One of the things that make me happiest in life are family traditions.
I have friends that laugh a bit at how many my family seems to have, and I am sure they often wonder why they are so important to me.

Our family has a few traditions, some that have come and gone over the years, and new ones that we have started recently. The longest standing one would have to be family movie night.

Every Friday in the Hagglund home, we do Family Movie Night. This consists of pizza, and a family friendly movie, and all of us camping out in the living room to watch and eat together. After that is done, the boys get into their Pj's and go downstairs for "their" movie, and Dave and I settle in for our date movie.

I am very anal about not missing it. So much so, that we have often bypassed other opportunities and activities, but it is just one of those things that make our family, the family it is.

Even when Dave and I were seperated there for awhile, we still did FMN. It is the one constant thing in my boys lives, and so it ranks as one of the highest important things for our family.

I even made it a stipulation when the boys went to visit my sister, and my parents over the summer. They had 3 FMN's with them, and my mom was very interested in how I can eat pizza EVERY friday without getting sick of it. I live with 3 boys...what do you think??? LOL.

A newer family tradition is our family walk on Sundays at the Dog Park. This is Snoopy's time to frolic and play, and socialize with other dogs, and its a time of "Who can throw each other into the snow the most"

Its great exercise, a lot of fun, and just a really feel good, happy, family time.

Michelle and Finn have been joining us a few times, and that has been wonderful!

Here are some pics:

I know, bizzare isn't it.

Who knew that Julie could feel great? I sure didn't.

Well, ok that is exagerating. Really though, I am feeling brightly optimistic about life these days.

I think it is a culmination of many things. Stress surrounding some major issues in my life have now resolved themselves, I am eating healthier, moving more, breathing more, meeting new online friends, growing friendships with older ones, and reconnecting with my family.

I suppose you could say that I see the light at the end of the ever talked about tunnel.

So...this is me stretching out my shoulders, and trying to make the tension that has lived there for years roll away....

Julie

Here is this week's recipe!
Comes together super easy, and is incredibly delicious and filling!

Servings: 8
WW Points: 3 or 5.5 with "extras"

1 pound lean ground beef (I use extra lean)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 cans of tomato soup
4 cans of water
1 1/2 cups of salsa
1/8 cup reduced sodium taco seasoning

Mix these all together and bring to a boil.

Add broken tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream, and 2 tsp of grated cheddar cheese as extras.

YUMMM..... 5/5 stars! Thanks Deanne :)

When Lisa was home visiting...She was so kind to be understanding of the insane amounts of dust that accumulate in my house.

There was one particular "gathering" of dirt and hair and dust that had taken up permanent residence in my hallway.

I kept meaning to sweep it up, but strangely enough, I had seemed to grow quite fond of it. Kind of like a bizzare little pet.

Lisa and I joked about it, and I promised her that I would leave it there till she comes back to visit.

So, here is a pic Lisa....look, hasn't she grown since you saw her last???

:)

While I know that most of you are enjoying the "snowless" winter, I thought I would post some of the reasons why I am thankful for it :)



I love this picture!



and even the dogs get in on it!

Borrowed from my friend Shannon, I thought that with the new year, I would try this out. Not guaranteeing it will last very long though, but we will try it out!

I thought that it would be a great way to get my boys involved in the kitchen, and spend some quality family time together. We had been doing something similar, but I wanted to just stick to one day a week.

So, last night we made our first attempt!




Spinach and Cheese Frittata

2 large egg(s)
2 large egg white(s)
1 cup spinach, fresh, baby leaves, chopped
2 Tbsp scallion(s), finely chopped ( I used 1 1/2 tbsp of Epicure's 3 onion dip mix instead)
1/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
cooking spray
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (I used cheddar and mozz)


Preheat oven to 400°F. Beat together eggs and egg whites in large bowl. Stir in spinach, scallion, salt and pepper.


Coat a 12-inch in ovenproof, nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Heat skillet over medium heat. Pour egg mixture into skillet and cook 5 minutes or until partially set.


Sprinkle cheese over eggs. Bake until cheese softens and eggs firm up, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 1 minute before cutting in 8 wedges. Yields 2 pieces per serving.

