What am I into today?
First of all, I had a meeting at Church last night for Little Church. We are blessed to have to have this meeting because we have TOO MANY KIDS! LOL We're splitting them up Kinders through 3rd grade and 4th grade and up. It's awesome!
So.. I left Mark at home with all three kids. I had nursed Cody before I left and gave food to Mark if he seemed hungry later. I came home and I was so giggly excited for Mark and the kids. He got creative and thought outside the box! He had gone into my shed and found the little helium tank left over from a party. Then he scrounged around to find balloons. By the time I got home, there were 8 balloons floating around and the kids were having a blast!!! Such a simple thing... but so much fun for kids! For Mark to take this creative step into having fun with the kids was awesome to see! Mark is not usually this creative of what to do with them once it's too cold and dark outside to go out, so I was very very happy to see what he did! Oh... and he had actually taken a shower with all three by himself as well and they were all in jammies. Cody was actually sound asleep!
So what about actually today? It's supposed to rain today. All. Day. So, I picked up some new coloring books at Target in the $1 section last night. I also found one of those books where you just use water and 'paint' the water on and the colors come alive! I haven't seen one of those in years, and I'm sure my kids will love it later today!
We're also going to work on Valentine's for friends and family. Very simple, but we got some of the Valentines fun foam sticker things from Michaels and that's what's going to work for us.
I also found some sheets on clearance at Target last night. And I'm considering using them as curtains in my dining room. But they need some jazzing up. So, I'm trying to figure out how to do that. I even bought the spring loaded curtain rods. I'm trying to do it without sewing at all, and I know if I use my pinking shears, they shouldn't fray. Painting? Batik? I don't know how to jazz them up totally yet... but I will be playing around and figuring it out today! Ooh... what about a bleach batik and then an overdye? Hmm... sounds like it might work. I'll take pictures as I go and then post it!
Have a great Tuesday!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Monday, Monday
What am I into today?
Recovering after the weekend. Seriously.
First things first. Mark's party was awesome! We had a blast! Good times, good food, great company! You can't ask for more! I was in the kitchen ALL day on Saturday, but it was totally worth it! I made my homemade hot dog buns. These came out wonderful! Here's a pic of most of them all stacked, cut, and ready to eat. My family 100% approved! I had plenty left over so I gave some away, and the rest we will have tonight with leftover hot dogs.
I also had left over baked beans. Also, delicious. And some leftover coleslaw. To be honest, it was not more than 6 months ago that I realized that I LIKE coleslaw. Until then, I just thought, "I don't like cabbage so why would I like coleslaw?" Ha! Now I love it!
Lastly, I also had some of the individual 7 layer dip cups. My family also loved these! They thought it was so ingenious. I was honest and said I found it online, but they still loved it. Here's a pic of mine. Mine are not as pretty as the ones in the link, and I didn't have olives on hand, but they still came out nice.
As I was making the dip cups, I was thinking, "Wow. If it weren't for the salsa, these would be really good!" I'm not a salsa fan. Never have been. I really don't like spicy at all. In that sense, I'm not my mother's child. The hotter the better for her! Mark also likes things spicy and hot hot hot! Not me... if it's even mildly spicy, I'll dump sour cream on it! LOL
I did also make a homemade lemon cake that Mark asked for, and that was gone for all but 2 pieces by the end of the night. Yep... I was a busy Mama that day! Because inbetween all that, I was taking care of my kids and getting the house cleaned up a bit and moving the kitchen table around and blowing up balloons, and what not. Yeah. Busy.
Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. Anyone watch the game? We were at my inlaw's for the game and we enjoyed the company. It was a good game, but since I'm not that into sports, I really couldn't tell you much about it. Good food though! ROTF!
Today? Today, Austin goes to school, then Mark and I, along with Audrey and Cody will be going out to breakfast with my awesome inlaws. Then we will hang out to go pick Austin up from school. Come home, get the kids down for naps, and in a perfect world, take naps ourselves. HA! We'll see!
Dinner is leftovers. Thank goodness. Easy peasy.
Tomorrow? Tomorrow needs to be a crafting day for me. I'm craving it. I NEED it! More on that later!
Happy Monday!
Recovering after the weekend. Seriously.
First things first. Mark's party was awesome! We had a blast! Good times, good food, great company! You can't ask for more! I was in the kitchen ALL day on Saturday, but it was totally worth it! I made my homemade hot dog buns. These came out wonderful! Here's a pic of most of them all stacked, cut, and ready to eat. My family 100% approved! I had plenty left over so I gave some away, and the rest we will have tonight with leftover hot dogs.
I also had left over baked beans. Also, delicious. And some leftover coleslaw. To be honest, it was not more than 6 months ago that I realized that I LIKE coleslaw. Until then, I just thought, "I don't like cabbage so why would I like coleslaw?" Ha! Now I love it!
Lastly, I also had some of the individual 7 layer dip cups. My family also loved these! They thought it was so ingenious. I was honest and said I found it online, but they still loved it. Here's a pic of mine. Mine are not as pretty as the ones in the link, and I didn't have olives on hand, but they still came out nice.
As I was making the dip cups, I was thinking, "Wow. If it weren't for the salsa, these would be really good!" I'm not a salsa fan. Never have been. I really don't like spicy at all. In that sense, I'm not my mother's child. The hotter the better for her! Mark also likes things spicy and hot hot hot! Not me... if it's even mildly spicy, I'll dump sour cream on it! LOL
I did also make a homemade lemon cake that Mark asked for, and that was gone for all but 2 pieces by the end of the night. Yep... I was a busy Mama that day! Because inbetween all that, I was taking care of my kids and getting the house cleaned up a bit and moving the kitchen table around and blowing up balloons, and what not. Yeah. Busy.
Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. Anyone watch the game? We were at my inlaw's for the game and we enjoyed the company. It was a good game, but since I'm not that into sports, I really couldn't tell you much about it. Good food though! ROTF!
Today? Today, Austin goes to school, then Mark and I, along with Audrey and Cody will be going out to breakfast with my awesome inlaws. Then we will hang out to go pick Austin up from school. Come home, get the kids down for naps, and in a perfect world, take naps ourselves. HA! We'll see!
Dinner is leftovers. Thank goodness. Easy peasy.
Tomorrow? Tomorrow needs to be a crafting day for me. I'm craving it. I NEED it! More on that later!
Happy Monday!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Over stuffed Mushrooms
If you have ever had stuffed mushrooms, you will love how simple and easy these are to make.
Go to Sam's Club or Costco and buy yourself the biggest package of whole mushrooms you can get. When I get them at Sam's Club, the mushrooms are easily twice the size of the ones from the grocery store. If you can't go to Sam's or Costco, buy 2 packages of whole mushrooms from your regular grocery store.
First, get your 9x13 pan ready to go. Lightly spray with non stick spray. Open up the package of mushrooms up and start by gently cleaning them and removing just the stems. Grab the stem and rock it back and forth slightly with a little tug. It should pop right out. Put the stems in a bowl. Don't throw them away... you will use them. Put the mushrooms into the pan with the tops down. You should see a little bowl where the stem was taken out.
Next, chop up the stems into small pieces. Not quite minced, but finely chopped is good. Dice 1/2 of a medium onion into the same size pieces as your mushroom stems. Put these all together into the bowl where you placed your stems.
Now, get about 6 pieces of bacon out and cut them into small pieces. I usually just lay it down on my cutting board and cut into 1/4" pieces or so. If you find yourself sawing back and forth and back and forth, either you are using the wrong type of knife, or your knife is dull. Grab your kitchen scissors and cut the bacon into 1/4" pieces and save yourself the headache.
Go pre-heat your oven to 375.
Start cooking the bacon by itself in a large skillet. If you cook your bacon too fast on too high of a heat, you will get a lot of burnt areas. Cook on a medium setting to get a nice crispy bacon that's not burnt. Do not drain the fat. Add in your mushroom pieces and onion. Cook for another few minutes or until the onions are starting to turn opeque. Now, sprinkle in some granulated garlic. At the very end, add 3 TBL butter and let it melt. Turn off the heat.
Now here's a semi tricky part. You need to add some bread crumbs. I can't tell you exactly how much. I would start with about 1/4 cup and go from there. You want everything to hold together just enough, but still be full. Does that make sense? Pour this mix back into the bowl you were using for your cut up stuff.
Using a small melon baller, scoop up some of the mix and place it into each mushroom. For larger mushrooms, use two scoops. Once every mushroom has some of the filling, go back and add more to the tops of each one. It's okay if a little bit falls into the pan. Really! I don't pick my mushrooms up at all during this stage. I just scoop and place. BUT, towards the very end, I will use my fingers to get some more of the filling and place it on the mushrooms. Gotta get it all you know!
Now, bake for about 30 minutes. This may take as long as 45 minutes sometimes. Maybe less, maybe longer. It all depends on the size of the mushrooms. The larger the mushroom, the longer it will take.
Take them out and let them cool for a few minutes before trying to bite into one. I know... it's really hard to wait since they smell SO delicious and they look so good!
I bet they are the first thing gone from the appetizer table!
Enjoy!
Go to Sam's Club or Costco and buy yourself the biggest package of whole mushrooms you can get. When I get them at Sam's Club, the mushrooms are easily twice the size of the ones from the grocery store. If you can't go to Sam's or Costco, buy 2 packages of whole mushrooms from your regular grocery store.
First, get your 9x13 pan ready to go. Lightly spray with non stick spray. Open up the package of mushrooms up and start by gently cleaning them and removing just the stems. Grab the stem and rock it back and forth slightly with a little tug. It should pop right out. Put the stems in a bowl. Don't throw them away... you will use them. Put the mushrooms into the pan with the tops down. You should see a little bowl where the stem was taken out.
Next, chop up the stems into small pieces. Not quite minced, but finely chopped is good. Dice 1/2 of a medium onion into the same size pieces as your mushroom stems. Put these all together into the bowl where you placed your stems.
Now, get about 6 pieces of bacon out and cut them into small pieces. I usually just lay it down on my cutting board and cut into 1/4" pieces or so. If you find yourself sawing back and forth and back and forth, either you are using the wrong type of knife, or your knife is dull. Grab your kitchen scissors and cut the bacon into 1/4" pieces and save yourself the headache.
Go pre-heat your oven to 375.
Start cooking the bacon by itself in a large skillet. If you cook your bacon too fast on too high of a heat, you will get a lot of burnt areas. Cook on a medium setting to get a nice crispy bacon that's not burnt. Do not drain the fat. Add in your mushroom pieces and onion. Cook for another few minutes or until the onions are starting to turn opeque. Now, sprinkle in some granulated garlic. At the very end, add 3 TBL butter and let it melt. Turn off the heat.
Now here's a semi tricky part. You need to add some bread crumbs. I can't tell you exactly how much. I would start with about 1/4 cup and go from there. You want everything to hold together just enough, but still be full. Does that make sense? Pour this mix back into the bowl you were using for your cut up stuff.
Using a small melon baller, scoop up some of the mix and place it into each mushroom. For larger mushrooms, use two scoops. Once every mushroom has some of the filling, go back and add more to the tops of each one. It's okay if a little bit falls into the pan. Really! I don't pick my mushrooms up at all during this stage. I just scoop and place. BUT, towards the very end, I will use my fingers to get some more of the filling and place it on the mushrooms. Gotta get it all you know!
Now, bake for about 30 minutes. This may take as long as 45 minutes sometimes. Maybe less, maybe longer. It all depends on the size of the mushrooms. The larger the mushroom, the longer it will take.
Take them out and let them cool for a few minutes before trying to bite into one. I know... it's really hard to wait since they smell SO delicious and they look so good!
I bet they are the first thing gone from the appetizer table!
Enjoy!
Waffles
What am I into today?
Waffles. Okay... so this was breakfast yesterday. And lunch. But they are SO good! And really, they are not hard. You need 2 bowls. One larger and one medium size. You also will need a hand mixer. No, your kitchen aid will not do it this time. A hand mixer. With beaters and what not. I like mine because it has a retractable cord. Seriously, that's why I bought the one I did. For the retractable cord so it can't get all tangled up in everything. Sorry... waffles.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 stick melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups milk
2 tsp baking powder
Here we go:
First separate your eggs. You want the whites to go into the smaller of your two bowls. Put the yolks in the larger one. Now beat them. A lot. You want soft peaks. This means that you beat them until you get small little peaks like this. This is what I got when I lifted my mixer. :)
Set these aside for a little bit.
