Yummy Cooking Site

The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

I just wanted to share a really neat internet site I found. It is called The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Just click on the title link in blue above. Great recipes and awesome step by step photos showing how to prepare the recipe. She has a great sense of humor too. Warning... most of the recipes are not "lite recipes", however they do look incredibly tasty.

Right now she is going over Thanksgiving recipes so the pictures of the gizzards are a bit gruesome. You have to check out the yummy recipes on the side bars too. Enjoy!

Halloween Trick or Treat

Boy has it been pretty crazy around here. I meant to do a quick update last week but now it is this week and there is even more to update but I have just a few minutes so I will hit the most current event.. Halloween.

I sure got away easy this Halloween. Last year, I made costumes the morning of and it took me most of the day (they were pretty cute though). This year for some reason after ruling out that I didn't have it in me right now to make a full blown Civil War Period costume, the kids costumes were really easy. K found a darling Ladybug accessory kit for a costume (at 50% off even). She wore all black and added the accessories.. done! C found a "bandit" accessory kit and added his jeans, picked out a green shirt, wore a vest that Grammy made awhile back...done! , J just wanted me to cut his costume from last year into wide strips in the front, wore some black pants and a black shirt. We found a very inexpensive but cool ninja sword and he called himself a Spartan...done! This season it truly was about the accessories.

I wish I took more pictures but I did get a group one of the neighbors that we have gone with for the last couple of years. Notice how K is bending down a little bit in the background. She has grown another inch in the past few months and I think she is at least 5'6". J has grown alot too and comes to my chin now. Crazy growing kids!

We had the neighbors over for dinner and we had a make your own "ghost" pizza party. I found these really cute whole wheat mini-wraps shaped like ghosts. I had all sorts of toppings so they could make their own pizzas. We also had creamy tomato soup and salad. Pretty yummy and I tried to stay healthy knowing how much candy was yet to be consumed! It is always hard after the kids come home with so much candy. It seems that the candy is constantly on their minds. This year we did something different (an idea that our neighbor uses) the kids sold their bags of candy to P to take to work. The price was very minimal (small star wars guy, extra time to stay up on the weekends, I can't remember who chose what). Now it is gone and I don't have to be tempted by it and the kids don't think about it. Yahoo!

Jack-O-Lantern!

I offer up this smile, in case anyone needs a template for their Jack-O-Lantern this Halloween season. Yes.. it is true... he lost ANOTHER one. He was very excited to share that he has lost the same amount of teeth as a 9 year old that he knows. This tooth (bottom right) came out last night making a total of 8 teeth. He is now a couple of bucks richer because the TF remembered to visit and check under his pillow.

Harvest (The Beginning, Middle and End of My Harvest)

My sister inspired me to show and tell as well. I know you are extremely impressed at my ability to grow an abundance of produce. I should be showing one green and one red bell pepper. But due to my amazing green thumb, I have left both types on the plant for sooo long that they are both now red bell peppers. And yes, that is a small dinner salad fork to show you the incredible size of my produce. Please.. please.. keep your applause to a minimum.. If you want some tips feel free to ask, no charge for a short period of time.

The Best Field Trip Ever

We had the best day ever this past Monday. The homeschooling group that K belongs to conducts numerous field trips during each month. If any sound interesting, you just sign up, get directions and meet the group there. The people in the group aren't always the same so it is a great way to meet all sorts of new people.

I have always wanted to go on the Colonial Tour at the Rileys Farm. I have very fond memories of the Rileys Apple Orchards when I was growing up. (We helped build their log cabin, rode their pony bareback, picked apples, etc.) It is amazing how much the Farm has grown over the years. They have all sorts of tours ranging from Colonial Days, Civil War period, Revolutionary War reenactments etc.

The Cava group scheduled a tour at the Rileys Farm for this Monday. There were over 130 (kids and parents) people who showed up. P and I decided it would be fine to pull the boys out of school for the day since this was an educational opportunity that couldn't be passed up. We arrived and it felt like we were Jack and Annie characters in the Magic Treehouse series arriving in the Colonial Period. Everyone was dressed in period clothing, spoke with a bit of a British accent, referred to the kids as Master C, and Miss K. or lad and lass.