This is also 4 points per serving. (I am back on my need to lose weight kick again)

Overall, I give this recipe 4/5 stars. My boys ate it, which AMAZED me!! Served it up with some bacon and toast on the side, and it was very well received.

So Success for our first attempt! Thanks for the idea Shan!

It has been awhile since the big I-Monster has shown its face for me, but when he does, it is always a tough one to overcome.

It think that truthfully, I bring it on myself when I am stressed or confused, and cannot seem to find peace enough for my head and heart to slow down and allow me to sleep.

As a Christian, I have struggled with this for years. I know that I am supposed to cast away all fears, and not worry. I know that I am supposed to be able to have peace in my heavenly Father, but truthfully, I have never quite mastered that. I can sometimes, but not nearly as often as I would like.

My heart is heavy as we begin the year 2007. I have so much hope for this year. I want to believe it will be the best yet, but so far I have been saddened by goodbyes.

I think that my heart does things to protect itself on a regular basis. I think that being such an emotional person, I have had to "shut-off" where a lot of my family and friends are concerned. I keep them at a safe distance so as to allow myself to enjoy my life where I am, and not hurt at the thought of them being so far away all the time.

Unfortunatley, sometimes when I am face to face with this reality, it truly seems too much to bare. People I love with all my heart are struggling with so many things, and I feel so helpless.

One of my dearest friends lost her child at the beginning of this year. My heart is so broken for her. How can I, someone who believes in a just God, offer her any kind of hope or answers, when I myself wonder how God could allow such a horrible thing? I know that bad things happen, I know in my heart that these things can happen at any time, but it seems so useless and cruel. I am angry. I am sad. I wish I could be there for her. I wish I could make it all better. Again, I am helpless...

I do not mean for my first post of the year to be so depressing. I am hopeful for good things to come, but I also need to allow myself and others to feel the sadness of things that have come this year.

To those of you near and far, I am sorry I am not stronger. I may seem shut off sometimes, and uncaring. The truth is, I care too much. So, in case you need to hear it again, in the passing of the old, and beginning of the new. I love you...may the new year be a happy one filled with many blessings - and may we grow stronger with our trials, and build our relationships through our losses.

Julie

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Walk

Tia and her boys

"sisters"

Super "Dubbya"

Tia and the boys

I have not posted over the holidays. Been too busy sharing in some wonderful times with my family and my little sister.

I am so glad you came Lisa. I will remember our visit forever :)

I am short on words, I suppose the heart is still a bit heavy with the goodbye's so instead.....

Here are some wonderful photos and videos of our time!

Havin fun :) (one of the rare times they are ON the sleigh)

He, He, yeah its a bit blurry, but what do you expect, Dave took it while running next to the sleigh

Lorena, Tasha, Deanne and Michelle

Beautiful as ever, and dramatic as always!

Sleigh ride baby!

Ha I guess great minds think alike!

Saturday we had a sleigh ride to celebrate my birthday. However, it was quite nice as two of my friends, Deanne and Tasha share the same birthday, so it was triple the fun!

It was a blast. Aside from when my dear husband threw me off the sleigh and it took me at least 20 minutes to get back on. Ya can you say out of shape??

It was so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of town out to where the snow was thicker, and instead of hearing cars and things the faint sound and smell of horses lingered in the air. *which to my son was not necessarily pleasant. Apparently nine year old boys are obsessed with horse poop.

We attempted some Christmas Carols which was pretty funny actually. Apparently, we don't know the words as well as we thought.

I thought Michelle was gonna die laughing at me when I sang "corn pop" in frosty the snow man.

It was a wonderful memorable time, and I am so thankful for my husband and Chel who so generously put it together!

Thanks :) Love ya!

mom and her boy 

and here I sit at the computer.

My poor son, is crying out in his sleep. While he and everyone else in my house seems to be able to sleep through this, I just cannot.

There is nothing worse in life than when your child is hurting and you cannot do anything to stop the pain.

We took him to the Dr today, and they have us watching him. He figures it is just a flu, however I am starting to think it might be something else. I have never seen him suffer with so much pain. I just pray to God it passes soon.

I have spent a lot of time holding him in my arms the past couple days.

It has just seemed to hit me how fast he is growing, and how quickly the days that his Mom is his world are fading away.

