Ahhhh, I love it when a plan comes together ...

This picture times 3 plus 1 (Michaela) ... wait that would make 6 girls and 6 boys plus Michaela and we have 4 girls and 6 boys plus Mike and I are a boy and a girl, respectively, so ... the math formula would be X 3 - 2 girls + 2 boys + Michaela = .... oh, never mind ... the point is it was a nice family dinner.

This morning, early, I put a turkey in the oven.  At 2:00 I took him out, again we named him Tom, and sliced him.  I made a quick gravy to pour over the meat to keep it moist and steamed a bag of brussel sprouts in the microwave.  Then I put all of this in a warm oven so when we got home from VBS dinner was sliced and ready.   Amazing.  I even used a tin roasting pan so we could throw away the mess (and by "we" I mean Luke who does the kitchen on Thursday nights.)  Before you are too impressed I have to confess that the 5 kids who went to VBS had Happy Meals for the last two nights and this was my guilt offering.  Not that the kids were sad.  They were delighted.  TWO Happy Meals in ONE week ... for Pete's sake, Mom's lost her mind.  But, I might be on to something.  The gravy kept the meat moist and the brussel sprouts tasted like brussel sprouts.  Since I have energy in the morning and not at 4:00 p.m. this may be a new routine on dance nights!

We have a house.

We have a house.  The journey to get this house was quite exhausting but it's ours and we are pleased.  Our requirements were (1) it had to be close to the older kids school and CSU (2) it needed to have a decent yard and (3) it needed to accommodate our unusual needs.  This house met all three and then some.  It is 1/2 of a block away from a giant lake where the kids can fish and explore; it's 1/2 of a mile from Sprouts and Starbucks :) ;  it has a basement that we can easily segment into an extra bedroom, play room and family room; but, most importantly, it is ours!  

As much as we have been rejoicing in this, I was struck by a stark reality early yesterday morning.   The first being that the property management company can show our current home any time they please and the second being that we need to be packed and ready to go in 3 short weeks.  I didn't hyperventilate but I wanted to.  This panic inspired me to get a lot done yesterday.  I packed and sorted the 3 little girls room AND the 3 little boys room.  Two white trash bags, one black bag full of Goodwill and lots of boxing later they are done.  Now to keep them clutter free for 3 weeks ... ha!  Anna, my resident packrat, had multiple "Memory Boxes" and notebooks of drawings that were irreplaceable all crammed in a packrat-ly semi-organized way under her bed.  After dumping multiple boxes I told her she could remember the leaves from our trees and sticks from walks in the woods with pictures and did not need to keep boxes of this glorified compost.  Oi!  I won't go into the details of the boys room ... it was equally confounding but not worse than I expected.  

And, so, I am off to work.  Today is a doozy of a day.   School, laundry (argh), packing, dance (at OUR house) and the final night at VBS.  Mary's dance teacher calmly asked if we could get a replacement FUSTA card picture for her before class tonight ... she did this via email so I didn't offend her when I rolled around the floor laughing hysterically.  Anyway, I digress ... have a great day!

Chicken and Rice ... the British and Mercury

1/4 olive oil
1/4 cup butter
1/2 flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
salt
pepper
1 cup sliced mushrooms
4 sliced carrots
3 cups peas
12 boneless skinless chicken thighs

Layer chicken, mushrooms and carrots in crockpot.  Melt butter and olive oil in a sauce pan and whisk in flour.  Pour in broth and milk.  Stir until thick.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour over chicken and veggies.  Cook on low in crockpot all day.  30 minutes before dinner stir in peas and shred meat.  Serve over rice.  Mmmmmm!

I actually used 4 cups milk yesterday and it was yummy and creamy.

I did so because a 9 year old child came in as I was cooking asked me, "Mom, whats 42 minus 6?"  This threw me because (1)she knows how to figure that out, (2)she knows I'm not going to do her math for her and (3)I kept thinking, "this proves there IS such a thing as a stupid question."  I didn't tell her that last part.  That was really the beginning of ridiculous questions yesterday.  Later a child said, "Mom, I need a Bible."  Um, ok, get one.  They are on the Bible shelf that we get Bibles from every single day for devotions and church and school soooooo .... After that another child was in agony over his history questions.  It's a dramatic child that takes twice as long to do school as any other child because everything has to be filled with drama.  He asked me in a very whiney voice, "But, WHY would Betsy Ross hide the important American documents from the British?!" "Whyyyyyyy?"  My eyes roll even typing this silly question.  Because the British are BRITISH!!!!  When I said that he laughed and said, "Oh, yeah."

We did have a great day of school yesterday.  It was remarkably productive.  The kids were tired after their first night of VBS so I had anticipated the worst.  I think the tired is what led to the serious of ridiculous questions.  We finished an entire chapter in Exploring Creation with Astronomy though!  MERCURY!

Looking, listening, laughing!

Lily zerberting me ... she is smiling though!

In a very brief moment of packing zeal I packed up all of my preschool manipulatives or as I call them, "Things that keep Eli and Lily occupied for 5 minutes or less."  So I took the beads we have for crafts and had her divide them by color into cups.  She LOVED this.  LOVED IT!  And the other kids were complaining because they didn't get to do it.  I might have her start organizing my silverware drawer or sort socks for school.  

Table time is followed by blanket time for the littles ... this is Eli, Part One.

Eli, Part Two, "I am so very saaaaaad!  I have to sit on a soft blanket and watch a learning video I love. Oh, woe is me."  He was not keen on sitting yesterday (like most days).

