Our Little Cottage

Our Garden ~ Pictures

Thought that I would add some pics of our garden since I've finally gotten my pictures back!

Here is what our garden looked like when we first got started with it...

This is the little area that is the children's...

Here is Arlee's Fairy House she made, and Frosty's volcano...

Here is Danny with our first (of many) zucchinis.  They were the first veggies to come out of the garden...

Here is a couple pics of my goofy husband, Danny!  One of the reason I love him so much is because he can always make me smile...

And here is our garden almost at it's peak...

Here is my beautiful daughter, Arlee, standing in the doorway of their play area in the garden.  Since these pictures have been taken our sunflowers have grown even more and bloomed.  They look very pretty towering over our garden!

Thanks for stopping by to take a look!

Have a blessed day!

Sunday Again...

It's Sunday again.  And again, a new week has begun.  And yet again, old messes (and some new ones) await me throughout our little house!

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On Thursday, Danny and his dad went and picked up the insulation board that we need for our home.  It was much more expensive that what I was hoping for.  So it's going to cost well over $1000 to do the whole house!

Danny also came across even more boards with damage that will have to be replaced.  We also are going to have to get someone out here to make sure we do not have termites.  There is some termite damage, but we came across no bugs.  So we believe that is from maybe a problem from some time ago, before we even moved in.  We just want to be sure before we put on the insulation board and the siding next year.

So that is the hold up on our house now.  With well into the month of August now, I'm just hoping that things will get done before it starts to turn cold.  I'm counting on that insullation board this year to help keep our heating costs down this winter!

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On Friday, Arlee and I went out shopping.  I had to do some grocery shopping and Arlee wanted to check out the new Dollar Tree.  She had some allowance money that was buring a hole in her pocketbook!

We had a good time out and about around town!  We even stopped by CiCi's pizza for lunch.  She was able to buy a few little trinkets from the Dollar Tree and some new Littlest Pet Shop to add to her collection from WalMart.

I got a little depressed at the grocery store myself.  The price of sugar was up to $2.08!  I stood there shaking my head!  Trying to picture in my head that if grocery prices keep rising...what I was going to do to make our food stretch!  I just tried to push those thoughts out of my mind for the day...since I wanted to enjoy my time out with my daughter.

"I will think on it another day," is what I told myself.  And, today is not that day either!

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Saturday, I spent most of my day getting everyone ready!  We dropped the four kids off over and Danny's parent's house so that Danny and I could go out alone together!  It was so much fun!

First we went to Ryan's to get something to eat.  It was so yummy!  We haven't been to Ryan's in over a year!  Heck, it could actually be closer to 2 years now that I think about it!

After we ate we headed over to play some putt-putt golf.  Oh, it was so much fun!  It reminded me of our honeymoon since that was the last time we played putt-putt!  What great memories!

We did a little shopping at Meijer's before we headed back to pick up the kids.  I hope we will be able to have another night to ourselves soon!  I just love getting to spend time with Danny...just the two of us!  I enjoy his company so much!

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On Monday and Tuesday I will be getting deliveries for our school supplies from the virtual school!  I'm so excited!  I have got to do some cleaning today to make room for all the new stuff, but I just can't seem to get moving!  I'm very tired today.

Maybe a little nap will do the trick!

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Have a Great Day, All

Happenings Around Our Home...

August 1st.  I can't help but think that Autumn is on it's way!

I just love the Autumn Season.  I enjoy watching the leaves change all their magnificent colors.  I like to cuddle up in a big sweater when their is a chill in the air.  Hot cider and carmel apples are the best!

Oh...and did I mention Halloween!  It is my favorite holiday!

My birthday is in October...so there's another reason why I love it so!

Camp

I dropped my Frosty-Man off up uptown at the legion so he could catch a ride with his leader to camp.  (This was Monday)  He was so excited to go!  We had to drop him off pretty early.  We were the first ones at the Legion that morning.  Waiting for a while...wondering if anyone else was going to show!  But they did.  Frosty's leader was a little late getting there.  They were the last ones to leave.  Worked out for the best though.  I didn't know it, but Danny was trying his hardest to get there so that he could see Frost one more time before he left.  Since the leader was late, Danny made it just in time!

