Model Magic

Monkey got this little craft thing for his birthday called Model Magic.

Can you guess which ones I helped him with and which ones he made all by himself?!? :)


too cute. :)

The first 2 were what the kit was supposed to make...a little raccoon and a hedge hog, then there was left over clay so Monkey made the other 3 things.... the first teeny one is a fish. Next is a butterfly and then a person.

Or so he says. :)

Seriously?!? v1

I have these moments sometimes when all you can really do, is look at them, it, whatever it is, and say SERIOUSLY?!?! So I'm also going to add this one to the mix every once in awhile. Here goes.....

My boys were playing in the sprinkler.  Bear was taking a small pail putting water in it and them dumping it on my feet. Right after he did it he picks up my flip-flop, which was on my foot at the time. And says, Why is your shoe wet? ----Seriously?!?

TJ and I were walking through the mall and there are certain stores who I will not name.....that have a certain look and smell. Now I understand the standing out/making yourself different thing....but I think it's a little overdone when you almost pass out just from walking by the store because of the smell/stench that is wafting out. Whether you like it or not....it's pretty overwhelming. How can you handle shopping in there for very long? ----Seriously?!?

So you're driving down the road and there's a bicycler on the road, when 3 feet over there is a sidewalk! ---Seriously?!?

I'm in the bathroom at the mall and there's a lady in the stall next to me with her little daughter. She's over and over again telling her to just sit down and try to go wee-wee. ----Seriously?!? Who calls it wee-wee?! (I'm going to guess she doesn't tell her daughter to say WEEEEEE when she goes down the slide or on a ride.) hahaha

I went in to DSW for the first time ever, to look for shoes for myself. TJ was with me. When we walked out TJ had some shoes in his hand, but I did not. All they sell is 'millions' and 'millions' of shoes. How could I not find what I was looking for. ----Seriously?!?

Now normally my children either say something totally hilarious, like where is my shoe and I think, Seriously?! since it's right in front of them. These are the funniest seriously's. I'll try to start keeping better track of those super funny ones so I can share more funny moments from the kids in the next episode of......Seriously?!?

Yay and Nay v1

Another blogger friend of mine started this idea...Yays and Nays. I like it so I'm going to try this every once in a while.

Here's the first one....

Yay and Nay

We went on a picnic and played at the park with a friend and her 2 boys. Side note, her oldest boys name is the same. So funny. The boys thought that was fun that there was another person with the same name. :)
YAY

I was wearing flip flops and while running across the playground, I came to a jolting stop when a skinny piece of mulch went right through my shoe, and into my foot!
NAY

My foot still hurts even though I got the “can you really call something that big a sliver” sliver out.
NAY

We went for Ice cream at the Blast after that.
YAY

Soft serve ice cream is my favorite kind.
YAY :)

Lemon Squares

I have always loved Lemon Squares. I looked forward to someone else making them for a potluck or something. I never attempted to make them myself, mainly because I didn't have a recipe, and apparently I didn't have the gumption I have now to open a bunch of cookbooks and try everything for myself! :)

So tonight I made Lemon Squares. Yummy! They are exactly the texture/consistency that I love. They were a bit hot though seeing as I ate one as soon as I pulled it out of the oven. I just couldn't wait! I think next time though, I need to get a real lemon, and not use bottled lemon juice, but juice a lemon and do it that way. I just wanted to make them now without having to wait to go to the store and buy a lemon. Too much work! hahaha



Lemon Squares

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
melt butter, and mix these ingredients together. Pat in the bottom of a 9x9 pan, and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking powder
Beat the eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well and pour over the crust. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle powdered sugar over top to "Frost".

So easy! I can't believe I've never made these before! You should make some!

Or provide me the ingredients and I'll make them for you. :) For real, I really would.

