Garden Fresh

We have been doing a lot of canning the last couple days. I made some crab apple jelly, and pickles. And tonight we juiced about 50 pounds of apples to make some hard cider. We are for the most part still new to doing all this, but we do enjoy the results.

Thanks to a childhood friend, I have successfully made my first batch of pickles. The recipe for the brine was so simple:

4 quarts water
1 quart vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 cup pickling salt

Boil all together. Sterilize jars and lids, I put in some garlic and dill weed to add some seasoning. There is no need to process the jars. So it really is one of the easier ones I have seen.

I also made some apple jelly the recipe for that was:

8 cups fresh crab apples
water as needed
3 cups white sugar

For this one I actually doubled everything, as we a ton to use. This is I actually made last year, and loved the results, so I decided to make more. Our garden has been great this year as well. We made some garden boxes at the beginning of the summer and planted our favorites! Some carrots, cucumbers, corn, peas, edipomme (soy beans), beans, tons of tomatoes, peppers, strawberries, and a little herb garden of basil and rosemary.

Weekend of Visits!

Natalie and my Grandpa

This weekend has been full of visiting. Yesterday we headed out to Someret, to see my grandparents, then the Miami for our good friend's little boy's baby shower.

The whole family has been patiently waiting for my grandparents new condo to be ready, so we can move them, across the street!

In the afternoon, we headed to Miami, for our friend Martin's baby Liam's shower. He was a cutie putie! Each time Natalie got a glimpse of him she would just start to giggle, and smile like crazy!

I am super excited for Martin and Jessica, their little guy is already a heart breaker. It is just amazing how a lot of our friends have either just had or are having kids as well. Natalie will have friends to play with. 

And today, my good friends from Human Ecology came out to our place for the first time since we moved here in 2009. It was great to catch up, and just visit like we use to. It definitely made me miss living in Winnipeg, and being able to have impromptu visits.

Our Puggle

first picture of C.C. we still had not named her yet.

I figured I should take some time to introduce our puggle, C.C.. Chris and I got her about a month after we were married. It took us some time to find the right dog for us. Puggle stands for a pug, beagle cross. When we went to pick her up, it was only her and her sister who where almost identical left. The breeder had four puppies, one was fawn (light brown like a pug), the last one was colored like a beagle. Those two are the most sought after colors/patterns for puggles. We picked C.C. she We got her back to my parents cabin, where we spent her first weekend with us camping. C.C. use to run around the house really fast when we had carpet. She has turned into a princess over the last little while. She refuses to sleep on our couch, unless there is a pillow or blanket to snuggle with.was the shy one in the corner.

during her non-running around fast time.

 There have been a lot of moments when I have "lost" her. Only to find her cuddled up in the strangest places, like the laundry basket - FYI she is typically afraid of them! Or on one of our shirts or some other cozy thing she found. She has grown up a lot since Natalie came home. C.C. no longer tries to run once you open the gate. She plays with Natalie too. It is the cutest thing to see.

sleeping on a huge pile of blankets

Over the last 3 years C.C. has really made her self at home, and part of our family. She is very projective of Natalie, and Natalie loves her dog. It is amazing to see the two of  them together. We were a little worried at first as to how well C.C. would react to there being a baby in the house. But she was in love with Natalie right away. When C.C. leaves her toys close to Natalie, and she goes to get them she is so gentle, to make sure she doesn't startle Natalie, or take one of Natalie's toys by accident.

Her favorite word is walk. because it means she gets to see other people and dogs, and get treats from the the ice cream store.

first time playing in the snow

C.C. loves snow, and her laser. She turns into a hover and goes around trying to eat as much snow as possible. When we have the huge pile of snow,  she likes to "bog" herself down till she can't walk any further to do her business. She will chase her laser around for hours if she could find someone willing to play with her for that long. C.C. also thinks that she is a big dog. She tries really hard to make sure everyone knows that her house and yard are hers, so you better not come near. The funny thing about that is that she loves everyone, so once you do come in, she will love you to pieces. She has a hard time understanding why cats don't like her, because they are the same size as her. She did find one, a kitten - my aunt's boyfriend's kitten Willow. It was cute seeing the two of them play.

sleeping on the blanket in the laundry basket

It was about time

My little sister got engaged last Thursday - well technically Friday morning. Her and her now finance flew in from Geulph Thursday night. Paul, spent a lot of time planning the event, and setting up for the big moment. He told us that he had a ring selection committee!

Needless to say I am so excited for my little sister. Paul has had such a great influence on her, and you can see just how much they love each other. Natalie and I will be in the wedding party, was flower girl and Matron of Honor. I am pretty excited for this event. Because how often does your little sister find her true soul mate, and marry him?

So over the next little while, I am going to be looking for a dress, which is fun. And at the same time, try and keep my sister calm and collected while the planning goes on.  So excited and happy for you guys!

3 years

Today is our 3 year anniversary. We have been through a lot in that time, and even more since we met. As with every couple, there are highs and lows.We have had some big lows this year, with Chris being laid off just a month after Natalie was born. But it has turned into a blessing, we have been able to re-connect. And Natalie now has been able to properly bond with her dad.

3 years ago, I agreed to be his wife, and have not looked back. Chris has encouraged me to be a better person than I was, and has helped me grow in so many ways.

