Spoon Rolls, YUMMY!

Over the years I have amassed quite a collection of cookbooks which I weed through about once a year, one in particular that always makes the cut is my Southern Living Christmas Cookbook, billed as your ultimate holiday entertaining guide.

So far it really has lived up to the label. I have yet to make anything in it that hasn't turned out beautifully and we all know how I am when it comes to recipes. As a great bonus it also includes sections such as Table Top Settings, Buffet Arrangement, Holiday Gift Mixes & Ideas & No Recipe Recipes. It's a few steps up from your basic Better Homes Cook Book, although I still cherish the copy Mrs. H. Mercy gave me as wedding gift 15 short years ago. This week I was responsible for bringing rolls and a side dish to our Wednesday night potluck dinner at church for which I decided to make my yummy Parker House Rolls & Carrot Souffle (which I didn't take a pic of so I'll have to post that amazing creation next time I make it). Because I think everything through, I went out & helped the hubby rake leaves in the back yard Tuesday evening & created huge blisters all over my hands which made kneading dough a hazard, especially when they started bursting, ICK! So I went in search of a real bread recipe that wouldn't need kneading (hehehehe) and I decided to hit my cook book shelf instead of the internet this time around which is how I stumbled upon a great recipe for Spoon Rolls. Now one of the things Miss Doodlebop misses the most being GF is bread, I couldn't do without it either! We make lots of sweets which I store on our GF shelf in the freezer so we always have something on hand but bread is a different story. I had a good chunk of the day open so I decided to experiment with this recipe & see how it would do with GF ingredients. Thus I ended up making 2 batches & they both turned out great! I love that these are done in muffin tins, which gives you options as to size, I did the regular recipe in standard tins & Miss D's in a mini pan so we could tell the difference, also there is no kneading of course & multiple risings. It's a fantastic make ahead recipe as it can stay in the fridge anywhere from 4 hrs to 4 days, so you can scoop some out each day & have fresh rolls with dinner for a week if you like!

Spoon Rolls

Homemade rolls have never been so simple; just spoon the dough into muffin cups. The rolls don'e even need to rise. They bake up with slightly pebbly tops that resemble muffins.

make ahead

prep:9min     cook:25min     other:4hrs.,5min

1 (1/4-oz)envelope active dry yeast

2TBSP warm water 

1/2 c vegetable oil

1/4 c sugar (I use organic raw sugar)

1 egg, slightly beaten

4 c self rising flour (or add 3 1/3 tsp soda & 1 tsp salt to flour)

2 c warm water or milk (I use water)

*GF* Version

I used Hodgson Mill GF Baking Mix in place of the flour & GF Baking Powder

Combine yeast & 2 Tbsp warm water in a bowl: let stand 5 minutes.

Combine yeast mixture, oil & remaining ingredients in a large bowl; stir until smooth. (If you are making your own self rising flour you need to combine those ingredients seperately before you add the wet ingredients)

Cover tightly, and refridgerate at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.

Stir batter; spoon into greased muffin pans, (I used my lg Pampered Chef scoop & it was perfect) filling 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown. I got 24 rolls out of this although the recipe says 20.

Side Note: If you make these with the GF ingredients it's a different consistancy, lighter, thinner & puffs up much more so you need to make sure that you put this dough into large bowls as it does rise in the fridge, the GF more than the original.

I know these are going to be a staple in our home from now on & I was also excited to find that it bakes up well in a bread pan so we can also use it to make sandwich bread for Miss D. I'm so excited to be back in the kitchen after so many months of recuperating & I can't wait to share my creations!

Enjoy!

Miss Doodlebops 1st Gluten Free Birthday

We recently realized that our soon to be 7 year old most likely has a gluten intolerance & I was immediately intimidated by the lack of access to healthy & different foods in our present location. One night last week Miss D was sitting on the floor of the tub crying when she was supposed to be washing her hair & I asked her what was going on. She tearfully replies that she is tired of her tummy hurting every time she eats & just wants it to stop. As most mothers will understand my 1st decision after comforting a soaking wet child, was to do some online research. I really believe that God has been trying to key me into this for a while now but as usual I tend to put things off because no one wants to be the crazy, paranoid parent that drives the medical community crazy but everytime she complained of a tummy ache I would hear a soft voice say "she needs to be on a gluten free diet". I couldn't even tell you what gluten is! After I put the kiddos down that night I got online & started researching this allergy & was actually amazed at what I found. After looking at many of the symptoms Miss D fit at least half of them one of which was being labeled Failure To Thrive as an infant which she was & although we were sent to a GI at Children's Hospital, she was never actually got to the point of diagnoses with anything, she turned a corner health wise & we let it go. Of course I felt like the big fat loser mom after realizing that she has been most likely suffering for years & is just now being able to really vocalize the minute things that make her daily life miserable.
     So after all this we made the decision to try the gluten free diet & see if there was any improvement, I checked with our ENT who also does allergy testing & after we were informed that testing would include a colon biopsy & the only change would be diet we decided to skip that invasive step & go straight to the fix. I am actually very impressed with the options that I have found in our small hamlet, expensive yes but when you're talking about the health & comfort of your child who cares! We started our gluten free diet on Sunday & by Wednesday her hard little distended belly that she's had forever was suddenly flat & soft, success! Now we are almost one week out & other than a slip up at G-Maws where she enjoyed a can of Chef Boyardee, we have been very strict with this thing & so far not one stomach ache! There are many other intestinal symptoms that are improving & I am so thankful for each one.

