ch-ch-ch-changes...

A lot has happened to our little family of five in the last 3 days! We are currently renting our home and the lease is up on the 10th of March. We asked if we could just pay month-to-month until we find a new home...they misunderstood this and thought we just wanted to stay one month extra. A lot of words have been spoken and on Thursday our landlords secretary told us that we could move out by April 1st or sign a new six month lease with a $115 increase in rent. Then my husband wrote back and asked them to honor their original word, of allowing us to pay month to month...well, that turned into a new email from the landlord stating, vacate by April 1st or sign a twelve month lease with a $215 increase in rent. We get the message...get out! Ha!!

So we had been looking for homes for a few weeks and yesterday went to look at the one that was on top of our list again and we made an offer on the house that evening. Part of the offer included them closing and allowing us to occupy on March 30th. We told them we needed to let us know by 3pm today. They countered with asking for just a little more money (we didn't offer full price so we were okay with that) but were okay with closing (early in fact) on March 28th and allowing us to occupy on the 30th. So it looks like we'll have two days to move! Fun! And remember my husband is a Pastor...and April 1st is Palm Sunday so it's a crazy busy time of the year! But God is good and we'll manage!!

So, all that to say. I probably won't be blogging for a while. Gotta get the house packed up and moved in 4 weeks!! There are two other big changes on the horizon for our family but I cannot divulge that information at this time! I hope that if time allows I can stop in from time to time and let you know what we're up to! Hope you all have a great weekend, week and if I don't see you before then a TRULY blessed Easter!!

Here are a few random photos from our day butchering at the family farm! They call it butchering but it's really just packaging pork!

Hand cranked/stuffed brats!!

 We get pork chops, pork steaks, pork roasts, soup bones, brats, ribs...enough to last us about a year!

My kids and their cousins about to enjoy the annual hayride!

 We got to celebrate Greg's birthday with his whole family too which was really awesome!

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Koch (Old German Breakfast) recipe

We are hanging out at my husbands grandparents farm in Missouri today. It's time for the annual butchering! We haven't been able to be at the family butchering for the past five years or so because we lived so far away...but that is not the case any longer. We get half a hog and end up with a freezer full of brats, pork chops, pork steaks, bacon, pork sausage...all sorts of goodies! In honor of going to the farm and being around my husbands whole family I decided to make one of the families old German recipes for dinner before we left.

Koch...say it with a heavy German accent, or just use your throat and if you spit a little that's okay! It's almost like KUUGGGHHHHH. Or as I call it, scrambled pancakes. This is a great recipe when you're low on groceries or even for a quick inexpensive breakfast! We usually only eat Koch for dinner though, weird I know.

Ingredients

2-3 Eggs

2 cups milk

3 cups flour

1tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup lard (I used butter)

sugar or syrup

 Directions

Beat eggs, then add milk. Beat well. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to egg and milk mixture. Beat until smooth. Melt 1/4 cup lard (or butter) in a 9" iron skillet. When lard/butter is hot, add batter and turn heat to medium high. Use a knife to lift dough as it browns. Add more lard/butter as needed. Keep stiring with a knife, and when the batter is almost baked, break it into small crumbs using a spatula. Continue browning the batter as you continue to break up the dough into the size of marbles. Serve with sugar or syrup (we prefer syrup).

 I used the wooden spatula the whole time because I didn't want a knife to scratch my nonstick electric skillet.

 I suppose you could also serve this with jelly, or pie filling, make it your own and try different things. We serve ours with scrambled eggs....Micah had a hard time telling them apart at first!

Let me know if you give this a try and what you think of it. Hopefully next week I can share some photos from our time butchering on the farm! Love family traditions like that, even though grandma and grandpa don't live on the farm anymore...the butchering is still happening!

For some reason my post didn't go live last Saturday...so if you missed our

Mini Valentine's Photo session go check out my cute kids!

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Thanksgiving crafts the whole family can do

Here are a few Thanksgiving crafts that we have done in years past.
These are all pretty simple and can be done with things you probably already have.

Here's our family of turkeys!!

What you need:
cardboard cereal box (or any kind of cardboard)
red, orange, yellow and brown paint
a paintbrush
googly eyes
brown pipe cleaners

Just paint the palm of your hand and your thumb brown,
then paint your other fingers with the red, orange and yellow
put your hand print on the cardboard,
cut it out, add the pipe cleaners for legs and the googly eye and you're all set.

