With Christmas onyly 2 or 3 days away..depending on how you count it, lol. I was just surfing through different Christmas holiday decorator idea sites and found these lovely pictures of different holidaiy decorative possibilities. Christmas is deffinately" My most favorite time of the year". Pairing that with my love for interior decorating and you have a favorite "double whammy"! These pictures I thought of sharing with you are just beautiful pictures and I would actually like to incorporate into my own holiday decorating little by little in the years to come. Each picture gives off something a little different. Each peice shows a little variation in the Christmas wish, christmas feel.Nonetheless each one is beautiful and keeps the cherishing and warm thoughts that i developed as achild and through out my life of celebrating this time of year.
The first picture I posted was kind of a woodsy, earthy, rustic back to nature Christmas. Being from the south, it speaks to me. Takes me back to more of a simplier time. When there was no deadlines, no demands, no hustle and bustle to get that perfect gift, or to show up the Jone's this year with the outdoor Christmas lights. its a breathe of fresh air. Simplistic in nature, but still say so much, and keeps it all in perspective.
The second picture I postedto me was just plain cute...it says to me.."yep, Santa Baby". lol This literally looks like a perfect Nursery for that little Christmas baby. Maybe if Santa had a little baby boy...or girl for that matter...this would be right down his ally? lol Its just plain cute from the traditional plaids retro'd in red and green. The vintage type toys, it all just says... Sleep and Sweet Dreams in a Christmas Dream.
The last picture i had to post because it was so cute, and I was just thinking on this waveleangth just the day before yesterday. Our power had gone out in the house because of a bad storm that had just come through the night before. So we had no power and sick kids home from school. So what to do, what to do on that short day, that was only 5 days before Christmas....Candyland!! We pulled out the board games. They played Candyland illuminated by candlelight. It was such a picturesque moment, that I got a cute little picture of it with my smartphone and edited it on Instagram. i'll have to post it up here shortly to go with this blog post. But this picture I found last, reminded me of that moment in time. A Candyland Christmas...I think there may be a Christmas Song to that name as well? Can't think of it, but I think there is.
Trying to get a handle on a chore list that works and is evenly distrubuted among our kids to their ability and age deveoplment, so here it is for your viewing pleasure. We have tried many avenues to chores but with no real success of a happy household. I know i must be missing something somewhere. All right so our solutions is keep trying till we find what works best for us... so now lets try this idea I recieved off a post from www.raisingolives.com . She has a very nicely scheduled chore chart for her very large family. If it woks for them, could it help us??So there is 3 separate chore assignments during the day: Before Breakfast Chores, Regular Chores and Table Chores. Before breakfast chores happen before breakfast, duh. Regular chores are done after homework after school or on Saturday morning after Breakfast chores, and table chores after dinner each evening.
Before breakfast chores:
Scheduled for 30 minutes each morning. During that time each child makes their bed, cleans their room, gets dressed down to their belt and shoes, brushes teeth and hair and then:
Brooke (10) empties the top rack of the dishwasher and helps make breakfast Tyler (12)empties the bottom rack of the dishwasher and helps make breakfast Elissa (7) cares for the animals and then helps Reagan set the table
Reagan (7) , helps Elissa care for the animals and sets the table Maddie (3) empties the silverware
Kelsee (2) helps me dress Harley and start laundry Harley (1) gives lots of kisses and snuggles
Regular Chores:
(30-45 minutes)
Brooke – Plans and prepares all lunch and snack foods, makes bread, granola, granola bars, etc She also plans breakfasts,
Brooke -
Monday – Cleans the laundry room and moves the furniture and sweeps in the family room. Tuesday – Cleans and vacuums car Wednesday – Cleans downstairs her bathroom & vacuums room
Thursday – Cleans out fridge & wipes cabinet fronts Friday – Helps mom sweep, vacuum and dust in bedrooms
Tyler –
Cleans two upstairs bathrooms. Everyday he wipes counters, sinks, faucets, tubs, toilets, shakes mats, and sweeps floors. Once a week he mops each floor, scrubs each tub, cleans out under the sinks and cleans the mirrors.
Reagan– Cleans linving room, tidies, dusts, and vacuumes, then helps Elissa with Dining Room(If Necessary). Elissa– Cleans the kitchen after breakfast and/or dinner.Cleans the dining room,clears and wipes the table and then tidies, dusts and sweeps . Kelsee - Helps me with my chores and picks up toys. Maddie -Helps me with my chores and picks up toys
Table chores:
When a child is done with their assignment they help whomever still needs help and all work together until the job is finished (10-15 minutes).
Brooke – puts away food and clears and wipes stove and two counters Tyler – loads silverware and plates into the dishwasher, and empties trash Elissa – clears and wipes the table and moves chairs for vacuuming and sweeping Reagan – cleans the kitchen chairs, high chair and tray Kelsee and Maddie - helps scrape the food in the trash and clear the table
To continue in my reviews on Gluten Free and/or Casein Free products that I have tried, tested, and tweaked. By writing this review I hope to accomplish atelast 2 things.