We had our ceremony in the building that we met in, University College, at the University of Manitoba. We had lived there in the residence. We were able to have pictures taken on the floor we lived on. It was very strange being there again, but awesome at the same time.  Our friends and family still talk about how much fun they had. I still remember how excited I was, and how I couldn't stop crying as I walked down the aisle. It was truly one of the happiest days of my life. I was marrying the man who loved so much, and loved me back.

What made this day even more special for us was that we were able to share it with our friends and family. Chris's Grandma was not able to attend, but she gave me her pearls to wear, which was my something old. To this day, I wear them as much as possible, but it did feel like she was there with us. My grandparents had just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary a few weeks before, and both of our parents were celebrating their 25th. I like to think that there was a lot of good mojo coming with us into that day.


Our wedding party were our closest friends and siblings. My sister was Amie, our best man was Chris's childhood friend Mike. Then there was my best friends Kayrn, Stacey, Jamie, and my cousin Kayleen who is like a sister to me. Our grooms men were Martin, and Jaret, friends who lived in residence with us, and Chris's brothers Kevin and Jeff.One of our dearest friends, Kayla, was our marriage commissioner, as well as our MC.

Here's to more great years to come!

A Little Bit of Fluff

On a rainy, over cast day like today, I feel like getting things done around the house. So far today we gotten some running around done. I pulled Natalie's cloth diapers off the line. While awaiting for her to make her arrival, my sister and I were talking about whether or not I would be using cloth diapers. I immediately thought of how I was afraid of stabbing baby with pins, and that I am not sure it really isn't I wanted to deal with stinky diapers.

The start of my collection - made by my awesome Aunt!

But after some thought, and research, I mentioned it to my Aunt Teresa, and she offered to make a bunch for us as a baby gift!
They are so cute. This was the start to my new addiction. As most CD'ing mothers will agree, once you start getting cloth diapers, you can not stop, buying looking, or talking about them!

I have slowly added more since. And now we have enough for multiple little bums. Natalie likes to help me with folding and stuffing them. She loves the different colours and patterns. I love them because in the long run they are a lot cheaper, and a ton cuter.

Natalie modelling her homemade diaper!

Our bought diapers.

It took some time, but I did find some used diapers on Kijiji. All different colours. Some are made by local lady in Winnipeg, AMP. These diapers here are the ones to have. My sister in law, Whitney bought us some Bum Genius ones, which are pretty cool too. We don't really have favourites, we love them all.  This is just one small way of helping to save the earth. And at the same, Natalie gets to be a little fashion-ista!

Jelly Bean

Back in May we took a road trip down to meet our nephew, Evan, in Chicago. While he was still in his mama's belly they called him bean. Which is fitting considering they moved to Chicago, where they big bean is.

We decided to take the train from their place to downtown Chicago. After 3 failed attempts at figuring out the schedule, we decided to pack up the babies, and head to Milwaukee. We drove, which was nice, but pretty cramped in their SUV. On the way we stopped at the Jelly Belly Factory! I had no idea that there was one so close to where I was. As many of my family members know, I am a  huge fan of these little gourmet jelly beans. I discovered a new favourite at the sample bar - chili mango!

While we were there we got to go on a free tour!  Of the warehouse. We got to ride around in a train, and made stops to explain the jelly bean making process, as well as the history of the company.

Whitney, Evan and Kevin ready for a ride.

Really excited to start the tour!

We got these awesome hats, because everyone entering the warehouse has to have their hair covered. Either way I was so excited to be there. It was really cool to learn more about this delicious candy.

Carrying out my purchases to the car.

Once the tour was over we all got a sample bag of Jelly Bellies, and we left to shop till we drop in the gift shop. I was in heaven. We tried so many flavors at the tasting bar. They had the Harry Potter Every Flavor Beans, between the 4 of us we tried all of the really gross ones, like skunk, earthworm, earwax, pencil shavings.

The highlight of the trip would learning that they sell the "Belly Flops", which are the Jelly Bellies that are not perfect. You can buy 5, 2 bound bags for $27. So I loaded up. They do have a disclaimer stating that every flavor is in these bags, so there is a chance you can get some of the gross flavors as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Natalie helping carry the mass amount of Belly Flops. 

 I bought Natalie the cutest outfit while there, which is what reminded me of the trip there.

A picture from this morning.

Seeing Good Friends

A few weeks ago we met up with some of our really good friends Ryan and Karyn, to finally meet their little guy, Carter. Natalie was immediately fascinated with him. Carter is a spitting image of his dad, with a few of his mama's features. Since the first picture I saw of him, I needed to give him a good cuddle and smoosh his chubby cheeks. Needless to say I was immediately in love him.

I commissioned my crafty sister to make a keepsake quilt for him. It took a few times to find the right feel I wanted for it. But we went with a outdoors-y feeling, in very light greens, yellows, and blues. Needless to say my sister did fantastic work.

There are days that I wish that I am just as talented as her. But I have my own, and am pretty crafty myself, just in different ways.

Our visit with Karyn, Ryan and Carter was great. We miss them a lot - they are about 3 hours drive away. But we do try and get together as often as possible.Just like last Friday night, we were on our way home from Saskatchewan, and stopped in for a quick visit. I was able to get more cuddles, and smiles from Carter, Natalie stole his soother for a bit, and showed off how well she can crawl. But most importantly I got to see my best friend in her element, and how great of a mother she is.