     We will be making adjustments for a while but it is getting easier each day. The 1st grade went to the part this week on Miss D's Bday & the teacher's provided pizza which she couldn't have so I used a GF Bisquick mix & made my own crusts & we took fresh GF pizza to the park, for her bday dinner we made rice pasta w/ marinara sauce, cauliflower, watermelon & GF Devil's Food Cupcakes w/ Mocha Cream Icing. It was all delicious! I can't believe how normal most of these foods taste, impressive. And thank goodness she loves CHEX! My sis also found a GF bread from UDI'S that she really likes & I understand that is one of the major obstacles in feeding a GF child.

Our Newest Recipe (We're On A Kick This Week!)

Dr. Oz has invaded my life & if he's done the same to yours you know all the changes that ensue. I have really been trying the last few years to eat healthier & feed my family in a more health conscience way which has led me to search out all types of information. So while Dr. Oz has emptied my fridge & pantry so to speak we have been trying new recipes that don't have too many processed ingredients, ect. My family (minus me) are HUGE breakfast eaters & I fix them breakfast for dinner at least once a week, what's cheaper than eggs & pancakes right? So I found a new waffle recipe that surprise, surprise I modified ;) It turned out so well that I didn't even get a pic of them as we all wolfed them down as if we hadn't eaten in days. Even my non-waffle lover, A, said they were pretty good which is saying something. So I wanted to share this new recipe with you, on the off chance that Dr. Oz has also invaded your life ;) Next time I'll make them when the kiddos aren't home & take a bee-u-tee-ful picture!

Oat Waffles:

1 cup all-purpose flour (you can sub whole wheat flour here)


1 cup oat flour*

1/4 c flax meal (I just do mine in my coffee grinder & I add this to almost all my baked items)

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar (I don't add this & it's fine)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cups fat-free milk ( I used regular coconut milk & no one knew, crafty mom) *I also had the thought that I could use my dark chocolate almond milk & serve these w/ some fresh whipped cream & strawberries as a nice dessert!

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*To make the oat flour just put 1 1/4 c oatmeal in your blender & pulse until it's a flour consistency.
 
To be more efficient I use a blender to do my waffles/pancakes. Blend all your wet ingredients & then add the dry, pulse till smooth & pour into your waffle iron, these make 8 full waffles & are so hearty! Some people who are serious about their waffles will beat the egg whites to a stiff peak seperately & then fold them into the rest of the batter, I don't think these people have 3 hungry wolves, ahem, children nipping at their ankles but feel free to be gourmet. These sort of remind me of the Kashi waffles I love but won't buy because they're too pricey for my budget. I hope your family loves these as much as mine who asked to have them every day ;)

Sunday Cupcakes

Little Miss loves to bake, a girl after my own heart! We were watching Cupcake Wars today & who can watch something like that & not get a craving for cupcakes. I of course am trying to feed my family in a more health conscience way so I haven't bought many baking supplies lately & my larder is a bit bare so I went in search of some simple recipes that would only use ingredients I had on hand. A did 99% of these all on her own & she was so excited & I was so proud. We wanted to share these simple recipes so that the next time you're in a pantry pinch but yearning for a sweet treat you can take advantage of our finds! Both recipes are so versatile, a must for me, and quick to whip up even when you add in the intense beating session for the cake mix.
Enjoy!!

Simple White Cake:

(This recipe made 15 cupcakes for us)

1 cup white sugar


1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk


1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.


2.In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter, you need to beat this for at least 8 min till it's light & fluffy for the best texture. Beat in the eggs, one at a time beating for at least 2 minutes after each, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.
(We added mini chocolate chips of course!!)
3.Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

Cool Whipped Frosting :
 
(this is the same as a quick mousse so you could dish it up & serve in dessert bowls w/o too much trouble)
 
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed (x-tra creamy!)


1 (3.5 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix (we used chocolate!)

1 cup milk (we used dark chocolate almond milk, YUM!)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract


In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping until no streaks remain. Spread evenly over cake

V-Day Scavenger Hunt

I am not a Valentine's Day person, I know that may seem unbelievable in a women but I actually have no desire to celebrate this particular holiday. I know it had to be different when I was of a dating age as I remember being excited when my then boyfriend/now hubby bought me a gift but it just hasn't translated into married life for me. BUT, I realized about 4 years ago that my kids were really my valentines & I wanted to do something for them, without breaking the bank that would be tons of fun, SO, here the idea for a scavenger hunt was born.
I picked up several things that I knew my kids loved but I don't always provide on a regular basis & I made homemade cards from me to my kiddos. I cut hearts out of construction paper & wrote clues that would send them to each room of the house. For example, this year I hid the gifts in my son's room & he has Yoda sitting on his bedside table so the last clue said "Very Close You Are To Your Reward My Padawan Learner" & they knew exactly where to go. They have so much fun with this each year & I watched my older 2 go from bored acceptance to giddy exitement after the 1st clue (they like to think they're too old for some things). I have them stand still while they read the clue so they don't leave little sis out & then give her a chance to figure it out.