Enchiladas

Add this one to your Taco Tuesday's. :)


Enchiladas

Flour tortillas
refried beans
1 cup cooked minute rice
cooked hamburger
sour cream
cheddar cheese
enchilada sauce
salsa

I lay out all 10 tortillas so that I know I am dividing out the ingredients evenly. Then I start with refried beans down the middle of the shell. Next a spoon full of cooked minute rice, hamburger & cheddar cheese. I spoon the sour cream along the edge almost like a seal for helping it stay shut. Then I squeeze them all into the pan and pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the shells. When you’re ready to eat, you can top it off with more ingredients such as, lettuce, salsa, olives, more cheese, sour cream. Whatever you like. :)

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I looked through 6 different cookbooks to see what they used...and finally came to my conclusion on what I wanted to add. TJ gave the recipe a 9 out of 10!

Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Pita Bread Pockets, or Focaccia bread
1-2 chicken breasts cut, and cubed
3/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp garlic pepper
1 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp vinegar
1 Tbsp minced onion
Lawry's seasoning
grapes cut into fourths






















We all enjoyed this recipe. I wasn't so sure about myself just making it up so much, but it turned out great.

Juice Pops

I have this heart mold that I'm not really sure what all to use it for, but we got this idea to make juice pops.



It says to use an ice tray but we don't have one because my freezer makes it's own ice, so I thought we could use the heart mold. It worked well. The kids thought they were awesome. So we just poured Lemonade into the heart mold, stuck a toothpick in there so you could hold it with something and put it in the freezer.



Wha-la! A cool, sweet treat. Enjoy! ;)

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

I got tonight's recipe from a friend. And it turned out really good, and super easy!

We have company this weekend, and at first I was unsure if I should do a new recipe when there is company here. But I had good word from my friend that the recipe was good, so I put my complete trust in her that this would be a good recipe to use for tonight. It worked out well because we didn't know for sure when they were going to get in so it was nice to just know that it was in the crockpot and would be ready to eat, warm not burned, no matter what time they got here.

It was a hit all around!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

Frozen chicken breasts
1 jar salsa
1 can cream of mushroom
1 pkg taco seasoning

Mix the salsa, cream of mushroom and taco seasoning together. Put the chicken in the crock pot frozen. Cover with the salsa mixture. Put the crock pot on low for 7 hours.

I'd say you can use however many chicken breasts you want to be able to serve to everyone. I put 8 in my pot. And there was plenty of sauce, it still would have worked to do more chicken. So if you need to do a lot you don't have to necessarily increase the sauce mixture amounts.

This was wonderful. The chicken was so good, and moist. It just fell apart when you tried to cut it. Yummy! I will definitely be making this again.

Then we had some mock baby ruth bars for dessert. Yummy...I think I should go eat another one, right now. :)

Randomness v9

Monkey has been learning bible verses and saying them and trying to remember where they are from. Well, we've also been talking alot about being grateful for what you have, and not greedy for more. So this is what Monkey said the other day.... "Be grateful for whatever you get John 12:14" Hmmmmm....doesn't quite work that way. You can't just make it up there darlin'. But it was funny.

Have you ever heard the expression 'Punch it Margaret'? That's what I grew up saying. Someone once told me they heard it another way...now I can't think of what it was. But TJ was trying to remember what I say and instead he said, 'Book it Rhonda'. Not even close! Well, kinda on the same track, but still. How have you heard it stated?

Again we were in the car...we must be in the car alot....side track....anyway, we were in the car and Monkey was sticking his tummy out. He says Mom look how big my belly is. There's a baby in there. Oh....I can feel it kicking. Then he tries sticking it out even further and says, look it's getting bigger. haha

Mom- Here boys, have a mint.
Monkey- what are these called?
Mom- Life savers
Monkey- Oh no, this is going to cut my tongue off!
Mom- No, it's not a light saber....a LIFE SAVER
Monkey- OH!


Monkey learned how to cross his eyes last week.


So Bear was trying to do it, but instead he just looks like he's on drugs or something. hahaha

Are you allergic?

No, I am not.

Today I went to the allergist. Mainly to check and see if my latex allergy is for real or not and to see if my getting sick after eating has anything to do with food allergies.