I turn 30 in a couple days, and I am transported back to 10 years ago when I was carrying him.

There was so much pain in my life then. I had so many questions about what kind of parent I would be, or how I would manage on my own. I worried that I would screw him up badly because I was so young, and because of the circumstances of his birth.

One thing led to another, and I was hospitalized the month before he came. Thank goodness I had such an amazingly supportive family that came to keep me company and help me keep my sanity.

I remember though, how the doubts faded away the first time I sat in the Neonatal Unit at the hospital with this tiny child in my arms. How I looked down at his tiny, fragile body, with the tubes coming from his head, and thanked God for the gift of this child. I wondered what on earth I had ever done to deserve something so beautiful.

There was a bond between us I cannot explain. Something about such joy that came from sorrow. It was he and I against the world.

My sweet little baby boy.

Sometimes as life hurries us by, I forget to remember. I take it for granted. I do not take every waking moment to appreciate the gift I have been given. Not just in my oldest, but in my youngest child as well. In my husband, my parents, my sisters, my friends.

In this season, whether you believe in the birth of Christ or not, I urge you to remember the gifts we are given everyday.



I know that right now, in this moment, I am thankful...

And so, I thought it would be fitting to list 13 favorite memories, and favorite things that I love about my little sister!

1- Well, because it is the holiday season, I will first share one of my favorite Christmas memories with my sister. Seeing as she is five years younger than me, I knew before her about Santa. So, my dad who thought he was a brilliant man, went to good ole Canadian Tire and purchased a timer for the Christmas tree. He hooked it all up, so that the lights would not come on until 9 am on Christmas morning. Well, he sat us down and told us that Santa had told him that he would turn the lights on when he comes and therefore insuring Mom and Dad some extra sleep.

So, you can imagine when the oldest sister (who has ALWAYS had trouble sleeping) noticed the beautiful Christmas lights flashing in the hallway at 4 am, that she did what any mischievous older sister would do, and woke her little sis, to inform the very sleepy parents that Santa had come.

Oh man, I will never ever forget my dad's sleepy smug grin when he announced that "No, sweetie, Santa hasn't come yet!" and I got to inform him that "Oh yes Daddy, Santa did come, the Christmas lights are on" So, Daddy dearest, and oldest daughter bantered back and forth for a second, until he realized that he was out of luck, and off we went to enjoy the delight of Christmas morning.

There was magic in being the oldest sister for me, I loved watching Lisa's excitement, and being part of it. I loved watching for Rudolph with her every Christmas Eve, and putting out treats for Santa. Lisa and I would always stay up really late with our nervous anxious excitement of what the next morning would bring.

Yikes, all that and I am only on number one. HAHA. Ok, well...Onward...

#2- Ok, this memory is not actually mine. But I remember it all the same. One year my little sister and her best friend decided to go caroling. Off they went the brave little souls and caroled their little hearts out. It was (and you can correct me if I am wrong Lisa, but this is how I remember it) a couple weeks later that we noticed Lisa had a bunch of money, that mom later found out she had got from caroling, that people had assumed they were raising funds for some charity. HAHAHAHAH....I need to try that.

#3- I am not sure how many years it was in a row, but I know for awhile there, my mom and dad would let Lisa and I go watch a movie together at the theatre on Christmas Eve. It was so wonderful, just her and I. The one that stands out most for me is "Prancer" you remember that one Li? I can remember us standing outside after twirling around in the big fluffy white flakes that were falling down around us. A picture perfect Christmas Eve.

#4- HAHA, ok while this may not make much sense or be near as funny to the rest of my readers, I nearly died laughing when this happened. Fast forward to one of the last years that Lisa and I had Christmas together. I believe I had Drew at the time, but was not married yet. Well, anyway, for some reason Lisa and I had the giggles more than usual, and had been laughing all through the church service. My mother had threatened to separate us. Well, we finally got it under control and were solemnly singing along to one of the beautiful Christmas hymns, when a fly flew onto the overhead projector, thus making it appear huge. This was funny to us, and we started at it again. Just then, one of the ladies from our church who happened to have a larger than life personality, who unfortunately was also doing the overheads, decided to smack the fly. OMG, we both lost it. Nothing like some yuletide hysterics.

