Our Life in a Nut Shell

A week of Mondays.....

2012-01-27T12:54:00.000-08:00

Here is Lunch!

This has been a long week. Next week is going to be better.

Here's my To Do List:

*I want to go through our 72 hour kits and put clothes in that fit my kids and new food in them.
*I want to scrapbook our Christmas pictures in our Christmas Book.
*I want to keep up my digital scrapbook of the big family events.
*I want to make a family home video of family clips and make a movie out of them for the kids for our road trip in the summer. It will be great, the girls will love it!
*I want to finish our 2 hour long home movie and include Sara. (the kids LOVE this movie. There's pictures to music and video clips so it goes by fast. It's pretty great, I love my movie maker)

That should be good for now. Here's to yummy grilled cheese sandwiches this next week and NOT the smoke detector going off! Happy weekend!

Just a Wednesday...

2012-01-25T19:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a quite week. Same old same old, just keeping busy with life. Here are a few pictures from the week.

It was Adeline's 3rd 'Angel Day' this past week so we watched her video on youtube. Estelle is slowly learning about her big sister.

Love this little chubby face. Seriously the happiest baby EVER!

Hanging out with the newest cousin. Finally another girl! You never remember them being this small but they all were! Time flies.

Then there's this crazy kid again. I love this age. We put her to be in PJ's but when she woke up in the morning this is what she was wearing. She was pretty proud of herself. 2 sweaters. Crazy nut.

Then there's the family before bed picture. Still trying to figure out the timer on the camera. Love that Estelle is brushing her sisters teeth. What a helper. (lately, she also thinks it's HER job to feed Sara. She's not too bad if you don't mind the occasional spoon jammed down your throat!)

More tomato bread. yummmmmmmm

Now this is love. I won't do it. Plucking ear hair. No thanks. (Don't tell John I posted this one) Kyla loves to do it. Have fun! hahahaha

And lastly, what's a trip to Grandpa's and Grandma's house without a quad ride. Even if it's freezing outside. There's 5 people on the quad here. The kids LOOOVE it!

Well, have a good week. John and I have been up late for too long watching LOST. Thank goodness we're in the last season and I can go to bed at a decent hour! So not much to say cause I"m tired. See ya!

Bread Bread Bread!

2012-01-10T16:56:00.000-08:00

So today it was a bit cold and I had no errands to run so I made bread. 2 different kinds, 2 different methods. One I baked for 30min and one boiled for 10.

This is the first.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/tomato-bread/detail.aspx

Estelle approved. It's super yummy toasted. I want to try it in a grilled cheese sandwich or with cream cheese. All I can say is oh my goodness. My kitchen smelled so wonderful after this!

And this is the second.

For Christmas I got a Wonder Box from my parents. (http://ourldsfamily.com/wonderbox/) It's pretty cool. I make a lot of soups and so with this, you boil your soup for 10 minutes with the lid on, then put it in the Wonder Box all day (instead of simmering it all day and using power) and voila! The magic beads in the Wonder Box keeps the temperature hot and soup is done to perfection and can not burn! After 6 hours of hanging out in the Box, it will still be piping hot!

Anyways, I thought, 'Can I make bread in this thing?' Thanks to the internet I found my answer!

http://myfoodstoragecookbook.com/2011/07/22/my-kind-of-wonder-bread/

I did exactly what she said to do, I cooked it in 2 tomato juice cans and only boiled it for 10 minutes and put in the Wonder Box for 4 hours! I cut the recipe in half, thinking maybe this one was for the bigger asparagus container. If your kids don't eat crusts, this is your bread. I gave some to Kyla and she couldn't tell it was different bread. It's so light and moist. Love it! Estelle give it thumbs up!

2012-01-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yeah!! I did it! I didn't blog AT ALL in 2011. Just kidding. I can't believe I didn't touch it at all last year. I will once again try to write every Monday. We'll see how long this lasts!

So here is 2011 in review.

well the most interesting bit anyways...

-John, not liking his Edmonton job, is sent to Texas to take a class. On the plane over he sits by a guy who is looking to hire someone in Calgary, who does what John does. And just like that we are out of Edmonton and finally back in Calgary.

Home.

