What am I into today?
First of all... feeling a little better still... but coughing up a storm. The cough is 'productive' but I feel like I've been doing sit ups non stop for 2 days now.
Today was Yosemite Reservation day!!!!! We coordinated 8 people to try to get campsites for our family. We needed a minimum of 5 sites to make it comfortable and give us each space for our families. The reservation window opens at 7am on the 15th of the month for reservations 5 months in advance. Basically. So, we were ready to go this morning. Everyone was online and ready to go. And then....... BAM! 7am hits! We are all hitting buttons frantically. We got 2 sites. :( Not enough for the family. SUCKS. To say the least. It means only a couple people can go if we still go the week we chose. :( We will try again in March for the next open window. Hopefully we will get enough sites then and we can all go together.
Otherwise, it's going to rain today. I can see it. And we need it. I have projects all lined up for the kids to keep them happy and entertained. Unfortunately, they are just a bit too young to keep themselves entertained without making huge messes. That I would be cleaning up. LOL
And, I HAVE to get laundry done and put away today. HAVE to. I can barely walk in my room because of the laundry piled up. It's really a safety hazard especially in case of an emergency like an earthquake or something.
Lastly, I am PRAYING for a nap today. Cody was up until 11 last night and then I've been up since 4am between my coughing, his nursing, and Yosemite reservations. Please pray for me that all 3 kids nap at the same time.
Happy Tuesday!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's day
What am I into today?
Well, first off. I feel a little better. I would not go straight to feeling good...but better is an improvement. I still feel run down, stuffy, coughing and what not... but somehow, it's not as bad as yesterday.
So, I'm making a creamy tomato basil Parmesan soup for dinner tonight. It's going into the crock pot as soon as I finish this post. I will be sharing this with my husband, our kids, Great Grandma, and my parents. What??? Your parents you ask??? Why would you share Valentine's dinner with your parents??? Well, because today was the only day I could get a parent teacher conference for Austin that Mark could attend as well. That's at 5pm. My mom and dad are going to come over and watch all three kids for us so we can go, and then I'm putting dinner on for us.
I'm doing something a little different with the soup though... I'm putting it over pasta. Well, my mom says she just wants the soup. That's fine. We did it over pasta for leftovers last time and it was really really good. I'm also going to cook two chicken breasts on the stove top and dice them into the soup at the last minute as well. I added shrimp last time, but since my mom doesn't like shrimp, and grandma tries not to eat them too often, I'll do chicken this time. A side of bread that I baked yesterday and it will complete the meal. :)
So, between now and 420 when I have to leave for Austin's parent teacher conference, I have to cancel two doctor's appointments, and then just survive the day. It's a cold but beautiful day out, so we will go outside and play for a while. A LONG while if I have it my way. :)
Oh, and somewhere in there, I have to finish Mark's Valentine's present. I'm making a picture frame that has a piece of paper inside that says, I love you because... Then you put a dry erase marker by it and you get to fill it in with whatever you want for that day. I want to do this and make it something I do every day, without repeating for a year. Can you find 365 things you love about your husband or wife???
Happy Valentine's day!
Well, first off. I feel a little better. I would not go straight to feeling good...but better is an improvement. I still feel run down, stuffy, coughing and what not... but somehow, it's not as bad as yesterday.
So, I'm making a creamy tomato basil Parmesan soup for dinner tonight. It's going into the crock pot as soon as I finish this post. I will be sharing this with my husband, our kids, Great Grandma, and my parents. What??? Your parents you ask??? Why would you share Valentine's dinner with your parents??? Well, because today was the only day I could get a parent teacher conference for Austin that Mark could attend as well. That's at 5pm. My mom and dad are going to come over and watch all three kids for us so we can go, and then I'm putting dinner on for us.