Eli, Part Three, THIS seat has a buckle.  He thinks, "Oh, snap, she may have experience with my type ... she may have won the battle but I will win the war!  Just wait for nap time!  I'll show her.  I'll fuss and cry instead of sleeping in my crib for an hour ... oh, wait, she'll be downstairs and will ignore my sorrow.  I guess she'll win again.  It's like she's the boss of me."

Making craters in flour.  Woohoo!

Lest you think I'm a monster there is a reward for quiet Blanket Time.  Yesterday it was a sucker!  I'm not a TOTAL monster.  (There's that seat with a buckle, again.)

After, school we went for a long walk together.  We could see the storm rolling in bringing snow which was really exciting.  

And, these are the days of my life ...

Mid-winter VBS

Or, as my kids keep saying, "Mid-winter Not-Vacation Bible School".

A friend invited our kids to a Group Publishing pilot program for a VBS curriculum they have developed for this coming summer.  It's at a church that is very close by and actually loosely affiliated with our denomination (plus, plus), it's free (plus), it is a nice break from our evening routine (plus) and it's a really neat study (PLUS!).  It's about the life of Moses and each kid is assigned to a tribe.  They have booths set up like a Hebrew village and lots of typical VBS activities.  Sooooo, I decided, yes, my kids can be Group Publishing guinea pigs.

It's every night this week from 6 - 8 which is a tad exhausting for them but I hope well worth the sleep-deprivation.  This has forced me to re-think my menu plan because we'll have to leave the house at 5:45.

Monday -          Crockpot Chicken and Rice
Tuesday -          Roast Turkey with vegetables
Wednesday -     BBQ Turkey Sandwiches
Thursday -         Spinach Feta Egg Casserole
Friday -              Pizza
Saturday -          Left-overs
Sunday -            Nachos

On a different note, we are also in the throws of buying a house.  I've hesitated to mention this because there are 4,000 hoops to jump through and I didn't want to get my hopes up or anyone else's (it's the people pleaser in me ... as if anyone else really cares if we buy this particular house.)  This week we should have a final answer.  We built our last house and it was MUCH easier than this process.  Inspectors and Appraisers and Underwriters, OH MY!  If everything comes together we will be closing February 15th and moving by the end of February.  Eeeeek!  Lots to do, lots to do, lots to do!  So, between school and VBS and dance and chess (two tournaments over the next two weekends) and whatever else I typically do I need to pack and organize and plan.

Did I mention I've developed an ulcer?  Seriously.  I don't think it's stress related (I'm really not being sarcastic) I think it's a coffee, spicy food, white wine, flu induced ulcer.  See, when normal people get a stomach ache they change their eating habits.  When I get a stomach ache I try to kill it with coffee and garlic.  Saturday night's Garlic Chicken paired with Sunday mornings coffee followed by onion laden fajitas at lunch about killed me yesterday.  I drank chamomile tea and ate chicken soup last night.  Oooooo, woe to me!  I've also had no coffee this morning and, honestly, it doesn't even sound good.  I hope I'm not dying ... no one would believe I just typed those words.  I figure if my tummy hurts enough that COFFEE doesn't sound good, I should probably try to fix it.  On that note, I'm off to make some tea.  Have a great day!

Bacon and Mushroom Egg Casserole in the Crockpot

8 pieces of bread, cubed
8 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

Put in well greased crockpot in that order.

Mix together:

12 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups cheddar, shredded
salt
pepper

Pour over first three ingredients.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 2-4 hours.

The kids loved this and so did our assortment of guests that night.  At 3:40 I realized that I HAD turned the crockpot ON but I had NOT plugged it in.  Soooooo, I plugged it in and turned it to High.  I then thought of random things we could eat if it was still raw egg soup by 6:00 p.m. ... but it wasn't!  It was actually perfectly cooked ... so there ya go ... cook on high for 2 hours and 20 minutes.  I will confess that Mike arrived home at 4:15 and he got Taverna take-out for the two of us (such is the privilege of being a grown-up)!  Mike knows that the way to my heart is both Greek food and take-out.  Oh be still my heart ... BOTH!

I am alive and sort of well ...

I've just been a tad sickly for a few days.  Here's a question for you (along the lines of "if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it fall ...") -  "If a mom doesn't post her menu does it mean dinner doesn't exist and she doesn't have to cook?"  The answer is "NO!" ... dinner will always exist ... at least until the kids leave the house and by that time Mike and I will be too old to remember to eat dinner.  So, here is a summary of what my menu has looked like thus far this week and beyond:

Sunday -     Mike flies out at 9:00 a.m., I think I'm going to die I feel so badly, we eat rice for dinner.

Monday -    John brings over a roast with all the essential root vegetables and there is great rejoicing.

Tuesday -    I throw12 drumsticks in the crockpot, pour spaghetti sauce over the top and serve over noodles.  Michaela tells me she loves my cooking and I am to embarrassed to tell her how completely lame this meal was ... I honestly think college students just love "cooking" in general ... it's free, it's hot and there's lots of it.

Wednesday - Mike is coming home today instead of tomorrow so I have to actually try.  I'm making the Ultimate Crockpot Egg Casserole.  I'll let you know what we think of it.  Still not feeling great and the smell of the bacon and eggs and cheese is kind of making my stomach turn ...

Thusday -    Ben's 13th Birthday and, bless his darling little heart, he just wants burgers for dinner.  I love this boy!

