Sapidness

Kids say the darndest things.

2011-04-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

Yup. I was driving Lucy, Alex and 2 of Alex's friends to the movie theater last week, and this is what I heard.

"You know I like motorcycles." I nod in agreement. "I am getting my husband one, even if he doesn't like it." - Lucy
Guess we know who will be in charge in that relationship!

The boys are talking about a poetry assignment they had in class. "My poem is this: I have a dog named yoda.
He likes to drink soda.
He only likes cookies
If they taste like my sister Gabby." - Friend 1
"Luuuucky! I want a dog that will eat my sister!" - Friend 2

Pot pretties... coming soon to a blog near you!

2011-04-07T17:37:00.000-07:00

Pot pretties.. hmmmm. Whatever could she mean? *sweet dorothy gail voice*

Remember these pots from last year? Well, they are getting a make-over. Oh yeah. Check back.

Apple Avocado Pudding

2011-03-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

I made some apple avocado pudding for breakfast the other day. Total huge FAIL. It was lots too avocadoey. Kids and spouse turned up their noses. I ate some, but after a while it was just no good. Next time I will use a quarter of an avocado to each apple.

Facebook - Friend or Foe?

2011-03-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

I seem to have this crazy love/hate relationship with Facebook. I feel this obsessive need to check in at every hour of the day. I say, "Oh, it's just a great way to keep up with old friends and family. It's a great way to meet the local people on this post."

But really, it's just another excuse for people to be mean, nasty and catty. It's like they think since it's online and not face to face, they can say whatever they want. Military wives in general are unkind to each other, but throw in the distance and impersonality of the internet and they are assholes.

People follow you around and post nasty things on your statuses. They post cryptic statuses to get attention, and usually the meaning behind is a dig or mean comment about someone else.

It seems that a lot of the people I meet through facebook are full of drama, looking for attention and bring chaos with them. I don't need that crap. I have enough drama and chaos in my own home.

BUT it is good for some things. I have found some nice people through facebook. I enjoy hanging out with them and i feel that I satisfy that need for companionship. Facebook is an easy way to connect people. EVERYONE and their grandma has a facebook account, and all our events and fun things are posted on Facebook. No Facebook, no notification.

Overall, I am undecided and conflicted.

Jack and my Juice

2011-03-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

that sounds kind of wrong, but it's really just two completely unrelated topics.

Jack is the cutiest cute baby I have ever seen. He is loving, cuddly, sweet and quiet. (Quiet is a big issue in our house... I seem to have some noise sensitivities). I totally love that he knows when he is tired and ready for bed. He will be fine, just bouncing along with a smile, and then he squawks that he is ready for bed. I just hold him in his sleep time position (face in my armpit) and he is out! Done. I <3 him.

Okay, Juice. I like to start my day with some juicy juice. It is green juice, and super hydrating. Yum. Some people find the taste very vegetabley, but i guess it is a taste you work up to. I think it tastes fresh.

I have a fancy high powered juicer, and it wasn't cheap, but if you are going to juice veggies every day, the investment is worth it. I also have a centrifugal juicer, and it worked for a while. I still use it for fruits.

My fave juice recipe:
1 head of lettuce (never iceberg)
Handful of spinach
3 carrots
3 stalks celery
1 cucumber
1 apple (I like granny smith)
1 lemon, peel removed
handful of cilantro for zing

Really Real Raw

2011-03-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Anybody that knows me, knows that I am a vegetarian. Some people think I am lame and wonder why I just won't eat like everyone else, why I have to be so picky. Well, it's about to get worse, baby! Monday next marks the first day of whole family raw-ness. As a family we are moving to a vegetarian, 90%-95% raw diet.

So, common questions from the peanut gallery.

Yes, we will be getting enough nutrition. Yes, even the kids. To ensure optimum nutrition, we will be supplementing with vitamins D3, K2, B12, calcium, DHA, and soy lecithin. Also, the kids will probably have 1 or 2 eggs a week and we may all have some organic yogurt on occasion.

Yes, the kids will pack lunches, and we will bring food in to any event that SAD (standard American diet) will be served.

Yes, the kids are on board for the most part. We have talked about nutrition and and healthy bodies, immune systems and weight. My kids are used to a vegetarian life style already.

Yes, the kids will eat the food. As mentioned, they already eat a mostly vegetarian lifestyle. I won't be cooking anything. I will be un-cooking. Eat it or don't is my philosophy. Dig it.

No, we won't be dining on carrot sticks and sprouted sunflower seeds. It is a delicious and healthy way to prepare food. And we won't have to eat any mushy, overcooked broccoli.

Yes, it is going to be a hard transition for a while. I have a serious sugar addiction, and so do the kids. The first step is acknowledgment, right?

On to the recipe from yesterday!

Raw Cream of Tomato Soup

So this may sound kinda icky, but it really wasn't. It made a creamy frothy soup and the apples were a great sweet contrast to the tomato.

4-5 fresh fragrant tomatoes, quartered
1/4 c. cilantro
1 avocado, pitted and scooped out
1 packet stevia
1 t agave nectar
sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
1/2 c. chopped apple
1/2 c. corn, fresh off the cob

In the blender, blend all ingredients, except apples and corn, until creamy.
Divide apples and corn between two bowls.
Ladle soup over corn and apples.
Eat. Enjoy. Eat some more.

Garden for 2011

2011-01-31T09:50:00.000-08:00

Last year's garden was a bust. We were supposed to move to NC so we gave away everything.. including my precious dirt! So I have to start over now. That's okay.. it will be worth it!

Garden is mapped, and planting and harvest dates are put on the calendar.

So I will have 15 6-ft x 3-ft garden boxes.

The plants this year are:
Early Snowball Cauliflower - 2
Farmer's Extra Early Snowball Cauliflower - 2
Green Magic Broccoli - 2
Green Sprouting Calebrese - 2
Coronando Crown Broccoli - 2
Cherry Belle Radishes - 48
Green Arrow Peas - 136
Purple Pod Beans - 136
Blue Lake Pole Beans - 64
Sugar Snap Peas - 72
Bush Beans White Half Runner - 8
Gotta Have it White Corn - 32
Golden Cross Corn - 36
Boston Pickling Cucumbers - 4
Straight Eight Cucumbers - 4
Big Boy Bell Peppers - 6
Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes - 6
Roma Tomatoes - 6
Golden Rave Tomatoes - 6
Gurney Girl tomatoes - 6
Sweet Baby Girl tomatoes - 6
Danvers Carrots - 80
Nantes Carrotes - 64
Envy Carrots - 64
Nantes Coreless - 80
Crimson Sweet Watermelons - 3
Sugar Baby Watermelons - 2
Field's Sweet Cantalope - 3
Gurney's Giant Cantalopes - 3
Multipik Crookneck Yellow Summer Squash - 1
Black Magic Zucchini - 2
Jack-o-lantern Pumpkins- 3
Lumina Pumpkins - 3
Gurney's Giant Pumpkins - 3
Spinach - 42
Bibb Lettuce - 8
Iceburg lettuce - 8
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce - 8
Buttercrunch Lettuce - 8
Bright Lights Chard - 4
Lettuce Blend - 8
Strawberries - 72
Thyme - 1
Dill - 1
Cilantro - 3
Mint - 3
Basil - 6

and flowers:
geranium - 7
Nasturtium - 25
Marigold - 4
Sunflowers - 15

Farm Birthday featuring sock horses

2011-01-01T21:25:00.000-08:00

In october we had an amazing birthday party for Lucy, who turned 7! It is hard to believe my girly is 7 already!

My friend Beth made an awesome 3-D farmhouse cake. Recipe wasn't too hard and was found here: Family Fun Farm Cake. The cake was a big hit with all the kids and we had to ration the "farm animals".

At the party we made some cute hobby horses, roughly based on thesehobby horses. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of any of the finished horses, so use your imagination. If I can find anyone that did take a picture, I will post it. I got some string mops and crew socks from the dollar store. The dollar store mops were perfect because they were super short. Like mops for little people (it's not cool to say midget, is it?). We took a sock and stuffed it over the mop so that the strings filled the bottom of the sock forming the horses, um, snout? nose? muzzle?. I just left the socks loose and open around the handle of the mop. The strings did not try to jump out of the sock at all, and it worked very well. Next I cut some lengths of string and using a plastic canvas type of needle, i pulled the yarn through the sock and then back up very close to where i went down. Then I tied the two ends together. I did this all over the mane area. I cut 2 triangles from felt and hot glued them where ears should be. Finally we sewed buttons on for the eyes.

Then we raced horses. Fun.

Lucy's favorite part: Beiber posters for her room.

2010 Projects in Review

2011-01-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

Projects from 2010

Fabric Strip Curtain, rug and curtains - Jan. 2010

Sun on a Snowy Day Wreath - Feb. 2010

Coffee Cup Rack - March 2010

Pretty Pots - March 2010

Plant Cell Cake - April 2010

Teacher gifts on the fly - May 2010

Summer Dresses - June 2010

Water Bottle Carrier - June 2010

Iron on wall "vinyls" - July 2010

Operation New Board - July 2010

Hang up laundry separators - Sept. 2010

Menu Board - Oct. 2010

Scary Spider Wreath - Oct. 2010

Hobby Horses - Oct. 2010

Jack's Journey

2010-12-31T12:06:00.000-08:00

Jack arrived December 6th.

I am having such a hard time writing this, but it has been on my mind for a few weeks. First and foremost I would like to state that I am completely, over the moon in love with my new son. I would never change him or want to give him back. He is a complete miracle and a wonder. This is my vent and thoughts on a difficult situation, and want no flames.

I am having a few people that seem determined to remind me and everyone else that Jack is A.D.O.P.T.E.D. It seems to be that people think since he was wanted and adopted, he should be a perfect baby, or maybe I should not get frustrated or ever complain. Honestly, I am not that strong. Infants are hard. They wake up a lot. They want to be held constantly. (I don't mind, but it is hard to do homework, cook dinner, work and hold a baby at the same time) They cry and don't tell you why. And there is always the mommy guilt and worry. Should I have been more patient last night at 4 AM, going on 4 hours of sleep during the last 2 days. He shakes his arms a lot.. is that a sign of some obscure illness?

I have a friend that was trying desperately to conceive a few years ago. She was really angry that she was not able to conceive easily like other women around her. She wrote once that if she had a baby, she would never complain or get frustrated with her baby because she wanted him so much, so much more than the rest of us who take our fertility for granted. I was kind of upset at the time. I had 3 children. Did that make me less worthy of another child?

I was already infertile at that time and ached for the 4th child. I was MEANT to have a 4th and there was a big gaping hole in my heart where #4 should be. I felt guilty, like she thought that I did not not need another because I already had 3. And I did. 3 beautiful, healthy, perfect children. It wasn't enough. I had another baby out there somewhere. But I knew that she was thinking that it was selfish of me to want another when I had 3 and she had 0. Eventually, she did get her baby. He is a fantastic, super cute boy. And she has never complained. to me anyway.

There is someone I have met recently that seems to feel the same way. She seems to think that I should not have any frustrations or complaints about Jack. Maybe even that i don't have a right to complain. He is ADOPTED. He must be perfect, or i must be super happy and grateful since I had to work hard to get him. I recently posted on facebook that I had a crappy day and wanted it to end. Her response was that I should look to my children and be happy. I love my children, i really do. But my baby doesn't poop rainbows and spit up butterflies. He cries. He poops out his diaper and up his back while we are out. He pretends to sleep until I lay down my head. Newborns are hard work.

She mentioned a few days later that she is struggling with jealousy. She did not specifically say she was jealous of me, but she mentioned heartache, and trying to be happy for others. I know she is struggling with trying to conceive. I want to have compassion for her and her situation, but sometimes I am too wrapped up in just struggling through my days. My situation is hard. newborn, no husband. Sometimes whining makes me feel better. It upsets me that someone should imply that I have no right to a bad day or that Jack should make every problem seem miniscule.

Jack's journey to me was really long. I waited 7 years for him. 7 years ago, October 2003, I had a baby. A cute cuddly girl baby named Lucy. 4 days later, i had an ovary-ectomy. No more eggs = no more babies. I was already heart broken. It was a really dark time for me. I had a hard time mothering Lucy. This was the baby that wasn't supposed to be the last baby. I was going through menopause, and had 3 young children.

Eventually, i stopped feeling so black. The kids and I moved a couple times, and Adan came home and left and came home again. We decided to look into adoption and immediately realized that was a pipe dream. We are a military family who moves on average every 9 months. There was no way we could afford 15,000+ dollars to grow our family. That idea went to the back of the mind. Every time it popped up, i would dismiss it and push it to the back.

I felt that jealousy. It wasn't fair. I KNEW i had another baby, and now i would never get to meet him. All my friends were having kids and I had to sit around them and know that i would never get to do that again. I had my children so much earlier than all my school friends... I had an 8 yo, and 6 yo and a 3 yo when my bff started having kids. I had to suffer through baby showers and cuddles with a black hole in my heart.

A couple years later we moved again. I had mostly gotten past my burning envy and settled in. I had new friends and they were my age with children that matched the ages of my children. We decided to try and adopt through the foster care system. We went through the classes and finished our home study. Due to a stupid loophole, we could not foster adopt and live on post. We could adopt or foster, but not both. We fostered for 9 months, but we quickly realized that this was not going to work. The only children free for adoption were teens or severely medically challenged.

I had considered donated eggs, but without ovaries it would be nearly impossible to sustain a pregnancy. We thought about surrogacy, but it was just as expensive as adoption. We realized finally that a baby wasn't going to happen. Adan and I finally came to a decision that we would shelve all the baby stuff come December 2010. There was no use getting ourselves all worked up all the time when it never seemed to pan out. In December we were moving on.

God works in his own time though. 2 1/2 years ago, I opened a family child care home. The first family that I interviewed did not meet the criteria that I had set out. I wanted only before and after school care children. No youngsters. this family had a kindergartner, a 4th grader and a 2 year old. I wanted to say no, but something in me said yes. So I started watching them. I was caring for them as we went through that foster care class, and as we fostered a child. A year later I decided to go back to school and closed my daycare. My family bugged me to keep watching the children, and I decided to continue watching them through the Army's respite care program.

I met the children's grandparents, and aunt in the course of the time and I felt almost like they were my second kiddos.

June 2010, their aunt decided to give her baby up for adoption. She chose us to take Jack.

We visited the lawyers, and did all the necessary shopping, but it did not feel real at all. I never felt like I would really be having a baby in my arms. Momma was great. She let me be at all the ultrasound appointments and at the birth. I was with Jack from the time he was born until he came home. Jack is mine. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real. But it is.

And I am still human. Even after hoping and wishing and crying for the last 7 years. He still cries in the middle of the night or wants to be held when i need to go to the bathroom or cook. But I would not give him back for anything in the world.

Menu Board

2010-10-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

I found this coolio menu board tute. I used a frame I already had. I bought a metal sheet at Lowes and some cute little cutters. Adan cut it down to size for me. We primed it and painted it with spray paint primer and spray paint chalkboard paint (found at Michaels). I popped it into the frame, and woila! Handy Dandy menu board. Of course since I have made it, I can't find chalkboard chalk ANYWHERE!!!!

Scary Spider Wreath

2010-10-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

This cutey pie wreath was just in time for Halloween. It was all dollar store items. I got a wreath that was like sticks intertwined.. not sure how to explain that, spanish moss, and plastic spider rings. I found the sign there, or maybe at Michaels.

I did a few things differently from the tutorial. i did not paint the spiders. I just got various colors and some skeletons and centipedes, and just glued them right on.

WARNING - The moss is helllllla messy. Put newspaper down on your work station.

Another warning - I actually found real spiders crawling on it at one point and was afraid to bring it back in the house. Realism, baby. We don't play around in this house.

Tute found here.

Hang up Laundry Separators

2010-09-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

We have a tension shower curtain rod in our laundry room. As things come out of the dryer, I hang them up as needed. It was becoming a pain in the ass to figure out which was whose, and whose was which. So i got a nifty idea. At the store they have those round separators that divide the size 12 from the size 10 and so on. I needed some. So i made some.

Excuse the craptastic pictures. I guess I was shakey that day!

I made circles on a piece of cardboard.

I used a jumbo coffee cup for the big and a little bead container for the middle.

I cut out the circles and made a slit from the outer edge into the inner edge. Then, I wrote names on each circle

And then I slipped the circles onto the shower curtain rod. Taaaa daaaaa! Fancy and organized. (Oh, and I did turn the white one around so they all show brown.)

The summer of the butterfly

2010-09-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

This is the summer of the butterfly. Butterflies seem to represent a new beginnings. They come from leaf-eating wormy things and turn into beauteous nectar sipping creatures. I want to sip nectar.

I have thrown off the base relationships. I am coming out of the mires and mud related to them. Wiping my feet and moving on! Just walking away from that was like putting on wings.

I have lost weight! I joined a biggest loser challenge club locally and I lost about 14 lbs. I went down 2 pants sizes which is always a win! New clothes! Less picture phobia! I saw a picture of myself today, and i wasn't completely horrified. The last couple of years I have begged to be erased from pictures. i still felt a twinge, but it wasn't the horrified, tear-welling feeling i have previously had.

Kentucky is the most BEAUTIFUL place I have ever lived. This summer there has been a multitude of butterflies. Every place I turn I see another butterfly. They are in the road, and I always worry I am going to hit them with my car. bright yellow and black, dark blue and black, orange and tons of other butterflies. Butterflies always remind me of home. I can remember being in elementary school and going to see the migration of the monarchs. It was so fantastic to see the butterflies flitting from tree to tree. About 2 1/2 years ago, we went home for a visit and were able to take the kids to see the monarchs.

Jack is coming. In June we heard that our baby was coming. Jack is due in December and we can't wait to take him home from the hospital. It is such a wonderful thing that I can't even express how I feel. The butterflies from this summer will forever be connected in my mind with Jack.

There is nothing more wonderful than a butterfly. To think that such a wonderful thing can come from such an icky caterpillar gives me hope for everything. No matter how horrible things seem, soon they will change into wonderful. It's like the ugly duckling for bugs.

I want this tattoo. Minus the butt crack.

Project-a-week club

2010-09-02T16:43:00.000-07:00

For a couple years I have been wanting to finish up my unfinished objects and make all the things that are bouncing around in my nugget. I decided it was time for a commitment *gasp* *shudder* Yes, a commitment. My commitment is going to be to finish one project each week. I will list all the finished projects in the side bar. Check back each Thursday for the recap.

More of me whining about friends

2010-09-01T18:23:00.000-07:00

Sooo... Okay....

I knew this girl at Ft. Carson. (we will call her J) She became a pretty good friend, but I quickly realized she was a "taker". I felt like I always had to give, and do, and support but I got very little in return. Not long after we met, she found out she was pregnant with her first child. I was her doula for her first baby. After she had her babe, she got 1000 times worse. She could not go out of her house, because she had her baby. She needed someone to bring her stuff from the store so she would not have to leave. She quickly wore out the people around her. For some reason, I never took a hike. Her house was always a dang mess. Horrible. You would walk into her house, and be slapped in the face with the smell of cat box and filth. I spent quite a few Saturdays helping her clean because she was not able to take care of her child, and clean the house. Eventually, someone called CPS on her, and she genuinely did not know why. For some reason, I never said anything to her about the state of things. Maybe I was trying to save her feelings.

2 years later she had her second child. Everything intensified. It got to a point where I felt completely taken advantage of. She never cared about what was going on in my life, and completely dismissed me when I was going through a really tough time. I had enough, but I still did not want to be mean. I basically stopped talking to her or going out of my way for her. A few months later, we got transferred to our new duty station.

A year later, she was transferred to the same duty station. I had only spoken to her a couple times in that preceding year, but she called when she found out they would be again in our neighborhood. I was pretty stressed out about it, but thought maybe she had changed. Things became much worse though. Here she knew no one. She had left all her friends in Colorado, and I was pretty much her only friend. She began calling me 6 times a day. Every issue she had before was completely intensified. She was hardly the person I had first become friends with. Her kids were always "sick". She had every disease imaginable, from Bopolar to Anxiety, from fibromyalgia to rheumatoid arthritis to random shooting electrical shocks in her body. Nothing was ever her fault. There was mold in her house, or her parents beat her, or, or, or. She made new friends, but I again felt dismissed and taken advantage of. I was again cleaning her house and helping her with her kids. I stopped watching her children after a while. She had not enforced any rules for her children. Because of this, her oldest was mean to my daughter, and her youngest was a tornado of destruction. Her house was again sick and disgusting. I helped her clean again. One time, I helped her clean her room. Her floor was a disgusting mix of dirty laundery, cat litter and cat shit. Another time, I helped her fold her laundry, and she sat on her couch and watched me work.

A bit over a year passed and I was really at my limit of her self-centered attitude. (I found this link and it describes her completely. I really think this is what is wrong with her. Scroll down to Cluster B Personality.) I started setting more boundaries for her, and stopped doing everything she asked. This of course upset her. I set a special ring tone on my phone to say her name so I could avoid her calls. My tolerance for bullshit became really low. When she told my dumb things I had a hard time biting my tounge. At one point she told me she had fed her sick 2 yo skittles because that's all he wanted. Really? How about some soup or applesauce. Another time she told me that she yelled at her daughter so much that she actually crapped her pants. She was not upset about this, and in fact laughed a bit. I was appalled. How can you joke about scaring the crap out of your kid?? I would have been so upset if that was me. She did not concern herself with anything that was going on in my life. Did not even congratulate me on our pending adoption of our new baby. Did not care about the autoimmune disease I am dealing with. Never once a care or concern about my visits to the hematologist. I felt so unimportant.

