Homemade Apple Sauce

On Friday I had determined that three big bags of apples in my refrigerator was way to many, so we had to do something to start getting rid of our apples.  All these apples were from the apple picking that we did a couple weeks ago up in Blue Ridge.  The only logical thing that Emma Grace and I could come up to help us get rid of all our apples was to make Homemade Apple Sauce! 

I started off with one silly little girl, throw in a bag of pealed apples (about 15 apples), one cup of water, and let simmer for hours.  I added cinnamon and nutmeg, and mashed with my potato masher.  It was delicious. 

I thought I was going to use these fancy Ball Canning Jars, that I bought specifically for the project, but every time I think about canning something I get freaked out that I am going to make someone sick.  So I just jarred up the apple sauce and handed them out to the neighbors, and told them to refrigerate and eat fast.  One day I hope to understand the art of canning, but until then we will keep chugging along.  I think Taylor wants to make apple cider with his bag of apples this weekend!  Nothing says “fall” like apples!

 

Poor Little Guy

This is Preston, and he has not been feeling very well.  You would never know it by looking at him, or by listening to him, or by watching him play.  He has been so very happy, but he has had the same nasty ear infection for the last three weeks.  We have tried two rounds of oral antibiotics, but they have not kicked it.  So on Monday his doctor gave us the choice to do another round of oral antibiotics, or we could start the injectable antibiotics.  This morning Preston had his third round of shots.  Poor little guy started hysterically crying when we pulled in the parking lot this morning.  After three days of the same routine I think he realized what was going to happen.  But his ears looked much better this morning, and we should be done for a long time. 

Our doctor did bring up on Monday that if this persist for another couple weeks that we may need to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor to talk about the possibility of tubes.  I kindly told her that I was not still breastfeeding twins at 13.5 months old to do tubes, and I let her know if she wanted to keep us as patients that she would respect the fact that we do not do tubes.  You can read Taylor’s story here.  Hopefully we are done with ear infections for a long time because I am 100% sure that I will not put another set of tubes in my children’s ears.  I know that Taylor’s story is one in a million but with my luck it will happen to me again.
Hopefully this little guy will be well for the rest of the cold season!

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.8

Puppy Dogs and Birthday Parties

What a wonderful fun filled weekend we had in the Big City!  We had a relaxing weekend full of family, friend, and dog time.  Ryan and I have been trying to work really hard to give the big kids some special one on one time as often as we can, but as you can imagine that is not always easy with 4 children.  Saturday morning Ryan took Emma Grace to gymnastics and stopped by the store to buy her a treat on her way home!  I am hoping that he will be able to bring her to Gymnastics every Saturday so that they have some father daughter time.  I think a healthy relationship is so important for little girls especially, they need a non sexual male figure to look up to in their lives so they don’t go out looking for one that might not be appropriate.  (I will get off of my soap box right here.) 

After Gymnastics I got to take Emma Grace to her first Atlanta Birthday Party for her classmate Addison.  Addison had the cutest party at a place in Roswell called “The Little Farm House in the City.”  The lady who owns this little house (in the city) really had farm animals for the kids to play with, and tractors, and wooden horses to ride.  She also had dress up closes to wear, and pottery to paint!  The kids had a blast, and I am so tickled to see Emma Grace making a new group of lasting friendships.  A lot of these little girls who go to her school also go to our church, and we are starting to have play dates with them.  Hopefully they will be positive relationships that are with her while she grows up!

While Emma Grace and I were away at the party and grocery shopping Ryan had a house full of neighborhood kids over playing with Taylor.  I think at one point there three additional kids over in the house.  I am not a 100% sure how Ryan felt about the extra kids, but I love it!  I have always dreamed of creating a caring, nurturing, and fun environment for all the kids to want to come over to and hang out.  I know when my kids are at my house playing then I know what is going on, and I can keep a close eye on them. 

Yesterday we went to church and after church had brunch with our new friends the Vahlon’s.  This is Cara that you have seen me write about previously, and her husband is Danial, and they have three beautiful children.  Chloe and Emma Grace are the same age and in the same class, and they also have Hudson who is 6, but who Taylor got along with wonderfully yesterday.  Taylor and Hudson had a bacon eating contest and I have never seen so two little boys eat so much bacon. 

I am also excited to announce that my letter wall is complete as of last night, and a few other of my playroom projects are coming together!  I will have to post pictures soon. 

Poor Aunxy, our 12 year old black Pomeranian, was so sick last week.  She throw up for two days straight and by day three she was so dehydrated that she was not interested in anything.  Ryan and I were very worried because she was just lying around not eating or drinking.  So Friday morning I rushed her to the animal vet, and we got her some fluids and had lots of blood test done.  Everything came back showing that she is a healthy happy dog.  The babies think that it is funny to feed the dogs while they are eating, so we think that she got something that did not sit well with her.  My friend Cara summed Aunyx up pretty well the other day, when she referred to her as dramatic!  One day I might share the $5,000 Aunyx hot wing story with my blog!  It was quite the adventure, and display of love and affection that my husband has for his little fluffy dogs!