Edmonton was ok, we miss our friends there but this is home. We have a nice new home, completely opposite from what we were living in Edmonton. It's beautiful. Now just get settled and get to know people.

Our last born Sara completed our family. It's nice being done and wonderful that we get to starting to get rid of baby stuff. There's a small part of me that will miss being pregnant, one day, maybe.

I like being done so I can do little projects like this.

Love it.

We weren't able to take our nice holiday to the coast because we bought the house but I'm so ready to go this year. Hopefully Sara will be walking and the big girls can enjoy it that much more.

But life is good, the girls are happy, John likes his new job, I get to go to a torch to melt glass for beads about once a week. I want to continue again my stained glass soon too.

As January rolls around again, we think of Adeline, who would be 3 this year. We miss her but super happy and fortunate that we have an angel always with us. We feel it.

Anyways, this is about it for this week. Hopefully I can read others blogs and be inspired to keep this one up. Have a good 2012 everyone!

Holiday 2010

2010-08-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

These are only a few pictures from our 2010 Holiday. 2.5 weeks busy with Enchanted Forest, visiting old friends (not that our friends are old but .... you know...) hanging out with family, Butchart Gardens, playing on the beach and lake, taking a new picture at Adeline's spot, a stop in WASA, family gathering at the zoo, etc

Estelle is growing cute. She is starting to scoot everywhere and get everything. Why do babies love cords and remote controls? Megan is still fighting with eczema but she loves being a big sister and is starting to love learning and going into kindergarten. Kyla is a big girl, getting earrings, loosing teeth, going into grade 1. I want to do too much but choose to play with my kidlets instead. ONE DAY I will make my glass beads, stained glass projects, sewing and whatever else I get into. I started digital scrapbooking with I love and it's way way cheaper and very easy. John is working, hopefully get his own business started so we can have lots of money and move away from Edmonton and have a big house! heehee one day. I love my family, we are happy.

Thanks for reading, enjoy the day! Till next post

Third time is the charm!

2010-03-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

So, a lot of waste, but I got it figured out. So yumma!! The first time I tried I mixed up the salt and sugar. OOPPPSS!!! The second time I forgot the sugar and just used salt. I don't know where my head was!

But I got it now. This is actually our 2nd batch!

Random shots from Jan. 2010

2010-01-27T10:02:00.000-08:00

This is my first "NO MOM" sign that was posted by Megan on her bedroom door. The first picture is of her crying, and she IS allowed in her room. But I have to stay out. :( She is only 4!
Haha! I am in the room! This is the 'party' with the leftover helium from Adeline's balloons. They we're very excited to sleep surrounded by floating balloons. It was a different story when they woke up with all the balloons on the ground!
Estelle weighs a little too much for this balloon to take her away. She's too cute!
Our happy baby!
How can you tell she's not the first child? Instead of running to calm her when she cries, we just laugh and think it's cute!

Tribute to Addy - 1 year

2010-01-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

Our Cute kids!!

2010-01-19T16:56:00.001-08:00

They have so much fun together!
I had to post this, Kyla looks SO much like her auntie Theresa!
The happy baby!

Treats and rewards

2010-01-17T21:10:00.000-08:00

So I tried to make a fondant decorated cake and here is my first quick attempt. I'm making a Dora cake in 2 weeks so that should be fun. It's really easy! Just marshmallows and icing sugar and some coloring. TADA!
This is our newest idea to have good kids. I decorated a box and the girls decorated their jars. Every morning they have 10 check marks on the board. If they don't listen or fight etc, they loss a check. Then before bed we count the checks and put that amount of pennies in a jar. They can't earn them back, but through out the day I'm trying to focus on positiveness so it's not all "oh, you lost a penny" kind of day. It's working out nicely so far, it's been about a week. And at the end of the day we don't say "oh well, you only have 5 pennies" we say "yeah, you get 5 pennies, great job!" When it's full they can go to the store (I'll use my card and put my pennies back for next time. So far so good!

3 little girls...

2009-12-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

My 3 little girls, can you tell a difference???