#5- Ok, since I am on the church Christmas memories, there is one that is not really funny, but one of my most favorite memories of all time. My family was not raised in church, in fact, I was the first to devote my life to Christ when I was 16. My little sister followed, and then by the Grace of God, my mom and dad. So, church on Christmas Eve, became something so much more to us then perhaps to others who had been doing it all their lives.

One year, my sister did an interpretive dance to the song "Go light your world" by Kathy Troccoli. It was my far, one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. Oh Lisa, I wish you could have seen it through my eyes. She wore a white dress, and it flowed so beautifully. You are gifted my sister....and my only wish, would be that someday you will pick up those dance shoes again. Of all the things I feel you have been lied to about in your life, that is the worst. You were born to dance, a gift from the Father, it is part of your heart - and that was something your dance teacher never understood.

#6- Do you remember the year we got the Cornsilk cabbage patch kids? Lisa and I had both wanted them so badly, and my smart mom, decided to wait until the end of Christmas day to give them to us...They were beautiful. As an aside, being a mom now, and understanding the pure insanity of fad toys, a huge shout out to my mom for going to the lengths I am sure you did to give them to us. I never thanked you enough. Millecent and Erica. That was there names. :)

#7- Now this memory does not necessarily have Christmas as part of it, but it was all about gift giving. When Lisa and I were small, every week we would do this gift exchange. It was hilarious, we would make up a package of stuff that was ours and give it to each other. We must have regifted almost everything we owned. Back and Forth, until we truly forgot who had it originally.

#8-HAHAHA, ok I just thought of this one. I think this might have actually been the last Christmas I had with Lisa actually. Lisa came home from University, and I was excited to host part of Christmas that year. So, I devised this wonderful Christmas brunch from my cooking magazines, and Lisa came over that morning to share it with us. Well, I made this overnight French toast bake, and it was awful!!! Inedible. YUCK. So then, we moved to the next dish. I for the life of me cannot remember what it was, but it was definitely equally yoked with the French toast. Oh man, my reputation for a good cook went right out the window. Luckily my smoothies were good. I hope you are ready to try again Lisa!

Ok, so there is nine memories....So now for a few of my favorite things!

#9-She has a great smile! The best really
#10-She is smart as a whip. Seriously, she amazes me
#11-She has a great sense of humor, one of the best, and she puts up with my not so funny stories
#12-She too can wiggle her nose (a Newton thing)

and lastly, but certainly not the least...

#13- She always has been, and always be, whether near or far, my best friend, and one of my greatest supporters.

I love you Lisa! I can't wait to see you :)

100 posts!

Wow, that seems crazy.
One of these days I would like to print this all off and have it binded. Give it to the boys as a keepsake of there crazy mom's ranting and ravings.

Today was eventful, I went to a ladies baking thing at Heart to Heart (Albright's Women's Ministries) it was fun, and I ended up with some nice baking.

I came home however to the shock of my new dog Snoopy having chewed the back of my loveseat off. This did not sit well with me, and I have to admit to sitting down for a good cry right then.

I so do not want to go down this road again. Our last dog Chumley was a Border Collie, and very high maintenance.

I had no sooner sent in the payment to adopt this little guy then he started to act up.

However, in his defense, he has had a long, and difficult road. I feel sad that he is so frightened in his kennel. The poor little guy must have been just beside himself to do what he did to my couch.

So, we went out and purchased a new plastic kennel that is all enclosed. We are hoping this will help with the problem. I am planning to help him adjust to using it over the next couple days and hopefully this will nip it in the bud.

He is such a sweetie otherwise.

I have added a couple funny pics. These are handprint reindeer antlers Wes made at school.

Well, I was thinking about what I should write about tonight, and figured that while this is an embarassing story (one of many) it is also very entertaining while at the same time, a bit of a conundrum for me.

A week ago, I realized that I was getting a tad too hairy for my liking. Being from the genetics that I am, I am blessed with very bushy eyebrows, and heaven forbid, a bit of a moustache. (Oh shoot me now)

So, in the spirit of trying to save money as I have been doing lately (with me off work) I decided that I would tackle the job myself and wax the beasties off!

Well, this is entirely fine in theory, however, I really have very little experience, and those of you that know me, know that I am anything but graceful.

