What is on the menu?

Right now we are 30 minutes with boat away from the closest grocery store which is also closed every Sunday. We have limited space in a very small fridge. No freezer. A wooden stove and a small gas stove to cook and bake with. A river coming down from a glazier to keep things cool, like my soda bottles. A fjord full of fresh fish. And a garden that may or may not provide us with at least some vegetables and berries.

So what is on our menu then you ask?

• Home made bread by my mom.
• Waffles by me.
• Pancakes by me.
• Eggs in all shapes and varieties.
• Vegetables.
• Pasta dishes.
• Salads.
• Fish.
• Meat for a few days after we have been to the store.

We go grocery shopping once or twice a week. The fridge holds perishables like milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt and some meat. We go fishing when ever we feel like it and there is a huge variety of fish to get, but you never know what you are going to get.

I am loving the simplicity of it all.

Netbook Cover

When I got my netbook last year I also bought a cover for it. I loved the pink when I first got it, but then when I started seeing all of these really nice laptop and iPad covers showing up on blogs I started to want a prettier cover for my netbook too.

Earlier this year I made cover for my eReader and I wanted something to match it. This is what I came up with.

I made a pocket out of a pieces of fabric that I decorated with some pretty ruffles and a flower.

Then I took my pink cover and slipped inside the new one and hand stitched all the way around. Now I have a pretty and safe cover for my netbook that matches my eReader.

A really easy project that I can easily redo if I ever feel like it.

Grateful Sunday 27

Today is Sofie 2nd birthday and I want to dedicate this post to her.

I am so grateful for

261. her pile of bed friends that she has to have, three dolls, two Winnie the Pooh receiving blankets, a play quilt, three small stuffed elephants, a water bottle, her Winnie the Pooh bear, and sometimes her Duplo Lego’s.

262. her love for her sister, she always has to check Isabel’s bed to see if she is there on the mornings when Isabel is on sleepovers.

263. her love for her animals.

264. her strong will to do everything big sister does.

265. her shyness that doesn’t prevent her from handling being dropped off with babysitters or at the church nursery.

266. her independence, she is her own little person.

267. her silly dance/walk when she gets excited.

268. her love for music.

269. her love for Curious George and Winnie the Pooh.

270. her being a mammas girl.

Pictures from the past few years–Sofie

She was born on June 26th 2009.

Her sister loved her right away and she was fiercely determined.

She is adventurous and loves handbags and hiding.

Then in May of 2010 she got very sick for the first time and we found out she had immune deficiency. Over the next few months she battled hard and won.

On her birthday in 2010 she celebrated her day together with her big sister, but she didn’t feel good at all.

During the 4th of July weekend she had to have intravenous antibiotics once a day for four days

 

Then she got a pic line and I could administer the intravenous antibiotics to her myself at home.

 

 

 

 

Finally she got over the worst of it, but for the next year she was sick a lot. Now she is doing better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She is such a goofball.

On My Mind–Sofie

My wishes for Sofie’s future…

• that she may find a career as a caretaker as she is such a little momma.
• that she may find the love of her life.
• that she sees the value and the love of being close to her family.
• that she finds her place in the world may it be Norway or USA.
• that she cares for and takes care and interest in her heritage.
• that she always finds her way home.
• that she drives safely, no texting, drinking or driving without a seatbelt.
• that she stays close to her sister.
• that she stays healthy and happy.

More crayon / marker rolls

The kids and I really love the crayon roll I made earlier. It was so practical and made it so easy to keep tabs on how many crayons we had at any time.

Then for the kid’s birthday they got a lot of markers, both Crayola Color Wonder and Rose Art markers. And that made me think, “What if I made rolls for the markers as well.

The smallest one is actually made to fit the crayons, but shortened to only fit 10. Obviously it got to small, but it still works. I was wondering what I could do to make the one to fit the bigger markers when it hit me.

So using {The Pleated Poppy}’s tutorial with the measurements to fit crayons I did a little math. Her measurements are 15 1/2 by 5 with the crayons being thin and only about 3 inches long. I thought that if I added 2 inches to however long my markers were and since you can actually fit 2 crayons into one 1 inch pocket, I could take or add 1/4 inch to the pockets depending on the thickness of the markers.