Next, dump the sugar onto the yolks. Beat them until they are light yellow. Maybe 45-60 seconds. It's a feeling I get. I'm terrible about timing things like this. This is about what they should look like. Now, put the beaters in the sink and put your hand mixer away. You are done with this tool for this recipe.
Time to add more stuff. Add your 2 cups of milk, your melted butter and your vanilla. I very rarely ever measure my vanilla. I use the imitation stuff too. I'm not a fan of true vanilla extract. I grew up on the imitation stuff and I prefer the flavor. Just my thing. I squirt in the vanilla until I think it's enough. LOL
Mix all this together with a hand whisk. If you use your hand mixer, you will just spatter your kitchen with waffle mix and it will just be a mess to clean up.
Now add your salt, baking powder and flour. Many recipes tell you to sift these ingredients together to prevent clumping. Okay.. whatever. I never have clumped salt and baking powder in my stuff. It's just another bowl to wash if I do that. So I don't. Your batter will look like the picture below. A little lumpy and kinda thin still. That's good. Now put the whisk away.
Lastly, fold in your egg whites with a spatula. I like to use my larger one that's kinda like a spoon too from Pampered Chef.
Now it's time to cook!!! Drag out your waffle maker from whichever corner of your kitchen you stash it in. Plug it in and get it warmed up. This is mine:
I think i got it from Bed Bath and Beyond, but I'm not sure. It makes one large waffle at a time. You open the top. pour your batter on top and then close it and rotate it. It's been the best waffle maker I've ever had. I can adjust the darkness so it will cook a little longer or less before the ready light comes on. Follow the directions on your waffle maker. I use that spatula/spoon to put 3 scoops of batter onto my waffle maker. I only spray it every 3rd waffle with non stick spray like Pam. Any more than that just makes things sticky around the edges.
And here you go. Done. Ready for whatever toppings you like!
Our family is traditional. Butter and Syrup. But you can certainly use whipped cream, fresh fruit, or whatever your heard desires!
Enjoy!!!
Happy Sunday!
Waffles. Okay... so this was breakfast yesterday. And lunch. But they are SO good! And really, they are not hard. You need 2 bowls. One larger and one medium size. You also will need a hand mixer. No, your kitchen aid will not do it this time. A hand mixer. With beaters and what not. I like mine because it has a retractable cord. Seriously, that's why I bought the one I did. For the retractable cord so it can't get all tangled up in everything. Sorry... waffles.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 stick melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups milk
2 tsp baking powder
Here we go:
First separate your eggs. You want the whites to go into the smaller of your two bowls. Put the yolks in the larger one. Now beat them. A lot. You want soft peaks. This means that you beat them until you get small little peaks like this. This is what I got when I lifted my mixer. :)
Set these aside for a little bit.
Next, dump the sugar onto the yolks. Beat them until they are light yellow. Maybe 45-60 seconds. It's a feeling I get. I'm terrible about timing things like this. This is about what they should look like. Now, put the beaters in the sink and put your hand mixer away. You are done with this tool for this recipe.
Time to add more stuff. Add your 2 cups of milk, your melted butter and your vanilla. I very rarely ever measure my vanilla. I use the imitation stuff too. I'm not a fan of true vanilla extract. I grew up on the imitation stuff and I prefer the flavor. Just my thing. I squirt in the vanilla until I think it's enough. LOL
Mix all this together with a hand whisk. If you use your hand mixer, you will just spatter your kitchen with waffle mix and it will just be a mess to clean up.
Now add your salt, baking powder and flour. Many recipes tell you to sift these ingredients together to prevent clumping. Okay.. whatever. I never have clumped salt and baking powder in my stuff. It's just another bowl to wash if I do that. So I don't. Your batter will look like the picture below. A little lumpy and kinda thin still. That's good. Now put the whisk away.
Lastly, fold in your egg whites with a spatula. I like to use my larger one that's kinda like a spoon too from Pampered Chef.
Now it's time to cook!!! Drag out your waffle maker from whichever corner of your kitchen you stash it in. Plug it in and get it warmed up. This is mine:
I think i got it from Bed Bath and Beyond, but I'm not sure. It makes one large waffle at a time. You open the top. pour your batter on top and then close it and rotate it. It's been the best waffle maker I've ever had. I can adjust the darkness so it will cook a little longer or less before the ready light comes on. Follow the directions on your waffle maker. I use that spatula/spoon to put 3 scoops of batter onto my waffle maker. I only spray it every 3rd waffle with non stick spray like Pam. Any more than that just makes things sticky around the edges.
And here you go. Done. Ready for whatever toppings you like!
Our family is traditional. Butter and Syrup. But you can certainly use whipped cream, fresh fruit, or whatever your heard desires!
Enjoy!!!
Happy Sunday!
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Mark's Party today!
What am I into today?
Getting ready for Mark's party! I have the crock pot baked beans going. I have the bread rising for the hot dog buns. I have the coleslaw mix out and that's next to mix up. That recipe is here: KFC coleslaw.
I don't have enough refried beans for the individual 7 layer dips that I'm making. Nor is the cheese grated or tomatoes chopped. And I do need to get the olives still. ACK! Yeah.. a trip to the store is in my very very near future.
Oh... and the cake! It's not even started yet! Homemade Lemon Cake from scratch is what Mark wants.
The "Happy Birthday!" sign is up on the canopy outside, and I'll be making these glowing balloons later on too. Audrey, Cody and I picked up the glow in the dark bracelets yesterday at Michael's. 15 for $1. Can't beat that! I'm hoping the bracelets offer enough 'glow'. :)
So, you may ask, what am I doing sitting here blogging?????
I'm blogging because I enjoy it. Yep. I said it! I am enjoying this! I am finding that I like to write. I like the way that my blogging is actually helping me organize my life a little. It's encouraging me to try new things. And it's keeping me in touch with my family on a more regular basis.
But, that all being said... I'm cutting this one short today. Too much to do... not enough time. LOL
Happy Saturday everyone! And just so you have a tease about tomorrow... tomorrow I'll be blogging about my homemade waffles from scratch that take about 10 minutes. SO good!
Getting ready for Mark's party! I have the crock pot baked beans going. I have the bread rising for the hot dog buns. I have the coleslaw mix out and that's next to mix up. That recipe is here: KFC coleslaw.
I don't have enough refried beans for the individual 7 layer dips that I'm making. Nor is the cheese grated or tomatoes chopped. And I do need to get the olives still. ACK! Yeah.. a trip to the store is in my very very near future.
Oh... and the cake! It's not even started yet! Homemade Lemon Cake from scratch is what Mark wants.
The "Happy Birthday!" sign is up on the canopy outside, and I'll be making these glowing balloons later on too. Audrey, Cody and I picked up the glow in the dark bracelets yesterday at Michael's. 15 for $1. Can't beat that! I'm hoping the bracelets offer enough 'glow'. :)
So, you may ask, what am I doing sitting here blogging?????
I'm blogging because I enjoy it. Yep. I said it! I am enjoying this! I am finding that I like to write. I like the way that my blogging is actually helping me organize my life a little. It's encouraging me to try new things. And it's keeping me in touch with my family on a more regular basis.
But, that all being said... I'm cutting this one short today. Too much to do... not enough time. LOL
Happy Saturday everyone! And just so you have a tease about tomorrow... tomorrow I'll be blogging about my homemade waffles from scratch that take about 10 minutes. SO good!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Strawberry cupcakes and getting ready for Mark's Birthday
What am I into today?
It's Austin's teacher's birthday! Happy Birthday Mrs. Valesquez! We made her some homemade Strawberry cupcakes from scratch last night. Sadly, the frosting is not homemade, but it was not in me to make homemade frosting this morning.
Did you guess what was in my box yesterday??? You'll have to guess a little longer since I don't have time to post all about it today.
Today I'm getting ready for Mark's birthday party tomorrow. I'm making these individual 7 layer dip cups, and some of these crock pot baked beans. I'm also making my own coleslaw using the KFC recipe. (this is just one of MANY places you can find it on the web.) I am cheating a bit though since I bought the preshredded coleslaw mix from Sam's Club. :) We have family bringing a fruit salad, a veggie tray, chips, potato skins, jalapeno poppers, and a Chinese chicken salad. We're having Hebrew National hot dogs. The REALLY BIG ones. Am I missing anything? In our family, pretty much every party is bring your own booze. I will always have water and iced tea available, sometimes lemonade in the summer, and coffee. Milk for the kids is always available too. You want beer? Bring it yourself. Wine? I sometimes have it, but don't count on it. When you have a large family, and a small party is close to 20 people, I can't afford to provide booze for everyone. Or sodas. We don't drink a lot of soda, so for me to buy a whole bunch and it not to be finished, and then it just sits there. Nope. I usually will buy a whole bunch of soda's for the 4th of July, and that will last me all through summer and into winter even. :)
I'm going to share something with you that many of you probably don't know. We have chickens. Yes, we live in a city. But we have 8 hens. If you read my city bylaws, there's nothing there that says we can't have them, yet if you call city hall, they will tell you you aren't allowed. It's a nice gray area. So, we have 8 hens. They give us 3-4 eggs a day right now, and come summer I'll get 7-8. I haven't bought eggs since just before Christmas 2010. When I go out to eat and have eggs, I'm always amazed at how much better mine taste at home. Today my chickens are hanging out in the yard. I let them free range a couple times a week. I really like to do it right after it rains. They get all sorts of goodies then! Here's a pic of some of them!
Above is a California White chicken, a Polish and a mix on the far left. She is a mix of a white frizzle and an Aracauna.
To the right is the mix again, a silver seabright, a buff, and a barred rock. There's another mix and our Aracauna who are evading the pics.
I never thought that chickens could be pets. Our buff, Penny, and our Barred rock, Lucy, both let us pet them all the time and even pick them up. They are very sweet. Our CA white is starting to let me pet her more often too.
Chickens are probably the easiest pets I've ever owned. You feed them 2-3 times a week and give clean water. You clean their coop 3-4 times a year total. (I use a deep layer method.) And you can give them ALL your food scraps. My chickens are the benefactors of all the food left on my kids plates after dinner, as well as leftovers that are just starting to spoil, but aren't spoiled yet, but we wouldn't eat it anymore. You know that murky stage. I have found that when I up their protein by giving them meat, usually ground beef of some sort, they give me MORE eggs and better eggs.
So, that's my day.
Happy Friday!!!
It's Austin's teacher's birthday! Happy Birthday Mrs. Valesquez! We made her some homemade Strawberry cupcakes from scratch last night. Sadly, the frosting is not homemade, but it was not in me to make homemade frosting this morning.
Did you guess what was in my box yesterday??? You'll have to guess a little longer since I don't have time to post all about it today.
Today I'm getting ready for Mark's birthday party tomorrow. I'm making these individual 7 layer dip cups, and some of these crock pot baked beans. I'm also making my own coleslaw using the KFC recipe. (this is just one of MANY places you can find it on the web.) I am cheating a bit though since I bought the preshredded coleslaw mix from Sam's Club. :) We have family bringing a fruit salad, a veggie tray, chips, potato skins, jalapeno poppers, and a Chinese chicken salad. We're having Hebrew National hot dogs. The REALLY BIG ones. Am I missing anything? In our family, pretty much every party is bring your own booze. I will always have water and iced tea available, sometimes lemonade in the summer, and coffee. Milk for the kids is always available too. You want beer? Bring it yourself. Wine? I sometimes have it, but don't count on it. When you have a large family, and a small party is close to 20 people, I can't afford to provide booze for everyone. Or sodas. We don't drink a lot of soda, so for me to buy a whole bunch and it not to be finished, and then it just sits there. Nope. I usually will buy a whole bunch of soda's for the 4th of July, and that will last me all through summer and into winter even. :)
I'm going to share something with you that many of you probably don't know. We have chickens. Yes, we live in a city. But we have 8 hens. If you read my city bylaws, there's nothing there that says we can't have them, yet if you call city hall, they will tell you you aren't allowed. It's a nice gray area. So, we have 8 hens. They give us 3-4 eggs a day right now, and come summer I'll get 7-8. I haven't bought eggs since just before Christmas 2010. When I go out to eat and have eggs, I'm always amazed at how much better mine taste at home. Today my chickens are hanging out in the yard. I let them free range a couple times a week. I really like to do it right after it rains. They get all sorts of goodies then! Here's a pic of some of them!