So, anyway there I stood, in front of the mirror in my bathroom, with my melted wax in hand, and very carefully applying the thick gooey evil stuff to my face.

Well, wouldn't you know it the phone rang. So, I carefully balanced the wax on the sink and ran off in search of the phone (which really is another issue because I really felt that my dear husband should have answered it, but alas, he was busy checking his fantasy football scores AGAIN)

My dear little doggie snoopy decided he wanted to check out the wax, and managed to knock it over. So, I did what any woman with a face full of wax would do. I started yelling at the top of my lungs. Which brought my oldest son to my side to see what was the matter. Instead of feeling sorry for me in my plight, he continued to stare at what was now the hardened wax on my face.

I am sorry for that mental image my son.

So, thinking I would be brilliant, I tried to clean up the hot sticky wax with some papertowel. Yep, you can imagine that worked well.

Fast forward to the next great idea. Hey! Its wax, I will put a terry cloth towel over it and rip it off, just like it was an eyebrow. I great big gigantic eyebrow!

Well, that did not work either. So, I figured I would leave the towel on and pull it off after it hardened.

So, the next night I attempt to rip it off, and I pull and pull, and it finally gives, but not before I am thrown across the room and hit my tailbone on the wall. I look at the towel and am perplexed to see that my flooring is now attached to my towel.

So, I look down at the subfloor and notice some water damage. So, I stuck the towel, and flooring back on the floor, which now, needs to be completly redone.

Moral of the story- its a hell of a lot cheaper to pay 20 dollars at the salon.

To those of you that visit at my home. Seriously man, just look away from the towel. It will be there for awhile. Maybe someone will take pity on me and bring me a nice festive holiday rug to throw over top of it.

Uh huh.

Merry Christmas.

Ok, so seeing as how November was National Blogger Month, and I barely wrote at all, I was inspired by a Frugal friend of mine Shan (who by the way, I think writes one of the most entertaining and wonderful blogs ever) to try my hand at doing a bit more with my blog this month!

So, it is my challenge to write 15 new blogging blips (that is what I will call them for lack of a better word) between now and the year 2007!

That is on average once every other day. Oh and this one counts! HEHE.

Ok, all my friends in the blogosphere, anyone care to join me?

Smilin 

at the park 

very comfy 

Snoopy 

Almost two weeks ago, we brought home a dog from a shelter that rescued him from death in the states.
We have never done this before, but the thought of saving an animals life has such a huge impact on me, that we decided we would give it a try.

So, Snoopy has come to stay with us. He is somewhere between 2-5 years old. (No one seems to know for sure) I do not know to what extent he was abused, but I can tell you from the moment we saw him his sad eyes told a story. He was so timid and quiet we were unsure what to do with him.

At first he would not follow us up the stairs, and he would quietly shadow us, ever cautious, always waiting for our hand to come down on him.

We bathed him, and he lost so much hair it alarmed me. The poor little guy was so thin and bony you could easily see his ribcage.

He had trouble looking at us for a day or two, and slept most of the time.

I remember David carrying him gently up the stairs for bed time and him staying put afraid to move.

This dog is simply not the same now. Within the two weeks we have had him, he is no longer afraid of us. He runs up the stairs after us! He snuggles with us at bedtime, goes for at least two walks everyday, to the dogpark on Sunday, eats like a horse, and we have even heard him bark a couple times.

He still cowers sometimes, still seems unsure a bit near strangers (especially men), but for the most part his growth has restored my faith in the impact we as humans can have on the lives of animals.

My oldest son, came to me the other day while I was sitting with snoop, and said "Mom, do you know that Snoopy is your therapy dog?" I looked at him, smiled at his profoundness, and asked him what he meant. He explained that he had read about how dogs can provide therapy to people in hospitals and schools, and said that he knew that I was sad sometimes and that Snoopy had been sent to us to make me smile again.

And that...he has.

Congratulations Wesley!
We are so proud of you!!

I love, love , love her voice. The lead singer of Lone Justice. Just found this one, and guess what? I love it too. :)

My soon to be astronaut 

a bit big for the milk truck at the mall, isn't he? My how they grow! 

being goofy 

getting really really wet 

ok its a water gun, get your thoughts out of the gutter!!!!