Memorial Day Ninjas

We were blessed to have Sabrina, Harrison and Winston this weekend and had such a great time. Josiah had shown the little boys how to make Ninja masks out of a black t-shirt so all the little kids turned themselves in to Ninjas in the back yard. It was pretty hilarious. As far as I could figure being Ninjas entailed chasing each other with light sabers and doing "Ninja Training" (ie: standing in front of Ben and moving your sword very slowly). It was pretty cute.

Ninja Training

Ninja Snacking on Chocolate Chip Cookies

Harrison ... he's so smiley but I couldn't catch is adorable smile on camera!

Sabrina and Mary ... don't they look like sisters!

We didn't get any of Winston this weekend because he didn't stay as long. He would have made a cute ninja for sure!

This week we'll attempt to get back on track with school while getting Mike ready to leave for Israel and Josiah ready to leave for a 3 day bivouac. We're also helping my Romanian friend, Cati, load her moving truck to move to Utah. We'll sure miss Cati and her son, Radu.

I'm off to get busy. I'll post my menu in a bit.

A busy week ...

I haven't posted much lately. There are just so many things winding down at the end of the school year. Mary and Josiah took their IOWA tests this week which meant driving to Loveland 3 days in a row and then back again to pick them up. We got our garden in which feels awesome. In fact, there are tiny pea pods on my pretty pea vines. Grandma and Grandpa are moving this week with the help of "the brothers" ... which has meant lots of fun time with my very darling nieces and nephews. Next week I'll hopefully get back on track with blogging and e-mail. Although a week from Memorial Day Monday, Mike is leaving for Israel for 2 weeks on a business trip. I'm so excited for him but nervous for him to be away for so long. If anyone has any things they can think of for him to bring back to us let me know ... what does one buy in Israel? Olive Oil? Salt from the Dead Sea? A donkey?

Baked Potatoes and Egg

I threw this together in 10 minutes before leaving for dance tonight and it worked beautifully so I thought I'd share.

Baked Potatoes and Egg

2 large potatoes, washed and grated
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
8 eggs
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 cups cheddar, shredded

Layer in a 9X13 beginning with potatoes, then onion, pepper, eggs and top with cheese.
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

If I had ham or bacon I would have added a layer of that as well. I served it with fresh asparagus.

To Garden or Not To Garden

I love my garden. I've worked all winter composting and digging and weeding and moving rocks to get it ready for Spring. I've battled squirrels as they've dug up my compost and relocated my onions. I've weeded and weeded and weeded and weeded. So, all that to say, gardening makes me happy.

On the flip side, if I neglect my garden for even a few days the weeds take over. It's a constant battle to keep the squirrels out and the kids from trampling plants during rambunctious ball games. It takes lots of time and energy keeping it watered and fed. We planted summer plants yesterday and the kids were grumpy and discontent the entire time. If I asked Anna to help plant, then Timmy whined because he wanted to plant and not weed ... and so on and so on times 9 kids. I set up a small sprinkler for them to run through when they got too hot and, duh, they couldn't stay focused on their work because the sprinkler was much more fun. They asked 1000 times "are we done yet". They were all filthy from head to toe requiring baths, showers and new clothes.

So my thought is "Is this worth it?" I mean we have a Farmers Market just blocks from our house and 10 grocery stores to choose from. Maybe this isn't my "season" for gardening? I don't know. I'm sure by August when we have fresh tomatoes and zucchini I'll be happy I put the time in effort into it but at this moment I'm not sure. It seems like if I garden then something important inside has to suffer ... like laundry or baking or school or cleaning. And, those things already suffer just from the fact that there's one of me and 10 of "them".

Maybe I'll post pictures of my recent gardening accomplishment to look to when I'm frustrated. It is a pretty little garden. My peas are beginning to climb up the fence and my onions have long, skinny tops. Mary planted tiny purple flowers between my flagstone which makes me smile every time I walk down the middle path. It makes me smile to think about.

Timmy and Lizzy on a chilly Spring morning

Timothy and Lizzy snuggled down on the couch this morning because it was so chilly. What cuties!

Kansas City!!!!

