Lady Bug

I made our little Lady Bug a costume for Halloween and yes it is a ladybug costume!!! She is so cute in it....but I can't get her to cooperate for the camera so I will try again tonight. For now, here is a picture of what I was able to get her to stand still for! The costume was so simple to make (took me all of 30 minutes!) and my goodness is she cute in it!!!

This picture is terrible because of her lack of cooperation but you can kinda get the jist of it and I will try to get some better ones tonight!

Weekend away

Mr. Man surprised the family with a weekend get-away to Breckenridge, Colorado. It was so pretty! I am attaching some pictures here. While we were there the kids all ended up sick, but thankfully it was at the end of the weekend so we just headed home to rest. The boys stayed home from school yesterday and again today! Fevers are finally going down - they were at 102 and 103 but today they are down to 100!

This is the view from our hotel!

Mr. Man and Spirit looking over the map to decide where to go 4-wheeling!

Neat tree that had been hit by lightening

Cool creek we found when we were 4-wheeling!

Lady Bug thought she needed to fix Lefty's hair

Budget

Does that word scare anyone else? Well, it does me!!!

Early in our marriage I handled the finances, for no other reason than I had more time than him. At that time he owned his own construction company and had to manage those books so I handled the household books. Then when he switched careers it got to a point where it became an argument for us. He would wonder why we were broke and I would wonder why he went and bought new hub caps for a piece of junk car I drove when we needed to pay the electric bill (and believe me I didn't care -- still don't -- about hub caps on my car). So we agreed, together, that he should take over. It has been going well -- he is a great budgeter (is that a word?...oh well). Now we are, together, trying to figure out why we are just barely staying above water. So, we agreed to keep track of all the spendings for one month, doing it a week at a time, and see where we may be over spending or where we could cut back or "upgrade" a category.

Wish me luck on this journey.....I am SO scared!!!

Wild Turkeys in Mass.

Check this out.... Wow! That could be scary!!

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/10/23/turkeys_take_to_cities_towns/

Secret Messages

So I sent a secret note in Spirit's lunch earlier this week. I wrote a message backwards - which looked like this:

!uoy evol I

When he got home I asked him if he figured out the secret message and he said "well, I'm not sure. Did it say 'I'm the evil 1'?"

That's great! So, was THAT a secret message for ME? Was I being evil that morning or something?? hmm, makes ya wonder!!!

Hawaiian Meatballs

This is always a hit - with adults and kids alike!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2/3 cup cracker crumbs
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger (powdered)
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon shortening or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 can (13 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained and reserve syrup for sauce
1/3 cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 small green bell pepper, chopped or sliced (whatever your preference is...my family doesn't like the big hunks so I cut it smaller for them)
cooked rice

DIRECTIONS:
Mix together beef, crumbs, onion, egg, salt, ginger & milk. Shape mixture into 1" balls. Melt shortening or vegetable oil in large skillet (I have eliminated this step too and have still had good results). Cook and brown meatballs until done, 10-15 minutes. Remove and keep warm in 200 degree oven. Pour fat from skillet, discard. Mix cornstarch and sugar. Whisk in reserved pineapple syrup, vinegar, and soy sauce until smooth. Pour into skillet, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Add meatballs, pineapple tidbits and green bell pepper. Heat thoroughly. *Can be stored and/or frozen in plastic sealed bags or container.
Serve over rice or serve with fried rice on the side.

Lunchables........

Ok. I rarely buy those Lunchables. For one thing they are outrageously and ridiculously expensive and for two I really do enjoy putting together the boys' lunch. I put little notes or secret messages in there and I have fun packing my "love" into their little lunch boxes. BUT with Mr. Man out of town this week AND they were on sale I bought a couple as a "just in case" sort of thing.
So, we are running behind schedule and I say to the boys "please go get the lunchables out of the fridge and put them in your back pack." Lefty says "NO! My teacher says we can't bring those anymore." I asked why and he said that she said they are unhealthy. Ok, ok. The nacho ones or the pizza ones....maybe. But the meat, cheese and cracker ones? Come on. That isn't THAT bad!