This summer, I was just beyond frustrated with her. I guess she could tell. As a sign of how far facebook as crept into our lives, she "broke up" with me and 2 others over facebook. She blocked me so I could not see anything she says at all. Did not call, did not text, just blocked me. I actually find it kind of funny, that you feel the need to virtually erase someone from your life. Blocking a person on facebook does not make them disappear. I honestly don't care about the break in friendship. Once it was done, I seriously felt a huge weight disappear from my shoulders. The knot in my stomach relaxed.

She felt determined to keep all the mutual friends we had made. I knew that she probably told them all kinds of horrible things about me. I suppose if they believe all the crap, then she can have them. 2 other friends got the boot too. As we have been hanging out together, they have told me things that she had told them about me. She had been telling ALL of our mutual friends random bullshit about me for the whole past year. How can she even think she was my friend?? I spent my time cleaning her house, and running errands for her, and bringing her cigarettes, and lending her money. (She still owes me $20, but it's not even worth it to try and collect.) I am sure she told all those other people that i talked shit about them. I am sure I made the random comment, but she was a big complainer. She complained how Amanda told her that her house was a mess, and how Amanda looked at her bills and made comments about them, and how she did not want Amanda to do her laundry at her house and use all her soap. Certain people she did not say anything about, other than the fact that they were as pure as the virgin Mary. I did complain about some people. I said that Amanda talks about stupid shit too much. That her eyeliner is scary. I said Amber is way loud. I complained about Jackie every other minute, but it was generally to my husband or one other person. BUT NO.. she was apparently talking mad shit about me to everyone I had met, and probably people I hadn't.

Now I am paranoid. Am I really those things she said? Are other people saying or thinking them too? I am afraid to talk or be around my other friends for fear that I am a horrible person that people can't stand. I have been hanging out with 2 friends. One (S) I have been friends with for about 7 months... I have really enjoyed her company, and am glad for her friendship. The other (B) is a new friend. She was J's friend. J always talked about how they were best friends and how wonderful she was. I had been afraid to talk to her. Any best friend of J was not someone I wanted to be close to. When J decided she did not want to be her friend either, I thought maybe we have more in common than previously thought.

So my friend S and I have been hanging out with B too. And now I feel like I don't fit in. I feel like the third wheel, constantly behind and struggling to catch up. The nerdy girl that the cool girls allow to follow them around. I am constantly worrying about what they are saying and thinking about me. Their children get along very well, and I feel like my children get left out. I feel like my kids are whiny, contrary and bad, and I wonder what they are saying about my kids. I feel sad. I feel like I am being pushed out. Adan says not to worry about it. If it happens that I get pushed out, then so be it. I guess I would get more done around my house, and have way less heart ache if there was no one around to break it. BUT I would be so sad. I like having friends, and coffee dates, and BBQ's and movie nights and all that. I don't want to be super lonely during the deployment. I am going to need adult time... I will be all alone with 4 kids, one a brand new babe, and no husband.

Also, because we have all 3 been hanging out, I feel obligated to invite B to everything I have had planned with S. I don't want her to feel left out, but I don't want to feel left out either. I feel stuck again.

Makes a girl just want to go to bed for a week or two.

Foodalicious Friday

2010-08-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

Food for the coming week! Again, let me know if you want recipes!

Friday - Pizza and salad
Saturday - Spinach Salad
Sunday - Chile Rellanos, rice and beans
Monday - Steak Skewers, rice and salad
Tuesday - Lemony chicken Pasta, salad
Wednesday - Chicken and Fruit Packets, salad
Thursday - Taco Soup and rolls

MYTH BUSTERS - Grocery store checkout!

2010-08-04T21:16:00.000-07:00

People tell me every other day that it would be so much cheaper if I would shop at Walmart. There are two plusses for walmart shopping - generic brands and no tax on food. Soooooo I decided to take this test on the road. Myth Busters here we come

I purchased my groceries for the next two weeks at my normal store, the Ft. Knox Commissary. I wrote down each item and the price and took my notebook to Walmart. At walmart, I wrote down the price for the exact same brand, or a comparable brand, and wrote down the price for the generic brand. I did not include generic brand pricing for generic brand items I would not use. (I will not substitute bottled water, coffee creamer, granola bars, or coffee. Other items I already use a generic brand at the commissary so the similar Walmart product is the generic brand) For the purpose of this test, the figures below include only 1 of each item on the list. All items in the test were the same size, or the prices was calculated per ounce and the total price was based upon the per ounce price. Below you will find my results and below that you will find the detailed figures.

Results:

General Observations:

Some items were cheaper at Walmart, but much of the produce was icky. Walmart did not carry everything the Commissary carried. Non-food items were generally cheaper at Walmart. Check the detailed list at the bottom for specifics.

Shopping at the Commissary - Total = $196.42 + $9.82 (5% surcharge) = $206.24
Shopping at Walmart with comparable brands - Total = $238.47 + $2.48 (6% tax on non-food items) = $240.95
Shopping at Walmart with generic brands - Total = $224.23 + $2.48(6% tax on non-food items) = $226.71

Results are clear! Commissary wins by $20.47

So.. here are the prices. I have highlighted the items that are cheaper at Walmart in a name brand OR a generic brand.

Item	Commissary Prices	Walmart Name Brands	Walmart Generic Brands
Chicken Breast Tenderloins frozen	5.99	7.00	n/a
Chicken boneless skinless breasts - frozen	5.99	6.48	n/a
1 % Milk	2.17	2.28	n/a
Chicken tenderloins - fresh	2.93/lb	1.25/lb	n/a
Tombstone Pizza	3.25	4.00	2.70
Mini corn on the cob - 16 count	1.86	3.28	3.60
Mozzarella Cheese 16 oz.	3.00	4.00	3.62
Cheddar Cheese - 32 oz.	4.99	8.16	7.25
Monterey Jack Cheese - 16 oz.	3.00	4.00	3.62
Ricotta Cheese - Light	1.99	2.13	1.83
Sour Cream - 8 oz.	1.11	1.28	.78
Deli Roast Beef - 10 oz.	2.89	3.00	2.88
Pepperoni	1.82	2.98	n/a
Cherry Tomatoes	1.50	2.48	n/a
Hummus	2.99	2.98	n/a
Jumbo pasta shells	1.35	1.96	1.50
Cilantro	.79	.88	n/a
Strawberries - 1lb	1.98	1.88	n/a
green bell peppers	.99/lb	.98/lb	n/a
poblano peppers	1.98/lb	2.28/lb	n/a
celery	.99	1.28	n/a
Planters to-go packs - 25 ct.	7.98	20.00	n/a
Deer Park .5L - 6pack	.99	1.32	n/a
Northland Cranberry/Black Cherry juice	2.00	2.97	n/a
Jolly Time popcorn kernels - 32 oz.	1.19	3.98	1.48
Cantalope	1.50	2.28	n/a
Pineapple	2.69	2.98	n/a
Bananas	.54/lb	.49/lb	n/a
Honeydew	3.50	2.98 - but it looked icky	n/a
Hamburger Buns - 12 ct	1.49	1.98	1.48
Eggs - 18 ct.	1.40	1.74	n/a
Spaghetti sauce with mushrooms	.99	.98	n/a
Chili Beans	.78	.86	.66
Pinto Beans	.68	.76	.64
Cream of mushroom soup	1.19	.78	n/a
Chopped tomatoes with zesty mild green chilis	1.13	1.14	1.12
Quaker chewy granola bars - 18 ct.	2.79	3.38	n/a
Coffee Mate - Coconut Cream & Cinnamon Vanilla	2.50 each	3.38 each	n/a
Millstone coffee beans - two flavors	5.99/lb each	7.97/lb each	n/a
Lipton hot tea - Island Mango, Tuscan lemon, bedtime, blueberry pomegranate	2.75 each	3.16 each	n/a
Tomato sauce	.89	.58	.50
White Vinegar	1.07	1.50	.84
Natural peanut butter with honey	1.89	3.58	n/a
V8 juice	2.19	2.58	2.00
Malt o Meal version of Fruity Pebbles	2.89	3.26	3.64
Malt o Meal version of Frosted Flakes	2.45	2.22	2.50
Nectarines	1.48/lb	1.28/lb	n/a
Kale	1.09	1.18	n/a
Broccoli	.89/lb	1.48/lb	n/a
Tortillas - burrito size and fajita size	1.69	1.78	1.78
Hefty Casserole Pans - disposable - 2 ct.	1.33	3.00	n/a
Kiwi	.25	.25	n/a
Mushrooms - 16 oz. - whole	2.19	2.98	n/a
Romaine Lettuce	1.68	1.88	n/a
Green Leaf Lettuce	1.68	1.88	n/a
Red Peppers	2.00 each	1.64 each	n/a
Bagged Baby Spinach	1.65	1.98	n/a
Plulots	1.15/lb	1.28/lb	n/a
Plums	1.15/lb	1.28/lb	n/a
Navel Oranges	.69 each	.78 each	n/a
Sheer Strip Band-aids	1.77	2.43	1.40
Juicy Juice - 32 ct juice boxes	10.26	9.60	n/a
Granny Smith apples	.99/lb	1.67/lb	n/a
Gala Apples	.99/lb	1.50/lb	n/a
Pantene Color treated hair - smooth shampoo and conditioner	3.77 each	3.97 each	n/a
Olay wet express facial wipes	4.50	4.47	n/a
Band-aid flex fabric XL	3.54	2.88	1.80
Band-aid blister treatment	2.90	3.67	n/a
Pantene Color Treatment	3.13	3.97	n/a
Degree clinical protection deoderant	5.49	6.87	n/a
Goody Girls flower clippies	3.49	2.98	n/a
Stay put elastics	3.30	3.10	n/a

B-12 really is important.

2010-08-03T22:04:00.000-07:00

Back in January I was told that I had a B-12 deficiency. I kinda blew it off. Ehhh, B-12, who needs that?! Well, apparently I do. I have been seeing doctor after doctor to figure out my health "issues" and in the process was referred to a hematologist for a sudden and large drop in my HGB levels. Of course, it took Tricare ~~600 years~~ 2 1/2 months to get my referral in. Today I visited with the hematologist. Basically I have pernicious anemia.

From the Mayo Clinic website:

Vitamin B-12 deficiency anemia (pernicious anemia). Rarely, vitamin B-12 deficiency results from a diet lacking in vitamin B-12, which is found mainly in meat, eggs and milk. A shortage occurs because your small intestine can't absorb vitamin B-12. A deficiency is most often due to a lack of a substance called intrinsic factor.

Vitamin B-12 is released from food in your stomach. Intrinsic factor is a protein secreted by the stomach that joins vitamin B-12 in the stomach and escorts it through the small intestine to be absorbed by your bloodstream. Without intrinsic factor, vitamin B-12 can't be absorbed and leaves your body as waste. Lack of intrinsic factor may be due to an autoimmune reaction, in which your immune system mistakenly attacks the stomach cells that produce it. Vitamin B-12 deficiency ultimately leads to anemia. The Doctor says it is most likely an autoimmune disorder.

If the deficiency is from a lack of intrinsic factor, it's called pernicious anemia. Pernicious means "deadly." Super Great. Lack of intrinsic factor was often fatal before the availability of vitamin B-12 shots. Because vitamin B-12 is stored in large amounts in your liver, it may take several years before signs of deficiency appear. Makes sense. I started having the stomach problems about 11 years ago. Doc said the IBS is most likely a symptom of this autoimmune disorder.

Symptoms:
Vitamin deficiency anemias can result in:
Fatigue check!
Pale or yellowish skin
Sore mouth and tongue halfway check!
Weight loss I wish!
Diarrhea
Numbness or tingling in your hands and feet check!
Muscle weakness sometimes
Irritability double check!
Unsteady movements you mean the doorways aren't jumping at me??
Mental confusion or forgetfulness What was I doing?

Vitamin deficiencies usually develop slowly, over several months to years. Vitamin deficiency symptoms may be subtle at first, but they increase as the deficiency worsens.

Complications: Nervous system disorders. While vitamin B-12 is important for the production of red blood cells, it's also important for a healthy nervous system. Untreated, vitamin B-12 deficiency can lead to neurological problems, such as persistent tingling in your hands and feet. It can lead to mental confusion and forgetfulness, because vitamin B-12 is necessary for healthy brain function. Vitamin B-12 deficiency can cause these and other health problems before it leads to anemia. So, if it is already at anemia... does that mean it is progressed?? Have I left this untreated for too long??

Treatment: Vitamin B-12 deficiency anemia (pernicious anemia). You can treat vitamin B-12 deficiency related to a poor diet with changes in your diet and vitamin B-12 supplementation, under a doctor's supervision. If your body can't absorb vitamin B-12, you'll either need lifelong vitamin B-12 injections or nasal B-12 spray. At first you'll need the shots or nasal spray as often as every other day. Eventually you'll need injections or the nasal spray just once a month. Prompt treatment is important, because neurological complications may become permanent if the B-12 deficiency isn't corrected within several months. PERMANENT??

So.... I am not sure what all this means for me. I gave 542 vials of blood at the office today. I go back in a week and may need another CT scan and a chest xray. He says that if I have one autoimmune disorder, then I will likely have another one. poo.

school and school and friends in the army

2010-08-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow!! What the heck happened to summer vacation. Phinneas and Ferb have it wrong. We only get 60 days. This summer was no where what i had in mind. I had dreams of baseball games, museum visits, pool time, and all around funness. I think we only went to the pool 2 times. No zoo or museuming, only 1 baseball trip. Where did all the time go?? I feel like I missed a bunch of chances to make memories. I hope that what we did was enough to get us through this year.

With the start of school, we had to gather school supplies and spruce up appearances. School supplies now include 48 pencils, rolls of paper towels, kleenex, wet wipes, and a partridge in a pear tree. WTH? Why don't schools supply basic necessities? What happened to me supplying what MY child needs? This bothers me.

I have decided that I will be putting off school for a while. Okay, We decided that. As much as I want to throw a BF, i have to admit that it really does make some sense. My house is suffering lately. I am not able to keep it clean, or complete projects, and I have almost zero time to write articles for the website. These are things that i want. I want a clean house. I want my projects completed. I want to be able to write an article a week. NONE of these things are happening lately. AND add to that a new baby. I want to be able to stay home my new one. I don't want to feel stretched out between house, school and children. Something has to give. If i put school off the table, the other things will come together better. Also, with school off the table I won't have to stress about moving and how my classes will transfer to the new college at the new duty station.

Friends are hard to make when you move every 3 years. It makes you quick to judge, and I like to think, and good judge of character, or at least a good judge of compatibleness. I think it also makes you less tolerable of bullshit.
Tthis post seems to have a lot of young wives who are new to the military. I think the military has change in the last 12 years. And because of the change in soldiers, the wives expect more. You can not expect the army to just let your husband go every time you hiccup. You can't bitch if your husband comes home past 5:31. The mission comes first, and family comes second. You have to realize that your soldier will miss milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, christmas and first moments in your children's lives. You have to be able to change your own damn lightbulbs, and sometimes, washing machines, flat tires, and toilets. That's the life. That's what you have to do. I want to tell these wives, that their soldiers WILL miss OB appointments, and if they can't take it, they are in the wrong place. Maybe I am hard, but I don't think it's a bad thing. The military has taught me that I am strong enough to stand on my own. I can make it happen.

I don't want friends that i have to coddle. If you can't take, leave. Go home and live with mommy during deployments. Don't stay here and cry about how you have no support. I want friends that are capable. I want friends that i can hang with, that have children who I don't want to tie up and that can handle their own. Yeah, i want to get together, and play games, have BBQ's and drink it up, but I don't want someone up my ass who is going to freak out if I decide to stay in. I feel like that isn't too much to ask for, but reading this list.. I am pretty specific. LOL. I want a certain kind of person. I guess it's more of an attitude.

I have a group of friends here, but I don't feel connected to the majority of them. I don't think they would care or really notice if I disappeared. I always feel like they are getting together with out me. Like I am the smelly one in the room. Maybe it's because my children are older than the majority of the children. Maybe the majority of the women don't like me but just won't say it. Who knows... Life is too short to play games, and just thinking about this makes my brain hurt. (I should mention here that this is a group of about 15 women. One of these ladies is a long-time friend, and I am also friends with one of the other ladies.)

I have a new friend, and she is new to active duty, but she doesn't have the attitude of a cry baby. Maybe it's because she isn't 18. It's nice to have someone with similar goals and attitudes. I look forward to our nightly walks, and we have plans to hit the gym. It is nice to have someone that is completely unattached to any other friends I have. It's like she is all mine and I don't have to share. She cares if I am not around, and she wants to be around me as much as I want to be around her. That sounds like we are dating or something LOL, but really with husbands gone so much it is so important to have friends that care, and will support you when you feel like hiding in bed.

This was kind of convoluted. I guess I just want some friends. I want friends that I can hang with. I am not willing to lower my standards to have a big group of friends. I think that this means I will never have a ton of friends. Maybe having 2 or 3 great friends is better than having 20 so-so friends.

Motherhood and Random Manipulation

2010-07-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

Motherhood: This summer, my boys had 2 weeks of sleep-away camp. One week in June, and one in July. The second week, my friends daughters attended the camp at the same time. She missed her girls so much, and thought about them, and worried about their health and safety. She made me reflect on my mother role. I am a craptastic mother!! I know, I know, no one is super mom, we all have our faults, but DANG! I did not worry about the boys, I missed them a wee little bit, but not enough for it to impact my day. I did not worry about their health or safety, and the week went by hella fast. I will admit that this is their 3rd year at this same camp, and I am familiar with the structure and such of the camp and the days they spend there, but STILL!! I did not send any letters or emails (yes, the camps now have emails for campers!!) I just did not figure the boys would want to hear from me, or miss me that much. At the end of camp, I got an email from Alex that asked me why i did not email. Apparently the other boys told him that I did not love him. Boo.

Now I am trying to figure out ways to "care" more. I thought i was a good caring mom... not a super fantastical super mom, but good enough. I am not so sure at the moment.

Random Manipulation: *disclaimer: Local friends that read this.. this is not related to anyone in my immediate vicinity*
What do you do when people you know make up stories to make you feel bad for them? I am feeling manipulated by someone in my life, but I am not sure how to deal with it. I just want to be me and live my life the best I can. I feel like my life's ups and downs are being co-oped by someone else which makes every unique thing in my life feel cheap and un-special. I need to figure out how to deal with this in a diplomatic manner, with out offending everyone and their aunts, while still maintaining those things which make me Susie.

Foodalicious Friday

2010-07-16T17:01:00.000-07:00

Updated with recipes on 8/5/10

We have made a pact to not eat out for 90 days. 90. So, I want to get back to posting my meal plans.. if you want any recipes, let me know!

Today was BBQ ribs, rolls and cauliflower but that ended up being hot dogs and tortilla chips. Why, you ask? Oh, it's because Adan charred the skids out of the ribs. Lucy had come by and said. "Dad, the BBQ is steaming." He said something along the lines of, "yeah, yeah." About 10 minutes later he goes out to the 'que and starts cursing. Yup.. i don't think even the dog would eat that charcoal.

So, next week:

Saturday: Greek Chicken and Veggies
Greek Chicken and Vegetables

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cups fresh or frozen cut green beans or 1 can of cut green beans, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion
2 t. dried oregano leaves
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 sheets of aluminum foil approx 12x18"
1 pkg crumbled feta cheese

Cut chicken in stripes. Toss with beans, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper.
Center 1/4 of mixture on each sheet of foil.
Bring up sides of foil to make packets; leave space for heat circulation.
Place packets on grill over medium hot heat. Grill 10-14 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender crisp. Open foil packets; and sprinkle with cheese.

Sunday: Spinach Salad and rolls

Monday: Grilled chicken and mango salad

Tuesday: Fajitas, rice and beans

Wednesday: BBQ chicken packets and baked potatoes
BBQ Chicken Packets

4 chicken breasts
4 sheets of foil - 12x18"
1 c. BBQ sauce
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 c. chopped green pepper

Center 1 chicken breast on each sheet of foil. Spoon BBQ sauce over chicken. Top with vegetables.
Bring up foil sides to make a packet; leave room for heat circulation.
Place packets on grill of medium hot heat. Grill for 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.

Thursday: Cajun Sausage and beans
Cajun Sausage and Beans

1 lb turkey sausage, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onions
1 medium green pepper, chopped
2 t. cajun seasoning
4 sheets of aluminum foil, 12x18"

Mix sausage, beans, tomatoes, green pepper and seasonings
Center 1/4 of the bean mixture on each sheet of foil
Bring up foil sides to make packets; leave room for heat circulation.
Grill packets over medium hot coals or until thoroughly heated.

Friday: Basil Chicken Packets and rolls
Basil Chicken Packets

4 chicken breasts - I use boneless skinless
Heavy duty aluminum foil - 4 sheets approx. 12x18"
2 T. chopped parsley
2 t. grated lemon peel - I use fresh lemon zest
2 t. dry basil leaves - I use fresh chopped basil
1/2 t. each salt and pepper
2 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 medium red pepper, cut in rings

Center 1 chicken breast on each foil sheet. Mix parsley, lemon peel, basil, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over chicken. Top with squash and red peppers.
Bring up sides of foil to make a packet. Leave room for heat to circulate inside.
Place packets on grill over medium hot coals. Grill for 11-13 minutes or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender.

Yes, the majority of these meals are grilled. It's too hot for the oven and the stove.

A positive outlook

2010-07-15T06:02:00.000-07:00

A positive outlook changes everything, right??

