Yes, that's right. We have transferred (mostly) everything over from the iMac to a brand new HP desktop, which I am presently typing away on in our (in the process of being re-designed) third bedroom. (More on that later) The new computer is nice, but has taken a little bit of getting used to; no matter how much the iMac aggravated me, there are a few "short-cuts" I had grown used to. However, I am much happier already with a PC instead of the iMac (sorry tech-y friends).
J and I, after much thought on our current living situation, the housing market, our "other house" (the condo), our life plan, etc. have recently decided on trying really hard to maximize the space we have in The Little House, since we are now (firmly) planning to stay in it until God and the Navy move us elsewhere. J just remarked the other day how this is the first time, in the year and a half that we've lived here, that he really feels like we are "moving in." Strange, but when you think about it, we moved in here much like we moved into the condo: we needed a place now + it was available = welcome! So, my apologies to The Little House for not appreciating you in the beginning and please prepare yourself to be modified and maximized.
Another good side effect of all this power purging and space repurposing is that it is going to force proud Me to post some pictures of Little House (finally) so you can all pat me on the back about my awesome decorating skills.
We are still working into a steady weekly routine here. I had hoped by now to have the printer set up so I could start making my workbooks for Squeak but it hasn't happened yet. We do have a few weekly outings I hope to make habits: the Virginia Aquarium has a great Toddler Trek program on Thursday, that gets the kids outside and learning about animals, and with our membership, it's free! Wednesday nights at church, they offer a "Family Night" which includes a home cooked dinner and kids activities, plus a bible study for adults. It's also the night when they have Adult Choir practice - I'm planning to be a part of that (pray for some courage! It's been a long time since I've sung in public for performance purposes!).
Tonight is Halloween and I am excited for both of the kids to have an active role in Trick Or Treating tonite! We will be staying home to hand our candy at first, as J has to fly tonite until 6:30 or 7pm. I am hoping he gets done a little early and can head home so we can get out to get some candy ourselves. Last year, Big was so little he just stayed in J's arms and it was Squeak who got all the candy. We made it down and around our little Court and that was it, so we will see how we do this time. I'll post pictures later this week of them in their costumes!
On the cooking front, I modified my mom's Monkey Bread recipe to make individual jumbo "muffins" instead of the usually bundt loaf. The original ingredients made 10 muffins and by the next day I only had 2 left! That stuff is so good. I am also making a Loaded Baked Potato Soup in the slow cooker for tonite (from Crock Pot Girls). I'm hoping to make peanut butter cookies with M&M's in them this week with Squeak.
That's all for today! Have a great week!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Holy Crap, it's October.... the END of October
Hello blogging world.
I need to get back into the swing of this damn thing. Pardon my french.
We have had a happy holiday season, a great 1st birthday for Bug, a busy (and sometimes, very trying) summer, and, with Fall, a lot of changes in our household.
I left my position at the Spa, although I loved my co-workers and loyal clients, just a few weeks ago, to be a full time stay at home mom to Bug and Squeak. It has been excited and interesting, sometimes exhausting, so far, and it's only been a week! I am loving all the time with my babies, though, and I think it is going to work out swimmingly. We attending our first MOPS meeting this past Monday and it was amazing. I already know I am going to love my two Mondays a month with this amazing group of Moms. If any of you have not tried a MOPS group, I can really encourage you to find one! They are faith based, uplifting and inspiring, and totally dedicated to the most important job we as moms have - being a happy, healthy, and successful CEO of our families! It really was a great morning; I can home with a little girl who knew "This Little Light of Mine" and an apple crisp all ready for the oven or to be frozen to use later, plus lots and lots of reinforcement that Moms are Important! I froze my apple crisp- we already had blueberry muffins and Biscuit & Cherry Mini Pies made for this week!- but look for the recipe at the end of this post.
I am disappointed that we missed the registration for story and rhyme time at our local library; we will have to wait until January to register again! Geez. Who knew it could fill up so fast! It goes for 8 weeks after the holidays when it starts up again, so that will be a great addition to our Tues/Thurs schedule.
