Overnight Oats

I have started making overnight oats for breakfast every morning and I love it. I know I'm eating something good for me and I make it the night before so I don't have to think too hard first thing in the morning and it's all ready for me. My kids also really enjoy it (3 and 2 years old.) 

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

I was craving chocolate chip cookies, but I was out of eggs so I tried the recipe you can find on Spice Up the Curry.

Cloth vs. Disposables Revisited

We recently went on a 2 week trip and I had to switch to disposables since it was difficult to wash diapers while we were gone. The ease of the disposables had me asking myself again why we use cloth diapers. Is it because it's more environmentally friendly or because they're safer for the baby or because it's cheaper?

(You may be surprised at my conclusion!)

Colour Book

Taking 3 pieces of paper, I folded them in half and sewed them together down the crease to create a little booklet. As we learned each colour, we coloured the next page of the book using only colouring utensils of that colour. 

Learning Shapes with a Block Puzzle

My boys enjoyed this block shape puzzle. I made it using a piece of cardboard. I traced each block I wanted to use with the a corresponding colour and coloured it in. It was so simple and easy to make and my boys really enjoyed the challenge of matching the shapes.

Learning Shapes while Painting

This painting project was really fun!

I found this idea on mess for less through Pinterest.

Eye-Spotted Lady Beetle

I have never noticed a ladybug like this before. It really surprised me. The white rings around its black spots are unique to this species.

Colour Collage Booklet

I prepared for these booklets by cutting out pictures of things of that colour from magazines ahead of time.

Cut and Paste Colour Booklet

I made a few little booklets by folding three 8 1/2" x 11" pieces of paper in half and with a needle and thread sewing down the middle. 

Checkered White Butterfly

The Checkered White Butterfly is also sometimes called the Southern Cabbage Butterfly. The gender is obvious because the butterflies' male and female patterns are actually very different from each other.

This butterfly is male. The female Checkered White Butterfly has many more dark markings on it than the male.

Prominent Moth: Notodonta Torva

This fuzzy moth was found on the wall of our house. I thought at first that it must be a Tussock Moth, but it turns out to have been a Prominent Moth. Both generally have fuzzy forelegs.

Lake Darner

This dragonfly landed on the baby's blanket while we were at the park. The mosaic-like patterns on its body are amazing.

photo taken August 2014

Many Plumed Moth: Alucita

This tiny moth was found on the wall of our house. It may not look so camouflaged, but it was so small that it really blended in well in the shadow of a crack. I passed it without seeing it the first time even though I was looking for moths.

photo taken August 2014

Coconut Apple Oatmeal Spice Cookies

This experiment turned out beautifully! Sooo yummy!

Red-Belted Bumble Bee

We found this bumble bee on these yellow tansy flowers. At first, we thought it must be a honey bee because of the red stripes on its back. I didn't know there were so many kinds of bumblebees! You should definitely take a second look the next time you see one.

Photo taken August 2014

There are actually a few different kinds of bumblebees with red stripes. 

Learning Shapes with Toy Cars

My 3 year old often plays with his cars on our couch. He loves to line them all up as if they were in a parking lot. Today, he surprised me with a new one and called me over saying "circle, circle". To my great surprise, he had formed his cars into a circle. By the time I got back with my camera, he had created a second circle next to the first.

Two-Spotted Looper Moth

Found this moth on our porch one day. Some moths are so interesting looking!

Are Non GMO Project Verified products really non GMO?

I happened upon this article on Natural News about how Non GMO Project cereals may still contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

I was pretty skeptical about that, but the article explained that products can be enrolled in the Non GMO Project verification program if they are heading in the direction of being non GMO even though they aren't currently non GMO.

I wanted to see for myself. So I got our box of Kashi Go Lean Crunch! cereal to check it out. (Kashi was one of the brands the article says contains high levels of GMOs.) There was the label on the front:

Primitive Minnow Mayfly: Siphlonurus

I found this mayfly in my backyard. Mayfly larvae live in water and we live near a river so I'm sure that's where it originated.

photo taken August 2014

Genetically Modified Plants List

After watching this documentary by BBC and Fed Up we've decided to make an effort to be more careful about eating genetically modified foods.  I don't want to debate here about whether or not GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are safe. But I did want to share my findings with you about what foods are or contain GMOs.

