Yesterday afternoon we headed to Toronto to pick up my mother-in-law from the Airport. She’s visiting for 2 weeks. Chloe was super-excited to go to the airport and get GG. For the past several days, every time she saw an airplane she wondered if GG may be on it. Well, GG is finally here and Chloe has all sorts of plans for book-reading, walks and sidewalk chalk drawings. Let’s hope GG can keep up!

Add to that, a visit to Krispy Kreme which is {kind of} on the way to the airport and you’ve got yourself a fantastic adventure! I love that they have the big windows and you can watch the donuts proof, fry and glaze. The littles thought it was fantastic. I was horribly disappointed that they no longer offer samples when the light is on. I understand with the economy, they may need to scale back but they could at least give them to the little ones. You know, only for those under 10 or something. Or maybe, sample with purchase.

Anyway, visiting family and Krispy Kreme donuts are finer things in my book!

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Krispy Kreme Adventures is a post from Beautiful Calling.

I know I already posted about our Apple Cider Bee but what can I say, I guess we love apples

Saturday was overcast and windy but it wasn’t too cold or rainy; perfect for apple picking. We headed out to a local orchard and picked some apples. DH (dear husband) loves honeycrisp apples. The demand is high and the honeycrisp trees do not produce as abundantly as other types of apples so all that was left of them were the apples on the very tops of the trees. I’m thankful for a tall husband.

We also got in a hay ride. Both little ones enjoyed it. Mommy and daddy enjoyed it too! Hayrides are a finer thing for sure!

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Sunday we had a fellowship after church and I made some really great apple tartlets to take.

Perfect Pie Crust:

This pie crust is the easiest one I have come across and it is so versatile! By adjusting the amount of sugar, it can be sweeter for dessert purposes or savory for a meat pie. It certainly works for me!

• 1 1/2 sticks of butter, cold, diced
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/3 cold shortening
• 1/2 cup of ice water

Put flour, sugar, butter and shortening in the food processor and pulse until butter is the size of peas. With the food processor running, pour the cold water down the feed tube one tablespoon at a time until the dough forms a ball. Dump onto floured board and press into a ball. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes before rolling out.

Apple Filling:

• Diced Apples (I used Spy apples and they held texture wonderfully when cooked)
• 1-2 Tablespoons of Poudre Douce (Epicure baking seasoning. You can buy it here through Carmen Locke. I think it has a mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg so you can simply add a little of those if you don’t want to buy this)
• 2 Tablespoons of Butter
• Equal Parts White and Brown Sugar; Sweeten to Taste
• Flour to thicken

Cook at medium-high heat, covered on stovetop until softened.

Crumble Topping:

• 3/4 Cups Flour
• 1/2 Cups White Sugar
• 1/4 Cups Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Oatmeal
• 1/4 Cup Butter, Cold, Diced

Combine all ingredients in mixer until butter is the size of peas and mixture is crumbly.

Put It Together:

I then rolled dough out and cut into circles with an upside down cup and pressed unto muffin tins and baked for approx 10 minutes. Pour in filling, add crumble and bake for 15-20 minutes more.

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This post links to This post links to Mouthwatering Mondays, Gratituesday,  Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday and Finer Things Friday.

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Easy Pie Crust & Fabulous Apple Tartlet is a post from Beautiful Calling.

My fab new umbrella / DH poking our daughters eye out (or at least it looks that way doesn’t it? LOL

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who didn’t have plan a normal wedding but got married in the lemon grove in Italy.

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who decided they’d rather have a midwife than an OB 26 weeks into their pregnancy. (And though it was a scramble, we found one!)

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who didn’t have their babies in a hospital but rather at home. (Praise the Lord for healthy, wonderful babies!)

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who always have toys covering their floors, whose dining room table is often a fort and whose sprinkler is for entertainment purposes and not for watering grass.

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who serve cupcakes with too many sprinkles for breakfast once a month. (mmm – yummy!)

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who cloth diaper their babies. (Which isn’t abnormal online in the blogging circle but is kind of odd to others in our real-life circle)

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones believe you can make anything at home from scratch. (Which is surprisingly true most of the time LOL)

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who let their daughter wear her tutu or her red rubber boots every day. Why not? She looks cute, she likes it and there are only a certain number of years you can wear one daily!

• We are THAT family. You know, the ones who spent over $200 on rug shampooer rentals this year before finally buying one of their own.

We did not have little ones when we built our house and carpeted with a light colored rug (dining room included). In the past 2 years, our poor rug has seen more than it’s share of:

• Vaseline
• Penaten
• Cornstarch
• Baking Powder
• Cough Syrup
• Chocolate Milk
• Chocolate Timbit
• Toothpaste

The day of the carpet cleaner purchase, I hadn’t even finished my attempt to clean up the red cough syrup (from a child proof bottle! How did she get it open?!?) when I discovered her quietly finger painting with the toothpaste.

Safety in the Kitchen – Very important!

Feeding John-John our homemade Melon-scicles; no one else would eat them LOL

Part of being THAT family is admitting embarrassing moments. Chloe was days old when she developed hiccups and gripe water didn’t help. Wanting to help, logically, I growled at her to scare her to make the hiccups go away. Needless to say, she screamed in fright and turned red from howling, yet the hiccups stayed. That was not my best parenting moment. (What was I thinking?!?!)

I’ve been a mommy for 2 1/2 years and so far…it’s been an adventure; one that I am so thankful to be a part of. Being THAT family? It certainly is a finer thing!

• This post links to We are THAT Family and Finer Things Friday

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Yes, Sometimes We Are THAT Family… is a post from Beautiful Calling.

My husband may not be superman but he certainly is a super man and I am so thankful for him; his cooking abilities and his willingness to share them with our family! He certainly is a finer thing!