To the right is the mix again, a silver seabright, a buff, and a barred rock. There's another mix and our Aracauna who are evading the pics.
I never thought that chickens could be pets. Our buff, Penny, and our Barred rock, Lucy, both let us pet them all the time and even pick them up. They are very sweet. Our CA white is starting to let me pet her more often too.
Chickens are probably the easiest pets I've ever owned. You feed them 2-3 times a week and give clean water. You clean their coop 3-4 times a year total. (I use a deep layer method.) And you can give them ALL your food scraps. My chickens are the benefactors of all the food left on my kids plates after dinner, as well as leftovers that are just starting to spoil, but aren't spoiled yet, but we wouldn't eat it anymore. You know that murky stage. I have found that when I up their protein by giving them meat, usually ground beef of some sort, they give me MORE eggs and better eggs.
So, that's my day.
Happy Friday!!!
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Boy shot in our neighborhood
What am I into today?
This happened last night. 12 year old boy shot while sleeping It was about 1/2 a block from my home. 7 houses. Just 7 houses. That's scary. I heard the shots. The news is reporting 5 shots... it was 10. 10 shots in a pattern I remember. Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang. I've been around guns enough to know that someone emptied a clip. I also think that someone shot the first 4 shots and then turned to adjust his aim for the next 6. There was enough pause in there for that. There are no less than 4 news vans out there right now and 3 helicopters circling the neighborhood. I've heard helicopters all night off and on. We SAW the first police helicopter with their night sun on and it even swiped our backyard at one point. I actually woke Mark up even though he's only been asleep for 5 minutes. He hadn't heard the shots at all... but we both heard the helicopter and the following sirens. It took about 15 minutes before I actually called the cops myself, even though I knew that they were already on the scene because I wanted to make sure they knew that it was 10 shots. They sorta blew me off, but I may call the police community center in a little to clarify. After about 20 minutes I heard the ambulance siren. It's different than a police siren. I knew then that someone had been hurt but didn't know who or how bad. Being that they say it was a 12 year old boy, shot in the knee... I wonder what else is going on since they are still there eight and a half hours later. I'll update more on this as I find out more.
What else am I into today? My hamburger buns were a flop. They were not light and fluffy at all. They were dense. :( I had such high hopes for making my own hot dog buns for this weekend. I'm going to try another recipe today and see what happens.
I'm also making these today: Strawberry cupcakes They are for Austin's teacher tomorrow. I need to get the strawberries out and put them into some sugar. I was supposed to do it overnight, but sorta forgot.
I'm also making a 16 bean soup and need to do a quick soak on those beans because, again, I forgot until 1am, and I wasn't getting out of bed to do it then. Well... Cody got me out of bed 10 minutes later for over an hour. Ugh.
And lastly, Audrey has an appointment with the ENT today for her ears. I'm 99% sure she has an ear infection again as it is. Mark will be meeting me there so he can hear everything the doctor has to say and can ask all the questions he wants to as well. Austin will get to go out with Janice and Grandma, and my mom and dad will be watching Cody. It's 'drink from the bottle or be hungry' for him tonight. He has YET to take a bottle and so it really limits where I can go without him. Really, the one place I want to go is to teach my pre-baptism class without him. Mark says that as soon as he will drink from a bottle, he'll keep him here. :) My mom was the one that had to coax Audrey into a bottle and I'm sure she will do great with Cody tonight too!
Oh... and two more things.
1. This came yesterday. Yes, it's a box. A yet unopened box. But I'm really hoping to be able to open this up and play with it today! I'll take pics as I go and post it all tomorrow! If you can guess what it is, I'll give you a high five! LOL
2. I'm still trying to get more followers. At 25 followers, I will be giving away a gift of some sort. I still haven't fully determined what it will be. But I promise something nice! :)
Happy Thursday!
This happened last night. 12 year old boy shot while sleeping It was about 1/2 a block from my home. 7 houses. Just 7 houses. That's scary. I heard the shots. The news is reporting 5 shots... it was 10. 10 shots in a pattern I remember. Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang. I've been around guns enough to know that someone emptied a clip. I also think that someone shot the first 4 shots and then turned to adjust his aim for the next 6. There was enough pause in there for that. There are no less than 4 news vans out there right now and 3 helicopters circling the neighborhood. I've heard helicopters all night off and on. We SAW the first police helicopter with their night sun on and it even swiped our backyard at one point. I actually woke Mark up even though he's only been asleep for 5 minutes. He hadn't heard the shots at all... but we both heard the helicopter and the following sirens. It took about 15 minutes before I actually called the cops myself, even though I knew that they were already on the scene because I wanted to make sure they knew that it was 10 shots. They sorta blew me off, but I may call the police community center in a little to clarify. After about 20 minutes I heard the ambulance siren. It's different than a police siren. I knew then that someone had been hurt but didn't know who or how bad. Being that they say it was a 12 year old boy, shot in the knee... I wonder what else is going on since they are still there eight and a half hours later. I'll update more on this as I find out more.
What else am I into today? My hamburger buns were a flop. They were not light and fluffy at all. They were dense. :( I had such high hopes for making my own hot dog buns for this weekend. I'm going to try another recipe today and see what happens.
I'm also making these today: Strawberry cupcakes They are for Austin's teacher tomorrow. I need to get the strawberries out and put them into some sugar. I was supposed to do it overnight, but sorta forgot.
I'm also making a 16 bean soup and need to do a quick soak on those beans because, again, I forgot until 1am, and I wasn't getting out of bed to do it then. Well... Cody got me out of bed 10 minutes later for over an hour. Ugh.
And lastly, Audrey has an appointment with the ENT today for her ears. I'm 99% sure she has an ear infection again as it is. Mark will be meeting me there so he can hear everything the doctor has to say and can ask all the questions he wants to as well. Austin will get to go out with Janice and Grandma, and my mom and dad will be watching Cody. It's 'drink from the bottle or be hungry' for him tonight. He has YET to take a bottle and so it really limits where I can go without him. Really, the one place I want to go is to teach my pre-baptism class without him. Mark says that as soon as he will drink from a bottle, he'll keep him here. :) My mom was the one that had to coax Audrey into a bottle and I'm sure she will do great with Cody tonight too!
Oh... and two more things.
2. I'm still trying to get more followers. At 25 followers, I will be giving away a gift of some sort. I still haven't fully determined what it will be. But I promise something nice! :)
Happy Thursday!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Water Beads and Recipes
First things first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!!!
Okay... What am I into today?
Well... I read somewhere, I have no clue where, that today was Grandparents day. I SWEAR I read it about a week and a half ago. Now I can't find it anywhere and when I look for the official day, it's some day in flipping September. But, I already did a little project with my kids, so I'm going with it. So there. We found some inexpensive glass vases at Michael's and these really cool water beads. I know that's not the real name for them, but I can't find the packaging. They are these tiny little balls and when you add water you get this:
Then we placed them into the vases. We had looked at them at the store and they had some that were already expanded with water. That was $5 for that jar, or it was $2.50 to add the water yourself and you got 4x the amount of beads in the end. Hmm??? I wonder which was a better choice? I got the ones you did yourself and I did it with the kids! It was great to see Austin think about it as they got bigger and bigger. It takes about 4 hours, so it wasn't an instant thing, but he totally got it. Plus, we also realized that when you look at the bowl of them, you can't see most of them, but when you put your hand it, you can get a whole bunch that you didn't see. :)
After that, we put some bulbs in them. Paperwhites, freesias and gladiolas. Okay... I didn't know if the bulbs would work. I don't think they are. They are not rooting out like I had hoped. Especially the paperwhites. So, we are going to take the bulbs out and plant them in our rose bed today. Then we will replace them with some fresh cut flowers. I'm wondering if Trader Joe's has the daffodils yet? Maybe tulips? That would be neat. If not, a couple of bouquets cut down will work just beautiful as well.
Here's what they look like with the bulbs in them:
Pretty neat huh?! :) We will go deliver them to Grandma Julia and Grandpa Dick, pick up Austin who spent the night there, and then go deliver a block and a half away to Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Ron. Austin insisted that Aunt Janice needed one too, so she has a smaller one since she's not technically a grandparent, but she pretty much fills in that role as one too. :) The last one is Great Grandma's and she lives with us... I have to take all of them with me though to fill with the flowers. I think it's sweet!
What am I into after that? Oh my! It's Mark's birthday! I plan on having our bedroom clean today. That is a huge task for me considering I have laundry to do and put away, and I need to change the linens on our bed and get the desk cleaned off. The desk scares me. It's okay though. A clean bedroom is probably the best gift I could give Mark for his Birthday today... other than the fire pit we built last weekend.
Somewhere in there I need to make these: Whole Wheat Hamburger buns Mark's brother and his wife and their two kids are coming over for dinner tonight. Mark asked for Sloppy Joe's. Yes. For his birthday, he wants sloppy joe's! I'm all over that! But since making my pledge to pretty much only buy french bread or sourdough, this means I need to make my buns for them. I'll be trying out this recipe. I'll make as many as I can out of this recipe to get an idea of how many I get. It says 15-16. I need 10-12. This will also be my recipe for the hot dog buns for our family get together for Mark's birthday this weekend. I'll need to do at least a double batch for that. I hope they come out great! Hallee's recipe's have never failed me.
Speaking of recipes, have you noticed the "Recipe's" tab at the top of my blog page? It's where I'm posting some of my recipes as I can. Right now, there are three recipes there. I'd like to figure out how to make each one as a separate post, but I don't know how. If you know how, please let me know!
Lastly, I'd like to try to get some more followers. I'm thinking a giveaway of some sort would be ideal! While the prize is not determined yet, when I can get to 25 followers, I will give something away. Most likely, it will be something handmade. Probably something to do with my fiber arts. A batt, a skein of handspun yarn, a scarf? I'm not sure. But it will be something beautiful I promise! :)
Happy Hump Day everyone!
Okay... What am I into today?
Well... I read somewhere, I have no clue where, that today was Grandparents day. I SWEAR I read it about a week and a half ago. Now I can't find it anywhere and when I look for the official day, it's some day in flipping September. But, I already did a little project with my kids, so I'm going with it. So there. We found some inexpensive glass vases at Michael's and these really cool water beads. I know that's not the real name for them, but I can't find the packaging. They are these tiny little balls and when you add water you get this:
Then we placed them into the vases. We had looked at them at the store and they had some that were already expanded with water. That was $5 for that jar, or it was $2.50 to add the water yourself and you got 4x the amount of beads in the end. Hmm??? I wonder which was a better choice? I got the ones you did yourself and I did it with the kids! It was great to see Austin think about it as they got bigger and bigger. It takes about 4 hours, so it wasn't an instant thing, but he totally got it. Plus, we also realized that when you look at the bowl of them, you can't see most of them, but when you put your hand it, you can get a whole bunch that you didn't see. :)
After that, we put some bulbs in them. Paperwhites, freesias and gladiolas. Okay... I didn't know if the bulbs would work. I don't think they are. They are not rooting out like I had hoped. Especially the paperwhites. So, we are going to take the bulbs out and plant them in our rose bed today. Then we will replace them with some fresh cut flowers. I'm wondering if Trader Joe's has the daffodils yet? Maybe tulips? That would be neat. If not, a couple of bouquets cut down will work just beautiful as well.
Here's what they look like with the bulbs in them:
Pretty neat huh?! :) We will go deliver them to Grandma Julia and Grandpa Dick, pick up Austin who spent the night there, and then go deliver a block and a half away to Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Ron. Austin insisted that Aunt Janice needed one too, so she has a smaller one since she's not technically a grandparent, but she pretty much fills in that role as one too. :) The last one is Great Grandma's and she lives with us... I have to take all of them with me though to fill with the flowers. I think it's sweet!
What am I into after that? Oh my! It's Mark's birthday! I plan on having our bedroom clean today. That is a huge task for me considering I have laundry to do and put away, and I need to change the linens on our bed and get the desk cleaned off. The desk scares me. It's okay though. A clean bedroom is probably the best gift I could give Mark for his Birthday today... other than the fire pit we built last weekend.