When we got back to the house we all ate our breakfast.  Next thing I knew Liam was laying down for a nap, and so was Zach!  Yipee!!!  I took me a nap, too!  I was sooooo tired!  I got less than 4 hours of sleep the night before! 

It's Wednesday, now, and Frosty comes home tomorrow night!!  YEAH!  I'm so excited!  Our home just doesn't feel right without him here with us.  I can not wait until tomorrow night when he gets home!

Out in the Garden

We got RED tomatoes!!  Finally!  We've pulled a bunch so far.  I'm sure we will be getting more and more every day for awhile!  I have got to get my neighbor over here to show me how to can some of these!  And how to make salsa!

We got a bunch more beans from out of the garden as well.  I've got to prepare them to freeze today.  I can't wait any longer.  Arlee is anxious to learn how to break beans...LOL!  I remember sitting on my Grandma Virgie's porch breaking beans with her. (Boy that was a long time ago!)

We also pulled a couple more zucchini and some peppers.  We can see that the corn is getting ready!  We also have 2 small melons growing.  Our sunflowers are so big!  They are bigger than Danny!  The kids are amazed how much they grow each time they go out!  Actually...so am I!

I will try to get to bagging and freezing some more zucchini today as well.

Around the Homestead

Today is Danny's last day of work for the week.  He will be taking his full 3 day weekend this week.  He has to!  He's going to try and call his dad today to see if he will help Danny get the insulation board for the backside of our house. 

We also have to get some boards for the bottom of our house, right above the foundation.  The boards that were on there we found to be rotting!  Scary thought, huh?  Danny says that the beams that go under the house seem to be fine though.  Thank goodness!

I asked Danny if it would be ok for us (after the outside of the house is done) to start working on the inside.  I think that we should do our kitchen and living room first.  They will be the two rooms that we are in most during the cold winter months.

I told him some of the ideas that I had for our living room, and he seemed to be interested in them all.  So I am keeping my fingers crossed that we will be able to do (at least some of) them.

Well, I must get moving getting things done around here.  I'm sure my bread that I made so we could have sandwiches for lunch today is just about done. 

I hope everyone has a great day!

&

Have a Happy and Healthy August!

Catching Up....Again!

Arlee and I went on our outing.  It wasn't anything too awfully exciting, but we got to spend time together...which is what is important!

Once Danny (finally) got home, Arlee and I headed out.  We had to stop by the Speedway gas station to top off our gas tank.  Danny said that we would be able to save .05 per gallon with his SpeedyCard.  Arlee got a MilkShake Hershey's drink and I got a cappicino....Mmmmmm.

After our gas station stop...we were off to Goodwill!  We arrived at about 8pm.  We only had 1 hr to look around and try things on.  I ended up leaving with 4 dresses for myself.  I also got a denim shirt to go over one of the dresses.  I found 2 really pretty smaller dresses that I will be making into aprons for Arlee.  She also picked out a toy for herself.  I spent $8 and some change for everything.

Once checked out, we headed over to my friend's house.  I made her a basket with a loaf of homemade bread (out of the bread maker she had passed on to me), a loaf of zucchini bread, a bag full of beans, a cucumber, and some fudge that I made.  I was so happy to see her.  I haven't seen her in some time.  This was the first time I've seen her new baby as well.  Oh....she is just the sweetest thing! 

My friend, Holli, had taken her little one to the dr earlier that day.  Poor little baby had to get FOUR shots!  Needless to say, she was asleep for most of my visit!  I had such a great time just sitting and holding her.  Oh to be able to have another little one of my own....(big sigh, and a little sniffle)....but I won't go into all that.

Arlee and I stayed at Holli's house until about midnight!  I seem to always stay late when I go over to her house.  When we got back home, Arlee and I had some of the chili that I had put in the crock pot earlier on that day.  Oh it was soooo good!

