One thing Landon loves to do is draw and color, seemed only obvious to throw him an art inspired party.  Now that he and most of his guests are 5 they are able to keep the mess to a minimum so I forged ahead in making this happen.

I bought dollarstore white placemats and cut them into the shape of a painter’s palette.  I then adhered plastic die cut circles to mimic paint which are easily washable.  Yet another trip to our dollarstore yielded plain canvases on which the kids could paint their masterpiece just like the professionals.  I am convinced the one to the far left will be worth money some day.

I knew this cake would be perfect for our art party.  No wimpy food coloring for this one, the real dark vibrant food paste was brought in to pull this off.  Beware!  If you get this on your counter be prepared to love the tie die look because it does not wash off easily.  Better yet pawn the job off on your poor unsuspecting parents.  It’s amazing what you can get away with in the name of grand kids.

For favors I simply picked up some small tubs of Play Doh, a plastic painters palette, some paint brushes and a few tubs of washable paint.  Ironically last minute I forgot to pick up favor bags and tossed the stuff in small green recylcing garbage bags.  I figured everyone at some point can use those and will more than likely come in handy when letting your toddlers paint or use play doh…or as in my case both at once.

With three kids I am sure to be repeating one of these parties, or better yet I may even take them bowling.  Problem solved.

I always have a ready made stash of frozen cooked turkey or chicken pieces in the freezer and who doesn’t have half eaten bags of various veggies or nearly expired ones in the crisper of your fridge.  With these two items, some chicken broth and the important Magic Mix you can have a warm hearty meal in minutes.

Whenever I cook homemade broth I freeze some in 2 cup portions for receips such as this.  Simply thaw and add it to the magic mix, thicken and add some veggies and frozen chicken.  Normally I spoon this over some whole grain rice I had frozen or you could simply boil whole whole grain pasta for a base. 

Not only is this dish easy and quick it’s frugal and makes good use of leftovers and lone stragglers left in your fridge.  Great way to clean it out.

I love Dr. Bronners, I use their cleaner to tackle every job, some require full strength but I mainly dilute it.  A 16oz bottle is priced below $10 and my last bottle last me a full year.  Not a bad investment.  I have since purchased their baby soap and their famous peppermint castille soap of which we use to bath and to fill our soap dispensers with. The best part about Dr. Bronners is the fact they are certified organic, not tested on animals and certified fair trade.  In addition to all of the above his labels are thoroughly amusing.

Well.ca is an on-line store I frequently purchase from.  Not only do they have an excellent selection of products for you and your family’s well being they have the best customer service ever.  Seriously, they practically call you when the Canada Post truck is turning into your subdivision.  Obviously I ignored that e-mail and left the bottle until the following Monday upon which I found it frozen solid.

The best part about Well.ca is free shipping resulting in fewer shopping trips with children…..priceless.

It takes time, patience, organization but most of all an open mind.  An open mind to try new things, ingredients you can barely pronounce let alone pay money for, cook and serve to your family.  Take Quinoa for example, it sounds weird (pronounced Keenwa) but with some creativity and experimenting with new recipes this little nutty grain could easily replace plain rice in your favourite family dishes….except for you mom, I know you hate the stuff.

Start with one small change and work from there.  I started with spelt flour and continue to use this in the majority of my baked goods and breads.  Spelt easily replaces white flour in most recipes without too much change in flavor and texture.  The next time you bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies, try substituting one cup of spelt in place of white and from there go wild and work yourself up to a half.  Contrary to what my Dad thinks you are not going hippy by eating spelt and quinoa….and so what if you were, you will be one healthy hippy.

Baby steps are key to incorporating alternative ingredients into your diet but with small minuscule changes the transition will be seamless without an uprising from your family members

Here is some information on spelt flour…by far an easy first step in a whole foods diet.

I recently made a trip to my favorite bulk food store armed with my mom and two $3 off coupons.  I divided my order in two and got $6 off a total of $25.  I stocked up on my ol’ stand by pinto beans, spelt flour, whole grain flour but went out of my comfort zone and purchased black beans.  I m anxious to try a few new mexican recipes of which I plan to use my homemade yogurt or strained keift in place of commercial sour cream.

If you are a bean newbie and would like some ideas on this protein packed gem check some of these out.

Stephanie’s baby steps series on beans (Still working on her Say No! to Kraft Dinner, I confess I am guilty of dishing out this one now and then)

Black Bean quessidillas

refried beans

You may want to space out your bean meals until one gets accustomed to their effects….can’t say I didn’t warn you.