Estelle Nora Higgin

2009-12-09T13:00:00.001-08:00

This is the newest addition to our family. She arrived 8pm in November 18th, 2009. She weighed 6lbs, 13oz. She is a sleepy baby but she's growing and happy. Kyla and Megan love her, Estelle is a joy to have at home. We love her!

2009-07-08T20:54:00.001-07:00

http://www.members.shaw.ca/angelwhispers/Summer%202009%20for%20Web.pdf

Addy's headstone

2009-07-08T12:38:00.000-07:00

Here is the finished product. I designed it, I love it, just sad that we had to do it in the first place.

Muttart Conservatory

2009-07-02T15:02:00.000-07:00

Today we went here and the Edmonton Zoo. (but the zoo here is so lame, not worthy of any pictures! :))

So, it was fun, we are considered poor so we qualify for the 'Leisure access card' and it makes all the city attractions for free. Love it! So here is us, enjoying the day. Kyla liked the 'hairy cactus', she thought it was funny. It was a good day! :)

Our stop in Nanton

2009-07-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

There is a neat model train store in Nanton. A spur of the moment stop, I'm glad we did it. They have 2 big kids area's like this with toy tracks and trains.

They had about 10 trains going. They also had a 'eye spy' hunt thing, where you have to find the man eating a hamburger, and what color is his shirt. Or what is the photographer taking a picture of? So much fun. It was worth it! If we ever have millions of dollars, :) this will be our backyard!

2009-06-20T07:20:00.001-07:00

We're pregnant again, all seems good with the baby, due the end of November. So more news to follow. :)

Kyla is 5!

2009-06-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Kyla had a ladybug party this year. She had one when she was 2, I guess it was REALLY fun so we did it again. I made a ladybug cake, we 'pinned the dot on the ladybug' and had a ladybug pinata. We didn't have the pinata hanging, that would be too much work. So we had all the girls stand in a circle, John dropped it in the middle and they just kicked and stomped on that poor ladybug until the goodies pooped out.

We only had a few things in the pinata, but there was a note that sent the kids on a little scavenger hunt for the rest. They liked that. They also liked beating John with balloons. He's such a great dad! Kyla had a lot of fun, I think it was a success!

May 2009

2009-05-19T13:03:00.000-07:00

So, looking for fun things to do this summer. We made volcanoes with salt dough. We put red sparkly 'lava' in it, the girls loved it!

And we FINALLY got them bikes! they are very pink and princessy but that's that they love, so we spoil them! They've took a bike safety class and are getting pretty good at riding them. Of course a few falls but they say it's still worth it. I love these two ladies!

In our spare time.....

2009-02-28T10:11:00.000-08:00

The girls got many Barbies for Christmas, so we've been busy making furniture for them. It's been fun, not too hard just takes time, a good 'in front of the TV' project. We still need to finish the kitchen and dining room, then some other odds and ends.

For a house we're using a shelf that we carpeted. I want to get a taller shelf one day but this works for now.

2009-02-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

So this is what I've come up with for Adeline's headstone. But the finished product will be a black marble color, with engraved white lettering. It will be one of the laying down ones with the back higher than the front. I'm pleased with it. I hope it turns out great!

-The Story of the Dragonfly-

2009-02-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

Down below the surface of a quiet pond lived a little colony of water bugs. They were a happy colony, living far away from the sun. For many months they were very busy, scurrying over the soft mud on the bottom of the pond. They did notice that every once in a while one of their colony seemed to lose interest in going about with its friends. Clinging to the stem of a pond lily, it gradually moved out of sight and was seen no more.

"Look!" said one of the water bugs to another. "One of our colony is climbing up the lily stalk. Where do you suppose she is going?" Up, up, up it went slowly. Even as they watched, the water bug disappeared from sight. Its friends waited and waited but it didn't return. "That's funny!" said one water bug to another. "Wasn't she happy here?" asked a second water bug. "Where do you suppose she went?" wondered a third. No one had an answer. They were greatly puzzled.

Finally one of the water bugs, a leader in the colony, gathered its friends together. "I have an idea. The next one of us who climbs up the lily stalk must promise to come back and tell us where he or she went and why." "We promise," they said solemnly.

One spring day, not long after, the very water bug who had suggested the plan found himself climbing up the lily stalk. Up, up, up he went. Before he knew what was happening, he had broken through the surface of the water, and fallen onto the broad, green lily pad above.