For the Crayola Magic Markers who are 5 1/2 inches long and somewhat thick my measurements were 7 1/2 by 15 1/2. The pocket were made at 1 1/4 inch increments and I were able to fit all 11 markers and two pencils.

I also found out that I could not start in the middle putting the lines for the pocket in. Instead I started my first line at 1/4 inch from the edge.

For the other markers I had to make two rolls since there were over 50 of them. They are a little longer and thinner. I made the pockets only 3/4 inch wide to accommodate as many markers as I could.

I absolutely love these rolls and I am planning on making more of these as gifts for my cousins kids for Christmas this year.

Cauliflower soup

This is Isabel’s very favorite soup, actually it is the only soup she likes. I don’t remember where I got the recipe, but I have been making it for at least 20 years to the point where I don’t even use a recipe anymore.

All you need is

• 2 cauliflowers
• water
• salt
• nutmeg
• flour
• margarine
• cream

Cut the cauliflower in big florets, cover with water in a pan and add about 1 Tbsp salt, bring to a boil and let cook till the cauliflower is done {you can easily get a fork through a thick piece}.

Drain the water into a measuring cup holding of 4 or more cups and put the cauliflower in a bowl while you start preparing the rue.

Melt 4 Tbsp margarine in the pan and mix with 1/4 cup flour. Mix well and stir in about 4 cups of the water from the cauliflower. Let it boil for a few minutes.

Stir in the nutmeg and some pepper if you like to taste. Add the cauliflower and break it up into smaller pieces if you like.

Right before you serve it you add some cream. I just pour it in while I stir until the color of the soup is nice and creamy white.

I know it might be hard to follow this recipe, but if you have any questions please ask and I shall try to answer them.

Please enjoy.

What to pack for 20 hours of travelling

When we leave tomorrow we will have two big bags that we send and three carry on bags/backpacks.

Sofie has a very small one holding some books, Crayola Color Wonder pad and markers, a felt play kit, to felt puppets, her Winnie the Pooh figurines, earphones, Pooh receiving blanket and a stuffed animal or doll.

Isabel has several drawing pads, Crayola Color Wonder pad and markers, ordinary markers, a felt play kit, felt puppets, Nintendo dsi (or gameboy as I call it), iPod, earphones, two stuffed animals, books, writing pads and something of her choice.

I have clean clothes, diapers, wipes, snacks, water bottles, iPod, netbook, eReader, writing book and pens, tickets, passports, camera, cellphone and wallet in my bag.

This is what I have found works for us. Clean clothes is the most important one as I have been covered in someone’s stomach contents when arriving at the airport at least once.

Everyone needs something to keep them feeling safe like a favorite stuffed animal or receiving blanket.

Water bottles / sippy cups are a must as I have also arrived soaked. You just have to remember to empty them before the seatbelt sign goes on before landing.

Snacks are very important since my kids hate airplane food.

And generally some entertaining stuff is always good to have.

Note; I am writing this Saturday evening and by the time this is posted I will have arrived at my destination.

I don’t know when I will be able to update you on our travel, but I have scheduled a few posts over the next few days.

Have a great summer.

Felt activity kit

I made a few more items for the kids to play with while travelling. Kristi over at {Extraordinary Moments in an Ordinary Life} made these Felt Play sets for an upcoming road trip. I didn’t make mine exactly like hers, but kept to the same idea and I only made two as there is only so much we can take with us on the plane.

One desert type landscape for their dinosaurs. I was going to put in a volcano there just like Kristi, but I didn’t have red or orange felt.

Then I made a barn setting for their farm animals.

Isabel is very excited to play with these and I hope Sofie will like them too.

I just love the fact that they have carrying handles and that I can put the toys inside them when they are not in use. It was such a fun and easy little project to do and I actually managed to make a good dent in my felt stash.

Grateful Sunday 26

Since it is Father’s day today I will focus on a few on the most important men in my life, because I am so grateful for

My late grandfather

251. for always having time for me no matter what.

252. for teaching me how to use a knife and work the farm the old fashioned way.

253. for all the nicknames he had on us grand kids.

My dad

254. for always working so hard to make a good life for us.

255. for teaching me the value of saving before buying.

