I went shopping a few weeks ago at the thrift store. I always look in the Tupperware aisle. I'm on the hunt for more canisters, I don't know if I'll ever have enough!
The Dominee Huisvrouw
The Exciting Exploits of a Pastor's Wife & Her Family
Friday, 22 January 2021
Shopping Cart Sally
Wednesday, 20 January 2021
Laundry Balls
Like this lovely example that was on my sock the other day! I have found an easy way to prevent this from happening. All you need to do is put 2 or 3 clean tennis balls in your dryer with your clothes. I also use a dryer sheet with every load to prevent static. Yes, it's a bit noisy, but the hair will stick to the tennis balls instead of your clothes!
Tuesday, 19 January 2021
Staying Home, Week 44
I've got a "counter" on my phone that has been counting the days since we first entered any kind of lockdown for Covid. Today is day 310. We have had many varieties of lockdown...
-Stay in if you can, kids doing home learning, working from home
-Small gatherings permitted inside, with distancing
-Only outdoor gatherings allowed, with masks
-Kids back to school, with masks
-Kids grade 7 & up stay home & do Zoom classes
-No indoor or outdoor gatherings
Now we are in the weirdest one for me. The kids are back at school, but no indoor or outdoor gatherings have been permitted for the past week. So I have lots of time to myself, which is really quite nice after 5 weeks of the kids being home from school, but I'm not supposed to go anywhere. I've been shopping about once a week, which is my only outing. Wearing a mask is almost second nature now, but with the weather being cold I've been wearing a toque when I go to town, so all that shows is my eyes. I call it my "incognito" look.
Thankfully, we are still encouraged to go outside & exercise, and I've got a local friend who I've been going Cross-Country Skiing with. We have lots of trails just past our backyard that go through the campground, so it's been fun being able to ski so close to home. Chancery comes with us sometimes, & she really enjoys it too. I declined an invitation to go xc skiing this weekend, & Chancery was quite upset that she didn't get to go, thankfully we were asked again for Sunday afternoon, so it wasn't a total bust!
I've watched lots TV, read quite a few books, sent out Christmas cards, drank gallons of coffee, moved to a new house, unpacked (still haven't hung our pictures yet!)... It hasn't been all bad, but I'm eager to see people again! And DO things together!
Tuesday, 29 December 2020
The Post-Christmas Post
Merry mid-week what day is it? My family has asked this countless times in the past week. Last week Chad & I were trying to figure out what day of the week Boxing day was going to be, and it took us about 10 minutes to pin that one down. With all the church services, and no school, every day feels like Sunday, or Saturday.... or is it Thursday? My Google now tells me both the date, and the day of the week in my morning routine!
We had a pretty good Christmas. We are used to not seeing family over the holidays, although the last few years we were close enough to my parents that they'd usually come up for Christmas. This year it felt weird since we are close enough to see Chad's family, but we weren't allowed to see them. We are doing lots of Zooms instead, which is better than nothing, but we can't wait to get together with family & friends... whenever that will be allowed again.
With Chad being busy with Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, & Sunday church we were still pretty busy. Because of the tighter restrictions we have to sign up to attend church in person, and I did not remember to do so before all the Christmas services got filled, so we waved Chad off, & watched them from home. That was definitely a weird feeling!
Then on Christmas day we opened our gifts. Did I take any pictures? Nope, not a single one. Asher's first gift was a WaterPik. He said, "This is a terrible present!" (Sums up 2020 pretty well though!) I told him, "It can only get better from here!" We got lots of new books to read which everyone was happy about.
I bought myself some really nice bunny slippers, wrapped them up, and boy, was I delighted to open them! Unfortunately they were too small, so Chancery is happy, and I have cold feet! Chad said that's what I deserve for buying myself a present.
The kids don't go back to school until Jan 11, so now we will have lots of time to bake, play games, & read. We're borrowing skates so the kids can take advantage of the ice rink that is just beside our neighbourhood, and we have lots of ski-doing that can be done on the lake. I'm appointing myself the hot chocolate maker so I can stay in the warm house!