I researched the different foods and here are my findings on the GM plants. I'm not an expert and welcome any comments, corrections and additions.

Putnam's Looper Moth

This moth was by the light on our porch one morning. As well as Putnam's Looper Moth, it has also been called Lempke's Gold Spot. It caught my attention being bright gold coloured with white spots. 

Yeast Donuts

We used to make glazed yeast donuts as a family from time to time and it brings back lots of great memories! They are so yummy! Store bought do not compare!

Ichneumon Wasp: Itoplectis Conquisitor

This brightly coloured wasp was found in my backyard. Apparently this type of wasp is very common although I've never noticed such colours on a wasp before.

photo taken August 2014

Chocolate Cake

This is my go-to recipe when I just want a simple chocolate cake. It's a recipe I got from my mom that I've made since I was a kid.

Maple Spanworm Moth

This moth was found on the wall in the front of the house. We leave the light on overnight and often in the morning there are a variety of moths on the wall there nearby.

photo taken August 2014

Green Lacewing: Chysoperla rufilabris

Lately I've seen a lot of these insects around. These are a type of Green Lacewing. Their adult form here eats nectar, pollen and aphid honeydew, but in this genus their larvae prey on other small insects. 

photo taken August 2014

Forest Tent Caterpillar Moth

We had tons of tent caterpillars on the poplar tree in our backyard this summer. My 2 year old and I had lots of fun collecting them. I should have taken some pictures because it was amazing that there were so many. (Apparently they can be quite the pests.) Just before a rain they'd all gather in the elbows of the tree branches.

photo taken August 2014

I'd been watching for them to turn to chrysalises, but instead all these silky cocoons showed up. I hadn't realized they would turn into moths.

photo taken August 2014

All these moths showed up in our front porch and it was quite a while before I connected the dots and realized that these were the Forest Tent Caterpillar Moths. My children were again very excited to discover them all over our front wall outside our house.

Parchment Paper Road

My 2 year old loves to play with his cars and spends a lot of time at the couch driving them around. We've thought about getting him a carpet road, but my husband came up with this idea and I thought it was so neat. 

Bean Bags

I made a set of bean bags with a matching appliquéd bag for a birthday party. It was such a big hit that one of the mom's asked me to make a set for her too. 

Four-Spotted Ghost Moth

This moth showed up on the poplar tree in our backyard one evening. I thought it was actually really pretty for a moth. After doing some research I found out it is a Four-spotted Ghost Moth. They can come in two colour forms: yellow-brown (shown here) and purple-grey. 

photo taken August 2014

3 Under 3

There have been a lot of changes in our family lately. One being the birth of our third child, another boy. I guess with so many changes I should have known I'd go overdue. I was 5 or 10 days late depending on which due date you're going by (the ultrasound or my cycle). But baby came in his own timing and we are so thankful for another boy!

Men's T-shirt to Maternity Shirt

I found this tutorial for making men's t-shirts into maternity shirts (diy Maternity: The Room to Grow Top) and gave it a go with a couple of my husband's old t-shirts. I wasn't so sure about it, but they turned out so nice and are the most comfortable maternity shirts I own!

Blueberry- Strawberry- Banana Smoothie

I make smoothies all the time in our Ninja blender. So I thought I'd share the way I like to make it.

Ninja Master Prep Blender Review

This is my ninja blender.

It was a great blender and could handle pretty much anything. I used it for anything from blending soups into cream soups, making baby food, even to grinding coffee beans and blending grated soap into a fine powder.

Most of all, I use it for making smoothies and in the summer months I really use it a lot. I switched from using all fruit (with a milk or juice base) to using half fruit and half ice (with a milk or juice base) to keep more hydrated. 

It has always been able to handle anything I've thrown at it and can make a thicker smoothie than most other blenders that I've seen making smoothies.

Mushroom Spinach Egg Bake

I made this last night for supper. I adapted this recipe from here. I should make egg bakes more often.

27 Weeks Pregnant

That's right! Baby #3 is just 13 weeks away! Baby is due May 1st and ultrasound says it looks like another boy. So I'll have 3 kids under age 3 - all boys. Woohoo!