So Proud of Kass-Sorry, Just Gotta Boast a Bit!

I'm so proud of Kass (otherwise know as Priscilla and Shaddie)! This is just one of her many contributions to our family!  She made up her mind to do an organic garden for our family this year to not only help cut down on our grocery expenses, but also to help provide safe chemical free and nutritious vegetables for us.  This morning, she had to go to work, so I gathered the produce.  The picture below (a bit fuzzy) is the produce I gathered this morning.  She is such a blessing and help to our family.  Yes, and I do beleive that she inherited her Aunt Kristi's green thumb.  My sisters are her role models, and what great role models they are.  When I look at her, I see a little bit of all my sisters!

Thought This Was Funny!

An interesting way to discard your clothing. Ave sheds his clothing this way. He always has either a pair of pajama pants underneath if it's winter or a pair of shorts if it's summer. So, where ever he is when he wants to get comfortable he can--hotel lobby (ask Betsy about this), car, cousin's house--you name it. Anyway, we thought it was funny. He was tired from school and just wanted to crawl in bed and listen to an audio story. Hence the pants and shoes on the floor. It still looks like he is in these pants.

The Holidays!

The Holidays went way too fast for me! First of all I didn't get to shop until the Tuesday before Christmas - and my sister and her family didn't get to stay nearly long enough, and the fun visiting with family and friends just went by in a blurrrr......next year, I'm really gonna do my best to be prepared for it. Anyway this is what has been happening in the last month.
Yes, I know the living room furniture is arranged strangely in my mom and dad's house. This is to accommodate the many children we have running around. We shove all the furniture out of the way so that we have more room to hang out. This picture captures a few of the children and grandchildren lounging around talking, and waiting patiently for paw-paw to hand out the gifts. We always have a Christmas get together a few days before Christmas to visit and exchange gifts.
This year at our Christmas Party, one of my sisters brought all the stuff to make Chinese dumplings.....they were a hit. She always shows me up!!!!! Grrrrr!!! The only problem was she couldn't cook them as fast as everyone of was eating them. Kass gave her a hand. Mind you, we had plenty of other other delicious stuff to eat as well. If you want to be a hit at the next party, try making these....here is the link http://plainoldkristi.blogspot.com/2011/10/pork-dumplings.html. Also, please note the video at the bottom. It explains just how popular these little dumplings were! Of course, much of it was just being silly together. I promise you we really aren't greedy little pigs! We just couldn't help ourselves!
Oh course, we went one night to Celebration in the Oaks-a family tradition. If you look close enough you can see Ave trying his best to stick his head in the alligator's mouth.
We also had our annual Christmas get together at Aunt Sharon's house which is always so much fun. Above is a picture of one of the Department 56 village houses that she gets us each year. My collection is the Alpine Village. I think I have about ten or so now. Aren't they pretty!

This time of the year always brings about the duck hunters. This handsome little duck hunter showed up at my front door with his trophies. I hear duck gumbo is so good. I'm still waiting on someone to make me some. Ave and Mil-mil (above) have also spent quite a bit of time outdoors cooking hot cocoa over a fire. For some reason they say it's much better over a fire outside. I don't know...I'll have to try it one of these days.

Lemons are always available this time of the year as well. My mom's lemon tree did so well. Her lemons make the puny little lemons from the store look so pitiful! So, we have been eating lots of lemony stuff this month! A very easy lemon pie recipe is: 1 can of condensed milk, about 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1 small container of cool whip, and 1 graham cracker pie shell. Mix the first three ingredients together, pour into graham cracker pie shell, and refrigerate for 1 or 2 hours before serving. So easy and yummy, too. My mother in-law really likes in because it has no eggs in it. Ave's gingerbread house from the church's Christmas party gingerbread making contest. I still think he should have won first! Just kidding-plainoldkristi's bunch are the bomb!
Ave's been studying healthy eating habits in school this past month. He made his own lunch on this particular day. He dug around in the fridge and this is what he came up with - the arrangement and all. Doesn't he have a prideful look on his face. We were eating hamburgers that day and he scorned our eating habits. Believe it or not, he said his lunch was great and ate every bite of it. The cup has vegetable juice in it. Whit helping Ave with his house.

