Baking with kids

Baking with my kids is always fun but not always easy.  It would be so much faster, less messy, more "perfect" if I could do it on my own.  But the kids LOVE it and so I try to put away my type A personality and go with it.  Today Lauren and I made banana bread, chocolate cookies and chocolate chip cookies…

She even had a hand in what pictures I took.  This girl has a plan in mind for everything.  

Crushing the egg seemed like a good idea… We will have to work on that.  I did get to work on my "picking shells out of cookie dough" skills though.

"I better do this, mom.  My hands are smaller than yours!"

Not perfect but made with love <3

Wordless Wednesday

Today.

I read this article today about how today's generation of kids won't have any photos in 10 years.  It got me thinking about how few pictures I have of the kids since we got a digital camera when Emily was a baby.  It's a daunting task but since today was a holiday and we had NO KIDS ACTIVITIES I sent in some of my favourite shots since James was born. At least I've started?  Here are a few of the ones that I ordered.

I guess I'm going to have to find frames/photo albums to put this pictures in.  I'm super excited to pick them up and get started :)

Reminder.

As a mom this is the hardest thing for me.  This is a reminder that I need pretty much every day.

Big Families Can't..

Big families can't have a quiet day at home.  Between swimming, hockey, and dance there is no such thing as a Saturday sleep in at our house anymore.  Even so, I thought after the activities were done for the day that we could just relax today.  And then.. Em and I decided to make a cheese cake, which only led to fighting about why everyone couldn't help (I am in desperate need of a more spacious kitchen if I ever want to keep sane while baking with all the kids!).  And then... my niece came over, because really what is the difference between 5 and 6 kids?  (Nothing for the record.)  And then... there was fighting over who should be playing with who and why they had to do homework on their long weekend.  And then... my brother-in-law came in when he was picking up his daughter and everyone had to fight over him.  Are you sensing a pattern here?

There was a lot of fighting today.  And that made me very anxious which makes me crave quiet even more.  But big families can't have a quiet day at home.  There are just too many of us!  

And as much as that makes me crazy some days.. once everyone is asleep and I am finally able to enjoy a moment of silence?  I miss the noise and the fighting and the laughing and the snuggles!  Maybe quiet days at home are overrated <3

Friday Five: favourites

This is me taking the easy way out.  It's even a long week and I'm tired so here are my five favourites <3

Inservice day!!

The kids are off school for a teacher inservice sag making this a 5 day long weekend!  The kids were begging for play dates but I really just wanted to spend the day with them.  We went swimming at the local pool and then out to India Palace for lunch.  

I don't know about you guys but I've never had to yell "stay away from the vegetables" across a restaurant.. Before today that is.  They were trying to sneak salad into their pockets as a to-go snack!  

That's the kind of thing that happens in this family, lol.  It's a fun kind of crazy.