Some corn on the cob!!

What you need:
cardboard
popcorn brown paper glue

Cut out the basic corn on the cob shape from the cardboard,
pop the popcorn and glue in onto the shape.
Cut the brown paper in waves, crinkle the paper and then put
the "husks" on the back of the corn.

And some pumpkin pie!

What you need:
paper plate
brown paint
cinnamon
cotton balls
glue

Just paint the paper plate brown and before it dries sprinkle the paint with cinnamon.
When the paint is cut the paper plate into 8 pieces,

then glue the cotton balls onto the edges of the pie pieces.

See, I told you they were pretty easy!
Have fun crafting...and have a

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
(even though it's still two weeks away).

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Freezer Paper Shirt Ideas & Tutorial

Jamie had a wonderful tutorial a few weeks ago about freezer paper stenciling. You can see it here. Well I took her tutorial and made some fun shirts for my kids. This was my first attempt at freezer paper  stenciling. Thank you Jamie for making this so easy and fun.

lil poser had to get in there. What a cutie. Hence the shirt idea. LOL

So here is what we did.... First I wrote down ideas of what each of my kids favorite things are. Then I searched online for clipart ( I am not the best artist ) that matched the ideas. Printed them out and traced them onto the freezer paper. I took a utility knife for the smaller areas that needed to be cut and then scissors for the rest. 

Before Ironing the Freezer Paper on, I had started with 3 pink shirts for the girls and 2 blue shirt for my son. I hung them up on hangers and took them outside and gave them a spray bleach bath. LOL That sounds weird. Let them dry and gave them a quick bath (as the kids would say) in the washer. Dried them and they were ready to go. I am glad I did that because it gave them a kind of unique look.

Back to the Freezer Paper Fun.... we then ironed the freezer paper (shiny side down) to the shirts. 

Now comes the fun part of decorating with paints!

We bought a sponge and cut it into a bunch of small pieces. These were our little paint sponges. I found some fabric paint on sale at JoAnn's. Grabbed a paper plate to squeeze the paint onto and started sponging away. Let the paint try and then just peel off your freezer paper. You can either do another quick wash (which I recommend) or let the kiddos try them on for a bit before the wash. You know, because they are going to be anxious to put on their favorite things shirt!

~ So here are their shirts ~

My sons is pretty cool. He has a bmx stunt shirt. It starts on the back of the shirt and then comes around to the front. What's cool is the stunt stencil starts out riding then going up on the bike, back down again and finally the arms up in the air screaming "I DID IT" Well it doesn't say that, but I like to think it. LOL We loved the saying "I DO MY OWN STUNTS" So that had to go on there as well. He loves it.

My oldest daughter is our reader. She loves to read anything and mommy is loving that she loves to read craft and sewing books. Hint! Hint! Someone to create with. So her shirt was easy. We found a tree and placed a girl reading under the tree. Then of course it had to say love (we made a heart as you can see) to READ. 

My middle daughter is our little bashful cutie. She loves to be a princess but is very sporty too. So she chose a princess wearing a crown with the saying "LIL CUTIE" princess was too long. Eeeeek. My favorite part of her shirt is the back. We added the same princess only larger and she is blowing a kiss with her high heals on. Too Cute.

Last but not least my youngest daughter is in love with elephants so I had to use them someone. But I found this adorable image of a girl blowing bubbles and loved that too. So here is what we did.... we have the girl blowing bubbles and her imagination (wink) turns her bubbles into her favorite things. So we have the elephant, butterflies, hearts and bubbles. Added "LOVE" and we were done.

These were so much fun to make with the kids. They thought they were the best because they were what they picked out, colors and all. I would love to see what you come up with. So please share.

Hope you enjoyed our fun lil project.

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Peanut Butter Bird Wreath Recipe & Tutorial

This is a fun and quick project you can do with your kids this summer. The girls were playing with their Giant Dollhouse (LOL) so Cordell and I decided to make a 

"Bird Feeder with a lil Bath"

What we did was take the basic Peanut Butter Play Dough Recipe and added a few things to make this adorable Bird Feeder that will last for days.

Here is what you will need....