Well after them poking my back with 60 needles...(they say they don't call them needles) but they sure feel like needles. My back looks like a peg board. First they mark you up with a marker, and then they poke you on all of those dots. 2 of these pokes are a histamine which everyone reacts to. That way if you are not allergic these at least bubble up to prove that the process is working. Well, for me those are the only 2 that bubbled up. So lucky me. I'm not allergic to any of the main foods.

The latex one they had to take blood and they will let me know next week. I'm sure you will all be waiting with anticipation to find the verdict on this! :)

So, this is "good" news that there are no things to worry about allergy wise....but kinda bad news. Just because it means that we have no real reason to why I get sick sometimes when I eat. This has been going on for 10 years or so, so I'm pretty much used to it. But still, I was kinda hoping for a reason. Oh well. Life goes on!

Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps

This is a nice light, summer night meal. Perfect after spending the day in the sun!
TJ gave this new recipe an 8 out of 10!

Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps

1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup ranch
Tomato Basil Tortillas
2 boneless chicken breasts grilled and cut into strips
12 slices cucumber (optional)
8 slices tomatoes (optional)
1/2 cup julienned green pepper
sliced colby jack cheese
2 Tbsp butter

Spread salsa and ranch on each tortilla. Place the chicken, Cucumber, tomato, green pepper down each center. Top with cheese slices. Fold 3 sides of the tortillas leaving the opening only on one side. Melt butter, place wraps folded side down in skillet. Cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Order.....
First salsa, ranch and chicken....


then cucumber....


then cheese and green pepper and tomato.....


then fold them up and grill them.....


then enjoy! :)

Taco Salad

Just last month TJ told me I eat Taco salad a weird way. I never knew it was weird though. It was just the way my family ate taco salad.



We use Doritos on the bottom, taco meat, cheese, lettuce(if desired) but I don't usually put lettuce on mine as you can see from the picture, and to top it off Western Dressing. Not sure how this tradition got started but this is taco salad to me!
There are obviously more things you could put on this taco salad, but there's something very good about the mixture of these simple ingredients. I don't want to ruin the wonderful taste by crowding it out with other things!

I decided I have enough “Taco” like recipes to make Tuesday night Taco Tuesday!
There’s taco salad... Taco Chicken, Chicken Fajitas, Chicken Quesadillas, Spoon Taco, Enchiladas, Taco Dip, Mexican Burrito Hotdish, Chicken Ranch tacos, Plain tacos, and Chicken Chili Cheese dip. There might be more, I just can’t think of anything else right now. But Tuesday is going to go on a rotating schedule with these meals, and it will always be Taco Tuesday, but we won’t have duplicate until 2 months later.

I like this scheduled idea. :)

Randomness v8

Randomness

The door at the clinic is a “round and round” kind. As my kids like to say. And it is painstakingly slow. But there is a button when you first go in that says push to slow door down. Seriously?!? Why would you really need to go any slower than it is normally?!

I can’t believe there is no internet connection for me to play around while I wait for my name to be called at the clinic. How rude. haha

Bear used to say Coca-Lola, and now he decided he knows how to say it right. He says, I just said Coca-Cola right and I’m still Three! funny.

Today someone told me I had nice hands and that I should be a hand model. Really? Maybe I should look into that!

I like watching movies that are based in NYC now that I’ve been there. It’s so fun to say, “OH, I WAS THERE!” Or “I SAW THAT!” or “I TOOK A PICTURE OF THAT!”
(TJ hates it) hahaha

Quick Chicken Broccoli

I like this meal. It's easy, it's fast, it uses only a few ingredients, and it's made on the stovetop. What's not to love?



1-2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli
1 cups water
1 can cream of mushroom
1 cup cheddar
2 cups minute rice

Cook chicken and chop. Add broccoli, rice, water and cream of mushroom to the pan. Mix together and let simmer 10 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring once. Add cheese to top and let simmer 3-5 minutes more, until cheese melts. Enjoy!

What is Summer Time to you?

When do you really start to get excited that summer time is here? Or when do you start to feel like summer time is almost here? What excited you most about summer time?

Is it the longer daylight?