So I said "well then you have to eat hot lunch today."

He said "nooooooo mom. Please can't you just make my lunch real quick?"

"No. I don't have time. We are supposed to be out the door in 10 minutes and I am not even dressed, I still have to do my hair and get your sister dressed."

"Plllleeeeeaaaaasssseee!!!!???"

"Oh. ok. IF I get myself ready and have a few minutes I will throw something together.

I had him gather some items. An apple, some crackers, a cheese stick.
Then I made a pb&j quickly and threw it in his lunch box. No time for a sweet note *sniffle, sniffle*

I proceeded to explain to Lefty when we were in the car that she may have said that because some kids that is all they bring and over time that wouldn't be very healthy but we eat very healthy dinners and most of the time I pack lunch. I also told him I was going to talk to the teacher and he begged me not to.

I marched in there and very politely gave her a piece of my mind. I mean how dare she dictate what my son can and can't have for lunch. Unless it is a school wide policy and in that case let's start in the very school cafeteria for healthy!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day #2

Well, 2 days into it and I sent my two cards. The two I picked for these 2 days are email kinda girls so I sent them e-cards. I found a really nice one at 123greetings.com and an even better one at AmericanGreetings.com. Both were sort of an Autumn theme. I haven't heard back from either person yet. This is very rewarding in the fact that I am thinking of and being reminded of how blessed I am. I am surrounded by wonderful people!

Community Outreach

Our weekly bible study group got together and decided to make a platter of goodies to deliver to the school as a thank you for all they do. So 4 of us women baked several items (mine were brownies, peanut butter oatmeal cookies and some pumpkin rolls) and we put the platters together and one woman delivered them to 2 schools in our area (one was the boys elementary school so she told the office staff that my boys helped decorate the brownies..which they did!). The schools were just thrilled to get these goodies! I know they work hard and don't get paid a lot of money for all the time (and personal donations they make in the way of paper, craft supplies, etc.) so it feels good to send a "thank you" their way!

STARTING OCTOBER 24 - 30 Days of Thanksgiving

http://twolittlevikings.blogspot.com/2007/10/starting-october-24.html

I was always very good at thank you notes until I had kids! Having said that I am very good at making the kids write thank you notes for gifts or special times with someone.
I think we all know that a nice thank you note can make someone's day so take some time and think about who around you appreciate, who makes a tough day a little easier to get through, who silently takes care of small (or big) tasks around you, who makes you smile and thankful they are part of your life? Wouldn't it be nice if they knew how you felt?

Think about the grocer, the vet, the pediatrician, co-workers, pastor, neighbors, etc. Make a list of 30 people in your life that you could email or snail-mail to let them know how blessed you feel to have them in your life. Pick one person per day to send a card, letter or email to. Starting October 24, 2007 use your list and every day for 30 days send someone a thank you note to let them know how much you appreciate them.

This will be so great for me to remember how blessed my life really is!

P.S. I still can't figure out this whole "link to" thing... UGH. Sorry!!

Homework Help

So Lefty has homework about once a week and since he is in kindergarten it is fairly simple and doesn't take us very long. Spirit has homework every night. I work full time and don't get home until 5:30. Mr. Man picks them up from school but then they have soccer, swimming or sometimes just a simple playdate with someone. I have no problem with them playing for a little bit after school, especially at their young ages. However, by the time we eat dinner, get that cleaned up and get settled into homework mode it is hard for the boys to focus.
What do I do to get them to do the task at hand? Somehow we always manage to get it done but it seems like such a fight all the time. They are so easily distracted.

Parent / Teacher Conferences

Last week we had a conference with Spirit's teacher and this week was Lefty's. As you know, Spirit is in 1st grade and Lefty is in kindergarten so there isn't a whole lot to discuss at this point. But both boys seem to listen and both are "at or above level". Lefty is a good reader and she encouraged us to get him some books for him to work on at home. We have a lot of books but not many of the E-Z Reader type books. Spirit is good at math and reading but his teacher said he doesn't enjoy the writing lessons they have.
All in all I don't think we have to worry about anything and we will just keep reinforcing things at home with both boys.

