Bread and Chores

I did 2 things this past week that I'm really proud of:
#1 I made bread from scratch--grinding my own wheat and actually making bread.
#2 Finally instituted a chore chart for my kids and was consistent in keeping to it for the week.

BREAD!!
When Stephen and I first got married our first Christmas (2001) we received from my parents a wheat grinder. A nice gift right? I didn't fully appreciate it nor did I use it.

Funny story about that: My parents even forgot they'd given us one and Christmas 2008 they got grinders for Aaron & Laura and Ben & Summer too, only they forgot they'd gotten us one already and got us another one! Christmas morning, Ben and Summer get theirs first and open it up, my comment was something like:

"Oh, cool. That must be the traditional first Christmas as a married couple gift from Mom and Dad. That's what they got us too!" the color from my mothers face drained!
She said, "You HAVE one? But you never use it!!"
"I know, but I have one in case I ever do."
"Well, then don't open your gift from us."

So in 2010 one of my goals was to break out my wheat and this new still in the box grinder and make bread that my family would eat. And you know what, it was pretty successful on my first run! Both Sam and Lindsey (who LOVE to help in the kitchen) participated and this was our end result:
It looks yummy right?

It turned out a bit denser that I would have liked, it didn't rise as much. Right now I'm attributing that to the red winter wheat I used and so I'm anxious to give it another go using the golden wheat. I'm also open to trying new recipes, this is a process I know to make great bread. BUT the best part is that my family IS eating it! They love it toasted with butter and jam or honey. And seriously I feel like such a great mom because talk about a healthy breakfast! They eat this and I know they're getting great nutrition and they stay full so much longer! Horray!!

CHORES:
So my kids are 5 1/2, 3 1/2 and 2. Still a bit young to be trusted with more major housework jobs like vacuuming and such BUT baby #4 is going to make his or her appearance soon and if they know how to do a few things it will really help! I've tried doing this before but ended up making the job chart too cumbersome with either too many jobs they were expected to do (with me to help of course) or having them rotate too often so we'd forget who was supposed to do what.

I finally got my game face on and decided that I could handle them each helping with an aspect of dinner and then one other assignment. Here are the jobs we chose:

Dinner: a) help set the table with plates, cups, napkins and silverware and anything else needed. b) help clear off the table after dinner, put away left overs and wipe the table c) clean the floors by picking up larger food objects then sweeping/vacuuming under the table.

Other jobs: a) take out the trash b) unload the dishwasher c) still working on this one. Trying to find a job that needs to be done daily that isn't someone else's specific responsibility....it's all a process

The kids have the same job everyday for a week and we switch at Family Home Evening. And can I just tell you how much this has changed my life?!?! Really, who would have thought? We do the other jobs in the afternoon after picking up Kaitlyn from school, it helps me stay more on top of things that I would let go for a bit too long (like the floors and the trash) and it's starting to get the kids eager to help in other ways. Like they're totally wanting to help fold laundry which I'm totally taking advantage of and when we all work together I feel so less like a maid and more like a MOM!! Horray! Way to go TEAM!!

Playset Progress

So we're just about complete with this project! Here's how it looks!
Now, we know we're missing a roof, a baby swing and a climbing rope. We have them both, they're just not up yet. AND I think we might try and stain it, but for all practical purposes it's done enough to enjoy and we really have. Every day since it's been done we've been outside swinging and sliding.
Here are Lindsey and Sam on our first time out after dad put up the ladder and slide! It is a pretty quick slide and for the first little while they both would land right on their rumps, Sam is getting better but thankfully Lindsey's bum is still diapered so she dosen't mind the abrupt end to her ride.

All morning while outside Sam said at least half a dozen times, "Mom, I'm having so much fun!" and I agree, our Dad works so hard for us and now our backyard is more usable space for us to play. Yes we are fortunate to have some great parks in our neighborhood but with baby on the way, this will be so much easier to use!!

Playset

Hi all, so one of my new years resolutions is to get back to posting more frequently on here. The last few days have been really cold here, and we're in the middle of the coldest temperatures in the last 15 years in the Dallas area, so of course we decide that this is the best time to....

Build a playset! Yup! Stephen is home from work for a bit longer and we wanted to take advantage of this free time and so we've been suffering through the cold and have worked for a couple days. Here is the progress after 2 days of working on it.....I'm so excited for this project. I've wanted a play structure for our kids outdoors for YEARS but because we knew we'd move out of our old place it didn't make sense to do one there so it's been on my priority list since moving in last summer. We're eager to have it done and usable!!I'm also very grateful for a patient husband who allowed Sam to pal along with him found him jobs to do to be his helper and just enjoyed a 3 year old adoring his dad's greatness!

Oh yeah, and I think we've got an induction date for April 7th if you're wondering!!!

Christmas morning 2009

Here's the pretty tree!!

It's had to believe how full of presents it got, but there were 10 of us so it dosen't take much to fill it up.
Sam was thrilled with these soccer ball slippers in his stocking from Santa!
Lindz got a froggy webkin (now named Freddie and a favorite who gets lots of hugs and kisses)Stephen and I worked to make each kid a fleece blanket--they LOVE them and here are K and Sam with theirs:
One of the BEST presents of the day was this dollhouse that Grandma and Grandpa McKneely had built for our kids and we furnished! It's a GREAT dollhouse and we love it!!

Lindsey got a great doll, KP got a tea set (which was used countless times while we were there) and Sam got some golf balls and clubs and is shockingly great at it!!

Mom and Dad McKneely suprised us with a Wii game consol and we are really enjoying it!! They even got a few new games for theirs which were played much by all!! The "Just Dance" game was a hit for sure and we all got into it! And Joseph and Stephen spent hours playing the "Lego Adventure of Indiana Jones."