I'm doing something a little different with the soup though... I'm putting it over pasta. Well, my mom says she just wants the soup. That's fine. We did it over pasta for leftovers last time and it was really really good. I'm also going to cook two chicken breasts on the stove top and dice them into the soup at the last minute as well. I added shrimp last time, but since my mom doesn't like shrimp, and grandma tries not to eat them too often, I'll do chicken this time. A side of bread that I baked yesterday and it will complete the meal. :)
So, between now and 420 when I have to leave for Austin's parent teacher conference, I have to cancel two doctor's appointments, and then just survive the day. It's a cold but beautiful day out, so we will go outside and play for a while. A LONG while if I have it my way. :)
Oh, and somewhere in there, I have to finish Mark's Valentine's present. I'm making a picture frame that has a piece of paper inside that says, I love you because... Then you put a dry erase marker by it and you get to fill it in with whatever you want for that day. I want to do this and make it something I do every day, without repeating for a year. Can you find 365 things you love about your husband or wife???
Happy Valentine's day!
Monday, February 13, 2012
What it's like to be sick as a homemaker.
What am I into today?
I'm sick. I have a nasty cold that is plugging up my nose and ears. I'm coughing and it hurts my chest and because it's a violent action, it hurts my right hip too.
But, I'm a Stay at Home Mom. A Homemaker. Things don't stop because I'm sick. I fell asleep around 9:30 last night. Totally unheard of for me. Not only that, I crashed in my clothes. Another unheard of for me. I can't stand sleeping in my clothes, so if I did that you KNOW I'm not feeling good. Mark comes in, wakes me up to find out where the lunch meat is so he can make his lunch. I think he woke me up for something else too, but I don't know what.
I go to make Austin a sandwich this morning, and Mark used almost a 1/2 loaf of bread for his lunch. So, I now have no bread in the house. I need to get a batch going. No choice.
I had to get Austin's lunch together, as well as make sure he had his Valentine's with him since he's not at school tomorrow. Where in the heck did his teacher's Valentine go???? After almost 10 minutes of searching, I found it. NOT where I put it last, but I had to start thinking like Mark and, "Where would Mark have put them?" On the chair in the corner of the kitchen by the popcorn maker is not where I would have looked first.
THANK GOD for my mom. She came and picked up Austin to take him to school. She will also pick him up and then keep him for the afternoon. I'll have relative peace with just Audrey and Cody. And they both should take a nap at the same time which means I will get to as well. Mark will pick up Austin after work. :)
Even though I only have Audrey and Cody, I still have to do things. I still have to put the laundry away. I still have to fix breakfast, lunch and dinner for my family. I still have to sweep the kitchen, or clean up messes that Audrey might make later on. I still have to nurse Cody every 3-4 hours. I still have to change diapers and find things for Audrey to do. I'll probably sit at the table with her while she plays with playdough later on. She likes to lick the playdough so I have to still sit with her. Even if I give her paper and crayons, I have to sit with her because she doesn't always keep the crayons on the paper. I really don't want to have to clean the table and walls of crayon today.
I don't get a break. I feel like mud, but I still have to plow through. You can bet that if Mark gets this cold, he will moan and complain and what not. He may or may not go to work, but I can put $ on it that if he does go to work, the second he comes home, he will go to bed. I wonder if that would work for me??? Can I go to bed the minute he gets home from work? Are you willing to put $ on it that I can??? I'm not. Not in a million years.
UGH, it's Monday.
I'm sick. I have a nasty cold that is plugging up my nose and ears. I'm coughing and it hurts my chest and because it's a violent action, it hurts my right hip too.
But, I'm a Stay at Home Mom. A Homemaker. Things don't stop because I'm sick. I fell asleep around 9:30 last night. Totally unheard of for me. Not only that, I crashed in my clothes. Another unheard of for me. I can't stand sleeping in my clothes, so if I did that you KNOW I'm not feeling good. Mark comes in, wakes me up to find out where the lunch meat is so he can make his lunch. I think he woke me up for something else too, but I don't know what.
I go to make Austin a sandwich this morning, and Mark used almost a 1/2 loaf of bread for his lunch. So, I now have no bread in the house. I need to get a batch going. No choice.
I had to get Austin's lunch together, as well as make sure he had his Valentine's with him since he's not at school tomorrow. Where in the heck did his teacher's Valentine go???? After almost 10 minutes of searching, I found it. NOT where I put it last, but I had to start thinking like Mark and, "Where would Mark have put them?" On the chair in the corner of the kitchen by the popcorn maker is not where I would have looked first.