Single mom

So I am a single mom until Wednesday night. Mr. Man is in Florida semi-work/semi-personal trip. It has been fun with the kids by myself. We have broken some rules but nothing major. It snowed heavily here yesterday so we enjoyed some baking and some movies and even some playing in the snow! Tonight we are going shopping so the kids can spend thier allowance money. I am enjoying the time alone with the kids but miss Mr. Man. :o(

An Aircraft Encyclopedia

So Spirit saw a book at the school library that some other boy was checking out and so he has waited and waited for that book to be returned. He finally got it last week and he now wants to use his allowance to buy one. Mr. Man took Spirit to the bookstore to find it....they had a million (ok maybe not a million...) other aircraft books but not this particular one. So I got on Amazon.com and found one for $3 (with s/h it comes to $6.43) that I went ahead and bought for him. I am thinking of holding off telling him about it and if it is in really good shape I will save it for a Christmas gift. It will be hard to hold him off because he is a very determined little boy!

Ranch Broiled Chicken ... easy to prepare dinner

This recipe for Ranch Broiled Chicken is very tasty and easy to prepare. The chicken stays really moist and flavorful!

INGREDIENTS:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 (1 oz) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Combine the dressing mix, oil and vinegar in a large, resealable plastic bag and mix together. Add chicken to bag, seal and shake to coat; working the mixture into the chicken.
Refrigerate to marinate for at least 30 minutes and as long as over night. As with most marinades, the longer it sits the better the flavor. (**Sometimes I put it together in the morning and then cook it up when I get home**) Preheat oven to Broil/Grill. Remove chicken from bag, discarding any remaining marinade, and broil for 10 to 15 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink inside.

Could this be true?

Spirit has decided at 6 and a half that he is too old for his mom to kiss him. WHAT? Are you kidding me? He actually "gave up" kissing me when he was 4 but he allowed me (how generous of him) to kiss him on the cheek. But this morning I went to kiss him on the cheek and he pulled away and said "maahhhhhmmmm!" What is a mother to do? I kissed him 10 times.....HA!!! I mean I don't kiss him at school or anything! Sheesh!

My favorite gift

My favorite gift (besides the gift of 3 beautiful children) came from Mr. Man this past Valentine's Day. He bought a beautiful candle and candle stand. Then he gave me a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory and a gift card to spa to get my hair cut and colored and a massage........how much better can it get?

Meal planning

This week I wanted to post a household tip and I was struggling to come up with something good to post about .... then I was over at Sallie's http://www.gracioushome.com/ and there was a reader poll which I responded to. I realized I could post here on my meal planning. I learned this trick from my mom. She had 6 kids (and sometimes more when she was involved in the Foster Care program) so she would sit down and plan her menus two weeks at a time. The way Mr. Man has set up our budget, I plan our meals one week at a time and grocery shop once a week. It works great for our family and I know it won't work for everyone.
The links are of the guide I use in my menu planning that I use every week (I think you can click on it to print it out...hopefully anyway!) and also the grocery list I use (I know I am anal...) Since I do my shopping on Saturday's I start my planning on Saturday and end on Friday. I also look to see what we have going on socially, soccer games, church events, guests coming over, etc and see which days I should have a crock pot meal or which days half of us will be in a hurry so sandwiches might be appropriate. Then I plan our meals for the week. At the same time I have my grocery list handy and mark down the items I will need for each meal. For me, it works to sit down on Wednesday and do my planning.
I know my ideas won't help everyone but maybe this will help someone, even if it is in a small way!