Somewhere in there I need to make these: Whole Wheat Hamburger buns Mark's brother and his wife and their two kids are coming over for dinner tonight. Mark asked for Sloppy Joe's. Yes. For his birthday, he wants sloppy joe's! I'm all over that! But since making my pledge to pretty much only buy french bread or sourdough, this means I need to make my buns for them. I'll be trying out this recipe. I'll make as many as I can out of this recipe to get an idea of how many I get. It says 15-16. I need 10-12. This will also be my recipe for the hot dog buns for our family get together for Mark's birthday this weekend. I'll need to do at least a double batch for that. I hope they come out great! Hallee's recipe's have never failed me.
Speaking of recipes, have you noticed the "Recipe's" tab at the top of my blog page? It's where I'm posting some of my recipes as I can. Right now, there are three recipes there. I'd like to figure out how to make each one as a separate post, but I don't know how. If you know how, please let me know!
Lastly, I'd like to try to get some more followers. I'm thinking a giveaway of some sort would be ideal! While the prize is not determined yet, when I can get to 25 followers, I will give something away. Most likely, it will be something handmade. Probably something to do with my fiber arts. A batt, a skein of handspun yarn, a scarf? I'm not sure. But it will be something beautiful I promise! :)
Happy Hump Day everyone!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Proverbs 3: 5-6
What am I into today?
What a difference a year makes. Truly. One year ago today, Mark was pulled off a job he was doing, put into a room, and interrogated by his superiors about what he was doing at work without his boss being there. His boss being the lineman partner he was supposed to be working with. The lineman had been going home every day, early in the day, leaving Mark to do all the work by himself. That in itself was a bad thing because he had not been officially trained to do any of it, even though he knew what he was doing. Mark was the helper. The grunt who was supposed to be driving the truck and getting supplies together. Not the guy actually working with the high voltage electricity and doing all the other work.
To make a LONG story short, in the following month, Mark was put in the shop at his work, basically put in adult time out, and the lineman boss was telling him to lie about everything. During that month, the application for LMA's (Line Maintenance Assistant) was due. He was encouraged to apply from the guys in the shop who knew that Mark was only following orders and knew how much he had been harassed and bullied by the lineman. Mark's conscience beat out the lineman telling him to lie, and he went into his next interrogation, umm, interview, and told the truth. About everything. He told them absolutely everything and more. He went in with God on his side and peace in his heart knowing he had to tell the truth. They admitted to knowing some of what Mark told them, but didn't realize how deep things were.
Today? Mark is officially a Line Maintenance Assistant with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Wouldn't you know it? He placed 3rd out of over 100 guys in the LMA written test. He aced the interview. The same guys who interrogated him just months before now were giving him pats on the shoulder and helping him to move up and promote! He did great during the LMA class at the training center and was even the first of the LMA hopefuls to climb the tallest pole there. I think he said it was a 90 foot pole. 90 feet!!! That would not be me... but he loved it! Every second of it!
Today, Mark has run different crews by himself. He's been tested by the higher ups in his yard to see if he can cut it. And he has. Today, Mark can run a crew with a helper by himself now. Today, he knows the type of boss he wants to be and how to be that type of boss. And you know how all this happened? Through God. We prayed so much together during this whole time. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) This was our mantra. We were putting our trust in God. We had to. There was no where else to go, and not one else to go to. Guess what? God was there for us. For Mark.
Today, Mark is off by 4pm and home by 5ish every day. He gets to have dinner with us at a normal time. He gets to come home and take the kids to the park. He can come home and enjoy a little TV in the evenings. Today, Mark is able to put his family first and not his job. He is not threatened by his boss for taking time off. Today is a Blessed day! Today is a day of new beginnings. It's a day to rejoice!
There were repercussions for the other guys in the yard. For the other lineman who were doing the same sort of thing with their helpers. The two guys that Mark had so much trouble with somehow retired out before they could be punished for their actions. One guy has been fired. They were all taken by greed. Money was their god, but they didn't want to do the work for it. Today though, Mark is working with some really good guys. He's working with guys he can talk about his family with. Talk about God with, and guys who understand that family is more important than anything else.
Yeah... we're struggling financially. Mark was working 40+ hours of OT per paycheck before. Now there is NONE. Zip. Zero. We're barely hanging on. But the regular OT will come back. In this economy, it was only a matter of time before the regular OT was taken away. But in a couple of months, it will come back. Some fancy smanchy millionaire is going to start complaining about the light in their front yard not being on. And then another will complain and another... and then the OT will come back because there are jobs that just can't be done during the regular work day. When the OT does come back, guess what? Mark will take it. But we won't be tied to it like we used to be. And you know what else? It won't be every day. It will be every other Monday and Saturday's. But only until 3pm those days. Still plenty of time to be with the family. And if he doesn't want to work one of those days, he doesn't have to! He will still be home by 5 every day!
Thank you Lord for helping us through this extremely tough year. Thank you for being by our side and walking with us. Thank you for giving Mark the courage to tell the truth. And thank you for all the Blessings we have in our life today.
What a difference a year makes. Truly. One year ago today, Mark was pulled off a job he was doing, put into a room, and interrogated by his superiors about what he was doing at work without his boss being there. His boss being the lineman partner he was supposed to be working with. The lineman had been going home every day, early in the day, leaving Mark to do all the work by himself. That in itself was a bad thing because he had not been officially trained to do any of it, even though he knew what he was doing. Mark was the helper. The grunt who was supposed to be driving the truck and getting supplies together. Not the guy actually working with the high voltage electricity and doing all the other work.
To make a LONG story short, in the following month, Mark was put in the shop at his work, basically put in adult time out, and the lineman boss was telling him to lie about everything. During that month, the application for LMA's (Line Maintenance Assistant) was due. He was encouraged to apply from the guys in the shop who knew that Mark was only following orders and knew how much he had been harassed and bullied by the lineman. Mark's conscience beat out the lineman telling him to lie, and he went into his next interrogation, umm, interview, and told the truth. About everything. He told them absolutely everything and more. He went in with God on his side and peace in his heart knowing he had to tell the truth. They admitted to knowing some of what Mark told them, but didn't realize how deep things were.
Today? Mark is officially a Line Maintenance Assistant with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Wouldn't you know it? He placed 3rd out of over 100 guys in the LMA written test. He aced the interview. The same guys who interrogated him just months before now were giving him pats on the shoulder and helping him to move up and promote! He did great during the LMA class at the training center and was even the first of the LMA hopefuls to climb the tallest pole there. I think he said it was a 90 foot pole. 90 feet!!! That would not be me... but he loved it! Every second of it!
Today, Mark has run different crews by himself. He's been tested by the higher ups in his yard to see if he can cut it. And he has. Today, Mark can run a crew with a helper by himself now. Today, he knows the type of boss he wants to be and how to be that type of boss. And you know how all this happened? Through God. We prayed so much together during this whole time. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) This was our mantra. We were putting our trust in God. We had to. There was no where else to go, and not one else to go to. Guess what? God was there for us. For Mark.
Today, Mark is off by 4pm and home by 5ish every day. He gets to have dinner with us at a normal time. He gets to come home and take the kids to the park. He can come home and enjoy a little TV in the evenings. Today, Mark is able to put his family first and not his job. He is not threatened by his boss for taking time off. Today is a Blessed day! Today is a day of new beginnings. It's a day to rejoice!
There were repercussions for the other guys in the yard. For the other lineman who were doing the same sort of thing with their helpers. The two guys that Mark had so much trouble with somehow retired out before they could be punished for their actions. One guy has been fired. They were all taken by greed. Money was their god, but they didn't want to do the work for it. Today though, Mark is working with some really good guys. He's working with guys he can talk about his family with. Talk about God with, and guys who understand that family is more important than anything else.
Yeah... we're struggling financially. Mark was working 40+ hours of OT per paycheck before. Now there is NONE. Zip. Zero. We're barely hanging on. But the regular OT will come back. In this economy, it was only a matter of time before the regular OT was taken away. But in a couple of months, it will come back. Some fancy smanchy millionaire is going to start complaining about the light in their front yard not being on. And then another will complain and another... and then the OT will come back because there are jobs that just can't be done during the regular work day. When the OT does come back, guess what? Mark will take it. But we won't be tied to it like we used to be. And you know what else? It won't be every day. It will be every other Monday and Saturday's. But only until 3pm those days. Still plenty of time to be with the family. And if he doesn't want to work one of those days, he doesn't have to! He will still be home by 5 every day!
Thank you Lord for helping us through this extremely tough year. Thank you for being by our side and walking with us. Thank you for giving Mark the courage to tell the truth. And thank you for all the Blessings we have in our life today.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Fire pit and toys
What am I into today?
Well, let's talk about yesterday first! We built our fire pit! After church, we went to Lowe's and got the recommended 48 bricks. Then we came home and started building. Very early Mark realized that where he wanted to put it wasn't going to work, and we ended up putting it where I would have to begin with! LOL I could have done it without him and it would have been okay. :) But, he finally decides exactly where it's going to go and we start building. 16 bricks on the bottom layer. We begin the 2nd layer. I realize that we don't have enough bricks. I re-count the bottom layer... 17 whoops! Okay... wait. Even if I did 16 each, we don't have enough. What the heck? I ask if he got them all out of the van. Yes. Gah! I only have 42! Not good! We try to make it smaller and we don't like the look of it. I go back to Lowe's on my own. I grab the 9 bricks we need (we liked 17 around) and I explain to the cashier what happened with the miscount earlier. Thankfully, it's the same cashier and she says, "I knew I should have counted them earlier. I'll only charge you for the 3." :) That's awesome customer service in my opinion!
I get home and we finish it! Here it is!
Fire pit with 17 9" bricks around before it's lit.
With Mark standing right next to it so you can see a size comparison. He has JUST lit it and it wasn't really going yet
.
A nice fire after it's been going for a few hours. We really enjoyed it last night. :)
So, that was last night. What's up for today? Take Austin to school. Go to Sam's Club, pick up Austin from school. Get all the groceries put away. I don't need much really. Pray that all 3 kids take naps at the same time today. Take a nap myself. I've been up with Cody a lot in the last few days. It does a number on me after a while. I start hurting. My hips are truly killing me. I'm having a hard time just walking sometimes right now. I also lose my patience with the kids easier and it's not their fault. Well... it's Cody's fault, but he can't help it. I have to remind myself that they are 3 and 2 years old a lot and that whatever they are doing or not doing, is probably very age appropriate.
I'm really trying to get my kids be more responsible for things like their toys. When I get to 'that' point, I grab a trash bag and the toys go in. And then they get taken away for a few days. Usually, they aren't missed much. I'm getting ready to box everything up until they ask for it. Ha! Actually, I'm trying really hard to get them to just take out one set of things at a time. Austin has multiple tracks for his trains, and I really need him to just use one of them at a time. Audrey just sorta tags along with whatever Austin wants to do so I can't really keep track of what she's taking out or not. There are not many toys that are HERS besides her baby stroller, her dolls, and the grocery cart. I mean, there are, but not many that they want to play with together. It's a process that we are all learning from, one day at a time.
What do you do when your kids don't pick up their toys?
Happy Monday!
Well, let's talk about yesterday first! We built our fire pit! After church, we went to Lowe's and got the recommended 48 bricks. Then we came home and started building. Very early Mark realized that where he wanted to put it wasn't going to work, and we ended up putting it where I would have to begin with! LOL I could have done it without him and it would have been okay. :) But, he finally decides exactly where it's going to go and we start building. 16 bricks on the bottom layer. We begin the 2nd layer. I realize that we don't have enough bricks. I re-count the bottom layer... 17 whoops! Okay... wait. Even if I did 16 each, we don't have enough. What the heck? I ask if he got them all out of the van. Yes. Gah! I only have 42! Not good! We try to make it smaller and we don't like the look of it. I go back to Lowe's on my own. I grab the 9 bricks we need (we liked 17 around) and I explain to the cashier what happened with the miscount earlier. Thankfully, it's the same cashier and she says, "I knew I should have counted them earlier. I'll only charge you for the 3." :) That's awesome customer service in my opinion!
I get home and we finish it! Here it is!
Fire pit with 17 9" bricks around before it's lit.