This year J got a 6 pack of IBC (his fave & I don't buy sodas so this is a standard stocking stuffer, V-Day, Easter treat for him) & a giant box of Nutty Bars, he was in heaven! A recieved a Lego storage box (which I found half off @ WM in the clearance section & a giant bag of dark chocolate. L found a Fancy Nancy book & puzzle & a special diamond ring pop. All in all I spent less than $25 & they had a BLAST!

Snow Day Craftiness

These last couple of crazy snow weeks have actually been such a blessing to me as they have given me tons of time to spend at home with my kiddos which we never get to do during the school year & they have provided me with lots of time to invest in my sewing. I love being stuck at home like this with nowhere to go & no way to get there w/ my 3 favorite people (yep, my babies!). It's amazing how the creativity can hit & just keep on coming, I'm so excited to be whipping out so many items & it will be great to have some new inventory in the store. It amazes me to hear so many parents complaining about having to be home with thier kids & how they are going crazy, seems more than a little sad. I can't help but see these random days during out week that we get to just be a family together with no obligations as a gift from God, like the unexpected rose sticking out the snow, unexpected but beautiful! So, I hope everyone here is relishing thier time being snowed in like I am!

Ice Day Baking Adventures With My Girls

I don't know about you but I absolutely LOVE weather days with my kiddos! We don't exactly sleep late but we don't have to get up & rush out the door either which is one of my favorite parts. This is the kids 2nd day in a row and we decided it was about time to bake something. My girls love to bake but there's not too much room or counter space in my kitchen so we don't do it too often but today I found a recipe that was so simple that the girls could do it all on their own which they were SO excited about. For those of you who don't know me, I can't follow a recipe to save my life & even this recipe with only 4 ingredients was no different. I made an amazing turkey loaf this week & I told my husband at the dinner table that I had followed a new recipe & he stopped eating & cocked his head to the side with a very scepticle look, so of course I had to confess that I had added a few extra ingredients to spice it up which is when he burst into laughter & said "of course you did, you wouldn't be you if you didn't!" See why we're still married!
     So the girls set out to make something called A Wasp Nest Cake, which elicited very strange looks from all 3 of my kiddos but once I read the ingredients they were game.

WASP'S NEST CAKE

1 (3oz) box cook & serve vanilla pudding (we used Instant Pumpkin Spice Pudding Mix, worked fine)
2 c milk ( we used original Silk Coconut Milk)
1 yellow cake mix (HA, we used this!!)
12oz butterscotch morsels (AND it didn't last, we used dark chocolate!)

On the stovetop mix pudding with milk & bring to a boil. Dump in box of cake mix. Stir & pour into a greased 9*13 inch pan. Sprinkle on morsels. Bake in a 350 oven for 30 min. Let cool & serve.

Of course we didn't let it cool but cut pieces to taste while the chocolate was still hot enough to scald our tongues but it was a home run! I love recipes like this that are so versatile, you can change the flavor by just changing which cake mix or pudding you use, I think this one will be a keeper! The girls had so much fun & were so excited to do it on their own, maybe it's  a lesson to mom to move over in the kitchen & let the next generation of foodies learn somthing. Hurray for weather days!

Baby Gifts

I'm making a trade, my handcrafted baby gift items for a beautiful handcrafted personalized painted sign by my oh so talented friend Dayna & I have hit a creative mind block. So far I have 3 burpcloths, 1 hooded towl (the 1st I've ever made & it was a bit of a challenge since I wasn't following a tutorial) & 1 taggie blanket. I don't feel like this is sufficient so I'm looking for other ideas, I'm trying to only use what I have on hand since I have already put so much money into my supplies & I even sacrificed some of my favorite Oregon fabrics b/c D loved them, but my creative well has run a bit dry. I'm thinking of trying to whip up a couple of wash mits to coordinate & I would love to do a jingling taggie ball but my tote full of stuffing has disappeared into the abyss that is my garage & has yet to be found. I'll probably whip up a bib since it seems you go through so many & never have any clean ones, but I'm yearning for some creative ideas. It seems like everywhere you look people are all making the same things, it's time to think outside the box, any ideas? Let's see if we can get those wheels moving & brainstorm!