Snoopy even seemed to enjoy the holidays. He is wearing a cute little outfit I picked up at Hudson's Salvage Store for only $1.80. I didn't think he would like it, but I think he actually felt quite handsome in it.

For New Years, we celebrated in the usual wonderful way (I wouldn't want it any other way)--at church with family and friends. We do communion, wash feet (just as Jesus washed the disciples feet), have a party afterwards (yummy soups, sandwiches, and desserts made by the ladies), and run outside in the church yard at midnight to cheer the New Year in! I've also posted a video of the New Year's Fireworks in our part of the country. Nothing professional, just a bunch of people celebrating, once again, a new beginning. I must admit it does get a bit out of hand around here.

Happy 2012 everyone! I hope all of you have a safe, happy, healthy, prosperous, and blessed New Year!

Ave's 1st Hunting Trip

It sure is quite around here tonight. Today, my husband took Ave deer hunting for the first time. So far...no deer.

I sure do miss my funny little man. However, I'm sure he is full of beef jerky, will have lots of tales to tell when he gets back, and is having a great time. Hopefully, they eliminated the sugar from Ave's diet today because I'm sure he wouldn't be able to sit still very long if they didn't.

All geared up.

The rifle is almost as big as he is. My husband is wanting to buy him one for Christmas this year.....I guess I'll agree. Sigh....they just don't stay little long enough.

We Did It - We are Getting Rid of the Chemicals!

We did it! We are getting rid of the chemicals. Well not completely, but as much as possible, and I can't bring myself to throw away the chemicals that I already have so I'll probably use those up first.

After searching the Internet, and arming myself with a list of healthier supplies, we headed to Walmart and Wholefoods.

Here was the things I wanted:

Baking Soda (I already had on hand)
White Vinegar (I already had on hand)
Borax (Found at Walmart)
Washing Soda (Found at Walmart)
Fels Naphtha Soap (Found at Walmart)
Essential Oils (I ended up getting peppermint, lavender, and tea tree oil for now)
Coconut Oil (This is good for all sorts of stuff)
Arrow Root Powder (sort of like cornstarch in the baking section)
Vegetable Glycerin (I ended up not using this-it was sort of a waste-I'm gonna try to see what I can do with it)
A Few Empty Spray Bottles (Found at Walmart)
A 5 Gal Bucket with a Lid (Found at Walmart)
Lemons (From my mom's lemon tree-I planted one in the spring, but it's still trying to get established)

I also bought a few extra things not for cleaning. My big sister introduced me to pure Elderberry Syrup for colds. It really does help! It's all natural and contains no alcohol (which is a must for Kass)

So here is a photo of my purchases:

Next, we went home and got busy. It was too easy! Everyone wanted to help including my husband who critiqued the whole process, told me if he thought I was adding too much soap or some other ingredient. It was a family event.

We made soap, deodorant, and toothpaste (although I'm not giving up my fluoride toothpaste-I don't quite feel comfortable with that).

Here is a link for the deodorant recipe we made http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar0BF6hMuGE. It really works! We love this particular recipe.

You can find the recipe for the laundry detergent at http://plainoldkristi.blogspot.com/2008/01/how-to-make-homemade-laundry-soap-step.html. I made mine a little bit different, but it made a little more detergent. I used 1 cup of washing soda, 1/2 cup of borax, 1 bar of grated Fels Naphtha, and essential oils, and 3 gallons of water. Besides that it is pretty much the same. I've even read some recipes that added OxiClean. Anyway experiment and have fun. It really is fun.

So now for some pictures.....

The grated Fels Naphtha Soap. Ave had fun doing this.
He also wanted to be the one to add the hot water in the detergent bucket.
After trying on the deodorant-he did a smell test.
We stored the deodorant in these little plastic cups. We made some for all of us except for Gene. He thinks we are crazy. I wished I would have had some little bitty canning jars or some other pretty small glass container to store it in. Some people even refill their old deodorant containers with it.