With Mark standing right next to it so you can see a size comparison. He has JUST lit it and it wasn't really going yet
.
A nice fire after it's been going for a few hours. We really enjoyed it last night. :)
So, that was last night. What's up for today? Take Austin to school. Go to Sam's Club, pick up Austin from school. Get all the groceries put away. I don't need much really. Pray that all 3 kids take naps at the same time today. Take a nap myself. I've been up with Cody a lot in the last few days. It does a number on me after a while. I start hurting. My hips are truly killing me. I'm having a hard time just walking sometimes right now. I also lose my patience with the kids easier and it's not their fault. Well... it's Cody's fault, but he can't help it. I have to remind myself that they are 3 and 2 years old a lot and that whatever they are doing or not doing, is probably very age appropriate.
I'm really trying to get my kids be more responsible for things like their toys. When I get to 'that' point, I grab a trash bag and the toys go in. And then they get taken away for a few days. Usually, they aren't missed much. I'm getting ready to box everything up until they ask for it. Ha! Actually, I'm trying really hard to get them to just take out one set of things at a time. Austin has multiple tracks for his trains, and I really need him to just use one of them at a time. Audrey just sorta tags along with whatever Austin wants to do so I can't really keep track of what she's taking out or not. There are not many toys that are HERS besides her baby stroller, her dolls, and the grocery cart. I mean, there are, but not many that they want to play with together. It's a process that we are all learning from, one day at a time.
What do you do when your kids don't pick up their toys?
Happy Monday!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
What do you do for your parish?
What am I into today?
I finally decided what to do for Mark for his birthday! We're building a firepit!!! I found very nice clear instructions here. I saw it at Lowe's the other day and I thought it looks great! It's a project I know I CAN do by myself, but I was unsure of where to put it in the backyard. I had come up with 2 ideas but couldn't decide on one. So I ended up telling Mark. Lo and behold he had a totally different place for it! Eek! Good thing I talked to him about it! It's a project that I have over 75% of the money saved up for so I'm not spending a lot of extra money out of pocket for it. We decided together that the barbecue will be a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present to one another since we both use it. And because we can save up a little more money to get a nicer one too. So, after Mass, we go get the materials and build the firepit together!
What else? We have Church today. How many of you make going to Church a priority in your life? We really enjoy going to Church as a family. I know many families with young children who say, "But my child acts up." or "We're too tired." or even "I'll start taking my child when he's 5." I feel that it's VERY important to take your children from the time they are itty bitty babies! Austin was 4 days old, Audrey was 3 days old and Cody was 3 days old when we went to Church with them. DAYS people.. not weeks, months or years... DAYS. Going to Church once a week is just routine for us. We don't miss Mass if at all possible. We go to Mass on vacations even! We love visiting new parishes on vacation and seeing the churches. We've even found parishes around here that meet our needs on Holy Days of obligation when Mark is working or what not. We even go to Mass when we're in Yosemite. If you are not on the bus, or driving your car out of the campground by 9:30. You're late. Period. If you are driving, you have to get to the Yosemite Village parking lot, then get everyone out and walking over to the visitor center, then go through or around the back side, to the auditorium, and then into Our Lady of the Snows. It's in the auditorium. But it's still Mass and it's still important. God didn't take a week off for us, so we don't take a week of of Him. And I'm not just talking my immediate family here.... there's usually at least 20-30 of us who go to Mass on vacation together. We all go on vacation together and we all go to Mass together too.
As for our parish, it's a community. My kids know Father Ike and give him 5 all the time. They enjoy him, and he enjoys them. Father Ike came to our parish when Audrey was about 6 months old. I walked into the sacristy to greet him and sign up for Eucharist Ministry that day. He put his hands out and I handed him Audrey. (For reference... when a priest wants to hold the baby... you HAND HIM THE BABY. It's an unwritten rule... but one I teach by example.) Cody was 3 days old when Father Ike held him! Father Ike has encouraged us to start Little Church. That's where once a month we take the kids ages 5-10 out of church and up to a room in the Faith Formation Center. We then bring the readings down to their level using a children's lectionary, and then we give a homily. There are a few other things we do, and then we bring them back to the main church. While the congregation is singing the Holy Holy, we lead the kids up onto the altar with Father Ike. They stay up there with him during the consecration and he makes it a point to SHOW them what's happening. Then during the sign of peace, we lead them all back down and to their parents. We only have 6 adults in our Little Church ministry right now, and we need more. You would think in a parish of over 5,000 people, we could find a few more... but we'll get there. We want to add more Sundays, and break up the age groups... and when we get a few more volunteers, we will.
Today is not Little Church Sunday... but you can bet that my kids will still be there in Mass with us. We'll be sitting in the crying room and trying to help teach our children how to sit during Mass. To stand when we stand, and to pray when we pray. They are learning, and by the time Austin is 5, we expect to be able to sit in the main congregation again.
Enjoy your Sunday everyone!
I finally decided what to do for Mark for his birthday! We're building a firepit!!! I found very nice clear instructions here. I saw it at Lowe's the other day and I thought it looks great! It's a project I know I CAN do by myself, but I was unsure of where to put it in the backyard. I had come up with 2 ideas but couldn't decide on one. So I ended up telling Mark. Lo and behold he had a totally different place for it! Eek! Good thing I talked to him about it! It's a project that I have over 75% of the money saved up for so I'm not spending a lot of extra money out of pocket for it. We decided together that the barbecue will be a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present to one another since we both use it. And because we can save up a little more money to get a nicer one too. So, after Mass, we go get the materials and build the firepit together!
What else? We have Church today. How many of you make going to Church a priority in your life? We really enjoy going to Church as a family. I know many families with young children who say, "But my child acts up." or "We're too tired." or even "I'll start taking my child when he's 5." I feel that it's VERY important to take your children from the time they are itty bitty babies! Austin was 4 days old, Audrey was 3 days old and Cody was 3 days old when we went to Church with them. DAYS people.. not weeks, months or years... DAYS. Going to Church once a week is just routine for us. We don't miss Mass if at all possible. We go to Mass on vacations even! We love visiting new parishes on vacation and seeing the churches. We've even found parishes around here that meet our needs on Holy Days of obligation when Mark is working or what not. We even go to Mass when we're in Yosemite. If you are not on the bus, or driving your car out of the campground by 9:30. You're late. Period. If you are driving, you have to get to the Yosemite Village parking lot, then get everyone out and walking over to the visitor center, then go through or around the back side, to the auditorium, and then into Our Lady of the Snows. It's in the auditorium. But it's still Mass and it's still important. God didn't take a week off for us, so we don't take a week of of Him. And I'm not just talking my immediate family here.... there's usually at least 20-30 of us who go to Mass on vacation together. We all go on vacation together and we all go to Mass together too.
As for our parish, it's a community. My kids know Father Ike and give him 5 all the time. They enjoy him, and he enjoys them. Father Ike came to our parish when Audrey was about 6 months old. I walked into the sacristy to greet him and sign up for Eucharist Ministry that day. He put his hands out and I handed him Audrey. (For reference... when a priest wants to hold the baby... you HAND HIM THE BABY. It's an unwritten rule... but one I teach by example.) Cody was 3 days old when Father Ike held him! Father Ike has encouraged us to start Little Church. That's where once a month we take the kids ages 5-10 out of church and up to a room in the Faith Formation Center. We then bring the readings down to their level using a children's lectionary, and then we give a homily. There are a few other things we do, and then we bring them back to the main church. While the congregation is singing the Holy Holy, we lead the kids up onto the altar with Father Ike. They stay up there with him during the consecration and he makes it a point to SHOW them what's happening. Then during the sign of peace, we lead them all back down and to their parents. We only have 6 adults in our Little Church ministry right now, and we need more. You would think in a parish of over 5,000 people, we could find a few more... but we'll get there. We want to add more Sundays, and break up the age groups... and when we get a few more volunteers, we will.
Today is not Little Church Sunday... but you can bet that my kids will still be there in Mass with us. We'll be sitting in the crying room and trying to help teach our children how to sit during Mass. To stand when we stand, and to pray when we pray. They are learning, and by the time Austin is 5, we expect to be able to sit in the main congregation again.
Enjoy your Sunday everyone!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
January 28, 2012
What am I into today?
Well, it's 8:16am and I already got Mark and Austin out the door to go to a baptism. It's Mark's cousins daughters baptism today! Happy Baptism today Kylee! I pray that God is always walking with you and that your parents and Godparents teach you His ways and show you His love always!!!
You may ask why I'm not going to the baptism? Audrey has a runny nose and Cody is still congested. Kylee's Grandpa is going through chemotherapy right now for cancer, and his immune system is compromised. They asked that if anyone was sick to send their blessings from home. So that is exactly what Audrey, Cody and I are doing.
BUT... I don't think my kids are really 'sick' and they have a cold. Like everyone else does these days. But I don't want to pass on new germs to George, so instead we are going to my neighbor's baby shower today! I'll be picking up my mom and we will go enjoy that party. I made a diaper cake for Angela yesterday. It was my first try, and it's a little wonky, but I think it came out cute none the less.
Is it bad that I'm secretly (and not so secretly now that I"m saying it here) hoping that they will play the purse game at the shower? I'm really good at that game and it's no secret that I'm competitive in games and play to win! He he he.
So, in between all that, I am still trying to figure out what to get Mark for his birthday. I am now deciding between building him a fire pit for outside. We've talked about it for a while and I found plans to make one for under $100 and it would take about an hour. Or, get the new BBQ. I'm thinking the fire pit because I can make it for him, and we can save up for the BBQ for a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present for each other. It really is for both of us. The fire pit would be for both of us as well... but I think that he would really enjoy it. And, we could enjoy the fire pit during the birthday party for him next weekend.
Lastly, I have to find a sub for me for lectoring at Church tonight. I switched with someone, not realizing the baby shower goes until 5. It's a little hard to get to church by 5:15 when I'm not home. Be that as it may, I will be emailing the lector coordinator and asking her to put me on the sub list for now. I have too much going on and I have not gotten 'our' mass for 2 schedule cycles. My kids need the consistency of the same Mass as well as my family. I'm still busy with church with being a Eucharistic Minister, a catechist teaching the pre-baptism class, and I'm involved with Little Church now too. I think that for now, that's enough. For now. :)
If you are active in your Church, what do you do? Do you have a favorite ministry that you enjoy?
Happy Saturday everyone!
Well, it's 8:16am and I already got Mark and Austin out the door to go to a baptism. It's Mark's cousins daughters baptism today! Happy Baptism today Kylee! I pray that God is always walking with you and that your parents and Godparents teach you His ways and show you His love always!!!
You may ask why I'm not going to the baptism? Audrey has a runny nose and Cody is still congested. Kylee's Grandpa is going through chemotherapy right now for cancer, and his immune system is compromised. They asked that if anyone was sick to send their blessings from home. So that is exactly what Audrey, Cody and I are doing.
BUT... I don't think my kids are really 'sick' and they have a cold. Like everyone else does these days. But I don't want to pass on new germs to George, so instead we are going to my neighbor's baby shower today! I'll be picking up my mom and we will go enjoy that party. I made a diaper cake for Angela yesterday. It was my first try, and it's a little wonky, but I think it came out cute none the less.
Is it bad that I'm secretly (and not so secretly now that I"m saying it here) hoping that they will play the purse game at the shower? I'm really good at that game and it's no secret that I'm competitive in games and play to win! He he he.
So, in between all that, I am still trying to figure out what to get Mark for his birthday. I am now deciding between building him a fire pit for outside. We've talked about it for a while and I found plans to make one for under $100 and it would take about an hour. Or, get the new BBQ. I'm thinking the fire pit because I can make it for him, and we can save up for the BBQ for a combo Mother's Day/Father's Day present for each other. It really is for both of us. The fire pit would be for both of us as well... but I think that he would really enjoy it. And, we could enjoy the fire pit during the birthday party for him next weekend.
Lastly, I have to find a sub for me for lectoring at Church tonight. I switched with someone, not realizing the baby shower goes until 5. It's a little hard to get to church by 5:15 when I'm not home. Be that as it may, I will be emailing the lector coordinator and asking her to put me on the sub list for now. I have too much going on and I have not gotten 'our' mass for 2 schedule cycles. My kids need the consistency of the same Mass as well as my family. I'm still busy with church with being a Eucharistic Minister, a catechist teaching the pre-baptism class, and I'm involved with Little Church now too. I think that for now, that's enough. For now. :)
If you are active in your Church, what do you do? Do you have a favorite ministry that you enjoy?