Friday -      Pizza, because Friday = Pizza in the same way that 1 +1 = 2.

Saturday -  I have no idea.

Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder

2 sticks of butter
1 cup of flour
1 T salt
1 t pepper
8 cups of chicken broth
8 cups of milk
4 cups of corn
2 cups of diced chicken
4 potatoes, cooked and diced

Melt butter.  Whisk in flour, salt and pepper.  Pour in broth all at once.  Stir until thick.  Add milk.  Stir. Add corn, chicken and potatoes.  Taste.  Add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Eat.

Yum.

Stir in most leftovers like mushrooms, peas, diced ham, green beans, creamy casseroles, tuna, broccoli ... I promise no one will notice.  Well, they might notice if you stirred in pizza or whole pork chops but ... you get the idea.

Eli Eating A Cupcake

I love cupcakes!  Watch this, Mom!  

 No hands!

Now for a nice drink of milk.  Ahhhhh!

Jacob's 12th Birthday!

My sweet Jacob turned 12 yesterday.  Jacob is a big 'ole teddy bear.  He's gentle, kind and thoughtful.  For example, at his birthday lunch yesterday at Chili's, he saved most of his lunch for his brothers and sisters back at home so they could taste how good it was.  He's innately kind.

He woke up early and went with Mike to pick his birthday cereal.  We only eat sugary cereal on birthdays so he chose Apple Jacks (but being my child chose the generic cheap version ... I've trained him well, grasshopper) and bacon.  Jacob also loves bacon.  When Ben, Jacob and Timmy were littler they made themselves into superheroes.  Ben was "Carrot Boy", Jacob was "Bacon Boy" and Timmy was "Noodle Boy".  Hehe.

After breakfast we met John's family in Old Town per Jacob's request.  It was a lovely day for a walk around Old Town.  The boys shopped at Haley's Comics and each found a new comic book.  We got drinks at Starbucks and the sweet barista brought us a tray full of samples.  Each kid got a treat at Rocket Fizz and then we headed home.

 Jacob and Winston are best friends.

 Winston and Lizzy surveying the candy store.

 Lizzy with her baby doll.

 Anna and Rachel

 Lily

After Old Town we went home to drop off the rest of the troops so Mike and I could take Jacob out to lunch.  It was fun to sit and visit with him alone.  

At dinner we ate home made pizza, opened present, had cake and then my brother, John, took the older kids to see The Hobbit.  Thank you, thank you, thank you Uncle John.  Not being much of a Tolkein fan he saved Mike and I from three hours of hobbits walking through the forest.  Whew.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Yesterday's Black Beans and Rice *Amended*

... didn't end like I anticipated and our dinner plans were thwarted.  At the last minute Mike needed me to take Mary to dance so instead of cooking dinner we ate leftovers.  The great part about this is now dinner is essentially made for tonight.  It was an easy dinner anyways so it's like getting two nights off.

Black Beans and Rice

Cook two cups of dried beans on high in the crockpot allllll dayyyyyy lonnngggggg.

30 minutes before dinner time drain the beans and add:

1 lb. Chorizo sausage (or any kind you like)
2 cups salsa
1 T Chili Powder
1 t cumin

Let those ingredients get hot and then serve of brown rice topped with grated cheddar cheese.

The original recipe called for diced tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic but since that's essentially salsa ... I just use salsa.  Depending on the saltiness and spiciness of the sausage you may need to add salt and pepper.

Enjoy.

Night of the Moonjellies

We really enjoyed this book yesterday.  I loved our book last week, They Were Strong and Good, but it was long and more serious for the kids.  This book is just fun!  It makes me want to pack up the kids, load up the van and drive to the ocean.  Mike nixed this plan.  Spoil-sport.  I had the song, "Pack up the babies and grab the old ladies and everyone goes, every goes ..." in my head all day yesterday.  You'd think I'd sing this because I NEED to pack for our upcoming move and not because I'm dreaming of escaping to the ocean.  Anyway, back to the book ...

Yesterday we made coffee filter jelly fish.  The kids took droppers of food coloring in water and soaked the coffee filters.  Once dry they are supposed to look almost tie-dyed but I only had gel food coloring so it didn't work as well as I wanted it to.  I might re-do it today properly.  We will also be making jello jelly fish for snacks, learn about their life stages and watch Finding Nemo!  We watched a documentary about jelly fished trapped in a lake off of Palau that migrated through an under water bridge from the ocean a long time ago.  Once the bridge closed the jelly fish were trapped and now are non-poisonous living in a lake.  How cool is that?!  See, we could go there ... I'll go talk to Mike ...

****************Updated to add pictures******************

Jello Jellyfish

Coffee Filter Jellyfish

This picture really doesn't do Anna's jellyfish justice.  The food coloring spreads giving the illusion of tie-dying and the ribbons match the colors ... they turned out remarkably pretty... just like Anna, remarkably pretty. 

Italian Cream Cheese Chicken and Ham in the Crockpot

Soooo, I had a recipe for classic Cream Cheese Chicken but I only had 4 chicken breasts.  I also had twice as many mushrooms as the recipe called for that needed to be used and some frozen diced ham.  This was my solution and I do believe it will delightful:

4 chicken breasts, trimmed

2 cups ham, diced

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup flour

3 cups chicken broth

1 cup 1/2 & 1/2

2 t oregano

2 t basil

1/2 t celery seed

2 t salt

1 t pepper

16 oz. of cream cheese

Place chicken and ham in crockpot (mine was all frozen).  Saute veggies in butter.  Add flour and stir.  Add chicken broth and 1/2 & 1/2 and stir until thick.  Stir in spices.  Pour over chicken and ham in the crockpot and cook all day.  30 minutes before dinner time turn to high and stir in cream cheese.  Serve over pasta.  We have not eaten this yet so I'll keep you posted.  I just wanted to type in what I did before I forgot!