When he awoke, he looked about with surprise. He couldn't believe what he saw. A startling change had come to his old body. His movement revealed four silver wings and a long tail. Even as he struggled, he felt an impulse to move his wings. The warmth of the sun soon dried the moisture from the new body. He moved his wings again and suddenly found himself up above the water. He had become a dragonfly.

Swooping and dipping in great curves, he flew through the air. He felt exhilarated in the new atmosphere. By and by, the new dragonfly lighted happily on a lily pad to rest. Then it was that he chanced to look below to the bottom of the pond. Why, he was right above his old friends, the water bugs! There they were, scurrying about, just as he had been doing some time before. Then the dragonfly remembered the promise: "The next one of us who climbs up the lily stalk will come back and tell where he or she went and why."

Without thinking, the dragonfly darted down. Suddenly he hit the surface of the water and bounced away. Now that he was a dragonfly, he could no longer go into the water. "I can't return!" he said in dismay. "At least I tried, but I can't keep my promise. Even if I could go back, not one of the water bugs would know me in my new body. I guess I'll just have to wait until they become dragonflies too. Then they'll understand what happened to me, and where I went." And the dragonfly winged off happily into its wonderful new world of sun and air.

-unknown

(The beautiful picture is a painting done by Michael Godard, called "Journey of Dreams" I love it!!)

Our day of Closure

2009-02-13T11:56:00.000-08:00

This was a hard but good day. It was very hard to say good-bye to Adeline for the last time, but we know we will see her again. I felt as we were dressing her that she was done with me fussing over her and that she was happy. Reassuring me that she loves us and that we will be together again. Time to continue on with life. Her little body is in a small, quiet cemetery surrounded by rolling hills, surrounded by family members who have gone. And as time goes by, there are spots for more family to join her. It is the most perfect place for our sweet Addy.

Our beautiful video :)

2009-01-28T20:48:00.000-08:00

Addy with us at the hospital

2009-01-28T16:56:00.000-08:00

More Addy pictures. One more batch to come.... :)

2009-01-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

Our Sweet Adeline

2009-01-23T15:05:00.001-08:00

At 4:45am Thursday morning my water broke. We got to the hospital by 5:15. Nothing happened all day long. Melanie, John and I just hung out in my half room. My parents came with Kyla and Megan during the day, which was so nice. Through out the day they would ck her heart beat, usually it took a few tense minutes to find but they always found it. In the evening they gave me the stuff to start labor, I wasn't dilated. It started working with in 2 hours. I could only manage to labor for 1.5 hours, then I was done, after only getting to 3cm, I got an epidural. I love those things. :) After that, Melanie, John and I just crashed. So worn out. At 3:50am this morning I felt something 'weird' between my legs. Maybe a tube falling out, but no, it was Adeline. So we called my parents, and Trina Lewis to take pictures (She volunteers her services with 'Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep'.) (Thank you so so much for everything!) By 4am she was out, born still. 3 lbs. We spent the next few hours crying, taking pictures. It was so sad and hard but so beautiful and peaceful. Adeline had long eye lashed like her sisters and my nose. She is so perfect. After everyone left, it was just Adeline, John and I. So special. Her and I took a 1.5 hour nap together. I love her so much. After 7ish hours with her, the hardest thing was to let her go and leave the hospital without her.

Thank you everyone for letting me let our story and being apart of it. Adeline is the sweetest little angel. Thank you for your love, support and prayers.

2008-12-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

So, not too much has changed. Except Adeline is growing and moving around inside me. We give her as much love as possible! I appreciate the comments made, especially by those I have never met. It's good to know we are not alone in this. It surprises me how many people have the opinion that we should kill little Adeline, and get an abortion. Even if we only have one moment with her it will all be worth it. Even if we don't even have that, we have her now, feel her now and that's worth it. We have two and a half months left till term and we are doing well. Some days are hard but we keep living and remembering our blessings. I don't think Adeline would want us to be sad every moment of the day and stop living. We are blessed to have her and Kyla and Megan and John and I have each other. There is a purpose to everything and this experience will just make us a stronger family, no matter what the out come. There are always room for miracles too!