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Sugar Free Day 3

So last fall I realized that I am tragically addicted to sugar so I thought, it takes 21 days to make or break a habit so if I can go 21 days with out sugar than I'll be able to break that habit and start leading a healthier life. The 1st several days were torture but after the 10th day I noticed that my face was looking strange in the mirror & then I put on a pair of jeans & noticed that they were a little loose. So I proceded to pull out the much neglected & dusty bathroom scales & got on, to my surprise I had lost about 6 pounds & so we're off! I started weighing in every day & for the 1st 2-3 weeks I was loosing 1/2 to 1 pound per day. In 3 months with out sugar I lost a grand total of 28 pounds & then I became complacent with my weight loss &  became less vigilant about my sugar intake. Granted, I still eat far less than I did in my previous life & I haven't gained more than about 3 pounds but the other benefits were so great that I've decided to try to take the plunge again. Well actually I've tried unsuccessfully several times & I'm determined to do it this time. Without my daily intake of sugar I wake up so much more easily & are significantly more clear headed & less sluggish throughout the day, it's amazing really how much better I felt! Not to mention that now when I have sugar I realize immediately the adverse affects it's having on my body, but sometimes that chocolate is just far too tempting! The last couple of weeks I have eaten so much sugar it's amazing to me that I haven't gained back at least 10 pounds so before I go off the deep end I'm cutting myself off. It's SOOO hard! Chocolate calls my name  & the call is only rivaled by that of home baked cookies & you all know how much I LOVE to bake! One of my biggest weaknesses are holiday baked goods made with pumpkin, not pumpkin pie but everything else. I love pumpkin rolls & my dark chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, although any cookie lights my fire & between the holidays & all the school parties  & events there are baked goods everywhere! I can turn down the store bought goods & the sugary candies, granola bars, ect but oh my goodness the thought of our local bakery's home made carrot cake literally makes me drool! I put off my latest attempt at being sugar free until after my recent trip to NYC because there is no way I was going to limit myself in such a wonderful city & since I HATE flying I figured I would need a good dose of chocolate to make it through all my flights. I treated myself to a bag of almond joy bites & surprisingly they lasted through 3 of my 4 flights & the last one called for a bag of jelly bellies, yum! The only thing better than dark chocolate & pumpkin is dark chocolate & coconut! I really had no idea how many daily items have sugar in them, the granola bars I kept in my purse, the rice mixes I made with dinner, literally almost everything in the pantry. So here I am in day 3, praying to make it through the holidays without gaining back everything I lost last year! so maybe I'll allow myself 1 special treat at Thanksgiving but I have realized I have to go cold turkey, there's no weekend treats, ect for me. So tune in next time & I hope you are all rooting for me!! Anyone is free to join this looney bandwagon I'm driving, I'd be glad of the company!

What is it about being a mom that gives you superhuman powers & the ability to take care of everyone & everything else but when it comes to yourself it's a no go?  How often do we tuck our little ones or our significant other into bed with a box of tissues, medicine and a cool drink only to trudge through another day of housework, mom-work & obligations while being miserably sick ourselves. We admonish those who feel all better and want to get out of bed to play but can't seem to put ourselves to rest without a serious trip to guilty town. We know, don't we, since we tell everyone else, that if you will only rest for a day or two you will get better much more quickly & be able to resume normal activities, but why does this not apply to us? I'll tell you, because when we are sick our dear husbands still have to go to work & our precious children still have to go to school, do homework, be fed & run around town to thier multiple activites. Why hasn't someone invented a back up wife? No matter the cost it would be well worth it, then again I guess nannies have been around for a while. Maybe if I start my own Nanny Service I might be able to stay in bed when I'm sick, but I guess we all know that's not going to happen. No matter how miserable you are or how many boxes of tissue or bottles of cold medicine you go through, the kids still need to be fed, the laundry still needs to be done & the spilled milk still needs to be mopped up. Here's to motherhood, the most exhausting yet rewarding thing a woman will ever do, or keep doing since it never ends! But we wouldn't have it any other way would we?

Because I'm The Coolest Mom EVER!

Last night I did something that may put me in the slacker mom catagory for some but definitely elevates me to coolest mom ever status with my kids. Instead of hitting the sack early in preperation for the 1st day of school we stayed up late & rocked it at a back to school concert event. Taking center stage for the evening were 1st (some good friends of ours! of course) Shatter Me w/ their new lead singer, The Letter Black & Decyfer Down. I have been looking forward to hearing the SM boys w/ the new lead guy for almost a yr now so it was a pretty exciting night for me too. I have to say it was the first event that I have done (& I have done a lot in the past 2 yrs!) where I didn't feel pressured, stressed or anything of the kind. Everything went very smoothly, I got the chance to visit w/ my friend Jana, the SM mom & work their merch table which was a fun change as I'm usually running around trying to keep everything running smoothly. I have always listened to DD but haven't been what you would call an avid fan but after last night I have jumped on the wagon. These guys are amazing & I have so much respect for them as they haven't let the rock star status get to their heads. They are still all about the message & reaching the people & that isn't always the case w/ these bands even though you would think that would be top priority in the Christian music world. Decyfer Down put on such an amazing, energy filled show & the guys from Shatter Me really pulled out all the stops to show that they are still an amazing band even though Brad has stepped down as lead to move more behind the scenes. It was a pretty awesome night! Unfortunetly I didn't get any pics of the SM boys because I left my camera at home & had to wait on Steven to get a moment free where he could bring it to me. But it was a God thing because when he left from giving it to me he spotted my friend's debit card laying in the parking lot & was able to return it to her ASAP. Needless to say she was thrilled I had forgotten my camera, tells you there's a plan in everything doesn't it. We did get home late but the kids had an amazing evening, something they won't soon forget & still managed to get up on time this morning & get ready w/ no rushing!!! AMAZInG!! Of course that's what we prayed for last night, have to cover all the bases, last thing you need is your 6 yr old dragging in sleepy eyed to the 1st day of 1st grade & telling her teach that she's SO tired cuz she went to a concert last night!! This is going to be a great year for the kids & we started it off right! Stone me if you wish but these are memories that will make them smile when I'm no longer here.