I think this was the toothpaste we were making. It consisted of 3 tbsp of coconut oil, 3 tbsp of baking soda, peppermint oil, and one packet of stevia. The recipe also called for an optional bit of vegetable glycerin. I opted out because I read that it puts a coat on your teeth. I'm not a pro, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to leave it out to be safe.

Kass melted the soap for the laundry detergent (of course it must be melted in boiling water).

We have also been using the products to clean our house--particularly vinegar. Believe it or not, the vinegar smells grows on you.

Anyway, we had fun. It was easy, and we're feeling a little bit better about our household environment.

Ave's New Bowler Hat

Ave's has been wanting a bowler hat. Thanks to Bro. Doug, he now has one. Ave in his new favorite Sunday hat.

Why I Do Not Have Many Pictures of My Oldest Son

Me: "Hey Gene, would you mind letting me take a few pictures of you?"
Into the kitchen he goes to get some drink.
Me: "Okay then if you won't pose, I'll just have to take them just like you are."
Me: "You better pose, I'm going to put them on my blog."

Anyway, here are a few pictures from that photo session of Gene......

Gene drinking water. Another angle of Gene drinking water....

Gene chewing a bite of food. Another attempt at our photo session, right before he is leaving for church.... (By the way I'm glad that I captured this look because I get this look from him quite often...)
Anyway, if one day Gene's kids accuse me of not having many pictures of him...please tell them why for me.

Arkansas

Last week we went to visit some new acquaintances in Little Rock, Arkansas. We attended the FPC of Little Rock while we were there and was given a grand tour - which by the way is the largest and most spectacular church that I have ever been in. If you are in the area you should try to attend. It is also a praying church, and if you should stop by at just about any time you will find people praying. You won't be disappointed.
Our new acquaintances. This beautiful couple was so sweet to us. They cooked us a delicious meal, took us out to eat at a wonderful restaurant and gave us a tour of some the locations in Arkansas. One of these places was Hot Springs, Arkansas, which is just about an hour or so outside of Little Rock.

These are natural thermal springs of Arkansas, which have been said to have healing powers. You can even drink this water. It's perfectly safe. One lady informed us that it has been said that it can heal cancer. I guess people still believe in its healing powers.

Another picture of one of the springs.

In front of a hot spring. Yes, two of my children are missing - a choice of theirs. One thinks he is just too big to go places with us now, and the other thinks he belongs with my big sis and her family. Seriously, he wanted to stay with them instead of go with us!

I'm not sure what kind of tree this is but we thought that the bark was quite interesting.

A close up of the bark.

Testing how hot the springs are.

The Arlington Hotel - Evidently this is one of the most historic buildings in the town. I thought the towers on top were interesting.

Anyway, while we were in Hot Springs, we stopped at the visitor center (formerly an old bathhouse) in the city. Once inside you can view an educational film about the bath houses, and tour an old bathhouse. These bathhouses were popular years ago, and many people thought that the waters had healing abilities.

In case you were wondering what they were like, here are some photos. It wasn't what I expected. There are some bath houses that are still operating today. I'm sure they are a great deal different than they use to be. The needle shower.

Another type of weird bath.

Kass pretending to bathe in one of the old hot springs tubs.

Relaxing in the cooling off room after bathing.

The town was very pretty with lots of hanging baskets with flowers.

We also went riding in a Duck on the Diamond Lake (At least I think this the name of the Lake. I'm really not sure)

My favorite thing that we did in Arkansas was walk across the Big Dam Bridge (I'm not cussing that is the name of it). At night it is lit up with purple led lights. This isn't the prettiest picture of it, but if you go to their website and pull up photo's you can get a better view of it at night. The wind was blowing and it was so pretty. I wanted to walk it again before we left but I didn't get the chance. Maybe next time.