*This was fantastic.  Everyone gobbled it up and not just because we didn't eat until almost 7:00.  I actually think it might be better with out the cream cheese.  Don't get me wrong, the cream cheese is fantastic, but really rich and in that if my backside gets much bigger I might tip over I could probably do without it.  All in all a great meal especially on curly rotini pasta!  Mmmmmmm!

Menu Plan for the Week of January 14-20, 2013

Monday -          Crockpot Cream Cheese Italian Chicken

Tuesday -          Black Beans and Rice

Wednesday -     Sloppy Joes

Thursday -         Crock Pot Egg, Mushroom and Feta Quiche

Friday -              Pizza

Saturday -          Left-overs

Sunday -            Nachos

Recipes to follow if the meals are delightful and delicious.

January, 2013 Chess Tournament

Benjamin, Jacob and Timothy played in a chess tournament yesterday.  One of the Poudre School District tournaments that we regularly attend.  Luke has out-grown these tournaments (sniff, sniff) but went for moral support.  He is King of the Geeks (his words not mine) in these settings and embraces his role.  

Benjamin and Jacob played in the rated section which means they play against all ages of players ... not for the faint of heart.  We figure once they continually win in the unrated section it's unfair to the other players if we don't move them up into rated.  Going from always winning to getting pummeled by high schoolers certainly builds character (while slightly bruising the ego.)

Timothy, on the other hand, is only in 5th grade and played unrated.  He's a tough cooking and even has had adults comment on his aggressive moves.  And, guess what?!  He won FIRST PLACE!  The trophy is bigger than he is! 

  Timothy is the handsome one in the middle wearing the blue shirt!  Go Timmy!

Indian Chicken

Layer in Crockpot:

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cans diced tomatoes, drained into below mentioned jar
1 very thinly sliced onion

Mix in jar:

tomato juices
1 T Garam Masala spices
1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 T minced garlic
1/2 t minced ginger
* 1 T Curry (see comments below)

Pour over poultry and veggies.

Cook on low in crockpot all day.  30 minutes before serving turn crockpot to high and stir in:

2 cups frozen peas
2 cups garbanzo beans
1 cup plain yogurt

Serve over rice with a spoonful of plain yogurt on top.

This was yummy, yummy, yummy.  I was honestly lamented all day whether it was wise to use a new Indian recipe when I really like my old recipe.  But, this was worth it.  A dear friend gave me 4 huge English cucumbers and so we had those sliced with just salt and pepper as a side.  It was a good combination.  I also would have liked cantaloupe with the Indian but it's out of season.  I think I might add a big Tablespoon of Curry next time too.  You can never have enough Curry!

Crisco Candle

I've been wanting to try this for a while.  I saw the idea while I was browsing through magazines waiting for Mike at Barnes and Nobel.

Isn't it pretty!  I mean it's Crisco and paper towel!  

So, here's what I did.  I took an old tea candle glass and cleaned it out.  Then I melted Crisco and poured it into the glass and let it set.  Once set I used a tooth pick to make a tiny hole through the center.  Finally, I twisted very tightly a paper towel into a wick and put into the hole.  That's it!

I also tried it with an old ghillie shoe lace but it would only burn for a few seconds.  Here's the picture of how I set it:

I just tied the lace to the pencil to hold the wick in the middle.  I think a cotton shoe lace would work.  Who knows what this ghillie shoe lace is made of?  Emily Murer, what do Scottish people make their shoe laces out of that won't burn?  Do I want to know? ;)  

Pretty cool, huh?!

Cranberry Pomegranate Jelly

Instead of our usual Grape Jelly I made Cranberry Pomegranate Jelly this week!  The kids like grape but red juices make such beautiful jelly I couldn't resist!  I love this red!  Here's the recipe:

3 1/2 cups Cranberry Pomegranate Juice (I got it at Sam's)
4 cups of sugar, pre-measured set aside
1 box of Fruit Pectin

Sterilize 1 quart and 1 pint jar.  Bring water in canner to a boil.  Prepare lids.  Bring juice and Pectin to a rolling boil and once it's rolling, time it for one minute.  Add 4 cups of sugar all at once and stir continuously.  Once it's to a rolling boil, again, time it for one minute stirring constantly.  Pour into jars, clean the rims and add sterilized lids and rings.

Process for 10 minutes at high altitude or 5 minutes at low altitude.  Let sit for 24 hours.

I've doubled or tripled this before but it's difficult to manage getting it in the jars.  Since it processes for such a short time and is so easy I just do a few little batches now instead of one big batch.

Chores are so much easier when done in a Kermit hat.

Minnestroni

I dont' usually take pictures of food because, as I've demonstrated, I'm a terrible photographer but isn't this pretty ... lots of color and flavor! Yum!

