Where'd I come from?

At supper the night before last Jack (age 3) asked where he came from.  His brothers quickly responded that he came from me, Momma. That started the rounds of where'd YOU come from's for everyone at the table.  Each person of course came from Momma.  Until we got to Daddy.  The big boys said he came from Mimi (his mother) and Jack insisted that no, he came from Momma, too.  Then he asked where Momma came from.  The big boys answered Me-Ma (my Momma) and Jack said "No she didn't!  She came from Heaven!"  Aww...... what a compliment!  Three is such a sweet age! 

You a good doctor, Momma.

Me:  How are you feeling, Jack?

Jack:  I don't know.

Me:  Well how does your head feel? 

Jack: (poking his head with his finger) Hard.

Me: Oh, okay.  How do your eyes feel?

Jack: (poking one of his eyes with his finger) It's soft.

Me: (laughing) Well what about your ear?

Jack: (pokes his finger in his ear) It still hurts, Momma. 

Me: Awe, I'm sorry.  Let's get some ear drops.

Jack: (after putting in the drops) You a good doctor, Momma. I don't need go to doctor office.

Poor little guy isn't feeling well today and has complained about head ache, ear ache, and his eyes are all puffy and watery.  I was checking on him a little while after medication and the above is how the conversation went.  Sweet little thing! 

Catch up

This is a post just to catch up on everything from the last couple of weeks so get ready for some randomness! :) 

My dear husband brought me flowers last week.  He was trying to think of something nice to do for me like send me on a pedicure but I told him hinted to him that I wanted flowers.  Awe. Aren't they pretty? 

One of our favorite meals from this months menu so far has been the pork loin roast.  I just love love love pork with cranberry sauce (thank you Pioneer Woman).  I didn't follow her recipe exactly this time.  I just cooked a preseasoned roast in the dutch oven then simmered a can of cranberry sauce (with whole cranberries) with a little garlic, onion, and rosemary and used that to top our roast.  Throw on a side of rosemary roasted potatoes and carrots and we're good.  The plate pictured is mine so the carrots are raw.  The kids like there's sliced and simmered with a little water, honey, and butter. 

I saw a neat idea on pinterest and now my two youngest think I am so cool.  All I did was cut the netting out of the long sides of the pack-n-play and put a fitted sheet over the top and now they have a book nook that can be put away when not in use . I have big plans to sew receiving blankets together to make a top for it and sides that can hang down or be tied up.  But.... for now it's just a cut up pack-n-play with a sheet.  But they love it. 

Another favorite meal.... chicken pot pie.  This was my first time to not use canned chicken, canned soup, and canned broth.  I actually boiled a chicken, simmered the bones for 18 hours to make stock, and used a little bit of the stock to make the filling for the pie.  I did buy the pillsbury refrigerated pie crust (the two pack of rolled up crusts).... it's just so easy and it tastes great.  And I've never made pie crust.  Yet.  I made it in a giant cast iron skillet and it was perfect! 

The crust cooked perfectly... yum. 

Just enough left for Daddy to take for lunch the next day.  :)

While I was making the above chicken pot pie, the boys pretended to be in time out.  Silly boys.

Henry has a new favorite place to do his math. 

On top of the shelf under his window. Whatever works! 

Oh!  You know it's our first time to have a winter garden so while it's technically not unusual to harvest broccoli while there is ice hanging from the trees, it was a first for me.  How cool to go outside in 32 degree weather and pick broccoli?!  I also got a little bit of cauliflower.

And look at the brussels sprouts!  Our chickens peck at the garden every chance they get so the leaves aren't pretty, but thankfully they haven't eaten any of the vegetables yet. 

We also have a couple of nice heads of cabbage going. 

Last but not least, my handsome 10 year old begged me to let him try out his new basketball shoes that are suppose to be for inside the gym only .....

Chicks in the Garden, Momma.

Cool Fall Mornings

Besides the lovely chilly weather, fireplaces, and soft blankets... one of the best things about fall is a big mug of hot cocoa!  Just ask Cracker Jack.... 

CJ also got to do his first official day of school.... finally.  We have been reading books but I took so long gathering supplies we hadn't had an official lesson until today.  He really enjoyed it.  We are using Raising Rockstarts Preschool from 1+1+1=1.  It teaches how to write letters, phonics, a weekly bible verse with life application, sight words (maybe above our level for now), colors and a weekly song.  I copies the creator and made a board with pockets to put everything we'll be using.  We will change it out each week.  This week the color is yellow, the letter is L, the sight word is see, the song is This Little Light of Mine, and the bible verse is Matthew 5:16. 