Happy Saturday everyone!
Friday, January 27, 2012
January 27, 2012
What am I into today?
Austin has to go to school, so that's a chunk of my time just going to and from, so I plan on using the time in between for errands. I have to go Michael's for some ribbons and a few other little things for a gift for someone this weekend. Then I'm off to Sam's Club for a couple of things.
I'm trying to decide what to get Mark for his birthday next week. I'm really at a loss as what he wants/needs. He's good on clothes. He's good on tools. So now what? Any ideas? The one thing we need is a new gas barbeque, but I don't have that kind of $ on hand right now. I have until next week Wednesday, so any ideas are greatly appreciated!
What else am I into today? I'm trying to get this creamy tomato basil parmesean soup into my crockpot before I take Austin to school. It's just chopping up some stuff to throw in for now. So, it's just getting it all in there. And getting Austin's lunch made. And getting the kids dressed. They are already fed, but I still have to do everything else in about 30 minutes? Can I do it? We'll find out!
Happy Friday everyone!
Austin has to go to school, so that's a chunk of my time just going to and from, so I plan on using the time in between for errands. I have to go Michael's for some ribbons and a few other little things for a gift for someone this weekend. Then I'm off to Sam's Club for a couple of things.
I'm trying to decide what to get Mark for his birthday next week. I'm really at a loss as what he wants/needs. He's good on clothes. He's good on tools. So now what? Any ideas? The one thing we need is a new gas barbeque, but I don't have that kind of $ on hand right now. I have until next week Wednesday, so any ideas are greatly appreciated!
What else am I into today? I'm trying to get this creamy tomato basil parmesean soup into my crockpot before I take Austin to school. It's just chopping up some stuff to throw in for now. So, it's just getting it all in there. And getting Austin's lunch made. And getting the kids dressed. They are already fed, but I still have to do everything else in about 30 minutes? Can I do it? We'll find out!
Happy Friday everyone!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
January 26, 2012
What am I up to today? Pretty much nothing. Just normal stuff.
Feed the kids. Feed Cody. Get everyone dressed. Set the timer for every 20-30 minutes for Audrey to try to go pee on the potty. (If she would SIT there for more than 30 seconds she would actually go I'm sure!) Take everyone outside to play for a couple hours since it's going to be a beautiful day. Crud.. that means taking everything out of the pack and play and taking it down so that I can take it outside. phbttt.
Take my spinning wheel outside and spin some yarn. I never did get to spin yesterday. I ended up going to Target with my mom and the kids instead. It's all good though.
I did get my bread made yesterday, and I ordered my yogurt maker. I don't know about your family, but we can go through 2-3 containers of yogurt a day! It's crazy! I have a friend who makes her own yogurt and she said it's easy and her yogurt maker paid for itself in 8 batches. This thing makes 7 containers at a time. So, if we went through 3 a day, the yogurt maker will pay for itself in less than 2 weeks. Yep. Sounds like a good thing to me! I can make whatever flavors I want, make it from fresh ingredients, control the amount of sugar that goes into it and provide an overall healthier option of yogurt for my family.
What do you do to provide healthy foods for your family?
Feed the kids. Feed Cody. Get everyone dressed. Set the timer for every 20-30 minutes for Audrey to try to go pee on the potty. (If she would SIT there for more than 30 seconds she would actually go I'm sure!) Take everyone outside to play for a couple hours since it's going to be a beautiful day. Crud.. that means taking everything out of the pack and play and taking it down so that I can take it outside. phbttt.
Take my spinning wheel outside and spin some yarn. I never did get to spin yesterday. I ended up going to Target with my mom and the kids instead. It's all good though.
I did get my bread made yesterday, and I ordered my yogurt maker. I don't know about your family, but we can go through 2-3 containers of yogurt a day! It's crazy! I have a friend who makes her own yogurt and she said it's easy and her yogurt maker paid for itself in 8 batches. This thing makes 7 containers at a time. So, if we went through 3 a day, the yogurt maker will pay for itself in less than 2 weeks. Yep. Sounds like a good thing to me! I can make whatever flavors I want, make it from fresh ingredients, control the amount of sugar that goes into it and provide an overall healthier option of yogurt for my family.
What do you do to provide healthy foods for your family?
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
January 25, 2012
What am I into today?
Spinning. LOTS of spinning. No... I'm not talking about spinning like an exercise class... I'm talking spinning yarn on my spinning wheel. The picture at the right is me spinning at Campland when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Cody this past April. Yes. I was camping, in a tent, at 34 weeks pregnant. We had a blast! But, the pic is so you see what I do, spinning. I really enjoy spinning. I'm enjoying all things that have to do with fiber. You will find that I go through stages of what I'm into craftwise. Sometimes I card fiber day after day for a week, and then I weave for days on end, and then I spin, and yet other days, I dye. :) I'm looking forward to summer and nice hot days when I can solar dye again.
Back to today. I spun 2 entire skeins of yarn yesterday and finished another. Here's pics of two of the skeins.
The pink and green one is silk. Yes, silk. 100% silk from silk worms.
Silk is very interesting to spin. Lots of fun, but it's a different
technique than wool. I'll come back to spinning techniques another day.
This one is from what I call a mosaic batt. It's from all sorts of different fibers that I pull together and then card them. I know... some of you are thinking, what the heck is carding fiber? Right? LOL (runs off to find a pic of me carding fiber)
This is a carder. My brother in law, Greg, called it a death machine. It is a death machine for knuckle skin if you aren't careful. It has lots of little metal teeth. There are two drums to move and comb the fiber through. What you don't see is a handle that I turn to turn the drums. It makes the fiber smooth and easy to spin from.
This is what it looks like when I'm using a screwdriver to pull the fiber off the drum. The fiber comes off all fluffy and soft! I like to card outside because any waste fiber just goes onto the ground. And I can just brush any VM (vegetable matter) that comes out of the fiber onto the ground too. The birds around here are going to love me come spring. I better be rewarded with at least one colorful nest that I can see! :)
I really enjoy all things fiber... but back to today: Spinning. I'm spinning some batts to make some yarn like the one pictured above. I spun two different batts and then plyed them together to make that yarn. I think it came out GORGEOUS! I almost don't want to sell it, but I need to.
What else am I into today? Pink eye drops for Cody 3 times today, and preventative ones once each for Austin and Audrey. I need to bake bread today too. I have been using this recipe as my daily bread. We are really enjoying it and it's really not hard to do. It's more that you just have to have the time to let it rise. It's a total of about 10 minutes of 'work' and my Kitchen Aid mixer does 95% of that.
What else you may ask??? Audrey decided she wanted underwear today. She insisted when I tried to put a diaper on her and she yelled ans screamed at me. So, she's in underwear and leggings. My timer will be going off every 30 minutes for her to try. Where did I put those M&M's now????? ACK! Off to find the M&M's for bribery. Yes... I said it. Bribery. Every time she tries she gets 1 M&M. Every time she goes, she will get 2. Hey.. if it works, wonderful! I'll update tomorrow on our potty training progress!
Happy Wednesday!
Spinning. LOTS of spinning. No... I'm not talking about spinning like an exercise class... I'm talking spinning yarn on my spinning wheel. The picture at the right is me spinning at Campland when I was 34 weeks pregnant with Cody this past April. Yes. I was camping, in a tent, at 34 weeks pregnant. We had a blast! But, the pic is so you see what I do, spinning. I really enjoy spinning. I'm enjoying all things that have to do with fiber. You will find that I go through stages of what I'm into craftwise. Sometimes I card fiber day after day for a week, and then I weave for days on end, and then I spin, and yet other days, I dye. :) I'm looking forward to summer and nice hot days when I can solar dye again. Back to today. I spun 2 entire skeins of yarn yesterday and finished another. Here's pics of two of the skeins.
This one is from what I call a mosaic batt. It's from all sorts of different fibers that I pull together and then card them. I know... some of you are thinking, what the heck is carding fiber? Right? LOL (runs off to find a pic of me carding fiber)
This is a carder. My brother in law, Greg, called it a death machine. It is a death machine for knuckle skin if you aren't careful. It has lots of little metal teeth. There are two drums to move and comb the fiber through. What you don't see is a handle that I turn to turn the drums. It makes the fiber smooth and easy to spin from.
This is what it looks like when I'm using a screwdriver to pull the fiber off the drum. The fiber comes off all fluffy and soft! I like to card outside because any waste fiber just goes onto the ground. And I can just brush any VM (vegetable matter) that comes out of the fiber onto the ground too. The birds around here are going to love me come spring. I better be rewarded with at least one colorful nest that I can see! :)
I really enjoy all things fiber... but back to today: Spinning. I'm spinning some batts to make some yarn like the one pictured above. I spun two different batts and then plyed them together to make that yarn. I think it came out GORGEOUS! I almost don't want to sell it, but I need to.
What else am I into today? Pink eye drops for Cody 3 times today, and preventative ones once each for Austin and Audrey. I need to bake bread today too. I have been using this recipe as my daily bread. We are really enjoying it and it's really not hard to do. It's more that you just have to have the time to let it rise. It's a total of about 10 minutes of 'work' and my Kitchen Aid mixer does 95% of that.
What else you may ask??? Audrey decided she wanted underwear today. She insisted when I tried to put a diaper on her and she yelled ans screamed at me. So, she's in underwear and leggings. My timer will be going off every 30 minutes for her to try. Where did I put those M&M's now????? ACK! Off to find the M&M's for bribery. Yes... I said it. Bribery. Every time she tries she gets 1 M&M. Every time she goes, she will get 2. Hey.. if it works, wonderful! I'll update tomorrow on our potty training progress!
Happy Wednesday!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
January 24, 2012
What am I into today?
Surviving. LOL Yesterday was a beast.
Okay... good news first! Audrey's ear infection is completely GONE!!! Woo hoo! First time since early December she has been ear infection free! Now if we can keep it that way until her ENT appointment on February 2nd, we'll be doing really good.
2nd bit of good news, our dentist is awesome. She knows we are really tight on $ and is allowing us to make payments as we have the $. She is GREAT with our kids and we all like her. That's saying a lot since Mark typically hates going to the dentist. Austin had 2 small fillings yesterday, and he just sat there, watching Winnie the Pooh and was totally relaxed and he didn't even flinch once. I had my last fillings except for my root canal that I still need. I did hurt last night, and my right jaw hurts a little today... but considering this was visit #4 since late December for me, and this is the first time I'm hurting, that's good.
So what about today? I'm hoping for some good down time with the kids. Yesterday was all about going here and getting to this appointment and that one that I just want to veg out with everyone today. Audrey has been wanting to watch "The Princess and the Frog" and Austin wants to watch "Tangled." I think I can accomplish that for them.
It's a really gloomy day out and everything is still really wet from the rains this weekend. If the sun comes out, we'll go outside and hang out... if not, we are all staying in our jammies today! :)
On one more good note... Cody slept better last night. He still woke up 2 times to nurse, and he fussed a bit when I laid him back down, but within 2 minutes each time, he was asleep. Yay!
Okay... off to my spinning wheel! It's all set up in the front room by my chair and I even started spinning one of my mosaic batts last night. I picked out two that I will ply together. It should be really pretty! :) If you want to check out my little Etsy shop you can find it here: Under the Hill Crafts I have one finished item and a bunch of batts for spinning in my store right now. If you read this blog and want to buy something from me, you can use this code: THETHINGSIMINTOTODAY for 15% off. I will keep that code up for an undetermined amount of time for my blog readers! :)
Happy Tuesday!
Surviving. LOL Yesterday was a beast.
Okay... good news first! Audrey's ear infection is completely GONE!!! Woo hoo! First time since early December she has been ear infection free! Now if we can keep it that way until her ENT appointment on February 2nd, we'll be doing really good.
2nd bit of good news, our dentist is awesome. She knows we are really tight on $ and is allowing us to make payments as we have the $. She is GREAT with our kids and we all like her. That's saying a lot since Mark typically hates going to the dentist. Austin had 2 small fillings yesterday, and he just sat there, watching Winnie the Pooh and was totally relaxed and he didn't even flinch once. I had my last fillings except for my root canal that I still need. I did hurt last night, and my right jaw hurts a little today... but considering this was visit #4 since late December for me, and this is the first time I'm hurting, that's good.