Is it the warmer temps?

Is it that school's almost over?

Is it that you can spend more time outside?

Is it that it's almost time for vacations?

Is it that it means camping trips?

I think lots of times it's probably a mixture of all those things. We've been talking about our vacations, and camping and other things we are going to do this summer. But on our way home from church yesterday TJ saw 2 people pulling concession trailers....like the kind you see at fairs selling cotton candy and corndogs, etc.

After seeing this he said....."Yes, it's almost summer time!"

I guess he looks forward to the fair the most! :)


I'm interested to see what you look forward to the most about summer.

Smore's Bars

These are super delicious!!!

We had these at a friends house this weekend. I super-duper love them, but for some reason I've never actually made them myself. So today, I thought I actually have an extra box of golden grahams and marshmallows so I should make some!



Smore's Bars
1 (12 oz) box Golden Grahams
1 bag milk chocolate chips
3 cups mini marshmallows
3 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla


Heat corn syrup, chocolate chips, and butter to boiling in a 3 quart saucepan, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal, which has been placed in a large bowl; toss until cereal is coated with chocolate. Fold in the marshmallows, 1 cup at a time. Press mixture into the pan. Let stand at least 1 hour. Cut into bars.

Next you will fall madly in love with this dessert! :) hahaha

Crockpot Mac & Cheese

Today we had Crockpot Mac and Cheese for lunch. It is always nice to have a meal that is done ahead of time and just sit down and eat when you get home from church.



Crockpot Mac & Cheese

16-24 oz noodles
2 cups milk
1 can evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste
paprika
3-4 cups cheddar cheese
1 stick butter

Cook noodles, and mix everything together in the crockpot. On low for 3 1/2 hours.

I did my noodles in the microwave this time, like I stated a couple blogs ago. It worked good. I might start doing this on a regular basis. :)

One side note, I usually use a generic brand of noodles, but this time I got the Hy-Vee brand. I won't do that again. It left a really thick gross film in the water and the noodles were kinda sticky. So keep that in mind. Get a different brand of noodles.

Wise beyond her years.....

I was having a conversation with a friend just the other day regarding my contemplation of doing real genuine foster care.

You see the first time we knew we were going to get to keep the kids. That is totally different from real foster care. Real foster care comes and goes, and there is no structure. I have not been sure if I was willing to take that all on. I tend to like my structure and constants.

Just before this, I was talking with another foster mom who was mentioning a new foster child placement. For some reason that’s when it really struck me.....I need to be willing to do it full on. I can do it! If God is for me, who can be against me.. Right?! and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

After that small epiphany....is when this conversation began. I said, I think I might be ready to do real foster care. I’ve been so worried about how I would be able to handle it ends up a case where the child(ren) have to move on. You know what she said? (this will be my paraphrasing, even though you don’t really know the difference) All kids are with us for a short amount of time, I guess. No matter how they come to you, eventually they grow up and move on. What’s the difference, besides a shorter time frame?

WOW!

Incredible!

You know who you are out there.... and I gotta tell ya... Wow.

Who knew a simple statement could be so powerful?

Family Pasta

This is a simple light little meal/snack/side dish. We just take something simple like this and put 3 times as much on our plate to make it a meal instead of a side dish. :)

Family Pasta



Macaroni noodles
peas thawed
block of colby jack cheese, cubed
3/4 cup mayo
1 tsp vinegar
celery salt
pepper
Potato sticks



Boil the noodles and drain. Cut up the block of cheese into small cubes. Mix all together in a bowl. Add more mayo if noodles seem dry or like they need more sauce.
Top with potato sticks for a great pasta!




The potato sticks can be hard to find, but they add so much to the pasta! Yummmm!!! I don't eat it without them. :) They have them at Fleet Farm, Cashwise and Hy-Vee. I haven't found them at Walmart.

‘Homemade’ Spaghetti Sauce

‘Homemade’ Spaghetti Sauce
Tonight we had spaghetti. Usually I just use the can of Hunt spaghetti sauce and add hamburger and green pepper. But my sister made this homemade sauce once when I was over and she gave me the recipe. So here goes....

