Last Harvest, Yummy Red Bell Peppers

I headed outside for my morning routine of checking on the rabbits and feeding them.  It has been so neat to watch how their fur and their size has changed since we got them a month ago.

While I was outside bundled up due to the crisp Pennsylvania morning air, I decided to head down to our garden one last time to see what was left to pick.  I very surprised at how many peppers we still had coming on.  I love red peppers and they were waving HI to me as I approached the garden.

I made two trips back up to the house to dump the bags I harvested and decided to take a photo of their beauty.

See the freshness!!

Cleaned and ready to prepare

I plan on stuffing a few with hamburger, roasting a few to freeze for later use, strip some to eat fresh and some to freeze for winter cooking, and of course make a meal out of them for tonight's dinner.  I love when our garden is a source of our healthy food.  All that hard work does pay off!!

Weekend Getaway!!! ahhhhh

This post is NOT about my children, this post is NOT about Autism, this post is NOT about Down Syndrome.  Its about me and my husband taking a long weekend without the kids to do something uninterrupted that we wanted to do.

BOY does it feel good to be able to do that.  The twins are growing up, going to be seven in a few short weeks and we are able to sneek away a little better now.  My sister Heidi was so generous by coming and staying at my house for the weekend.  Her, Lorna, Dan and their dog came over and played with the kids while mom and dad went off to The Mother Earth News Fair in Seven Springs PA.

I come home with a head full of workshops that I am anxious to put to use.  I want to help Tom finish up our rabbitry and get started with more Silver Fox Rabbits.  I want to eat better and look at more organic foods.  I want to get back into baking breads and take it even further than before.  I want to experiment with fermentation beginning with sauerkraut and getting a start of Kombucha to try.  I want to really kick myself into gear to think and act with healthier choices for myself and for my family.

Before my ACL tore last June with surgery following in August, I was determined to become "fit by 40", it has by far gone the other way.  I have gained so much weight, my leg has not be rehabilitated back to full strength, I have lost alot of my willpower to do good for ME.  I need to get ME back and start caring again.

When you are caring for others far more than yourself it catches up with you in so many ways and it feels like its impossible to get back to where you want or need to be.  I was very interested in learning about organic cooking, organic gardening, and organic farming.  Who knows, 8 months ago we were just beginning to talk about getting backyard rabbits and now we have a 26x14 shed almost complete so we can raise several rabbits.  And we have chosen a rare heritage rabbit that is very uncommon, Silver Fox Rabbits.  They really are beautiful and we are anxious to get the kids involved with all of their care, and perhaps even showing them very soon.

So, I am refreshed, I have great new ideas, I have a desire to be healthy for my family and even a bigger desire to make better choices for the health of my children.  Fast food has become to convienent, its time to get back to cooking from scratch.  I LOVE cooking from scratch, but I just have not made cooking and baking a priority like I should.  I baked homemade bread for over a year and was so proud of what I was giving my family.  Its time to get back to that way of living.

What are some of your favorite bread baking recipes or tricks of the trade?  Something I have never done is make buns or dinner rolls... C'mon give me your tips!!!!

First Note Home from Teacher

I went through the boys backpack after school today to clean out their lunch boxes and check their folders to see if anything was sent home for the long weekend. I was excited to see the twins first note home from the teacher:

Caleb and Isaac were so ready for kindergarten!!  I am praying that the whole year goes well with them.

First Day of Kindergarten Report

I got a call from one of the twin's TSS staff when they got onto the bus.  She said they really had a fantastic day.  Participated well, interacted with other children, loved wearing their back packs, and had a good day.  Said that this was obviously a LONG day for them and will most likely fall asleep on the bus.  She also said it has been requested that I pack lunches for them.  Today was popcorn chicken.  Isaac's helper cut off the breading to make it just look like chicken breast, after three bites he vomited all over himself.  Apparently he alarmed the teaching staff and they asked if he was sick.  Isaac's TSS then said no that happens if he's eating something he doesn't like.  Nice way to break them in son...LOL

Mission Five Kids off to school..... ACCOMPLISHED!!

*WHEW*  Seriously worked up a sweat this morning getting them all off.  And...And... Not ONE tear shed...LOL it was to darn busy..

Posting pics real quick so I can go out for coffee with my dear friend Kristen.  A celebration cup of joe :)

sweet sweet Tristin a freshman already

My Camille, she's a gem!!!

cool backpack from his baseball team

Annual HUG your sibling photo was no easier than the last...LOL

"I pulled my first cow out of a toilet today"

Yesssss, I am happy to be able to give the ROTO ROOTER service man a new story to tell.  After two weeks of trying everything we knew to do to unclog the toilet in the kids bathroom I gave our friends at ROTO ROOTER a call this morning.. We should receive a discount after a few more calls to them...LOL

They did take longer than they had in the past to retrieve the object(s) from the pipes.  First came a necklace followed by a cow... A COW??!!  I didn't even look in the bucket to see what necklace and what cow came about.  I just know that if Caleb and Isaac's Little People Farm is missing the cow I do not have to go on a mad search for it.

The upside is that this is another great story to tell the grandkids...

Update on Tonsil Removal

11 days post op and I would say, twins are back to normal.  As a matter of fact, no pain medicine was given today at all.  They are still eating softer foods, cookies, hot dogs, ice cream, apple slices.  But I really think they are safe to get back into their favorite crunchy foods.

My take on if the Risk was Higher than Reward:  It was a long recovery with an ER trip for IV fluids on day 7, but overall, seriously the recovery was way better than I was expecting reading over blogs of other's experiences.  Anxious to see if this in ANY WAY affects their speech.  There is a tiny part of me holding onto some hope that they may just start making some more sounds now that they don't have obstructive tonsils making it difficult for them.