Right now, as far as the "school" section of our days, I am still researching and formatting what I want to accomplish and how structured I want it to be. I am strongly leaning towards the ABC curriculum I found at Totally Tots with the intention to move Squeak into her Rock Stars curriculum over the summer or when we run out of letters :) . (Those of you that are familiar with our kids and the daycare we were going to before, she had moved into the preschool classroom in June, ahead of schedule, but when the kids returned from the Michigan trip in August, she was put back into the 2s room and regressed terribly. She started having bathroom accidents again, an awful rude attitude, and has lost a lot of her letter and number recognition skills. So depressing. I think if I had pulled them at the end of the summer, pre-trip, we wouldn't be doing as much of the Totally Tots curriculum as I plan too. Oh well! It's good stuff anyways!)
The kids are blossoming everyday and have developed so much of their own personalities. Squeak has always been very strong-willed and a "force of nature" (I think she gets it from her Grandma Bobbie and Grandma Jeanne. It's definitely an Ostrander trait!) and progresses much in that direction still now. She is very bossy when she wants to do something or have something, and I think that (altho somewhat frustrating now) will make her a strong leader as she gets older. She can explain herself quite well and is very articulate for her age. She also needs focus or can get into trouble.... hence the need for some sort of a daily/weekly schedule and some sort of activity! :) She is tall for her age and strong, the pediatrician said according to the growth chart, she's as big as a 5 year old! Can both be good and bad.... sometimes, just by glancing at her, some people forget she is young and expect too much. She's only (almost) three!
Bug has just started to come into his personality. He is still quiet for the most part and very very snuggly and sweet. He is also very sneaky and mischevious. Here come the "boy" traits! :) It has made being home extra fun, as the two of them are so very attached to eachother. Squeak is very attentive to Bug and Bug follows her and mimics her to no end (both good and bad things!). He has finally started throwing little "fits" when he doesn't get something he wants and he lets you know (loudly) when he's hungry! He loves milk and will eat until you take the food away. I think he is making up for being so petite in the early days. He has gotten taller too and is finally in clothing close to his actually age (18mo shirts and 12mo pants!). He loves the dogs especially and BOOKS. Good Lord, doe the boy love his books! He can sit for a half hour and just look thru book after book. Hopefully this is an early indicator of a lifetime love of reading! I am so blessed to have both of my kids like books!
I think this will be the end of my update for today. Thank you for staying up to date with us.
Blessings on your Fall season from here in Virginia!
Make-Ahead Apple Crisp
Items Needed:
Cutting board
Knives
Apple Peeler (if desired)
Apple Corer (if desired)
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Two large Ziploc Bags
Ingredients:
4-5 Good sized baking apples (I like Granny Smith, but I like tart!), cored & sliced (peeled if desired)
1 Tbsp Orange Juice
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 Stick of butter
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Quick Oats
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
In one Ziploc bag, combine sliced apples, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon. Shake well to coat all apples.
In the other ziploc bag, squish butter, packed brown sugar, flour, quick oats, and nutmeg together until well blended.
**You can now freeze the two bags for future use or bake right away!
When you are ready to bake it, pour apple mixture into a greased baking pan and srinkle on the topping from the other bag (you do not need to thaw them!). Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, slightly longer if frozen.
Enjoy!
I need to get back into the swing of this damn thing. Pardon my french.
We have had a happy holiday season, a great 1st birthday for Bug, a busy (and sometimes, very trying) summer, and, with Fall, a lot of changes in our household.