The kids were divided into four different groups and each were led to different parts of the farm. We rotated to different sections and learned Colonial Etiquette, how to churn butter and grind wheat, weaving, ink and quill, colonial period games for children, make candles (do you know that it used to take 8 hours to make a candle), and finally eat an amazing homemade caramel apple.


Here is a picture of J feeding the goat La Mancha. If you look closely, you'll see the apple that the goat decided to knock out of J's hand and then eat it from the ground.



This is during the etiquette portion of the field trip. C has been assigned the role of the politician and gets to stand to the right of the farmer who stands to the right of a women. The positioning of where you stood showed your rank.



J is churning butter and C is grinding wheat.



Colonial teacher is teaching class how to weave. Believe me, you don't want to mess with her. She was very strict and put the children in their place. Very fun to watch.




The kids are all practicing weaving. J thought it was a bit boring, but C absolutely LOVED it and wants PaPa to make him a weaving loom.



Cute picture of C and K practicing the ink and quill activity. Did you know the quills come from turkey's flight feathers and you can only get ten from one turkey. Five of them are for left handers and five are for right handers.


Nothing better to end the day than a delicious caramel apple. So gooey, chewy and good. I also had to buy one of the apple pies that you could smell baking the whole time you walked around. You had to pre-order it when you arrived so they could bake it and you could take it home after the tour. It was to die for!

Warm Muffin

My mom requested awhile back for me to post a picture of KL's bedroom that we repainted in July. It originally was a very ugly "daquiri (sp?) ice" color... sort of a pastel seafoam green. Little did we know that the following month we would decide to move... hmmm... well at least we know the name of the paint color.

Speaking of paint color names, it's funny how they help me decide what color to choose. We knew we wanted to paint the room a warm "hayish" color since KL wanted to keep a Western theme. We found the cutest bedding that is the fabric of a well worn cowgirl red bandana. We found darling accessory pillows to go with it (the picture really doesn't do it justice). We topped it with the cutest quilt in the whole wide world that Grammy made and the contrast of reds is really fun. We finally found a paint color titled "Warm Muffin". It is amazing how as soon as we put it on the wall, the room felt much warmer and cozier. Truly it looks like the color of fresh baked corn bread. I would love to say that the bed is always so nicely made... but my nose would grow if I did : )

The Last Post Regarding Teeth... At Least For Now

Since you asked about K, it reminded me that I do indeed have something to say about her teeth. I don't think any of you have seen her new beautiful smile. She got her braces off last month and wears a retainer at night. Isn't her smile pretty??

And no, it would not be a good idea for her to lose any of her teeth since they are all permanent.

One set of braces down... I believe we will have two more sets to go..sigh..

Keep Your Mouth Shut at My House

So the teeth saga continues...

C lost his two teeth, placed them under his pillow and went to bed with a smile and I'm sure sweet dreams of what was to await him under his pillow upon waking up the next morning.

The same night (after C fell asleep) J came to me and said "I just lost a tooth". "Are you joking", I asked? (quickly calculating just how much cash I had in my wallet). "No joke..see?" And sure enough he produced a freshly pulled molar. I said "well hurry... go to sleep quick and put the tooth under your pillow. If the TF didn't collect C's teeth already maybe she'll be able to collect yours too".

Well, the next morning C (who is always the first kid to wake up) came in my room proudly displaying his "green money"! "Look what I got!" "That's great.. you'll have to save it in your bank. Guess what C? J lost his tooth last night too". "What?? Are you sure he didn't sneak one of mine out of my pillow??" "NOoooo silly, he lost one of his molars." "Let' go wake him up and see if the TF came." So C marched into J's room. They quickly compared what the TF brought and thankfully J was okay that the TF brought C more money since he did lose two teeth after all.

(Fast forward in time to 1 hour after the boys came home from school that same day).

J is working on his homework finding numerous distractions to keep him from doing his work. "J.. you need to focus on your work Bud or it is going to take a lot longer than it has to." "I know but Mom.. I think I have another loose tooth." "J seriously.. enough with the teeth and get your homework done." He then finds another distraction and I have to track him down in the restroom (where he often escapes to read a book instead of doing less desired homework). "Mom.. I told you.. I just lost another tooth!" (again displaying a lovely {not really} looking molar) "Seriously what is going on in this house!" He replied, "I guess you could just call it our job and our way of earning money around here."