School Supply Overload

It's that time of year where I start to feel a bit more like a crazy person than usual, BACK TO SCHOOL... I dread it with a passion, not only because of the amount of money that goes into preparing for it but the fact that it brings with it endless hours in the car rushing from one point to the next, less family time than we would all like and a sense of anxiety that can not be matched.
For once I would love for the retailers to actually look at the school supply lists & stock their shelves with the actual items on the list. I know that the Alice In Wonderland stickers, notebooks, pencil bags ect. are cute, but they are NOT on anyone's list! Even the notebooks are not the right paper count. L's list in particular this year has caused me no end of frustration, something as simple as a spiral notebook has sent me all over town because they are very specific about it being a 180 ct w/ NO perforations! Yes they make 180 ct. notebooks, but other than the composition notebooks, there are NO spirals with out perforations. So this is where you have to ask yourself how important those all caps specifications are. So I have the Crayola paint instead of the Prang, I know Prang is the best but when I can pick up the Crayola brand on clearance for .49 & the Prang are $5 which one is any sane mother going to snag I ask you! There are certain things I just won't do, I am not sending 40 pencils to school with my 6 year old, WHY? I am not going to pay 4 times as much for the brand name colors when the store brand are .25. These things make sense to me when you are buying supplies for 3 children. I once worked in the school system & let me tell you, we were 4th grade & we still had lockers full of construction paper & kleenex from kids who were in high school. The only colors that ever ran out were the green & red since everyone does Christmas crafts. These pics are just a sample of the items that we have so far, rest assured, each of the binders are filled to the brim, A actually had to have 3 pencil bags in hers just to hold her supplies, YIKES! And we aren't even done yet! L's list has a very specific Mead tablet that she has to have 4 of, 6 weeks ago I started looking for them & our local WM has had the same empty peg since I started. I actually found a couple at a local office supply chain but they were nearly $5 a piece, CRAZY! No way am I spending $20 on paper, lets just call me a tree hugger & be done w/ it. I remember going to school with a few #2 pencils, glue, scissors, crayons & a pack of paper. I know they do so much more now & obviously need more supplies but right now I just need to rant a bit. Even being the frugal shopper I am, picking up clearanced supplies all year it still adds up to a fortune & you know most families in our country are living paycheck to paycheck these days. I can't imagine how single parents or people w/ more kids than I do it.
When all is said & done the following is apparantly what it takes to ensure a decent education these days for 3 children ages 6, 10 & 12..

1. 3 back packs, no biggie, the girls just reuse theirs until they can't anymore
2. 80 pencils (Yea)
3 7 spiral notebooks
4.3 boxes of crayons & 2 of which are just for L, they can only use 1 box at a time right?
5. 3 pair of scissors (Fiskars only!)
6. 6 dry erase markers
7. 2 boxes of map pencils
8. 3 Pearl only erasers
9. 2 pkgs manilla paper in 2 different sizes (we have always had the hardest time finding the lg pkgs so if I ever see them I snatch one up)
10. 2 pkgs specific sized construction paper ( I still haven't found the lg size pkg & there were @ least 12 of us @ WM this a.m. looking again!)
11. 7 boxes of 200 ct tissue, 1 school wants only Kleenex, the other only Puffs & the other didin't specify?!
12. 1 box Gallon Slide Lock ONLY bags
13. 2 boxes Quart Slide Lock Only bags
14. 4 MEAD ONLY 1st grade Handwriting tablets which I still don't have
15. 1 blue plastic folder
16. 1 plastic school supply box
17. Prang only watercolors, sorry!
18. 2 red grading pens
19. 2 non plastic zipper binder pencil bags (or in our case, 5)
20. 5 black pens
21. 2 rulers
22. 1 lg pkg colored copy paper for the computer lab? now we get to supply the copy paper too?
23. 6 highlighters
24. 1 pkg of markers
25. 3 glue sticks
26. 2 pencil sharpeners w/ lids
27. 2 2 1/2 in 3 ring binders
28. 3 pkg notebook paper
29. 1 notebook w/ dividers & folders
30. Elmer's black label 4oz only glue
31. 2 pocket folders w/ holes, no brads!
32. 8 pocket folders w/ brad, 2 green, 2 red, 2 blue & 2 yellow (we went EVERYWHERE looking for these & finally found them @ TArget, not w/ the school supplies)
33. 1 composition book

When we lived in Sequim Washington, I kid you not, I spent less than $20 on my 2 kiddos who were in school at the time for ALL their supplies & I had not a thing put back for them since we came to WA w/ only what would fit in my sport sized mini van. They did have back packs as thats what they brought their toys in across country, but the supplies were so basic it was amazing. It makes you wonder what really gets done with all those supplies. I am more than happy to refresh supplies as they run out during the year & I know there are parents who don't send anything, but I really feel that this whole thing has gotten wildly out of hand. I know last year the first week of school my kids kept coming home w/ notes for additional supplies that were not listed online & also requests for money for everything under the sun from the PTA fees to class tees that they simply must have before they go on a field trip. For those of us with more than one child & not a bottomless bank account this kind of thing is extremely draining. I'm not so sure that private schools are that more expensive than public ones. It's enough to make you seriously consider homeschooling where most of the work can be done on your home computer & gained from reading.
On another note, you know all of those school appropriate clothes from last year simply do not fit anymore. It's amazing how fast kiddos grow through the summer. I think all of mine skipped an entire size in the last 6 weeks. We have been scrambling to find shorts long enough for school, which raises another point. What exactly is it about boy's knees that they have to be covered up to enter the school? That's a hard task for tall, skinny kids! Clothes shopping is such a mess, by the time school rolls around all the retailers are putting out fall/winter items & in Texas we still wear shorts through Oct. Even if you can find shorts they never comform to the school dress code. Yes, this is just a rant post, I know it, but as a woman we all know that the best way to deal with things is to get them out in the open, it's like therapy, write it down & let it go......
I could write a book on back to school woes as I'm sure many others moms could too & as my dear friend Amy would remind me, there is a way to deal with that, it's called homeschooling, Yes Amy, I know! I seriously considered it, especially w/ L this past week as I had to battle the school to have her moved into an appropriate classroom. I know most people don't seem to think twice about their child's teachers & call me anal, but I simple have to be comfortable & be able to trust the person that will be in charge of my child for 8 hrs & when I'm presented w/ a situation where that is not the case, I have to do something about it. I owe it to my kiddos to stand up for them. It boggles the mind how some people keep their jobs in the school system, especially with so many going to school for education. I guess it's kind of like cops, military or any other service job w/ bad press, just because you're in the business of serving & protecting doesn't mean you're a good person but 1 bad apple shouldn't spoil the entire bushel, right?