* We have groceries

* I have 2 cars, so we still have something to drive

* The dog survived

* Adan's grandmother did not pass away

* I have friends

* My parents are nice

* Eventually I will be able to return to school

* I have loyal Scentsy customers

* Diaper Decisions will not go fold

Iron on Wall "Vinyls"

2010-07-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have always admired those cutesy wall sayings.
"Home, where your story begins"
"Splish, Splash, I was taking a bath"
You get the idea.

I really did not want to fork out $50+ to get fancy stick on wall sayings that I can't take with me when we move. Every tutorial I found online had to do with fancy cricut machines and vinyl sticky sheets. Stuff I don't have.

SO.... I found these instructions on how to do it yourself with out a fancy cricut.

Basically you use fabric to iron on your letters! I bonded the heatnbond to the fabric, cut out my letters, and then ironed them onto the wall. It was a pita getting them on the wall semi straight because the wall was not straight across... part of it was taller than others. I know.. that sounds like a lame excuse, but please consider that this house was built by the military.

And I am convinced i was holding the camera crooked when i took the picture. Yeah. That's it.

Operation New Board - Completed!

2010-07-10T12:15:00.000-07:00

Remember the mission??

So... New board is done. Thanks for the fabric input everyone. I ignored all your advice and went with the Revolutionary War toile because I will never ever ever use that fabric. That fabric has been sitting alone and ignored in my fabric closet for 6 years. Okay, not alone. Sitting with 300 other cuts of fabric in the closet, but ignored by all of them.

I love it!!

Water Bottle Carrier

2010-06-29T20:56:00.000-07:00

I have been walking with a friend, and I decided I needed something to carry my bottle and my cell phone.

I really just winged this pattern. I measured around my bottle and the height and i cut the pieces and sewed them together. The pocket was a bitch because canvas doesn't stretch much at all. Eventually I got it as close to good as I could and I called it quits. I already had the fabric and webbing, so it was a free project!

Operation New Board

2010-06-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

My ironing board has given me a mission.

The mission is called Operation New Board. Operation New Board consists of ironing board makeover a la Vain and Vapid.

The old board is icky. That hole has gotten huge and raggedy during the last 6 months. The ironing board is crying out for a successful completion of this mission.

Your task is to help me pick the fabric to cover my ironing board. All of this fabric is in my closet and begging to be chosen for this mission.

Carebears

Green

Cream with Red flowers

Blue with flowers

Toile with Revolutionary war scenes - cream with dk blue

American Flag (doy)

Camo in browns

This message will NOT self-destruct in 5 minutes.

Summer Dresses

2010-06-28T20:36:00.000-07:00

Summer Dress time!

I made a pillow case dress. I hate making these. Pain in the ass. I hated doing those rolled hems.

Next I made some shirred dresses. These were so freaking easy that I made 10. I started out with this pattern, But it just wasn't really super understandable. Then I made one of these dresses (the first one, but I did a different fabric on top.) It wasn't quite right either. So.... I ended up with my own style of fun.

Basically I took a rectangle of fabric. I used the full width of fabric, and measured out the length i wanted, based upon where i wanted the dress to fall on Lucy. Sometimes I used a complementary color on top, or I used a color on top, a diff for the skirt, and then a strip of the top color at the hem.

I prepared the straps as in the SewMamaSew pattern. And then I attached the straps as in the pattern also, but I did not leave a casing for the elastic.

Next, I shirred the top, about 16-20 rows. I just used the pressure foot to measure the distance from the previous row. I did not sew especially straight, but you can't tell in the end.

Okay, after the shirring, I used the iron on a steam setting to shrink up the shirring. It still seems super big though.

Next, sew up the sides to make a tube with the shirring going around the top. Then hem the bottom.

The end.

Oh, to make this fit, wash and dry on high. It shrinks up super well.

my babies aren't really babies anymore

2010-06-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

I am going to miss how my babies talk. I should have written these things down as they happened but I never seem to do that. When Alex was 2, everytime we went for a walk he would "ssssmell ssssumsing." It was always BBQ or dog poop. When CSI first started, AJ was 3. He would sing the theme song, "ooooo, ah deee, oo-oo, oo-oo" Today, Lucy told me that she "earned a bruise."

Back in the day...

2010-06-14T06:08:00.000-07:00

I have a uni-brow. I always have. In high school, I tweezed. It hurt. I made a promise to myself that once I was on my own I would never pluck again. I had dreams of lying in a salon chair, wearing a fluffy robe, while my eyebrows were masterfully sculpted by a stylist.

I found out that there are no fluffy robes and the chairs are uncomfortable and waxing HURTS. But the pain is quick and I can bear the 6 hours of swollen red eyebrow. So I wax, and I am very happy with letting someone else rip off my uni-brow.

Some where along the way, I forgot about tweezers. We have made a plan to get out of debt and that includes cutting out frivolities. I tried to explain that my self-esteem would plummet if I had a uni-brow and mustache but Adan did not understand. No more salon. Boo.

Then I remembered! I used to do something before salons. It took me a while to remember, but finally I remembered this tweezer thing. I remembered how I marked with a pencil how far to tweeze, and voila! no more uni-brow. Doin' it old school.

Yesterday, Alex and I were making waffles. I had to melt some butter, so I popped it in a measuring cup and threw it in the microwave. Alex said he loved the microwave, and could not imagine living with out one. So I told him that I was about 11 when we got our first microwave. He looked horrified and told me that he could not live with out PS2 or PS3 or PSP. I let him know we did not have one of those or a DVD player. I thought he was going to fall out.

Juice Feasting

2010-06-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

I love raw food. I got away from it this winter and am ready to renew my commitments! So, I started a juice feast. 4-5 quarts of yummy healthy juice every day for 90 days. Yes, 90.

So yesterday I started with 2 quarts. I had lettuce, spinach, carrots, celery, cilantro, lemon, apple and beet juice. I drank that in the AM and had a regular dinner.

Today I wanted to do my whole day juicy, but, alas, I watched my extra kiddos today. I was slightly stressed about having 6 kids inside on a rainy icky day, and a puppy that doesn't understand not to jump and chew and pee on the floor. Then it took like 2 hours to juice all my stuff for the day. Fast forward to lunch time and I was all tense with a facial tic.

My juice today: 48 ounces of orange, pineapple, strawberry juice. Berry berry good.
96 ounces of romaine, spinach, carrots, cucumber, cilantro, celery, apple, lemon.

I drank all the fruit juice first, and was full FOREVER, so I did not have any more until about 5. I drank the remaining quart from yesterday and another quart from today, so total intake was 102 ounces of juice. Then I was craving french fries, pasta, anything! I know it has to do with an addiction to crappy food so I tried to resist but I lost. I had a bowl of pasta salad we made for dinner. It was a fairly healthy meal though. rotini noodles, broccoli, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, whole olives, cheddar cheese chunks in a zesty italian dressing. Yum! I only had a small bowl and now I feel super full.

I can tell I am detoxing right now.. should be a scary week or so. I have had no soda in over 24 hours.. this is a big accomplishment for me! I feel light headed and fuzzy and TIRED. I know that in a couple days I will feel better, but it's a bitch in the meantime. Before anyone freaks out, I had the same symptoms when i moved to raw food from standard american diet last time. Only this time I am not chewing. :)

I need to get some cute straws. Maybe glass ones. I have been eyeballing them.I think maybe I should vlog these things. Maybe.

baking - PB&J muffins

2010-05-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

I was super busy today. I made 2 batches of PB&J muffins, and a batch of poppy seed bagels. Tomorrow I am going to make dinner rolls, Italian cheesey bagels and maybe some cranberry bagels.

Recipe:

PB&J muffins
I found this recipes on a blog somewhere, sometime. I made a few tweaks and now I am sharing with you! Completely yummalicious. As anyone who knows me knows, before 9 AM is still the night before. Morning is not offically here until 9:01 AM. And I like to sleep in. Sooooo...I made a batch this afternoon for breakfast tomorrow morning. The muffins did not survive the hour.. I had to make more tonight after everyone went to bed!

1 1/3 c. flour
1 c. oats
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1/4 c. applesauce
1/3 c. peanut butter
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla extract
jelly or jam

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, brown sugar and sugar. In a medium bowl, combing egg, applesauce, peanut butter, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Fill greased muffin cups half full. I use a larger silverware spoon and pour a heaping spoonful into the muffin cup. This is usually about half of the muffin cup. Put 1 teaspoon of jam or jelly in the middle of the muffin batter. Spoon more batter over the jelly. Make sure the jelly if completely covered. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

Tips:

To make buttermilk, add 1 T. of vinegar to a measuring cup and then fill the milk to the desired amount.
Make sure that the jelly is in the middle of the batter and does not reach the edges of the muffin.
Make sure the jelly is completely covered with the remaining batter.
Do not use more than 1 t. of jelly. The muffin will not be structurally sound, and will collapse.

craziness

2010-05-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

Some days I feel like Jean Grey. Shit falls apart all around me. I am dangerous and scary.

Some days Meredith Brooks says perfectly.

We found out a couple days ago that I may have some health problems. The joy of military health care is that it takes forever to see a specialist. I have a great primary care provider, and she says things aren't right but she doesn't know what or the severity of my problems. I will most likely need surgery, but I don't know until I get the surgical consult.

I had to give 600 stool samples. It was soo-oo grody. Nothing like filling a bunch of cups full of shit. mmmm, good times.

So I feel slightly crazy. I keep having an image in my head. I am standing in the middle of a hurricane. Trees are whipping around and I can hear the wind blowing through the streets. I am standing in the middle of the melee perfectly still. Not one hair on my head moves. It is the perfect opposite of how I feel now. Instead of chaos inside, it is chaos outside.

Teacher gifts on the fly

2010-05-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I realized that I needed teacher gifts ASAP! So, i found me some fabric, some extra apple jelly (yes, it is the trash jelly, shhhhh!), a Scentsy room spray, and a handmade heart shaped card. Oh yeah. All handmade. Cost = $0.00.

I basically winged the bag. Rectangle, sew up the sides, box the corners. The straps are rectangles with the sides ironed into the middle and then folded in half. I sewed it into the hem as I turned the hem on the top.

Plant Cell Cake

2010-04-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

AJ's science project. Totally edible. I think this speaks for itself. HAHAHA

Pretty Pots

2010-03-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

I made some cutie pie mosaic pots. It was pretty easy. First I taped off the top lip part of the pot and painted the bottom with chalk board paint. After it was dry I taped off the chalkboard paint part on the bottom so no grout would get on it. I used mosaic glue to glue pieces of tile on the top, close together, and then i glopped grout on the top. I used my fingers to make sure the grout went into all teh cracks and in between all the tiles. Then i took a damp sponge and wiped grout off the tiles and made sure it was all even and level-ish. Done!

I also made some non-grout type. They are just the flat bottom marbles from Walmart/dollar store. I got a huge amount of them on sale at Walmart when they ditched the craft department. I just glued them on. Done!

ETA winter was not kind to these pots. Most of the marbles fell off. Different glue is needed.

commercials - yikes & yay review

2010-03-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

So this Dell commercial skeeves me out. Watch below

Yeah.. that guy at the beginning... he is smiling why? And why does his buddy pop up and finishes getting dressed? And why do they share a meaningful look? yikes! Yes, go back and watch the beginning. You will feel slightly sickened and naughty. We *so* should not be sharing THAT private moment.

This next commercial makes me feel free and fantastic! Oh to be a sock monkey with a car.

Coffee Cup Rack

2010-03-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

I super love my new coffee cup rack! (That's, like, a huge amount of love) I made it yesterday and it was really easy. Okay, I didn't really make it. Adan did. He put up the bar, and he bent the forks. BUT it was my idea, and that counts, right? Okay, it wasn't my idea. I got it HERE

CSI love

2010-03-02T20:54:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a CSI addict. I don't love it as much now that Grissom is gone, but I watch all the spin offs.. Miami and New York. Adan is convinced they are about to start an LA version.. we shall see. Adan won't watch Miami with me though; he says Horatio is annoying. Which makes this Phinneas and Ferb clip all the more fun. (Have I mentioned that I love Phinneas and Ferb?)

Barbie as a role model

2010-02-25T14:24:00.000-08:00

Whether we like it or not, media is a role model for our children. I think Barbie has become something of a role model for our young girls. I have always been anti barbie for her huge tatas and tiny waisted physique, but this commercial is taking things too far. Babysitting as a career choice? Babysitting is a wonderful career, don't get me wrong. In fact, I have been a home day care provider for many years. However, I have high goals for my daughter. How about she become a president, or an activist standing up for people's rights or environmental issues. Maybe she could be an astronaut, or a scientist looking for cures for diseases, or an agriculturist looking to preserve our food heritage. Barbie's aspirations are a tad bit different. She wants to teach children to use the toilet. And look, her toilet comes with it's very own pile of poo.

Sun on a Snowy Day

2010-02-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

I love the soft feathery snowflakes of "dry" snow. I was driving home from my doctor appointment and the snow was falling towards my car. I felt like I was at Universal Studios in one of those 3D movies with the snowing jumping out of the screen to my face. My mesmerized staring at the snow hitting my windshield probably wasn't too safe though.

My new wreath is like a bright bit of sunshine on a dark and dreary day. It was so easy to make too. All you need is a styrofoam wreath and some fake flowers. Trim the stems off the flowers and then hot glue the flower heads onto the wreath, close together so you don't see any styrofoam in between the flowers. Glue a looped piece of ribbon on the back and VOILA! Bright and cheery wreath for your door!

I got all the supplies at Michael's but you might be able to find most of these things at your local dollar store.

OAMC updates! Day 1 and 2

2010-02-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

So, I went shopping, and was able to purchase all ingredients minus meat, assorted spices and pantry staples like rice for $350.00. I went down today and picked up all the ground beef and chicken (50 lbs ground sirloin, 30 lbs chicken breasts, 2 lbs chicken tenders, 10 2-lb fryer chickens) for 215.00. This brings my 60 meal total to $465.00. I normally spend that in one month! I will still need to hit the store for milk and salad fixin's and assorted other small purchases but I estimate that to be around $60 per month. That will bring us to $645.00. YAY!! Counting eating out, and left overs (We do leftover night every saturday), I estimate this to be pretty close to 3 months worth of meals for us. That rounds out to $215.00 per month. My normal grocery budget is $225.00 every 2 weeks... so we will be saving $235 per month and $705 in 3 months. Holy wow!

Of course I have no where to store the ingredients before they are assimilated into meals so my kitchen looks like the grocery store barfed in my house. And speaking of the store... I got some crazy looks with my 9 jars of spaghetti sauce and 5 jars of salsa, and 45 lbs of potatoes in 5 lb bags. And 3 doz. eggs balanced precariously on top of a mountain of broccoli, cauliflower, pre-shredded cheese...

Yesterday was beans day. I had cooked all the dry beans ahead of time, and Adan mashed most of them up. Split pea soup simmered in the crock pot while I worked and it smelled so good. I have learned that good shoes are a must while doing my OAMC. Also counter space is at a premium so I may haul the small craft table in there while I am working. Also, run the dishwasher at intervals during the cooking so it is not such a bitch to clean up when you are done. Tomorrow? I will be doing vegetables. Gotta get those done before they go bad. Day 4 is chicken, followed by beef, cheese and baking on days 5, 6 and 7. Then done!!!

Broccoli and Cauliflower Oh MY!

2010-02-16T19:05:00.000-08:00

It seems so hard to believe that it is time to start my seedlings. The ground is covered in snow and more keeps falling. How on earth will I be able to plant peas in 2 weeks?? I have started my broccoli and cauliflower and little sprouts are showing. it always amazes me that I plant and then something grows. So thrilling! Of course the new kitty Max finds it thrilling as well and has started nibbling on my sprouts. Bad Kitty!!

The garden in February. Yup, still snow covered. I am supposed to plant peas in a couple weeks, and I can't even find my boxes!!

Vegetable OAMC Plan

2010-02-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

The Vegetable OAMC Plan

Meals:
Tortilla Soup with Rolls
Brown Sugar Carrots – 2 side dishes
Dijon Carrots – 3 side dishes
Rice – 8 side dishes
Baked Potato Soups with rolls
Rolls – 8 side dishes
Broccoli – 3 side dishes
Dill Potatoes – 5 side dishes
French Fries – 5 side dishes
Mashed Potatoes – 5 side dishes
Twice Baked Potatoes – 1 side dish
Cauliflower – 3 side dishes
Garlic Bread – 5 side dishes

Master Ingredient List:

15 cans or 29 c. chicken broth
3 onions, chopped
1 ½ c. frozen corn
2 T. chopped cilantro
3 t. hot pepper sauce
chili powder
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
3 flour tortillas
5 lbs carrots, peeled and sliced
2 T. butter + 3 ½ (56 T) cup butter, room temperature + 2/3 cup butter + 20 T butter + 10 T butter + 4 cups of butter or margarine
1 c. brown sugar
9 cans of Mexian Style chopped tomatoes
salt
garlic powder
8 c. uncooked rice
flour
8-12 strips bacon, cooked
2 cups sour cream
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
pepper
½ c. minced cilantro
7 c. milk (110 degrees F.) + 2 c.
2 ¾ cup granulated sugar
14 eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
28 c. bread flour
21 t. instant yeast
12 large stalks of broccoli
42 lbs potatoes + 12 baking potatoes
dried dill
1 ¼ t. dried rosemary
6 c. shredded paremesan cheese
olive oil
2 heads cauliflower
1 ½ c plain yogurt
¾ c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
skim milk
3 tsp kosher salt
½ t. pepper
garlic salt
4 loaves of French bread – or make your own
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 ½ t. grated orange peel
Dijon Mustard
1 ½ t. ground ginger

Dishes Needed:
15 storage containers – 1 for tortilla soup, 2 for brown sugar carrots, 3 for Dijon carrots, 8 for rice, 1 for baked potato soup

Processes:

Rolls – We are making 7 batches of rolls. Every time you take dough out of the bread maker, add the next batch in. Place all ingredients (in order given) in bread pan of your bread machine. 1 cup milk (110 degrees F.), 1/2 cup butter, room temperature, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 4 cups bread flour, 3 teaspoons instant yeast. Select dough setting and press start. When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface (I use a non-stick cooking spray. Form dough into an oval, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes. After resting, shape the dough as desired (see Types of Rolls below). For 13 large rolls - weigh dough into 3-ounce pieces.
Shape pieces of dough into balls and freeze shaped dinner rolls on a cookie sheet, and once frozen transfer to a plastic bag. This way you can bake up just the quantity you desire for dinner and not the entire batch. Before baking, allow rolls to thaw completely and rise in a warm place if frozen. I have found that I have to take the unbaked frozen rolls out of the freezer 3 to 4 hours before planning to bake. I just put the frozen rolls (container and rolls) on my counter (not in the refrigerator) and let thaw and rise.

Tortilla Soup – Heat oven to 350. In a soup pot heat ½ c. chicken broth. Add 1 ½ c. chopped onions and 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, and simmer, covered for 5 min. Add 1 ½ c. frozen corn, and 1 can of Mexican style chopped tomatoes and 4 c. of chicken broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Add 2 T. chopped cilantro, 3 t. hot pepper sauce, and 3 t. chili powder to soup. Cut each tortilla into 8 strips. Spray lightly with cookin spray and bake for 8 minutes until golden. Remove and cool. Transfer soup to a storage container and Freeze. Also Freeze tortilla strips and 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese. To eat, reheat soup in a sauce pan on the stove. Serve with tortilla strips and cheese sprinkled on top.

Brown Sugar Carrots – Heat 1 inch water to boiling in large saucepan. Adding 1 lb of carrots at a time, heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 6 to 9 minutes or until crisp tender; drain and set aside. Repeat with all 5 lbs of carrots. Reserve 3 lbs for Dijon carrots. In saucepan, combine 1/3 c. brown sugar, 2 T. butter, ½ t. salt, ½ t. grated orange peel stirring constantly untly bubbly. Stir in 1 lb of carrots. Cook over low heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until carrots are glazed and hot. Transfer to a storage container and freeze. Repeat once more to have to side dishes of carrots. To eat, defrost in refrigerator and reheat on stove.

Dijon Carrots – Melt 3 T. butter in a sauce pan. Add 2T brown sugar, 1 T Dijon mustard, ½ t. ground ginger, and ¼ t. salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Place one lb of carrots in a storage container. Pour sauce over carrots, stirring to coat. Freeze. Repeat twice more for 3 side dishes. To eat, defrost in fridge and reheat on stove.

Rice – In a saucepan, sauté 2 c. rice in 1/3 c. oil until golden. During the last 2 or 3 min. add 1 c. chopped onions. In a blender, combine 2 cans or 4 c. chicken broth and 2 cans of Mexican style chopped tomatoes and 1 t. garlic powder. Process until of uniform consistency. Pour liquid carefully into rice. Bring to a boil over med. High heat. Reduce heat, cover and cook 20 -25 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Divide into 2 parts, transfer into storage containers and freeze. Repeat 4 times, totaling 8 rice side dishes. To eat, defrost in fridge, and reheat on stove.

Baked Potato Soup - Bake 2lbs potatoes until soft, then peel. Mash or cube the potatoes depending on the desired consistency for the soup. In a large soup pot, combine butter and flour to make a roux. Cook for 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the liquids. Add salt and pepper, potatoes, cooked bacon, and 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese. At the last minute, stir in 1 c. sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving. Transfer to storage container and freeze. Defrost in fridge. Soup will be thick. Reheat on stove, add milk to thin as desired.

Broccoli – Heat a pot of water to boiling. Cut broccoli into florets and drop into boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry. In thirds, transfer to zip closing bags and freeze. To reheat, microwave in bag for 2 to 3 minutes or heat on stove in sauce pan in 1 inch of water.

