Monteith Family Picture

Here is a picture of the whole Monteith Clan!

Here is a picture of my family!

Kiss Your Mate Day!

Be sure to plant a few extra kisses on your mate today!

These Are For You Sarah!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies
By Heidi Monteith

1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons hot water
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to batter along with salt. Stir in flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. (I use a medium sized scoop.)
Bake for about 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until edges are nicely browned. Be careful not to overbake.

Yield: About 24 cookies.

Tips from Heidi:
I use Land O’ Lakes Margarine.
You can double this recipe.
You can drop the spoonfuls of dough onto a pan almost touching, put the pan into the freezer for a couple of hours, then move the dough balls into a freezer bag and store them in the freezer for the next time you want cookies. When you are ready to use the dough balls, take them out and put them on an ungreased pan. Then preheat the oven. When the oven is ready you can go ahead and bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Yum!

Snickerdoodles You Are Sure To Love!

When you try these Snickerdoodles, you will say goodbye to store-bought dough! There really is no comparison!

If you think making cookies from scratch just sounds like too much work, I get it. I was there about 4 years ago. Then one day I had a craving, made some cookies and realized that not only are cookies pretty easy to make, they taste way better than the ones I was buying at the store or making from store-bought dough! Now I love to bake cookies and often experiment with different recipes until I find the perfect combination and write a new recipe to call my own. Here is one of my favorites:

Snickerdoodles
by Heidi Monteith

½ cup butter or margarine (1 stick), softened
½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

Topping:
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.
Add the egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients and mix well.
Put dough in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping.
Take about 2 tablespoons of the dough and roll it into a ball. Roll this dough in the cinnamon/sugar mixture and place it onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes. They will seem undercooked when you take them out of the oven.

Yield: 18-22 cookies

Tips from Heidi:
After experimenting, I have found that Land O’ Lakes Margarine gives me the best results. I now use it for all of my cookies.
I have successfully doubled this recipe but tripling is not a good idea.
I use the Medium Pampered Chef scoop to shape the dough.

Good Girl!

Ethan used to call Daisy by her name but now he only calls her "Good Girl." I guess this shows how much Daisy's behavior has improved since Joshua started talking. His first word was not Mommy or Daddy-- No, it was Daisy! He also quickly learned how to say "No, Daisy. Bad Girl." This is when I realized I was calling her a "Bad Girl" too much.

Ethan loves to feed Daisy his food! I often have to send her outside while he eats or else he will give almost all of it to Daisy. John gets mad at Daisy for taking the food from Ethan but hey, if he is handing it to her or throwing it on the floor, how can we expect her, a Beagle, to stay away!

Hand-Me-Down Toy

Ethan now realizes that he can stand by himself. He has also figured out that he can walk while holding our hands-- it took him a while! He likes this "new" toy we introduced to him today. Gotta love hand-me-downs from your older siblings!

I told Ethan to say goodbye as I was turning off the camera and he actually did it! I didn't even wave and I had no idea that he knew that trick yet! Unfortunately, the camera didn't catch it because it had already turned off so I had to turn it back on and take another video. Isn't he cute? Sorry about my annoying mommy's-excited-about-what-you-did voice. : )

Respect For My Kitchen Table

I really need a bigger table. My table is only 30 by 60. The width is so narrow that we have trouble fitting the food and our plates on the table. Ethan is now joining us at the table so I am getting more desperate. I've decided that maybe if I start giving more respect to the table I have, the universe will give me a new one! : ) It's worth a try, right?

So, I made this flower arrangement for my table with stuff I had laying around the house. I think it turned out cute even though I am a novice and didn't purchase anything new. If you don't like it, please keep this to yourself so I can go on loving it! : ) Yes, I am a timid crafter!

Joshua to the Rescue!

"Oh no! Jack is at Nana’s house! He’s sick! We have to go get him! The blue car will go rescue Jack!" (He was playing with a blue car.)

Oh No! Ink on the Couch!

One day when I wasn't looking, Ethan decided to create his first piece of artwork! He used a ball point pen to draw all over not one, not two, but three couch cushions and an armrest. I didn't even notice until the next morning. After scrubbing and scrubbing at the marks with dish soap and water as recommended by the salesman, I turned to the internet. After one super quick search, I found out that rubbing alcohol was the cleaner of choice. Let me tell you, it was like magic! The ink disappeared before my eyes with only the slightest rubbing. I was sure to declare my gratitude for rubbing alcohol and the internet in my gratitude journal!

Gingerbread House

I know this is a weird time of year for making Gingerbread Houses but we received this kit as a Christmas gift from Daniel and Karen and just now put it together. Joshua saw it in the cabinet and asked if we could build it. So, we put this together after family council Thursday. We had lots of fun and it turned out cute!

Another update! Read Previous Post 1st!

Well, Jack is throwing up again and must be picked up. Mind you he is at least 2 1/2 hours away! My sister is actually going to pick him up and bring him back to Virginia Beach and we will then come up with a plan for getting him home. We will probably meet Christi in Fredricksburg when she is on her way home Sunday. Isn't this crazy!!! Apparently two other children in other classes are throwing up too! It's times like these that I am thankful for our big families! Thanks Christi!!! You're the best Aunt ever!!!

Jack Update! Read Previous Post 1st!