I would be remised not to say here that we all lost a dear person in our lives this weekend.  Matt Turner, who is my brother in law’s childhood best friend, was killed in a tragic car accident on Saturday night.  He was a wonderful person, news anchor, and new father to beautiful little girl who is not even a year old yet.  He touched many lives with this TV presence and his calm caring spirit.  Our hearts have been heavy and our prayers have been frequent for this dear family and all of their friends.  May his wife and precious little girl alwaysknow how much he loved them.

Emma Grace and Chloe:

Of course Emma Grace did not want to dress up, and I take full responsibility for that. I have never really fostered that emotion to dress up with my kids. It is just something that I feel is not necessary I guess, because I stink at making it happen!  I don’t even like doing the whole Halloween thing. 

  

I recently read a blog article about mom’s in pictures, and it really hit home.  I am committed to taking more pictures with my children so they will know who I am and how much I love them!

A real hen egg!

Emma Grace holding a chicken!

Blessings and Apple Picking

Here it is Friday the week after our family weekend getaway in the mountains, and I was thinking that nothing on earth could top our wonderful weekend last weekend in the mountains.  But today has been one of the most joyous filled days ever, and I think it might rival last weekend (and it is only Friday)!.  This morning Emma Grace and I had a play date with Ms. Cara and her babies.  I love this time and I love Ms. Cara, we have known each other since we did VBS together in June, but we just recently started hanging out and I just adore her.  I teased her today that I have been praying that our husbands like each other so we can start hanging out together as families!!!   

And tonight kids played outside with the neighbor kids all night long and we ended the day by roasting marshmallows on our gas stove, with them and their mom Kathy.  I also adore Kathy!  She is a wonderful Christian women and a phenomenal mother to four teenage kids.  And she forgives (might even find humor in the fact) that my 4 year old went over to her house today and rung her doorbell only to tell her that “she loves her.”

I feel so very blessed to be in this wonderful place that God has planted us in on this earth!  I have been missing my sisters terribly this week, but it is days like today that make me think that I can and will make it!  Plus I got dinner made tonight and that almost never happens very gracefully!  I will just ignore the fact that I had to pull 7 baskets of folded laundry off of my bed to put on the floor, so I could curl up in the bed and blog. 

Not to mention that tomorrow is mine and Ryan’s monthly date night.  We just  love paying a baby sitter a fortune to watch our four children, so we can go out and explore the big city!  I am not kidding we love it!

Here are some pictures from our apple picking adventure last weekend.  We had so much fun, and Emma Grace and I had a blast making homemade apple souse today with our bounty!!! 

 

Blue Ridge Family Weekend

 

This past weekend we packed up the kids and headed for a family get-a-way in a cabin in the mountains.  And I truly have to say that we had the best time and created wonderful memories with the kids.  Preston took his first step, never to do it again, but took a step for only his daddy to see.  We all enjoyed the Fish Hatchery, mining for gems, exploring the exotic pet store, roasting marshmallows over the grill (because we were too lazy to hike back down to the fire pit!), wearing babies while shopping in the beautiful town of Blue Ridge, swimming in the hot tub and staying up late with the big kids watching old movies. 

The big kids really enjoyed fishing with their daddy and picking apples at the Apple Orchard.  They also enjoyed morning number two when they both woke up and realized that mom and dad had slept in the same bed and them.  We decided that it is not worth sleeping in the same room as the babies because no one sleeps well, and we did not want to sleep on the futon, so we just all piled up in the King size bed!!! 

I think Ryan most enjoyed watching the big kids get excited about catching fish, and watching me fall all the way down the stairs.  I was only mildly hurt, but Ryan said he could not help but laugh because it looked like a scene from a cartoon, because I bounced on my bottom all the way down the stairs. 

Ryan and I were too funny wearing our babies around town because we had packed our ginormous jogging stroller, but it had a flat tire and we could not use it the whole trip!  Great memories were created and we look forward to going back to the mountains once a year. 

 

Mountain Phone Pictures

Here are some cute pictures that I captured on my phone this past weekend.  I had a hard time wearing babies and carrying my big camera, so my phone won out! 

Published with Blogger-droid v2.0.8

Funny Taylor Story

Last night as Taylor and I were going up stairs to bed he walked into his room, with me following behind him.  Well he made it into this room about 2 feet and then quickly backed up and said “Lady’s First.”  I was so proud because I thought all of my conversations were sinking in.  A few minuets later I told him that I was so proud of him for allowing the lady to go first.  He quickly said "mom I wanted you to go first so you could turn on the lamp because it was pitch black in here. 

Well, it was wishful thinking that he was picking up on my etiquette lessons, but I am still impressed that he used the expression that we have been working on “Lady’s First”!!!!  Right now in this season of my life I am just faithfully trusting on Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

On a different note I have to use this opportunity to brag about Taylor, and announce that he has been accepted into the Gifted and Talented Program in the East Cobb school systems!!!!  I am so very proud of him.  He is such a smart little boy, and I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for him throughout his life.