256. for always wanting to help me and my family.

My husband

257. for working so hard to keep us with all we need.

258. for supporting me when people are giving me trouble.

259. for loving me the way I am and staying with me through good and bad.

260. for loving our girls and always being there for them.

I am not going to link up this summer, but I will keep the list going. I just don’t have time to visit others and I don’t think it is fair then for me to link up.

Happy Father’s Day.

Pictures from the birthday

Birthday gift opening.

Isabel got a lot of Pixie dot craft for her birthday and here she is working on making a figure after we got home from the park where we held the party.

Both girls got a lot of Crayola Color wonder markers and coloring books. Sofie really liked them. She is in deep concentration coloring her picture. I have never seen her sit still for so long like this before.

And look at this little face covered in chocolate, still wearing her swimsuit. She really needs a haircut, but I have decided to let her hair grow out just like her sisters as she really doesn’t like her bangs anyway. If she would just let the barrettes and hair ties stay in her hair though.

Isabel said this was the best party ever and I must say I agree.

My mind

I am so sorry that I didn’t make it around to visit all the Company Girls last week. Time just flies and I have been so busy packing and getting ready for my 7 week trip to Norway and for an eventual move that can happen any time while I am gone or right after I get home.

There is so much to do of things that needs to be done and the things I want to do. I am trying to write up a few posts to schedule while I’m travelling, but I have not had time to sit down much with my computer lately. Tomorrow morning I will get up early and partly work on writing posts and also cleaning my house while doing some laundry.

I also want to go down to the local art festival tomorrow. I have been to it every year since I moved here and I always enjoy it. Hopefully I will find time for it between all I got to do before our trip. They say it is going to rain too tomorrow so it will be the perfect time to go then. I think it has rained almost every other time I have been to this festival. At least it did last year.

Sunday is Father’s Day and I am so excited about the gift I made for my husband this year. I can’t wait to give it to him. We will be able to hang out with him and have some quality time with daddy before we leave in the afternoon, but I know I will be having some nervous fits like I always do before a trip.

Linking up with

Teacher gifts at the end of the year

It is a dangerous thing being a blogger and following other blogs. 1. you get inspired to make and do so much, 2. you want to make something a little original, 3. you learn that it is common to give gifts to teachers and those who work closely with your kids at school.

This year I got to volunteer at the annual Walk a Thon at Isabel’s school and I took lots of pictures of Isabel’s class mates and teacher. I figured it would be nice for her teacher to get a little memory photo book at the end of the year and decided to buy a kit to make on since I am not really a scrap booker.

I found a school kit and a little album at Big Lots and had some pictures printed out. In about one hour I had this all done.

The first page is just a note saying to and from.

On the second page I had Isabel write five things she like about her teacher. She was really cute about it and wrote some really nice things about her teacher.

In the middle I had another little place for Isabel to write something. We decided that it would be nice if she wrote the names of all the kids in her class here. I really love the colors of the set I got.

When school started last fall Isabel had a hard time every morning being hysteric about whether or not there would be any fire alarm testing that day at school. She has very sensitive ears and has some anxiety. The school counselor and her therapy dog then promised Isabel that she would come and get her whenever there would be any sort of alarm testing at the school. This really made a difference in our daily life.

One day though there was a fire alarm test scheduled, but it was raining hard. Still she came and got Isabel and they stood outside waiting in the rain for the alarm to go off. Instead it got changed to an earthquake training. According to Isabel they were very wet and the counselor could need a big umbrella. We found a very big umbrella that I embroidered {Seek Cover} on. Then we bought a bone for Ernie. Isabel is so excited to give this to them tomorrow.

For our cross guard and a couple of other chosen people at Isabel’s school we have made a few magnets. I love how the little apple looks so big and shiny like this.

A big thank you to those of you who teach our children in the schools today. With all the budget cuts and the pressure there is from both parents, community and government today I know it is a very stressful and demanding job. Thank you for hanging in there and doing such an awesome job.

Birthday party treats

For the girls birthday party this year I decided to make a lot of sweet treats since the theme of the party was Lollipops. In different blogs I found the ideas of Cake pops, Cup cakes, dipped Marshmallows on sticks, colored sugar cookies looking like Lollipops, dipped strawberries, fruit salsa and cinnamon chips.