3 cans Italian diced tomatoes
2 small cans tomato paste
1 small can tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar (more or less to taste) I used a little more than that
onion powder
minced onion
3-4 garlic cloves
1 lb hamburger
I also added fresh chopped green pepper



One of my probably lesser-likable things to do when cooking is boil noodles. Not because it’s hard but it seems to take forever, and you’re constantly checking to see if they’re soft enough, and the water boils over and stinks like yucky burnt-noodle-water smell. So, even though it was after the fact, I decided to look it up and see if it’s possible to cook noodles in the microwave. Here’s what I found. Like I said, I haven’t tried it yet, but I sure will be trying it next time!

How to cook spaghetti noodles in microwave
Yes, you can cook spaghetti noodles in the microwave!
In a large bowl, add spaghetti noodles, breaking them in half as needed. Add enough boiling water to cover the noodles, plus an additional 2" higher to allow for the noodles to expand and absorb water. Add small amount of salt and oil. Stir noodles to ensure they are not sticking, then place uncovered in microwave. Heat on high for 10 minutes or until noodles are al dente. Without removing from the microwave, cover top of container with lid or plate and allow to stand for 3-5 minutes to finish cooking. Drain and serve.

Oatmeal Fudge Drop Bars

I decided I ‘needed’, yes I said NEEDED to make something treatish. So last night I made Oatmeal Fudge Drop Bars. Yummy!



1 (12 oz) bag milk chocolate chips
1 15oz can sweet and condensed milk
3 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla
-Melt together on the stove (do not over do)

1 cup butter
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp soda
3 cups oatmeal

Mix ingredients to make dough. Press 2/3 of dough in the bottom of jelly roll pan. Pour chocolate mixture over top, crumble the rest of the dough on top. Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.

Crayon Craft

Today's Craft....




We got our craft idea from our kids devotional book. Take 2 pieces of wax paper, cut up chunks of crayons, put the other wax paper on top. Put a towel under and on top and iron it together.

Wha-la, a beautiful picture.



The kids think it's great even though all they really get to do is pick the crayon colors and then watch the adult use the knife to cut up the crayon and the iron to melt it together.

Chicken Rolls

There's some very mild debate over the name of this meal. The person who gave me this recipe calls it "Chicken Balls". TJ didn't like it when I called it that for some reason, ;) so we call it Chicken Rolls. haha

1 pgk, crescen rolls, divided into 4 rectangles
2 cups finely chopped chicken
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp chopped onion
Seasonings- pepper, italian, parsley, crushed red pepper





Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add cooked chicken, onion and seasonings. Evenly scoop the mixture to the middle of the 4 rectangles. Pinch dough together to make a ball. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

IZZE

I was drinking and IZZE sparkling clementine drink from Starbucks. And as I was drinking it I was reminiscing about other sparkling drinks I like or used to like.

When I was a kid we’d go down to the Meat Market and I’d get clearly canadian. I loved that stuff. Yumm...I want some right now. Do they still make it? I’ve never seen it anywhere since that time frame.

My dad also used to get the sparkling flavored water from Walmart. They still have that, I know, but I don’t care for that kind anymore.

But this IZZE stuff is totally awesome!

Love it.

Did you know?

1. That if you let your 3 year old put his shoes on by himself every day, he won’t ever tell you that there is a hole in them by the toe. Not even when it’s raining and his foot is soaking wet.

I was looking for sandals for Bear today, and when I took off his shoe to try them on, I noticed is sock is all wet. I said why is your sock all wet. “I don’t know” Then I look at his shoe, and both of them are so wore out by the bottom of the toe there’s holes! I said, how am I supposed to know that you have holes in your shoes if you don’t tell me. So he said, “Mom, I have holes in my shoes.” clever.

2. That it’s only a matter of time before your child will knock over a shelf at the store and you feel like a complete and total idiot.