2008-11-14T17:59:00.001-08:00

So this is to fill everybody in on what's been happening. About a month ago, we went in for our 4th ultrasound. Adeline wasn't co-operating. But the last one found some questionable things they wanted to get a better look at. So we went to the Royal Alex Hospital which specializes in prenatal stuff. Since then we've been there 3 times (in the last week and a half). Once for an ultrasound, amniocentesis, and Fetal echo to look at the heart. Every time we went, we would get worse news about Adeline. Well, we found out she is a girl, that was good. But she has fluid around the heart, a hole in her heart, clenched fists, she's in the 5% for size, and now, today's news she has Trisomy 18. Basically, it's not good, she won't be with us long. But there is always room for miracles.

We're ok. Better now that we know what's happening. We love Adeline and talk about her already. She is a very special girl, who we will one day have the chance to really get to know, when this life is over. We are sad but feel honored that Heavenly Father will let us bring her into this world and watch her leave. It really reminds us what's important in this life and how we need to be to see our angel again and how beautiful and important and what a blessing the Lords plan is. I'm grateful for all your thoughts and prayers and support.

Here's more info on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_syndrome

And here is a touching story of another family who's son had exactly what Adeline has. (grab a tissue or 2):
http://www.ignitermedia.com/products/iv/singles/570/99-Balloons

(thanks Janay:))

The Bumps in Life

2008-11-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd give all who read an update on what's going on. We're 25 weeks pregnant right now and some things have come up. We've had a few ultrasounds because the baby has been in a position where they couldn't see much. So I went to the pros with fancy ultrasound equipment and they found some problems. Small ones but a bunch of them. A brain measurement is too big, fluid around the heart, baby is too small and cysts and something was up with the hands. I forget what the docters thought it was but IF the baby has what they think it may be, it's fatal for the baby.

So now I have a possible MRI to look at the babies brain, a Fetal Echo, to look at the heart and today I went through the amniocentesis. Which was nothing compared to how scary some make it out to be. The risks are so minor and if Heavenly Father is going to take this baby, He's going to take it. He know's the big plan and I'm grateful for that. He know's best. We are hoping and praying that little ADELINE SARAH is safe and healthy and this is all nothing. I'm thankful that we decided to do the tests and will know and prepare for a healthy or sick baby that will only live a few hours. No matter what this will be a special experience and make us better people.

So now we wait for results and pray that she is fine. John and I and the girls love her already, we hope things work out and she will get to come home with us. His will will be done. Thanks for all your prayers. Stay tuned.

If once you don't succeed...

2008-10-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

So this is my first attempt (upper) and second (lower) at baking a loaf. To be somewhat fair to myself, the top loaf could have been good, except, I kinda forgot about it for a minute...or 20. But again to be fair to little me, I am pregnant and if it wasn't for John, it still might be baking! But I wasn't going to let this failed attempt beat me and I tried again, different recipe, and it worked out. It wasn't perfect, a little dense in the center, but better! At least it's prettier!

Busy morning!

2008-10-09T10:50:00.001-07:00

I was busy getting everybody ready for the day, taking Kyla to school, doing laundry, making this yummy pie, and making supper, (I'm babysitting this afternoon so I try to get everything done in the morning). As I'm making supper, I hear a 'TING!" my glass lid had come in contact with the corner of my fish bowl. So water starts spurting out! Crap. Thankfully I have a big vase and saved his life! After he was moved, I had a lot of water to clean up and continue with supper. Quite an exciting morning for us!!

Time flies!

2008-10-06T08:41:00.001-07:00

I figured I should be better at this blog thing. Once every 2-3 months is a bit sad. Sorry! But because of the pregnancy I feel like I have slept all summer! Oh well, I really can't complain, I haven't been sick at all so I'm counting my blessing!

Megan and Kyla got into some baby powder, I guess it smelt pretty good. All I hear is giggling and 'sshhhh' ing from upstairs. That spells trouble!!

My Megan turned 3, the cake was hideous so there is no picture! But she had friends over, balloons, streamers, presents and food so it turned out to be a good day!

Then Kyla started pre-school, and LOVES it! She has a locker and everything, such a big girl!!