For the youngest ones I got some Gerber treats.

Lollipop cookies that I found at {Shindig Parties to Go}, I must admit I used store bought cookie dough for this, but I still think they turned out great and my kids are still enjoying them.

Fruit salsa, I got the inspiration from a blog I happened to land upon at some point, but found a recipe at {The Blogging Pastor’s Wife}. I made a few changes here as I used strawberries, blueberries, papaya and kiwi. This one was just delicious with the cinnamon chips, but would probably be good on a piece of bread too.

Cinnamon chips was found at {The Blogging Pastor’s Wife}.

Some of my kids favorite fruits, to make the party at least a little healthy.

Chocolate covered strawberries.

Cake pops, which you can can find inspiration on everywhere, but I used the directions from here {Little Betsy Baker}. I made a few changes like using leftover cake and frosting from the cupcakes and I dipped them in sugar sprinkles afterwards. These were a huge hit.

Marshmallows dipped in chocolate of which I found the inspiration for at {Shorties Funny Farm}. Actually I find a lot of inspiration for parties here as Brooke is a fabulous party planner.

Cupcakes made from a box with frosting from a tub.

Packing for a 7 week vacation

The birthday party is over and it was a huge success. The weather turned out beautiful and warm and the girls had a blast at the park playing in the spray park with all their friends. Afterwards I was exhausted as can be expected and yesterday I just stayed home cleaning my dining room and kitchen. Today I got to run errands all by myself as my hubby was home and took care of the home base, and I even got my hair done for the first time since March of last year. And now I have started packing.

We are going to be gone for about 7 weeks. I am travelling by myself with a 7 year old and a 2 year old. Needless to say that the less we need to bring the better it is. I am also contemplating bringing to Norway things that I won’t need this next year, but would like to have in Norway when I move there next summer. This is why we will bring very little clothes. 

I always try to start early when packing for a trip like this, but as with everything else I end up procrastinating. Knowing that I was going to write this post for Anti Procrastination Tuesday made me feel accountable to someone outside and actually got me started earlier than I would have otherwise.

I have been doing laundry for days now and all the kids clothes are clean. The first thing I did was putting all of Isabel’s clothes on our bed and sort them. She got to point out a few of her favorite clothes and I got to put away a few items that she has outgrown. Seriously that girl needs to stop growing, we just did this a month ago too.

For Isabel we picked out 5 t-shirts, 5 tank tops, 2 sweaters, 4 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of capris, 4 pairs of shorts, 2 skirts, 4 dresses and 1 wedding party dress, one fleece set, two pjs, socks and underwear. There will also be raingear, a jacket, shoes, sandals and rain boots.

For Sofie there will be 5 t-shirts, 5 tank tops, 2 long sleeve onsies, 3 long sleeve shirts, 1 blouse, 3 sets, 2 sweater jackets, 4 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of capris, 4 pairs of shorts, 4 dresses and 1 wedding party dress, one wool set, two pjs, socks and underwear/diapers. For her too there will be raingear, a jacket, shoes, sandals and rain boots.

For me there will be training clothes (I will stop procrastinating and start exercising), two pairs of pants, one pair of capris, two pairs of shorts, four t-shirts, 8 tank tops, one sweater, two cardigans, a skirt, a dress and a wedding party dress, socks and underwear. Raingear, a jacket, two pairs of shoes and sandals. I will have to buy rain boots when I get to Norway.

Here it is all stacked and ready to go into the bags.

 

What do you think? To much or to little? While we are in Aanderbakkan we will have to hand wash everything and we will be staying there for at least 4 weeks. I really hate packing as it is always so hard to know exactly how much to bring.

Cupcake stand

I wanted to have a nice cupcake stand, but really had no money to spend on it. That is why I love the clearance aisle at JoAnn. At Easter they had these cutsie cardboard Easter bunny cupcake stands and even though we were not going for the bunny theme at the birthday party I still went with it. I figured that with the help of a pair of scissors, glue and some scrapbooking paper I could transform it into a summer celebration accessory.

So I cut of the ears and glued the scrapbook paper on and the result was very much approved by the girls.

The cupcakes will be described in a later post .