2011: Looking Back

As we look forward to a new year and all of the "new beginnings" and exciting adventures it holds in store for us, we also enjoy looking back at the past year and seeing how we have all grown and the fun that we had together along the way!

JANUARY

We celebrated Liam's 6th birthday by taking the 

boys, and Abigail Smith, to The Discovery Centre 

and swimming at The Quality Inn and Suites. 

FEBRUARY

Liam lost his first tooth and we enjoyed watching 

our little Ephriam growing up through 

the baby phases.

MARCH

Nolan creates his best artwork yet. 

We also purchased our first minivan and 

celebrated with a road trip to Crystal Palace.

APRIL

Mommy and Ephriam enjoyed a weekend away 

with three of Mommy's childhood best friends  - 

Christie, Kate and Crissy.

MAY

Both Liam and Nolan learned how to "pump their legs" 

on the swing set and we all enjoyed seeing the apple

 blossoms in bloom again!

JUNE

Ephriam learned to sit up all by himself and we 

went on a field trip to Oaklawn Farm Zoo.

JULY

We went on our first family camping trip of the season to

Smiley's Provincial Park, where Liam also learned how to

ride a bike without training wheels.

 

AUGUST

The Lord (through the James family) blessed us 

with a HOUSE that is more than big enough to 

accommodate our growing family! 

SEPTEMBER

We celebrated the wedding of our good friends,

John and Katie Pitt. 

We also took the boys on a cruise on the Tall Ship Silva.

 

OCTOBER

We took a homeschool field trip to Noggins Corn Maze

and our little Ephriam Reid turned ONE on the 28th.

 

NOVEMBER

Liam and Nolan were very excited about the first snow fall 

of the year! All three boys love watching our neighbor, 

Ken, snow blow our driveway.

At the end of November we welcomed Amos into our family.

 

DECEMBER

Of course, December is always the most exciting month

in the Jagger house with three birthdays and Christmas 

to celebrate!

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~The Jaggers

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

These chocolate chip cookies are a Jagger favorite!

They are soft, melt-in-your mouth cookies that can't be beat.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 small pkg vanilla pudding powder

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 pkg (341 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla pudding powder. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugars and vanilla. Beat at medium speed with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Add flour mixture. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. 

Drop by heaping teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Cool completely on wire racks before storing.

Tip: A very wise baker once told me that cookies continue cooking well after you take them out of the oven. So if your edges are golden but the centers still look like they need more time, they are probably ready to be taken out of the oven. The centers will cook as they cool.

This year we, as a family, delivered cookies on December 23rd to four neighbors and these were the cookies we chose. They are really THAT good!

Leftover List

How many trips to the compost have you made to throw out leftovers?

How many times have you taken container after container of rotten leftovers out of the fridge that you forgot were even in there?

After nearly a decade of throwing out leftovers - not because we don't like them but because we never ever think of them - we now try to keep a "Leftover List" on the fridge.

If I am in need of a quick lunch, I go to the Leftover List.

If Will comes home from work starving, he checks out the Leftover List for a quick snack.

If the babies aren't fond of what we are eating for supper, where do I look for an alternative?

The Leftover List!

A Leftover List is one of those things that is SO SIMPLE that I can't even believe I am blogging about it. But it is something that has changed the amount of food we throw out and adds a little more organization to our busy days. 

If you are too busy (distracted/in a hurry) to remember leftovers, make yourself a list and stick it on the fridge. It will help you save time and money and maybe make a few meals a week a little bit easier!

Homeschool 101

Homeschooling is an everyday part of our lives. I have tons and tons of books, games, activities and learning manipulatives to help me teach my boys. 

What I do NOT have is a place or a system of organization for all of this. 

My boys also love to help themselves to all the materials during free play. This often means that two little sets of hands equals one big MESS! 

I have tried cleaning up after them... which is a never ending job. 

I have tried making them clean it up (actually putting stuff back where it somewhat belongs)... which is never ending mommy-nagging. 

I am very VERY excited to finally be working on a solution!

Introducing...

OUR HOMESCHOOL ROOM! (this is the before shot)

No more homeschool in the dining room! No more avalanches of workbooks, puzzles, games, etc from the closet! No more frustration with the never ending "mess"!

We have the walls stripped, moulding taken off, paint colors picked out and flooring bought. I have plans for rain gutter bookshelves, chalkboard paint, a "book nook" for reading...

Stay tuned!

Let the Journey Begin!

My name is Rikki and I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of three beautiful boys. I LOVE being home. It is the desire of my heart. 

BUT homemaking is a total learning process for me!

I do NOT come by it naturally. I have not figured out the secrets to organization, meal preparation, homeschooling, etc, etc, etc that make a day on the homestead flow smoothly. Most days, at one point or another, I feel overwhelmed and ponder what I could do differently to make the day flow just a tiny bit smoother. 

 One of my favorite pastimes is reading the blogs written by other moms who write about their own homemaking adventures. I love reading about how other moms run their homes. I love learning tips and tricks on keeping up with the chores, cooking, homeschooling while caring for screaming toddlers and bouncing a baby on a hip at the same time, and so on and so forth. 

So this afternoon I was doing the dishes and thinking about a few topics I had researched (one being how to make homemade yogurt in the slow cooker) and I thought "Why don't I blog about what I'm learning? Then I can share the tips and tricks that I find and that work so other families can benefit from them to!" 

So here I am! 

It may take me a little while to "get" this whole blogging thing. But I am going to give it a try. I plan on including bits and pieces of my own life and the adventures of raising three boys as well as my homemaking journey. 

Let the journey begin (or maybe I should say, continue!).