OK, done, back to my usual sweet, smiling self, hahahaha. Off to bake cookies, YUM!

A Hair Raising, Skin Scraping Sunday

Late Sunday afternoon our "good" friends Mike & Carrie called & invited us to go out on the boat with them for a little while (you'll understand later why they have playfully been relegated to "good" friends, I still love them I'm just now questioning whether they think they are named in my will). My initial reaction was to say no because that's what I do when something is outside my comfort zone. I have only been out on a boat once in my life & it was a party barge that my sedate, completely non-outdoorsy dad was in charge of & incidental it was his 1st time on the lake w/ a boat so we barely puttered. I'm fine with water, I just want to be able to see what's at the bottom(that means pool play only). Blame it on B rated 80's movies if you like but scary things exist where there is water you can't see through. So still I'm envisioning sitting on a boat in the middle of the lake doing nothing, how much fun can that be w/o a book right? NO we get out there & right off the bat they want me to put my kids in the lake, WHAT! So maybe I'm a bit uptight, who knew. After much prodding I actually lowered my body into the brackish water of Pat Mayse Lake, ick! I thought I had done good, but even after these past few years of friendship I still have yet to grasp the fact that Miss Carrie's new mission in life is to jar me out of my comfort zone, it seems to have become some sort of game. I will admit we were collectively quite proud of me for jumping that hurdle, but the best is yet to come. My dear children start begging to ride the tube, so J goes 1st as he has the most experience, which I didn't even know about (this is just the 1st of my parental shortcomings in this story). He looks like he is having a blast, so really how bad can it be? Next all 3 kids get on the tube & go for a ride which I was of course very nervous about, this was L's 1st tube ride & I just kept seeing her fly through the air w/o the greatest of ease if you know what I mean.

Regrettably I didn't get a pic of this because nervous nelly here couldn't take her eyes off the tube long enough to grab the camera.

Then it was A's turn & she had a blast, evidently they are quite the daredevils, who knew? Both my olders wanted wild rides &hung on for dear life, until J flipped the tube up in the air & went flying. Quite a site to see.

Then of course Miss L decided that she needed a solo ride which immediately send my poor Mama's heart into overdrive, but you have to remember at this point I myself had yet to experience this & had no idea what to expect. We took it really slow (she kept giving the slow down signal, even though we were at the slowest speed,good girl!), but still seemed to be having a blast. At least until the tube took off all the skin on her knees & elbows & reopened her scootering wounds from the weekend before. This girl is battle scarred, let me tell you!

So then comes my turn. How do you say no when all the kids have done it right? I'm actually trying to overcome fears & do new things so this seemed, for a moment, to be a great opportunity to do just that & the kids had so much fun. NO, within 5 short seconds I knew I had made the mistake of a lifetime, I was about to leave my children motherless. I did not know it at the time, but all of a sudden the lake was whitecapping, I had the roughest ride of everyone, great! Since going to the lake was last minute I had failed to take my mascara off before we left, 1st big mistake. Immediately I have black fire running from my eyes & I'm too terrified to let go & wipe it away. It was like being thrown onto a bull having never been taught how to bull ride, I kid you not. My body was flying off that tube like a fish on land & my second thought, after Dear God what have I gotten myself into, was do people with implants really do this?! I know, random right? I'm immediately screaming like a banshee (think Darby O'Gill & the Little People) but in staccato, eyy,eyy,eyy,eyy,eyy, broken each time my generous body slammed back down onto the tube. I'm sure the other lake goers all scrambled for their video cameras at this point. I fully expect to be the next big thing on youtube. Maybe a movie deal will come of this, stranger things have happened. Anywho..there were several minutes that had I not been too afraid to let go I would have simply jumped off & waited to be rescued. There is a signal that lets the driver, who I truly believe was reveling in my predicament, know that you've had enough, but that would necessitate letting go of the handles which I knew would leave me air born & take me straight to Jesus w/o passing go or collecting $200 so I just hung on for dear life & prayed! At the end of my harrowing ordeal, which goes through many other phases but would take a novella to describe I promptly asked "do you really do this for fun?!" Which of course elicited gales of laughter from the boat riders who had not just risked their neck I might add. My fingers had to be pried from the handles & my legs would not work so of course I fell into the lake, which further amused my fellow lakers. So I consider myself a survivor of a near death experience, I came away from this with a renewed relationship with Christ (no kidding, I know he brought me back from the brink of death on this day ), a renewed commitment to my kids (what kind of mother lets her kids do something for the 1st time w/o trying it out herself 1st?!) & a strong conviction that my "good friends" are truly unaware that they are NOT named in my will. We will rectify that immediately, I have no desire to be almost killed anytime in the near future. Thankfully no one from our boat picked up a camera, that's one thing I would NOT want captured on camera for all posterity!