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to spend a few hours out with my Frosty!  He was excited!  And, so was I!  We headed out and went to a new Dollar Tree.  It was HUGE!  Lots of great stuff!  I got a bunch of stuff to use for school!  I was quite excited about that!  Frost was able to spend some of his allowance money there, too.  He was happy that he was able to get so much from there.

We also went shopping at WalMart.  I wanted to see what all they had on sale for back to school.  I got some notebooks and folders and a few other supplies.  We also had to get a couple of birthday presents for a party that they were invited to.  I had a good time just looking around.

After leaving WalMart we decided to go back to the Dollar Tree again to get gift bags and to take another look at their school stuff.  I had to also find a few little things to take home to the other children.

Once we were done there (for the 2nd time) we opted to stop and take dinner home for everyone.  I stopped at Lee's Chicken for Danny and me.  I then pulled thru McDonald's for the kids' meals.

It was another great day spending time with one of my children!

Today, I took Arlee and Frosty to a birthday party for a couple of friends of theirs.  I'm sure they are having a good time.  Zach, Liam, and I came back home and had some ice cream.

Now, I need to get all of Frosty's stuff ready for his boy scout camp!  I have to drop him off up town tomorrow morning around 8:30 am.  I won't see him again after that until late Thursday night.  I will definatly miss him a lot!  He had so much fun last year when he went.  He can not wait to get there this year!  He will be able to do archery, bb guns, fishing, swimming and so much more!  I know that he's just going to have a blast!

Well, I better be getting his things ready instead of sitting here at this computer!

I wish you all a wonderful week!

Thanks for dropping by!

Yesterday & Today...

Monday is upon us once again!

I shredded and I sliced so much yesterday!  I now have 10 bags with 2 cups of shredded zucchini in each one, and 5 bigger bags with sliced zucchini in each one up in my freezer.  Each bag with the shredded zucchini is enough to make 2 loaves with my zucchini bread recipe.  The slices will be perfect for when the kids and I would like to have some fried zucchini with lunch.

I even made some zucchini bread to have after dinner. 

After Danny got home from work yesterday evening we went out and worked in the garden for just a bit together.  We picked some more zucchini, some cucumber, and a couple peppers.  We started to pick some beans, but decided to give them just a couple more days instead.  We did some weeding.

Before we took all our freshly picked veggies into the house, we went berry picking!  We have a few blackberry bushes around our property line.  The ones on the fence between us and a neighbors yard has some really great berries!  I don't know how...they are more out in the open for the birds to get to, but they don't for some reason.  More for us, I guess!  We picked a little over 2 of my husbands handfulls.  Not a whole lot, but I will be cleaning them, bagging them, and freezing them until we get some more!

I was talking with my MIL yesterday about wanting to line about 1/2 of our chain link fence with blackberry bushes next year.  She said that we could get the thornless ones.  WHAT?  I can get blackberry bushes that I won't get all stuck with??  Learn something new everyday!  Sounds good to me, especially with little ones running around.  I would hate for them to get pricked.  I can plant the ones with thorns out around other areas that the little ones don't go as often.

We finished off a jar of pickles last night so I went ahead and cut up a cucumber, an onion, and one of our peppers to put in the pickle juice.  Those will be pretty yummy in about a week or so!

I had to send Danny up to the store last night because I had ran out of milk.  Him and Frost ran up to the store together.  Danny came home with flowers and Whoppers for me!  Oh...and a card!  We haven't got to spend as much time together as we would like with him working his overtime.  He said he just wanted to do something special to let me know that he missed me, too.  I was crying when I read his card he picked out.  It just made my heart melt!

Today will be busy again.  I will start off with my kitchen work and living room clean up.  Finish up getting Danny's work clothes done.  I'm hoping to work on cleaning up our bathroom.  It's looking pretty rough these days!!  I need to make some more baby wipes.  I would also like to go do some more work in the garden and gather some blackberry seeds.

Whew....I better get started!

I wish all of you a Marvelous Monday!

Good Sunday to You...

Good Sunday to you, my friend!