Cauliflower – Heat a pot of water to boiling. Cut cauliflower into florets and drop into boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry. In thirds, transfer to zip closing bags and freeze. To reheat, microwave in bag for 2 to 3 minutes or heat on stove in sauce pan in 1 inch of water.

Dilled Potatoes – Wash and dice 2 lbs of potatoes into bite size chunks. Place in a casserole dish. Slice 4 T. of butter into small pieces and place on top of potatoes. Top with 2 T. dried dill. Stir to coat. Cook in a 350 oven for 20 min. Cool and freeze. To reheat, defrost in a fridge then cook in a 400 oven for 30 minutes. We are making 5 of this side dish, so repeat 5 times.

French Fries – Peel 10 lbs of potatoes and cut in to french fries or steak wedges. Shake the raw french fries in a little olive oil and seasoning salt, (this is easy in a big plastic bag) then bake till just browned, cool. "Flash freeze" (set on the cookie sheet they are baked on in the freezer until they are frozen solid). Scoop them off with a spatula and store in 5 quart ice cream buckets or zippered plastic baggies, pressing out extra air. Shake out only what you need for reheating. To eat, fully preheat your oven to 475 degrees. To heat them up, spread frozen potatoes apart on a cookie sheet in a single layer, bake in a preheated 475 degree oven for about 15 minutes, they get crispy. For a very large amount, turn the oven to 425 degrees.

Mashed Potatoes – Peel 10 lbs of potatoes. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Be sure not to over fill, as we will be adding potatoes and bringing the water level up. Once boiling, add half the potatoes. Reduce heat and cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain. Shake pan with potatoes over low heat to dry. This will help the mashed potatoes be fluffier. Mash potatoes in pan until no lumps remain. Add 1 ¼ c. chicken broth in small amounts, mashing after each addition. Add 2/3 c. olive oil, 2/3 t. rosemary, 1 ¼ t. salt and 2 ½ c. parmesan cheese. Mash vigorously until potatoes are light and fluffy. Cover and let stand 4 minutes. Transfer to a muffin pan. Fill each cavitiy with mashed potatoes. Freeze. Transfer to a zip closing bag. Repeat with other half of potatoes. To eat, defrost in fridge, and reheat on stove or in oven.

Twice Baked Potatoes - Bake the 12 baking potatoes in the microwave for 6 to 10 minutes or until soft. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop pulp out of each half, leaving a shell of skin and some potato. Mash the pulp with a potato masher. Add 1 c. sour cream, ½ t. garlic salt, ¼ t. pepper, 1 c. shredded parmesan cheese. Spoon mixture back into potato shells. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze. Transfer to a zip closing bag. To eat, place on a cookie sheet and cook in a 425 oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot.

Garlic Bread - Take 4 loaves of french bread, and make cuts every one inch down the loaf, not cutting quite through the bottom. Soften one cup of butter or margarine and mix with two crushed cloves of garlic for each loaf. Spread evenly between the slices. Wrap in aluminum foil, then wrap in a large freezer bag. To eat, remove from freezer and remove plastic wrap. Place in oven preheated to 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Open the foil wrapper to allow steam to vent, increase oven temperature to 450 degrees and heat for another 10 minutes. Serve.

The Beef OAMC Plan

2010-02-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

This seems like a ton of ground beef, but it will stock out your freezer for a long time!

The Beef OAMC Plan

Meals:
16 Taco Burgers with French Fries and fiesta corn
Tacos with Beans and Rice
16 Sloppy Joes with tortilla chips and green beans
Enchilada Chili with tortilla chips
Meatballs Sandwiches with pears and French fries
Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread and green beans
Meatball Soup with rolls
Meatball Chili with rolls
Meatball Macaroni and Cheese with salad
16 Lemon Basil Burgers with Dill potatoes and carrot sticks
16 Hamburgers with Mashed Potatoes and Dijon Carrots
Burritos with beans and rice
Deep dish pizza with salad
Pot Pies with salad and macaroni and cheese
Empanadas with salad and cauliflower
Porcupines with rice and peas
Meatloaf with corn on the cob and salad
Meatloaf Sandwich with French fries and broccoli
Mexican Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn
Bierrocks with salad and tomato soup
Cheeseburger turnovers with peas and salad
6 Pizzas with salad and brown sugar carrots
Salsa Chili rolls and cauliflowers
Mexican Lasagna fiesta corn and salad

Master Ingredient List:

50 lbs ground beef
7 envelope taco seasoning mix (about 1 ½ oz. each)
8 slices Monterey jack cheese
9 med. Onions, chopped
2 cans tomato soup
4 Tbsp brown sugar
4 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp mustard
4 Tbsp. vinegar
4 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 can enchilada sauce
4 c. frozen corn
1 can pinto beans
24 slices white bread, diced
16 large egg whites + 4 eggs
3 2/3 c. grated Romano or parmesan cheese
1 ½ T. grated onion
1 c. minced fresh parsley
Salt
Pepper
8 cloves garlic, minced
15 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 - 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
2 t. chili powder
Bay leaf
4 ½ c. cheddar cheese, grated
7 ½ c. baking mix
1 ½ c. cornmeal
1 ¼ c. butter (18 T)
1 c. cooked rice
2 jar marinara sauce
Vegetable oil
1 1/3 c. Italian breadcrumbs
1 ½ lb. bulk sausage
2 lg cans chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon dried oregano
15 ½ cups bread flour
11 ¾ teaspoons active dry yeast
½ head cabbage, chopped
36 slices American cheese
3 c. flat beer
6 T. sugar
16 lasagna noodles
1 lb Colby-jack cheese, shredded
3 jars, 15 oz., salsa
Chili powder
1 t. dried basil
¼ c. lemon juice
9 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
6 c. pizza or spaghetti sauce
Pepperoni and pizza toppings of your choice.

Dishes Needed:
4 storage containers – 1 for taco meat, 1 for burritos, 1 for sloppy joes, 1 for enchilada chili, 1 for salsa chili
2 Pie Plates
6 loaf pans
6 pizza pans
13 x 9 x 2 baking dish

Processes:

Salsa Chili – Cook 2 lbs ground beef and 1 c. chopped onions in a 10 inch skillet until beef is browned. Drain. Mix beef, 4 c. salsa, 2 cans chopped tomatoes with green chilies, 1 lg can of chopped green chilies, 4 t. chili powder in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Stir in 2 cans or 4 c. pinto beans. Divide into 2 parts, 1 for Mexican Lasagna. Transfer remaining part to a storage container and freeze. To eat, defrost and heat on stop top.

Bierrocks Part 1 - Place 1 1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C), 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2/3 teaspoon salt, 4 cups bread flour and 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast in the bread machine pan in the order recommend by the manufacturer. Select the dough cycle. We will come back to this later.

Taco Burgers – Mix 2lbs of ground beef and 2 packets of taco seasoning mix. Shape into 12 patties. Freeze between layers of wax paper. When frozen transfer to zip closing bag.

Tacos and Burritos - Brown 10 lbs of ground beef. Season with 5 packets of taco seasoning mix, following directions on packet. Divide into 5 parts, set aside 3 parts. Transfer remaining meat into two storage containers, half in each, and freeze. Shred 4 c. cheddar cheese. Freeze in 2 zip closing bags. To eat, defrost meat and cheese in fridge. Reheat meat on stove top. Serve in taco shells with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and any other taco toppings. Or as burritos in a tortilla with cheese.

Sloppy Joes – Cook 2 lbs of ground beef with 2/3 c. chopped onion. Drain. Combine with 2 cans tomato soup, ¼ c. brown sugar, ¼ c. Worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp mustard, ¼ c. vinegar. Transfer to a storage container and freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Reheat on stove. Serve on hamburger buns.

Enchilada Chili – Brown 2 lbs. ground beef and 1 c. chopped onion over medium-high heat 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently until beef is brown. Drain. Stir 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies, 2 cans of enchilada sauce, 2 cans or 4 cups pinto beans and 3 cups corn into meat. Transfer to a storage container and freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge and reheat on stove in a sauce pan.

Cheeseburger Turnovers Part 1 – Remove dough from bread maker and set aside for Bierrocks. Place 1 1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C), 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2/3 teaspoon salt, 4 cups bread flour and 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast in the bread machine pan in the order recommend by the manufacturer. Select the dough cycle. We will come back to this later.

Bierrocks Part 2 – Brown 2 lbs of ground beef in a large skillet. Drain. Add ½ head of shredded cabbage and ½ c. chopped onion. Continue cooking until onion is soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Divide dough into pieces the size of tennis balls. Roll out dough pieces as thin as possible. Place ½ slice of American cheese on half of the dough, top with some filling, and then the other half of the slice of cheese. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and seal. Place on a baking sheet and freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge, then place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 oven until hot.

Meatballs – Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil. Spray foil with non-stick spray. In a very large bowl (maybe cut recipe in half and do it twice), combine 24 slices of diced white bread and 2 2/3 c. water. With your hand, mix until bread is evenly moistened. Add 16 lbs of ground beef, 16 egg whites, 2 2/3 grated parmesan cheese, 1 ½ c. grated onion, 1 c. minced fresh parsley, 2 2/3 t. salt, 8 cloves of minced garlic. Shape mixture into 92 2-inch meatballs. Place meatballs on cookie sheet and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked through and lightly browned. Freeze. Once frozen transfer to a zip closing bag. To eat, defrost in fridge, and then cook in oven until hot. Use these to eat:

Meatball Sandwiches – Sauté bell peppers and onion slices in oil until hot. Add thawed, cooked meatballs (3 meatballs per sandwich) and 14 ounces of prepared spaghetti sauce. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through. Transfer to hoagie rolls and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Spaghetti and Meatballs – Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Cook meatballs (3 per person) in a saucepan with a jar of spaghetti sauce. Serve sauce over noodles.

Easy Meatball Stew - In a large saucepan, bring 2 12-ounce jars of brown gravy (or make your own!), a 16 ounce can of stewed tomatoes, 1 ½ c. water, 1 ½ t. dried thyme, ¼ t. pepper to a boil. Stir in 1 16-ounce bag of frozen vegetables. Reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender. Stir in thawed, cooked meatballs and heat through, about 5 minutes.

Meatball Soup – In a 4 qt. saucepan, heat 2 cans of chicken broth and 2 cups of water to boiling over high heat. Add 3 med. Carrots, sliced, 3 stalks of celery, sliced; heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Stir in 5 ounces of prewashed spinach, 1 ½ c. cooked rice, and 8 defrosted, sliced meatballs. Heat through and eat!

Meatball Mac and Cheese - Defrost 1 serving of macaroni and cheese and 3 meatballs per person. Combine in a casserole dish and cook in a 350 oven until heated through.

Lemon Basil Burgers – Beat 1 egg, 1/3 c. dried bread crumbs, ¼ c. chopped onions, ¼ c. lemon juice, 2 T. parmesan cheese, 1 t. dried basil in a medium size bowl with a fork. Add 2 lbs of ground beef. Mix well. Shape into 12 patties. Freeze between sheets of wax paper. Once frozen transfer to a zip closing bag.

Hamburgers – Add 2 t. garlic powder to 2 lbs ground beef. Shape into 12 burgers. Freeze between sheets of wax paper. Once frozen transfer to a zip closing bag.

Deep Dish Pizza – Mix 7 ½ c. biscuit mix, 1 ½ c. cornmeal, 1 ½ c. water and ¾ c. butter, melted. Divide dough into 3 pieces, and reserve 2 for pot pies. Preheat oven to 425. Grease 2 pie plates. Pat dough on bottom and sides of pie plates. Bake 10 minutes and remove from oven. Spread 1 cup of refried beans in each pie plate; next add half of one part of reserved taco meat in each plate. Top with ¾ c. of shredded cheddar cheese in each pie plate. Freeze. To eat, cook frozen pizza in a 375 oven until heated through. Top with taco toppings such as lettuce and tomatoes.

Pot Pies – Using one part of reserved dough, line bottoms and sides of cavities of a muffin tin. Bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes. Fill with 1 part of reserved taco meat. Roll out remaining dough, cut into circles slightly bigger than cavities of muffin tin. Add to cavities and pinch closed. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven, cool, remove from muffin tins and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a zip closing bag. To eat, cook frozen pot pies in a 350 oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Empanadas – Using reserved empanada dough, roll out to ½ inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter or a cup, cut out smallish circles. Using 1 part of reserved taco meat, place a teaspoon of meat in the middle of each one. Top with a pinch of cheese. Brush edge of one side with a little water. Fold edges together to seal. Bend to resemble a crescent moon and crimp edges with the side of a fork. Freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag. To eat, bake with out thawing in a 400 degree oven for 5 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned. OR bake first and then freeze.

Pizza Part 1 – Remove dough from bread machine and set aside for cheeseburger turnovers. Add to bread machine: 1 c. flat beer heated to 110 degrees, 2 T butter, 2 T sugar, 1 t salt, 2 ½ c. flour, 2 ¼ t yeast and process on the dough cycle. When dough finishes and repeat until you have 3 batches of dough.

Cheeseburger Turnovers Part 2 – Using reserved dough, roll dough out thin. Cut into 8 inch squares. In a skillet, brown 2 lbs of ground beef with ½ c. chopped onion. Drain. Place a rounded spoonful of ground beef on one half of the dough squares, and top with a slice of American cheese. Fold dough over and seal. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge, and then cook in a 350 oven for 30 minutes or until turnovers are golden.

Porcupines – In a medium bowl combine 2 lbs ground beef, 1 c. cooked rice, 1 c. chopped onion, 2 t. salt, ½ t. pepper, 2 eggs, and 1 c. marinara sauce. Shape into 16 meatballs. Put ¼ c. oil in a frying pan. Add meatballs and fry until lightly browned. Freeze. Once frozen transfer to a zip closing bag. Also freeze 1 c. marinara sauce. To eat, defrost marinara sauce in fridge. Add to a casserole dish. Combine with 1 c. beef broth, and 1 c. water. Add meatballs on top of sauce. Bake in a 350 oven for 40 minutes or until hot all the way through.

Meatloaf – Mix together 4 lbs of ground beef, 2 egg, 1 c. chopped onion, 1 c. spaghetti sauce, 2 c. breadcrumbs, 2 t. Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Shape into a loaves and place in loaf pans. Bake in a 350 oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven, Cool. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge, and heat in a 350 oven until heated through. Use half of the meatloaves for meat loaf sandwiches. Just defrost heat, slice and serve on hoagies.

Mexican Meatloaf – In a large bowl, mix 1 ½ lb. ground beef, 1 ½ lbs bulk sausage, 16 oz can Mexican style stewed tomatoes, 1 8 oz. can chopped green chilies, 2 eggs, 1 ½ t. dried minced onions, ½ t. cumin, ¼ t. salt until well combined. Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place each into a loaf pan. Top each with ¾ c. salsa. Bake at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours. If the sausage makes a lot of grease drain it once or twice while cooking. Let cool and freeze. Freeze 1 c. of cheddar cheese. To eat, defrost in fridge, and then cook in a 350 oven for 45 minutes or until heated through. Top with cheese for last 15 minutes of cooking.

Mexican Lasagna – Cook Lasagna noodles. Place ½ c. of reserved salsa chili in an ungreased 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. Top with 4 lasagna noodles. Spread 1 c. chili and ½ c. refried beans over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1 c. of Colby jack cheese. Repeat layers 3 times ending with cheese. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge, and then cook in a 350 oven, covered for 40 min. Then uncover and cook 20 min. longer or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

Pizza Part 2– Divide each batch of pizza dough into 2 pieces. Press each piece of dough into a pizza pan. Cook pizza crust in a 350 oven for 5-7 minutes. Top each pizza with 1 c. spaghetti sauce, 1 ½ c. mozzarella cheese. Add pizza toppings of your choice. Freeze. To eat, cook frozen pizza in a 400 oven until crust is golden and cheese is melted.

The Cheese OAMC plan

2010-02-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

OAMC Chicken Session!

2010-02-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

Chicken OAMC plan

Once a month cooking mini session! I don’t really have time to do a full 30 meal, 30 side dishes, 30 breakfasts 30 lunch session all at once, or even in a weekend. So I am doing stages. I have a baking plan, a breakfast plan, chicken plan, beef plan, bean plan, cheese plan and a veggie plan. It comes out to 60 meals, but I figure I can do this for one week every 2 months and still be way ahead of the game.

This is to make the main dishes. I will post another OAMC plan for the side dishes.

Total of 26 meals

Note- If you are using frozen chicken to freeze before cooking, you can NOT defrost and re-freeze. This breeds germs. You must use fresh chicken and then freeze, or keep frozen chicken frozen or cook before freezing.

Meals:
BBQ chicken sandwiches with carrot sticks
BBQ chicken over rice with brown sugar carrots
Cowboy Chicken with dill potatoes and salad
Chicken Chilaquiles with salad
Chicken Stew with rolls
Chicken with orange rice with broccoli
Pizza Chicken with salad
Chicken Noodle Soup with rolls
Chicken Chili with rice and veggies
Marinated Chicken with baked beans and mashed potatoes
Citrus Chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies
Lemon Mustard Chicken with brown sugar carrots and noodles
Honey Mustard Chicken Nuggets with rice and dilled potatoes
Cheesy Chicken Strips with French fries and carrot sticks
Chicken with herbs with twice baked potatoes and salad
Lemon thyme chicken with salad
Tarragon lemon roast chicken with salad and pasta salad
Roast Sticky Chicken with baked beans and salad
Rosemary lemon chicken with oranges and dill potatoes
Chinese Chicken over rice with veggies
Teriyaki chicken wings
Forbidden City Chicken with rice and salad
Fajitas with rice and beans
Chicken Skewers with baked beans and salad
Oven Fried Chicken Strips with baked beans and salad
Mexican Chicken Lasagna with salad
All purpose Chicken and broth

Master Ingredients List:

2 lbs. Fresh chicken thighs 6 lbs. frozen chicken thighs Total - 8 lbs of chicken thighs – de-boned and skinned
12 lbs. frozen chicken breasts, 8 lbs. fresh chicken breasts Total - 20 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 bag of frozen chicken wings
2 lb. chicken breast tenders cut into 1 inch pieces – not frozen!
5 – as big as you can find, at least 3 lb. broiler-fryer chickens
3 bottles BBQ sauce
¾ c. vegetable oil + 8 T.
10 flour or corn tortillas cut into ½ inch strips
3 ½ cups salsa or salsa verde
½ c. cheddar cheese, shredded. 2 oz
3 c. shredded Mexican style cheese
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese
8 oz. sour cream
¼ c. milk
1 c. shredded cheese
2 c. buttermilk
8 T. butter
2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese
4 small onions sliced
4 stalks celery, chopped
9 cloves garlic
19 md. Green onions, chopped, 1 c.
2 lbs. small red potatoes
2 lg. red peppers - 1 cut into thin strips & 1 chopped
1 lg. yellow pepper cut into thin strips
1 lg. green pepper cut into thin strips
½ c. chopped cilantro
1 lb. fresh green beans or 18 oz. frozen, defrosted and drained
6 med. Carrots, sliced
1 large or 2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 T + 1 t. fresh sage leaves, chopped or 1 ¼ t. dried
3 ¼ + 1/3 c. soy sauce
¼ c. red wine vinegar
1 t. oregano
½ t. basil
1 ½ t. garlic powder
½ c. + 1/3 c. + 3 T. lemon juice
Tabasco sauce
¼ c. + 2 T. chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 2 T. + 2 t. dried
2 T. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 T. grated lemon peel
¾ t. dried tarragon leaves
2 t. paprika
1 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. onion powder
1/3 c. + ¾ c. brown sugar
1 T catsup
2 T. cornstarch
4 T. toasted sesame seeds
1 T. vinegar
1 T. curry powder
1 t. cinnamon
¼ c. lime juice
½ t. cumin
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 ½ t. lemon pepper seasoning
1 t. Italian seasoning
1/8 t. + ½ t. ground red pepper
¼ c. honey mustard
4 t. garlic salt
1 ½ tbsp chili powder
3 ¾ tsp cumin
3 ½ tsp ground ginger
7 t. fresh thyme leave, chopped or 4 t. dried
salt
pepper
¼ c. chopped pecans
½ t. paprika
3 T. flour
1 package long grain and wild rice mix
2 ¾ c. orange juice
2 c. spaghetti sauce
24 ounces rotini pasta
½ c. BBQ sauce
6 oz. tomato paste
½ can pineapple chunks
1 c. tomato sauce
¾ c. bread crumbs
2 c. cheese flavored crackers, crushed to make 1 c. of crushed cracker crumbs.
16 flour tortillas
bamboo skewers
shake and bake or mix some up with 4 c. flour, 4 c. ground crackers, 4 T. salt, 2 T. sugar, 2 t. garlic powder, 2 t. onion powder, 3 T paprika, ¼ c. vegetable oil. Mix well and store in fridge.
lasagna noodles
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can chopped green chilies
1 can sliced black olives
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can lima beans

Dishes:

4 Storage Containers: 1 for Chicken Stew, 1 for chicken noodle soup, 1 for BBQ chicken sandwiches, 1 for BBQ chicken over rice
2 - 2 qt. casserole
Square baking pan 8x8x2
1 – 3 qt. baking dish

Processes:

The day before, Place in crock pot: 1 onion sliced, 1 carrot, sliced, 1 celery stalk, sliced. Set cleaned chicken on top, neck up. Pour ½ c. water over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 8 – 9 hours. Remove chicken from pot, and set aside until cool. Meanwhile, strain and defat stock. Place in fridge for use on cooking day. Remove chicken from bones and set aside for Mexican lasagna, chicken chili and chicken chilaquiles. (approx. 5 c. chicken)

BBQ Chicken Part 1 - In crock pot, combine 6 lbs of chicken thighs and 3 bottles of BBQ sauce. You may have to do this in 2 or 3 stages, depending on the size of your crock pot. 2 lbs of chicken per bottle of sauce. Let this cook on high for 5-6 hours, or until chicken is fully cooked. We will come back to this later. This is for BBQ chicken sandwiches, BBQ chicken over rice, and Cowboy Chicken.