So what about today? I'm hoping for some good down time with the kids. Yesterday was all about going here and getting to this appointment and that one that I just want to veg out with everyone today. Audrey has been wanting to watch "The Princess and the Frog" and Austin wants to watch "Tangled." I think I can accomplish that for them.
It's a really gloomy day out and everything is still really wet from the rains this weekend. If the sun comes out, we'll go outside and hang out... if not, we are all staying in our jammies today! :)
On one more good note... Cody slept better last night. He still woke up 2 times to nurse, and he fussed a bit when I laid him back down, but within 2 minutes each time, he was asleep. Yay!
Okay... off to my spinning wheel! It's all set up in the front room by my chair and I even started spinning one of my mosaic batts last night. I picked out two that I will ply together. It should be really pretty! :) If you want to check out my little Etsy shop you can find it here: Under the Hill Crafts I have one finished item and a bunch of batts for spinning in my store right now. If you read this blog and want to buy something from me, you can use this code: THETHINGSIMINTOTODAY for 15% off. I will keep that code up for an undetermined amount of time for my blog readers! :)
Happy Tuesday!
Monday, January 23, 2012
January 23, 2011
What am I into today?
It's another rainy day. We actually really need the rain. And it's not a pounding rain. It's so gentle that I didn't even know it was raining until I got up and looked out the window.
Oh my goodness is it a crazy busy day today. First: I have to take Austin to school early. Then Mark and I are taking Audrey in for a re-check on her ears to see if the infection is gone or at least if the antibiotics are doing their job. Re-phrase: ear. It's never been in both ears... just the right one.
Then, go take Mark to the dentist. I don't trust him to get himself there on his own. He is very upset with me that I'm making him go, but it's for his own good gosh darn it.
Then go back and pick up Austin early from school and take him to the dentist to get a cavity filled.
Still with me?
Then get everyone else home from the dentist, eat lunch, and then I have an appointment with the dentist in the afternoon.
And then I have to make dinner for everyone at some point. That's where meal planning is supposed to come in, right? Not for me! I'm so so so bad at meal planning. I'm a 'fly by the seat of my pants' type of girl when it comes to meal planning. I always have some foods on hand hat I can make into dinner even if it's just something simple. Actually, I am pretty sure tonight is going to be South of the Border. It's a simple Mexican casserole that my family really enjoys. I'll post that recipe later on if someone wants it. It takes about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes in the oven. Nice. Easy. DONE! LOL
Question of the day: What's for dinner in your house?
It's another rainy day. We actually really need the rain. And it's not a pounding rain. It's so gentle that I didn't even know it was raining until I got up and looked out the window.
Oh my goodness is it a crazy busy day today. First: I have to take Austin to school early. Then Mark and I are taking Audrey in for a re-check on her ears to see if the infection is gone or at least if the antibiotics are doing their job. Re-phrase: ear. It's never been in both ears... just the right one.
Then, go take Mark to the dentist. I don't trust him to get himself there on his own. He is very upset with me that I'm making him go, but it's for his own good gosh darn it.
Then go back and pick up Austin early from school and take him to the dentist to get a cavity filled.
Still with me?
Then get everyone else home from the dentist, eat lunch, and then I have an appointment with the dentist in the afternoon.
And then I have to make dinner for everyone at some point. That's where meal planning is supposed to come in, right? Not for me! I'm so so so bad at meal planning. I'm a 'fly by the seat of my pants' type of girl when it comes to meal planning. I always have some foods on hand hat I can make into dinner even if it's just something simple. Actually, I am pretty sure tonight is going to be South of the Border. It's a simple Mexican casserole that my family really enjoys. I'll post that recipe later on if someone wants it. It takes about 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes in the oven. Nice. Easy. DONE! LOL
Question of the day: What's for dinner in your house?
Sunday, January 22, 2012
January 22, 2012
What am I into today?
First, figure out breakfast for my family. Probably french toast. It just sounds good. French toast with homemade bread and fresh eggs from your chickens outside is really really really good... just saying you know.
Next, Church. We go to Mass every Sunday as a family. Yep. That means we take all three kids with us every Sunday. Some people think we're crazy, but I believe we're setting up our children to enjoy Mass and to love Jesus. There are days that are harder than others, but for the most part, my kids are good and act their ages at church. We sit in the cry room for now, and once they are just a bit older, we will go back out into the main body of the congregation. For now, our tricks are fruit snacks and stickers. I don't mean a sticker as a reward, I mean a whole sheet and a piece of paper. It usually keeps them going for 10-15 minutes all nice and quiet so I can hear what Father Ike is saying. Oh.. and did I mention that I serve at Mass too? I'm a Eucharistic Minister when needed, a lector when scheduled (or needed) and I also am helping to launch "Little Church" which is bringing the Word of God down to kids level. I'll talk more about Little Church another post.
After Church, we'll be coming home and hopefully relaxing! I NEED to craft! I don't just WANT to, I NEED to! I haven't been able to do anything in the last few days, and I feel the stress of it. Crafting in all my ways is relaxing as well as stress relieving for me. When I craft, I can be creative and free in my crafting which releases pent up tension and allows me to rejuvenate myself.
Question of the day: What do you do to relax and rejuvenate?
First, figure out breakfast for my family. Probably french toast. It just sounds good. French toast with homemade bread and fresh eggs from your chickens outside is really really really good... just saying you know.
Next, Church. We go to Mass every Sunday as a family. Yep. That means we take all three kids with us every Sunday. Some people think we're crazy, but I believe we're setting up our children to enjoy Mass and to love Jesus. There are days that are harder than others, but for the most part, my kids are good and act their ages at church. We sit in the cry room for now, and once they are just a bit older, we will go back out into the main body of the congregation. For now, our tricks are fruit snacks and stickers. I don't mean a sticker as a reward, I mean a whole sheet and a piece of paper. It usually keeps them going for 10-15 minutes all nice and quiet so I can hear what Father Ike is saying. Oh.. and did I mention that I serve at Mass too? I'm a Eucharistic Minister when needed, a lector when scheduled (or needed) and I also am helping to launch "Little Church" which is bringing the Word of God down to kids level. I'll talk more about Little Church another post.
After Church, we'll be coming home and hopefully relaxing! I NEED to craft! I don't just WANT to, I NEED to! I haven't been able to do anything in the last few days, and I feel the stress of it. Crafting in all my ways is relaxing as well as stress relieving for me. When I craft, I can be creative and free in my crafting which releases pent up tension and allows me to rejuvenate myself.
Question of the day: What do you do to relax and rejuvenate?
Saturday, January 21, 2012
January 21, 2011
What am I into today?
I'm making these individual pineapple upside down cakes for a family friend's birthday party tonight. His favorite cake is pineapple upside down cake, but have you ever had it? Ever have it and wonder, now why didn't I get a bigger piece of pineapple? Or, Where's my cherry? Ever have kids steal your cherry from the middle before you could even sit down?? THAT is why I'm making individual ones.
Last night I made a pistachio crusted salmon for dinner. It was so good. :) If you want the recipe let me know and I'll post it another day. It's very simple and yet everyone in my family loves it, including Austin and Audrey. :)
Otherwise, it's a rainy day here in Southern California. We don't get too many of them, so I actually tend to enjoy them. I plan on making some oobleck with my kids today. Just cornstarch and water and a bit of food coloring. Fun, messy, simple and educational. Educational you say??? YES! It's sensory and science!
I'm hoping to get to some of MY crafting today too. I really need to weave and I have been itching to spin.
Oh... and just a couple of weeks ago, I decided to start making 90% of my bread for my family. Why 90% and not 100%. I just can't beat a good crusty sourdough bread. But, this is now my go to 'everyday' bread: Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread I got it from a dear friend who has an amazing blog that I read every day. I can honestly say that other than my own blog, it's the ONLY one I make sure to read every day. She is an amazing homemaker whom I have learned a lot from. She is a wonderful Christian Mama who is inspirational to me. Want to read about it? Here it is: Hallee the Homemaker
My question for you today? Do you plan out rainy day or snow day activities for your kids, or do you just wing it? Me? I'm a half and half type of thing. I'm actually much better at winging it, but I had been looking for some new things recently on Pinterest and was reminded of some of my favorite activities I used to do with the kids in my classroom. I can guarantee you that the one thing I will be doing today is making Magic Rain Bubbles. It's so simple. Drizzle a bit of dish washing soap (I prefer Dawn) on the sidewalk outside a window where the kids can see out, and preferably where a puddle forms, and then let the rain come down. :) Watch in amazement as your kids stare at the bubbles for 10-15 minutes non stop (while you go to the bathroom by yourself and actually brush your hair) and then the will come back over and over all day long to see if the Magic Rain Bubbles are still there! See how little, or how much soap it takes! :)
Have a GREAT Saturday! :)
I'm making these individual pineapple upside down cakes for a family friend's birthday party tonight. His favorite cake is pineapple upside down cake, but have you ever had it? Ever have it and wonder, now why didn't I get a bigger piece of pineapple? Or, Where's my cherry? Ever have kids steal your cherry from the middle before you could even sit down?? THAT is why I'm making individual ones.
Last night I made a pistachio crusted salmon for dinner. It was so good. :) If you want the recipe let me know and I'll post it another day. It's very simple and yet everyone in my family loves it, including Austin and Audrey. :)
Otherwise, it's a rainy day here in Southern California. We don't get too many of them, so I actually tend to enjoy them. I plan on making some oobleck with my kids today. Just cornstarch and water and a bit of food coloring. Fun, messy, simple and educational. Educational you say??? YES! It's sensory and science!
I'm hoping to get to some of MY crafting today too. I really need to weave and I have been itching to spin.
Oh... and just a couple of weeks ago, I decided to start making 90% of my bread for my family. Why 90% and not 100%. I just can't beat a good crusty sourdough bread. But, this is now my go to 'everyday' bread: Whole Wheat Honey Oatmeal Bread I got it from a dear friend who has an amazing blog that I read every day. I can honestly say that other than my own blog, it's the ONLY one I make sure to read every day. She is an amazing homemaker whom I have learned a lot from. She is a wonderful Christian Mama who is inspirational to me. Want to read about it? Here it is: Hallee the Homemaker
My question for you today? Do you plan out rainy day or snow day activities for your kids, or do you just wing it? Me? I'm a half and half type of thing. I'm actually much better at winging it, but I had been looking for some new things recently on Pinterest and was reminded of some of my favorite activities I used to do with the kids in my classroom. I can guarantee you that the one thing I will be doing today is making Magic Rain Bubbles. It's so simple. Drizzle a bit of dish washing soap (I prefer Dawn) on the sidewalk outside a window where the kids can see out, and preferably where a puddle forms, and then let the rain come down. :) Watch in amazement as your kids stare at the bubbles for 10-15 minutes non stop (while you go to the bathroom by yourself and actually brush your hair) and then the will come back over and over all day long to see if the Magic Rain Bubbles are still there! See how little, or how much soap it takes! :)
Have a GREAT Saturday! :)
Friday, January 20, 2012
January 20, 2012
What am I into today? Sleep. I need sleep. There is just not enough caffeine for me today. Just isn't. Won't happen. I am going to need at least an hour nap later today if I'm going to make it to dinnertime.
I have a little beef I'd like to air. So, if there are two parents in the home, and one of them works outside of the home and the other one is a homemaker, at what point was the value of sleep determined to be worth more to the one who works outside the home? Let me explain. When my husband was working crazy long hours, I totally understood and I really tried not to wake him up at night when the kids woke up. I mean, he was working 12-16 hour days. He needed his sleep. He's now working a regular schedule and gets home by 5ish most nights. He works a schedule they call nine eights. He works nine hour days and gets every other Monday off. And every Monday he does work, he works a straight 8 hour day.