I left my position at the Spa, although I loved my co-workers and loyal clients, just a few weeks ago, to be a full time stay at home mom to Bug and Squeak. It has been excited and interesting, sometimes exhausting, so far, and it's only been a week! I am loving all the time with my babies, though, and I think it is going to work out swimmingly. We attending our first MOPS meeting this past Monday and it was amazing. I already know I am going to love my two Mondays a month with this amazing group of Moms. If any of you have not tried a MOPS group, I can really encourage you to find one! They are faith based, uplifting and inspiring, and totally dedicated to the most important job we as moms have - being a happy, healthy, and successful CEO of our families! It really was a great morning; I can home with a little girl who knew "This Little Light of Mine" and an apple crisp all ready for the oven or to be frozen to use later, plus lots and lots of reinforcement that Moms are Important! I froze my apple crisp- we already had blueberry muffins and Biscuit & Cherry Mini Pies made for this week!- but look for the recipe at the end of this post.
I am disappointed that we missed the registration for story and rhyme time at our local library; we will have to wait until January to register again! Geez. Who knew it could fill up so fast! It goes for 8 weeks after the holidays when it starts up again, so that will be a great addition to our Tues/Thurs schedule.
Right now, as far as the "school" section of our days, I am still researching and formatting what I want to accomplish and how structured I want it to be. I am strongly leaning towards the ABC curriculum I found at Totally Tots with the intention to move Squeak into her Rock Stars curriculum over the summer or when we run out of letters :) . (Those of you that are familiar with our kids and the daycare we were going to before, she had moved into the preschool classroom in June, ahead of schedule, but when the kids returned from the Michigan trip in August, she was put back into the 2s room and regressed terribly. She started having bathroom accidents again, an awful rude attitude, and has lost a lot of her letter and number recognition skills. So depressing. I think if I had pulled them at the end of the summer, pre-trip, we wouldn't be doing as much of the Totally Tots curriculum as I plan too. Oh well! It's good stuff anyways!)
The kids are blossoming everyday and have developed so much of their own personalities. Squeak has always been very strong-willed and a "force of nature" (I think she gets it from her Grandma Bobbie and Grandma Jeanne. It's definitely an Ostrander trait!) and progresses much in that direction still now. She is very bossy when she wants to do something or have something, and I think that (altho somewhat frustrating now) will make her a strong leader as she gets older. She can explain herself quite well and is very articulate for her age. She also needs focus or can get into trouble.... hence the need for some sort of a daily/weekly schedule and some sort of activity! :) She is tall for her age and strong, the pediatrician said according to the growth chart, she's as big as a 5 year old! Can both be good and bad.... sometimes, just by glancing at her, some people forget she is young and expect too much. She's only (almost) three!
Bug has just started to come into his personality. He is still quiet for the most part and very very snuggly and sweet. He is also very sneaky and mischevious. Here come the "boy" traits! :) It has made being home extra fun, as the two of them are so very attached to eachother. Squeak is very attentive to Bug and Bug follows her and mimics her to no end (both good and bad things!). He has finally started throwing little "fits" when he doesn't get something he wants and he lets you know (loudly) when he's hungry! He loves milk and will eat until you take the food away. I think he is making up for being so petite in the early days. He has gotten taller too and is finally in clothing close to his actually age (18mo shirts and 12mo pants!). He loves the dogs especially and BOOKS. Good Lord, doe the boy love his books! He can sit for a half hour and just look thru book after book. Hopefully this is an early indicator of a lifetime love of reading! I am so blessed to have both of my kids like books!
I think this will be the end of my update for today. Thank you for staying up to date with us.
Blessings on your Fall season from here in Virginia!
Make-Ahead Apple Crisp
Items Needed:
Cutting board
Knives
Apple Peeler (if desired)
Apple Corer (if desired)
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Two large Ziploc Bags
Ingredients:
4-5 Good sized baking apples (I like Granny Smith, but I like tart!), cored & sliced (peeled if desired)
1 Tbsp Orange Juice
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 Stick of butter
1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Quick Oats
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
In one Ziploc bag, combine sliced apples, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon. Shake well to coat all apples.
In the other ziploc bag, squish butter, packed brown sugar, flour, quick oats, and nutmeg together until well blended.
**You can now freeze the two bags for future use or bake right away!
When you are ready to bake it, pour apple mixture into a greased baking pan and srinkle on the topping from the other bag (you do not need to thaw them!). Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees, slightly longer if frozen.
Enjoy!
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