Chicken Stew – Cut 2 lbs of fresh chicken thighs into 1 inch cubes. In a large bowl, combine 3 sliced carrots, ½ c. chopped onions, parsnips, butternut squash, 2 cups chicken broth, 2 cups water, 1 T chopped fresh or 1 t. dried sage leaves, 2 t. chopped fresh or ¾ t. dried thyme leaves, ½ t. salt, ½ t. pepper. Transfer to a storage container. To serve, place in crock pot in the morning. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Mix 3 T. flour, and 3 T. melted butter. Gradually stir into stew until blended. Cover and cook on high setting for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.

Chicken Chilaquiles – Spray 2 qt. casserole with cooking spray. Heat ½ c. oil in 10 inch skillet over medium high heat. Cook tortilla strips in oil 30 to 60 seconds, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon, drain on paper towels. Arrange half the tortilla strips in bottom of the casserole. Top with 2 cups of reserved shredded chicken. ¾ c. salsa, and 1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, 1 c. of salsa and 1 c. shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge, then bake in a 375 oven uncovered about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.

Chicken with Orange Pecan Rice – Spray square baking dish with cooking spray. Mix long grain and wild rice mix, seasoning packed from rice, 2 c. orange juice, ¼ c. chopped pecans in pan. Place 2 lbs frozen chicken breasts on top of rice mix. Sprinkle with ½ t. paprika. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Bake in a 350 oven for 35-45 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is no longer pink in center.
Chicken Noodle Soup – In storage container combine 2 c. water, 2 c. reserved chicken broth, 2 c. reserved chicken, 2 sliced carrots, 3 sliced celery stalks, 2 T Italian seasonings. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Put in stock pot, add 8 ounces of rotini noodles. Cook until noodles are done and soup is hot.

Chicken Chili – In storage container, combine 2 c. reserved chicken, ½ cup barbeque sauce, ¼ c. onion, chopped), 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 can tomato paste (6 oz), 1 ½ tbsp chili powder, 1 ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp ground ginger, 1 can kidney beans, or 2 cups cooked dried from bean plan, pineapple juice (reserve pineapple), and 1 ½ c. salsa. Freeze. Freeze pineapple in a zip closing bag. To eat, defrost in fridge then, cook 8-10 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high in crock pot. Add pineapple and cook until warm (about 15 min on high).

Marinated Chicken – Combine ½ c. soy sauce, ¼ c. vegetable oil, ¼ c. red wine vinegar, 1 t. oregano, ½ t. basil, ½ t. garlic powder, ¼ t. pepper. Pour over 2 lbs of frozen chicken breasts in ziplock bag. Freeze. To eat, defrost in refrigerator, pour into a casserole dish and cook in a 375 oven for 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in middle.

Citrus Chicken – Combine ½ c. orange juice, ½ c. lemon juice, ¼ t. rubbed sage, 1 ½ inch section fresh ginger, peeled and minced, 3 cloves of garlic, minced and a few drops of Tabasco sauce. Place 2 lbs. frozen chicken breasts and marinade in a zip lock bag. Freeze. To eat, defrost in refrigerator, pour into a casserole dish and cook in a 375 oven for 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in middle.

Lemon Mustard Chicken – Combine 2 T. vegetable oil, 1 T. Dijon mustard, 1 T. lemon juice, 1 ½ t. lemon pepper seasoning, 1 t. Italian seasoning, 1/8 t. ground red pepper. Place 2 lbs of frozen chicken breasts and marinade in a zip lock bag. Freeze. To eat, defrost in refrigerator, pour into a casserole dish and cook in a 375 oven for 25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in middle.

Honey Mustard Chicken Nuggets – In medium microwaveable bowl, combine ¼ c. honey mustard, 3 T. butter, 1 t. garlic salt. Microwave uncovered on high for 45 to 60 seconds or until butter is melted. Place bread crumbs in large zip lock bag. Add 1 inch pieces of chicken tenders to mustard mixture. Stir to coat. Shake chicken pieces in bag of bread crumbs until coated. Freeze. To eat, place frozen chicken nuggets on cookie sheet. Cook in a 400 oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Cheesey Chicken Strips – Cut 2 lbs of fresh chicken breasts into ½ inch strips. Mix 2 c. crushed cheese-flavored crackers and ½ c. shredded cheddar cheese in a large zip lock bag. Beat an egg in a large bowl. Add chicken strips to egg and toss to coat. Remove chicken from egg, allowing excess to drip off. Place chicken in bag of cracker mixture. Seal bag and shake to coat evenly with cracker mixture. Freeze. To eat, place frozen chicken strips in a single layer on a cookie sheet and cook in a 400 oven for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in middle.

Chicken with Herbs – In bowl, combine 8 md. Green onions, chopped, 2 T. fresh rosemary leaves or 1 T. dried, 2 T. chopped fresh flat leaf parsley, 2 T. lemon juice, 1 t. salt, ½ t. pepper, 1 clove garlic, finely chopped. Remove giblets, rinse and pat broiler chicken dry. Rub mixture over whole chicken and place 2 T. of mixture in cavity of chicken. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of inside thigh muscle, but not touching the bone. Cook in a 350 oven for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees.

Lemon Thyme Chicken Breasts – In zip lock bag, mix 1 T. grated lemon peel, 4 t. chopped fresh thyme leaves or 2 t. dried, 2 t. garlic salt, ½ t. pepper. Add 2 lbs frozen chicken breasts and shake to coat. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Cook in a 375 oven for 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Tarragon-lemon Roast Chicken – Remove giblets. Rinse broiler chicken, pat dry. Skewer neck skin to back and tie legs to tail. Twist wings under back. In a small bowl, combine 1/3 c. lemon juice, 1 T. oil, ¾ dried tarragon, 2 cloves garlic, chopped, ½ t. salt, ¼ t. pepper. Brush over chicken. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of inside thigh muscle, but not touching the bone. Cook breast side up in a 375 oven for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until meat thermometer reaches 180 degrees.

Roast Sticky Chicken – Combine 4 t. salt, 2 t. paprika, 1 t. cayenne pepper, 1 t. onion powder, 1 t. dried thyme, ½ t. pepper, ½ t. garlic powder. Remove giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken, clean cavity and pat dry. Rub spice mixture into chicken both inside and out making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into skin. Freeze. In separate bag, freeze 1 c. chopped onions. To eat, defrost chicken and onions in fridge. Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of inside thigh muscle, but not touching the bone. Stuff cavity with onions, and roast uncovered at 250 degrees for 5 hours. After one hour, baste with pan juices every half hour (or use an oven bag! And no basting required.) Let rest 10 minutes before carving.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken – Remove giblets and neck from broiler chicken. Rinse chicken, drain and pat dry. Working with chicken breast side up, fold wings toward neck, then fold up and under back of chicken so they stay in place. Cut lemon in half, squeeze enough juice from one half of lemon to make one tablespoon. Cut remaining lemons into large chunks. Place lemon chunks and 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 1 t. dried inside of body cavity of chicken. With string, tie legs and tail together. Place chicken in a large roasting pan. In a cup, mix 2 T. fresh rosemary or 2 t. dried, 2 T. oil, 1 t. salt and ¼ t. pepper. With pastry brush, brush chicken with mixture. Cut 2 lbs of red potatoes in half. Place potatoes in roasting pan around chicken. Drizzle with the 1 T of lemon juice and 3 T. olive oil and sprinkle with ¾ t. salt and ¾ t. pepper. Toss to coat. Freeze. Freeze green beans separately. To eat, defrost in fridge. Insert meat thermometer in thickest part of inside thigh muscle, but not touching the bone. Cook in a 350 oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, basitng with pan drippings occasionally. When chicken turns golden cover with a tent of foil. After 1 hour and 15 minutes add green beans to rasting pan and toss with potatoes. Roast 1 hour longer, basting occasionally until thermometer reaches 180.

BBQ Chicken Part 2 – Remove BBQ chicken from crock pot and divide into 3 portions. Put 2 portions into 2 storage containers. These will be 1 portion for BBQ chicken sandwiches, and 1 portion for BBQ chicken over rice. Reserve the other portion for Cowboy Chicken.

Pizza Chicken – Place 2 lbs frozen chicken thighs in ziplock bag.Sprinkle with ½ t. salt and ¼ t. pepper. Top with 1 small onion sliced and 2 c. spaghetti sauce. Freeze. Also freeze 1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese. To eat, defrost in fridge. Place in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 4 – 6 hours or until center of chicken is no longer pink. Meanwhile, cook and drain 16 oz. rotini pasta according to directions on box. Serve chicken over pasta.

Cowboy Chicken – In a 2 quart casserole dish, mix reserved BBQ chicken, 1 can garbanzo beans, 1 can lima beans, 1 can or 2 cups cooked dried kidney beans from bean plan. Freeze. Also freeze 1 c. shredded cheddar cheese. To eat, defrost in fridge. Then cook in 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes until bubbly. Sprinkle with cheese and cook for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Chinese Chicken – Place 4 lbs frozen chicken thighs in a zip lock bag. In a bowl, mix together 1 T. oil, ½ c. water, 1/3 c. soy sauce, 1/3 c. brown sugar, 1 T. catsup, ¼ c. orange juice, ½ t. crushed red pepper, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 green onion, sliced. Add sauce to chicken in zip lock bag. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Place in a 3 qt. casserole and cover. Cook in a 350 oven for 1 hour, stirring once. Mix 2 T. cornstarch and 1 T. water. Add to sauce and stir to mix. Cook for 15 minutes longer or until sauce is thickened.

Teriyaki Chicken Wings – Divide frozen wings between to gallon ziplock bags. In a 4 cup measuring cup, combine 1 c. soy sauce, ¾ c. brown sugar, 1 T. vinegar, 1 t. garlic salt, 1 t. ginger. Divide sauce between the bags. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Cook in a 400 oven for 30 minutes, turning once.

Forbidden City Chicken – In a 2 quart casserole, place 2 lbs frozen chicken breasts. In a bowl, mix ¾ c. soy sauce, 2 T melted butter, 1 T. curry powder, 1 t. cinnamon, 1 t. ginger, 1 clove garlic crushed, 2 dashes Tabasco sauce. Spread over chicken and freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Sprinkle with ½ c. sesame seeds. Cook in a 325 oven for 1 hour, covered, until chicken is no longer pink in center.

Fajitas – Cut 6 lbs of fresh chicken breasts into ½ inch strips. Divide into 3 parts, and set 2 parts aside. In a zip lock bag, mix together 2 T. oil, ¼ c. lime juice, ½ t cumin, 1/8 t. cayenne. Add the meat. Freeze. In another freezer bag, mix 1 lg green, 1 lg. yellow and 1 lg. red pepper, all sliced, and 1 onion sliced. Freeze. To eat, defrost both bags in the fridge. In a large skillet, heat 1 T. oil until very hot. Add the meat with the marinade and stir fry over high heat until meat is cooked, 3-5 minutes. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add 2 T oil to skillet and heat until very hot. Add peppers and onions and stir fry until crisp tender, 3-5 minutes. Return meat to skillet and heat through. Serve with tortillas and any extras.

Skewered Chicken – Marinate 1 reserved part of chicken strips in 1 c. soy sauce for 15 minutes. Put chicken on skewers, piercing in several places, like sewing them on. Freeze. To eat, defrost in fridge. Grill, until chicken is cooked through.

Oven Fried Chicken Strips – Soak last part of reserved chicken in 2 c. buttermilk for 15 minutes or longer. Dip each strip into shake n bake or homemade shake n bake, coating well. Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a gallon bag. To serve, cook directly from freezer in 350 oven until hot or in microwave.

Mexican Chicken Lasagna – Spray 3 qt. baking dish with cooking spray. Cook 12 lasagna noodles half way. They should be slightly stiff. In large bowl, combine 2 cans cream of chicken soup, 8 oz. sour cream, ¼ c. milk, 1 ¼ t. cumin, ½ t., 2 c. reserved chicken, 1 can chopped green chilies. Spread 1 ¼ c. of chicken mixture in bottom of 3 qt. casserole dish. Top with 4 lasagna noodles. Spread 1 ¼ c. chicken mixture over noodles. Sprinkle with ½ c. chopped green onions and ½ c. chopped cilantro. Sprinkle with 1 c. of shredded Mexican style cheese. Top with 4 noodles. Spread 1 ¼ c. chicken mixture on noodles. Sprinkle with 1 c. chopped red bell pepper and 1 can sliced ripe olives. Sprinkle with 1 c. of Mexican Style cheese. Top with 4 noodles. Spread with remaining chicken mixture. Freeze. Freeze remaining 1 c. of Mexican style cheese. To eat, defrost in fridge. Cook in 350 oven for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cook for 15 minutes longer. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

OAMC - Beans, beans and more beans!

2010-02-10T13:04:00.000-08:00

Once a month cooking mini session! I don’t really have time to do a full 30 meal, 30 side dishes, 30 breakfasts 30 lunch session all at once, or even in a weekend. So I am doing stages. I have a baking plan, a breakfast plan, chicken plan, beef plan, bean plan, cheese plan and a veggie plan. It comes out to 60 meals, but I figure I can do this for one week every 2 months and still be way ahead of the game.

This is to make the main dishes. I will post another OAMC plan for the side dishes.
Makes 7 meals and 8 side dishes

Meals:

1. Southwest enchiladas with salad and veggies
2. split pea and yam soup with rolls. (Yes, I know it’s not technically a bean, but it fits in here.)
3. Rice and Bean roll ups with salad and rice and beans
4. Baked Beans - goes with marinated chicken, roast sticky chicken, chicken skewers, and oven fried chicken strips.
5. Vege Mexican deep dish pizza with salad (one with meat will be in the beef OAMC plan)
6. Vege Pot Pies - served with veggies (one with meat will be in the beef OAMC plan)
7. Empanadas - served with salad and rice and beans. (One with meat will be in the beef OAMC plan)
8. Bean Burritos for a quick lunch or eating on the run
9. Refried Beans for side dishes

Master List of Ingredients:
1 can 14.5 ounces whole tomatoes, undrained
6 small green peppers chopped, 3 c.
2 med. roma tomatoes chopped
6 med. onions, chopped, 3 c.
2 small yams peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
1 med. Potato, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
¼ c. chopped fresh cilantro
1 t. ground cumin
¾ t. salt
½ t. Italian seasoning
2 c. brown sugar
4 T. molasses
4 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. chili powder
¼ t. pepper
1 t. honey
1/8 t. crushed red pepper
16 ounces dried yellow split peas.
5 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained or 2 lb. dried kidney beans (save out 1 can or 2 cups cooked for beef plan), cooked + 2 can or 4 c. kidney beans for chicken plan (chicken chili and cowboy chicken) total 3 lbs dried
5 cans refried beans or 10 cups of homemade + 10 cans or 20 cups for side dishes
8 cans small white beans, rinsed and drained or 2 lbs. dried small white beans cooked.
1 can black beans with cumin and chili spices (or add your own spices if you use dry beans)
3 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained or 6 cups cooked dry beans – 6 lbs if also making refried beans, 1 lb, if not. Set aside 4 cups or 2 can for beef plan
1 c. ricotta cheese
28 flour tortillas (8 inches) - I always get extra tortillas because I tend to stretch out how many enchiladas and roll ups I can make.
2 ¾ c. shredded cheddar cheese - 11 ounces
4 c. shredded cheese any kind – 16 ounces
¾ c. margarine or butter
8 oz. unsalted butter + 5 T unsalted butter, chilled
¾ c. shredded Monterey jack cheese - 3 ounces
6 ounces sliced Canadian style bacon, coarsely chopped
1 ½ c. thick and chunky salsa
1 c. cooked rice
1 - 8 ounce can of corn or 1 c. frozen corn
3 c. tomato sauce
7 ½ c. biscuit baking mix
1 ½ c. cornmeal
1 can chopped green chilies
2 c. flour
1 egg

Baking Dishes needed:
2 - 13x9x2 casserole dish
10 - Storage containers for split pea soup and 4 for beaked beans and 5 for refried beans.
2 pie plates

Processes: I am listing these out in a way that economizes time and effort!

First, do any chopping or shredding as indicated in ingredient list.

Cook any rice that needs to be cooked.

If using dried beans, soak your pinto beans the day before you plan to cook. Throw them in the crock pot overnight and in the morning they will be ready for cooking or mashing. Take 29 cups of soaked and cooked pintos and mash into refried beans. Divide as follows: 5 parts of 2 c. each, set aside for meals. 5 parts with 4 cups each, place in storage containers and freeze for side dishes. To eat, defrost in fridge, and heat in a pan on the stove until hot all the way through.

Also soak and cook black beans, kidney beans and small white beans. Beans can be cooked ahead and stored in fridge for up to 4 days.

Make empanada dough - Combine 4 c. flour, 8 oz. + 5 T. butter, 2/3 c. ice water, 2 beaten eggs and 1 t. salt. Mix lightly with your fingers until it starts forming small, pea-sized pieces. Stir in the ice water, a little at a time, until it forms dough. (A fork works well for this) Knead lightly until the dough comes together in a ball. Divide dough in half and wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 - 12 hours. One half is for bean empanadas and one half is for the beef plan.

Split Pea and Yam Soup - Mix in the crock pot: 7 c. water, ¾ t. salt, ½ t. Italian seasoning, ¼ t. pepper, yams, potatoes, ½ c. onion, split peas, and Canadian bacon. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours. This can be cooking while you prepare all the other dishes. Spoon into storage container. Let cool, and freeze. To reheat, heat in a pan on the stove, stirring occasionally until heated through.

Southwest Enchiladas - In blender, mix 1 can 14.5 ounces whole tomatoes, ½ c. chopped onion, 1 clove of garlic and blend until smooth. Cook blended mixture, 2 T of cilantro, 2 t. honey, 1/8 t. crushed red pepper in 2 quart saucepan over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. In a medium bowl, mix 2 cups or 1 can pinto beans, 1 c. ricotta cheese, ½ c. bell pepper, 1 t. cumin and 2 T. cilantro. Spread ½ c. tomato sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 baking dish. Spoon ½ c. bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place seam side down on tomato sauce in dish. Spoon remaining tomato sauce over filled tortillas. Sprinkle with ¼ c cheddar cheese and ¼ c monterey jack cheese. Cover with foil and freeze. I use a food saver once the food is frozen. On eatin’ day, defrost in refridgerator, then cook in a 375 oven for 25-30 minutes, or until it is hot and bubbly.

Rice and Bean Roll Ups – Spread ½ c. salsa in an ungreased 13x9x2 baking dish. In a medium bowl, mix rice, roma tomatoes, ½ c. bell pepper, black beans, corn. Spread about 1 c. rice mixture on each tortilla. Roll up tortilla. Place seam sides down on salsa in baking dish. Spoon remaining 1 c. salsa over tortillas. Sprinkle with ½ c cheddar and ½ c monterey jack. Cover and freeze. To reheat, defrost in your refridgerator and then cover and bake in a 350 oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Baked Beans - In large skillet, saute 2 c. onion and 2 c. green pepper together until onion is cooked (5 minutes). Transfer to a HUGE pot or bowl. Add remaining ingredients, adding salt and pepper to taste if desired. Cool to room temperature and divide into 4 portions in storage containers. Freeze. To serve, defrost in fridge, and then reheat on stove until hot.

Mexican Deep Dish Pizza – In large bowl, combine the following: 7 ½ c. biscuit baking mix, 1 ½ c. cornmeal, 1 ½ c. water, ¾ butter or margarine, melted. Divide dough into 3 parts, and set 2 aside for Pot Pies. Grease 2 pie plates and divide 1 remaining part of dough into 2 pieces. Pat the pieces down into the pie plates, on bottom and sides. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven. In a med. Bowl combine, 8 oz. tomato sauce, green chilies, 1 t. chili powder, ¼ t. cumin. Spread 1 can or 2 c. refried beans over the crust. Top with tomato sauce, and then sprinkle with 1 ½ c. shredded cheese. Freeze. To reheat, defrost in fridge and then bake in a 350 oven for 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Garnish with tomatoes, lettuce, olives or sour cream.

Pot Pies – Grease a muffin pan. Using one part of set aside dough, line the bottoms and sides of the muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Fill cavities with 2 c refried beans and 1 ½ c. shredded cheese, evenly distributed among cavities. Roll out remaining dough and cut out circles slightly bigger than muffin tin cavities. Place “lids” on the cavities, and pinch sides to close. Freeze. Pop the pot pies out of the tin, and store in a zip lock freezer bag. To serve, microwave for a few minutes.

Empanadas – Roll out pre-made empanada dough to ½ inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter or a cup, cut out smallish circles. Using 2 c. of refried beans, place a teaspoon of refried beans in the middle of each one. Top with a pinch of cheese. Brush edge of one side with a little water. Fold edges together to seal. Bend to resemble a crescent mon and crimp edges with the side of a fork. Freeze on a cookie sheet. Once frozen transfer to a freezer bag. To eat, bake with out thawing in a 400 degree oven for 5 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned. OR bake first and then freeze.

Bean Burritos – Warm tortillas slightly. using 2 c. of reserved refried beans, place ¼ c. refried beans in center of tortilla. Sprinkle with 1/8 c. of shredded cheddar cheese. Roll into a burrito. Repeat for 16 burritos. Freeze on a cookie sheet and then transfer to a zip lock bag. To eat, microwave on high for 1 minute. Turn over and microwave for another 1.5 minutes or until heated through.