His attention span isn't great right now.  I am not sure if it's a boy thing or an "I'm not use to having school time" thing or just his age (he's only 3).  Either way, this is more for fun and for getting use to a routine and if he happens to learn something too then great!  I see us repeating this again next year with a few additions.  This is my assessment for now... it's only day 1 though so who knows! :) 

TAY goo

Tegu blocks caught my eye while Jack was a baby.  I couldn't justify the purchase at the time especially since I wasn't sure Nelson and Henry would be in to them.  I've looked at them online and watched for sales since then.  FINALLY Ecobabybuy had them on sale for almost half off a couple weeks ago.  I ordered a 52 piece set in Jungle.  So the day they arrived we opened them up and got busy.  I am wishing I had purchased more!  These blocks are awesome. They provide a great outlet for imagination and creativity.  Nelson, Henry, & Jack love them.  (kash loves to put them in his mouth).  I even had fun playing!  Now that I know how cool they are I would totally recommend purchasing them even at full price.  Besides being a really cool toy, Tegu is a great company.  The factory is in Honduras where 50% of the population live below poverty level.  They are providing jobs with good pay.  When you buy blocks, they plant trees to restore the forestry in Honduras that was destroyed in the 90's.  They also contribute to the education of many of the kids in Honduras.

Sonlight Box Fun

Our Sonlight box had the outline of a castle on the inside so we took it apart, colored it, and made a castle.  Jack and Henry had a ton of fun with it!  Nelson was enjoying some time at the lake with friends so he didn't get to do the cardboard castle fun... I'm sure he is really dissapointed! (not)

Conversation w/Jack

Today began VBS at our church. It's Jack's first time to attend (he gets to since I'm helping with the 1st & 2nd graders).  He did NOT want to be left.  I finally had to have some one peel him off of me and take him away.  Then, they had to pull a 6th grader that he knows and loves to come help.  He eventually relaxed and had a good time.  :)  Hopefully tomorrow morning will go much smoother! 

I was asking him about how it went and this is what was said: 

M: Did you go to VBS today?
J: Yes.
M: What did you do?
J: I not do anything.
M: Really?  Did you do a puzzle?
J: Yes!  I did! 
M: Did you play?
J: Yes! I did!
M: Did you have fun?
J: Yes! I did!
M: Did you hear a story?
J: Yes! I did!
M: What did the story say?
J: Jesus lub you.
M: Jesus loves you?
J: NOoooo.  Jesus lubs YOU!
M: Oh okay.  Did you hear music?
J: Yes.
M: What did it say?
J: Jesus lub you.
M: Jesus loves you?
J: No!  Jesus. LUBS. YOU!
M: Oh, okay.  Did you know Jesus loves you, too?
J: No, Jesus lubs you.
M: Well Jesus loves Jack, too!
J: He does?! 
M: yes!
J: Yay!
Hahaha!  So cute and sweet!

Happy Birthday Cracker Jack!

Just one short month after my sweet mom passed away, we learned that we were pregnant with our 3rd blessing!  That was after almost a year of trying.  This pregnancy was so much more than the usual blessing of a baby.... He was perfect timing.... in a time that was so sad and painful we had this beautiful baby to look forward to.  He was our "one more try for a girl" baby but we were once again relieved and excited to learn that it was another boy.  :)  As usual, this baby wasn't coming on time so we were scheduled to be induced. I truly expected my water to break at home the nigh before as it had the first two times.  But it didn't so we went off to the hospital at our scheduled time and got things started.  My aunt Pam and James were there to hold my hand through it all. It took a while for things to get moving but once they did, it got painful (unbearable even WITH an epidural) and went fast (thank God).  By fast I mean 7 hours instead of 19 or 21. Ha!  But up until the last hour it was slow... then wham bam thank you mam it was time for a baby.  He came in to this world with strong lungs and the chubbiest little face.  He was beautiful.  All 8lbs and 6ozs of him.  We all fell in love instantly.  His big brother were so proud to meet him. 

Over this past year he has really transitioned from a baby into this sweet little boy. His daddy is his best friend.  He loves to pick on Henry and he "helps" with Kash a little too much.  In his eyes, there is nothing more fun than playing barefoot in the dirt or building something with his tools.  He is definitely all boy!   

Happy Birthday Cracker Jack!  We love you!