Amazingly I managed to pull off a big meal for the extended family amidst the chaos of construction.  We did have a little mishap of hubby turning on the dusty mitre saw as I was mixing cornbread for the casserole which may have resulted in a little extra crunch.  Oh well! nobody complained and their all still standing.

Now on to the rest of the week.

Sunday – Wings and corned bread veggie bake

Monday – veggie soup and grilled cheese.  A few weeks ago I made two large batches of soup, chicken fricot and vegetable.  Although my hubby is not a soup kind of guy when accompanied by warm rolls or crusty bread it is a nice light alternative on a cold night.

Tuesday – Sticky chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans

Wednesday – Chicken parmesan, carrot sticks and dip

Thursday – leftovers

Friday – meatballs, tex mex rice and broccoli

Saturday – cabbage sloppy joes

If you are stuck on ideas for dinner check out Laura’s site for plenty of them.

How’s this for chaos? Last May little Mclaren was overdue by 2 weeks, we closed the deal on our home and attempted to move all in the span of 2 weeks For for the record, I did NOT scrapbook this moment.

The painter was here so long the kids started referring to as their uncle, the furnace had to be unexpectedly replaced and through all of this we were dealing with false labor pains. Brings a tear to my eye just thinking about it.

But we survived, a few grays emerged on my head and a few gray hairs left my hubby’s. But the key word is we survived, and I am so glad we did because I love the new house. Our home.

Don’t get me wrong, I was reluctant to leave the farm and the security of my parents. If it was not for the no more children clause they strategically (in minuscule print I might add) placed in our rental agreement, I probably would be still there protesting the eviction. In all seriousness we knew it was time. My parents were in the basement apartment and the overhead noise was only going to get worst with the not so tiny pitter patter of heavy clunky toddler feet. We needed our very own place as they did theirs. So we found this little gem complete with a dozen contrasting floral wallpaper…all of which were not placed over primed walls. Feel my pain? I will never support a wallpaper comeback regardless of who on HGTV says it is the in thing, I cannot stomach the stuff.

Wanna see my once pink kitchen? I didn’t zoom out for a full shot, too much pink, way too much.

I can see all of your curled up noses now.  Believe it or not that is a pink painted brick back splash.  No, that doesn’t sound hideous enough.  Here’s a better description, it’s a painted pink zebrick backsplash.  That is right up there with fuzzy textured snot green wallpaper circa 1970 surprisingly enough I have not unearthed any as of yet.

So here is my new, but not quite complete kitchen

I still have a wood counter top and apron front sink to install, bead board ceiling and outdoor light fixtures to get up. Note how I strategically centered the picture to avoid showing off the hideous ceiling and floors, not to mention the pile of junk that was there a mere 10 seconds before.  I should seriously learn to photoshop to avoid such hassle.

When all the above has been checked off my honey “do” list,  I will zoom out and take the full shot.

Since I last reported, our family went from this

To this

Yes you counted right. We now have three little ones.

As one can well imagine, life is crazy. Heck, why sugar coat it, it’s downright insane! I don’t have the luxury of closing my office door for a much needed break (although the bathroom has proved to be a decent substitute) but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

This past year has had it’s share of challenges, mainly due to my little girls health scare at birth. Life gets put into perspective in the blink of an eye and so did my focus. Now that I have settled into a chaotic routine I hope to share some new and improved ways to save money, time and hopefully your sanity (although I may ask for help on that issue from time to time)

We never knew how much that program meant to us until it personally affected us.

Our beautiful little girl, Mclaren Faith was born over a week ago.  Unfortunately she suffered asphyxiation and suffered damage to a portion of her brain. Miraculously she survived and after several heart wrenching days watching her cling to life she pulled through… but not without damage.   In what way? only time will tell but in an instant our life as we envisioned it will never be the same.  Needless to say our family is in shock and numb and need to make this little miracle our primary focus.

I cherish all of those whom I met through blogging, many of you have become a great source of support.  No doubt I will continue reading some of my favourites, continuing to be inspired by all of the great mom’s that are out there.  Please take care, all of you.

God Bless

Niki

We did survive the big move and are anxiously awaiting the baby, which is now 10 days overdue.  Typical for a little lady to be fashionably late.  I would love to post pictures but for the life of me I cannot find our battery charger which reminds me should be located before the little one makes her appearance.

I promise I will have some pictures of the new arrival as well as her newly decorated nursery.  After two boys I am lovin’ pink…and lots of it.