And this little one is our newest addition. It's a bit modest and won't show if it's a boy or girl. We're going to try again soon to find out! Right now I guess you could call it "Cleatus the fetus"!

And lastly, the little brother got married. It was good to have all the cousins together and get to know my new sister-in-law and new nephew a bit.

Hopefully it won't be 2 months before the next entry, but don't forget about us if I happen to loose track of time again! Take care and thanks for reading!

Our Higgin Holiday

2008-08-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Ok Ok, I guess there are some people out there who are reading this and so I guess it's time to update.

We took a 2 week holiday this year to BC. We left Edmonton, got a flat tire 10 minutes into our trip, then it was off. We stopped in Merritt for the night, meeting up with John's sister and family. Then off the the ferry. We did take a 3 hour detour to see some 'exciting' coal mine. I guess everyone liked it but me, I just wanted to get to John's dads house.

During our trip we went fishing as a family, just with a stick and some line. The crowning moment of the trip for John who caught the one and only fish 5 minutes in. Kyla and I had caught little ones, but John says they didn't count. :(

(I'm having a hard time keeping my pictures in place so I'll just write and you'll have to find the corresponding pictures. More work for you but I'm sure you can handle it :))

We also took 7 kids and walked around Savory Island. Grandpa wasn't kidding when he said it was an ALL DAY trip. The first part was nice sandy beaches and shells to collect along the way and the weather was great. But then it started to get HOT and ROCKY and there were little animals in the water that were stinging. By the end we decided never to do the rocky side again. That trip completely exhausted the girls.

Grandpa beach is a block away from the house (the beautiful house posted) so we went there a lot. We took kites to the beach and all the kids took turns flying it. Corbin, Grandpas dog, was going crazy! When ever the kite was almost going to crash, he would run and jump and try to attack it. The kids liked teasing him. Good times.

It was a nice holiday with family and the kids with all the cousins. But it is good to be home now and back to normal. Pre-school is starting along with swimming lessons, dance lessons, Pre-natal apts, playgroups, etc. Busy times. Life is great!!

June 08

2008-06-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

Kyla turned 4 this month and this is my attempt at her cake. She was happy, and that's what counts.
This is my Megan, her 'thrilled' look at all the attention that's not towards her. :)
All the girls were princesses (again, same as last year) The girls ditch Kyla's boy cousins and and hid in her bedroom ready girly stories.
This is our tent/camp out trial run. Huge tent! Megan didn't make it through the night, but Kyla loved it.
Huge. The dimensions are 17'x21'. 4 rooms. We had a bathroom/entrance room, a play room, and 1 big bedroom that can be divided into 2 rooms. So fun!

New pictures for May

2008-05-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

My girls and their cousin Abby. Can you feel the love??
My first attempt at a turtle, not too shabby, I learned stuff from it and that's what counts. My 'footprint' on the mandrel is too narrow, and I want to use the same transparent color, not go clear. (little note to me...)
Not the best picture but the yellow one has baking soda in it to create the bubbles and the brown one has silver in it. Then the tiger bead and pale pink with pale blue flowers. Not a good color combo, next time I'll pick brighter colors, very nice bead other than the color.
May long weekend, with the Jensen cousins, so cute. We went to a park for a BBQ and they were all SO dirty afterwards. Fun weekend!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

This is the second necklace a la Dyane. This one is my mom's Mother's Day gift. I made the 9 bigger beads. I am pleased with how things worked out, but realized that I need to take a class in jewelery making, it didn't come too easy. :)

Hopefully I can get in to do more beads soon!!

Not for the faint of heart....

2008-04-24T09:14:00.001-07:00

This is my poor baby, in the middle of an excema break-out. Sad huh, (it's ok, go grab a tissue). Scratches all over. We bathe her and cover her in Vaseline to keep skin moist. We also have 2 types of medicated cream and lots others non-medicated creams. Benadryl at night and Reactine during the day. We've tried cutting out the dairy and then citrus and wheat, nothing. It's been going on almost since birth. We've been to the allergy specialists and they didn't find anything too exciting. From what I've researched, every kid is different, every case of excema is different, every cause and every cure is different for each situation. So so frustrating. It really sucks. Even though this little turkey has to endure this torture, she's still cute, trying to sport her best sad face to get sympathy. Did it work??