The Experience, otherwise known as Farm Fresh Tomato Soup

Today I finally had a chance to do something amazing with all of the fresh tomatoes that my dear friend Rita keeps sending home with me. Doodle Bop & I LOVE tomato soup & she beat herself up pretty badly yesterday riding her scooter so I decided to whip up some feel good comfort food to help mend her bumps, bruises, scrapes & blisters (p.s. letting the kiddos ride scooter bare foot, NOT A GOOD IDEA!)
I decided to share this process, both the appetizing parts & the messy parts, VERY MESSY! This recipe is so unusual but tastes just like our favorite bakery's fresh tomato soup that it will certainly be a staple from now on. I love recipes that have a good base & can be adjusted depending on what you have on hand. How many times have you found an amazing recipe & have all but 2 or 3 of the ingredients on hand so it doesn't get made? For me, almost never, I change up everything using what's in my pantry & fridge to fill in the gaps. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we have & don't let the "secret" ingredient scare you, you won't even know it's there but it's not the same w/o it. I also used the artichoke that we cut out of the flower bed at our Cannon Beach Vacation House & brought home with us, DELISH!


FARM FRESH CREAMY TOMATO SOUP

1. 3T butter ( I never use anything but real unsalted butter, salting is what they do to it to keep it on the shelf longer, YUCK!)
2. 1c. chopped onion (I used a Vidalia)
3. 1 steamed & chopped artichoke (here is where you can change things up, the original recipe called for 3 stalks of celery which I didn't have & I also added the rest of a jar of marinated artichoke hearts I had in the fridge)
4. 2 garlic cloves chopped
5. 1/4 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley ( I used about 1T dried plus 1T dried basil)
6. 3 c. chopped fresh tomatoes (garden fresh is best but please use a good canned tomato over those tasteless grocery store imposters if you don't have access to the fresh variety.)
7. 15oz. can tomato sauce
8. *SECRET INGREDIENT* 3/4 c stong brewed coffee (YES COFFEE, don't leave it out)
9. 1/4 c. H2O
10. Salt & Pepper ( I use Kosher & fresh ground)
11. 1 tsp. sugar ( I didn't use it & it's still delish, you won't miss this part)
12. 1/3 c heavy cream ( I used half & half because it's what I had on hand & it was perfect)
13. 1/3 c chopped carrots

Melt the butter in a large stock pot & add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery & parsley. Cook slowly until the onions are transparent. Be careful not to let it burn or the garlic will be bitter. Add tomatoes, sauce, coffee, H2O, salt, pepper & sugar. Bring to a boil & simmer about 20 minutes. Pour the mixture into a blender in small batches & puree with short burst until it is completed blended.

*AUTHOR's NOTE* This is where the messy came in for me, I forgot to hold down the lid, not once but twice! So I covered my kitchen in tomato puree & scalded my face, hands & arms. Thank goodness for my friend Sharon who was present the last time I burned myself in the kitchen & told me to put mustard on it. I smelled like a corn dog & I'm sure looked like a hot mess covered in the thick yellow goop, but it did the trick. So lesson learned, please be careful & don't put too much in your blender & hold that lid down tight!!!*

Transfer back to the pot & add the cream, heat but don't boil. L ate hers w/ Italian cheese & I paired mine with a Tillamook cheddar melt fresh off the panini press.

Was it worth the mess?

OH, YEAH!

Coupons for Military Families Overseas

So if you know me you know I'm a huge couponer & coming from a military family I'm very passionate about how our veterans & currant military are treated & respected, SSSOOOO......... This was the perfect cause for me to pick up & I hope that you will jump on this bandwagon with me (promise it's worth it). Even if you don't want to go through the trouble of doing the coupon thing yourself you can still help out military families overseas who don't have access to coupons the way we do here in the states. The PXs honor manufacturors coupons up to 6 months after their experation date for military families. We all know that our troops don't get paid anything near what they deserve & although this won't make that up it is a small way for those of us whose lives & way of life they are fighting to protect can show a little appreciation. I used to only cut out the coupons that I would use but now I cut them ALL out (yes it takes a bit of time but think about this, the average deployment is 18 months so suck it up a bit :) The ones I will use I keep & all the rest I seperate into catagories & mail to one of the addresses that the coupon mom website provides. Please follow this link & take just a little bit of time to do something that will mean a lot to the families who are relocated all over this globe.   www.couponmom.com/military

Funky Finds....

www.funkyfinds.com/  If you haven't already heard of it there is an awesome new place to buy & sell your very own funky finds. Blossom Granny & I have both already set up shop & who can blame us at $1.99 for 7 months?!?! It's almost too good to be true. One of the biggest benefits is that it's no where near the volume of product on etsy which sounds like a minus but can really be a plus. Think of it, instead of searching through 5 bajillion (yes it's a word) pages of product to find the handful you're looking for, you can easily sift through the shops at funky finds & get what you want in a fraction of the time before you fall into that zombie like state that accompanies most internet searches. Not to diss etsy, I still have an etsy shop & love it, it's a great outlet for artsies across the globe, this is simply another great find that I'm sure will soar to etsy-like status before long so don't wait, don't dawdle, jump this funky finds train as quickly as possible before the introductory offers expire, you won't regret it!! It's the perfect new outlet for those of us who have a desire to sell but don't have a huge inventory to list. Follow me to the shops at funkyfinds.com!! See you there ;) Be sure to check out The Quirky Belle & Let Me Make You Smile!