Hand Washing Nazi

So my office just moved to a new space last week. In the course of a week I have been "watching" a fight between some women unfold. I do not know these women. I am not sure if the women involved even know who they are fighting with.
By Wednesday or Thursday of last week I noticed a sign on the paper towel dispenser saying something to the effect that "someone has been caught NOT washing their hands after going to the bathroom." I immediately thought back to myself but I always wash my hands so I didn't think it could be me. Then on Friday of last week there was another sign on the door with hand washing tips, such as, turn water on, wet hands, add soap and scrub for 20 seconds, etc. Today, I noticed a new sign. Taped right next to the "tips" sign is a sign that read something to the effect of "Dear Handwashing Nazi: Last I knew NOT washing or WASHING my hands is a constitutional right."
Well now, I guess I can sigh with relief that it for sure isn't me that isn't washing my hands since the obvious culprit is now posting her own signs.
The things women will fight about!!

Sleepless in Denver...

So if it isn't bad enough that 3 out of the 5 of us are suffering from a cold, at 2:00 am Spirit woke up with diarrhea - although he didn't wake up in time to make it to the bathroom so I had to clean him up, change the sheets (which is a major feat because he has a bunk bed with a desk below) and get him settled back down. This caused me to have a coughing fit for close to an hour! Then just as I get back to sleep, here comes Spirit again "mom. I have another problem. I pooped on the floor." This actually was not really a big deal. He managed to miss the rugs in the bathroom so a few swipes with Clorox wipes and it was over. But needless to say I couldn't get back to sleep for quite sometime. You know, one of those things where my mind is saying "as soon as you get back to sleep something is going to happen again" so I was waiting for the next "episode" which never came (thankfully - I feel so bad when the kids are sick. I feel so helpless.) So I ended up falling back to sleep for about an hour or maybe hour and a half before the alarm went off. (When I say alarm I mean Mr. Man gets up and I usually just get up at the same time) So I am feeling very tired today!

Country Brunch Skillet

This is a very simple and very yummy breakfast idea. I like to do this when we have guests because it looks so neat in the skillet when all done!

Ingredients:
1 package cubed hashbrown potatoes (I like to use the ones with bell pepper and onions in them)
6-8 eggs (depending on the skillet size and also the number of people eating...generally 1 egg person is plenty because the potatoes make it so filling)
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Brown the potatoes according to the package directions. (I cover my skillet with a lid to help them cook). Then make little wells in the potatoes with the back of a spoon for your eggs to go in. Make them around the edge of the skillet and one in the center. Crack eggs and put into the wells - one egg per well. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover skillet with lid and cook 8-10 minutes until eggs are done. Sprinkle with cheese and cover skillet again for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted slightly. We serve this with salsa and biscuits.

Unfortunately, this is NOT LOW CAL!!!

Gifts for teachers...

So as I am starting to think about what to do for Christmas gifts for the teachers at school -- I am stumped. Last year I did the movie passes (2 movie passes plus $10 gift certificate good at the concession stand) and so is it wrong to just do the same thing this year? Even though the boys are a year apart Lefty has a different teacher than Spirit had last year so it isn't like I will be giving the same gift again.... does that make sense? But the teachers all talk to each other and so is it cheesy to give the same gift? Will the teachers be like "Sheesh, they did this last year!"

I already planned on taking some S'Mores Caramel Apples (go to: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Smores-Apples/Detail.aspx for the recipe) to the teachers when we go next week for Parent/Teacher Conferences? Is that considered "sucking up?"

WFMW

Keeping sheet sets (fitted, flat and pillow slips) together. I fold the fitted sheet into a square. Then I fold the flat sheet into a rectangle and place the folded pillow slips, folded fitted sheet on the rectangle. Fold up the contents - sort of making the flat sheet an "envelope" for the other items. Place these neatly in the linen closet. Then when you are ready to use them you simply pull out the "envelope" and head to the bed. No more searching for the pillow slips or the fitted sheet to match the flat sheet. This method works for all sizes of sheets. For more household tips, head to the "Works for me Wednesday" at http://www.rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/

Easy craft idea for kids

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year! I also love to do crafts with my kids (all year long, but fall is a great time too!)
So my first fall craft for the kids is to make some placemats. We will gather some pretty leaves from the yard (there is plenty laying around!!). Then we place them on a large sheet of construction paper (I provide fall colors of yellow, brown, orange or red as choices). We might even cut an apple in half and dip it into red paint and "stamp" an apple border around the edge of the construction paper. Then the kids can color a picture or write names on them, whatever they want to do. Then I seal these with clear contact paper. Be sure to cut the clear contact paper slightly larger than the construction paper to properly seal the placemat.