72 hour kits

2008-04-08T12:56:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we worked on our 72 hour kits. Twice a year we change food and Rx. Good thing because some of the stuff we put in was getting nasty! We use this:

http://lds.about.com/od/preparednessfoodstorage/a/72hour_kit.htm
http://www.providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,5653-1-2808-1,00.html

as a guide, then I looked on-line to see what else others have suggested. I feel pretty good about them, the plan now is to save up and upgrade. Like our camp stove and fuel, and our sleeping bags to smaller/lighter ones. The packs are a tad heavy but there good to have. The girls have a little pack each with food and toys and a change of clothes and emergency blanket. They're pretty light.
Getting the packs ready is a bit pricey but we just collect a little at a time. Theres still a few things I want to get but ---theres just no room! We need to get a smaller sleeping bag first to make room. It feels good to be prepared for an emergency. Just in case.

Busy week for the Higgins...

2008-03-28T13:11:00.000-07:00

John and Kyla doing the Easter Egg thing.

Here is the latest creation from me. I like it:) I made lots of these ones and some pink/white swirls ones as well.

We tried 'Dragon fruit' for the first time. Very pretty fruit, with the white and hot pink. It was like kiwi/pear taste, not too bad, Kyla loved it!

Kyla and I together. Her eyes and shirt make my necklace look better:)

And some more Easter shots...

For those who know me, this was too close for me, to those no legged reptile things!! The girls loved touching it, but I had my hands full with .... the camera!

This was their entertainment while we waited for more animals. What a couple of crazies!

I think we're spent too much time at the zoo lately, Kyla (the monkey) has been trying to climb everything.

Today was a BEAD day :)

2008-03-20T15:30:00.001-07:00

Yeah me! This is the latest installment of beads produced by little old me! They are a work in progress but they are much better than the first time. I love it, I need more glass to melt!!

Time to update...

2008-03-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not quite sure what happened to February. Time just flies by with - nothing really happening.

We took the girls to the circus, been riding rides at West Ed, swimming lessons, and a zoo class. 'Feature Creature' at the zoo where the kids (and parents) learn and see the animals up close. Last class we saw a ball/....my mind went blank ..... armadillo, right. Skunk, tiger, zebra, fox, it was mammal day. When the instructor said that, I was reminded that there will probably be reptile day. Crap. For those who know me, I am really NOT excited about this, yucky no-limbed creatures. But that's tomorrow.

But besides that, I try to go in and make beads as much as I can. I love the torch! And John is plugging away at work. We're almost out of credit debt, so there's no big trips planned. One day.

So hopefully it won't be another 2 months before the next entry.

New Beds!!

2008-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

If anyone is reading this, here is our exciting weekend! This weekend we got bunk beds for the girls, they loved 'building' them.

They we're a little excited! The beds are so big, Megan needs a chair to get up.
We also splurged on a PS2 with a sing star pop game. So we're starting our little karaoke collection, yeah! The girls just like playing with the microphones in Johns amp. So fun, it was Christmas in the Higgin home!

Busy weekend...

2008-01-20T18:26:00.000-08:00

Poor Megan was standing on a chair, slipped off and took the chair with her and tried to catch it with her head! Poor girl. The chair barely touched the floor, only her little head. It was a sad half hour but she's a trooper, and fine now!

So, this soup was SOSOSOOOO yum, and pretty I had to share it! It's just chicken broth and some garlic powder, onion powder, S&P, basil. Then we added chopped carrots, spinach, noodles, mushrooms, bean sprouts and home-made pork meat balls (with parmesan cheese) that we cooked right in the soup. SOSOSOOO yum!

So, Grandma Higgin came (with cousin Josh) to visit. The girls got really spoiled but it was nice. They love they're dresses, matching dolls and horses! Good memories. Kyla wakes up and wants to put the dress on, and it's on all day! Megan loves her horse! It makes galloping sounds and horse sounds and everything! Very cool!

