Christmas...

Wow.. it's taken me a while to get back on here after our holidays. We are (well at least I am) still lagging after our trip. It was soooo great to get back to ontario and visit you all!!! I loved my time and am glad we were able to go. The Lord knows what we need and when we need it. A little visit back home makes being far from home not so tough. :) We had a relatively easy going trip with only one delay of flight on new years eve. So that was great. Our neighbours daughter and her husband had paid to have our driveway cleared for our arrival home!! We have some great neighbours (friends). Well i'm still catching up from our full weekend here so a few pictures and a few comments and that will be all.:)Sigh... after waiting twenty minutes for this thing to upload 5 pictures.. it didn't..:( I have no time to wait again.. I'll have to try again soon.. sorry..

Daddy Time!

I haven't really posted much on my awesome husband on here! So I got a little collection of "Dad" shots on the recent picture cd so I thought I'd share him( Just this once!) Haha. Dave and the kids play "Hiya" as the children call it. They can't play that game except with dad and not without their special "hiya hats"(this is mom's rules as hiya is basically karate chopping one another! Dave is fun and the kids love that time. They run in and grab the spit blankets and beg dave to play now.

Chloe is now 3 and I finally got a picture of her birthday back:) The neighbour Mrs. Carroll(who they call nanny carroll made the cake and brought it over. She's a lovely neighbour and we are pretty thankful for them and their daughters.

Dave and our sweeties in a saturday morning snuggle session.

Housecleaning on a budget.

Well I found some great recipies today for household cleaners. I like the idea of having safer cleaners and I always like the idea of making it myself! Check it out at Passionate Homemaking

Watcha eatin' Wednesday?

Here's a wonderful and fast microwave dish!

Tangy Mustard Cauliflower

1 medium head of cauliflower

1/2 cup Kraft salad dressing(here i usually use some kind of ranch dressing)

1/2 tsp chopped green onions (optional)

1 tsp prepared mustard

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Method: Place cauliflower in 1 1/2 quart casserole or other microwave dish that holds a good size cauliflower. ( a glass pie plate works very well). Add 2 tbsps water. Cover with saran wrap and cook for 7-8 minutes or until tender. Combine salad dressing, onion and mustard and mix well. Place cooked cauliflower on serving plate. Spread mixture over top and halfway down sides. Sprinkle with cheese and parsley flakes. Cook uncovered 1 minute to heat topping and melt cheese. Cut in pie shaped pieces.

This recipe was given to me at my wedding shower 5 years ago and I've loved it! Thanks to Bev Tulloch:)

Have you got any good microwave recipies to pass along? Feel free to post it in the comment section here.

I also tried a new recipe yesterday that was really quick and Dave and the kids really love it..

(Found at Biblical Womanhood)

Christmas Candy

On a baking sheet, spread out:1 sleeve of Saltine crackers

In a small saucepan over medium-heat, melt:1 stick butter 1 cup brown sugar

Once the mixture is gooey, pour evenly over crackers.

Bake at 350 degrees for five minutes, until bubbly.

Remove from oven, and sprinkle on top:2 cups chocolate chips(here i tried spreading one side with chocolate and one with butterscotch chips and we kinda like the butterscotch better)

As the chocolate melts, spread it evenly around.

Pop into the refrigerator until set, then cut apart the candy and put into gift containers.

(above photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com)

Making our home a Haven

Well ,recently I've been inspired by the Making our home a haven challenge over at Biblical Womanhood. The one thing that I've started with has been the Morning routine list. I'm not an organised person so I find it hard to keep things together on a regular basis. So the following is my morning routine and has worked fairly well for me this last week!
My Morning Routine

1.Read and Pray
2.Get dressed(yes.. i have a hard time to leave the sleepy comfort of pj's)
3. Tidy Kitchen
4. Start Laundry
5. Plan Supper.

My house hasn't been so clean in a while. I like having the dish rack off the counter.. it never used to disappear from the counter top!
I was hoping to post pictures but alas the walmart photo center had a broken machine.. will post the pics when i get them back!

Another fun looking recipie!

I came across this recipie the morning for Milk and cereal bars. click here to check it out!

Watcha eatin' Wednesday?

Last week i made one of my standard recipies past down to me by my mom. So I thought I'd share it for our recipie this week.

Banana Loaf

Cream: 1/2 cup margarine

Add: 1 cup white

Beat In:1 Large mashed banana (2 small)

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons milk

Sift together and gradually add

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon Baking soda

1 teaspoon Baking powder

Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins (soak in hot water first)

(add these to flour mixture to dredge them)

Pour batter into greased and lightly floured loaf pan. Bake @ 350 for 50-60 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool on rack completely. Wrap in aluminum foil. Store at least 6 hours or overnight in fridge before serving.

Important Note: When adding dry ingredients stir gently only until all are moistened. Do not over beat.

PS. Did anyone give the quick fish supper a try? I imagine it could work with any type of fish??

Have a good day!