THANK GOD for my mom. She came and picked up Austin to take him to school. She will also pick him up and then keep him for the afternoon. I'll have relative peace with just Audrey and Cody. And they both should take a nap at the same time which means I will get to as well. Mark will pick up Austin after work. :)
Even though I only have Audrey and Cody, I still have to do things. I still have to put the laundry away. I still have to fix breakfast, lunch and dinner for my family. I still have to sweep the kitchen, or clean up messes that Audrey might make later on. I still have to nurse Cody every 3-4 hours. I still have to change diapers and find things for Audrey to do. I'll probably sit at the table with her while she plays with playdough later on. She likes to lick the playdough so I have to still sit with her. Even if I give her paper and crayons, I have to sit with her because she doesn't always keep the crayons on the paper. I really don't want to have to clean the table and walls of crayon today.
I don't get a break. I feel like mud, but I still have to plow through. You can bet that if Mark gets this cold, he will moan and complain and what not. He may or may not go to work, but I can put $ on it that if he does go to work, the second he comes home, he will go to bed. I wonder if that would work for me??? Can I go to bed the minute he gets home from work? Are you willing to put $ on it that I can??? I'm not. Not in a million years.
UGH, it's Monday.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Birthday parties and a blog decision
What am I into today?
It's going to be a busy day with two birthday parties. They are both about 45 minutes away, but thankfully, in the same general area. We get to go celebrate Jessica's 4th birthday in Fontana, then scoot over to Nathan's birthday party over in Colton. It doesn't work well for naps for my kids, but whatever. LOL
I've decided that Sunday's are going to be recipe days for my blog. I hope you all like that idea! Tomorrow will be Over Stuffed Mushrooms! So yummy, easy to make, and a huge crowd pleaser. I think mine all were gone in about 15 minutes last week at the Super Bowl party.
I don't have much to talk about today, so I will just wish you all a wonderful weekend!!!
It's going to be a busy day with two birthday parties. They are both about 45 minutes away, but thankfully, in the same general area. We get to go celebrate Jessica's 4th birthday in Fontana, then scoot over to Nathan's birthday party over in Colton. It doesn't work well for naps for my kids, but whatever. LOL
I've decided that Sunday's are going to be recipe days for my blog. I hope you all like that idea! Tomorrow will be Over Stuffed Mushrooms! So yummy, easy to make, and a huge crowd pleaser. I think mine all were gone in about 15 minutes last week at the Super Bowl party.
I don't have much to talk about today, so I will just wish you all a wonderful weekend!!!
Friday, February 10, 2012
Tooth, lost sleep, and RIP
What am I into today?
Cody finally got his first tooth!!!! Only it's not a bottom middle tooth like normal. Nope. My goofball had to go and cut an upper incisor tooth first. With the second one close behind. I can see the second one getting ready to come down. What is up with that? LOL
Along those lines, i was up so many times last night, I lost count. Seriously. Let's just say that there is not enough caffeine for me today to keep me going all day. LOL Cody is teething, obviously, and was up probably every other hour. Add Audrey waking up twice in the middle of the night and I pretty much got no sleep.
Austin had a blast with Grandma Phyllis yesterday! They went to Special Person's Day at his school, then she took him over to Cerritos Library, and then out to McDonald's! I asked him if he had fun, and his response was, "Oh YES!" :)
Today, Austin has school and then I need to head off to Target. I have an idea for an inexpensive Valentine's present for Mark that I need to get materials for. Plus I need a couple of organizing items. Then I'm back home and I need to clean. I need to clean and organize a lot. Grandma won't be here this afternoon, so it will be easier for me. I don't know why, but when Grandma isn't here I get much more done.
We have a vigil to go to tonight. Bog Siegfried from St. Gregory's, long time coordinator of the carnival, died this past week. Rest in Peace and Go with God.
So, give me your best organizing tip. Just one. Whether it's a cleaning thing, and organizing thing, or a way to let go and get rid of stuff. :)
Happy Friday!