We survived yesterday and even had a good meal at the end of a snargly day.  Here is the recipe:

Minnestroni

8 cups beef broth

1 1/2 ground beef, browned

1 onion, diced and cooked

4 celery stalks, diced and cooked

4 cloves garlic, minced and cooked

4 carrots, thinly sliced

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced and cooked

1 T dried oregano

2 cans diced tomatoes

2 cans kidney beans

16 oz. tiny pasta like orzo or tiny alphabet letters (if you use larger pasta it will expand out of the crockpot ... not that I've ever done that or anything ;) ... call me a crockpot space optimist.)

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the beef and veggies.  Add all ingredients to large crockpot.  Cook all day.  30 minutes before dinner add orzo or tiny pasta and turn crockpot to high.  Serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Long day.

There are two kinds of long days.  By "long" I mean those days that just will not end ... they drag on and on and you begin dreaming of the cup of coffee you will have the next morning around 5 p.m.

One kind would be the day when you work hard accomplishing everything on your list and more falling asleep exhausted but fulfilled.  The day may have been long, even, hard BUT you feel rewarded despite its length.  School is done, chores are done and, if you're really lucky, the laundry is done.  That was yesterday.  A long day but a great day.

The second kind is exactly the opposite of the first.  It's the kind of day when you wake up to grumpy, snarly children which in turn makes you feel pretty grumpy and snarly yourself.  Then the grumpy, snarliness (yes, that's a word) invades the kids chores and school which take forever and are not done well.  You think maybe taking them to the park would do everyone some good and even let them all bring their scooters.  Hooray.  Then, 1/2 way around the lake the older kids are frustrated we have to leave before they get to do obstacle courses on the playground and the little kids are crying because it's an awfully long way around that silly lake.  You hobble to the van carrying an assortment of crying 2 year olds, jackets and scooters in resignation.  By the time lunch time rolls around you're ready to feed your snargly kids (combination of grumpy and snarly) dry bread and water and lock them away in the dungeon (or basement in our case.)  This, of course, is bad parenting so you say, "Let's cheer things up a bit and watch a movie for rest and read as a treat!" which is initially met with enthusiasm until the older kids get bored and wander off to their laptops while the younger kids can not keep their hands off each other!  Finally, you make it to snack time and the resident Snargles complain about the remnants of the Christmas cookies you have because "if Rachel gets a star and an angel but Anna gets a donkey and a gingerbread man, then Anna has more total cookie than Rachel and ....."  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

So, that's where we are today.  4:20.  Is it too early to go to bed?

Winter Formal

Luke and Mary waiting for the gaggle of teenage girls to arrive.  I took Luke out for most of the day to save him from the excessive giggling and flirting.

At Mary and Luke's school, Ridgeview Classical, the Winter Formal is a girl ask boy kind of dance.  Sadie Hawkins?  Is that what it was called when I was in school?  I can't remember.  Anywho, girls are so much braver than boys!  Luke was asked by Miss Gracie.  She's a real cutie and talks like a cartoon character.  I'm not sure if she talks like a cartoon character because she's a teenage girl and her voice gets higher when she's meeting a boy's parents or if that's just what her voice is really like.  It's amusing, regardless.  Mary is also friends with Gracie and was able to be our covert-operative/chaperone in assuring that our family rule of no dating in high school was properly observed.  They can be great friends and go to dances with groups of friends but no pairing off and all that ... you know ...

Luke and Gracie

Aren't they just so darn cute!

A gaggle of girls with Mary all of whom got ready in MY bathroom for THREE hours!  When all was said and done the cloud of hairspray-perfume-deoderant-glitter-nail polish lingered for hours.

Ridgeview is also a very small school.  Mary and Luke's respective classes each have approximately 30 kids which makes the pickings for dances pretty small.  To invite a "friend" from an outside school you have to get permission from the Vice Principal AND have both sets of parents sign a form agreeing to Ridgeview's rules and dress code.  We call this the Ridgeview Mafia but it does keep Ridgeview a great, clean-cut, family friendly school!

Crockpot Fajitas and Homemade Fajita Seasoning

Ok, we haven't eaten yet but the house has smelled like fajitas ALL day and I'm starving!  I'll probably just wither a way if I don't eat soon ;) ... not.  I'll go take a bite so I can tell you all how wonderful it is ... aren't I so self sacrificing!   Ok, I'm back  ... it's goooooood!  So, here is the recipe:

2 pounds chicken or beef, thinly sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 bell peppers, thinly sliced

Place in the bottom of crockpot.

Combine:

2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 T Chili powder
2 t salt
2 t paprika
2 crushed bouillon cubes
1 t onion powder
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t cumin
1 cup warm water

Shake all of this in a jar and pour over the meat and veggies.

Cook on low all day.

EXCEPT if it is beef it will need to cook longer than chicken.  I turned my chicken to warm after about 6 hours so it wouldn't get too dry and falls apart  kind.  I prefer beef but it's gotten almost too expensive to feed my masses with beef very regularly.  I also think because I am stingy with beef my family eats twice as much when I finally do cook it.  But, regardless of what type you use or how long it cooks ... it's crockpot food so who really cares how much it all falls apart.  Slather in sour cream and devour.

Christmas, 2013

I was all excited to find my iPod so I could post Christmas pictures.  Unfortunately, the Christmas pictures I took are pretty awful.  So, here is a sampling as proof that (1) we did in fact celebrate Christmas and (2) I am a terrible photographer.

Anna, Rachel, Lizzy, Lily and Eli (With a big 'ol bottle in his mouth!  Why didn't I take it away?")

My mom made all of these gorgeous dresses and then gave each girl a vintage Ginny doll with an entire wardrobe of handmade clothes including a matching Christmas dress!  Incredible!  My mom is amazing!