Last week I was trying to create a menu and wanted input as to what he would like to eat. He was not forthcoming with the help so I put him down in charge of a meal on Thursday (daddy’s culinary creation) but didn’t tell him. Well, he actually reads my blog and with a chuckle, he made dinner Thursday night! Now it may not look all that impressive but I’ll tell you: it was one of the tastiest meals I’ve had all month and I think I enjoyed it more than Thanksgiving (mentioned below!)

Beef Goulash

• 3lbs chuck roast (cut into cubes)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 chopped onions
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 5 tbsp sweet paprika
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 cups of stock
• 2 1/2 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2  large red peppers chopped
• 1 1/2 large green pepper chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream (more for dollop-ing before eating)
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

1. Preheat to 30 deg. Dry beef thoroughly then salt ad pepper to taste. Heat oil in ovenproof Dutch oven to medium high. Add meat and brown well 2-3 minutes per side. (Do this in two batches as to not overcrowd). Then transfer meat to a medium bowl and set aside.
2. Add 1tbsp oil to pan and onions and a pinch of salt. Reduce to medium heat and cook until softened and browned (6-8 minutes). Add garlic, paprika and flour and cook for an additional 2+/- minutes.
3. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of stock and stirring until incorporated and thickened. Gradually add remaining stock then stir in the tomato paste, bay leaves and a little salt. Add browned beef (and any juices) and increase heat to bring to a simmer. Cover pot and put in the coven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from the oven and stir in peppers. Cover and return to oven for another 40+/- minutes.
5. Add 1/2 cup sour cream and the parsley.
6. Serve on top of egg noodles, rice or steamed potatoes with an extra dollop of sour cream.

Thanksgiving by Daddy

Last Monday was Thanksgiving and I spent the day cleaning at my mother’s house. My mother has been living with my grandmother ever since my grandfather’s death in June and Gram’s subsequent cancer diagnosis. My mother had the opportunity to get away for a week with my father. Thankfully my sister’s husband was able to take the week off to watch their four older boys, enabling my sister to take her baby and move in with Gram for the week.

I thought I would lend a hand by giving mom’s place a thorough cleaning since she has been stretched so thin the past couple months trying to maintain two homes.

After a night of little sleep (what is going on, John?), I headed to my mothers early in the morning. I spent the entire day washing windows, dusting, vacuuming and was beat by the end of the day. I came home, wondering what I would be coming home to and…

DH had Thanksgiving Dinner almost entirely completed, the house looked very much like I had left it in the morning, the children were happy, fed, clean and the most amazing thin? DH wasn’t even flustered or frazzled from a day of cooking with little ones!

Snippets of that meal are here:Cauliflower Gratin, Stuffing, BBQ Turkey Breast, Bacon & Brussels Sprouts. We also had mashed potatoes, gravy, home made cranberry sauce with a DQ ice cream cake for dessert (compliments of Nana).

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This post links to This post links to  Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Gratituesday and Finer Things Friday

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Super Man and the Beef Goulash is a post from Beautiful Calling.

Saturday we went to an apple cider bee hosted by friends at our church. They host it every year at their farm and all the church family is invited! Apple Cider parties are definitely a Finer Thing!

What fun it. Chloe was able to help put the apples into the grinder and was very excited to ‘help’! DH got right in there too! After grinding they go into a big press. The liquid comes out and then the ladies strained it into the containers. With a wiggly John-John in the sling I wasn’t really able to help in that capacity. Instead, I was the official bee swatter. It’s amazing how may bees there were at our bee LOL.

In hind sight it maybe wasn’t so nice of me to kill the very bees who pollinated the trees enabling the apples to grow for the cider we were making. But there was a lady there who was allergic to bees so it was kind of necessary.

Anyway, I am thankful for bees, apples, wonderful fall weather and fabulous friends who open their hearts, homes and cider presses

We came home with our bounty, drank some and pasteurized the rest. Today I froze some as well as canned some. I visited this website to see how to do it. I’m going to pull some out at Christmas and New Years. A little mulling spice and some cinnamon; what a special holiday treat!

• This post links to This post links to Gratituesday,  Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesday, Works for Me Wednesday and Finer Things Friday.

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Fresh Pressed Apple Cider (I’m a Bee Swatter) is a post from Beautiful Calling.

I love Fall! It is one of the finer things in life! I was a lucky winner of a fall related giveaway earlier this week at Amy’s Finer Things. Hurray!

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love crisp, fresh temperatures and cozy sweaters. I love the smell of fall, the brilliant colors of falling leaves and the crunchy sound they make beneath your feet as you head out on a fall adventure.

Home Made Hash Browns: We had breakfast for dinner; eating at 4:30pm today. It was yummy. DH made pancakes, eggs, bacon and homemade hash browns. I’ve always loved the hash browns at Denny’s but our hash browns tonight rivaled theirs! Simply grate potatoes, ring them out well in a cloth to rid them of extra water and then fry, pushing them down in the pan to get rid of the last of the moisture. Add cheese and/or ketchup.

Tonight I am curled up on our sheepskin rug (purchased from a sheep farm near my home town during a visit a couple years ago). DH lit the pilot light on the fireplace tonight and I just turned it on. Mmm…toasty!

Saturday morning a friend is hosting an apple cider bee at their farm. How fun. I know that Chloe will love it. I hope we have wonderfully sunny, crisp, clear day for it.

What is your favorite thing about fall?  What is your favorite fall activity?

• This post is linked to Finer Things Friday

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Jenn is wife to one, mother of three and above all, a humble servant seeking to honor the Lord with her life. Fall: Apple Bees, Cozy Sweaters, Colorful Leaves (and a home made hash brown recipe :) is a post from Beautiful Calling.