Why I love raw food...

2010-01-15T05:14:00.000-08:00

I love raw food. I consider myself a raw foodist even though I frequently fall off the wagon, and I rarely have a day that I eat 100% raw. I am what you would call "raw till dinner". It is too much work for me to make 2 dinners at night. No, I don't eat raw meat. Yes, I would eat unpasteurized cheese if I had access to it.

Early last fall, I quit the raw food and went back to the conventional american diet. There were lots of reasons, including stress, but the main reason was my school schedule. It was difficult to carry my food in with me to school, and I was getting some crazy looks. So I caved, and started eating chips instead of peppers and tomato wedges.

3 days ago, I officially renewed my commitment to a better diet. I just love how quick the results come rolling in! 3 days of mostly raw and some pants that haven't fit me in a couple months are back on my hips. 3 days and my skin is clear. Literally... no more blemishes at all. You go to bed with those little bumps, and maybe one or 2 pimples, and you wake up and it's smooth... I would say like a baby's butt, BUT, baby's butts aren't really that smooth, and I have problems comparing my face to an ass. so.. smooth as something really smooth. For me this always happens the night after my 3rd day raw. You go to sleep your same old self, and wake up with a fresh new complexion! Love it!!

Year in review? Not here!

2010-01-11T11:41:00.000-08:00

All over the place I am seeing people look back on their accomplishments of the last year. Their favorite books, highlights, recipes, vacations and more. You won't be finding any of that in the Arevalo household. 2009 was a black swirling vortex that sucked me in. 2009 wasn't all that I wanted it to be. 2009 was hard, and grueling, and sometimes cruel. There were moments that I did not think I would make it through. But I did. 2010 is my first step in a different direction. 2010 is my fresh start. And every fresh start needs a theme song.

(So damn easy to say that life’s so hard
Everybody’s got their share of battle scars
As for me I’d like to think my lucky stars that
I’m alive, and well

It’d be easy to add up all the pain
And all the dreams you set and watch go up in flames
Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain
But not me, I’m alive

And today you know that’s good enough for me
Breathing in and out is a blessing can’t you see
Today is the first day of the rest of my life
And I’m alive, and well
I’m alive, and well

Stars are dancin’ on the water here tonight
It’s good for the soul, and there’s not a sole in sight
But this motors caught it wind and brought me back to life
Now I’m alive, and well

And today you know that’s good enough for me
Breathing in and out is a blessing can’t you see
Today is the first day of the rest of my life
Now I’m alive, and well
Yeah I’m alive, and well

Garden Planning

2010-01-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know, it is negative a bijillion degrees outside and the ground is covered in snow. I am spending my days dreaming of fresh veggies right from my yard. I have decided that gardening is something that I will be handing down to my kiddos so I am starting a garden journal.

In the first section I have calendars with planting dates, transplanting dates, harvesting dates and such. I also have a detailed garden layout plan, where I will be planting each item and how many will go into each square.

The second section has info about each type of seed. Latin names, sun requirements, how to know when it is best to harvest, When and where it was purchased and what I spent.

The third section is the section for lists, logs and recording. In no special order

Purchase Log
Weather Log
Catalog Wishlist
Seed Starting Log
Planting Log
Pest Log
Harvest Records
Preserving Records

Next will be the diary section where I will record my thoughts and views and gardeny actions, followed by a page for "What I want to do differently next year."

I think this is really going to help me track changes and trends and get better at gardening!

So I am planning an even bigger garden this year. Adan is going to have to build me 7 more boxes. Hopefully he is cool with that! It is going to be tricky to find a place for such a big garden this spring. Our yard is bordered in the back by a tree line. In the morning, our yard will be shaded by the house, and in the afternoon, the trees will be shading the yard. There is a place were the house shadow won't reach, but there is another tree in the yard that will shade the space at this time. I am going to have to offset the garden a bit so that maybe that tree won't shade everything. The rub with all this planning is that I won't know how it's going to work out until the trees have filled in and everything is already planted. I guess I am just going to have to use my guess as to how it will work out!

If you want the garden layout for this season, post in the comments and I will email it to ya!

This year we will be planting:
Early Snowball Cauliflower - 3
Farmer's Extra Early Cauliflower - 3
Red Russian Kale - 3
Cherry Belle Radishes - 32
Lettuce Blend Lettuce - 4
Green Magic Broccoli - 2
Green Sprouting Calabrese Broccoli - 2
Coronando Crown Broccoli - 2
Green Arrow Peas - 144
Purple Pod Beans - 144
Blue Lake Beans - 72
Sultans Beans - 72
Strawberry Popcorn - 24
Yellow Dent Corn - 24
Golden Cross Corn - 24
Boston Pickling Cucumbers - 2
Japanese Climbing Cucumbers - 4
Listada de Gandia Eggplants - 3
Bell Boy Peppers - 2
Sweet Pepper Mix - 4
Chocolate Beauty Bell Peppers - 2
Napoleon Sweet Bell Peppers - 2
Tolli's Sweet Italian Peppers - 2
Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes - 6
Roma Tomatoes - 6
Golden Rave Tomatoes - 6
Gurney Girl Tomatoes - 6
Sweet Baby Girl Tomatoes - 6
Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomatoes - 6
Yellow Pear Tomatoes - 6
Green Tomatillos - 2
Burpee Golden Beets - 16
Danvers Carrots - 64
Nantes Carrots - 64
Envy Carrots - 64
Paris Market Carrots - 64
Yellow Crookneck Squash - 1
Black Magic Zucchini - 2
Anna Swartz Hubbard Squash - 1
Burgess Buttercup Squash - 1
Waltham Butternut Squash - 1
Bibb Lettuce - 8
Iceberg Lettuce - 8
Jack o Lanturn Pumpkins - 2
Lumina Pumpkins - 2
Gurney's Giant Magic Pumpkin - 2
Black Seeded Simpson Lettuce - 8
Buttercrunch Lettuce - 8
Bright Lights Swiss chard - 4
Crimson Sweet Watermelon - 3
Aunt Molly's Ground cherry - 1
America Spinach - 9
Teton Spinach - 9
Gurney's Giant Cantalopes - 3
Bidwell Casaba - 1
Charantais Melon - 1
Boule d' Or Melon - 1
Strawberries - 72

Holy beans, that is a long list!! Can't wait for harvest time!!!

Fun with fabric!

2010-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Since we have moved into the new house, I have been trying to go room by room and finish any sewing decorating projects, like curtains or rugs or whatever. I finished the kitchen today!

I had purchased some coordinating fabrics for the old house, greens, and purple and pretty, and never got around to putting up the curtains or making the rug... I had that fabric for a year!!

I feel super proud of my self for finally using it up. I made 2 curtains for the entry way, in an olive green leafy print. The ties are in purple. I made a fabric strip version of a hanging curtain for the doorway to the kitchen and I made a woven rug. I even have enough fabric to make a rug for the laundry room!

So the story about the fabric strip curtain: From our front door you can go to your left and go down a short hall to the living room or you can go to the right and in to the kitchen. The door way to the kitchen is wide, and I hate that people entering our house are going to stare right into the kitchen! BUT I love the openness and the view right out to the street. So my compromise was this version of a beaded curtain.

The rug was also super easy. Same basic principle as the woven placemats you made in elementary school. I just cut strips out the length of the rug, and then more for the width, and wove them, under, over, under, over. Then i put on a binding, with mitered corners, like you would for a quilt. I am NOT good at sewing a straight line. That is my goal for this year. Figure out how to sew straight. Entonces, my binding doesn't look super great, but you can't tell unless you look close. Also this was my first time with binding and with mitered corners. All in all, super easy and a fun learning event. I finished it in 2 days, so definitely a weekend project.

I have embraced my mother's advice that perfection is in the little details, so my iron has become my best friend. I ironed all my seams, and measured them to make sure they were uniform. Yes, mom, I measured. All the fabric strips were ironed in so no raw edges would show. My ironing board is feeling a little worn. I think I may need to replace him.

It feels super good to be able to sew and to be tackling these projects that have been on the books so long! Entry way, done! Kitchen done! Next project, laundry room rug! Then on to the Living Room!!

Pics!

Curtains in the entry way.

Fabric Strips laid out on the craft table

View of the fabric strip curtain from the front door.

Close up on the fabric strips

Weaving the rug

The finished product.

My sad, sad ironing board.

Christmas!

2009-12-25T20:18:00.000-08:00

I made them all pose prior to opening presents. :)

Christmas in the Arevalo household was really nice. Adan was home for once so we got to do all the santa chores together. I did not make it to be until about 2 AM, but the kids let us sleep in until 8 AM, and then only one was up.

Santa was very nice to us this year! The boys got bikes from Santa, and Lucy got a lap table with art supplies from Santa. I got a brand new digi camera and a wireless printer. From us, AJ got his first cell phone, and Alex got a PSP. Lucy got a tag reader and 4 books. We also do a secret santa in our family. Everyone draws a name, even the kids and everyone has a chance to pick something and give it to another person. AJ got $20 bucks from grannie, Lucy got an easy bake oven from me, Alex got a transformers game for his PSP from AJ, I got a tote bag that says I grow my own food from Katie, and Adan got a bunch of tool sets from Jerry. All of the secret Santa gifts were perfect and suited the receiver so well!

We had a really relaxing day. Mom and Jerry and Grannie came over about 11:00. We ate homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast and had chicken, ham, potatoes, jello salad, green salad and rolls for a late lunch or "linner" as we like to call it. The boys and Adan took a bike ride. Lucy made us all some itty bitty, teeny weeny little easy bake sugar cookies. Grannie took naps in the "box room". My mom and I sat and knitted and crocheted while we watched various Christmas movies... of the muppet variety. I lurve me some muppets.

I haven't blogged in foreeevvvveeerrrr, my imaginary readers won't know, but in the intervening months we have moved again and are in a new house. More on that later.

Want some trashy jelly?

2009-09-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

I made some.. okay my mom made some while I did English homework. See linky

http://grammie710.vox.com/library/post/apple-waste-jelly.html

Gardening!

2009-07-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

the garden is doing fantabulous and I an in love with it.. i wish i wasn't married so I could marry my garden. I could be so much in love because of how bad I failed with last year's ghetto garden. Maybe.. maybe my garden just rocks. How is everyone else doing? Melissa... if you read this.. tell me how your garden is doing. My pictures suck arse because it is so humid here that my lens fogged up. I will try to take some new ones soon and add them here.

We have eaten all the sweet peas.. in fact, none even made it into the house. They were that good. One side note to peas, eat them while they are little.. they get a tad bitter and hard if you wait too long.

We planted two kinds of green beans, purple pod, and green lake or something like that... the purple pods produced earlier and about twice as much as the green ones.. those are definitely a keeper. Next year I will plant twice as many!

Our broccoli did not do well at all.. we got 2 tiny little heads and it took way too long.. so they probably don't taste very good. Also the carrots.. out of 170 planted, I think we have 5!! I need to work on those again next year.

the tomatoes are rockin the house.. we ate our first garden tomato 2 days ago and it was so yummy I wanted to curl up in bed with it. I can't wait for more tomatoes to be ready to eat.

We have eaten 5 small strawberries, and i expect them to rock next year, with our blackberry bush.

Our watermelons and cantelopes are vining and flowering, and look good.

The zucchini is going to produce a ton of squash, which is good, but it looks weird to see all the baby zucchinis on the plant, very phallic.

We only have 1 little summer squash which is sad. He must be very lonely...

Food Friday - Fettucine Alfredo, Susie Style

2009-06-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

This is so good, all 4 of the kids ate it up and requested more for lunch the next day!

Ingredients:
1/3 +/- cup of margerine (I use a big scoop of spreadable margarine and it looks like 1/3 cup LOL)
bunch of fresh asparagus, the green kind, break off the woody bottoms and then snap into bite size pieces
4 ounces or so of fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced
3/4 c. SHREDDED parmesan cheese, not that fakey stuff
8 ounces of evaporated milk (I use fat free)
italian seasonings to taste
16 oz. fettucine noodles, but anything you have on hand will work.

Directions:

Note- I made this recipe up (based on another recipe, but i changed it all up) and I don't measure ingredients often. So please note that you are free to fiddle with amounts and stuff.

Note again - The sauce appears very thin... let it stand for a minute and it will thicken or just toss noodles with thin sauce.. it is suprisingly tasty and light!

Cook noodles. While noodles are cooking, melt margarine or butter in sauce pan. Add mushrooms and asparagus. Saute for a few minutes until they look yummy. Add shredded parmesan cheese and evaporated milk (If you buy a 12 oz can just eyeball it and pour in 2/3 of the can). Stir until cheese is melted.

Drain cooked noodles. Toss noodles and sauce. YUM!

Angela's Baby Shower gift

2009-06-24T04:01:00.000-07:00

I haven't actually had a chance to give this to her yet, but here is what I made for Angela. It is a tad big, but the baby won't be able to wear until fall so I think it will be a perfect fit then. This was super fun and easy to make! I found the pattern online here:

http://bellabambinaknits.blogspot.com/2007/03/kellys-sweater.html

I used stash yarn to make this - 4 pts for yarn, 1 pt for buttons total 5 pts - and it is for #6 in 1001 things :)

Cortney's Baby Shower

2009-06-24T03:40:00.000-07:00

This carrot is a rattle and has 2 bells in it. It is soft and chewy and not annoyingly loud.

While I was in California I went to my good friend Cortney's baby shower. It was amazing fun and her mom made so much fantastic food. Here are pics of what I made her.

(This is #6 in 1001 things. Stash Game: Carrot - 2 pts for yarn, 1 pt for fiberfil, 1 pt for bells, total 4 pts, Bunny - 3 pts for yarn, 1 pt for fiberfill, total 4 pts, Blankie buddy - 8 pts for yarn, 1 pt for fiberfil, total 9 pts. Grand Total: 17 pts.)

This little knitted bunny is soft and fuzzy and the perfect size for small hands. Only downside? I just realized I forgot to put it's puff tail on. ARGH!

This blanket buddy is way more blue than it appears in the picture. It is made from soft fuzzy yarn and is sure to be a favorite of Gavin's!

Update to PVC bike rack

2009-06-24T03:38:00.000-07:00

Don't be a cheapskate like me. Spend $5 on some PVC glue and glue your bike rack pieces together. If you try to save the dollars and just fit the pieces together, you will have a cute little pile of PVC pipe sticks with in 2 or 3 weeks.

Breaking Blog Silence

2009-06-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

I have decided that my sabbatical is over. Life just became too much for me to handle and I had to crawl under a rock for a few weeks :)

I just spent 4 glorious days in California. I spent the days with my best friend from high school, Cortney and we went shopping, ate out, saw a movie, went to the salon and had a baby shower. Tons o Fun! I wish I could have stayed for weeks instead of days. Of course I did have some family obligations, but the friend fun was more fun than the obligations were no fun. More later!

Say good-bye to your garden.

2009-04-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Apparently it is against the rules to have a garden in your front yard. You can't even have a cute garden with a cute picket fence around the whole thing, and nifty blue planters hanging from the outside. It doesn't matter if you really really love your garden, and gardening makes you happy. It doesn't matter if you spent A LOT to make that garden pleasing to the eye so no one will complain. It also doesn't matter if you have already started planting vegetables and you now have to kill all your future salads, side dishes, and sandwiches with strawberry jam as you take it apart and put the fence away.

Have I mentioned lately how much I want to buy some land in the country? Like 25 acres, with a house smack in the middle, and no drive way?

Crazy Neighbors make me bitter

2009-04-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

So the mean neighbor has decided that he wants the parking spots closest to my house. It is hard to explain but we live in a cul-de-sac with 3 buildings. They form an upside down U. We live at the bottom of the U and they live on one of the sides, closest to us at the bottom. The only parking is on the sides, so we have to park in front of their house. Instead of giving us the first 2 spots, which are closest to our house, they take them and won't move their cars for days. For a while, they were taking the first THREE spots. Normally, I don't mind. They have small children and the first 2 spots are closest to their house as well, so I just "give" it to them. When I "give" it to them, they haven't stolen it from me and I am not mad. But today it is pouring rain. Really pouring. It has rained since last night and their are big puddles all around. And I had to go grocery shopping, and park way far from my house, and splash all the way to the house... 10 trips. IN the rain... When I am sick. This makes me feel bitter. Why can't they be nice SOMETIMES and let me park close when it is raining?????

Competitive Sports

2009-04-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

I will not ever be a sports coach again. I also think I should not attend the games. I am just not competitive. I have an inner sense of justice that says we should help the less talented learn, and bench the better ones until everyone plays well. I don't like the feeling of striking out or missing the pop fly in left field. I don't like to see other people experience those feelings. I am just not a competitive sports kind of gal.

So how do you reconcile your non-love for super strong and competitively driven coaches with your children who love sports, and your child who wants to love sports but isn't good? How do you "go with the game" while feeling bad for your benched child? The mother in me wants to come out and say.. Hey stupid head coach.. HELP him get better at the game instead of benching him!! But that's not how the game is played. Team over individual. :P

Maybe I should just put Adan in charge of the sports?? Got any tips for a for a sensitive mommy?

Homestudy... Check!

2009-04-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

Our homestudy is officially complete. that's right folks, we have officially been cleared as ready and able to adopt. That is a scary thought! Our time with the foster child has led me to realize that a younger child is what we need. Maybe 7 or under. I have realized I don't want to adopt more than 2 children. I have realized I need to know their complete background and behaviors before we agree to anything. ANYTHING.

Lu has been saying she wants us to adopt 2 girls and 1 boy. When I asked her why, she told me it was so we can have 3 boys and 3 girls. She is so silly. She said it with a big old grin on her face and a little half laugh.

Little Lu

2009-04-17T04:12:00.000-07:00

Is not so little anymore :( I was sick in bed on Tuesday and she ran up the stairs to me all out of breath and excited. "MOM! Great News!" I asked her what the news was and she replied "MY TOOTH is LOOSE!" She allowed me to feel the wiggle and if I squeeze my eyes really tight, I can feel a tiiiiny bit of movement. Go Lu!

Sharon's Photo Quilted Wall hanging

2009-04-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

this pertains to 101 things #81 and the year of the FO.

Back in December, Sharon asked me to make this photo quilted wall hanging for her sister. Her brother and both parents died last year and it was something of a tribute to their memory. She wanted this for a Christmas present, but I only had 1 week to get it done and just did not finish. So it sat, half finished, in my craft room for 2 months. In March, she asked if I could have it done for the next trip she was making to visit her family. Here is her finished project. I am really happy with how it turned out, and most importantly she said she loved it and her sister loved it.

Our Garden is working!

2009-04-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

it's not broken this year!!!!

Here is what we have so far:

9 Little bitty baby pea plants per square. We planted 6 squares.

16 Little bitty carrots per square - We planted 4 squares so far, will have 12.

8 youth broccoli - We will plant pumpkins here this summer

4 baby lettuce plants per square - Will have 6 squares.

These are #10 cans painted blue with rust paint. I am going to plant herbs and flowers in them and hang them off the fence and screw them into our brick wall. I made sure not to get any paint on the inside so it would not pollute our herbs.

Do you think housing is going to like my new lawn decorations?

Thinning Seedlings

2009-04-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

I planted 2 or 3 seeds in each peat pot. And actually almost all of the seeds have sprouted. Yesterday I decided it was time for thinning. Remember to use scissors and snip out the seedling you don't want. That way, you won't disturb the roots of the other seedling with your yanking!

Easter is coming

2009-04-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

Easter has ambushed me. Did you know that Easter is this Sunday?? As in 3 days away? I haven't gotten any Easter basket stuff. I have cooked any eggs. And I certainly don't have time to make the living grass baskets I want to make. Pooey.

We went to a new church last weekend. It was an apostolic pentecostal church. Interesting. I don't think it quite lines up with my beliefs though. They put heavy importance in talking in tounges and they believe in oneness doctrine..

from Wikipedia

The major doctrinal difference between Oneness Pentecostalism and mainstream Christendom is its teaching on the Godhead, which is popularly referred to as the Oneness doctrine.[2] This dogma states that the Godhead consists not of three separate persons, as in classical Trinitarian theology, but rather one person alone who manifests himself in three separate ways. This places them at odds with the members of most other Christian churches, some of whom have accused Oneness Pentecostals of being Modalists and derided them as "cultists".

Current 101 things in 1001 days

2009-04-03T06:26:00.000-07:00

2 blogs I follow have started their own 101 things in 1001 days projects. I started this in Nov. 2006 and my life just completely got in the way, and it was abandoned. Here is my new and updated version that I will start now. :)

101 things in 1001 days
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. I will be posting an update as I finish each task. Completed tasks will be red and in progress tasks will be blue.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e.. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e.. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Begin: April 2, 2009
End: Oct. 1, 2011

My List:

Focus on God:
1. Devotions daily for 1 month.
2. Read the Bible all the way through and keep a journal of my thoughts along the way.
3. Organize my prayer list and remember these things in prayer daily.

Focus on Others:
4. Host a BBQ for our friends each month that it is not snowing.
5. Host the stitchy monthly
6. Create a baby gift for each new baby in my life during the 1001 days.
7. Pay for someone's lunch at the drive through 1 x per month.
8. Find a local venue for volunteering, soup kitchen? food pantry? volunteer once a month with the children.
9. Do something nice for a different neighbor 1 time a month, even the ones that hard to love.