This was the only picture with my 3 big kids smiling.  Unfortunately Joe's eyes are closed, doh!

Jacob, smiling and Ben, looking like a deer in headlights

Lily, Tim, Rachel, Anna, Lizzy and Winston

Last but not least, Elijah

And, THOSE are the good pictures!  I do have some better pictures of Mary and Luke's Winter Formal I'll post later. 

They Were Strong and Good

I've been waiting for a special week to use this book for school.  I've decided this week is special because it's the beginning of a new year when we all need to be reminded of our heritage.  The lines that linger in my mind from the very first time I read this book to my older kids back when Josiah, Mary and Luke were 2, 3 and 5 (they are now 15, 16 and 18) is:

"None of them (our ancestors) were great or famous, but they were strong and good.  They worked hard and had many children ... and one of them was me."

How beautiful.   Every time I read it I tear up a bit ... all the way through the book ... over and over again ... which should induce some snuggles of compassion from my kids as we read it all week.

We're going to map out all of the places these people lived, put flags in our Passports for each country they represent, talk about the Civil War with the Mason Dixon Line, bee keeping and evangelism.  A mixed bag of great learning this week!  Now that my iPod has been found I can also post pictures!

Menu Plan for the Week of January 7-13, 2013

I'm trying mostly new recipes this week so if they taste good I'll post the recipes later:

Monday -       Crockpot Fajitas
Tuesday -       Minnestroni with Garlic Bread
Wednesday -  Indian Chicken
Thursday -     Everything but the Kitchen Sink Eggs
Friday -          Pizza
Saturday -      Leftovers
Sunday -        Nachos

This is our first week back to school, chess, dance and, to make it an official real, bonafide crazy week, we'll finish the week on Saturday with a Chess Tournament.   I'd really prefer just easing back into routine but I guess diving in is all we can do in this case.  One blessing is that Mike will be in town this week.  The difference when Mike is in town is monumental!  He'll take a book and read while the kids do their activities so I can stay home and juggle the littles.

And, finally, the rumors are true.  I found my iPod ... in my purse (blushing here).  The kids are convinced I just faked its loss so they'd have to clean the basement.  In that they had to take a snow shovel to the basement to clean up legos I think I would have been justified in doing so ... but I didn't.  I'm guessing I told a kid, "Get off my iPod and put it away!" and they stuffed it in my purse.  I don't really ever take it anywhere so it never occurred to me to look in the purse!  Plus, I'm a flibbertygibbet and can barely remember what I said 5 minutes ago about important stuff much less iPods.  Now if I could find my charger I could show you all Christmas pictures ... :)

Br-unch-inner at John's

My brother, John, and his lovely wife, Joanie,  invited us to brunch at their home this morning ... but we were running late so it was more like lunner but then one of the dishes took forever to cook so that part was sna-inner ... anywho ... we ate at John's, played snow football and various cool video games, got flu shots (I bet you can't say you've ever been invited to brunch to get flu shots!), chatted, laughed and generally had a fantastic time.

The highlight of the meal (not the visit) was Grilled Buffalo Wings!  YUM!  Here's the recipe courtesy of Cook's Country:

Grilled Buffalo Wings

Makes 2 dozen wings

If you buy whole wings, cut them into 2 pieces before brining. Don’t brine the wings for more than 30 minutes or they’ll be too salty.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2cup salt
• 2pounds chicken wings, wingtips discarded
• 1 1/2teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2teaspoon pepper
• 1teaspoon chili powder
• 1teaspoon paprika
• 1/2teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2teaspoon sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Dissolve salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Prick chicken wings all over with fork. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• 2. Combine cornstarch, pepper, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, oregano, and sugar in bowl. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Rinse and dry bowl. Transfer wings to now-empty bowl and sprinkle with cornstarch mixture, tossing until evenly coated.
• 3A. For a charcoal grill: Open bottom vent completely. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour evenly over grill. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent completely. Heat grill until hot, about 5 minutes.
• 3B. For a gas grill: Turn all burners to high, cover, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Turn all burners to medium-low. (Adjust burners as needed to maintain grill temperature around 350 degrees.)
• 4. Clean and oil cooking grate. Grill wings (covered if using gas), thicker skin side up, until browned on bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Flip chicken and grill until skin is crisp and lightly charred and meat registers 180 degrees, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve.

We dipped the wings in Frank's Hot Sauce!  Mmmmmmm!

I'm trying to narrow down what the highlight of the day would be ... cooking is always fun with John especially when he does all of the cooking and pours me glasses of wine; the boys had a great time playing football; the girls had a fun time playing fun games that normally would have been monopolized by the older kids; I got a huge kick out of watching the shark in Lego Pirates of the Caribbean eat the players that swam in too deep of waters; it was nice to have time to chat with Joanie and relax ... I suppose it's too hard to pick the highlight ... just a fun, fun time!

Baked Donuts

I made these heavenly creations on New Years Day!  They are wonderful.  Eli was a little confused and put out when we promised him a donut but handed him something that wasn't chocolate iced but he quickly got over it once he tasted one!