  Today is our first day of the week.  My hubby's schedule is Sunday thru Wednesday.  It is always nice to have him home for 3 days each week.  This past weekend he had to work 2 of those 3 days, though.  The overtime pay will be welcomed, but his time at home was missed much!

I have lots to do today!  I need to do my routine cleaning on my kitchen and living room to keep them looking nice.  (I've been following along with Rashel with her and other's goals of decluttering.  So far I've only tackled my kitchen and living room, but have had a great feeling for completing those two rooms!) 

I also have a TON of zucchini to shred, bag, and freeze. 

I would like to take some time working in the garden later this evening, too.  Danny mowed yesterday evening so I think I may gather up some of the grass clipping to add to our veggie garden.  It will be a good job that me and the oldest two can do together!

Danny found yesterday that we have beans in our garden!  We were all very excited to see them!  Our corn is finally getting ready to top, too!  I think every time we take our walks out to check on our veggie garden we talk about how we will get a much earlier start next year!

I need to revise our menu for this week, as well.

My husband's work clothes need washed, dryed, ironed, and ready for him for this week's work.  I already had a set ready for him for today.  Luckily, because I didn't really want to do laundry yesterday!  Not on the only day that Danny would have been home that week!

Well, I must go get started on my to do list for today.  Keeping my fingers crossed that I will get a good bit of it done.

I wish you all a blessed day.

Our Father's Day...

I would like to introduce you all to my hubby, Danny.

Danny took on two kids of mine from a previous relationship!  Arlee and Frost has know Danny as "Daddy" from the beginning.  Frost was only about 6 months old when Danny and I started our relationship.  Six months after we got married he adopted them and was finally able to give them his name.  It was a very, very happy day for him!  SInce then we have had 2 more children, Zacharias and Liam.

Danny is the best Daddy!  He would do anything for his kids!  He is very proud of each and every one of them. 

He loves them all with every ounce of his heart.

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Danny had to work on Father's Day.  After he got home we finished getting all the kids ready and ran over to Danny's parent's house to visit with his Dad for a bit.  We stayed until little Liam just couldn't take it anymore...he was completely worn out from running around all over their yard!  He got hot and tired and very CRANKY!

Once we got home, Danny started the grill and we had hamburgers, ranch -n- bacon pasta, and chocolate cake.  Arlee & Frost helped me make the cake.

After eating the kids gave Daddy their cards that they made for him.  By then it was late and time for everyone to head to bed!

A Good Day...

After brunch cleanup yesterday afternoon I sat down in the rocker recliner to watch Danny & Frost play video games.  I ended up falling asleep for about 1 hr in the chair. 

I woke up around 4:00pm.  Knowing that Danny and Frosty had to leave soon for baseball practice I hurried up with a snack for all of us.  I cored, peeled, and sliced a few apples.  (I LOVE my apple peeler...one of the best inventions EVER!!)  Put the slices in a pan and covered them with brown sugar, cinnamon, and a touch of maple syrup.  I also sliced up some of the bread that I made yesterday morning and added butter.  I put on a sugar/cinnamon mix too.  I heated the bread up just enough for the butter to melt in the microwave.  It was a very yummy snack!  We all loved it!  Even picky eater Zach!

When Danny and Frost were gone I worked on my kitchen.  I wanted to get ALL the clutter up and off the floor!  We had a stack of boxes on one wall.  They have been waiting for me to go thru them...but I've been avoiding it!  Which I guess I still am because I moved them to my bedroom!

I swept and mopped.  Oh my floor needed it so bad!  It looked really bad!  It's looking much better now!  I also took down my curtains on my kitchen window and found the one that belongs on my back door window and washed them.  The one that goes on my door window, the seam was ripping out.  I didn't have any thread the right color to fix it, so I used safety pins until I can get some new thread.  You don't even see the pins!

I was able to clean some of my cabinet doors.  How does all the icky stuff get on those??  I don't know, but I got a lot off.

For dinner I made hash brown casserole and salads.  I was hoping that we could make some smores for dessert, but dinner took a little longer than I was hoping and it was late by the time we got done.