In all we feel very blessed. We have so much to be thankful for, for our relationships with those we love and the things we can share with each other! Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas 2009

We did have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS this year and hope you did too, here are some highlights:

Ba-pa Louse: We spent the holiday in College Station with Stephen's family. Ever since spending so much time with family at Thanksgiving, little Lindsey has been asking numerous times a day when we were going to go to "Ba-pa louse" (Grandpa's house). You see Grandpas are the favorite in our family--on both sides, preferred over the Grandmas, strange but true.

So in EVERY prayer she offered and every time we got in the car and especially when we approached the freeway onramps for the past few weeks was the request for "Ba-pa Louse". We were all grateful for the day to arrive.

SHOPPING: We arrived a couple days before Christmas and enjoyed time with Mom & Dad, Joseph (in from Boston), Rachel and Sarah. Much shopping was accomplished as Joseph hadn't done his and a few of us needed some odds and ends picked up.

CAROLING PARTY: We endured a RAINY Caroling Party attempt before only one of 3 were home and we were getting soaked children in and out of the car. The treats when we got home were great though!!

FABULOUS FOOD: In all we ate too much (wontons and fried rice, spinach and artichoke dip, cheese dip, pizza, and Thanksgiving Part II with all the trimmings!!) I watched Mom make her famous pies and now am going to attempt one in the next few weeks (Stephen's excited!), not to mention MOM'S FUDGE (which I had attmepted an apparently failed at in the days leading up to our visit) and more cookies and treats than I even want to remember. Let's just say that I have an OB appointment this next week and the scale is NOT going to be my friend!!

NATIVITY: Then as is McKneely tradition, on Christmas Eve we read Luke 2 from the Bible and dress up so that we can reinact the Nativity story: All my kids wanted to be wise guys!!

At first we had convinced Sam to be Joseph and he dressed up like this,

but then he changed his mind (opting for a Super-Sam yellow cape that Aunt Summer had made him) and we let it fly as a wiseman costume--it was late and they were tired!!
So Stephen did a quick change to be Joseph instead--cute huh? Way to take one for the team!!

Santa Claus came to our town!!

We had a special visitor the day before we left for College Station..... Yup, the man in red paid us a visit. Stephen and I like to think that our kids just needed an added incentive to be good for just a few more days. His visit was AMAZING!! This guy was the closest thing I've ever seen to the REAL DEAL. His beard was real, his suit was beautiful and he had a perfect way with children. When talking with him on the phone to schedule the appointment he only ever referred to himself as Santa and if I didn't know the truth, I'd be a believer!!

All Christmas season Kaitlyn has been in this quandary wanting to know what is real and what is just pretend and she's been asking specifically about Santa Claus. Now she's only 5 1/2 and a very bright 5 1/2 at that but I didn't want to spoil the truth while she can still have the fun and magic that comes from believing in Santa so HIS VISIT came at a PERFECT TIME!!

She was thrilled to have him come and in preparation for his visit my kids compiled a list of questions for him:

1. How do you get up and down the Chimney and will you demonstrate it for us? (the Reindeer only go in the snow and so he hadn't brought them with him, they were at the North Pole resting and getting ready for the big night)

2. Who is your favorite Reindeer (it's actually not a Reindeer at all, it's a big animal that's part Moose and part Reindeer that helps Santa train the new reindeer to do their job, his name is Oscar)

3. Who is your favorite elf? (He then told us a story about a special elf, who's normal job is to paint the red stripes on the candy canes who once went out after a lost reindeer and found him by his bell)

4. How many elves do you have at the north pole? (2500, and they work all year long making the toys and treats for Christmas day)

He gave each of us a candy cane that had been made by his favorite elf and a magic jingle bell that if you rub it in-between your hands on midnight on Christmas Eve, then you would get to see Santa delivering the presents.

In total, his visit lasted about 30 minutes, Kaitlyn was the most eager to see him, she hopped right onto his lap. Sam and Lindsey both took a bit to warm up but they got there by the end. Of course they each had a turn sitting with him and telling them what they wanted for Christmas (these are very insightful moments as a parent--at their age, the list is always evolving).
After his visit, Kaitlyn asked: was that the REAL Santa? Well, what do you think? His beard was real, his boots were real, his suit looked real....YUP it was REALLY HIM! Thanks Santa (and Aunt Rachel for sending him!!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Hope this guy was as good to you as he was to us!!

Candy, candy and Gingerbread Houses

A new tradition has been born, at least it went pretty well and so we may do it again. But a few days before Christmas we headed over to my parents home to decorate Gingerbread (ahem--Graham cracker) houses with candy. And as my sister-in-law Summer says, "much sugar was consumed!" and I'm telling ya!

Each child pared up with an adult: Lindsey with Mom please note the blank slate of a house and the already messy face--turns out all she did was sit and eat candy seriously this girl put a TON of it away while I tried to hurry and get the house decorated so we could get her down!!

Sam with Dad-- the engineer who were probably the most successful at the decorating of the house (see photo later).

Kaitlyn wanted to be with Aunt Summer. Aunt Summer is VERY crafty and thanks to her and my mom they figured out with trial and error how to build the perfect house and had them all built before we got there so all we had to do was put the candy on--a perfect idea!! The two of them were very creative with their candy placement and they made a very aesthetically pleasing masterpiece!!

Uncle Ben meanwhile was trying to make it fancy with building a porch on his house--it was a struggle to say the least. But wouldn't you know, the Sam-Stephen team figured it out and note this fancy porch!! He tried not to put Ben to shame too badly!!