• 1 cup Peanut Butter
• 1 cup Powdered Sugar
• 1 cup Karo Syrup
• 3 cups of Powdered Milk
• 1 loaf of bread (we used wheat, but it really doesn't matter
• 1 cup Birdseed

~ How to make this ~

First, mix together your peanut butter, powdered sugar and karo syrup. Mix until all the powdered sugar is gone.

Add in 3 cups powdered milk, mix well.

Remember to have your kids help you put things away as you use them. So there is less of a mess as you are working. 

Once everything is mixed together have your child shape the mixture into a wreath shape on a baking sheet. Make sure to spray your sheet with a non-stick spray first. While they do this set your oven to 450°

Next you want to grab some bird seed and start pressing onto your peanut butter mixture. Keep adding birdseed until you have most of it covered. 

Then place in the oven for 18-25 minutes. Depending on your oven.  Just keep checking until the outer edge is firm. Once done, let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Your finished bird wreath made this way is heavy so this is what you want to do. Take out and place on a rock, table or tree, add in a small bowl in the center of the wreath. Add water to make a little bird bath. The kids will have fun watching the birds play in the water. It's hot here, so we have to fill our water quite often.

There you have it. A simple fun activity you can do with the kids this summer.

I have another recipe for a birdseed wreath that I will share soon. This one you can hang in a tree.

Check out my son outside with his creation. Bad lighting, sorry. LOL

Have fun and as always, we'd love to see what you came up with. So please share.

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Twin Sisters Productions Review & Giveaway~CLOSED

Fraternal Twins Kim Thompson and Karen Hilderbrand have always been close, and have always worked well together. This company was born out of a love for children and seeing the wonderful look of pride on their faces when they have mastered a concept, and have had fun doing it!

Since the beginning, we have been blessed with continual growth. Our MISSION is to be The Leader in Children's Educational Music.  We have worked very hard to create excellent products that children will enjoy, and to make learning effective and fun for the lives that we touch through our music.

★ I have been enjoying Twin Sisters wonderful products for almost 5 years now! My daughter had an overnight stay at the hospital and she had a hard time staying in her crib. One of the nurses brought us a cd (Quiet Escapse) and she was calm the whole night through. We have been enjoying that CD for years. I even listen to it. My hubby and I got addicted to the calming music at night. LOL I knew Twin Sisters would be a great company to work with for a review. I love everything they have to offer. Not only do they have great music for babies, but they have an amazing selection of educational music for kids. 

I especially love their "Songs that Teach". Ask any mom and they will tell you that is how their kids learned the Alphabet. Why stop there.... am I right? Well Twin Sisters went above and beyond with their amazing line of educational music. Starting with SPEECHercise and going to something as exciting as SCIENCE. WOW! Songs teaching kids about school subjects. What mom wouldn't love that! Your kids can learn about addition, subtraction, zoology, marine biology, states and capital, foreign languages and more all through song!  Kids learn fast through song.  

They didn't stop there.... they offer a large variety of songs for Toddlers, Preschool, Baby, Classical Music, Christian Music, Relaxation and so much more. Did you know that they even sell "School Musicals". How fun would that be to see your kids play become a musical. I can't wait to tell our teachers. I know our Kindergarten teacher will love hearing about this. She does amazing plays every year. 

Not only does Twin Sisters offer great music, but they also offer "Digital Audio", "Floor Puzzles", "Pre-Loaded Players", "Books" and more! We were so excited to review some Pre-Loaded Players as well as a couple board books. They are amazing. The players are great because all you need to do is turn it on. The kids listen to the pre-loaded music. When the battery runs out, just replace it. It's that easy. It's like their own personal music player. My kids love them. I have already changed the batteries twice. 

I have been very impressed with the quality and variety of products that Twin Sisters Productions have to offer. I recommend them to everyone. If you are wanting an exciting way for your kids to learn and enjoy music, this is the site to go to! Hands down!!! ★

Twin Sisters has a great partner site where you can download kids music. Sign-up for FREE and become a part of the downloadkidsmusic.com community! Members have access to thousands of songs with linked content including music, worksheets, sheet music, fun activities, and more…

Twin Sisters also has another great site called Learning Horizons! It offers.... hands-on learning materials to excite, stimulate, encourage and teach children from pre-school to grade six. Like Learning Horizons on Facebook too!

Are you ready for this? 

Now through 6/30/2010 you can get....

25% off at checkout when using code: TRENDY 
Make your order today!

What I love....