Cody finally got his first tooth!!!! Only it's not a bottom middle tooth like normal. Nope. My goofball had to go and cut an upper incisor tooth first. With the second one close behind. I can see the second one getting ready to come down. What is up with that? LOL
Along those lines, i was up so many times last night, I lost count. Seriously. Let's just say that there is not enough caffeine for me today to keep me going all day. LOL Cody is teething, obviously, and was up probably every other hour. Add Audrey waking up twice in the middle of the night and I pretty much got no sleep.
Austin had a blast with Grandma Phyllis yesterday! They went to Special Person's Day at his school, then she took him over to Cerritos Library, and then out to McDonald's! I asked him if he had fun, and his response was, "Oh YES!" :)
Today, Austin has school and then I need to head off to Target. I have an idea for an inexpensive Valentine's present for Mark that I need to get materials for. Plus I need a couple of organizing items. Then I'm back home and I need to clean. I need to clean and organize a lot. Grandma won't be here this afternoon, so it will be easier for me. I don't know why, but when Grandma isn't here I get much more done.
We have a vigil to go to tonight. Bog Siegfried from St. Gregory's, long time coordinator of the carnival, died this past week. Rest in Peace and Go with God.
So, give me your best organizing tip. Just one. Whether it's a cleaning thing, and organizing thing, or a way to let go and get rid of stuff. :)
Happy Friday!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Special Person's Day, wool locks, baked sandwiches and ?
What am I into today?
I'm trying really really hard to get more organized. It's very difficult for me. Just getting a chore chart together is hard. I don't want to just wash the floors on Monday's because we tend to have company over a lot on the weekends, yet, I also don't want to do EVERYTHING on Thursday and Friday. So how do you break it up so it works out? I'm still trying to figure that one out.
Austin is at Special Person's Day with Grandma Phyllis today! He was so excited to ask her to be his special person to take to school with him today. I was also very happy he chose her! I hope they have a blast!
I dyed up some more Border Leicester wool locks yesterday. I'm in LOVE with how beautiful these are! I'm already planning on how to save my $ to buy more! I can use these in batts that I make, or I can sell them and make a little $ on them too. I'm waiting for them to dry 100% before I weigh them all and see exactly how much I have. Then I have to figure out a fair price for them if I were to sell them.
What else? Hmmm... i think I'm going to make baked pretzel dough sandwiches for dinner with some chinese chicken salad on the side. Ham and swiss cheese sounds really good for dinner tonight. :) My family loves these sandwiches. I'll try to remember to take pics through the process and post the recipe one day soon!
OH! Speaking of recipes! Did anyone even try to guess what was in that box??? This was what was in that box:
And I made this with it!
Yep!!! Homemade yogurt. I'm still trying to figure out how to get mine thicker, but it will happen. In time. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear it! I don't want to make plain yogurt. My family won't eat it. I need it to be flavored like strawberry, raspberry, or other types of berries. :)
Have a great day everyone!
I'm trying really really hard to get more organized. It's very difficult for me. Just getting a chore chart together is hard. I don't want to just wash the floors on Monday's because we tend to have company over a lot on the weekends, yet, I also don't want to do EVERYTHING on Thursday and Friday. So how do you break it up so it works out? I'm still trying to figure that one out.
Austin is at Special Person's Day with Grandma Phyllis today! He was so excited to ask her to be his special person to take to school with him today. I was also very happy he chose her! I hope they have a blast!
I dyed up some more Border Leicester wool locks yesterday. I'm in LOVE with how beautiful these are! I'm already planning on how to save my $ to buy more! I can use these in batts that I make, or I can sell them and make a little $ on them too. I'm waiting for them to dry 100% before I weigh them all and see exactly how much I have. Then I have to figure out a fair price for them if I were to sell them.
What else? Hmmm... i think I'm going to make baked pretzel dough sandwiches for dinner with some chinese chicken salad on the side. Ham and swiss cheese sounds really good for dinner tonight. :) My family loves these sandwiches. I'll try to remember to take pics through the process and post the recipe one day soon!
OH! Speaking of recipes! Did anyone even try to guess what was in that box??? This was what was in that box:
Yep!!! Homemade yogurt. I'm still trying to figure out how to get mine thicker, but it will happen. In time. If anyone has any tips, I'd love to hear it! I don't want to make plain yogurt. My family won't eat it. I need it to be flavored like strawberry, raspberry, or other types of berries. :)
Have a great day everyone!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Oatmeal, wool locks, Valentine's and chores.