Chores for kids

As a working mother of 3 it is nearly impossible to keep my house clean. I have the weekends (or evenings.....that won't happen) to clean. Well as you all know, as soon as I get one room done the kids are right behind me making a mess again. I spend 4 hours on Saturday cleaning, scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, etc and by the end of the day I am on the couch in tears feeling like I just wasted 4 hours of my life. I mean, I know the house needs to be cleaned but it still stinks to spend so much time on it for what?
In addition to that my kids have been wanting to buy things, new books, football cards, etc. So I decided I would start a "Chore Chart" and let them earn some money to buy these things they want. Our chore charts are simple and I decided nothing would be a requirement......if you want the money to buy those things then you must do the chores. They had to learn this the hard way, that if they didn't make their bed or brush their teeth without being told then they didn't get a mark and ultimately didn't get paid for that and therefore had less money and not enough to get what they wanted at the store. Of late, they have figured out it is better to just do it and get paid then to try to convince their cheap mother to loan them money at the end of the week!
So now, our 2 1/2 year old was wanting to get marks. So I made her a little chore chart -- hers includes, putting her shoes in the basket by the front door (instead of kicking them anywhere she pleases), making her toddler bed in the morning (I of course help her) and she has to drink all of her milk at meal time without being told! The trick when they are 2 1/2 is getting the mark on the chore chart the very second she accomplishes her task or she forgets about it. We are not paying Lady Bug much, but she does get some coins to put in her piggy bank at the end of the week!

Food Meme

Emma at http://charmingthebirdsfromthetrees.blogspot.com/ tagged me for this food meme! I'm supposed to take the letters of my name and tell you a food-related factoid about me for each letter.

New York Style Cheesecake....life can't get any better than that! I could eat at the Cheesecake Factory everyday!!!

Ice Cream.....my favorite is vanilla

Karamel...ok, ok I know that isn't how you spell Caramel but what kinds of foods start with a "k" and I have two of them in my name! I love caramel, caramel candies, caramel topping for the vanilla ice cream, caramel swireled in my brownies... you get the idea!

Kimchi......ok this stuff is the nastiest stuff EVER!!!

CheesE... I couldn't think of a food that started with "E" so I chose cheese, because next to the CHEESEcake Factory, I absolutely could live on CHEESE! Yum.

Visiting with family

This weekend my dad was able to come visit us. He hasn't been to our new house yet (even though we have lived there almost 2 years!). This was a great pleasure in itself, but my sister was also in town from Seattle with her family so we were able to see them as well. My sister hasn't seen my new house either, she has 3 kids and so do we so we rarely get to see each other. She was in town for a wedding. She came over with her 3 kids while my husband went with her husband to the Broncos game.
At first the kids had to set boundaries with each other -- you know things like "He is standing in MY spot that I always stand to color at" or "She took my sister's baby doll" -- but once that was settled they got along great. Between the 2 of us we have a 7 yo, 6 yo, 5 yo, 3 1/2 yo, 2 1/2 yo and a 1 yo. Amongst that was 4 boys and 2 girls. My dad joked "are you girls going to get to visit with other or just referee and supervise?" We did get to visit a little and I think the overall visit was great!

Our Meal time

In our house it is very important that we all sit down together for dinner every night. Which is why I was releived when the church decided to have the woman's bible study start at 8:00 so that we can spend dinner with our families before the study. In our house it is also important to me that we have a good home cooked breakfast on Sunday mornings.....WHAT? you might ask. How do you have time to make breakfast, sit down with everyone AND get everyone ready for church? Well, first thing is I am blessed with early risers for children (she says sarcastically). Secondly, we don't have to be to church until 9:30 and we are literally 3 minutes from the church building. So, I get up no later than 7:00 and start breakfast. We are at the table no later than 7:45. When I am finished the children usually are still eating so Mr. Man stays at the table with them while I shower. I have long, naturally curly hair, so I let my hair air dry. While the hair is drying I am cleaning the kitchen up (but let me mention here that Mr. Man, Spirit and Lefty usually clear the table for me), followed by getting kids clothes picked out (if we didn't already do this the night before).