• Fun educational music for all ages
• Offers fun musicals for school age children
• Cool Pre-Loaded Players for kids to have their own music
• They also have books, puzzles, greeting cards and many more great products
• A partner company that offers downloadable kids music! WOW!
• Learning Horizons hands on learning site ~ stimulates learning
• Homeschool Resources
• Great for gifts for anyone with a family!
• Perfect resource for teachers
• The best educational music out there! Says ME!

<center><a href="http://www.twinsisters.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="TwinSistersProductions" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4662130439_dc883d6765_o.jpg"/></a></center>

Twin Sisters is offering a great giveaway to 1 very lucky FAN!

1 ~ Little Tunes Player along with 20 Free Downloads

Totaling $59. What an amazing Giveaway! Thank you Twin Sisters Productions!

Mandatory 1st Entry - Like Twin Sisters on Facebook!
Must enter Mandatory entry or all others will be deleted. Thanks! Additional Entries... Eligible after completing mandatory entry above. Please fill out a separate entry form for each entry that you have done. Thank you! 

• 3 entries - Follow Twin Sisters on Twitter
• 1 entry - Grab the Twin Sisters Button for your Blog (Grab the Code Above)
• 3 entries - Add Twin Sisters Productions to your Link List  http://www.twinsisters.com/
• 10 entries - Buy anything from Twin Sisters
• 2 entries - Register for an account with Twin Sisters and get benefits
• 1 entry - Visit Twin Sisters and share with us what you love about their products!
• 1 entry - Subscribe to Trendy Treehouse
• 4 entries - Follow Trendy Treehouse via Google Friend Connect
• 3 entries for each - Follow Trendy Treehouse on Facebook & Twitter
• 2 entries - Follow Trendy Treehouse via Network Blogs
• 1 entry daily for each - Blog, Tweet & Post about this giveaway including @trendytreehouse & @twinsisters

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED~THANK YOU FOR ALL WHO ENTERED
Congratulations to
Liz Lane
Your info is being sent to Twin Sisters. Please notify us when you get your prize. Thanks for entering!


You will have until June 15 @ 9:00 p.m. Pacific Standard time to enter this giveaway. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced here. If the winner has provided an email address I will contact you. If you don't provide your email, you will want to check back here and see if you are the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to those living in the US. You must be 18 years or older to enter. Thanks for entering at Trendy Treehouse. Good Luck and Have Fun!!

The featured product {s} in this post were provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or pr company representing the company. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by anyone. By entering this giveaway you agree to Trendy Treehouse Disclaimer/Terms of use.

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Hand Stitching Memories Tutorial

I wanted a unique handprint of each of my kids. I had seen it done before where they just stitch a traced handprint on plain muslin. It was very cute, but I wanted a little something different. So this is what I came up with. Hope you like it and you can find inspiration for some of your own.

What you will need....

• 3 types of fabric (my largest fits in an 8 x 10 frame)
• Black embroidery Thread
• Embroidery needle
• Pencil and Tracing Paper
• Your child's handprint
• Scissors
• Spray adhesive
• Pencil

How to make this....

1. Set aside the largest piece of fabric. This will be what you stitch the hand and name to. 
2. Grab your adorable child and trace their hand onto a piece of paper. Cut out.
3. Use the paper pattern you just made and cut out a fabric hand. Next, use Spray adhesive on the back and place onto your large fabric piece. You could also pin it if you don't want to use the adhesive spray.
4. Take your needle and thread and begin stitching around the whole hand. You can use any type of stitch you like. I just kept mine simple. I liked the way it looked with this one. X's would be cute and so would a blanket stitch.
5. Now take your third piece of fabric. I cut mine in a rectangle shape and fit to the length of my daughters name. Yours may be smaller or larger depending on the name. (but you could also leave this part out if you didn't want to add the name) Stitch just below the hand print. I think it would be cute to add their age too!
6. Adding the name.... I used a pencil and wrote out her name in cursive and just stitched over the pencil markings. It would also be cute to have your kids write their own names. If they are old enough.
7. Place in a frame or glue to a canvas board and hang on the wall. Enjoy it for years.

These would make great grandparents gifts too! I can see 9 of these in line at my moms house. I know she would love it. If you make any of these or have your own version, I would love to see them and even share your photos in this post. Thanks!

Check out where I am linking this fun project here!

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