Sunday, November 30, 2008

Today & an Answer!

So by the time I got everyone dressed and buckled, I opened the garage and this is what I saw! Between looking out the window and getting downstairs the road went from nothing on it to covered with no sight of the plow. So we abandoned the idea of sliding down our hill and driving 30 min to church.
So the kids played outside for a bit until the snow changed to freezing rain/slush.
So here we are staying warm inside, and blogging! :)
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So after my last post I got a couple questions about my crazy plastic issue, so here is one part.
What do we use instead!


The tower in the back is where we will start, they are a great enamel ware set from Gooseberry Patch I have had them for a I think 4 years and I LOVE them! Then the white bowl with a lid is actually just a corelle ware bowl, when I bought my dish set back 10 years ago they had these lids you could buy to fit the cereal bowls! Under that is one of a set of Pyrex dishes with lids this is the smallest the other two were in the fridge! I dream of having some of their other sets! :) The green bowl is indeed plastic, it is made by Preserve from recycled yogurt containers, and contains so phthalates or BPA. I only use these for dry snacks for car trips and such. The red dish is an antique "food keeper" from Pyrex, it has a glass top as well. I have a whole set that I love dearly and use regularly, there are a few companies now making these with a rubber seal to keep things more fresh including Ikea. The the thermos, it is stainless steel made by Thermos, I bought these from Walmart a couple years ago and they go everywhere with us!


For kitchen storage I prefer glass, the hinged lid container in the back was one my mom gave me, the hinged one in front I found at goodwill for $2. Ikea has new ones but the glass is so thin and the metal clasp so thin and flimsy I really suggest watching your thrift stores. These have been dropped on the linoleum with no issues. The glass jar with the metal top is from Ikea, I have a few of these filled with beans and such they are great. The white enamelware canister is great for keeping bags of dried fruit, crackers and such, It has a rubber seal. And of course the great old stand by canning jars! Inexpensive, easy to find and so many uses!! :)



Now what about serving... to kids!!! :) In the back we have a set of "camp dishes" they are our mainstay we bought them online from a camping store, but many walmarts also carry them. The light blue set is a beautiful set my dad gave the kids, it is a little smaller so Riley is now growing out of them, you can get cute ones from Magic Cabin & Nova & more. For adults we use wide mouth canning jars for glasses (we use to have real glasses but super man Dan did not know his own strength and while washing them would stick his hand in with a dish cloth to clean and then burst the glass) The kids like glass glasses too, so I pick up these too cute little "glasses" at D.I. at my moms house for about .25 cents. They originally came with cheese in them that many people use for cheese balls! They are THICK and have been thrown and never broken! The tow little metal dishes are from Target we use them for condiments and such! The littlest came with lids!! And then the bottle, this is a Sigg bottle. It is stainless steal, we bought the "sports bottle" top they are easier to use than the one that came with it!




And then you have to carry it all in style!! :) Here are a couple metal lunch boxes we have they are pretty easy to find! But generally if I am packing a meal for the whole family I put it in a canvas grocery bag! :)
If you look at these photos of my kitchen you will notice that there is something in your kitchen that is not in mine... a microwave. This makes it no problem for me to keep my leftovers in enamelware dishes as I reheat things on the stove. Yea I have a thing about microwaves too! :) Good thing Dan loves me so much!! :) So if you do choose to use a microwave, glass is the best bet, plastic should NEVER be in your microwave (not even a lid). And I have read that if you use your correll ware in the microwave it changes the composition of it enough that it weakens the durability of it so that when you do drop it it will shatter easier.
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So there you are! :) Have you found any great alternatives?






Thursday, November 20, 2008

November Fun!

I know where have I been!!?? You know life! :)
Here is some of our fun this month so far!!
On the 9th Jacob turned 5! I cannot believe it!!!!

Jake was just a little bit excited over Grandma J.'s gift, a cowboy hat!! Jake is most often found in his cowboy boots (not for long though, he's growing too fast) and has decided among many other things he is going to be a cowboy when he grows up! :) The hat has not left his head much since he opened it! :)
Jake LOVES to listen to books and was SO excited to get two book/CD combos from Grandpa M. He had one I bought him for our trip to UT. this summer and he is very glad to have more choices now!! :)

He also got a gigantic dino puzzle, he loves dinosaurs too! And the box has a handle so he is often just toting it around the house! :)


Do I not have the cutest cowboy ever!!!



And from us Jake got a doll who is now a great friend (who needs pj's I am told often), and a green straw bottle!
A few years ago I got rid of all the plastic in our kitchen including sippys and such because of the safety concerns for my family's health. Well I found these recently and so now the kids are excited to have them!


With the COLD temperatures (today it is in the 30's, with a wind chill in the 20's and flurries expected) we have had quite a bit of dress-up time! Here is Fern our hula gal! Thanks Aunt Mary, Ryan, & Novella!! :)

Today Fern and I are on our own, the boys are out and about! I let Fern watch a little show while I took a shower and this is the comfy gal I found when I was done. It really is cold if Fern is this covered!!



Hope every one's November is going great!!








Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Yes it is November but...

This is what I am dreaming of.
Plus no new photos because my batteries died Halloween night and I seem to have misplaced my charger! Hrumph!
So instead you get my dream, what do you expect, look at the name of my blog, I daydream a lot!