So seriously people.. if you are visiting our house, don't mention if you have any loose teeth or even open your mouth too wide. Because chances are you are going to need your teeth!

Off The Charts

This morning I was greeted in bed by a smiling C. He said what is the date today. I said I think it is September 16th. He said well.. I think my teacher's chart tomorrow is going to say that C lost another tooth on September 16th. Did you lose a tooth buddy? No but give me a few minutes and I think I can. I'll be the third person in the class to be on the chart!

I slowly continued to wake up (this conversation was being conducted in my lack of coffee fog sleepy state). About five minutes later he came to me with blood slobber and said "yep I'm on the charts!" And sure enough he was holding an itty bitty tooth in his hand! I congratulated him, he told me he thought that his tooth was worth a twenty, I told him I'm not so sure about that one. He showed me a couple of other teeth that were loose in his mouth but we both agreed that those would take longer to get out.

I woke up, got out of bed (had my coffee) and we all got ready to go to church. When I went to pick C up in Sunday School, I didn't see him right away. His teacher said that he was accidently bumped in the head by another boy. He came out of the bathroom and I knelt down to see what was wrong. He was being so brave trying to take care of himself but when he saw me, he buried his head in my shoulder and cried pretty hard. I looked in his mouth and he had bit his tongue pretty good. Almost looked like it was pierced right in the middle of it. I told him that nothing feels as good as a slurpee and we would go to Target (I had to pick up a couple of things anyway) and I would treat all three of them to a slurpee. He then proceeded to tell me that when he was bumped in the head, the boy bumped his sort of loose tooth and now it was really loose.

When we got home, he went straight into the bathroom. I wasn't sure what he was doing since I was fixing lunch, but he came walking out very proudly showing me two itty bitty teeth in his plastic baggie to go under his pillow. He said he would be the only one probably in his whole class that lost TWO TEETH on the same day!!

I love how he looks now, because he has lost a total of seven teeth and his two front ones look huge for his little pixie face. I love his smile now. What do you think?

Happy Rosh Hashanah

Just a couple of years ago, our elementary schools started observing this holiday. It seems really strange to me to have a Thursday off and then go back to school on Friday to turn right around and be off on Saturday and Sunday. HOWEVER, it is a great day to go to an amusement park. Knowing that our life will be very different soon and amusement parks will not be as easily accessible, we decided to take advantage of the holiday and go to Universal Studios.

P worked last night so he slept today while the kids and I went to use our annual passes (awhile back we purchased a day and got a year free).

If you haven't been in awhile, Universal City Walk is really fun to walk through on your walk into the theme park. All sorts of neat things to see and window shop. Once in the park, the animal show was seating so we immediately went there and saw all of the cute animals do tricks. A lot of the animals were just featured in the film Evan Almighty (about the modern day Noahs Ark).

We then went to Jurassic Park. This is a favorite of ours but we haven't been since they have been advertising how you get soakin' wet. And INDEED they keep their word. It was a very warm day, so it actually felt really good. We then hiked it over to the Tomb of the Mummy ride which C just met the 48" requirement height. I thought it was one of those "touring" type rides and would be a little scary. HOWEVER, it was definitely a "rollercoaster" ride that after it did the initial ride, it went backward to where you began (or something like that.. since it was pitch black with flourescent mummies popping out everywhere). Then in the end you see a movie screen with a mummy talking and cockroaches start creeping all over him and lo and behold something under your feet moves and you feel the "bugs" crawling on you. NIIICCCEE. Totally didn't expect this kind of ride. C was excited that he experienced his "first REAL roller coaster ride" J was a bit creeped out by the mummies and the cockroaches. I was dumbfounded that I had no idea it was a real ride.

We then went to Shrek 4D which is always alot of fun. 4D means that you wear 3D glasses and the movie is a 3D movie but your chair moves whenever the characters are being very active and you experience other things like water splashing on your face when a character sneezes or air blowing your hair when you are flying... things like that. And we ended our "brief day" watching the Blues Brothers perform. The kids wanted to go to the "Big Guitar" restaurant located on the City Walk (Hard Rock Cafe) for a late lunch which I thought would be a great way to end a fun filled day.