On our way home from Oregon we drove down to San Francisco by way of Hoghway 101, amazing drive, but definitely slow & tedious. It took about 18 hrs to get from point A to point B but I'm glad we decided to do it because it's not a drive to be missed. We got to stop & take some pics in the Redwood forest & it's unbelieveable how giant these trees are. We spent the 4th of July at Fisherman's Wharf but first we had to take the train from Belmont into the city, quite an experience coming & going. Then we walked FOREVER!!!! (so much for listening to hotel employees). I knew it was going to be chilly but really, it was downright COLD! The Gap there was sold almost completely out of everything that could be considered cold weather clothes or layerable & so were most of the merchants which I think is saying something. We finally got to try that American classic, In & Out Burger, I loved it , the rest of the fam wasn't that impressed, but how do you impress people who eat their hamburgers either dry or with ketchup & pickles? The fireworks I'm sure were amazing but since it was so foggy you couldn't see but one out of every 5 or 6, there was a mass exodus of people after the first 5 min. us included. There was no way I was missing the train I had already paid for & it was quite a walk back, felt like 20 miles, was probably more like 4 or 5. I wish we had more time in the city so that we could see things like Coit Tower & take a trolley ride, but alas we were in a rush to make Holbrook Arizona, though now I have no idea why. It's just a blip on the map & no where to stop, our hotel room smelled like a kennel, no more pet friendly hotels for us. As we pulled into our drive at 3:30 a.m our travel odometer read 5005 miles, YIKES!

Last Day At Cannon Beach

This is our last day in what I deem PARADISE! I can't imagine a more perfect setting, I can well see why homes/land here are at such a premium, it would be well worth it if you could live this life everyday. I truly do not believe that this could become mundane. I am sure going to miss it here. I have eaten fudge like it's the last edible item on earth & I only have hours to live, but can you really blame me when you look at this? Dark chocolate coconut fudge from the Tillamook Creamery. That's 2 of my all time favorite substances mixed with tons of pure cream butter which is my 3rd favorite food and formed into a mass of luxurious indulgence, what could be better!

http://www.wavesofgrainbakery.com/  Steven, Auntie Sarah, L & I went to this local hot spot for lunch today, they mill thier own wheat which I find amazing! I had a veggie wrap with home made hummus, YUM! & we brought some fruit topped biscuits for our drive to San Francisco tomorrow. L had the Raspberry Swedish Cream (DELISH!), Steven had thier clam chowder w/ a Tillamook Chedder biscuit & Sarah had the Chicken Ceasar Wrap. They were cooking Thai Chicken Soup for tomorrow & the place smelled like heaven! I had to tell them it's so wrong to cook something that smells so amazing & then tell us we can't have it till tomorrow, torture!

Her cream was really delish, not quite sure what the face was about but it was too funny not to include.Be vewry, vewry quiet, we are hunting wabbits ;)Dad, Auntie & kids worked very hard on what they called "Goon Docks" while L & I went on a treasure hunt.

A fed a bag of old bread to the local yokels, they followed her around like she was the pied piper of Cannon Beach.

All A has ever wanted is to fly a kite on the beach & today was her day, her wish came true with (ahemmm) flying colors ;)

This was a sweet moment between Dad & A that was too cute not to share (doesn't he look happy on the beach?)

Jake was such a good sport & let the girls bury him in the sand.

Our last sunset at Standing Stones on Cannon Beach, I can't recommend it enough, we had a blast & I am sorry to go but can't wait to rush back & feel the sand between my toes & chill bumps on my arms :)

Dinner @ Mo's

Do you know what happens when you discover a "FOOD" setting on your awesome new digital camera? Oh Yeah! You start taking pics of everything you & everyone else eats, this is going to be fun!

http://www.moschowder.com/ We chose Tuesday to eat at the Famous Cannon Beach Mo's, I selected Fish & Chips which may sound mundane but I assure you it's not. This was the most delish dish at the table in my humble opinion, thick crusty planks of cod, a giant slab of bread with creamy butter, homemade fries, the best cole slaw ever and fabulous tartar sauce. I know! Too yummy to be believed!

Not to worry, Steven chose the famous Mo's Clam Chowder as his side pairing to Cod Fish Tacos (we LOVE fish tacos!) so the 5 of us all got to sample this northwestern staple. I know fish tacos sounds strange, the first time I heard of them I snarled my nose just as I imagine most of you are doing now, especially when I was told they were fish sticks in a tortilla (how disgusting does that sound!), but the real deal is absolutely fabulous & can not be missed!

The girlies both chose the fried shrimp basket, which was to be expected I guess, but at least these shrimpers were fresh so it's a good change from the usual shrimp poppers we are forced to endure in our land locked home. Jake ordered a plain old grilled cheese so the most exciting thing I can say about that is that it was served on a frisbee, yeah, no judging, I chose not to take any pictures of that one.