Play time with the Higgin kids

2008-01-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

This is my attempt to make my kids lives fun and entertained! Megan has the one with button eyes, I guess she likes originality! And Kyla's has the long pink hair, like a princess. :)
Of course we had to have puppets shows! All day long....!!!
I was done with the puppets and encouraged dress up time. These girls have wild imaginations!! I love watching them grow up.

Good times from 2007

2008-01-09T13:01:00.000-08:00

So, it's 2008 and life is good. 2007 was fun, here are some of my favorite moments from last year.

2008-01-02T19:56:00.000-08:00

So I figured I'd post some Christmas pictures before summer comes. This is the kids playing games and munching. Good parenting: give kids treats and then sent them to bed. Ya right, smart! But oh the joys! Good times!
Us playing Masterpiece and eating. I love food! :)

The fam.

John playing Dora Bingo with his girls. Such a good daddy!

-Note my little gift in the red box. A convection /rotisserie oven. It makes the best bestest ever chicken! YUMMY!

Close your eyes and eat it!

2007-11-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

So the latest dish/experiment. Thanks to Rachel Ray, we tried the "Un-BEET-Lievable Pasta". It was good but I couldn't find yellow beets so we used the red ones. Problem is, is that I'm having a hard time enjoying it! It is SOOOOOO pink. I look at it and think pasta with hot pink icing. Yuck! So I just have to tell myself it's just a fancy Mac & Cheese and close my eyes. If I ever make this again, it will be for Valentines Day!! Love ya!

For those who want to try it:

Ingredients
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided, plus additional for drizzling
8 to 10 baby or 6 to 8 medium golden beets, greens removed (If you can't find golden beets, substitute small red beets.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound rigatoni with ridges, gemelli or whole wheat penne pasta
2 large shallots, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
1 10-ounce box frozen petit peas
1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese , Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup (about a handful) Italian parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus additional to pass at the table

Dance video

2007-11-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks Janay for the idea! I just love John, he really knows how to move!!

2007-11-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

Yumma Suppa!!

2007-11-07T07:07:00.000-08:00

So I have been playing Master chief in the kitchen lately. Last night I think I topped anything I have ever made. I don't have a picture cause I was so excited to eat, but here is the recipe:

3-4 skinless, boneless, chicken breasts
1/4 cup of butter
3 tsp of minced garlic
1 Tbsp of lemon juice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp of Italian seasoning
1/2 cup of half and half cream
1 cup of grated Provolone (or Parmesan)
1/2 (or full block) of frozen spinach, thawed and drained
7 oz fresh sliced mushrooms
1 cup of grated Provolone (or Mozzarella)

1. Cook the chicken on a 350 degree oven for 20-30 min. till juices run clear.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in sauce pan, then add garlic, lemon juice, mushroom soup, seasoning, cream, and first cheese, stir often on low heat till all mixed in.
3. Also, saute mushrooms and spinach in some heated extra virgin olive oil.
4. In a small casserole dish place the sauteed mushrooms and spinach on the bottom, followed by half the sauce, then place the cooked chicken on top, then top that with the rest of the yummy sauce and the last bit of cheese.
5. Cook in the oven at 400 degrees for 25minutes. Serve on a bed of noodles. SO SO GOOD!

Potty Issues

2007-11-06T07:41:00.001-08:00

So, 3 times yesterday, Megan stripped herself of all clothing. So I put panties on her, but minutes later, she wet them. So I put a diaper back on her and she was very upset that I didn't put the panties back on. And this was the result. I feel I'm going to have troubles with this one!! She's a turkey!

Just Rambling....

2007-11-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

I guess I'll switch blog sites as well. I like the look of this one better than the last. And why is it that every time I try to start something on the computer, one of my girls needs something. Megan just came up the stairs saying "Hi, mom, I'm naked!" GREAT! It seems we're having a little power struggle with WHOs job it is to change her diaper. Drives me so crazy!!
Anywho, life is good and fun. Hopefully I'll be better at this on than the last!
The last site was http://dyanehiggin.spaces.live.com/ Just for a recap.

I was reading some friends Blogs and do I ever feel old! I realize I'm not the only one growing older but it's strange to see some friends with kids and in the same position I'm in. Strange. I live in a little bubble, I like it, it's surprisingly roomy.

till next time.