Someone in line actually paid for Jack's new shorts. How cool is that? The only time I ever tried to help pay for something for someone in line was once when the cashier dropped a dime that was supposed to be part of the customer's change. The lady would not leave without that dime! I had my boys with me and I couldn't believe we were standing and standing there because of a dime. They kept looking and looking and then the cashier just gave the lady a blank stare. I finally said something like, "How about I give you a dime?" She said, "No, it's okay." Then looked for the dime for another few seconds before leaving. I do really believe in the pay it forward idea though. So I plan to pay this good deed forward!

A Mother's Bad Call!

Have you ever made a judgment call you regretted later?

Jack's class had their big field trip today. The one they talk about all year! They took charter buses to Jamestown which is about 2 1/2 hours from here. Well, this morning Jack woke up excited but then said he didn't feel very well. He said he might even throw up. He got really upset about the possibility of missing the trip. I took his temp which was only 98.4 and told him to eat breakfast and see how he feels. Now, we woke him up almost 2 hours earlier than usual and when I wake up really early, I usually feel a little queasy. I always have. I can remember as a child, if we got up early to go on a trip, I would often be too nauseous to eat anything. After having a little breakfast and asking for us to say a family prayer for him, he said he was actually feeling better. So, off he went!

About two hours later, I got a call from Mr. Wills. Jack has thrown up all over himself on the bus! Someone driving behind the buses is going to stop to get him a new pair of shorts for today. I am hoping and praying that he got it all out of his system and will feel better for the rest of the day. If not, it looks like Aunt Christi, Nana or his father will be making a trip to Jamestown today!

What could I do? If I kept him home and he didn't turn out to be sick, he would have missed a very special and expensive trip for nothing. He would have been really sad all day. I really thought it was just a morning thing and that he would be fine. No one we know has been sick. But, now I feel really bad for his teacher and the other people on the bus and poor Jack who is sick and not home. I felt like I made a responsible decision until he threw up.

Was it wrong of me to send him?

Under Construction

I like this design better but I am also trying to figure out how to make my own background and header. I let you know if I figure it out!

Spring Break Bowling!

My children only made one request for Spring Break and that was to go bowling. They love to go bowling so we try to go about twice a year. (It's really expensive!) Abby even came to me and said that she would like to contribute $5 towards bowling and then Jack and Joshua each contributed $5 too! (My children each have a wallet where they keep any money they get. This way if they want something like a toy or special treat, they can buy it with their own money. I RARELY buy them toys unless it's a birthday gift or other holiday gift. This has really helped them understand money and how to save for what we want!)

We had a lot of fun bowling! Bowling with a three year old can be a little embarrassing though. If we weren't careful while helping him, the ball wouldn't roll fast enough and it would stop in the middle of the lane. Then an alley worker would come to get the ball for us! Joshua had a great time and even bowled two whole games without wanting to quit!

Abby's ball even jumped the bumper once! Look at her! She has such a fun personality!

Here's a video of Jack bowling!

John and I bowled with Daniel and Karen who were visiting. I even won the second game when I bowled 4 strikes in one game! Go Heidi!!!

It was a fun night for everyone!

Grateful People Are Happy People!

Today I began a gratitude journal! I plan to write at least three things that I am grateful for each day and I hope to be able to add as many new things as possible so that I’m not expressing my thanks for my family every single day—even though I feel grateful for them every single minute of every single day!

Today I am most grateful for a good night’s sleep. Ethan slept through the night and I feel so much better today than I did yesterday. What a difference it makes!

I am also thankful for my wonderful husband. We were talking and I told him that I plan to go back to teaching when Joshua is in school and Ethan is preschool age unless we have another or are living debt free with a savings and extra money for things like furniture and vacations and braces. If we are living well, I would like to continue to stay home so that I can get things done while everyone is gone and then be less stressed when they are home. I would love to be here when the kids come home from school so they will talk to me about their friends, teachers, etc. John said, “I would like you to be able to stay home so you can scrapbook.” How sweet is he? He has mentioned this before but I am always surprised that he wouldn’t mind working hard all day and letting me stay home to scrapbook! I sure picked a good one!

I am always thankful for my children! We have been so blessed to have 4 healthy and very smart children! They are so funny and so much fun to be around! I love to hug them and kiss them and tell them I love them. I must say it several times a day to each of them because I want them to always have my love for them fresh in their minds!

Now I challenge you to start one of your own!

Cleaned Your Sink Drain Lately?

We have been having trouble with our bathroom sinks draining. We have poured Drano, Liquid Plumber and boiling water down them countless times but they would only get a little better. I could never figure out how to get the drain plug out so I could clean out the drain. I would clean them out the best I could with the plug still in. Well, today I decided that enough is enough. I decided to educate myself about drains. Yes, you guessed it-- I went online. There I discovered how to remove the drain plug! What happened to the good old days when you just turned it and pulled it out??? Here is a picture of some of what I got out of the kid's sink. I promise NOT to show you what comes out of mine! EEEEEW!

I feel so handy today!!! I still can see some stuff down there that I can't reach with the plastic spoon handle I was using so I left the drain plug out. John, please stop by Lowe's and buy me a plumbers snake. I can do it!!!

Sorry if this is too gross for you. Let me know if you think I should remove the picture. :)

Goodbye Liquid Plumber!! I just took over your job-- AND I do it better!!!

I found them Katrina!

My cousin Katrina is always changing the look of her blog and it always looks great! I've been wanting to make mine more personalized so I kept asking her to share her secrets. She's been avoiding me! I finally just took a few minutes to look at her html code where I found the answer to my questions. I might be changing the look of this again soon because I need to play around with it awhile to get it just the way I want it. It's one o'clock in the morning and I really need to get to bed!