Ok, so luckily this time, and I say this time because I'm sure it will happen again at some point in time. My children are complete clutzes! Anyway, luckily this time there was nothing on that shelf, but it still made a very loud noise in a small store. And the clerk comes over asking if everyone is ok. Oh yes, boys will be boys, even if you’ve told them not to touch anything, a million times! Darn, that sin nature.

3. That if you put bread/buns in the microwave and don’t remove the twisty tie it will start on fire?

LOL! I did not do this today, but was reminded of it today when I was thawing my hamburger buns for lunch and it was a twisty tie and not one of those plastic things. But, unfortunately I learned that lesson the hard way a very long time ago!

Chicken Chili Cheese Dip

MMMMMMMMMM....mmmmmm...mmmmm This is delicious. I haven't made this for quite awhile, so we brought it back tonight. Yummy. Now you can enjoy it too!

Chicken Chili Cheese dip


2 chicken breasts
1 can chili no beans
1 can diced chilies
1 medium jar salsa
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 bag cheddar cheese
Tortilla Chips

Cook chicken and shred with a fork. Mix all ingredients in a pot on the stove. Cook until heated through. Use tortilla chips to dip in! You can also put everything in a crockpot on low for a few hours.

Overnight Coffee Cake

Or in this house, we call it Breakfast cake.

The first time I made it I said we were having Coffee cake for breakfast, and the boys go, "nooooooo, it's not!" They thought that was funny, and said, does it really have coffee in it? So we decided to call it breakfast cake since it's not a dessert, and it doesn't have coffee in it. Then we are all clearly understanding what we are eating. :)



1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sour milk

Mix together well, and place in a 9x13 pan. Mix together and additional 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle over the top. Set in the frig overnight. Cook at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

*To sour the milk just add a little vinegar....approx 1 tsp. Let it sit for 1-2 minutes. When you pour it you will be able to tell that it has soured.

This is my mom's recipe. I've had it my whole life, and super duper love it! Hope you can enjoy it too!

Calorie Count
If cut into 15 pieces it is *250* Calories per piece
If cut into 20 pieces it is *188* Calories per piece

1200-  Butter
  720-  White Sugar
  720-  Brown Sugar 
  140-  Eggs
  880-  Flour
  110-  Milk
*3770* for whole 9x13 pan

Mother's Day

This is my first "real" Mother's Day where I get something from my children.

I have a child in heaven, but you don't really get mother's day cards under those circumstances. And last year, we had visited and knew the boys were coming but they didn't actually move in until June.

So close.

So today was a special day.



The boys got me cards that make noise, of course. And they wanted to get me flowers. So they picked them out. Too cute.

TJ got me Carrie Underwood Tickets....bad news is the concert is not until December 4th.

Yeah.

For Real.

But when December is here, it will be awesome!!!! :)

We went to Mankato for our 3rd or 4th.....I can't remember how long we've done it now....annual "Meet mom at the Mankato Hy-Vee for lunch on Mother's Day". It's been a fun tradition. There's not usually as many people there as other restaurants. And there's lots to choose from, so most everyone is able to get what they want.

Over all, I was able to spend the day with the people that I love, and so I'd say....


It's been a pretty awesome day!!!

Random thoughts v7

Have you ever found yourself sitting outside and squinting? Then once you notice you are squinting you remember that your sunglasses are on your head? I did that today. Sometimes I think the overcast bright white clouds are just as bright for my eyes as sunshine.

We went to Culvers in Mankato today, going through the drive through and I wanted to get a pomegranate lemon ice. She said, we don’t get our lemon ice in until tomorrow. Strange....we’ve had lemon ice in Owatonna for at least 3 weeks now.

There’s a completely trashed up house sitting jacked up on the edge of town. There’s a sign in front that says, Free house, You move. Um....I don’t think anyone’s taking you up on that offer there tiger. It would probably be cheaper to build a new house than to move that piece of junk, onto land, and fix it up.

We got to play a little bit with an iPad at Best Buy and now I want one soooooo bad! Is there a verse about that.......hmmmmmm... Be content with the things that you have. Ooooops.