I'm a homemaker. A Stay At Home Mom, a SAHM, whatever you want to call it or label it. In no way is my day less busy than his. The kids are usually up by 715 and we go go go until naptime and if I'm LUCKY, I can get all three of them to sleep for about 30 minutes. If I get more than that, it's a huge bonus! That gets to be my 'me' time now. Woo hoo! 30 minutes! To do whatever I want. Yet, more often than not, that's when I'm trying to fold the umpteenth load of laundry, or do a quick clean of the bathroom, or hurry up and get the dishes from breakfast washed. It's a rare day that I really do get to do what I want during that time. I"m working on getting Cody on a more consistent nap schedule so he naps at the same time Austin and Audrey do, but for now, it is what it is.
So back to the issue of sleep. Last night, we went to bed about 11pm. Pretty normal for us. At 1:30 on the dot, Audrey wakes up screaming, "Maamaaaaa! MAmaaaaa! MAAAAAMAAAAAA!" Being the one who gets up with the kids, I jump up and run in there. I hold her and cuddle with her until she's asleep in my arms, for about 5 minutes. Not too bad. I tuck her back in and go back to my room. No sooner had I gotten comfortable, she screams again. UGH. Now, I'm thinking, she had antibiotic shots again today, maybe she's hurting. Or maybe that top molar that is coming down is actually breaking the gums. Or it could just be night terrors. After all, she is 2 and they started earlier than the for Austin. I go back in there again. I stay in there for about 15 minutes this time. So it's now 2am when I go back to bed. Mark has not even stirred one bit. At 2:05 I tell him to roll over because he's starting to snore. He's definitely asleep. At 2:11, in walks Audrey. I didn't even hear her open the door to her room and it's a pretty loud doorknob. Oh geez. Fine. Come into bed with us. Crap. you didn't bring your blanket or lovey. Let me find you the tag on this blanket so you can go to sleep. No, there's just not room for your head up here on my pillow, you can sleep between us but with your head on the pillow at the foot of the bed. I'm now awake because I'm getting kicked every 2 seconds it feels like and I just don't sleep well when the kids are in our bed. 2:46 am, Austin walks into our room. WTH???? I say, "No way. It's WAY too early for this. You are both going back to your room to sleep. I'm done." I've now been awake for an hour and 15 minutes while Mark has slept through all of this. As I go to take the now crying Austin back to his bed, he hits his head on the bookcase because he's fighting me. OMGosh! He's now crying. I hear Cody start to fuss. NO WAY! You've got to be kidding me???!!!!! I get the older two back to their bed. Audrey goes into her bed without a fuss... Austin. He's screaming. I go back to our room to attempt to get Cody to not wake up. Not happening. UGH UGH UGH. I tell Mark, "Hon. Please go into the kids room and calm Austin down." He says, "I need my sleep! You better wake me up when the alarm goes off!" My thoughts, "????????????????????? DID HE REALLY JUST SAY THAT???? AT WHAT TIME WAS HIS SLEEP MORE IMPORTANT AND MORE VALUABLE THAN MINE?????????" I sit and nurse Cody until 3:10 and then go get Mark out of the kids room because instead of just calming them down, he laid down with Austin and fell asleep. It was either chance the kids screaming then, or go get Mark at 5:30 and chance the kids being up for the day at that point. I go back into the room, and Cody is still fussing. I pick him up and nurse him until 3:33 (yes I was looking at the freaking clock all night) and he finally goes back to sleep. I've been up for just over 2 hours now. Meanwhile, Mark has lost all of 15 minutes of sleep. At 5:30 Marks, cell phone alarm goes off. It wakes Cody up. :( I'm ready to cry. I get him and bring him to our bed so I can nurse him laying down. My alarm goes off at 5:41 for Mark to get out of bed. Just like it does every day. So him saying, "you better wake me up..." at 2:46am, was moot. I do it EVERY SINGLE DAY anyway. Mark gets up and grumbles... that was a rough night. I seriously wanted to hit him. If I could have done so without pulling Cody off the boob, I would have. Cody decides that it's more fun to be awake now and starts to play. Really? At 6:05 I put him back in his crib. Awake. I put his music on. He fusses and what not until 6:15 when it starts to really cry, so I pick him up, hold him really tight and tell him, "IT'S TIME TO SLEEP!" I lay down with him again. At 6:43, I finally am able to put him back in his bed. I think, "Oh goody! I have 17 minutes until my alarm goes off." I got a total of about 4 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. Mark got 6 hours and 15 minutes. Yet somehow, his sleep is still more important or valuable than mine.
I got the kids up. They have had breakfast. I haven't. I'm drinking coffee. I have to get their clothes out, get them dressed, make Austin's lunch, take him to school. Then take Audrey back to the doctors office and get her 2nd round of antibiotic shots. Again. Goody goody. Then I have to run to Target for a birthday card and some cornstarch and glue. I'm trying to plan what to do with the kids inside a relatively small house for the next 3 days of rain. I have some ideas including this one: Homemade Bouncy balls I don't quite know if this is a good idea for inside, but hey. What do I have to lose besides some dishes and glass in the bookcases? I'm also going to make some oobleck and we might try to do this: Dancing Oobleck but with some tool out of the garage vs my subwoofer. Maybe a drill? I don't know. Somewhere in my day, I need to bake bread, decide what's for dinner, and work on some laundry. I have to drive a big huge van and be alert when I drive it. I have to have the patience needed to be a good Mama to my kids. And yet his sleep is more valuable somehow. I don't get it. Do you?
Edit: just to clarify, on nights when Mark doesn't have to work the next day, he does help with the kids in the middle of the night if I need him to, but it's almost not worth the effort of me getting him up to do it. Also, a bonus to my day: I went to go get Austin to get him dressed for school, and he has a freaking low grade fever. Just enough that he can't go to school. He looks and is acting fine, but I can't do it. I can't send him when I know that he can flip from a 100.2 to 102.4 in minutes. So... it's going to be a really fun day for me. Thank God for Grandma Julia who will come over after church and hang out with Austin while I take Audrey to the doctor for her shots. <3
I have a little beef I'd like to air. So, if there are two parents in the home, and one of them works outside of the home and the other one is a homemaker, at what point was the value of sleep determined to be worth more to the one who works outside the home? Let me explain. When my husband was working crazy long hours, I totally understood and I really tried not to wake him up at night when the kids woke up. I mean, he was working 12-16 hour days. He needed his sleep. He's now working a regular schedule and gets home by 5ish most nights. He works a schedule they call nine eights. He works nine hour days and gets every other Monday off. And every Monday he does work, he works a straight 8 hour day.
I'm a homemaker. A Stay At Home Mom, a SAHM, whatever you want to call it or label it. In no way is my day less busy than his. The kids are usually up by 715 and we go go go until naptime and if I'm LUCKY, I can get all three of them to sleep for about 30 minutes. If I get more than that, it's a huge bonus! That gets to be my 'me' time now. Woo hoo! 30 minutes! To do whatever I want. Yet, more often than not, that's when I'm trying to fold the umpteenth load of laundry, or do a quick clean of the bathroom, or hurry up and get the dishes from breakfast washed. It's a rare day that I really do get to do what I want during that time. I"m working on getting Cody on a more consistent nap schedule so he naps at the same time Austin and Audrey do, but for now, it is what it is.
So back to the issue of sleep. Last night, we went to bed about 11pm. Pretty normal for us. At 1:30 on the dot, Audrey wakes up screaming, "Maamaaaaa! MAmaaaaa! MAAAAAMAAAAAA!" Being the one who gets up with the kids, I jump up and run in there. I hold her and cuddle with her until she's asleep in my arms, for about 5 minutes. Not too bad. I tuck her back in and go back to my room. No sooner had I gotten comfortable, she screams again. UGH. Now, I'm thinking, she had antibiotic shots again today, maybe she's hurting. Or maybe that top molar that is coming down is actually breaking the gums. Or it could just be night terrors. After all, she is 2 and they started earlier than the for Austin. I go back in there again. I stay in there for about 15 minutes this time. So it's now 2am when I go back to bed. Mark has not even stirred one bit. At 2:05 I tell him to roll over because he's starting to snore. He's definitely asleep. At 2:11, in walks Audrey. I didn't even hear her open the door to her room and it's a pretty loud doorknob. Oh geez. Fine. Come into bed with us. Crap. you didn't bring your blanket or lovey. Let me find you the tag on this blanket so you can go to sleep. No, there's just not room for your head up here on my pillow, you can sleep between us but with your head on the pillow at the foot of the bed. I'm now awake because I'm getting kicked every 2 seconds it feels like and I just don't sleep well when the kids are in our bed. 2:46 am, Austin walks into our room. WTH???? I say, "No way. It's WAY too early for this. You are both going back to your room to sleep. I'm done." I've now been awake for an hour and 15 minutes while Mark has slept through all of this. As I go to take the now crying Austin back to his bed, he hits his head on the bookcase because he's fighting me. OMGosh! He's now crying. I hear Cody start to fuss. NO WAY! You've got to be kidding me???!!!!! I get the older two back to their bed. Audrey goes into her bed without a fuss... Austin. He's screaming. I go back to our room to attempt to get Cody to not wake up. Not happening. UGH UGH UGH. I tell Mark, "Hon. Please go into the kids room and calm Austin down." He says, "I need my sleep! You better wake me up when the alarm goes off!" My thoughts, "????????????????????? DID HE REALLY JUST SAY THAT???? AT WHAT TIME WAS HIS SLEEP MORE IMPORTANT AND MORE VALUABLE THAN MINE?????????" I sit and nurse Cody until 3:10 and then go get Mark out of the kids room because instead of just calming them down, he laid down with Austin and fell asleep. It was either chance the kids screaming then, or go get Mark at 5:30 and chance the kids being up for the day at that point. I go back into the room, and Cody is still fussing. I pick him up and nurse him until 3:33 (yes I was looking at the freaking clock all night) and he finally goes back to sleep. I've been up for just over 2 hours now. Meanwhile, Mark has lost all of 15 minutes of sleep. At 5:30 Marks, cell phone alarm goes off. It wakes Cody up. :( I'm ready to cry. I get him and bring him to our bed so I can nurse him laying down. My alarm goes off at 5:41 for Mark to get out of bed. Just like it does every day. So him saying, "you better wake me up..." at 2:46am, was moot. I do it EVERY SINGLE DAY anyway. Mark gets up and grumbles... that was a rough night. I seriously wanted to hit him. If I could have done so without pulling Cody off the boob, I would have. Cody decides that it's more fun to be awake now and starts to play. Really? At 6:05 I put him back in his crib. Awake. I put his music on. He fusses and what not until 6:15 when it starts to really cry, so I pick him up, hold him really tight and tell him, "IT'S TIME TO SLEEP!" I lay down with him again. At 6:43, I finally am able to put him back in his bed. I think, "Oh goody! I have 17 minutes until my alarm goes off." I got a total of about 4 hours and 15 minutes of sleep. Mark got 6 hours and 15 minutes. Yet somehow, his sleep is still more important or valuable than mine.
I got the kids up. They have had breakfast. I haven't. I'm drinking coffee. I have to get their clothes out, get them dressed, make Austin's lunch, take him to school. Then take Audrey back to the doctors office and get her 2nd round of antibiotic shots. Again. Goody goody. Then I have to run to Target for a birthday card and some cornstarch and glue. I'm trying to plan what to do with the kids inside a relatively small house for the next 3 days of rain. I have some ideas including this one: Homemade Bouncy balls I don't quite know if this is a good idea for inside, but hey. What do I have to lose besides some dishes and glass in the bookcases? I'm also going to make some oobleck and we might try to do this: Dancing Oobleck but with some tool out of the garage vs my subwoofer. Maybe a drill? I don't know. Somewhere in my day, I need to bake bread, decide what's for dinner, and work on some laundry. I have to drive a big huge van and be alert when I drive it. I have to have the patience needed to be a good Mama to my kids. And yet his sleep is more valuable somehow. I don't get it. Do you?
Edit: just to clarify, on nights when Mark doesn't have to work the next day, he does help with the kids in the middle of the night if I need him to, but it's almost not worth the effort of me getting him up to do it. Also, a bonus to my day: I went to go get Austin to get him dressed for school, and he has a freaking low grade fever. Just enough that he can't go to school. He looks and is acting fine, but I can't do it. I can't send him when I know that he can flip from a 100.2 to 102.4 in minutes. So... it's going to be a really fun day for me. Thank God for Grandma Julia who will come over after church and hang out with Austin while I take Audrey to the doctor for her shots. <3
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