Renaissance Festival!

We went on the best field trip we have gone on yet!  The Carolina Renaissance Festival in Huntersville, NC!  It was so much fun and we are already planning on going next year - maybe even in costume!

Picture Overload ....

The Joust!

Minstrel

Claire loved the fairy

Eek!  A dragon got Claire!

My girl.  She chose a parasol as her souvenir. 

These ladies were SO funny!

Face painting

Rides too!

Claire with the King and Queen

Trout Farm Field Trip and Bonfire

 We had a fun trip to our local trout farm!  The kids got to learn about the trout and how they live, we took a little hike and finished the night off with a bonfire and s'mores!  Chandler my sensory guy flipped when the melted marshmallow got on him, but he was a big fan of the chocolate bars and marshmallow! 

Daddy and my big kids

Learning about trout

Getting Daddy snuggles

Claire and Chandler

Laughing

My Claire

My handsome guy - Chandler

Waterfall

Trout!

My men

My four favorite people in the world

Bonfire fun!

Adding to the Family

It's been over a week since we have seen Malcolm.

He will never be replaced and we still hope - but we knew we have more room in our hearts and home for more animals.  So this morning we headed to the Humane Society. 

Meet Prince - Claire's new kitten.

He hid behind the table for a while, but he purred whenever we stuck our head back there.  Last seen he was exploring the basement.  :)  He's a sweet little thing!

This is Hobbes.

He is a 5 month old Lab mix.  Very playful and affectionate!  Daddy is completely in love.  He's mostly house-trained already and is very polite.  Apparently he was a family dog, but they moved and didn't realized how big he would be and surrendered him at the shelter.  He's quickly adjusting to our cats (barked at them the first time he saw them, but now is calm with them) and we are looking forward to being his forever home. 

I Miss My Cat.

It has been one week since we have seen our cat, Malcolm.  It's just been so hard.  Malcolm is the best cat I have ever had.  An affectionate lap cat who also is an awesome hunter and has definitely kept the rodent and bird population down!  He loved to snuggle and was always near us.  He would come in and out, but usually stayed near the house and would spend many days sprawled across our bed.  After a week gone I'm starting to lose hope.  Still praying .... but losing hope.

Our boy

Finding a silly spot when he was a kitten.

Cuddling with our other cat, Pearl.

Handsome guy

Enjoying the life.

Eleven years!

Happy Anniversary to this guy ....

Thanks for the laughter through everything!

Who Am I?

I am a wife.

I am a mom.

 

 

I am a daughter.

 I am a friend.

I am a sister.

 

I am a homeschooling mother.

 

I am a nerd.

I am a bookworm.

 

I am a wannabe homesteader.

I am me. 

Menu

I meant to post this before and I'm already half way through it!  Whoops!

There are a couple things that were on the previous menu that I didn't get around to cooking.  We either went out or it was just me and the kids and I did something quick instead.  

End of September Menu:

Sushi
3 Mushroom-Rice Soup and Bread
Country Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits, and Veggies
Spaghetti Carbonara
Meatball Stroganoff, Egg Noodles, and Veggies
Homemade Pesto Pizza
Schnitzel, Mashed Potatoes, and Veggies
Tacos
Crispy Herb Chicken, Corn Fritters, Boiled Potatoes, and Veggies
Tuna Casserole
Stirfry and Rice
Unbelievable Chicken (from AllRecipes), Rice, and Veggies
Pancakes and Eggs
Quesadillas and Beans and Rice

9 months already!

This week Fiona turned 9 months old.

Nine months .... already!

I can't believe that 3/4 quarters of her first year is over.

She is such a happy baby and she is a huge joy in our lives.

Claire and Chandler both adore her and I can't imagine her not here with us.

Her first tooth came in last month and her second came this week.

She is scootching around on her bottom and last night she pulled herself to her feet for the first time!  It took her a while and was hard work, but she was so proud! 

She is clapping and babbling and Daddy swore she said, "Hi, Dada." the other day. 

She gives kisses and adorable little neck hugs. 

Fiona is a wonderful baby and I am proud to be her mama.

Food Trip Aftermath

Last week we made one of bi-annual trips to Atlanta to stock up our cupboards with food that are difficult to find (or extremely expensive) in our little mountain town.  This time it was just my mom, Fiona and I.  So much fun!  Fiona was much admired and Claire and Chandler had a fun filled day with Daddy!  When we left Claire requested we bring her back octopus and dragonfruit - I love that kid!  We quickly decided on a sushi night for the next day. 

Baby Octopus!

Bok Choy

Yummies

They were so excited.

Yum.

My awesome Claire

Silly kiddos

Our spread for make your own sushi night!

 And I couldn't leave out our awesome lunch later in the week!  Soba noodles topped with tempura fried yummies!  Otherwise known as Bowl of Awesomeness.

Escaped Bunnies!

We had a bit of an adventure here last week.  Our grow out pen of six baby bunnies came unlatched during the night!  I went out for their morning feeding to find an empty cage!  Cue sinking stomach.  I figured there was no way we would find them all - if any.

But then we caught sight of one in the neighbor's yard!  I grabbed the food dish and a bucket and was able to get close enough to grab her!  Then we saw another in the next over neighbor's yard.  We quickly put the first one in the cage and headed for the next one.  Our cat Malcolm came with us and the kids started freaking out thinking the cat would hurt him (Malcolm has been known to catch wild bunnies).  But Malcolm walked up to the bunny, sniffed him on the nose and kept walking!  The bunny was freaked out enough to freeze and I was able to catch him!  

I caught sight of another in the woodpile, but it darted into the middle when he saw me.  So after wandering the neighborhood looking, I kept coming in and out of the house all day keeping an eye out for the other four still missing.  While out on the porch I saw one in the brush next door.  I headed down with the food dish and it started to hop away, but came back when it saw the food dish - caught!  Three down, three to go!  

The one in the wood pile was elusive all day.  When Daddy got home he moved the wood and was able to catch it!  At this point we had caught four of the six and I was pretty pleased.  I figured that the last two had probably headed out as far as they could and we would never find them.  

That evening we headed out for the evening feed and guess what we found?  The last two bunnies hanging out near the hutches waiting for their dinner!  They put up a token resistance - two hops in the other direction when we tried to get them - but they were quickly caught!

What an adventure!

Six little bunnies happy to see each other!

Meal Planning

Yes, I am getting back on that meal planning horse!  This summer Daddy had several months that he was paid every other week and I found that 2 week meal planning worked well for us.  I would have one big shopping trip after he was paid and the next weekend was just a fresh produce, milk and bread run. 

I do not usually plan for certain days.  I make a list of 14ish meals and in the morning choose which one works better for that day.  

This is what I have for the next two weeks.  It's a little chicken heavy, but we can use rabbit for any of the chicken recipes as well.  I also usually try to plan a few more vegetarian meals but these were the recipes that jumped out at me.

Tuna Cakes, Rice, and Salad

TexMex Beef Pie with Cornbread Topping and Salad

Bacon-Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Veggies

Egg Drop Soup and Rice

Unbelievable Chicken (from AllRecipes), Egg Noodles, and Veggies

Meatloaf, Baked Potatoes, and Veggies

Tuna Casserole, Salad, and Bread

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken, Rice, and Veggies

Chicken Schnitzel, Mashed Potatoes, and Veggies

Spinach Cheese Strata

Meatball Stroganoff, Egg Noodles, and Veggies

Sweet & Sour Chicken, Rice, and Veggies

Crispy Herb Chicken, Egg Noodles with Gravy, Veggies, and Biscuits

Cheesy Chicken and Rice with Salad