What am I into today?
Well, it's 8:33 as I type this and I've got baked oatmeal wtih strawberries, bananas, and chocolate in the oven. Dishes are done. I've also rinsed some wool locks and started a new batch to dye. My cup of coffee is empty, and I'm planning out the rest of my day.
These are dyed wool locks. They came from a Border Leicester sheep. They are still drying, but they are GORGEOUS. I used the colors lavender, chestnut, and burgundy. I can't wait to use them in some fiber and spin them up!
Once we finish breakfast, we're going to go meet my mom at Sam's Club so she can pick up her glasses. She has a Costco membership and I have Sam's Club. It works out great for us. We just tag along with one another when we need something specific from each place. :)
I'm trying to figure out what I want to make for dinner. I'm thinking carne asada tacos, and that means I need to get the meat defrosting ASAP. I keep them simple with just some avocado's (from our tree), tomatoes, homemade sour cream, and some limes from our trees outside as well.
I have to share this picture with you from yesterday. My kids were making Valentines for family. It's just fun foam hearts and stickers, but it kept them busy for probably 30 minutes. After they were done with the stickers, I wrote on the back and quoted the kids. I think my favorite was Austin's to Great Grandma. "I love you. I like saying your prayers with you." How sweet is that!?
One last picture. This is my bread from yesterday. It came out PERFECT. I think I've finally gotten the recipe down where I want it to be. Yay!!! This will last my family 3-4 days. So, I'm basically baking bread 2 times a week. Not bad! :)
The last thing I'm into today is trying to get a chores schedule organized. It needs to be for our whole family. I want to make it up and post it somewhere so we can all see it. It will have designated chores for all family members. I need to get myself on a better chore schedule, if only to keep up on laundry. Laundry is my nemesis. If I had the $, I would pay someone to come in and put it all away for me. I don't mind washing and drying, but it's a pain in the butt to put it all away.
That's about it for me! How do you keep track of chores and do you have a schedule for getting them all done?
Happy Wednesday!
Well, it's 8:33 as I type this and I've got baked oatmeal wtih strawberries, bananas, and chocolate in the oven. Dishes are done. I've also rinsed some wool locks and started a new batch to dye. My cup of coffee is empty, and I'm planning out the rest of my day.
These are dyed wool locks. They came from a Border Leicester sheep. They are still drying, but they are GORGEOUS. I used the colors lavender, chestnut, and burgundy. I can't wait to use them in some fiber and spin them up!
Once we finish breakfast, we're going to go meet my mom at Sam's Club so she can pick up her glasses. She has a Costco membership and I have Sam's Club. It works out great for us. We just tag along with one another when we need something specific from each place. :)
I'm trying to figure out what I want to make for dinner. I'm thinking carne asada tacos, and that means I need to get the meat defrosting ASAP. I keep them simple with just some avocado's (from our tree), tomatoes, homemade sour cream, and some limes from our trees outside as well.
I have to share this picture with you from yesterday. My kids were making Valentines for family. It's just fun foam hearts and stickers, but it kept them busy for probably 30 minutes. After they were done with the stickers, I wrote on the back and quoted the kids. I think my favorite was Austin's to Great Grandma. "I love you. I like saying your prayers with you." How sweet is that!?
One last picture. This is my bread from yesterday. It came out PERFECT. I think I've finally gotten the recipe down where I want it to be. Yay!!! This will last my family 3-4 days. So, I'm basically baking bread 2 times a week. Not bad! :)
The last thing I'm into today is trying to get a chores schedule organized. It needs to be for our whole family. I want to make it up and post it somewhere so we can all see it. It will have designated chores for all family members. I need to get myself on a better chore schedule, if only to keep up on laundry. Laundry is my nemesis. If I had the $, I would pay someone to come in and put it all away for me. I don't mind washing and drying, but it's a pain in the butt to put it all away.
That's about it for me! How do you keep track of chores and do you have a schedule for getting them all done?
Happy Wednesday!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Coming home from a meeting to . . .
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!
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!
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!
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