2 easy ways to entertain your child for a day....balloons or suction cups. At least it's been keeping my children entertained for a day.

Organization

Today I organized the homeschool stuff. This whole year, I've been using a tote, and I finally got up the nerve to buy something so I can be a little more organized.




As we made more and more games, and learning ideas, the tote got more and more messy. There were a few other things in it, that I had previously taken out, so it's not as messy as it usually was when this picture was taken.



The new shelf from Target! The great thing about this shelf is that is has other pieces to it....so if you need more shelves, or drawers or cubicles, you can buy another piece and it hooks to the top. I'm already seeing that purchase in store for next year! :)

Aside from a *frugalizer having to spend additional money....it feels so good to organize and complete the task. :)

*this is my word instead of just saying a "frugal person" ;)

Here's a good laugh for you!

Have you ever seen this person before?



It’s me! I know, it looks nothing like me right. I'm much cuter now, right? :)

Seriously, What was my mom thinking?! That is not a good hairstyle.

Sad to say, when I was 5 I also had this poofy perm that I hated! If I can find a picture of it, I’ll post it at some other time. HAHA

Glad to give you a good laugh for the day.

I showed this picture to the boys and Monkey says, oh that's a cute picture of you, and Bear just laughed at me.  Monkey says, why is that funny, it's mommy when she was little.  Bear says it looks silly. :)

Hamburger Broccoli Bake

TJ really likes this meal, but it's been quite awhile since I've made it.



Hamburger Broccoli Bake
1 lb hamburger
4 cups potatoes cubed
1 cup cheddar
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can french fried onions
1 (10 oz) pkg frozen broccoli

Line a 9x13 pan with potato cubes. Bake 10 minutes at 400. Mix everything else in a bowl with 1/2 of the onions. Place on top of the warm potato layer. Bake another 20 minutes more. Top with the rest of the onions and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Hopefully you can enjoy it too!

For dessert I made Rhubarb Strudel Crisp. The same recipe as my Apple Strudel Crisp, only minus the cinnamon, and 8-10 cups of Rhubarb instead of the apples. Yummy!

The hand Spider

Sometimes, when TJ is playing with the kids, he uses he fingers to walk across the table, but keeps the one finger sticking up.



After a long time of seeing this and wondering what he is doing, I finally asked...why do you keep the one finger up? I didn’t get it. He said, that’s the head of the spider. The other fingers are the legs as it walks across the table. I thought that was hilarious. I’ve never heard or seen such a thing before in my life.

The funniest part is that a few months ago, we were at someone else's house and she did the same thing with her hand to her son. I just started laughing because I had never seen anyone else do that before. It’s just weird how you can go this long in life not seeing hearing little things like that, and then someone else does it too!

Then a couple weeks ago, another gentleman was talking to the boys in church, and he says, hey boys, I brought my dog with me today. Then he puts his hand in the same position, and "walks his dog over to the boys". Too funny.

Spider or Dog...it’s all funny to me. :)

Cinnamon Rolls w/Frosting

Previously on the blog....

I mentioned my cinnamon caramel rolls.

Today I made regular cinnamon rolls with homemade frosting. Heavy on the frosting. :)



So first click on the highlighted word cinnamon caramel rolls to go to the link which will give you the recipe. Just do everything except putting the extra melted butter and brown sugar in the bottom of the pan.

Here's the frosting recipe
1 cup butter
1 cup shortening
1 bag powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla

This is a nostalgic recipe for me. When I was growing up my mom managed the 4-H food stand at the Cottonwood County Fair. We would go in and work with her sometimes. This is the frosting recipe they used there for their cinnamon rolls. It was always so good. Whenever we'd get a cinnamon roll we'd go in there and put on extra extra frosting before purchasing it!

And just so you know, this recipe makes a lot! I make 1/2 the recipe for 2 dozen rolls. (This is also a good homemade frosting you can use for cakes too.)