Focus on Family:
10. Go hiking 4 times during each summer
11. Go camping
12. Start a gratitude journal. Have each person make an entry every night at dinner time for 1 month.
13. Read and put into practice "21 Rules for our house"
14. Learn to cut everyone's hair
15. Go bowling twice a month for 3 months.
16. Learn Spanish
17. Visit California to see family
18. Plan and take a family vacation to Disney World.
19. Take a local family trip every other month. Dinosaur world, the zoo, mammoth caves, etc.

focus on ArmyMan:
20. Take dance lessons together. Learn to 2 step, waltz and swing.
21. Rent a motorcycle for a weekend and take a romantic getaway.
22. Write him a note before bed, for him to find the next morning, weekly.
23. Renew our vows in a private ceremony. Maybe that motorcycle trip?

Focus on Children:
24. Build new bunk beds for the boys, 2 sets.
25. Build an entertainment center for the video game room.
26. Sew bean bag chairs for the video game room, 4 of them.
27. Build new dressers for each of the kids.
28. Read a bedtime story every night for 1 month. Long chapter books.
29. Hug, cuddle and say I love you to each child twice a day at least.
30. Research and start a hope chest for Drama.
31. Build a new bookcase for Drama and a bookcase for the boys.

Focus on the household:
32. Get a safety deposit box and fill it with all important papers we would need if there was a fire.
33. Get dressers for ArmyMan and me.
34. Plan decor for each room of the house, decide on a color scheme
35. Make pom pom rug for video game room.
36. Make kitchen table rug, curtains, 25 placemats, 2 couch blankets, table cloth and chair cushions and covers, 2 matching chairs.
37. Make/buy braided rugs, curtains, canisters, kitchen towels, 15 knit and 15 crochet dish cloths for kitchen
38. Make a braided rug for the laundry room.
39. Make curtains for master bedroom, and a rug
40. Make curtains for the boys room, and rug.
41. Make curtains for Drama, and a rug
42. Make afghan for First born
43. Make afghan for Gogo
44. Make afghan for Drama
45. Make afghan for our bedroom
46. Make quilt for first born
47. make quilt for go-go
48. make quilt for drama.
49. make quilt for master bedroom
50. Make summer wardrobe for kids.
51. Make a 4 week rotating summer menu.
52. Use the menu for 8 weeks, taking out yucky meals as needed.
53. Make bread daily for 1 month.
54. Organize the outside shed.
55. Plant large kitchen garden.
56. Can the abundance.
57. Learn about chickens.
58. Purchase land.
59. Plan house.
60. Build house on our own land.
61. Research family tree
62. Finish Firstborn's photo album
63. Finish Gogo's photo album
64. Finish Drama's photo album
65. Finish family/vacation photo albums
66. make crocheted tree skirt and matching stockings
67. Reduce debt by 50% by the end of the 1001 days.
68. Start school back up.
69. 2 classes a block
70. Study for 30 min. a night for an entire block.
71. Make my own soapy soap.
72. Make a list of all, even remote relatives, birthdays and anniversaries and send out cards on the first of each month.
73. shower, Get dressed, blow dry hair everyday for 1 month.

Focus on Me:
74. work out 6 x a week; ride daily for 30 min.; lose 30 lbs.
75. Go to bed by 10 PM every night for a month.
76. Wake up by 5:30 AM every weekday morning for a month.
77. learn to spin.
78. Learn to shoot, buy a gun.
79. ride my bike for anywhere under 2 miles if i don't have to drag kids along.
80. Take a girls weekend once a year.
81. finish all UFOS.
82. Organize my recipes... decide on a system and then run with it.
83. Work on one project at a time; use existing stash for all new projects.
84. Do dishes after dinner for 1 month.
85. No puter till 1 PM for 1 month.

Focus on Preparedness:
86. Put together 72 hour emergency kits.
87. Put together Food Storage for 3 months
88. Put together Food Storage for 1 year.
89. Practice Drills
90. Teach children gun safety.
91. Read one book each quarter about self sufficiency

Focus on Business:
92. Read 1 business book per quarter.
93. Ongoing SEO - 1 page per month.

DD
94. Re-organize the website
95. Redesign forum
96. Write or delegate to be written 1 article per week.
97. Streamline sponsor sign up and back-end paperwork

PPW
98. Market locally to gift shops, floral etc.
99. Attend 4 craft shows as a vendor

Yarnish
100. Prepare patterns for publication.
101. Stock one knitted item per quarter.

101 things in 1001 days

2009-04-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

2 blogs I follow have started their own 101 things in 1001 days projects. I started this in Nov. 2006 and my life just completely got in the way, and it was abandoned. So I am posting what I had then, and will make a new post with my new and updated version that I will start now. :)

101 things in 1001 days
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days. I will be posting an update as I finish each task. Completed tasks will be red and in progress tasks will be blue.

The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (i.e.. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (i.e.. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as new year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Begin: Dec. 1, 2006
End: Sept. 28, 2009

Updated: 12/12/06

My List:

Focus on God:
1. Read Created to be his help meet.
2. Devotions daily for 1 month.
3. Read the Bible all the way through and keep a journal of my thoughts along the way.
4. Organize my prayer list.

Focus on Others:
5. Host the stitchy monthly
6. finish Katie's baby blanket
7. Finish Heather's Baby Blanket
8. Finish Erika's Baby Blanket
9. Finish Amanda's Baby Blanket
10. Finish Gina's Dress
11. Start/Finish Melissa's Baby Blanket
12. Visit an assisted living facility 1x a month and bring treats.
13. Do something nice for a different neighbor 1 time a month.

Focus on Family:
14.Take a train ride through the royal gorge
15. Go camping
16. Start a gratitude journal. Have each person make an entry every night at dinner time for 1 month.
17. Read and put into practice "21 Rules for our house"
18. Learn to cut everyone's hair
19. Go bowling twice a month for 3 months.
20. Start a Spanish Language program. Power glide junior?
21. Visit Kentucky to see family
22. Plan and take a family vacation to Disney World.

focus on ArmyMan:
23. Take dance lessons together. Learn to 2 step, waltz and swing.
24. Rent a motorcycle for a weekend and take a romantic getaway.
25. Mail a letter or package every payday.
26. Send an email to him each night for a month.
27. Renew our vows in a private ceremony. Maybe that motorcycle trip?

Focus on Children:
28. Buy new dressers for each of the kids.
29. Read a bedtime story every night for 1 month. Long chapter books.
30. Hug, cuddle and say I love you to each child twice a day for a month.
31. Research and start a hope chest for Drama.
32. Buy a new bookcase for Drama and a bookcase for the boys.

Focus on the household:
33. Get a safety deposit box and fill it with all important papers we would need if there was a fire.
34. Get dressers for ArmyMan and me.
35. Plan decor for each room of the house, decide on a color scheme
36. Make/buy 2 kitchen table rugs, curtains, 15 placemats, 2 couch blankets, table cloth and chair cushions and covers, 2 matching chairs.
37. Make/buy braided rugs, curtains, canisters, kitchen towels, 24 knit dish cloths for kitchen
38. Make a braided rug for the laundry room.
39. Make curtains for master bedroom, and a chain rug
40. Make curtains for the boys room, and braided rug.
41. Make curtains for Drama, and a chain rug
42. Make afghan for First born
43. Make afghan for Gogo
44. Make afghan for Drama
45. Make afghan for our bedroom
46. Make quilt for first born
47. make quilt for go-go
48. make quilt for drama.
49. make quilt for master bedroom
50. Make summer wardrobe for kids.
51. Make a 4 week rotating menu.
52. Use the menu for 8 weeks, taking out yucky meals as needed.
53. Make bread daily for 1 month.
54. Organize the outside shed.
55. Buy a Colorado gardening book or research this online. Also research container gardening and moveable gardens.
56. Make a list of flowers for the front yard.
57. Make a list of veggies for the back yard.
58. Buy gardening tools.
59. Clear flower beds, veggie beds or purchase containers for the container gardening.
60. Plant!
61. Research family tree
62. Finish Firstborn's photo album
63. Finish Gogo's photo album
64. Finish Drama's photo album
65. Finish family/vacation photo albums
66. make double hook crocheted tree skirt and matching stockings
67. Reduce debt by 50% by the end of the 1001 days.
68. Start school back up.
69. 2 classes a block
70. Study for 30 min. a night for an entire block.
71. Make my own soapy soap.
72. Make a list of all, even remote relatives, birthdays and anniversaries and send out cards on the first of each month.
73. shower, Get dressed, blow dry hair everyday for 1 month.

Focus on Me:
74. Buy a core sculptor and work out 5 x a week.
75. Go to bed by 11 PM every night for a month.
76. Wake up by 7 AM every weekday morning for a month.
77. Quit Smoking
78. Get my eyes checked.
79. Get my sanity checked.
80. Finish braces.
81. Fill cavities and beautify my teethers.
82. Organize my recipes... decide on a system and then run with it.
83. Blog 4x a week for a 1 month.
84. Do dishes after dinner for 1 month.
85. No puter till 1 PM for 1 month.

Focus on Business:
86. Read 1 business book per quarter.
87. Ongoing SEO - 1 page per month.

DD
88. Re-organize the website
89. Write all of our own content. No outside links; Make a list of all articles we need to write.
90. Write or delegate to be written 1 article per week.
91. Make a list of all the diaper hunt program changes.
92. Hire a new programmer to make the changes.
93. Re-organize the diaper hunt application process.

JOD
94. Market locally to adult shops (adult candy)
95. Market locally to gift shops, floral etc.
96. Monthly or bi-monthly about candy and gift giving.
97. Attend 4 craft shows as a vendor

BB
98. Stock up on ribbon
99. Organize all materials
100. Make 6 bows per week.
101. Stock bows every Thursday on site and on CMA.

Thoughtless Thursday

2009-03-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

it's kind of like wordless wednesday.

Don't you hate it when you stand up after sitting on the toilet, and the toilet seat sticks to your butt a bit and lifts up a few inches and then it slams back down to the rim making the loudest possible noise, that proceeds to echo around your bathroom? Don't you hate that?? And do you then wonder why on EARTH your butt cheeks stuck to the toilet seat?? I mean what was on there that made you stick? That is a question that only the brave should ask, especially if you live in a house with 4 boys.

Fires don't go near grammies

2009-03-25T06:09:00.000-07:00

Lucy has become obsessed with fires. Apparently she has been having bad dreams where our house catches on fires and turns black. It has her super freaked out. In her dreams we evacuate to Grammie's house. She has taken to packing bags of belongings and leaving them near the exits, just in case. She tells me that the bags are packed in case we have a fire, we can grab then when we leave. (She says "grap"). She has asked us a few times if the firemen are at the station, and when it closes. Yesterday, she asked me if she could pack her bags and I could drive her to Grammie's house and drop her off when all the daycare kids leave.

She won't talk about this at all. When asked what she is afraid of, she just says she doesn't want to talk about it. When I asked her why she wants to go to Grammie's house so urgently, she just says she misses her. I asked if she would miss me and she said "I have an idea! We can both go to Grammie's house!"

I feel so bad for her. She is obviously scared to death of a fire and thinks the only fire-safe place is Grammie's house. :( She is scared to go to sleep at night and has an absolute fit if I don't make it up right away to say a no-bad-dreams-prayer with her.

I scheduled an appt with the fire station for next week. I am hoping they can put her mind at ease. Anyone else have any other ideas on how to ease her mind??

Crazy neighbor #467

2009-03-24T04:55:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing you can count on as an Army family, it's crazy, sometimes scary neighbors. I have once again found joy in living on post. sure.

I am going to document this here, not quite sure if that is a good thing or not, but I suppose I can always come back and delete this post if I need to. Yesterday about 1645, M and A were digging in their usual spot between cars 2 and 3. They sit on the sidewalk and dig in the place where the asphalt meets the curb. They get little sticks and pry the stones out from the crevice where the parkinglot doesn't quite meet up with the curb. M says he is a geologist, so he collects rocks. I was standing about 10 or 15 feet away, at the table filling out my meal count sheets.

Our new neighbor's husband (I met her, but not him) came out of the house and went over to the boys and was talking to them in low tones. I could not hear his words but I could hear his voice. He was standing with hostile body language and his tone of voice wasn't friendly either. I started to walk over there and as I walked, I asked him what the problem was. He shouted at me, possibly due to distance, using a hostile tone of voice that he has only lived here since Friday and already his car is scratched. He tells me that the boys scratched his car with a stick. I tell him that if there are any future problems, to just let me know because I am always out wiht the kids and I will take care of them. He starts freaking out about how he has only lived here so long and already his care is being damaged. So I asked him if he saw who did it, and he said pointed at M and said him. Well M has a condition that causes him to have poor muscle tone and he can't even walk with out a walker. He has problems pouring his drinks from the half size pitchers. I highly doubt he has the strength to actually scratch this man's car. During this exchange I am getting the boys up and directing them to another part of the yard to dig in.

This guy doesn't go back in his house, he just continues to harrass me about this. I can't even tell you what he was saying because I was so upset. He just keeps going on about how I am obviously not supervising them enough, how his car has been scratched etc. He has started calling me "Hey, Lady". Finally I just turned around to him and told him not to call me that. I told him it was rude and he was being a jerk.

At this time, S. and C. show up, M, A and A's mom and aunt. When the guy sees me having back up, he goes back into the house. S asks what is going on and I give her the run down and she is all upset. M is all upset thinking I am going to get in a fight. It was nuts. So I get them taken care of and they leave.

Crazy is standing inside his house with the screen door closed staring at me. I go up to his house, and he is on the phone. He does not even acknowledge that I am there so I tell him that as soon as he gets an estimate to let us know and we will pay for the damage. He again starts "yelling" (talking in a very hostile manner, not really loudly) at me, saying he knows my husband, and he would not do that to my husband, as if I was a small child who has misbehaved! I told him that I would just give him money then and he said he would give it back, so I walked away with a loud "whatever." **So many things wrong here. The first being that he doesn't know my husband. Anyone who did would NEVER freak out on me. Adan can take many things in stride but he gets really heated when he thinks someone has done me wrong, especially another man. The way he knows my husband? He came into the ER with his daughter and Adan was their medic. He doesn't KNOW my husband, he just knows who he is. Secondly, I am not a child, and if my children are responsible for damage, the responsible thing is to pay for it.

So I go over to the van in questions and I look at the scratches. They are very small, and curvy, and to me they look as if they could have been made by road debris rather than a muddy stick. But I don't know one way or the other.

I called up adan, in tears, and asked him to come home. Of course he can't. I told him the whole story and went and got my camera so i could take a picture of the damage. As i squatted down at the side of the car, Crazy comes racing out of his house with a hammer in his hand yelling about what the hell am i doing. I told him i was just taking a picture so we could get an estimate, and he starts yelling at me about how he doesn't want an estimate blah blah. Adan is on the phone yelling at me to get out of there and i am like, he has a hammer! CHAOS! People start coming out of their houses. Lisa and Ray, and Mary all come out to see what the commotion is about. I am thoroughly shaken and just so disappointed.

I tried to do the right thing at the beginning by telling this guy that I will take care of any problems that arise. I try and do the right thing by asking him for an estimate. I try and do the right thing by getting my own estimate. I get threatened with a hammer.

He came out one time later, while I was playing basketball with Lucy in the yard. I don't remember what he said to me, but I told him he was an ass. He told me I was a bad daycare provider for saying ass in front of my daughter. he also said that we aren't allowed to park in our parking spots, that he is going to always park in them every day and we are out of luck.

I seriously don't understand this. Why do people act like that? When his wife was moving stuff in, I made sure to keep the kids out of the way. I gave her our parking spot because it was closest to her front door and she has 2 little ones. I talked to her and welcomed her to the neighborhood. He hasn't even ever said hello to me, yet he is going to be mean and rude and threatening.

Adan got home at 1800. He went over and talked to the guy and told him to not speak to me. I hope he doesn't ever speak to me again. I am not that lucky.

Now I am worried that this guy is going to try and run me out of my own yard. We have a courtyard and we put out our basketball hoop for all the kids to use... in just our 3 buildings, not counting her 5 children, that is 17 other kids. We put out our soccer net and keep all of our balls accessible to everyone. We put in a huge garden... I am a social creature.. i don't want it to be miserable here.. not to mention i don't want to be in fear for my life or afraid to go outside.

Knitted Shag Rag Rug Update

2009-03-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

Update!! 3/20 This rug pattern came from a book called fast and fabulous low sew bathroom projects by Reader's Digest. This rug is neither fast nor very fun but i feel committed now. DARN IT! I am currently only working on this rug as i wait to pick up kids from school so I do MAYBE 2 rows per day. My goal for April is to finish this dastardly piece of no fun knitting so i can move on to something i might not hate.

New pic for ya! Please ignore my messy dining room table, and my shoes. I stood on a chair to take a pic from above. Yes, my tape measure is missing inches 1 - 3. I burned them with the iron. I don't like beginnings. The rug currently measures about 25 inches wide by about 9 inches long. After 6 weeks. I rock.

Seed Starting and Storage

2009-03-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

This morning we started all the tomato plants, bell peppers and various other herbs. We just purchased peat pots so we can plant the whole pot into the garden and not have to fuss with transplants. I feel all gardeney and official now.

Starting the seeds got me to thinking about my seed collection. I had quite a few packets of seeds from last year, and this year I ordered a LOT more. Gurney's had a hiccup and sent me twice my order. Since I am doing Square Foot Garden, I am only using a few seeds from each envelope. I probably have enough seeds to last 5 more years! I decided it was time to educate myself on seed storage.

Seeds need to be stored in a cool dry place, with as little moisture as possible. Canning jars are ideal.. wide mouth is easiest but since i had regular mouth in my cupboard, that's what I used. If you have any of those little "do not eat" packets that come in your jacket pockets and with electonics, throw one in each jar. If you don't, take a small amount of dry milk powder and wrap it in a small square of tissue or kleenex. Toss that in the jar to absorb any moisture. Label the lid of your jar with the types of seeds in the jar, and store in the fridge until next year! Most seeds will last 3-5 years if stored properly.
See my pink kleenex dry milk packet?

Facebook User...

2009-03-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

the one from Louisville who visits my blog regularly. You always visit after facebook, and seem to know my husband. You like to look at our pictures... WHO ARE YOU? Post in my comments.. come out and play!

Garden Beds....YAY!

2009-03-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

We spent this weekend planning for our garden and building our garden beds for our square foot garden.

We built 8 3'x6' garden beds and placed them in the front yard we share with the neighbors. The garden beds were very simple to build! We also added a picket fence around this part of the yard to keep random deer and children out of the veggies.

So the final planting list is as follows:
(This list is plants, not veggies or fruits)

168 carrots
48 strawberries
27 green pole beans
27 purple pole beans
54 shelling peas
1 summer squash
19 vine tomatos
2 watermelons
2 giant cantalopes
2 zucchini
6 lettuce (salad bowl variety)
4 pepper
2 white pumpkins
2 orange pumpkins
1 cherry tomato
1 yellow cherry tomato
2 roma tomato
8 broccoli

So we built the boxes, and started on the fence.. BUT the fence is unfinished because I thought the planks were 6 inches wide. I told Adan how many to buy... and the fence planks were really 4 inches wide... so yeah, we did not buy enough.

We also still need to buy the materials for the soil, and for the trellises... we need 9 trellises. This is turning out to be a bit more expensive than I had hoped, but I have to remember that these initial purchases won't have to be repeated. That makes them cost effective in the long run, but oh-so-painful now! LOL

Pics of the building process!

Compost yer diapers

2009-03-11T09:53:00.001-07:00

in no. california!

http://www.earth-baby.com/home.php

CPSIA and books

2009-03-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Most people who know me, know that I have a love for books. As an teenager, I would go to the library and buy the used books from the booksale. Books are such an amazing part of my life, and I especially love OLD books, CLASSIC books. One of my favorite authors is Daphne du Maurier, who I found at one of those old library book sales. I hurt for what the CPSIA is doing to our children's products businesses, but even worse is what is happening to libraries, schools, charities in regards to used books. It scares me to think that our libraries may no longer be haven to our young people. Maybe it will come about that we will have a whole generation of children that have never read many many amazing books, just because they went out of print in 1989 and had to be dumped in 2009. I found the following post heart wrenching.
http://heartkeepercommonroom.blogspot.com/2009/03/cpsc-childrens-books-not-useful-after.html

Garden Time!

2009-03-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone is talking about seed starting and gardens.. so it's my turn. Hopefully I can get Adan to build the garden boxes this weekend.. I am going to order my seeds today. What are you all planting?

We are getting:
Roma tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
slicing tomatoes
zuccini
summer squash
pumpkins
sweet peppers
peas
watermelon
cantalope
lettuce
cauliflower
carrots
broccoli
pole beans

I miss Tina!!!

2009-03-09T18:59:00.000-07:00

tonight, the first night of the year of the FO, i broke my vows and went to Walmart for the fabric sale. You see, Walmart is closing down the fabric section, and all the fabric is going bye bye. At. 50%. Off.

Naturally, I headed down there as soon as Adan got home. Then I wanted to cry because my Walmart buddy isn't here.

Walmart is Tina's store. I will forever think of Tina everytime I go to Walmart, no matter how much time goes by or how old I get.

In CO, Tina and I were close. We did almost everything together. Our ritual was to leave kids behind with their respective fathers or at one or the other's house, and go to Walmart. If she needed something, she would call me and we would go. If I needed something, I would call her and we would go. And we would eat french fries.

I needed tina tonight. If she had been with me, I might not have bought 100 yards of fabric. She would NEVER have waited in a 2 hour line for cutting.

And if i somehow convinced her to wait with me, I would not have had to talk to the crusty old ladies while I waited for the sales people to cut my fabric and drag it all over the floor in the process.

Year of the FO

2009-03-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

A little lingo lesson first.