Friday, 6 November 2020
Thursday, 5 November 2020
Tuesday, 3 November 2020
Halloween 2020
Are the children getting too old to Trick-or-Treat? Not according to them!
Thursday, 1 October 2020
Egg Roll in a Bowl
Egg Roll in a Bowl
1/2 an Onion, chopped
1 lb ground Turkey or Pork Sausage
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 pkg Coleslaw Mix
Sauce
3-4 Spring Onions, chopped fine
3oz Soy Sauce (6 T)
2T Honey
1/2 t Sriracha
Heat oil in wok on Med heat. Add Onion and Sausage. Cook 5-7 min breaking sausage into pieces.
Add Bell Pepper and Coleslaw mix, stir well, then cover for 5-6 min. (It will cook down)
For the sauce, mix the Soy Sauce, Honey & Sriracha well, then add the Spring Onions.
Pour into the wok & cook uncovered for a few minutes until evenly combined and cooked through.
Serve over rice & enjoy!
Friday, 24 April 2020
My Snack Hack
Thursday, 16 April 2020
Home Schooling Week 5
I want to encourage you if you know anyone who may be struggling with the language barrier to check in on them, ask if there's any way you can help. FaceTime their kid and ask if they need anything explained. While you're at it, tell them something you've struggled with during this time. We're all failing at something, but there's also something we can give to others. Maybe it's homework help, maybe it's encouragement, or a laugh!
Sunday, 12 April 2020
Easter Egg Hunt
It took about an hour for them to do the egg hunt, and since they enjoy making treasure hunts for each other I'm sure we'll get lots of use out of our new eggs.
Wednesday, 25 March 2020
Not Social Distancing
Friday, 20 March 2020
Overgebleven
A few weeks ago I did a bit of research, and put my list on the board
- Hot Dogs, & Mac & Cheese
- Make Your Own Pizza
- Overgebleven
The kids were excited, Chancery loves Mac & Cheese, Asher loves Pizza, and what was the mysterious "Overgebleven"?
I told them, "You'll have to wait to find out, but it's Dutch, and I think you'll like it!
------------
The day came when the only thing left on the board was "Overgebleven".
"Tonight's the night!" they said to each other excitedly.
I called them to the kitchen at 5pm, and handed them each an empty plate.
"Where is it? What is Overgebleven?" they asked.
I pulled the leftover Mac & Cheese, Hot Dog, & Pizza out of the fridge and told them to load up their plates.
Kids: "What do you mean? We're supposed to have Overgebleven!"
Me: "This is overgebleven. it's 'Leftover' in Dutch!"
And that was the night the children ate through tears, and I learned (once again) not to get the children's expectations too high, because apparently even though they liked the original food, having it again as a leftover when it was masquerading as something new and fun is MEAN!
Monday, 16 September 2019
Moving Onwards and Upwards (North)
Our church has been going through some restructuring over the past year, & as part of that process, decided to reduce to one full-time pastor. So, Chad has received a job offer at a church in Lacombe, Alberta, & we decided it sounded like a pretty good move for our family. We are ready to give up the city life & try our hand at country living for awhile!
Now comes the stressful part. Getting the house ready to sell, going to look for a new house, getting the kids registered at the new school, getting moving quotes (I'll tell you what company we're NOT using!), & figuring out all the logistics! Our goal is to be there by Christmas, but how we'll manage that is yet to be seen. I foresee a busy few months ahead, but it will be worth it! I really enjoy setting up our home when we move, it's just getting to that point that isn't always fun. Especially once the house is for sale & you have to keep cleaning all the things!
Saturday, 31 August 2019
After School Schedule
the fridge. It started as a note for babysitters, so they would not be fooled by our innocent childrens'
penchant for bending the rules, but it has proved beneficial for the kids to also know the daily routine.
Feel free to copy, & let me know if you have any additions or other helpful tips!
to watch TV/play video games