Baked Donuts

In a large saucepan bring to a boiling point:

1 1/2 c. milk

Remove from heat and stir in:

1/3 c. shortening
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. nutmeg

When lukewarm - add:

5 c. sifted flour (I needed to add more so the dough wasn't too sticky0
2 lg. well beaten eggs
2 yeast cakes, dissolved in 1/2 c. lukewarm water

Beat dough until well mixed. Cover pan and let stand in a slightly warm place until dough is light and double in bulk, about 60 minutes. Turn dough onto a well floured board, turning 2 or 3 times to form a stiff ball. Roll lightly (avoid stretching) until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a 3 inch cutter. Place rings carefully 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Brush rings with butter and let rise in warm place until double in bulk (about 20 minutes). Bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. As soon as donuts are removed from oven, brush again with butter and roll in granulated sugar. Makes 2 1/2-3 dozen.

I doubled the recipe for 13 of us and used 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter (because BUTTER is better!)  I also didn't let it rise as long as it says because we were hungry and impatient.  I'd say dough rose for about 45 minutes in the bowl and then I let each tray rise on the warm oven as the previous batch baked.  It worked fine and they were fantastic!  Can't recommend strongly enough!  Mmmmmm!

We had lots left over which allowed me to send 8 over to a friend's house.  So next time I'd just make one recipe for the 12 of us.  They are really filling.

I'd also like to make the dough the night before and let it rise in the refrigerator all night next time.  I say that but here it is 7:00 a.m. Saturday morning and I didn't do that last night.  

I thought of the funniest memory this morning ...

... I'm not sure why but I was thinking about how "when it rains, it pours".  Not that it's raining or pouring or even sprinkling right now but I was thinking about this and remembered a time when we lived in McKinney, Texas.

We had 7 kids under the age of 9, I was pregnant and Mike was traveling.  As was usually the case, the minute Mike got on that plane it started dripping, metaphorically speaking.  Our upstairs bathroom had overflowed down through the ceiling into the master bathroom below so I had the steam cleaner and was soaking up water when child #1 came in saying he'd just thrown up ... in the family room.  Very few of the 7 kids under 9 grasped the concept of racing to the bathroom the second you think you might throw up.  The optimist in me thought, "well at least I already have the steam cleaner out!" The day progressed uneventfully until child #2 began vomiting.  I had a doctor's appointment I couldn't miss the next day so we went to bed hoping the next day would be brighter.  Famous last words.  I ended up being awake most of the night with vomiting kids, up early steam cleaning and, not having any babysitters in the house, I had to take all of the kids 45 miles down into Dallas for my appointment.  I raced to the appointment, drove home for lunch and naps.

Then the phone rang.  My poor Dad was asking me random questions and was disoriented.  I thought he was having a stroke.  I called my mom at work and we both raced to their apartment to help him.  Again, loading all the kids back in the van.  Mom made it to him first and took him to the E.R. so I headed back home.  I was pretty weary at this point.  I might  have even been slightly crying.  At this point 2 more children started throwing up,  in the van.  Ewwwwww!  I thought, "Am I experiencing some sort of punishment from God?  Are locust going to start swarming?"  Anyway, we got home pulled into the drive way and I noticed our back door was open.  Our van had been vandalized recently so I was afraid someone was in the house. I called Mike and crept up to the door.  No sign of anything so I figured I probably left the door open as I raced out of the house.  Oh, well. I was home.  I had the kids stay in the yard while I went in to make sure there wasn't a burglar or someone in our house and as I got to the stairs I heard a noise.  It wasn't a person noise it was an animal noise.  I had the kids come in and we all started searching for the noise.  Joe yelled, "There's a wild cat in my room!"  So we proceeded to chase the wild cat all over the house, laughing hysterically, until it ran out the back door.  Whew.  I'm not sure I could have made up a day like that!  The cat chasing hysteria was actually quite the stress reliever!

It turns out my Dad did not have a stroke but had incredibly high blood pressure.  I can't remember but I'm guessing the flu made it's rounds and I'd steam cleaned the last carpet just as Mike's plane landed because that is how it usually works!  Ha!

Turkey Wild Rice Stew

Tonight I took all of the lovely Thanksgiving turkey bones and made soup.  I am so lucky because after every visit from my Dad I find a white large trash bag stuffed with soup bones in my big freezer.  Sometimes it's a big 'ol ham bone, sometimes turkey, sometimes I'm not sure and I think of that line from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas that says they ate "roast beast".  But, I am thankful for this because it means lots of soup and we love soup around here.  We may have our issues but healthy hair, skin and nails will never be one of them with all of the soup we eat!

So, yesterday I put two huge turkey carcasses (not very appetizing sounding I know) plus lots of veggies, a few Tablespoons of vinegar, some salt/pepper and made broth.

This morning I dredged out all the goodies I could use like bits of turkey meat and strained the rest into my crockpot and a pitcher.  Everyone should have a pitcher of some kind of broth in their refrigerator at all times.  I cook my rice in it or my pasta or make random soups for lunch.  Mmmmm!  But, back to the story of our dinner.

Then I added sautéed celery and onion; carrots, spinach, sage, wild rice, salt and pepper.  This along with the turkey broth and meat cooked all day long.  About 45 minutes before dinner I cooked a pound of sage sausage I had leftover from Thanksgiving and added the cooked sausage to the soup.  Why?  Because it sounded really good.  I tweaked the salt a few times and then topped each bowl with parmesan cheese. We also had two big loaves of cheese bread.  It was a delightful and very satisfying meal.

So here's the real recipe:

3/4 of a crockpot full of broth
turkey or chicken scraps
3/4 cup wild rice
4 sliced carrots
1 onion diced and sauted
4 stalks celery diced and sauted with onion, they are friends
2 teaspoons dried sage
1 tablespoon salt (depending on the saltiness of broth and sausage)
1 teaspoon of pepper
2 handfuls of fresh spinach or kale
1 pound sage sausage, cooked and drained

Cook all day.  I added the sausage at the last minute but you wouldn't have to.

