My Year in Photos ~ 2011

So 2011 was an interesting year. We did a lot, learned a lot, laughed a lot and cried a lot. It brought new adventures and closed some old ones.

We're looking forward to 2012 and all the new things that it will bring.

I got this idea from Jackie at withjustabitofmagic.com. I thought it would be a good way to close 2011 and bring in 2012!

My Year In Photos ~ 2011

January

We WALKED into January with smiles and hope for a fun year! I was already a few months pregnant and Carebear had just started walking! 

February

February was full of love and fun!

March

Carebear got her own bed!! She had been sleeping on a mattress for a while but this was her first official bed! She loved it and started sleeping so well, so did Mommy and Daddy!!! Which was good, since I was 6 months pregnant and working and needed as much sleep as I could get!!

April

April was hard to find a picture to sum it all up. This April held birthdays, Easter, Anniversaries and so much more but one of the best was rainy Spring days! Carebear and I started to get out more since the weather was better but we both loved rainy days and splashing in puddles.

May

May started off slow. Mother's Day and some more birthdays but at the end of the month came the biggest surprise birthday EVER! B-Man made an early entry! He decided to come 4 weeks early and super quick!

June

June was all about getting used to our new little family of four! Carebear wasn't sure of B-Man at first but soon came to like him, well at least show him indifference! LOL

July

We had fun celebrating Canada Day and watching fireworks! What a great way to celebrate July!

August

Aw, spending good time as a family outside! What a great summer, not too hot, not too cool! It was perfect and what a better way to spend time as a family then being outdoors in the sunshine! Mr. Rooster also got a new job and thus started the whole adventure of us moving!!!

September was a busy month settling into our new home! It was a quick and crazy move, but well worth it! We love our new home! We're close to family, the kids have more space, we have a HUGE backyard, close to schools, tons of parks, shopping and right on a bus route! Perfect!

October

Ah October, another busy month! There were so many things this month that it was hard to pick just one photo! B-Man's Baptism, Thanksgiving, Oktoberfest, Birthdays, and our favourite holiday HALLOWEEN!

Yes, our little family loves Halloween, every scary little bit of it! This year we went as The Addam's family (with help from our dear friend)! We had such a great time. I love decorating the house and going all out on spooky foods and devilish treats! Yes, definitely one of my favourite holidays!

November

November marked B-Man's 6 months birthday! Gosh the time has just flown by! Carebear is such an amazing big sister! She loves to help get his pacifier, give him is bottle, help with bath time, and always finds toys for him to play with! She loves her little brother and he is just in awe of her!

December

December

December will have to share two photos because the month holds the two most important events! Carebear's birthday and Christmas! Both were magical and wonderful times! We were surrounded by all the people we love and got to create some beautiful memories.

It was hard for me to just pick one picture for each month. Anyone who is on my Facebook knows I have over 160 albums of photos (oops) and am adding to it on almost a daily basis! I love taking pictures of my family. Who ever said that the more kids you have the less pictures you take never met me! LOL My poor kids have a permanent flash mark on their eyes from all the pictures I take of them! LOL You think I have a lot of Facebook but I have a thousand more on my computer that never make it to Facebook! LOL What can I say?

Kids grow up so fast I want to try to remember EVERY second of it :) 

It was a good year full of interesting things, some I'd like to forget, some I will treasure for the rest of my life.

Happy New Year everyone, and may 2012 be a wonderful year for you all!

So many cookies...

I have never made so many cookies in one sitting! I found this amazing cookie recipe on allrecipes.com for soft oatmeal cookies. I bought a ton of instant oatmeal a while back and needed a good use for it. Well this seemed like a good use!

I made the first batch and added raisins! They turned out amazing and for the small amount of 'on hand' ingredients they required they made over 4 dozen 2" diameter delicious cookies!!

I was thrilled but felt there just wasn't enough cookies...hmmm

So I made a second batch but I had run out of raisins! I searched my cupboards but couldn't think of something that would taste good till I realized I had a ton of apple and cinnamon instant oatmeal!! So I made over 4 dozen apple cinnamon oatmeal cookies and they are freakin' amazing!!!

Such a simple recipe and such good cookies!!

I think Santa will approve this year! ;)

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into walnut sized balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutritional Information 

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 218 | Total Fat: 8.8g | Cholesterol: 38mg

Packing for our journey...

We go for a walk every day, no matter the weather. We live in such a great area now with so much to do, that it's been a real pleasure to get out and about! We've gotten our "get ready" routine down to a fine art now and the chickies know that when the big stroller comes out it's time to get ready to go!
For the longest time now Carebear has taken it upon herself to help "pack" the stroller for me and each trip I am amazed at what she deems as "important" for our walk.
Yesterdays items included; half an eaten carrot, her sippy cup and a snowglobe. :)
I'm usually busy with B-Man that I don't notice what she's put into the stroller till later when I'm emptying out the bottom.
The other day I pulled out two sopping wet stuffed puppies and discovered that she felt the need to include a leaking sippy cup that had honey lemon water in it no less. Now not only did I have two sopping wet stuffed puppies they were also sticky along with everything else under the stroller! Fun!
I often wonder what goes through her mind as she starts her list of thing to pack and always have a chuckle at what she think she'll need on our journey! :)