UFO=unfinished object
FO=finished object

So anyone who knows me, knows that I am a global crafter. I think I like to plan and start things... not so much on persevering. Right now I am actively working on a knit shag rag rug, a braided rug, a knit dish cloth, a crochet dish cloth, a scrap ball afghan, a mosiac gazing ball, curtians for the kitchen, and another braided rug. This does not count the other projects that i have started and set aside in the last, oh, 20 years. I am going to call this the year of the FO. This year, I vow to work on only projects that have already been started, or materials have already been purchased for. If i MUST start a new project, I will use at least 50% materials that already exist in my crafting closet.

There! I said it. Now i have to follow through! I will be posting my FO's as I finish them.. so stay tuned!

Chores

2009-03-06T13:38:00.000-08:00

I was talking with the mom of the children I watch and she was telling me how her oldest is really, really disrespectful to her. She does have some extenuating family circumstances that I don't have, but I have to wonder if it isn't partly because she doesn't expect him to be respectful. For example, he really has no chores around the house. He does one thing, clean the cat box. It made me think about the chores my children have.

I think I must be a slave driver. My kids have a LOT of chores.

Now, the boys do sleep in the same room, so the bedroom chores are split between them as opposed to both having to mop the whole room. Also on busy weekends, we may not get all the Saturday chores done because we just aren't at home. But we try to stick to this plan.

For our system, we have a master list that is on the fridge. It includes all the daily and weekday chores. It is laminated, and each day they check off what they completed.

We also assigned each child a room, and that is their Sat. chores. I have a list with all the chores for each room, laminated, posted on the door to that room. As they do the chores that day they check it off with a projector marker that is hanging from a string on the door. So far this works best for us.

I found the nifty chore charts at Chart Jungle, http://www.chartjungle.com/chores.html I found this site about 7 years ago, and have loved this zone cleaning type of system ever since!

What chores do your kids have? What are your thoughts on children having lots of chores vs. not many chores?

*edited to add in response to comments*
I really feel that it is important for the children to help out because they live here as well. I don't pay allowance for doing chores because chores are just something you have to do as part of a family. Sometimes family duties aren't fun, but you do them anyway! LOL

The kids don't enjoy doing chores and generally don't do them unless told to. Everyday we have chore time, and we all go down our checklists and do our respective tasks. The 5 year old is a pain about this, and occasionally spends 4 hours on one item, but she doesn't get to do anything else until those are done.

We started handing out chores at age 2. Something simple like feed the dog, or put the shoes in the shoe closet. It helps to have the chart, that they can check off when a job is done.

Lucy, age 5

Everyday:
Brush Teeth
Clean Room
Make Bed
Take Bath
Feed Dog
Sweep Upstairs Hallway #1(We have 2)
Take Out Recycling

Tuesday:
Empty Dishwasher

Saturday:
Sweep and Mop bedroom
Dust bedroom
Clean Doorknob and light switch
Wash Window
Clean bathtub in bathroom #2
Clean Sink
Clean Toilet
Clean Mirror
Clean Doorknob
Wash out Trash Can
Sweep and Mop
Clean Light Switch
Wash Window

Alex, age 8

Everyday:
Brush Teeth
Clean Room
Make Bed
Take Bath
Empty Upstairs Trashes
Clean out Cat Box
Sweep Kitchen
Sweep Landing of Stairs

Wednesday:
Empty Dishwasher

Saturday:
Sweep and Mop bedroom
Dust bedroom
Clean Doorknob and light switch
Wash Window
Clean bathtub in bathroom #3
Clean Sink
Clean Toilet
Clean Mirror
Clean Doorknob
Wash out Trash Can
Sweep and Mop
Clean Light Switch
Wash Window

AJ, age 10

Everyday:
Brush Teeth
Clean Room
Make Bed
Take Bath
Empty Downstairs Trashes
Feed and Water Cat
Clean up Dog poop
Sweep Stairs #2
Sweep Hallway #2

Thursday:
Empty Dishwasher

Saturday:
Sweep and Mop bedroom
Dust bedroom
Clean Doorknob and light switch
Wash Window
Dust Living Room
Clean TV Screen
Straighten Bookshelves
Clean Door Knobs
Clean Light Switches
Clean Walls
Wash Windows

Our foster son, age 15, also has a similar list, but I didn't list because when he leaves it will go back to being my list LOL.

Thanks to Swiffer...

2009-03-05T13:26:00.000-08:00

Human League is here to stay. I caught the 8 year old singin this one today.

PVC bike rack!

2009-03-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

We built a PVC bike rack to house our bikes. It came out outstanding and was super inexpensive to make. I believe it cost us about 30 dollars to make 2 bike racks that hold 3 and 4 bikes respectively. We followed the instructable here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Rack/

I modified it a bit to include spots for more than one bike. If you want our modifications, let me know and I will write them out!

Updated June 09:

Don't be a cheapskate like me. Spend $5 on some PVC glue and glue your bike rack pieces together. If you try to save the dollars and just fit the pieces together, you will have a cute little pile of PVC pipe sticks with in 2 or 3 weeks.

Parts cut out!

Adan putting joints together

One finished bike rack

Front yard before nifty bike rack. Note bikes thrown haphazardly around yard, just begging to be stolen.

Bike rack placed behind fence set a few feet out from the front of the house.

Bikes in rack! Beautifully put away!

Bike rack for adult bikes in the shed.

Bike rack in shed filled with adult bikes! Beautiful!

homestudy is almost done!

2009-03-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to the ACS office and tracked down the last background check that we needed for our homestudy. They finally faxed it in to our case worker. That means she started typing everything up today. 6 weeks or less we will be done. I am filled with anxiety at this prospect. How many children do we want? 2, 3, 4, 5, 6? Do we want to go out of state or through KY? Do we have the patience? the funds? the space? a big enough car? We found a sibling group of 3 and one of 6 on the web, and I think we will put in our homestudy for both if they are still waiting for adoption in 6 weeks. It seems like this could be a reality so soon!

I am so scared about it though! I was not happy that our family stopped at 3 children, but i was okay with it. Now we are a point where our family could double or more within the year. I think I will be heartbroken if we have to turn from this path now.

Baby Cradle project

2009-02-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

Today, we made a cradle with the daycare kiddos. It was super easy and a lot of fun!
We followed the plans found at www.kidscanmakeit.com/WW0001.htm.

I estimate that the overall cost was $15.00. This cradle is STURDY! This is not plastic piece of junk that will break in 5 days leaving you out 40 bucks.

Adan cut out the wood and sanded, and the kids and I assembled it. The kids ranged in age from 3 to 11 and all had a great time.

My limits

2009-02-27T11:05:00.000-08:00

As our homestudy draws to a close and the reality of adoption looms closer, I begin to wonder what my limits are. I would absolutely love a big ole family. Of course big ole family brings different numbers to mind for different people. What can I handle? 5? 6? 10 kids? I wish i knew what the future held. I want to start planning for it!

Old Friends

2009-02-26T05:52:00.000-08:00

Last week when I went grocery shopping I accidentally got a case of cup of soup instead of ramen noodles. My husband was a bit perturbed because he likes ramen for lunch but we all got over it. As i was eating a cup of soup for lunch one day, I flashed back to jr. high and high school, when I practically lived at my best friend's hours and we would eat cup of soup for after school snacks. We became instant best friends when we entered 7th grade. I was 12. Our lives have taken on different directions since high school. I moved away, got married and had 3 children before she got married. Somehow we have managed to maintain contact even through I have lived in 5 states and 2 countries over the intervening 13 years. We aren't nearly as close as we were during high school when we were dubbed "attached at the hip". But there are times that I miss her. I ache for the bond that we used to have.

My soup memory brought on that feeling of missing her. I have not seen my friend in over a year. I haven't spoken or emailed her since I lost contact with her a few months after when I moved to KY early last year. I finally broke down and contacted an character from my past, who works with her. Yesterday we spent the day emailing back and forth. It's always nice to talk to her. It seems that no matter how long it is since we talked last, I am always comfortable with her, and her with me. It's as if we haven't seen each other since yesterday :) If I can dig up an old photo of us, I will post it!

Hopefully we will be able to institute a girls weekend once a year. That way, no matter where in the world I am, or how far apart we live, we can still connect in person at least once a year.

Picture Catch up!

2009-02-26T05:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of the ice storm we had, and of our ghetto sledding attempt.

So after the ice storm, we saw a hill, and we saw that kids were sledding on it. So we grabbed a couple of trash bags and went over to sled. Who ever told you that you could slid down icy snowy hills on trash bags lied! then we tried the lid to my rubber maid tubs.. also a no-go. We finally gave up, although we did do some cool hill surfing on the way home.

Lemony Snicket

2009-02-22T21:31:00.000-08:00

Lemony Snicket... Oh, Lemony... you have left me with so many more questions than I had when I started. All my synapses are firing and you have left me so unsatisfied.

Who is Beatrice? Is she the orphans mother? Are you their father or their mother's long lost love? Why were you kidnapped as an infant? Who killed Olaf's parents? Who started the Baudelaire fire? What is the question mark? What happened to the Quagmires? Who was Ishmael? Is there history between Kit and Olaf? What is Mr. Poe's past? What is so important about the dang sugar bowl? Why did Beatrice steal it from Esme? How is Esme related to everyone else?

I am afraid this is going to have me preoccupied for quite a while. Where are the cliff notes??

Adan may be going to jail

2009-02-22T19:44:00.000-08:00

When we first got married, he shot me in the butt with a bb gun. It hurt really really bad. I am going to write an essay about it and turn it over to my children's teachers, like THIS kid did.

My poor birthday boy :(

2009-02-22T19:37:00.000-08:00

today was Alex's birthday party, on his birthday! How often does that happen? My poor son was sick yesterday, with a fever of 103.5. We dosed him with motrin and his fever would come down, especially after cool showers. Poor dude was miserable. Today we decided we would just have to cancel the party. He was so sad and crestfallen that we decided if he was feeling better right before the party we would go. So we went. And probably infected the whole bowling alley including our 12 party guests with strep and/or the flu. Yeah I suck. He was fine during the party, but once it was over, he just crashed. I ended up taking him to the ER. Thank goodness Adan was working, as he got us right in. (Which makes me feel bad for those "regular" people who have to wait to go to the ER. I suppose there are *some* perks to having a husband who works craptastic hours in the ER) He has been diagnosed with the flu and possibly early strep. boo hiss for being sick on your birthday. On a good note, he is pleased with his presents. He got 2 gift cards, a spider man with a sticky web thing, a venom with a long tongue, a nerf gun and from us a soccer ball and a goal net. yeah baby!

Our very first meeting

2009-02-20T13:11:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, my second baby turns 8. He has his own ideas, and thoughts, and marches to his very own drummer.

That's him in my profile pic, approx. 6 years ago.

A few minutes ago, he walked up to me as I was talking to Adan, and said, "Mom, guess what?"

"What?"

"Chicken Butt!"

He did not even crack a grin. :D

The following was written in 2002 when he was about 18 months old.

The First Meeting

We sit in the dark watching bright images jump out at us from the television. He snuggles deep into the space created by my hip and the arm of the couch. His fleece sleeper is soft against my skin and I can smell the Johnson's shampoo from his bath. As I rub the stubbly hair of his shaved head, it's hard to remember how it all started. (Of Course I remember the very beginning- I mean our first meeting!)

We walked AJ to the neighbor's house and I climbed into the car. We had everything prepared- clothes for both of us, diapers and a book to read, and Lire (this was before the Euro) in the ashtray for the tolls. We drove up to the tollbooth.

"Cinquecento Lire."

We handed over the Lire and drove through Soave's medieval city walls. I remember peering through the thick February darkness searching for the tiny sign that signaled the alley to the hospital. In between breaths I waddled up the steps and onto the elevator. Nurses clad in white greeted us.

"Buone notte."

As if in a dream, I climbed up on the table and the nurse examined my progress. While under the electrodes, She asked a series of unknown and indistinguishable questions.

"Dove in tensione?"
"Dove eravate sopportate?"
"Avete altri bambini?"
"Quanto anni avete?"

I answered to the best of my abilities and with our contrived sign language, she communicated to me that I was not progressing. Exhausted and frustrated, I left the room and walked out to the covered bridge between the buildings. I looked out the wall of windows. The sight took my breath away- Soave castle- surrounded by medieval walls and towers, back lit, stood out to me in the darkness.

I stood on the bridge, admiring my amazing surroundings. A nurse hustled by carrying two bags, and running behind her was a very pregnant woman, her breath puffing out her cheeks in her struggle to keep up. A few minutes later, the nurse returned and escorted me to my room. My room contained 2 narrow beds with a window on the far wall. I opened the window and leaned out over the crown moldings. I could still see the beautiful view of the castle beyond the trees.

My husband and I lay down on the narrow beds and tried to sleep. Despite the excitement we drifted off to sleep to the sound of the frogs croaking in the stream below our window. A few hours later I awoke to severe pain in my abdomen. I knew it was finally time.

I woke Adan up and we again waddled down the long corridor covered with pictures of babies. Again I climbed up on the table and was examined. This time the nurse gave me an encouraging smile. She escorted me down the hallway and into a dark room.

Through the haze of pain I thought I had walked into a B-rated hospital horror movie. The room had green ceramic tile on the floor, walls and ceiling. The only light in the room shone down upon a reclined chair in the center of the room. Gleaming stainless steel legs and stir-ups rose from the seat. At least 4 people stood around in the room, dressed in green scrubs and facemasks, conversing in low Italian tones.

I climbed onto the chair. The light blinded my eyes. One of the green clad figures put up some handrails on the sides of my chair. Then, pain, all around me and in me, filling my ears and blinding my eyes. In the background I could hear many voices, shouting.

"Spinta!"
"Push!"
"Spinghere!"

I tried to understand, but the pain in my ears kept the Italian words from being translated. Moments later it was over. One of the green clad figures handed me the prize, my son, and we had our first meeting. I allowed a nurse to take him and clean him and weigh him and do all those necessary trifles. He was returned to me and we walked to the recovery room.

I held him as he drifted off to sleep. Adan and I counted his fingers and toes. He was all there. Our Alexander David.

Sitting in the dark with him now, I sigh with love. I know this peaceful moment will not last. In five minutes, I will have to put him to bed and we will start another round of our battles. He will snuggle into his bed, and trick me into thinking he will go quietly, just like he has done since that February morning in Italy. No matter how much he fusses, and how much I complain about his fussing, in 20 years, I will think back with tears in my eyes, to the bedtime battles we used to have, just like I look back at our first meeting now.

Glorious Day!

2009-02-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

Today, we had rain showers in the AM and rain showers in the PM but we had a couple hours of glorious cloud-free sunshine in between. As Lucy and I sat in the car, waiting to pick the boys up from school, I drew Lucy's attention to the beautiful weather outside the car. She exclaimed, "I know! I could kiss the world!"

I think we need some sunshine.

Backyard Bird Watching for Babies

2009-02-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Okay maybe not just for babies. Everyone can enjoy backyard bird watching. Even cats! I built some nifty little bird feeders for our yard. Easy and inexpensive to boot!

Sorry, pics are dark and slightly blurry.. camera is on it's way out!!

NOTE! In the second picture, a black capped chickadee is present. In the third, a tufted titmouse.

First, head over to Lowe's or your neighborhood home improvement store. Pick up a 10' length of 3/4 diameter copper pipe. Ask the friendly associates to chop it into 3 roughly equal pieces. Pick up 3 end caps in the appropriate diameter. Get some copper tube glue. Mine was named Goop. Next head over to your local dollar store and grab 3 small plastic plates and 3 small bowls. The bowls will sit on the plates so you want to make sure there will be room around the bowls. Think tea cup and saucer.

Very simply, glue the bottom of the plate to the top of the end cap. Glue the bottom of the bowl to the top of the plate. Let dry. Mine took 48 hours to dry. Go stab the copper pipe into your grass. Top with end cap-plate-bowl. Fill with bird seed and sit back and enjoy your feathered friends!

I also recommend that you purchase a bird guide. We picked up 3 different ones at our local barnes and noble book store. I really love the book that is categorized by color. It is simple enough that even my children and day care children can search for the birds we see at the feeder. We have put the feeders right in front of the window, and put 2 little chairs for easy window watching. We even found a few sets of children's binoculars for those times when you need a close up look!

Lucy can name several birds by sight. Her favorite birds are the black eyed juncos. The juncos don't eat from the bird feeders; they eat from ground under the bird feeders. She makes sure to spread out bird seed all over the lawn when she feeds the birds!

No more Soda

2009-02-17T08:17:00.000-08:00

So today is day 2 of no more soda. Yes, I have done this before, but this time it will stick! I found this interesting blog post about reasons to ditch the crack.. Reasons not to drink soda

The sugar cravings have already kicked in. Last night I ate the last 7 of my mini peanut butter cups. I gobbled them down like they were hot dogs at a competitive eating competition. Scary.

In the world, but not OF the world

2009-02-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

*warning* Huge generalizations below. I know some very nice people who follow the ideals below. I am not personally attacking anyone... Just exploring my thoughts on the issues.

2 weeks ago at church, the pastor made the comment that we are supposed to be IN this world but not OF the world. He made the point that if we are not IN the world, we will not be able to carry out the Great Commission of telling others about the love of Jesus. This has been stuck in my head these last two weeks. In my online endeavors, and in my natural tendencies toward loving the off-grid, (hippy stuff, Adan would say) I have come across many, many people who are Christian, and secluded. I find that many in this sub sect are quiverful and homeschooling. Many who don't associate with anyone outside church families, or like minded families.

I think quiverful is a good thing, but I have questions. So if you are a quiverful family, you believe that God will "give" you children. These families generally rely on God for family planning and don't use any form of birth control. They believe that God will bless you with children if you are meant to have them or not bless you if you aren't.

My questions are these: How does adoption fit into this plan? Does trusting God for you children mean you should not adopt? Does it mean that the advance planning of doing a homestudy is wrong? Does completeing a homestudy mean you don't trust God, are not faithful? What about women who are infertile? Does this mean I should not have any more children? I have always felt very judged by this school of thought. Apparently, I am not worthy of more children if my body can not produce them.

I also think homeschooling is a good thing. I don't think it is right or perfect for every family though. I would love to homeschool, but I believe that i must let my husband make the final decisions for our family. He has good points and reasons, and it boils down to us not homeschooling at this time in our lives.

It always feels like this growing group of christians are so about being super mom and wife. It feels like if you aren't a long skirt wearing, long haired, head covering, cooking from scratch, cloth diapering, food preserving, homeschooling, sewing all the family's clothes, crazy person, then you just aren't good enough. I think any movement that makes others feel so unworthy can't be all good. Jesus wanted us to love our neighbors, not condemn them because they wear their hair shoulder length or choose to eat at McDonald's twice a month.

It seems that some of the people I know that are in this group are so secluded. They won't participate in any activities that include people who don't believe the same way they do. Now, I understand wanting to connect with like minded individuals. It is like the air after the rain to be able to talk to people who don't think you are weird and who don't question you every move. This doesn't mean i should foresake EVERYONE that doesn't share my same ideals. How can I fulfill the great commission if everyone I know is a cookie cutter image of myself. How can I be the hands and feet of God, if I never step out of my comfort zone, If i never get may hands dirty?

I have been wondering for a long time how I can help and make a difference in this community. I have decided that I am going to go to the red cross and try and start an operation school bell type of program here for this post. I will keep you all updated.

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-14T07:01:00.001-08:00

Alex showing off his Valentine's Day Miracle Chip. He bit the chip and the remains were in the shape of a heart. Although, it could be a Valentine's Day Nightmare as 2 minutes later it broke, down the middle. A Valentine's day broken heart.

Sapidness

Kids say the darndest things.

Pot pretties... coming soon to a blog near you!

Apple Avocado Pudding

Facebook - Friend or Foe?

Jack and my Juice

Really Real Raw

Garden for 2011

Farm Birthday featuring sock horses

2010 Projects in Review

Jack's Journey

Menu Board

Scary Spider Wreath

Hang up Laundry Separators

The summer of the butterfly

Project-a-week club

More of me whining about friends

Foodalicious Friday

MYTH BUSTERS - Grocery store checkout!

B-12 really *is* important.

school and school and friends in the army

Motherhood and Random Manipulation

Foodalicious Friday

A positive outlook

Iron on Wall "Vinyls"

Operation New Board - Completed!

Water Bottle Carrier

Operation New Board

Summer Dresses

my babies aren't really babies anymore

Back in the day...

Juice Feasting

baking - PB&J muffins

craziness

Teacher gifts on the fly

Plant Cell Cake

Pretty Pots

commercials - yikes & yay review

Coffee Cup Rack

CSI love

Barbie as a role model

Sun on a Snowy Day

OAMC updates! Day 1 and 2

Broccoli and Cauliflower Oh MY!

Vegetable OAMC Plan

The Beef OAMC Plan

The Cheese OAMC plan

OAMC Chicken Session!

OAMC - Beans, beans and more beans!

Why I love raw food...

Year in review? Not here!

Garden Planning

Fun with fabric!

Christmas!

Want some trashy jelly?

Gardening!

Food Friday - Fettucine Alfredo, Susie Style

Angela's Baby Shower gift

Cortney's Baby Shower

Update to PVC bike rack

Breaking Blog Silence

Say good-bye to your garden.

Crazy Neighbors make me bitter

Competitive Sports

Homestudy... Check!

Little Lu

Sharon's Photo Quilted Wall hanging

Our Garden is working!

Thinning Seedlings

Easter is coming

Current 101 things in 1001 days

101 things in 1001 days

Thoughtless Thursday

Fires don't go near grammies

Crazy neighbor #467

Knitted Shag Rag Rug Update

Seed Starting and Storage

Facebook User...

Garden Beds....YAY!

Compost yer diapers

B-12 really is important.