Oatmeal

Refrigerator Banana Cocoa Oatmeal (Dairy Free)

1/4 cup uncooked old fashion oatmeal
1/3  cup coconut milk (I use canned)
1 1/2 teaspoon dried chow seeds
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1 Tablespoon to 1 teaspoon of sweetner (I use 1 Tablespoon of organic sugar. I like it to taste good.)
1/4 cup diced ripe banana (approx half banana) (I use 1/8 cup of dived freeze dried banana)

Add all dry ingredients in half pint, one cup jars. Add coconut milk and cap the jars and shake. Mix in ripe banana if using fresh. Refrigerate overnight.

Notes:  These last days in fridge. I make six at a time and use whole can of coconut milk (I add water to make 2 cups, 6 at 1/3 cups). I have used almond milk and rice milk but they are not as rich (good fat) as coconut milk. Also the oatmeal is better for you because the oatmeal is soaked and easier to digest.

I would post picture but it does not look pretty.

I have altered the original recipe from this site. She has a lot of other options.
http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal

I love chocolate and makes breakfast worth eating. :)

Snow!

We have snow in TN! I openned the blinds so they could see outside and mentioned snow. Elayna has never really seen snow. About an hour later they came running to me saying, "Mommy, mommy its snowing!" They were super excited. They watched the rest of the afternoon. I started dinner and bundled them up and took them outside. They had a lot of fun. We were only out for a few minutes. Well worth the cold, wet and time. Seeing their smiles and happy faces was priceless. We love our girls.

Post Tricker Treating

They had great time! They love seeing daddy. They were getting tired so headed home. We stopped by to see Bill and Louise and then headed home for lunch. Lilia fell asleep later. Elayna should have been the Energizer Bunny! She did not fall asleep. They wore their costumes all day.
Happy Halloween!

Pre Trickery Treating

I got a few pictures of girls before we went tricker treating. Lilia is Doc McStuffin and Elayna is Sofia the First. Lilia changed her mind from a good witch to Doc. Elayna was very sure of what she was going to be. They were excited. Elayna was not sure why, till she saw the candy.

This weeks fun....

We started out with dance class. Lilia is in ballet and loves her teacher Miss McCall. Elayna has creative movement with Miss DeLaney. She loves to dance to Tooty Ta. We get home late and they sleep really good. Then we had swimming lessons. We headed to park to play and then out to eat. Daddy met us for lunch. "Big guy who makes the fries" is what Lilia said when she saw the picture. We went visiting teaching this morning.

Canned Black Beans and More

This is from my Aunt. I half the recipes and use pint jars. Process them for 30 minutes.

Great to do in the winter, moistens the air and warms the home.

To each quart jar ad the amount of grain listed.  Add 1 tsp. salt.  Fill the jar to just below the neck with hot tap water - leaving 1 inch head space.  apply lid and ring firmly (finger tight), put in the pressure canner with 2 quartz of water in the canner.  Process at 15 pounds pressure for 55 - 60 minutes.  (60 minutes makes the beans a little too soft for me.)  Let canner cool on its own before opening, about 1 hour.

whole wheat - 1 1/2 C.                          Brown rice - 1 C.

Bulger - 3/4 C                                      Millet - 3/4 C

Cracked wheat - 3/4 C                          Oats - 1 C

Split peas - 1 1/4 C                              Lentils - 1 C

Buckwheat - 3/4 C                               Beans - 1 C

Barley - 1 C                                        Navy beans 1/2 C, brown rice 1/3 C

These canned beans or lentils are great on a Sunday after Church.  Open a jar and spice 'em up a little while you cook a pot of rice.  Add some canned chicken, spicy tomatoes and sprinkle grated cheese on top for a wonderful quick soup.  Add some tomatoes or sauce and a little onion powder or Cajun seasoning or try some chili powder and salsa or some molasses and bacon bits.  Be bold.  This combination of grain (rice) and legumes (beans) gives you complete protein with a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  I have added meat to the beans when I can them for a complete meal right out of the jar:  ham with Navy beans, 1/2# pork loin roast with 3/4  black beans with spices (to your own flavor = dash of garlic powder, 1/2 T chili powder, 18 t. oregano, 1 t onion powder)

The directions and commentary under the amounts are from the people I got this from originally.  Hope this helpful.  I have done pinto beans and loved the results.

Canned beans/grains on the shelf along with canned meats (chicken, hamburger, beef chunks) along with some canned tomatoes is a good feeling!!!!

Have fun!!

Ann

Daddy's Girls

We love daddy! Lilia did not want her picture taken. Then she changed her mind and Elayna would not look. Here are the best pictures.

Circus

We got to go to the circus. Wow, it was fun. Lilia does not like clowns. The girls love icees. Elayna ate a lot of cotton candy. Grandpa R and Daddy took them down to see the animals and maybe ride a long, elephant or camel. It was a "No". They would not go for a ride. Oh well, it cost extra anyway. Next time. Lilia loved the butterfly acrobats. Elayna enjoyed first bit and then got sleepy. We had a great time.

Coloring Right and Left

They are coloring together. Notice who is left and right handed. Lilia is getting more detailed in her coloring. Elayna scribbles away.

Park and Heights

These girls are fearless at the park. They love to swing high and climb high things.

Elayna's First Official Swim Lesson

We are taking swim lessons. I am in the water with Elayna. She is doing great. Needs to learn that this is not all fun time but work and learning. She can swim akready. More teaching her safety and rules (who is incharge....Mommy).
Lilia and her friend are in a class at same time as Elayna's class. Lilia loves to swim. Just getting basics and more practice. It takes a little while to get us all dry and clothed to go home but my friend helps. Thank you. Less stress. She also keeps an eye on Lilia for me.
*Elayna will not sit or stand still for a picture.

My Little Monsteretts

Her are my monster girls. Grandma R gave them slap bracelets and these fake teeth. They had fun playing and love the bracelets.

A Day with a Friend

We had a friend over. We spent all day together. It was a great day. They had tea party and played. I left them alone after few minutes. Water will not hurt much. The table was very wet, kitchen towel and Elayna. Easy to clean up. We had mini Oreo's for the cookies. I almost forgot but not these girls. We ate lunch and then cleaned up and headed to the park. Lilia got jealous if her friend showed interest in other kids at the park. It was interesting to watch. Elayna climbed higher on the webing dome. I had to get her down. Great day. Tired kids.

Googlie Eyes Art Project

Art project for the day....googlie eyes on blank paper. The girls used water colors to paint their "monster". Lilia decided hers was Doc Mcstuffin. Elayna had fun mixing colors. This project kept them busy for 45 minutes. Yeah! They also loved painting.

Shopping for Lilia

We went shopping at Goodwill today. We spent $20 and we got four pairs of pants for Lilia , two skirts for Lilia, 4 puzzles for Elayna and a tall glass jar for mommy. Lilia needed needed clothes for winter. It was hard to find something that fit her without being skinny jeans (a four year old does not need them tight). We found two brand new never worn pants and they are cute. We are going to add sparkles to purple pair of pants. Now to get her to wear them!

Slow Cooker Balsamic Chicken

http://m.skinnyms.com/slow-cooker-balsamic-chicken/

This is what we are having for dinner!  We love Italian food.

Profiles and Earings

I wanted to see the girls profiles. Lilia held still and Elayna did not.
Daddy got them new earings! They will wear these earings a long time.