I will make soup lovers out of my friends and family if it's the death of me ... which it shouldn't be because I eat so much soup and it's so healthy.

January, 2012 Menu Plan

Oh, there's that word "plan" ... but, being a family of 12 plus a daily dose of niece and nephew plus friends of high school and college students ALL needing to be fed daily I have to plan (initially I typed play and didn't notice until I reread the post ... ha!).  I've come to embrace this plan as it's sooooo nice to not have to think WHILE playing in the river. :)

I stuck with my age old plan that consists of:

Monday:        Italian
Tuesday:       Mexican
Wednesday:  Grill or Chef's Choice
Thursday:      Soup or Eggs
Friday:           Pizza
Saturday:       Leftovers
Sunday:         Nachos

But, I used this blog to fill in specific recipes with mainly crockpot meals:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com

I feel like this blogger is the sister I never had.  She is the one who introduced me to Crockpot Brownies for heaven's sake!  Browines in a MUG in the crockpot.   Oh my!

I won't spare you the details but essentially every night Monday through Thursday I'm striving towards crockpot meals or better ... which is take-out ... which for 12 people plus or minus 6 is NOT going to happen.  Tonight I tried this recipe:

Creamy Turkey Dinner

2 pounds turkey breast, cut in chunks
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon dried parsley (unless you have fresh, then use about 1/4 cup at the very end)
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
1 cup frozen green beans (I like the long thin ones, not the thick weird ones they give you in the school cafeteria)

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart slow cooker. Put the turkey into the bottom of your cooker, and pour on the beef broth and balsamic vinegar. Add onion, mushrooms, and dried parsley. Stir a bit to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for about 4. If you only have a 6-quart slow cooker, this will cook much faster, unless you increase the quantities. Remember that slow cookers work the best when they're at least 2/3 of the way full.
If you are going to use a 6-quart, check after 4-5 hours on low, or 2-3 on high.
If you'd like the turkey super tender and shreddy, cook for a longer period of time on low.

Stir in the heavy cream and green beans. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes, or until beans are thawed and heated through. Serve over cooked pasta. 

I used boneless chicken thighs and served it over wild rice but that's beside the point.  It was delicious but needed salt and pepper.  By the looks of it I really didn't anticipate the family devouring it but they did.  Lest I over excite you, I will add that we ate a full 30 minutes after our normal dinner time and they were RAVENOUS!  Even Elijah ate his entire bowl!  Wait a minute.  Here's a thought.  What if I wait to feed them until they are STARVING every night!  They'd eat seaweed at that point I'd suspect!  I think I'm on to something!

Happy New Year ...

... that's a lie.  The "New Year" makes me want to have a panic attack not be happy.  So much pressure.  It's the same pressure I feel when Mike, the Morning Person, is staring at me at 6:00 a.m., after patiently waiting for me to show the slightest sign of awakening and says, "So what are your plans for today?"  Mike has learned that the only words I want to hear before say 9:00 a.m. are, "here's your coffee" or "did you want me to run out and buy donuts?"

My idea of a plan for the day is to wake up, drink coffee, eat breakfast, drive to the river, play all day, drive home, order take-out and watch a new movie on the couch.  At the point of "drive to the river" you could substitute "go sledding", "play in Fall leaves", "follow the bunny tracks around the neighborhood" ... you get the picture.  My idea of plan for the year is much the same.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really not a lazy person.  I love a good day of hard work in the garden or setting up the play room (which usually needs a bulldozer) so the kids can play house or organizing a room ... I  just like to "do the next thing" not "have a plan".  Plans are like expectations ... always disappointing.  The Singer kids motto is "Expect nothing and you are never disappointed" or, in this case, "Plan nothing and you are never disappointed."  I think this is coming from the People Pleaser in me.  I just don't want to disappoint anyone or have anyone disappointed in me.  I'm amazed at the people on Facebook who boldly post their New Year's resolutions ... losing weight, saving money, changing careers ... ack!  As you can imagine, I also dislike the word "goals."

And, I do have a schedule but I like to follow it gently, calmly, methodically.   Sometimes one of the kids will say, "Mom, it's 9:00 and we haven't even finished breakfast yet!"  As if this is a bad thing!  We homeschool.  I stay at home all day most days.  I have no time clock to punch into. These type of kids, like Mike, and think if the schedule says school at 9:00 then we  MUST START SCHOOL AT 9:00.  9:00 to me is arbitrary.  My idea of a schedule would be like this:

Wake up.
Drink coffee.
Get ready.
Clean up.
Eat breakfast.
Do school.
Go outside.
Eat lunch.
Take naps.
Have snacks.
Drink coffee.
Go outside.
Eat dinner.
Clean up.
Relax.
Go to bed.

And, because we have done the same thing every day for a few decades now we almost always eat breakfast around 8:00, finish school by 11:30, eat lunch by noon, take naps around 1:00 ... my method works ... for me.

So, in this New Year (ack) I have no plan.  I will do the next thing.  Love my family.  Enjoy God's creation. Learn new things. Drink my coffee and PLAY OUTSIDE!

*I have to add I am thankful for my driven, morning person of a husband.  He keeps us moving forward and has passion and zeal!  I love him because he can take the reigns and I can just sit back and enjoy the ride!