pictures and other things for scrapbooking. I am only about 3 years behind on scrapbooking. I know that I will never catch up, so I have some small goals. I want to have a baby book for Caleb. Ian and Isabelle each have one, adn I can't leave him out! I also want to have something for Kathleen that is just hers. She enjoys looking at the books that we have, but she wants to know where she is.
I had a chance to catch up on some scrapbooking this weekend and yesterday evening. I finished our little book of our FL trip last spring. I also finished a small one of Caleb that is his first 2 months.
Today I ordered some pictures of all the kids of last summer. (Kathleen wasn't living with us yet, but spent a lot of time with us.) Sarah gave me a small scrapbook for my b-day that I plan to use for those pictures. I also asked Jason (Kathleen's dad) for some pictures of her when she was younger, but I wasn't sure what he would have.
After I ordered the pictures, Jason called. He left to go on a trip early this morning, but he left a zip drive with pictures of Kathleen right outside the front door. I found it and I have over 80 pictures of Kathleen from about the first 7 months of her life. She was so excited! Now I am working on loading all of those to Photomax and ordering prints. (Of course, Jason doesn't realized that now that I know that he has the pictures of Kathleen I will probably continue to bug him for more. I just know that it is important to her to have pictures of herself when she was younger.
I think that is all I will manage to "tackle" today.