Random thought by Stephanie, v6

Today my thought is on flowers. For some reason I can't keep flowers/plants alive, if they are in the house. I need the low maintenance flowers that go outside, and come up on their own, and continuously come back every year without having to do anything.(perennial)

I have received some flowers as of lately, a couple from my kids from sunday school/awana (annuals), one from MOPS today(annual), another from an anonymous person(perennial). They are beautiful, and I love them...but I don't know how to make them live beyond a couple weeks. And Yes, I water them! I just do not have a green thumb.

Anyway, all this to say since I've been receiving these flowers, I thought, how can I put this outside to make them last longer? I don't really have a good spot for them right now. All my landscaping is mulched in and is for (perennial) flowers that come back on their own so I don't have to worry about digging through the mulch. Then I was thinking I need to make a place that I can plant some (annual) flowers. Someone else once said something about putting a clay pot in the ground, that way it's always easy to get that flower out and put new flowers in. I like this idea. If I actually follow through with this, I'm going to try this out.

Ok so the REAL random thought here, is the annual vs perennial. For some reason I can not get it through my head that the annuals you have to plant every year. It seems to me that the annuals, should come up annually on their own. So I'm always confused for a moment when someone talks about flowers using those words.

Is it an annual, or a perennial?
Does it come up again next year, or do I have to plant another one?

The first question should answer that just fine, but not for me. I have to ask that second question also to make sure I'm understanding right.

DER

Sloppy Jo Hotdish

I had something else on the menu for tonight but changed my mind last minute.

So we ended up with Sloppy Jo Hotdish.



I use my 9x9 stone for this recipe.



1 lb hamburger browned and seasoned
3 cups cooked rice
1 can sloppy jo sauce
1 can corn, or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
1 tsp salt
1 pkg. mozz

Mix together hamburger, cooked rice, sloppy jo sauce, corn and salt in a bowl. Place in a 9x9 or 8x8 pan. Top with Mozz cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Super simple meal. I forgot to get the rating from TJ, because this is not the first time we've had this. It's not a 10...but it's a keeper to pull out of the woodwork every once in a while for something different.



Calorie Count
*304*  for an 8 oz(1cup) serving
 Trust me when you measure it out it's more than you think. 

1152- 1 lb hamburger 80/20
  231- mozz cheese
    53- sloppy jo canned sauce
  200- frozen corn
1200- rice
*2836* whole pan

Chicken Gourmandise

Today's lunch was Chicken Gourmandise, with Red Lobster Biscuits and Apple-snicker salad.

Chicken Gourmandise


3-4 chicken breasts
1 4oz jar of dried beef
1 cup sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom
1 pkg. bacon

Cut the chicken in half the long way. Wrap chicken with beef and slightly cooked bacon. Not cooked enough to make it crispy, it needs to be able to bend and wrap around the chicken without breaking. Mix together the cream of mushroom and sour cream. Spread mixture over the top of the chicken. Let stand in your fridge overnight. I cook it with tin foil over the top, but only covering the pan a little. I put the tinfoil on and fold up the sides so that the air can get out about 1 inch on each side. This helps regulate from too runny to too dry. Bake at 325 for 2 hours. I usually make this so that it's cooking while we are at church in the morning. You can also cook it at 350 for 1 hour if you want it for supper and don't want to wait 2 hours.

We also had Apple-snicker Salad.

This is a super simple salad and everyone loves it!
Apples
Coolwhip
Snickers
Cut up your apples into bitesize pieces. Cut the snickers. Mix it together with 1 container of coolwhip. And Wha-la!

Random Movie Quotes, v1

Sometimes there are things that strike you as funny....no matter how many times you hear it/see it. I'm going to start this little session called Random movie quotes, and everyone once in a blue moon if I find one of these little funny sections from a movie, I'm going to share it with you.

So enjoy.

Today's quote comes from "Two Weeks Notice"


Hugh Grant-
“Before you came into my life I was capable of making all kinds of decisions. Now I can’t! I’m addicted! I have to know what you think.”
“What do you think?”

Sandra Bullock-
“I think you are the most selfish person on the face of the planet.”

Hugh Grant-
“That’s just silly.”
“Have you met everyone on the planet?”




LOL!