This Calvin & Hobbes Made be Think of Ave

This Calvin & Hobbes made me think of Ave. All those who have ever tried to feed Ave will know what I mean. I really think the kid lives on air and sugar--when he can get some, and trust me he is this dramatic when you try to get him to eat something he doesn't want (which is almost everything). One time he desperately drank an entire cup of water for every little tortellini I made him eat. You would have thought I was feeding him poison. Click on the picture to view it better.

Cowboy Turned Indian

Yesterday, I sent my little cowboy off to tutoring with his Aunt Terri, and when I picked him up he was a wild and crazy Indian. My sister has been teaching him and her children about native American Indians. They listened to Indian music, made a lap folder project, built a tipi, and made a clay model of an Indian. He even has a new name, Soaring Eagle.

After getting home from tutoring yesterday afternoon, he ran out into the yard to play Indians with his two cousins. The noise of Indians on a warpath (hooping an hollering) went on all afternoon. After coming in, he was filthy from head to toe, he bathed, marked his self up with markers, made a headdress using a headband his sister gave him and some chicken feathers he found in the yard, and with only his underwear and two small pieces of cloth on, performed wild savage dances around the living room until he was forced to go to bed. Today when I dropped him off at tutoring, he was still an Indian. I wonder what he'll be when I pick him up today?

Good Manners are Wonderful!

Call me old fashioned but, I love to be around people with good manners. I'm not speaking about knowing all the little details (I really get confused with those kind of things since I live basically an informal life style). I'm speaking about kindness, courtesy, thoughtfulness, not letting doors slam in people's faces, not making rude noises, not interrupting people when they are speaking, being thoughtful and tidy, and all of that good stuff! In other words, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Of course, good manners start at home so I've decided to make a huge effort to work with Ave, and with anyone else in the house who is interested in improving their manners. I just purchased two books, Manners Made Easy by June Hines Moore, and Everyday Graces by Karen Santorum. I will be including these two books into Ave's home school lesson plan.

Today we worked on proper behavior when meeting someone for the first time. We practiced. He thought it was kind of funny. Hopefully, this will help him. Typically, he looks away when meeting people for the first time and mumbles a "Hi" or something like that. So today he practiced what June Hines Moore calls the 6 Six's 1. Stand (stand up when meeting someone for the first time) 2. Smile 3. See (Look directly at them) 4. Shake (shake hands) 5. Speak (Introduce yourself) 6. Say (Repeat their name). So far so good. I was the new person he was meeting, so for fun I made sure to tell him in a high pitched old lady voice, "My what a well mannered young boy you are. It was so nice meeting you."

Anyway, I will let you know if the books help or not. Also, if you see Ave using good manners, please give him some positive reinforcement.

The Big Pink Dress!

Kass is not going to be happy when she sees this post. However, I couldn't help but share. She found this pink dress at the store and fell in love with it. Kass in the big pink dress!
Super Big Skirt!

Wheeeee!

My little peasant girl.

Off to Grandma's house we go for our Thanksgiving meal.

Kids Are So Cute

Kids are so cute! Last night, since Ave is out of school for the summer, I let him go watch Uncle Toe play a little baseball. When he gets back home, he walks in looking all tough with his baseball hat on crooked, a baseball glove on one of his hands, dirty and smelling like a stinky little boy. I asked him if he had fun, he said that he did.

Our conversation.

Ave, "This girl said that I was a very nice little boy, because I would go get the ball for her when it went past the tree. Her daddy said she couldn't go past the tree."

Me, "How old was she?"

Ave, "I guess about six."

Me, "Well, that was nice."

Ave, "Hey, mom everybody must have thought I was a GIRL!"

Me, "Really, why?"

Ave giving me an incredulous look, "Because the ball hit me in the face, and they all said, "Are you okay? Are you okay?" I said, yeah....!"

He then shakes his head at the audacity of someone to think that a boy would be hurt!

In the picture above he is trying to adjust his "belt". It's really some type of cable hook or something.

Shrimp boots, dirt, knives, sticks....he loves playing with these things much more than toys. I love this tough little stinky, dirty, boy of mine.