Liam had a rough night last night.  He was not happy!  I changed him, tried to give him a cup of milk, tried to feed him, tried to give him his blanket and binkie...he didn't want ANYTHING!  Holding him worked, but he gets so heavy so quickly!  Without my sling I can't hold him for long! 

The little boys and I had a rough night.  They both woke up a few times whinning throughout the night and into this morning.  We finally got up "officially" around 10am this morning.  Arlee and Frost were up earlier so I let them spend some time playing on the computer.

After getting up I started some laundry, cleaned off my counters in the kitchen, started the dish washer, and got the coffee going.  Since then I've been sitting here on the computer!  Moving a little slower today because of not having a good nights sleep...not that I usually have one, but last night was even worse than usual.

Danny is up now so I need to get our brunch started!  I'm hungry!  I didn't make a breakfast "snack" this morning when I got up to tide me over until he woke up.  So now I'm STARVING!

Have a Great Day!

Good Afternoon!

Good Afternoon!

Thanks for dropping by for a visit!

Yesterday evening I took the time to make some baby wipes.  I still make them from paper towels, baby soap, and baby oil.  I'm looking into making some cloth ones that I can just wash right along with my little man's cloth diapers.  I have some old receiving blankets packed away up in our attic that I should be able to use. 

I also made up a batch of clothes washing detergent.  It has been such a savings using homemade compared to running to the store everytime I need more.  I need to look into making homemade dryer sheets next!

Last night for dinner we had a quick meal!  (Gotta love those!)  Tuna melts and mac-n-cheese.  It was yummy!  We also watched Pirates of the Caribbean 2 together.  It was the first time we've watched it...and are now VERY anxious to watch the 3rd one!!

After the movie, I had the older two get to sleep.  They were the only ones still awake.  I took advantage of that time to go take a nice hot shower!  I even got out one of my new night gowns that I hadn't worn yet to put on!  It was really nice and relaxing!

This morning I woke up at about 9:30am.  Zach and Liam (the two youngest ones) woke up around the same time as I did.  Zach went and played quietly in his room, and Liam played quietly in his playpen. 

I started a load of laundry.  Mostly my clothes!  I needed some for today.  Came to the kitchen and cleaned off the counters by rinsing some dishes and getting them ready to be put in the dishwasher.  Started some bread in the bread machine.  I also started some coffe for myself and for Danny for when he woke up.

I just switched the laundry and started a load of cloth diapers for Liam.  I have to wash diapers everyday to make sure he has them to wear.

We are having banana pancakes for brunch today.  They are smelling really really good cooking on the griddle!!

Danny and Frosty went out in our backyard to shoot Frosty's BB gun.  Frost has been trying for DAYS to get Danny to take him back there!  They are both now out working on our habitat garden.

Danny has changed our pond.  He dug out more dirt to make it bigger!  He now needs to get with his uncle again to go get more big rocks.  Also he needs a truck load of the little pea gravel for inside the pond and for our walkway thru the garden.

I need to go finish up our banana pancakes.  I think I might cut up another banana or two to sprinkle on top! 

Have a Terrific Thursday!

Graphics from...

Amreta's Graphics

Kitchen Work

I'm working on my kitchen today.  I have cleared out almost all of what is in my bottom cabinets.  I'm trying to go thru it to see if there is anything that I might be able to get rid of.  I just did this not long ago as well trying to simplify things in the cabinets.

So far I have come across a cookie sheet that is a little warped.  I recieved a newer cookie sheet this past Christmas so I can now get rid of the other.

Also, a big covered dish that I don't believe that I have even used since my step sister gave it to me.  Time to part with it NOW!

I also found some plastic ice cream dishes shoved WAAAAY in the back of the cabinet...still in their packages!!  I took the spoons that came with them.  They will be good oatmeal spoons for the little man.  The dishes I threw away.

I still have a lot to work on here in my kitchen, but it is time to go feed the little ones!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Graphics are from...

www.cutecolors.com