Sack lunches...

Spirit told me the other day that I make the best lunches. He said they are so good that he chose to skip recess the other day just so he could eat my yummy food. He said he really enjoys when I put riddles or notes in there for him to read.
I always do a balanced meal. I am blessed with kids who love fruits and veggies so they always get one or both of those in their lunchbox. I usually freeze (just slightly) a Capri Sun or a juice box....or they buy milk at school. My oldest son loves plain turkey sandwich....how easy is it that to make? Then I throw in a few chips or crackers.
I enjoy sending them with homemade lunches. It is a pleasure to me!

Pork Chop Casserole

This has been a favorite of mine for years. My sister made it for me once when I went to visit and I have been making it ever since. It must be 15 years ago or so that she gave the recipe to me....

1 pkg Southern Style (cubed) hashbrown potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c milk
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
4-6 pork chops, seasoned with salt & pepper and browned

Thaw potatoes in microwave slightly. Stir in soup, milk, sour cream, cheddar cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into a greased casserole dish. Lay browned, pork chops on top. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle some additional cheese on top of pork chops and return to oven for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Printable version of recipe

Gift Ideas....

I am always looking for great gift ideas. If I have time I always try to make gifts. If I can't make my gift I love to give practical items.
Last year for Christmas I gave several people a movie gift card. I found one at http://www.regalcinemas.com/ that was 2 movie tickets and $10 concession. Everyone I gave it to just raved about it! I was able to get a larger discount, the more I bought so I bought plenty of them!
A fun way to "wrap" these would be to take a "take out container" (craft stores carry them) and just fill with tissue paper. Close the container. Take 1 1/2 -2" grosgrain ribbon and wrap around container just like you would wrap ribbon around a box. Makes a cute package and very different and unique!

You are my sunshine....

Mr. Man and Lady Bug have a bedtime ritual which consists of her brushing her teeth and then she runs through the house telling me and her brothers good night. Then her daddy scoops her up and they go to her bedroom. She turns her lights out and crawls into bed, where her daddy is waiting for her. Then they sing "You Are My Sunshine" together. It is the most precious sounds I have ever heard, to listen to them singing together!
Well, the other night Mr. Man had a meeting so I was putting her to bed. We followed the ritual and then I asked her if we should sing together. She said, "yeeesssss". So I asked her what she wanted to sing and she said "ummm, Jesus wuvs me" and I said "You don't want to sing You Are My Sunshine?" and she said "No! daddy does it." So I respected that and we sang Jesus Loves Me. Then as I started to leave her room, she said "daddy sing me when he's home?" I said "Yes, honey I will have daddy come sing with you when he gets home" "otay" she said!
These are the moments I hope I never forget!!!

Four wheeling

So I went four-wheeling for the first time this weekend. Mr. Man loves it and so after 7, almost 8 years of marriage and 12 years of knowing each other, I finally made the sacrifice. It wasn't all bad. I am not a huge fan of being tossed around a car wondering if we will puncture the oil pan and be stuck in the middle of nowhere for days and days. Okay, okay, I am a bit on the dramatic side!! It really wasnt all that bad and I would consider doing it again sometime! The boys absolutely LOVED it -- of course!!!

Dishwasher duty

I don't know why, but I HATE, I mean really hate unloading the dishwasher. So using the FlyLady tips I run my dishwasher every night (with a family of 5 we fill it up quickly!) and then in the morning while I wait for my coffee to brew I unload the dishwasher. It literally takes me 3 minutes or less to unload it.
I still hate to do it but I remind myself it doesn't take that long and I know I will feel better when it is done!