What a blast! Now I have to convince myself that tomorrow isn't Sunday and get them ready for school in the morning.

p.s. we just finished a yummy dinner of creamy tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and I'm introducing them to a Pippy Longstocking movie that I borrowed from the library... Oh.. Annika....

The Year For Adventure

I keep getting nudged by K to post another blog. She said today, "Mom.. this is the year for adventure, you have to keep blogging so we can keep track of how the year goes.." "What possibly could you mean my dear one (me responding), doesn't every family decide to switch educational gears by homeschooling their middle school child... decide on a whim to completely change their lifestyle by moving to the country and by that being closer to family??... possibly learn quickly how to become a property manager by leasing out the home that we are living in now (which by the way, all of the boxes haven't even been unpacked and are still sitting in the garage from our move 2 1/2 years ago) BTW... did you know that there is a book called "Property Management for Dummies". I'll give you a review as soon as I'm done reading it.

Anyhow, I guess K is right! This is going to be an adventurous year worthy of tracking and perhaps we will turn it into a Language Arts lesson as well.

Quick Update on Us:

Homeschooling:
Our first week of homeschooling has gone great. K is enjoying the subjects and especially enjoying the freedom of scheduling her lessons. We meet with K's assigned teacher Monday afternoon to learn more about what is in store for the upcoming year.

We will have to make a decision regarding homeschooling once we move up North. They have a great homeschooling facility/program in the city where we are moving where K would attend classes as well as do some curriculum at home. OR we can continue with CAVA which she is enjoying so far and just drive a ways to meet with other peers in the same program.

Move:
The inspection on our new house went fantastic. Our only request of the sellers is to repair two GFIC outlets in the Kitchen and Laundry Room Bathroom. (yes, you read that right.. I get to have a Laundry room with a sink, window and bathroom ) YAHOOEY!

P picked up Grandma C to take her on a road trip and check out the new place. She likes it, and had a good time with P. P called me when he first arrived, he immediately drove by the property and was really excited about living in the house and being in the mountains (lots of hiking opportunities).

The barn needs a little work. P said it is pretty cobwebby. The family who own the property have a 2 year old and a 7 month old. They have two horses but haven't utilized the barn too much. My children on the other hand are anxious to clean it out (especially K), join 4H and learn how to care for animals. K obviously wants a horse of her own, J would like a pig (I think he sees $ signs since he heard of a friend of ours who earned $2500 showing/selling her pig), C would like a pigmy goat so he could feed it with a bottle. I've been reading up on a site called goodbyecitylife.com. Lots of great articles.

The Boys:
J and C are enjoying school. J has the same teacher that K had in 4th grade (I can't believe he is already in 4th grade and turning 2 digits this year!) C has had an awesome attitude about 1st grade. His teacher was my third choice out of four but that is the way the cookie crumbles sometimes and will make the move in the middle of the year more bearable. Both boys are in for longer days than last year. I was a little worried about grouchiness but they have been doing fine. So far they are fine in the morning leaving knowing that K gets to stay home so hopefully it is not just the "first couple of weeks of school nice attitude".

General Life:
I am sleeping much better (now that Maaa introduced me to Tylenol PM.. Just Kidding). Things have been running smoothly. We received loan approval, and with the Inspection going great, the stress has been less lately. I am extremely busy and will have to find more hours in my day somehow. K has been great to have around. We have been doing a lot of girl bonding which has been wonderful.

TTFN!

Hahaha

I dare you not to laugh!

Just wanna laugh??

Bu bump ba bump ba bump... yes my heart is still beating and I'm still here. JUST haven't been finding time to post. So no promises to myself of the posting commitment, it will just have to be as time allows. I want to test something and see if it works. Today is a pretty gray day and seems very ho humm... The kids and I have been enjoying looking at videos on youtube and there is one in particular that can make anyone laugh no matter how crabby you may feel. I dare you if you are crabby to not laugh at this. Now if I can just see how to transfer it.

(Postnote: this was supposed to be attached to the video clip. It was tricky transfering the video [really not sure how I did it]. Now I just have to be able to put the two together....