I was in Kansas city, by golly! I don't know what "by golly" means but it seems appropriate. I flew out to surprise my dear friend Elaine for her 50th birthday! And, WOW, what a surprise it was. Her darling daughter, Bethany, threw a magnificent surprise party for Elaine. I was able to mingle with her wonderful family and friends and then whisk her away for the weekend at a hotel. We had a lovely time. We watched movies, ate yummy food, talked for hours on end, drove to the neighborhood where my grandmother grew up (her house is GONE!) and even went to a garden art sale! What a fantastic retreat. Elaine has 8 kids from 14 up to 24 and I have 9 kids from 15 down to 2. Two moms on the loose in Kansas City with 17 kids between us! How wonderful is that?!

Elaine is the second from the left. She's surrounded by her wonderful friends.

I came home to a clean, decorated house for Mother's Day! The kids hung streamers and bought flowers for me which made for such a pretty return. I missed them all so much and kept wishing I could share my experience with them while I was away. Mike is an amazingly capable husband which allowed me to really enjoy my respite. He even did laundry while I was away! His diligence made my "re-entry" much more manageable.

In all of our relaxation I forgot to take pictures in Kansas. I wanted a good one with just Elaine and me ... I guess I'll have to go back!

I'm here ...

I've arrived at my mystery destination! I'll be leaving my hotel for "the surprise" in just a few minutes. I'm so excited but miss my family very much. Here's a picture from my hotel room on the 16th floor ... can you guess where I am?

Marvelous May!

So far May has been every bit as wonderful as I had hoped it would be. We stopped Karate, Biology is over, AWANA is finished, there are 2 more weeks of BSF (ending very victoriously I must add), school is winding down, Winston has settled in, the weather is beautiful, my garden is growing (and so are the weeds) ... we have actual free-time! It is just marvelous. Without so much running around we're getting oodles of school done and the kids have played outside for hours on end. While some of our school year activities are necessary, some will definitely be revisited to decide if they are truly worthwhile. Karate was awesome, fun and the kids loved it BUT it was expensive, time-consuming and a twice a week commitment. I actually cried when I had to tell Mr. Schuett we were quitting but now that we've had a taste of a week without running to Loveland twice a week I am so relieved it's over. This weekend I leave for 3 days alone but I can't tell you where. It's a surprise for someone and I don't want to risk ruining the surprise. I'll post pictures and tell the whole story next week or over the weekend once the surprise is out in the open. And now I'm off to weed the garden ... in my free-time!

My Perfected Yeast Roll Recipe

I've been working on perfecting an easy yeast roll recipe and this is what I've come up with. I can make these at around 2:00 and have them hot and ready for dinner. They only take a few minutes to put together especially in my Bosch which kneads for me.

Yeast Rolls

* 2 envelopes (1/4 oz)or 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1/2 cup lukewarm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/3 cup sugar, divided into 1 T and 1/3 cup minus 1 T
* 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
* 2 tablespoons instant potato flakes
* 1 cup hot water
* 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I use 1 cup of whole wheat)
* Butter,melted (for brushing rolls)

Put yeast, lukewarm water and 1 Tablespoon of sugar in bowl, stir and set aside. Put sugar, salt, potato flakes and hot water in mixer and combine well. Add yeast mixture which should be bubbly and dissolved by now. Gradually add flour one cup at a time. Knead well. Put in greased bowl and cover to rise for an hour and a half. Pour out of bowl, punch down and roll into a long snake. Cut into 24 rolls forming them into circles as you put them onto a tray or 2 9 X 13 pans. Cover and let rise again for an hour and a half. Very, very often I get a late start and mine don't get to rise a 2nd time for as long but they still turn out very tasty.

Cinnamon Flop

This is the fastest, easiest Sunday breakfast and the whole family loves it. I use 1/2 whole wheat flour but you don't have to. I also occasionally add an egg or two to make it cakier but again it's not in the recipe. This is the perfect recipe for hard-times or if you are living off of food storage because there are no eggs and you can substitute the fresh milk with powdered and butter with oil. We love it!

Cinnamon Flop

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 T melted butter
*******
1/4 cup brown suger
2 T flour
1 t cinnamon
1/4 cup butter cut into 12 pieces

Mixed together first six ingredients. Pour into greased 9X13 pan. Mix dry topping ingredients and sprinkle over top. Dot evenly with 12 pieces of butter and gently press butter down into cake. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

10/22/2010 In that this is one of our favorite breakfasts I'm updating it with things we enjoy.
*Use half the sugar and no one will be the wiser
*Sprinkle with blueberries or other fruit.
*Add 1 cup of pumpkin and nutmeg to the cinnamon and it will taste like fall.
*If I have eggs I always add them ... it just makes it taller, moister and more like real cake. But it is good without them.