1. To help anyone who may come across this post on information on certain products I have used and tested through my own trial and error on what what works best for my family and their health needs. There is so many items out today to choose from I can sometimes get overwhelmed and lost in the selections, not to mention start to go cross eyed after examining so many labels and product informations tags and reviews. Hopefully this might help some.
2. Hopefully this will help me as a reference guide to return to when I may not be able to remember the name of a certain product, how I used it, or how it affected my children when it was used. With 7 kids running around, I sometimes have those "mommy blackout" moments. lol
Breakfast items- Granola / Cerials
Bakery on Main has got to be one of my favorites for Granola. All of their flavors are wonderful. Flavors such as..
All of which are quality taste. I even have to watch my kids around them, because they will confiscate them and I will never see my granola again! The only downside to this product is the packages are small. At only a 12 oz bag, with 7 kids and myself who enjoys this, of course it doesn't last long at all. That is the only down side that I have found. Great product, tasty, but very small package. So how I go about this problem. I buy Bob's Red Mill Steel cut Oats, nand make them some homemade Granola, and I keep the Bakery on Main Granola for myself! lol After all I think I should have a little just for Mom sometimes, don't you think?
Udi's Granola in Vanilla flavor is another granola product I love. The taste does not quite match the taste of Bakery on the Main granola products, but Udi's Granola makes up for it, in that it is not quite as expensive as Bakery on Main. It is retailed a couple dollars cheaper. A couple dollars cheaper goes a long way when you have a large family on a budget. I have yet to try all the flavors of this brand. The flavors it comes in are....
Now the second in my reviews of some of the Gluten Free and/or Casein Free products that I have tried, tested, and tweaked. By writing this review I hope to accomplish atelast 2 things.
1. To help anyone who may come across this post on information on certain products I have used and tested through my own trial and error on what what works best for my family and their health needs. There is so many items out today to choose from I can sometimes get overwhelmed and lost in the selections, not to mention start to go cross eyed after examining so many labels and product informations tags and reviews. Hopefully this might help some.
2. Hopefully this will help me as a reference guide to return to when I may not be able to remember the name of a certain product, how I used it, or how it affected my children when it was used. With 7 kids running around, I sometimes have those "mommy blackout" moments. lol
Now to focus on some dairy alternatives to dairy milk. I have a son, and 3 daughters that have a milk protien allergy. We have tried many different milk alternatives over the years. Here are a couple and what we found...
1. Rice Dream..its smooth, its creamy just as milk is. I wouldn't necessarily use this in cerial because its really light. Just not the right texture for cerial milk. i would stick with a soy milk, almond, or goats milk for cerials. However it does well for baking, or using in eggs liquid for french toast or any other food requiring an egg wash mixture.
Second up, we have Almond Breeze. As you can see it comes in 3 flavors, as does most of the other milk alternative products. My kids liked this one more so than the Rice Dream or the Silk Milk. It is creamy and just right heaviness to stand up to the grainy textured in cerial. Its a good Cerial milk. We have used both the Original and the vanilla flavor for cerials. I like to use the vanilla flavor in my shredded wheat as it gives it a little sweat taste without adding sugar or other sweetener to it. I also can use the vanilla in my morning coffee as well. Kids love the chocolate flavor. I personally haven't tried it, as I don't care for chocolate milk. So I let them be my reviewers on the milk. They like it, and even use it for their cerials at times! I guess thats a success in where it matters. I have yet to use the Almond milk in baking or egg washes as of yet. I plan to ere soon. If anyone who reads this has used it and would like to let me know, please do!
Here is one of the first reviews of some of the Gluten Free and/or Casein Free products that I have tried, tested, and tweaked. By writing this review I hope to accomplish atelast 2 things.
1. To help anyone who may come across this post on information on certain products I have used and tested through my own trial and error on what what works best for my family and their health needs. There is so many items out today to choose from I can sometimes get overwhelmed and lost in the selections, not to mention start to go cross eyed after examining so many labels and product informations tags and reviews. Hopefully this might help some.
2. Hopefully this will help me as a reference guide to return to when I may not be able to remember the name of a certain product, how I used it, or how it affected my children when it was used. With 7 kids running around, I sometimes have those "mommy blackout" moments. lol
First review is on the Arrowhead Mills Organic Gluten Free Pancake and Baking mix. I am still testing several different brands as my children love pancakes and waffles. This one was prety good, still a little more heavy and grainy than I would like for a Pancake to be. Overall it was still good, my kids didn't seem to notice anyways...so In a way you could say it was a success in their eyes. It was very Quick and Easy as it is branded on the package... only thing you needed to add was 1 egg beaten or 1 portion of egg substitute if you have casein allergies in the home, oil, honey, and your addition of milk product whether you use soy, rice, almond milk...whichever. It is also able to be used for Muffins if you choose to try it, I have yet to try using it for muffins. i may do that next as my kids love muffins as well...who doesn't?
and make them some homemade Granola, and I keep the Bakery on Main Granola for myself! lol After all I think I should have a little just for Mom sometimes, don't you think?
